**Disney After Hours - Magic Kingdom** FAQ & Discussion Thread

[Haley R]

Yes, Denver - and the return flight was around $140 but I was still thrilled with the $49 fare to get there!

I would be too! We are thinking we might actually take Southwest back a day earlier than the Frontier flight. We have Southwest/Chase points so wouldn't cost any money and Dh would miss one less day at work.

 

[Haley R]

What an awesome opportunity! Hope you do it and enjoy every second !!!!

I'd say go for it!

Thank you both! I've gotta say, booking a last minute trip is so much more exciting than waiting 6-12 months lol. We wouldn't really need fps because we would do all three DAH events. We've never been in January or to the Festival of the Arts so that'll be fun!

 

[GADisneyDad14]

This may have already been asked so I'm sorry if it has. Will they let you in early if you have dining reservation?

No, they won’t, baring some Pixie Dust.

 

[GADisneyDad14]

I'm thinking about doing this at the end of January when we are there but my 5 year old is not going to make it to 11pm, even with a nap (that night the event starts at 8). We'll be lucky to make it to 10pm, which is fine, I'd be find paying for that and knowing that going in. This is kinda like EMM, right? Less crowded? Like, what do they do with the line for the 7dmt so it's ready for people who have the wrist band at 8pm? Do they shut it down early or does everyone who has a regular ticket still get to get in line up until 8pm and then do all the after hours people have to wait until all that line filters through and then get a shorter line? I'm just curious how Disney deals with the regular day lines in anticipation for the after hours crowd that is expecting shorter lines. Thanks!

Every kid is different of course, but I'm always surprised at how much stamina my kids have at Disney. We're pretty regimented about early bed times at home, but relax at Disney. My four year old hung until midnight at DAH back in Sept. I was fully prepared to leave early as well, but she kept going. I was impressed!

It's like EMM in terms of crowd level, just covering the entire park obviously.

Any regular guest can get in any ride line up until closing time, so yes, there can and will be day guest carryover lines on some rides. Mainly the headliners and slow-loaders like 7DMT, PP, Speedway, etc. DAH acts/operates like Extra Magic Hours in this regard.

Some DAH guests have reported CMs letting DAH ticket-holders in the FP line if the standby line is material, but this practice is inconsistent and is a "YMMV" thing for the most part.

For dates like January where HEA is at 8pm and DAH hours are 8-11pm... HEA being at park close is a GREAT natural park clearer.

Generally speaking, any day guest carry-over is rarely mentioned as a materially negative part of the DAH experience. I do, however, recommend holding off on a ride like 7DMT until later in the night, if you don't like the looks of the standby wait time.

Hope that helps.

 

[GADisneyDad14]

Two quick questions:

1 - Has anyone mapped out where the open food carts are during the event? Saw a TP video and they were having a hard time finding an open cart.

2- DAH is 8-11pm our night. HEA is scheduled for 8:00. DS17 and DD14 really want to see OUAT but felt HEA was ok to miss. Anyone have experience watching OUAT from the hub then trying to squeeze out of the crowd before the fireworks? Though we could boogie over to 7D while everyone watched the fireworks. Have even heard of people enjoying the fireworks while riding 7D. And hate to miss 30 minutes of low crowd ride time during such an expensive event.

3- Sorry. Sneaking in a third one. Is entrance for PP through FPP line or SB line? I'd like to see the interactive queue but not enough to wait SB during regular park hours.

1) I've had some people ask for this, but I haven't had the time to sit down and map it out. It has also changed a bit each time we've done DAH, so tough for it to be 100% accurate. At some point when I have a rainy day and some time to kill, I'll try to do it.

2) Haven't personally done it, but seems like you should be able to squeeze out of the Hub without too much issue. CMs do keep walkways and sidewalks clear, which makes it easier to move about. One bit of advice on 7DMT... if you don't like the looks of the standby line or wait time when you get back there, don't be afraid to bail. I'd hate for you to be in a long standby line inside the building while fireworks are going off and you miss the show. While HEA is popular, many day guests to have a "let's hit this ride at the end of the night because the line was so bad all day" strategy.

3) Our last DAH on 9/20, the standby line was open. I believe at the time that was the only option (there was maybe a 5-10 min wait when we rode it).

Hope that helps!

 

[GADisneyDad14]

2 questions that I've tried to figure out to no avail.
1. MAH in June, is it a thing typically?
and
2. Do they offer military discount for tickets?

Thanks for your help. We're discussing EMH vs MAH and I'd welcome your thoughts, so I guess that's 3 questions...oops!

Post #11 has historical DAH dates... so far there has only been one summer with DAH dates - last summer - and there were only 2 June dates. Those were released 5/2/2018. My guess is you'll see more DAH dates this summer, but TBD when they will be released.

I am not sure about military discounts. If you happen to find out, please post as I'd like to add that to the FAQ.

For me, no comparison of DAH and EMH. EMH - while OK - is still a lot of people. Disney markets the heck out of them and they are popular.

 

[amiskell28]

For dates like January where HEA is at 8pm and DAH hours are 8-11pm... HEA being at park close is a GREAT natural park clearer.

Hmmm. Never thought of this. Most excellent!!

I was following along on the other park DAH threads and really wondering why there is the 30 minute delay in DAH start time at the other parks, but not at MK. And, like the other poster, was thinking that the first little bit of DAH may be crowded due to the overlap. But it sounds like it'll work out!

 

[GADisneyDad14]

Hmmm. Never thought of this. Most excellent!!

I was following along on the other park DAH threads and really wondering why there is the 30 minute delay in DAH start time at the other parks, but not at MK. And, like the other poster, was thinking that the first little bit of DAH may be crowded due to the overlap. But it sounds like it'll work out!

I think most people just manage around it to some extent. If you see a ride with a wait you don't like, at MK there's usually something nearby that's a walk-on - so it all kind of just works out.

I'm 'guessing' the 30 minute thing at DHS and DAK is due to the fact there are so many fewer rides at those parks and the two headliners - FoP and SDD - are likely to have more than a material line at park closing. They probably knew they needed the 30 minutes of time to get things going. Also unlike MK - both parks routinely have either fireworks, F!, or RoL that is sometimes scheduled after park closing, so you have that dynamic in the schedule too.

 

[Haley R]

Well we went for it and got plane tickets!!! We are coming down January 28 and staying until February 3. Flying down with Frontier for $28 each and flying back with Southwest paid with points so cost us $0. We did pay for early bird check in and bags/seats for Frontier so the total came out to around $250 together which is pretty darn good! We plan to go to the MK DAH on arrival day which is 1/28. Haven't bought tickets yet because we are going to get discounted Disney gcs first. I can't believe we made the choice and are doing the trifecta!!!

 

[TheFloatingBear]

Well we went for it and got plane tickets!!! We are coming down January 28 and staying until February 3. Flying down with Frontier for $28 each and flying back with Southwest paid with points so cost us $0. We did pay for early bird check in and bags/seats for Frontier so the total came out to around $250 together which is pretty darn good! We plan to go to the MK DAH on arrival day which is 1/28. Haven't bought tickets yet because we are going to get discounted Disney gcs first. I can't believe we made the choice and are doing the trifecta!!!

That's great on those flights! Wow - that will be so fun! I had a feeling you might cave sooner or later! I was going back and forth between coming down alone early and doing the two other DAH events by myself, or talking my DH into leaving a little earlier so we could all do the MK one together, and I went with the latter. It was a very easy sell, actually! I really wish I was doing all three, but I'm really excited for all of us to do the MK one. Last year when I did it, it was just with my (then) 11YO daughter (it was a dance group trip) and she's a bit of an early bird! My other early bird - DH - will be happy to leave a little early with her if she runs out of steam! My 14 son is the night owl, so I know he will last until the end and we'll have a blast!

Yay for spontaneity!

 

[Beiji]

I was at last night's DAH, and CMs started letting people in at 6:30. It was clear that it was a decision to open at that time coming down from somewhere because the tapstiles were covered until right before 6:30, and some of the CMs looked impatient to get started. I think they would have opened at 6:00, if they had had their way. lol

It was my first DAH and my first trip to WDW since 2012. It was more crowded than I expected as I was comparing it to fondly remembered earliest of early admission days. But it was still great with short lines for everything. The longest posted time I saw for 7DMT was 15 minutes, and when I went, it was even less. The wait time was basically the time it took to walk the queue.

Unfortunately Splash was down, and you could see lights on all over it as they apparently were trying to fix it.

We are going to AK DAH tonight.

 

[Haley R]

That's great on those flights! Wow - that will be so fun! I had a feeling you might cave sooner or later! I was going back and forth between coming down alone early and doing the two other DAH events by myself, or talking my DH into leaving a little earlier so we could all do the MK one together, and I went with the latter. It was a very easy sell, actually! I really wish I was doing all three, but I'm really excited for all of us to do the MK one. Last year when I did it, it was just with my (then) 11YO daughter (it was a dance group trip) and she's a bit of an early bird! My other early bird - DH - will be happy to leave a little early with her if she runs out of steam! My 14 son is the night owl, so I know he will last until the end and we'll have a blast!

Yay for spontaneity!

I’m so excited! Now we are trying to figure out our hotel situation.

 

[mtrib]

It honestly depends on the cm. Some will let you go through the fp line and some will say no and have you go through the regular line behind day guests. I would say the majority of them have you go in the regular line and that’s why most people leave 7dmt for last during dah

Got it. Then maybe we will boogie somewhere else. Thanks!

 

[mtrib]

1) I've had some people ask for this, but I haven't had the time to sit down and map it out. It has also changed a bit each time we've done DAH, so tough for it to be 100% accurate. At some point when I have a rainy day and some time to kill, I'll try to do it.

2) Haven't personally done it, but seems like you should be able to squeeze out of the Hub without too much issue. CMs do keep walkways and sidewalks clear, which makes it easier to move about. One bit of advice on 7DMT... if you don't like the looks of the standby line or wait time when you get back there, don't be afraid to bail. I'd hate for you to be in a long standby line inside the building while fireworks are going off and you miss the show. While HEA is popular, many day guests to have a "let's hit this ride at the end of the night because the line was so bad all day" strategy.

3) Our last DAH on 9/20, the standby line was open. I believe at the time that was the only option (there was maybe a 5-10 min wait when we rode it).

Hope that helps!

Thank you! Helps a lot.
1- We will have D17 along and constant food infusion is a must!
2-Someone else mentioned line for 7D might be long. We might bail to the right instead and do SM and Buzz a few times then head to Fantasyland. I'll keep my fingers crossed for seeing SB line for PP.

 

[maloned]

How quick do day-guests at Magic Kingdom asked to leave the park when the After Hours party starts? Would we have enough time to try and get on an E-Ticket ride right at 8pm?

 

[CaribbeanJack]

I'm a passholder and just purchased DAH tickets for 1/28. When I checked out online I selected the "print at home" option, but when I received the email from Disney the PDF wasn't attached. Has anyone else run into this issue? Do I need physical tickets or will having my magicband be good enough? Thanks in advance!

 

[Haley R]

How quick do day-guests at Magic Kingdom asked to leave the park when the After Hours party starts? Would we have enough time to try and get on an E-Ticket ride right at 8pm?

The day guests actually aren’t asked to leave. It isn’t like Halloween parties where the cms usher others out. They are welcome to stay but there won’t be much for them to do without a wristband.

 

[Beiji]

How quick do day-guests at Magic Kingdom asked to leave the park when the After Hours party starts? Would we have enough time to try and get on an E-Ticket ride right at 8pm?

Throughout the night we saw people without wristbands even when we headed toward Main Street at 11:00 PM!

 

[Lisa F]

I'm a passholder and just purchased DAH tickets for 1/28. When I checked out online I selected the "print at home" option, but when I received the email from Disney the PDF wasn't attached. Has anyone else run into this issue? Do I need physical tickets or will having my magicband be good enough? Thanks in advance!

the hard copy is a backup, they should just be able to scan your magic band. If you can see the confirmation number online maybe screen shot it in case you need it but you shouldn't.

 

[GADisneyDad14]

I'm a passholder and just purchased DAH tickets for 1/28. When I checked out online I selected the "print at home" option, but when I received the email from Disney the PDF wasn't attached. Has anyone else run into this issue? Do I need physical tickets or will having my magicband be good enough? Thanks in advance!

Your tickets should show up under MDE under the tickets/passes page. Assuming they do, you only need your MagicBand. I keep a folder with e-mail confirmations just in case I hit some snafu and need to find it relatively easily, but have never needed it.