Disney After Hours 5/5 review

[lugnut33]

Daughter (15) and I attended the May 5th edition of Disney After Hours. Keep in mind I bought tickets even though I'm very opposed to this type of add on event.

We arrived that same day at 10 and luckily our room was ready, so we unpacked and took a nap. Before the nap I jumped on MDE and got rid of our 7dmt, SM, and PP fast passes. I decided the goal of the day was to see attractions we normally wouldn't and save the rides for the After Hours event. I picked up FP for Festival of Fantasy parade (not worth it in my opinion), Tinker Bell, and Anna and Elsa.

Got to MK right at 3 and did the following: parade, MILF (I was "that guy") , Tink, A&E, Philharmagic, COP, Tiki Room, Move It Shake It, watched Mais Street Electrical Parade, Castle Show, and ate dinner at Columbia Harbor House.

Right at 10 we jumped in line at JC, then Aladdin, POTC, Splash, Btmrr, ate some ice cream, HM, PP, checked out PP queue, ate some ice cream, 7dmt, Pooh, Mermaid, Barnstormer, Buzz, and Mickey M&G. Wanted to ride Space Mtn but it was down, which was disappointing (but it happens). Bigger bummer was they ran out of frozen bananas.

All in all, we got a ton done that day. However, I still don't think it's worth the price even at $75 (which is what we paid). Mostly because we at one time we could have accomplished just as much during a 3 hour EMH. I'm pretty sure we attended the most well attended night so far. 7D Mine Trains were ful, with a line of about 50 people. BTMRR trains were also running half full. It honestly didn't feel like an empty park at all. We waited about 20 minutes for Mickey as we left at 1 a.m. I would not do it again. I asked my daughter if she felt it was worth it and she agreed with me, not worth it.

 

[lugnut33]

I should add that I think Disney found their price point ($75) for this event. Will not be surprised to see this event take over at all parks in the future.

 

[Shanti]

Thanks for your perspective. We're going in July for a mostly water parks trip, so I was on the fence about whether to pay for this in lieu of buying a 1-day ticket (I can't ever go to Disney & not do MK), but we don't know if it will continue in July, & need to buy regular tickets otherwise to book FP's soon.

I was already leaning toward regular tickets because I decided to add an Epcot day due to Frozen Ever After & the new Soarin'. This has solidified my opinion to go ahead and do that.

Fingers crossed that they extend operating hours in July...

 

[Shanti]

I should add that I think Disney found their price point ($75) for this event. Will not be surprised to see this event take over at all parks in the future.

Yes, I suspect that the short initial release was to get a feel for what pricing the public will support, before adjusting the price and releasing it for a longer test run this summer.

 

[dkrauss]

All in all, we got a ton done that day. However, I still don't think it's worth the price even at $75 (which is what we paid). Mostly because we at one time we could have accomplished just as much during a 3 hour EMH.

The above is a great point, and while I haven't attended the event (and really don't plan to ) I've always felt that why pay for what I can get for free...................unless they take the FREE out.

Doug

 

[kelleybean]

We were there the same night. We really enjoyed it. We got there at around 7:00 and hit the stuff with minimal lines before park closing (Small World, Little Mermaid, etc.). After 10:00 we were pretty much able to walk on anything. The most we waited was for a couple cars at Mine Train. We were able to walk up and choose any row we wanted on BTMRR and had the Jungle Cruise boat with one other family. We felt like the staff was extra friendly, probably because they weren't dealing with the stress of having to manage all the crowds. They had plenty of carts with "free" ice cream, bottled water, and soda.

I'd definitely recommend this event if you were planning on buying a one day ticket to the Magic Kingdom because it was a really stress free way of touring. I suspect we won't be doing this again (our in-laws were incredibly kind and got our tickets) but I'm glad we did it.

 

[redsbe]

So Disney has been able to get people to pay extra for what previously were free evening EMHs - great.

 

[MrWonderful]

I've suspected all along that this summer is going to be Disney's MK "big experiment" - 10 pm closings all summer, $149 (or $75?) if you want to stay past 10 pm (probably 6 days a week) and one MK 2 hour evening EMH per week for resort guests... lamers. For medical reasons, we can't do the heat of the day, so tipping point achieved for our family. If this is how it will be = Sadness

I hope I'm wrong

 

[poohmickey]

We were there too and really enjoyed our evening. We paid $75, and wouldn't have even considered it for $149. It was so relaxing and we got more done that we have ever gotten done in one day. The only wait we had was on the mine train, and like others have said there were about 50 people ahead of us, but it still moved really fast. And how often can you ride peter pan multiple times in a row with no wait whatsoever. We were also able to ride tomorrowland speedway twice without leaving our car, magic carpets twice without leaving and big thunder twice without getting off. I wouldn't do this very often, but I would recommend for a special occasion or for visitors with very limited time.

 

[Mikie]

I've suspected all along that this summer is going to be Disney's MK "big experiment" - 10 pm closings all summer, $149 (or $75?) if you want to stay past 10 pm (probably 6 days a week) and one MK 2 hour evening EMH per week for resort guests... lamers. For medical reasons, we can't do the heat of the day, so tipping point achieved for our family. If this is how it will be = Sadness

I hope I'm wrong

Dislike, dislike, dislike!!

 

[Mambo Junkie]

Daughter (15) and I attended the May 5th edition of Disney After Hours. Keep in mind I bought tickets even though I'm very opposed to this type of add on event.

We arrived that same day at 10 and luckily our room was ready, so we unpacked and took a nap. Before the nap I jumped on MDE and got rid of our 7dmt, SM, and PP fast passes. I decided the goal of the day was to see attractions we normally wouldn't and save the rides for the After Hours event. I picked up FP for Festival of Fantasy parade (not worth it in my opinion), Tinker Bell, and Anna and Elsa.

Got to MK right at 3 and did the following: parade, MILF (I was "that guy") , Tink, A&E, Philharmagic, COP, Tiki Room, Move It Shake It, watched Mais Street Electrical Parade, Castle Show, and ate dinner at Columbia Harbor House.

Right at 10 we jumped in line at JC, then Aladdin, POTC, Splash, Btmrr, ate some ice cream, HM, PP, checked out PP queue, ate some ice cream, 7dmt, Pooh, Mermaid, Barnstormer, Buzz, and Mickey M&G. Wanted to ride Space Mtn but it was down, which was disappointing (but it happens). Bigger bummer was they ran out of frozen bananas.

All in all, we got a ton done that day. However, I still don't think it's worth the price even at $75 (which is what we paid). Mostly because we at one time we could have accomplished just as much during a 3 hour EMH. I'm pretty sure we attended the most well attended night so far. 7D Mine Trains were ful, with a line of about 50 people. BTMRR trains were also running half full. It honestly didn't feel like an empty park at all. We waited about 20 minutes for Mickey as we left at 1 a.m. I would not do it again. I asked my daughter if she felt it was worth it and she agreed with me, not worth it.

We left right before 3 but the park was super crowded. Also on Wednesday 5/4 it poured down rain and the park was practically empty (we got so much done!) I think the peeps who left or didn't go 5/4 went 5/5. Very busy plus a lot of rides were down 7DMT was down almost all morning, SM until 1 or 2, barnstormer, pooh, and the train all down. Barnstormer down a few times. 7DMT was really backed up. Had 8:05 ADRs but it was down. Got a lot of other things done instead and headed out after a great lunch at Skippers. .

 

[crazy_for_the_dis]

Thanks for posting! Other than running out of frozen bananas ( I love those and haven't had one for years!!!!) the night sounds perfect to me. I hope this gets extended to August, and we would likely do it multiple times during our trip.

 

[Lothlórien]

I've suspected all along that this summer is going to be Disney's MK "big experiment" - 10 pm closings all summer, $149 (or $75?) if you want to stay past 10 pm (probably 6 days a week) and one MK 2 hour evening EMH per week for resort guests... lamers. For medical reasons, we can't do the heat of the day, so tipping point achieved for our family. If this is how it will be = Sadness

I hope I'm wrong

I agree. I think you are onto something.

 

[CMNJ]

My husband and I were there too. From 10-1 we rode Pooh, 7DMT twice in a row, IASW, PP, HM, POC, Dumbo, JC, BTMRR (3 times without getting off) A&E, and Astro orbiter. Wanted to ride SPace Mountain but it went down around midnight
Everything was a walk on ride except 7DMT (had to wait a minute or two for the next train).
We also got icecream/sodas and lots of uncrowded pics on Main Street. We actually have an AWESOME pic where we layed down in front of the castle-the photographer was such a good sport!
I would not have paid $149 for this and even at $75 I don't how if I would do it again-it was fun but not something I'd pay for all the time.

 

[Mambo Junkie]

I agree. I think you are onto something.

For a while I have been considering staying offsite and something like this would seal the deal. The money I would save I could put into one of their paid extra money nights. We checked into Bonnet Creek today and there is no comparison. Between my maintenance fees and the 200.00 RCI fee I can have a 2 or 3 bedroom for the week and be just as close. If have to pay for parking but that's still way below what we are paying to stay here. Not to mention I split off my points and get an oceanfront condo as well so that's just 200.00 more unless they have a sale which saves even more. The more incentive they take away the more they stand to lose on selling rooms unless they're strictly aiming at first and 1 timers. I dare say he majority of people buying the tickets are people who are getting them half price. They're figuring out their price point. For they can get it more power to them. I won't be paying it nor will I be doing the MNSSHP even though we are going in September. Reason for that is its too crowded. We bought APs for US plus we get a discount for Sea World so we can hit Aquatica.

 

[Kimberly9701]

I see a lot of people at WDW not wearing magic bands.....

Just saying, I don't think on site guests are the only people who go to MK. So 'free emh' isn't available to all. And is still available to on site guests at no extra charge.

OP--Glad you had a good time. I hope this gets extended..50 people in line sounds wonderful! I'm sure you got some amazing photos!!

 

[mshanson3121]

I've suspected all along that this summer is going to be Disney's MK "big experiment" - 10 pm closings all summer, $149 (or $75?) if you want to stay past 10 pm (probably 6 days a week) and one MK 2 hour evening EMH per week for resort guests... lamers. For medical reasons, we can't do the heat of the day, so tipping point achieved for our family. If this is how it will be = Sadness

I hope I'm wrong

Agree. This is definitely the precursor to dropping evening EMH. Just like the morning event will likely largely replace morning EMH.

 

[anneboleyn]

Thanks for posting! Other than running out of frozen bananas ( I love those and haven't had one for years!!!!) the night sounds perfect to me. I hope this gets extended to August, and we would likely do it multiple times during our trip.

I hope it gets extended in to September too! I definitely think it is worth it!

 

[DisDad4Life]

As an initial naysayer I must admit this does sound pretty cool if it works into your plans. However, paying the additional cost for 5 on top of our week-long tickets is a bit over the top for me. Maybe we'll get a little pixie dust when we're there next month (if DAH is still offered then)? I'd definitely go then!

 

[whiporee]

Agree. This is definitely the precursor to dropping evening EMH. Just like the morning event will likely largely replace morning EMH.

It won't have anything to do with EMH. It may be the precursor to the end of late night basic admission, but it won't have anything to do with EMH.

EMH is an important perk for onsite guests. Extended Basic Hours don't do much for Disney, so I think this is on the way to replacing them.