Report from 5/2 and Things I learned (in bold).
We arrived at 6:45ish and asked two cast members where to go get in. They pointed to a vague area but didn't really know. Eventually, we
found 4 lanes to the right of the entrance, closest to the break between the two banks of turn styles. There was a small sign in light lavender and yellow with "After hours" that could not be seen from the monorail exit as opposed to the large yellow and orange sign for annual pass holders that could be seen from far away. No one seemed to remark or notice that it was 6:45 and not 7.
We did:
Space Moutain (FP at 7:10, walk on wait time was 45 minutes)
Carousel of Progress [No Wait (NW)]
Haunted Mansion (FP, walk on wait time was 20)
Shopping*
Fireworks - so 9:15
Pirates of the Caribbean (FP, walk on wait was 5 minutes)
Churro Hunt**
Big Thunder Mt. RR (wait was 5 minutes, basically walk-on)
*****Event starts*****
Haunted Mansion (NW, the sign said 13 minutes which was adorable)
Peter Pan (NW)
Prince Charming Carousel (NW)
Winne the Pooh (NW)
Space Mountain (NW)
Space Moutain again - definitely ask to skip the walk through the main line
People Mover (NW)
Seven Dwarves Mine Train (Posted wait 15 minutes, actually walk on)
Jungle Cruise
ended with food at 12:40, watched Kiss good night and left
Shopping note: The regular shops start closing around 9:00 even though the park was open until 10. None of the "Land" shops except the Winne the Pooh were open after 9. If you want to shop do so before 9. Only one side of Main Street (Emporium, clothing shops behind Casey's) was open for the event - no candy shop, no fancy purse shopping.
Churro hunt note: The Frontierland churros cart closed before the fireworks. We asked a few cast members who directed us to the cart on the hub. When we got there we found it closed immediately after fireworks. If you want anything that is not ice cream, popcorn, or from Casey's or StarBucks, get it early. We wanted to try the Mermaid cupcake - Prince Eric's closed at 7.


We had an amazing time but I didn't realize how much this was a stripped down event, even after following this thread for a month. The kitchens around the park were being cleaned. The bathrooms had janitorial staff working in them. Shops are closed up with awnings drawn shut.
Most importantly Monorails do NOT run during or after this event. We weren't prepared for the walk back to the Contemporary, which was dark and lacked directions/signs.
I'll definitely be back for Villains. This event changed how we 'do' Disney after 20 years of going. I could see doing a trip that was nothing but DAH tickets. Complimentary food carts were plentiful but with dinner at 5:30, I wanted 'real food'. Casey's doesn't work for us, thankfully Starbucks was serving breakfast at 12:40. I will definitely
take trail mix or snacks next time. I was surprised that I couldn't buy a candy bar or pretzels in Tomorrowland, Fantasyland, Frontierland or Adventureland.
In case anyone is curious - we ended up getting 4 bottles of water (castmembers had no trouble giving out one per person each time), one container of popcorn, and two ice cream bars.
To sum up... this event was more 'private party' than I expected it to be, but also utterly great. We had the park almost to ourselves, the experience was the best ever. I can't wait to do another.


