Princess Steph
I want to live in a castle
- Joined
- Jul 22, 2004
- Messages
- 398
I wanted to review the DAH event from the view of someone that paid full price, $158.69 each! a bit of background: this was a quick, last minute trip for just DH and I, no kids (10 & 14). We had flights for $89 each way, stayed at All Star Sport for $95/nt and had a complimentary 1 day PH. Our plan was to do more "adult" things (Yeeha Bob, Jellyrolls, Trader Sams, Disney Springs) and just relax. When Disney first came out with DAH for $149, my initial reaction was amusement. Who would spend that? But the first few reviews sounded great and I noticed the dates were during our trip. I didn't really have a budget but figured that other things were pretty inexpensive so I could splurge. We waited to get the tickets at Guest Services when we arrived and planned to attend the May 8th DAH event. I booked 3 FP+ for rides that did not need it.
We had brunch that morning at CG (which was awesome) and then back to the hotel. We arrived at MK at 5:30 and they let us right in and gave us our lanyards. I got the impression would could have entered earlier, but we took a nap so we could make it to the 2 am closing. I am a RD girl (get up at 4:30 am for work) so the 2 am closing was intimidating to me.
My DH just wanted to tour relaxed, take in the details, do things we would not do, and do the attractions that would be closed during the event. So we rode the double decker bus up main street and watched Move it, Shake it parade from the top, things we would never stop to do while rushing to the next ride with my boys. We watched Philharmagic, Carousel of Progress and Monster Inc Laugh floor. I overheard a CM say the day was not busy at all like they predicted Mothers Day to be. We stopped to get something to eat and then watched Wishes from the front of the castle.
It was now 10:30 and we made our way to Adventureland. All the attractions in AL were walk on at this point. We skipped Tiki Hut and were in Frontierland at 11:00, Party Time! I was annoyed when the CM let a group on Splash that did not have lanyards but it was fine. On the way out a CM said "oh, now you can just relax and enjoy the park." I asked if he could relax too and he said yes, these events have been great for the CM's. We were able to watch MSEP from there and ride BTM. On the way to HM, we grabbed a Mickey Bar and Coke. The CM's at HM were totally in character and were really having fun. We were with the same group of people moving from ride to ride, but got separated when they went on Barnstormer and Dumbo and we skipped them. 7DMT was a 5 minute wait. The CM's let the clean up crew take a ride which was great to see bc those kids work hard and they were very grateful for the break. We did all of Fantasyland and stopped to take pics since I have not seen new FL at night. On to Tomorrowland, Astro Orbiter at night is so cool. We made it to the front and in to see Mickey since we heard there is always a line at the end of the night and we wanted to avoid that. We rushed back to 7DMT and got 2 more rides in before the CM shut the gate at exactly 2 am. We took our time leaving thru the castle, taking pic of the empty main street and not wanting to leave. People were sitting on the ground taking pictures of the empty street. I have a picture with the clock on MS that says 2:30 am!
I will admit it was magical and made me happy. We had a great time and it was fun. I will say it was never empty or creepy. The ride cars always had a few people, even Buzz Lightyear. I have been on Main Street, EPCOT and DHS pre-rope drop when it was empty and felt closed. DAH never felt that way, it felt magical and special without the heat, strollers, crowds and noise. What I did notice was how well I could hear the narration, music and voices on all the rides. What I was most annoyed and irritated with was the fact that I knew people received free tickets just to boost attendance. Would I do it again? Not for $159. Not knowing that the crowds were lower that day. Not if I had purchased a multi-day pass. It was a great once in a life time experience, but never again. I got what I paid for, but its not a good value for me.
We had brunch that morning at CG (which was awesome) and then back to the hotel. We arrived at MK at 5:30 and they let us right in and gave us our lanyards. I got the impression would could have entered earlier, but we took a nap so we could make it to the 2 am closing. I am a RD girl (get up at 4:30 am for work) so the 2 am closing was intimidating to me.
My DH just wanted to tour relaxed, take in the details, do things we would not do, and do the attractions that would be closed during the event. So we rode the double decker bus up main street and watched Move it, Shake it parade from the top, things we would never stop to do while rushing to the next ride with my boys. We watched Philharmagic, Carousel of Progress and Monster Inc Laugh floor. I overheard a CM say the day was not busy at all like they predicted Mothers Day to be. We stopped to get something to eat and then watched Wishes from the front of the castle.
It was now 10:30 and we made our way to Adventureland. All the attractions in AL were walk on at this point. We skipped Tiki Hut and were in Frontierland at 11:00, Party Time! I was annoyed when the CM let a group on Splash that did not have lanyards but it was fine. On the way out a CM said "oh, now you can just relax and enjoy the park." I asked if he could relax too and he said yes, these events have been great for the CM's. We were able to watch MSEP from there and ride BTM. On the way to HM, we grabbed a Mickey Bar and Coke. The CM's at HM were totally in character and were really having fun. We were with the same group of people moving from ride to ride, but got separated when they went on Barnstormer and Dumbo and we skipped them. 7DMT was a 5 minute wait. The CM's let the clean up crew take a ride which was great to see bc those kids work hard and they were very grateful for the break. We did all of Fantasyland and stopped to take pics since I have not seen new FL at night. On to Tomorrowland, Astro Orbiter at night is so cool. We made it to the front and in to see Mickey since we heard there is always a line at the end of the night and we wanted to avoid that. We rushed back to 7DMT and got 2 more rides in before the CM shut the gate at exactly 2 am. We took our time leaving thru the castle, taking pic of the empty main street and not wanting to leave. People were sitting on the ground taking pictures of the empty street. I have a picture with the clock on MS that says 2:30 am!
I will admit it was magical and made me happy. We had a great time and it was fun. I will say it was never empty or creepy. The ride cars always had a few people, even Buzz Lightyear. I have been on Main Street, EPCOT and DHS pre-rope drop when it was empty and felt closed. DAH never felt that way, it felt magical and special without the heat, strollers, crowds and noise. What I did notice was how well I could hear the narration, music and voices on all the rides. What I was most annoyed and irritated with was the fact that I knew people received free tickets just to boost attendance. Would I do it again? Not for $159. Not knowing that the crowds were lower that day. Not if I had purchased a multi-day pass. It was a great once in a life time experience, but never again. I got what I paid for, but its not a good value for me.
