Disney After Hours for 2018?

[Pdollar88]

Hey guys - don't mean to interfere with this discussion but I went ahead and posted a new 2018 DAH thread so we could have a one-stop-shop thread for updated 2018 info, news, opinions, planning, etc. Here's a link: "Official" 2018 Disney After Hours (DAH) Thread

Thanks!

Wonderful! Thank you!

 

[DaniellePoppins]

Is it just me or is it crazy that they are even offering this? I mean....you are already paying a small fortune for tickets and although the wait times may be less, is it really worth another $119 per person? I LOVE Disney like no other, but some of the things they are doing just keeps adding to the cost making it harder and harder to go.

I don't really think of it as crazy for my trip. I'm there for a very limited time and purposely booked one less park ticket day in the hopes that this event would be offered during my trip. In essence I'm paying only $20 more that day for the experience of having such low crowds and maximizing my time in MK to do all the more popular rides without waiting. Something that even going in a low crowd time is unpredictable. As it is a hard ticket event, it is not an additional cost on top of the regular park day ticket. And it isn't mandatory for anyone to do. I budgeted my trip with this in mind and was willing to not go to a park one day if it ended up not being offered. I don't think of it as being similar to Universal's idea of ExpressPass where you have to pay an additional price to skip lines. It is a separate event more like the idea of a Halloween Party or Christmas Party where you can enjoy lower crowds and special treats. The difference is less time than a party and no special shows or parade.

 

[Haley R]

Actually on March 1 you get from 9-midnight so if you go in at 7pm you would get 5 hours. We are taking our niece for her first (and possibly only) trip to Disney and are highly considering this. We only get three park days so this would be a good option for us.

 

[Haley R]

March 1st regular closing is at 8pm. You can enter at 7pm with DAH ticket. 4 hours at MK for $120? Doesn't seem worth it. Maybe if you could enter at 4pm like regular party tickets but I just don't see it for 4 hours.

Actually on March 1 you get from 9-midnight so if you go in at 7pm you would get 5 hours. We are taking our niece for her first (and possibly only) trip to Disney and are highly considering this. We only get three park days so this would be a good option for us.

 

[fitgirlFL]

So we will be there when this is happening. And we'd love to go. However, we have 8 AM reservations at CRT. Which we're also excited for. The realist in me says it would be impossible to be up at about 6AM to make it to breakfast - and then be in the park so late and probably not back to our hotel even later. On top of that we're planning to go to Epcot the next day, all day. What to do? I don't think we could last all day. But would it still be too much to do both? I can't change CRT - at least nothing available as of today. Why must Disney wait to announce this stuff and mess up our careful plans lol?!?!

Or do we skip CRT totally? Or maybe do it later in the morning if we can get that? I think we were excited to get in the park a little earlier but the DAH kind of gives us that less crowded experience we were also wanting by going in so early. Hmmm . . . so maybe we reschedule CRT.

 

[senadler]

We attended this in the past and it was definitely the highlight of our trip. I just changed our trip from late March to early March so we could do this again. We do get the discount and since we usually only spend half days at the parks this is a great way to get a lot done.

 

[CarrieR]

So we will be there when this is happening. And we'd love to go. However, we have 8 AM reservations at CRT. Which we're also excited for. The realist in me says it would be impossible to be up at about 6AM to make it to breakfast - and then be in the park so late and probably not back to our hotel even later. On top of that we're planning to go to Epcot the next day, all day. What to do? I don't think we could last all day. But would it still be too much to do both? I can't change CRT - at least nothing available as of today. Why must Disney wait to announce this stuff and mess up our careful plans lol?!?!

Or do we skip CRT totally? Or maybe do it later in the morning if we can get that? I think we were excited to get in the park a little earlier but the DAH kind of gives us that less crowded experience we were also wanting by going in so early. Hmmm . . . so maybe we reschedule CRT.

We would 110% do both. CRT, then tour until about noon. Back to the hotel, grab a QS lunch and then nap from 1-4 or so. Then back to MK for dinner, fireworks, and DAH. (And, yes, we'd make RD for Epcot the next day... we're crazy like that.)

 

[MermaidMommy]

The wait times weren't just less for us, there was NO wait. The only thing we ever waited for at all was loading rides, with the exception of having to wait through one ride cycle at 7DMT. There were times we we couldn't see another soul. We were the ONLY people on HM when we got on. We did everything we care to ride in those 3 hours, riding favorites multiple times, and got popcorn, ice cream, and soda. It was WELL worth the money spent IMO.

When did you do DAH? Was it 2017, at the $119 price, or 2016, at the $149 price? I'm curious because it seems Disney had a much harder time selling the tickets at $149, so the parks were emptier. I'd love to hear that you had such a great experience in 2017, since it's the same price as the upcoming 2018 DAH.

 

[eeyoreandtink]

When did you do DAH? Was it 2017, at the $119 price, or 2016, at the $149 price? I'm curious because it seems Disney had a much harder time selling the tickets at $149, so the parks were emptier. I'd love to hear that you had such a great experience in 2017, since it's the same price as the upcoming 2018 DAH.

It was Feb 2017. We paid the $89 passholder price.

 

[Colleen27]

Is it just me or is it crazy that they are even offering this? I mean....you are already paying a small fortune for tickets and although the wait times may be less, is it really worth another $119 per person? I LOVE Disney like no other, but some of the things they are doing just keeps adding to the cost making it harder and harder to go.

There's a part of me that agrees with you. The shorter park hours and having to pay extra to have anything to do past 8 or 9 at night, when just a few years ago we were doing midnight in the parks as a routine thing, is really frustrating. We stopped going during Halloween/Christmas season for that reason - it has just gotten too hard to enjoy MK between all the party nights, and if there does happen to be an evening where the park is open past nine it feels like wall-to-wall people.

Then there's the other part, that rationalizes the expense away. We don't go every year any more, and we don't upgrade to hoppers (because I've gotten the one-park-per-day planning down to a science) or water park & more addons (which no longer make sense for us w/o Disney Quest). So why not splurge a bit?

 

[Odin's Mom]

Joining in late but very interested. Has anyone bought multiple tickets at the AP discount rate using just one AP? I see you can get up to 4 MNSSHP or MVMCP party tickets at the AP discount rate, but what about this event? And I too plan on upgrading my tickets to AP when I get there in January. Any idea if I can buy now at the AP rate since you have to show your AP pass when you pick up the tickets? Or should I just cross my fingers that my night doesn't sell out?

 

[gap2368]

Joining in late but very interested. Has anyone bought multiple tickets at the AP discount rate using just one AP? I see you can get up to 4 MNSSHP or MVMCP party tickets at the AP discount rate, but what about this event? And I too plan on upgrading my tickets to AP when I get there in January. Any idea if I can buy now at the AP rate since you have to show your AP pass when you pick up the tickets? Or should I just cross my fingers that my night doesn't sell out?

You can buy the tickets and then when you get there go to GR and show them your AP card ( that you will have) and your recite and get the difference in price. THis has worked for me.