**Disney After Hours-Hollywood Studios** FAQ & Discussion Thread

[GADisneyDad14]

I guess I’m confused. On 12/15, DHS closes at 8, JBJB is at 8:30 until 8:44, and DAH starts at 8 but you can get in at 7. So, essentially, if you want to watch JBJB, you’re not really going to experience DAH until 8:45/9:00, right? I’m currently supposed to do the dessert party that evening(entering with a normal park ticket) but this seems like you’re really only getting 2.5 hours. Am I missing something?

DAH hours that day are 8:30-11:30pm.

Current park closing is at 8pm, with JBJB at 8:30. Fireworks after closing is somewhat normal at DHS.

Either hours will eventually change so the park closes at 8:30, or there’s 30 mins of fudge time in there, which would be a big benefit for DAH guests.

Does that make sense?

 

[GADisneyDad14]

Bought our tickets for March 16th.
Interesting that she said we could enter an hour before, so at 8. Surely that is incorrect-?

Sounds like bum info. Disney has been pretty clear in their original Disney Parks Blog announcement and it's also included on the event website that "Guests with Disney After Hours tickets can enter the park at 7:00 PM every event night."

For those that don't follow MK DAH, in reality they let people in more like 6pm for most of 2018. TBD what happens at DHS and AK in terms of procedures.

 

[TISHLOVESDISNEY]

Sounds like bum info. Disney has been pretty clear in their original Disney Parks Blog announcement and it's also included on the event website that "Guests with Disney After Hours tickets can enter the park at 7:00 PM every event night."

For those that don't follow MK DAH, in reality they let people in more like 6pm for most of 2018. TBD what happens at DHS and AK in terms of procedures.

Yeah, that's what was going thru my mind as she said it, but since none of the times match up right now, for a moment, I was questioning all I've known.

 

[GADisneyDad14]

Yeah, that's what was going thru my mind as she said it, but since none of the times match up right now, for a moment, I was questioning all I've known.

I’m just hoping Disney’s website saying 8:30-11:30 is accurate! They don’t exactly have the best track record for accuracy....

 

[Araminta18]

I'm really interested in doing this on my Feb trip, but I'm waiting for the first few reviews to roll in before I book....

 

[bookbabe626]

I will report back to this thread for sure! pictures and crowd updates throughout the night!

We’re at HS that day, but DH is unwilling to shell out another $100 each for what used to be free/$10, especially after paying for CL FPs, and it’s the first one so no idea whether it’s worth it or not.

(Yeah, we’re old enough to remember the days of those really cheap after-hours nights. I miss the good old days.)

 

[pangyal]

After reading the posts about bloggers and media taking over the Tony’s event in another thread...does anyone think that the first DAH at HS might be the same way? I am still debating whether to switch our EMM with this event since we’d get about the same amount of time out of it (DS is not a night owl) but we can probably only aim for the first night and I’m worried that it will be a sellout and crowded as a result. I’m really vascillating between the two...I heard that EMM at DHS is about 350 people and this is a few thousand. Having never attended the MK version, I’m not sure what to expect. It seems like there are fewer attractions to spread the crowd over and everyone will likely hoof it to TSL anyway...so do I want to share Slinky Dog with a few hundred or a few thousand of my closest friends?

At MK, do people save the big ones (PP, 7D) for the end of the night since regular guests will have access to the line until park close, possibly creating a situation where DAH guests can’t even get in line for the rides until an hour and a half later? Or do the rides see significantly lower wait times from the start?

 

[mgrayar]

We’re at HS that day, but DH is unwilling to shell out another $100 each for what used to be free/$10, especially after paying for CL FPs, and it’s the first one so no idea whether it’s worth it or not.

(Yeah, we’re old enough to remember the days of those really cheap after-hours nights. I miss the good old days.)

Nevermind. I read it wrong.

 

[Conno]

does anyone think that the first DAH at HS might be the same way?

Disney notoriously runs DAH to be very "empty" and most attractions are a walk on. Even if there are a lot of media/vloggers there for the first night - it shouldn't impact crowds - because the event ticket cap will not be increased to accommodate them.

If they set the cap at 3,000 tickets and sell 3,000 tickets, you get 3,000 people in the park.

It's either vloggers taking over the event, or Wanda from Connecticut and her extended family.

Is there really any difference?

I think I'd prefer the vloggers, because they're less likely to do SDD repetitively all night.. Wanda on the other hand. She's a pain in the ***, I'm sure.

 

[GADisneyDad14]

Obviously all speculation until we see how DHS DAH will "feel" / "operate" for guests, but my two cents/guesses....

do I want to share Slinky Dog with a few hundred or a few thousand of my closest friends?

I think DHS EMM is more than a few hundred people, but that's for another thread. I think in comparing the two, the time difference is key. 1.5 hours (or less) vs 3 hours. Day time vs nighttime. Unless DAH turns out to be a totally overcrowded affair and everyone spends their time in TSL, I think I'd rather go with DAH. EMM (which I like by the way and will be doing again on future trips) has a bit of "clock watching" to it since you're trying to maximize limited time. I'd rather have longer event time, as I'm assuming SDD is going to be a bit like 7DMT and always have a bit of a wait all night.

After reading the posts about bloggers and media taking over the Tony’s event in another thread...does anyone think that the first DAH at HS might be the same way?

I think the first night of anything 'can' be subject to Disney calling out the media, but it's the whole park vs a private event in a small/contained area like Tony's/the viewing area, so different set of circumstances. I'm inclined to think it will be a non-factor. Also Disney doesn't always do media events on the first night of something, they can be later sometimes.

At MK, do people save the big ones (PP, 7D) for the end of the night since regular guests will have access to the line until park close, possibly creating a situation where DAH guests can’t even get in line for the rides until an hour and a half later? Or do the rides see significantly lower wait times from the start?

Day guest "carryover" into DAH time has always been a component of the MK DAHs, although does not often get mentioned as a particularly negative part of the event. It mostly impacts rides like 7DMT and PP, and maybe a few other slow loaders (speedway)... but other than that a lot of MK ride lines can tend to be pretty darn low/empty by closing time naturally. But, most people do recommend hitting the lower tier/lower priority rides first, then circle back to things like 7DMT and PP later (both of which still usually maintain some level of wait during DAH).

I'm curious to see how DHS and AK will go since there are fewer "lower tier/lower priority" rides to absorb DAH people at the start of the event. The current (but subject to change) park calendar which has 8pm closings and 8:30pm DAH start time could be a big benefit for ride clearing (but we need to see if those hours will remain the case or not).

Another thing that gets sporadically reported at MK DAH is guests being allowed in the FP line once DAH starts (bypassing any leftover standby line). This doesn't seem to be consistent across rides/nights, so I think it has been a CM/YMMV thing. TBD if any sort of setup like that is used at DHS.

Sorry, long post. A lot we don't know and need to to see what happens.

 

[fizbobunny]

I’m trying to decide where to park. We are spending the day at Epcot and doing DAH HS that night. I’m considering parking at DHS that morning. Are the friendship boats back to running normal?

 

[DisneyDerek92]

I canceled my EMM reservation to do this new after hours event! I’ll also be attending the AK and MK events as well during my stay. Can’t wait!!!

 

[pangyal]

Obviously all speculation until we see how DHS DAH will "feel" / "operate" for guests, but my two cents/guesses....



I think DHS EMM is more than a few hundred people, but that's for another thread. I think in comparing the two, the time difference is key. 1.5 hours (or less) vs 3 hours. Day time vs nighttime. Unless DAH turns out to be a totally overcrowded affair and everyone spends their time in TSL, I think I'd rather go with DAH. EMM (which I like by the way and will be doing again on future trips) has a bit of "clock watching" to it since you're trying to maximize limited time. I'd rather have longer event time, as I'm assuming SDD is going to be a bit like 7DMT and always have a bit of a wait all night.



I think the first night of anything 'can' be subject to Disney calling out the media, but it's the whole park vs a private event in a small/contained area like Tony's/the viewing area, so different set of circumstances. I'm inclined to think it will be a non-factor. Also Disney doesn't always do media events on the first night of something, they can be later sometimes.



Day guest "carryover" into DAH time has always been a component of the MK DAHs, although does not often get mentioned as a particularly negative part of the event. It mostly impacts rides like 7DMT and PP, and maybe a few other slow loaders (speedway)... but other than that a lot of MK ride lines can tend to be pretty darn low/empty by closing time naturally. But, most people do recommend hitting the lower tier/lower priority rides first, then circle back to things like 7DMT and PP later (both of which still usually maintain some level of wait during DAH).

I'm curious to see how DHS and AK will go since there are fewer "lower tier/lower priority" rides to absorb DAH people at the start of the event. The current (but subject to change) park calendar which has 8pm closings and 8:30pm DAH start time could be a big benefit for ride clearing (but we need to see if those hours will remain the case or not).

Another thing that gets sporadically reported at MK DAH is guests being allowed in the FP line once DAH starts (bypassing any leftover standby line). This doesn't seem to be consistent across rides/nights, so I think it has been a CM/YMMV thing. TBD if any sort of setup like that is used at DHS.

Sorry, long post. A lot we don't know and need to to see what happens.

No, this is perfect, thank you taking the time!

We have done multiple EMMs at both parks and attended one of the first at DHS, where we literally walked onto SDD ten times. Now, I’m hearing of waits up to twenty minutes to ride at EMM, so I’m really waffling! Both responses to my question helped a lot...I am really leaning towards doing the DAH instead. I guess it would be crazy to do both...right? Stupid Disney goggles!

 

[Amelia :)]

I still can’t link my tickets, is anybody else still having problems? I’ve had my confirmation email but the number won’t work.

 

[soniam]

I still can’t link my tickets, is anybody else still having problems? I’ve had my confirmation email but the number won’t work.

Did you try the website, not the app?

 

[GADisneyDad14]

No, this is perfect, thank you taking the time!

We have done multiple EMMs at both parks and attended one of the first at DHS, where we literally walked onto SDD ten times. Now, I’m hearing of waits up to twenty minutes to ride at EMM, so I’m really waffling! Both responses to my question helped a lot...I am really leaning towards doing the DAH instead. I guess it would be crazy to do both...right? Stupid Disney goggles!

Yeah, if you went to the first DHS EMM (aka, blogger day), your experience was unique (based on reports from the EMM thread). Those first two dates only had the “one” time slot available. Starting with event #3, they’ve pretty much all had duel time slots and seemingly a much higher guest count that those first two dates. SDD ride counts are more like 3-8 and waits early in the event have been reported in the 5-20 min range (it was 8 mins for us Columbus Day Monday). I suspect you may encounter a different experience with EMM this time around (still a good event though, just 10 time ride counts are a much tougher challenge).

 

[GADisneyDad14]

I’m trying to decide where to park. We are spending the day at Epcot and doing DAH HS that night. I’m considering parking at DHS that morning. Are the friendship boats back to running normal?

May want to check over on the Transportation board. They are/were back running normally but I think there has been chatter about some pending downtime with the pending Skyliner work (don’t quote me on that though).

 

[Best_Vacation_EVER!]

Did you try the website, not the app?

This was definitely the case for me! I made sure to clear my cache, history, etc... and then they appeared ---- only when using google chrome (not IE, safari, Mozilla or the iOS app on my ipad/iphone.) Minor frustration but apparently they also shipped hard ticket media (which is supposed to arrive tomorrow) so we'll be glad with the back up....

We had done one of the first DAH nites at MK back in 2016 and absolutely loved it. It was one of the first couple of nights and things really were walk-on for everything including SDMT and PP. I think those first few nights there were fewer tickets sold/comp tickets ... so I expect that DHS DAH will be busier and maybe some waits (if it's anything more than 5-7 minutes we won't be back...) but I think if they want to be able to continue to market this as low crowds/low waits for a premium they need to focus on offering and providing that --- if it becomes something like the Halloween/Christmas parties they just won't have return guests to support it.

I can see me spending the night at TOT and RR while DH and DS spend the night in the new Toy Story area but we had originally booked EMM for DHS for another day on our trip (which we cancelled) and I think this is way more up our alley... for not so much extra we get more ride offerings and get to sleep in (great when you have a tween/teen.)

We're planning to go on 12/22 and I'd planned on cancelling the JBJB dessert party for that night --- but I didn't get around to it that day and after reading some posts I think I may now keep it (thanks to this thread and GADisneyDad14's musings on this thread....)

This entire trip for us (we're at WDW Dec 21 to 30 plus universal for 30th to 2nd) we've booked only 4 actual ADR's --- everything else is a dessert party, parade party, special event (Savour the Savannah, Illuminations cruise, etc...), breakfast in the room (ordered Garden Grocer), or something similar. DS is 12 (almost 13 now) and the morning sleep-ins for him are important plus we know it's going to be crazy busy during our stay so we've tried to mitigate that where we can and try to get the best experience.

 

[disneymagicgirl]

was there any speculations as the why the last Saturday of dec, jan, feb weren't included?

 

[GADisneyDad14]

was there any speculations as the why the last Saturday of dec, jan, feb weren't included?

My guesses (and they are just that, guesses)...

Sat 12/29 - middle of Christmas to New Years crazy time.

Sat 1/26 - The NFL Pro Bowl is 1/27. Hasn't been a 'major' WDW event since they moved it to Orlando, but there are sometimes things around WDW related to the event.

Sat 2/23 - Princess Half weekend.