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

[Cordy2424]

SO EXCITED!!! Thursday cannot get here soon enough!!! We have an early dinner reservation at Wilderness Lodge so we can ride the boat over for DAH and plan to take the bus back to WL and head back to our resort from there. Hurry Up Thursday!!!!

 

[Haley R]

Just got home last night and waited until this morning for my report from this past Thursday, 1/17.

Loved it! We would do it again every time if it works out with our dates.
I will try to remember all the details I can.

Started a bit later than we wanted- we found ourselves in Fantasyland around 7:00-7:30. We wanted to start in Frontierland but we were chatting with friends and by then could not get around the castle. Grabbed a quick dinner at Cosmic Ray's (watched the fireworks from Tomorrowland) and we started right around 8.
I did the opposite of what I was planning and went right to 7DMT (it was up at this time) and it was walk on! I was shocked! We did it twice. I was hanging around the entrance of the ride and the CM (looked like a manager?) was asking to see everyone's wristbands. There were tons that were like "what?" and some that tried to sneak by. He caught them all and explained what was going on and that they can go buy tickets and come back.
We chatted and I asked him if it was a sold out night. He said they usually mention when it is- and he said he did not hear anything.

After 2x on 7D, we headed to HM and walked right into the Stretching Room.
Did Splash 2x each time with our own log. That was amazing!
Then we headed back and got the Lantern pic. About 6 people ahead of us.
In that line, I heard 7D was down so I am glad we started the night there even though that was not our plan.
Went by and 7D was still down so went and did Buzz 2x.
Then Pooh, Under the Sea, Dumbo and back to 7D.
7D was our last stop at about 10:50. Everyone was on this line but it went pretty fast- maybe 10-15 min.

In between we stopped for lots of ice cream! Never a line for any of the carts and we visited most of them! Got popcorn and tons of bottled waters.
All the CM's were wonderful and everyone was having a blast.

We stopped for lots of pics on the way out and we waited for the Kiss Goodnight at exactly 11:30. We took our time and saw the Kiss Goodnight again at 11:45. We waited in line for an empty Main Street pic and after us others were turned away.
We were the last ones out! Truly magical! Took tons of pics. It was us and the security guard making sure no one tried to get back up Main Street.

By the buses- we were asked where we were headed and he got a bus for us. The bus driver asked us what we were doing and I told him we were waiting for the Kiss Goodnight.

We loved this event- it was amazing!
When we went back on Sunday to MK- we were there 9am (could not make RD) and stayed past close- it was so nice to be able to do shows and other longer rides that we would not have done during After Hours. And even though it was busy on Sunday, I was able to keep getting FP's until 9:35.

It was worth the money and would do it every time! Loved it!

That is really interesting about 7dmt. We always start in Frontierland but I’m super tempted to try 7dmt early this time. We have FPS for btmr and pirate before dah starts so maybe we will do those and then head over to fantasyland.

 

[truetink]

Good point. Actually, now that I’m looking at this again, my guess is that the WDW website language which doesn’t include 1/28 as a date PP won’t be available for DAH is probably inaccurate. They don’t have the best track record for full accuracy with these kinds of details, especially ones like that may have changed over time.

For comparison, on the EMM page, 2/5 is listed as a date PP won’t be available, but it appears from most refurb calendars to be scheduled to reopen 2/2.

So go figure!!

I have a fastpass for PP on 2/3 so it should be open then.

 

[georgina]

My experience this morning getting FP for the hours before 2/21 DAH - when I first logged on at 7 AM, everything was available except 7DMT and some princess meets. It was a bit glitchy, took several tries to get my first one, 8:30 for BTMRR. My plan was to get Jungle Cruise and Pirates, but had some glitches again and couldn't get them to confirm, so ended up with Space Mtn at 7:30 and Buzz at 6:30. (Took some shuffling, at first all it would give me was SM at 7:10 and Buzz at 5:40, but once I had the FP I could modify them easily to the times I wanted.) I tried to modify them to Pirates and JC, but by then nothing was showing availability past 5:30 PM. I had more success getting the FP in the app than my desktop, but both had some issues. I may check in the coming days to see if I can change them, as I know I will want to ride SM multiple times and would prefer to get JC and Pirates out of the way before the event starts.

Update - 3 days later I was able to easily change my FP to 6:20 Jungle Criuise and 7:25 Pirates. So we can do those and have no need to go back to Adventureland the rest of the evening.

 

[Runnsally]

That is really interesting about 7dmt. We always start in Frontierland but I’m super tempted to try 7dmt early this time. We have FPS for btmr and pirate before dah starts so maybe we will do those and then head over to fantasyland.

Headed to the event this Thursday...super-excited. I would expect 7DMT to still have a healthy line at 8p as day guests jump in the queue just before park close. We’ll see...

 

[NYCANC]

That is really interesting about 7dmt. We always start in Frontierland but I’m super tempted to try 7dmt early this time. We have FPS for btmr and pirate before dah starts so maybe we will do those and then head over to fantasyland.

I am guessing it is probably because fireworks were going off- so unless someone was in the queue already- they were not letting anyone else on since it was after 8 (fireworks started at 8). We showed our After Hours band and we flew through the queue and they let us right on. We also got to watch the fireworks while riding.
At 8:15 (after fireworks), that is when I saw people getting turned away.
I am glad it worked out for us especially since 7D was down a little while later.

 

[Iowamomof4]

The possibility of a ride being down at some point does make me think it's important not to leave a favorite for the end since you just never know.

 

[Haley R]

I am guessing it is probably because fireworks were going off- so unless someone was in the queue already- they were not letting anyone else on since it was after 8 (fireworks started at 8). We showed our After Hours band and we flew through the queue and they let us right on. We also got to watch the fireworks while riding.
At 8:15 (after fireworks), that is when I saw people getting turned away.
I am glad it worked out for us especially since 7D was down a little while later.

Our night should work similarly because the fireworks are at 8 and that’s when our dah starts. We aren’t huge 7dmt fans anyway but want to ride it at least once. I’m just curious about trying a different route this time since we’ve been twice and both times did the same exact pattern around the park

 

[detroitdad]

We have tickets for Feb 21st. Our first time and really excited!! We do have park hoppers for our length of stay that week so we will already be in the park before the event.

So is there a strategy to DAH @ MK to maximize the rides? It seems that sometimes the FP lines are open instead of having to go through the standby queues but not consistently. I also read somewhere that when you are exiting SM to head to the left when it tells you to exit to the right and that it's a short cut back to the loading area again. Don't know if that was a fluke or not but can't imagine that trick wouldn't be monitored by the cast members. Going back through the regular SM line is sooooooo long.

 

[Haley R]

We have tickets for Feb 21st. Our first time and really excited!! We do have park hoppers for our length of stay that week so we will already be in the park before the event.

So is there a strategy to DAH @ MK to maximize the rides? It seems that sometimes the FP lines are open instead of having to go through the standby queues but not consistently. I also read somewhere that when you are exiting SM to head to the left when it tells you to exit to the right and that it's a short cut back to the loading area again. Don't know if that was a fluke or not but can't imagine that trick wouldn't be monitored by the cast members. Going back through the regular SM line is sooooooo long.

I’m not sure if they are still letting people use the reride line or not on SM. It wasn’t a fluke, though. We had cms actually directing us those ways if we wanted to ride again. It depends which side of the ride you get on to know which direction to turn. You’ll see a colored horizontal line on both sides that lead you back up a ramp to the ride. We will be there 1/28 and I’ll see if they still let people use it

 

[detroitdad]

I’m not sure if they are still letting people use the reride line or not on SM. It wasn’t a fluke, though. We had cms actually directing us those ways if we wanted to ride again. It depends which side of the ride you get on to know which direction to turn. You’ll see a colored horizontal line on both sides that lead you back up a ramp to the ride. We will be there 1/28 and I’ll see if they still let people use it

Cool thanks!

 

[iujen94]

Has anyone had success sweet-talking Disney into letting them exchange DAH tickets for a different date? Our February trip may get switched to late April. DAH dates haven’t been released yet for then, but assuming they fall during our rescheduled trip, I’m hoping Disney might sprinkle some pixie dust on me and let me switch.

Just FYI - I called Disney about this today. The DAH CM consulted with a ticketing CM who said that I could apply the DAH ticket value (even after it's expired) to ANY ticket - another DAH ticket, MNSSHP tickets, regular park tickets, etc. YMMV of course, and who knows what the next CM I talk to will say.

While I had the DAH CM on the phone, I asked if she had any information on when the next group of DAH dates would be released. She said she didn't have any information, but she seemed to hesitate a bit before she said that. I'm crossing my fingers that she was fibbing and knows they will be released soon. I'm ready to plan our April trip, and I want to know if they'll have DAH the week before Easter!

 

[jacobjennasmom]

I have what might be a dumb question about DAH. We have tickets for the first week in April for this event at MK. We will be going to a different park during the day. I've seen people say they can make FPs starting at 7pm before the after hours event starts (ours is from 10-1). I was just wondering if this true and if so, how does this work?

Thank you much!

 

[AntJulie]

I have what might be a dumb question about DAH. We have tickets for the first week in April for this event at MK. We will be going to a different park during the day. I've seen people say they can make FPs starting at 7pm before the after hours event starts (ours is from 10-1). I was just wondering if this true and if so, how does this work?

Thank you much!

You can only make 3 FP+ per day...so if you make 3 FP+ for a different park that day you can not make 3 more using DAH ticket. You can of course make 4th, 5th, etc. (one at a time) after initial 3 are used.

 

[GADisneyDad14]

I am guessing it is probably because fireworks were going off- so unless someone was in the queue already- they were not letting anyone else on since it was after 8 (fireworks started at 8). We showed our After Hours band and we flew through the queue and they let us right on. We also got to watch the fireworks while riding.
At 8:15 (after fireworks), that is when I saw people getting turned away.
I am glad it worked out for us especially since 7D was down a little while later.

Yeah, when HEA is at park closing time (which is only the case for 6 out of the 16 current DAH dates), that'll really help with a lower carry-over crowd for 7DMT.

Thanks for your report upthread and the Kiss Goodnight report. So it sounds like they were at 30 mins and 45 mins post DAH end, right?

 

[NYCANC]

Yeah, when HEA is at park closing time (which is only the case for 6 out of the 16 current DAH dates), that'll really help with a lower carry-over crowd for 7DMT.

Thanks for your report upthread and the Kiss Goodnight report. So it sounds like they were at 30 mins and 45 mins post DAH end, right?

Yes- I was asking a CM about the Kiss Goodnight and she was saying it should be showing tonight when it started- it was 11:30.
It was beautiful!
Then we were taking our time on Main Street and it started up again- I looked at my watch and it was 11:45.
So, yes, 30 and 45 minutes past park close at 11.
I am not sure if it played again at 12am.
The security guard was ready for us to leave at that point!
There was also one man earlier with a tripod who tried to run back up Main Street around 11:45 that he had to stop.

 

[amiskell28]

Yeah, when HEA is at park closing time (which is only the case for 6 out of the 16 current DAH dates), that'll really help with a lower carry-over crowd for 7DMT.

Just making sure I understand. We're going on 2/7. Park close is 8:00. HEA is 8:00. DAH starts at 8:00. So, theoretically, the line for 7DMT would be shorter earlier in the DAH hours because a lot of folks will do the fireworks and they head out. Correct?

 

[FranDVCMadrid]

Just making sure I understand. We're going on 2/7. Park close is 8:00. HEA is 8:00. DAH starts at 8:00. So, theoretically, the line for 7DMT would be shorter earlier in the DAH hours because a lot of folks will do the fireworks and they head out. Correct?

I´m also going that day! I hope there are not too many people and we can ride several times!

 

[Iowamomof4]

Just making sure I understand. We're going on 2/7. Park close is 8:00. HEA is 8:00. DAH starts at 8:00. So, theoretically, the line for 7DMT would be shorter earlier in the DAH hours because a lot of folks will do the fireworks and they head out. Correct?

That is exactly what people are saying.

 

[NYCANC]

Just making sure I understand. We're going on 2/7. Park close is 8:00. HEA is 8:00. DAH starts at 8:00. So, theoretically, the line for 7DMT would be shorter earlier in the DAH hours because a lot of folks will do the fireworks and they head out. Correct?

yes- that is how it was for us on Thursday, 1/17. Walk on 7D.