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

[Lisa F]

I'm just back from getting mediocre flatbread from capt. cook's but I was craving hot food so badly, I'm starving!

We got back around 11:30 as well to the Poly - decided to go for the bus figuring that it would be a pretty short turnaround time with the MK resorts so close and the ferry just starting to load and people saying that they wait for the ferry to be full - it was still there and docked when we left on the bus.

The rides being down were annoying, but I just kind of adjusted what I did and it did not seem to negatively impact rides anywhere else.

I thought it was going to be a lousy night as my kid was acting all poopy after dinner, he's been a bit grumpy about our trip ending.

We got here around 6:20 and saw the line forming for DAH - we have APs so we went in and got our bands later.

Had a FP for 7DMT and used it, then got our bands and grabbed a spot in the garden opposite the dessert party one for the fireworks. It was relaxed in there, everyone sat and although we couldn't see the bottom of the castle for projections, it was nice to have such a chill atmosphere in there vs the crowds standing outside and my kid pretty much laid on me for the whole hour we were there and it seemed to re-regulate him a bit (he is on the spectrum and has sensory issues so sometimes snuggling can really help him turn the corner if he is not feeling well).

We exited the left side of the garden and skirted along the walkway in front of crystal palace and except for crossing the one walkway right outside, there were no crowds or issues getting into adventureland.

first thing the kid wanted to do was get a mickey bar, so we each got one and I got popcorn and dumped it into a ziploc I was carrying figuring we wouldn't have to wait in another line when he decided he wanted popcorn. He was in a MUCH better frame of mind after the Mickey bar and we rode on Jungle Cruise where we were up front and he enjoyed personally interacting with the skipper.

then we got back out and he asked for another mickey bar. I'm like ummm.. what do I do here? do I be a good mom or do I be vacation mom? Vacation mom won and he had that other Mickey bar, alternating with another popcorn and he ate half that container and I dumped the rest into my ziploc for later. Then we finally were able to go on pirates... 2 mickey bars, 2 rides, half a popcorn and it's like 8:45. Then he wanted to do big thunder mountain and he wanted more popcorn so I pulled out the ziploc while we were walking up the line. We rode big thunder 3x... 2x with zero wait and once with about a 3 or 4 train wait.

By then Splash was down and he decided he wanted a third Mickey bar, no joke. I said fine because he was happy and permissive mom was in full force at this point. He dropped half of it halfway to the haunted mansion though. It was nice to not have to fight the urge to lose my cool over a $6 ice cream bar being wasted.

When we got to the Haunted Mansion it had just gone down and people were coming out of the queue. Kid asked for another Mickey bar (no joke) and after picking my jaw up off the ground I said sure, why not. By this point we're 3.5 Mickey bars and I lost track of how much popcorn in. At that point I swung by Casey's to get a Mickey sipper for a friend - the line was so crazy every other time I was there! but it was completely empty and the CM acted thrilled that someone walked in. This detour ended up being about 5 minutes max and then we spent the rest of the night in tomorrowland.

We did Space then astro orbiter then space x 2 then buzz then the CM let us on the peoplemover at 11:01. It was clear the CMs at the top were kind of annoyed that he let us up but we went on it and my kid dozed off, lol.

So I guess our ride tally was Jungle Cruise x1, pirates x1, BTMRR x 3, Space x3, Astro Orbiter x1, Buzz x1, People Mover x1. It was an awesome night though, we went at a very slow pace and did not rush anywhere. My kid consumed a ridiculous amount of Mickey bars and when I asked him his favorite part, he said "the Mickey Bars!!!" I brought back about 1.5 gallon ziplocs of popcorn to refill into his alien popcorn bucket.

I am a little disappointed that 2 of the rides we were going to do went down when we were near them and then we never even attempted 7DMT because of it being down and then the wait after it came back up - my kid was toast by the end and even if they let us into the queue at 11 he wouldn't have made it. I'm thinking of writing Disney about it - that is a lot of premium attraction downtime during a very expensive hard ticketed event and I'm SO glad we got to do 7DMT with a FP before and also that we didn't get stuck on a down attraction otherwise I'd be REALLY disappointed.

But it did not impact the overall experience honestly except that it's our last MK night and we didn't get to do some stuff we wanted to do. But the overall night was awesome - it was not too cold and it was so great to ride whatever we wanted however we wanted to. The down rides did not seem to affect wait times elsewhere from what I could tell but it sounds like others had a longer wait on BTMRR - we did it earlier in the night. Tomorrowland was pretty empty by 10pm and space was an utter walk on all 3 times we rode it.

I was concerned about transport but it was fine except for the people at the back of the bus line blasting up the wheelchair ramp right past the CM in the most rude way yelling "I'M GETTING ON THIS BUS!" If others hadn't made it because of them I'd be more angry but everyone who was waiting made it on the bus. I understand that you are tired, but we are all tired and that doesn't give you the right to be a rude bully. I can understand why the CM didn't want to get into it with him.

As I said we got back shortly after 11:30. It was such a fun event and I'm so glad the Mickey Bars revived my kid. It is our 2nd to last night and last night at the MK and we've done all of the attractions at least once by now so I made the call to do the fireworks proper from the front of the castle because it is just one of our favorite things... it helped make the experience for us even though we lost some attraction time. I wish we could have done HM and Splash but we just filled in with multiples of other rides and didn't really feel like we were missing out in a big picture sense... just wish we could have done those.

Anyway that is my experience! It was an amazing night!!!

 

[NYCANC]

People have thrown out 3k since DAH started, although I’m not so sure that’s accurate. No one really knows the true number.

When I was chatting with the CM in front of 7D (who I think was a manager), I threw out the 3,000 number- he said it's pretty close to that.

 

[Remy is Up]

I guess I dont make a huge deal about a couple of things being down because we use refresh enough on other days to grab whatever. One day this week we started the day with zero fast passes and pulled tsm, htot, rnrc, and slinky dog. As we left the park we pulled test track and then as we left test track we pulled fop. We dont wait in stand by lines anymore.

 

[detroitdad]

We will already be in the park with park hoppers so not concerned about when they will allow entry for the ticketed event. Just curious if there is a strategy for maximizing the rides but still taking the time to soak things in (maybe that's a bit contradictory). I guess I'm looking for the right balance. We are going Feb 21st. Will be myself, wife and 17 yr old son but we still like to do all the dark rides as well---not just mountain junkies

 

[Remy is Up]

Do rides that dont kill time and save those for later. Leave jungle cruise, pirates, splash, HM, and 7dmt for the last hour and you can knock out the rest of the park easily. And likely do space and btmrr multiple times.

 

[georgina]

I'm not getting a good feeling with all the reports of rides being down. Our DAH evening is our only MK visit this trip, and I got the tickets specifically to get on those rides. We're offsite so I don't have a 7DMT FP.

 

[Haley R]

I'm not getting a good feeling with all the reports of rides being down. Our DAH evening is our only MK visit this trip, and I got the tickets specifically to get on those rides. We're offsite so I don't have a 7DMT FP.

Then I would plan to go straight to 7dmt at 8 (or whenever your event starts) if I were you.

 

[amiskell28]

We have tickets for Feb 7 and I'm wondering about the weather. Especially since we won't be able to go back to our resort beforehand. And it's our first visit to Orlando. It's obviously going to get coldish but does it tend to be windy? That makes such a difference in how many layers we need.

Hi there - I don't see that anyone answered you, so I figured I would!

We, too, are going to be there 2/7. I'm from the frozen Midwest, so the temps that seem cold down there seem downright balmy here. BUT - I also know that with the climate down there, air temp of 49 degrees seems much colder, especially if the temps during the day were in the 70s!

We are bringing layers. Long underwear type long sleeve shirts and pants - easy to roll up and put in backpack if not needed, easy to put on if needed. We are also bringing those packable down jackets, which we can tote in our backpack. I'm sure a sweatshirt would do the trick, too.

I'm also bringing those disposable handwarmer things. Will we need them? Probably not. But hey - if I'm warm, and I see some folks that are not used to the 'cold' freezing to death, well.... I can give them a couple and throw some pixie dust their way!

Have so much fun!! Like I said, we'll be there the same night!

Looks like several rides down right now: 7dmt, HM, Splash, PoTC, Little Mermaid

No Bueno

We apparently lucked out. We missed most of the shut downs. Did 7DMT at the beginning with a 5 to 10 minute wait

@GADisneyDad14 and there it is! Confirmation that 7DMT is the place to be during or right after the fireworks! @Eeyore54 fred thank you - we've been discussing the idea of heading there at the beginning of DAH, if the fireworks also happen to be at the same time as park close and the beginning of DAH. Seems to have worked for you!

We got back around 11:30 as well to the Poly - decided to go for the bus figuring that it would be a pretty short turnaround time with the MK resorts so close and the ferry just starting to load and people saying that they wait for the ferry to be full - it was still there and docked when we left on the bus.

We, too, are staying at the Poly. I guess I didn't realize a bus was an option at that time, I thought only the ferry was?

I'm thinking of writing Disney about it - that is a lot of premium attraction downtime during a very expensive hard ticketed event and I'm SO glad we got to do 7DMT with a FP before and also that we didn't get stuck on a down attraction otherwise I'd be REALLY disappointed.

This makes sense to me, and I think you should. We, too, have a FP for 7DMT, but are doing DAH specifically so that we can experience the park in a way we can't during regular park hours. Imagine (and maybe it's already happened?) if FOP was down during an AK DAH? Mutiny!!

 

[Haley R]

Dh and I created a general plan for our dah on Monday: pirates fp 5:35-6:35, btmr fp 6:35-7:35, tangled photo (if it’s going at that time), hit 7dmt close to 8 pm, fantasyland, Tomorrowland, back to Adventureland for jungle cruise, then I’m not sure maybe some rerides on btmr. We aren’t planning on splash with the low being in the 40s.

 

[detroitdad]

Do rides that dont kill time and save those for later. Leave jungle cruise, pirates, splash, HM, and 7dmt for the last hour and you can knock out the rest of the park easily. And likely do space and btmrr multiple times.

Thanks for the input!

 

[Lisa F]

We, too, are staying at the Poly. I guess I didn't realize a bus was an option at that time, I thought only the ferry was?



This makes sense to me, and I think you should. We, too, have a FP for 7DMT, but are doing DAH specifically so that we can experience the park in a way we can't during regular park hours.

They have a bus at gate 1 (closest to the MK) for the Polynesian and Grand Floridan (stopped at the poly first). It worked out OK but since we were on the people mover at 11:01 we weren't out on the biggest crowds right at 11.

I did actually email disney about my disappointment with the number of premium rides down and since they prioritize guests currently on property I heard back immediately.

They offered generous compensation for my disappointment.

I'm not getting a good feeling with all the reports of rides being down. Our DAH evening is our only MK visit this trip, and I got the tickets specifically to get on those rides. We're offsite so I don't have a 7DMT FP.

I would not hesitate to book again. Disney will take care of you if the event doesn't live up to expectations but it more than likely will. Even with 3 major rides down it was a completely magical time. I'm sure they would at the very least give you any time fastpasses for anything missed.

 

[georgina]

I would not hesitate to book again. Disney will take care of you if the event doesn't live up to expectations but it more than likely will. Even with 3 major rides down it was a completely magical time. I'm sure they would at the very least give you any time fastpasses for anything missed.

An anytime FP doesn't help if you won't be back to MK, unless it was for another park and included FOP. A partial refund would be nice. Curious if you care to share what compensation they gave you? We are not staying on property so perhaps I wouldn't be prioritized like you were.

 

[Haley R]

An anytime FP doesn't help if you won't be back to MK, unless it was for another park and included FOP. A partial refund would be nice. Curious if you care to share what compensation they gave you? We are not staying on property so perhaps I wouldn't be prioritized like you were.

Our situation was different but we went last July just for the weekend and we thought it was extremely crowded even though it wasn’t sold out (this was before they started using wristbands). We emailed them just giving a heads up that we thought it was more crowded than our sold out night in March. They gave Dh and I two comped base tickets each that we are using on this trip. I didn’t email them to get anything out of it since our situation wasn’t broken rides, but they were very willing to make things right.

 

[Lisa F]

An anytime FP doesn't help if you won't be back to MK, unless it was for another park and included FOP. A partial refund would be nice. Curious if you care to share what compensation they gave you? We are not staying on property so perhaps I wouldn't be prioritized like you were.

I'm sure they would respond to you but I have been told in the past that they respond first to people in the middle of their trip. The auto response said I'd hear in 7 days and I heard in 1, I assume because I was still on my trip. I have written after the fact as well and gotten a response (another trip, another issue), it was just out as fast. I think they just try to fix problems asap is people are still on their trip I was told "on site" refers to being in the middle of using admission when I was trying to resolve an issue for my parents with fastpasses, and they were not at an on site hotel... They did resolve that issue with priority for me.

It was my last MK day too so FPs wouldn't have helped either and I was given a few compensation options. I'm sure if you have half the good rides down Disney will take care of you. I don't think it's typical though (having so many rides down) it was just a bad night. We still had a great time and it did not seem to impact wait times elsewhere, just didn't do everything we wanted but did fill the night with many rides and Mickey bars and popcorn

 

[briemer99]

Hi so I posted here before, we will be at MK on 2/7 on a DAH day. I just wanted to know, because I am debating bringing my Nikon dslr camera, will we be allowed to walk around the park for a bit after regular close time and take some nighttime photos? I understand they will check credentials at ride entrances but do they care if you walk around the park?

 

[JeninTexas]

Hi so I posted here before, we will be at MK on 2/7 on a DAH day. I just wanted to know, because I am debating bringing my Nikon dslr camera, will we be allowed to walk around the park for a bit after regular close time and take some nighttime photos? I understand they will check credentials at ride entrances but do they care if you walk around the park?

From what others have reported, if you are walking towards the park exit that will be fine, but if you are just walking around with no clear intention of leaving, that will not. The CMs will try to gently usher all non-DAH guests out of the park. One of the things a DAH visitor is paying for is the experience of being in a relatively empty park. If non-paying guests are wandering around that diminishes the experience of what others have paid a lot of money for.

 

[blakefamily]

I purchased tickets for our family of 3 for February 28th! It is our third year in a row for that night (last Thursday in Feb/first in March), and we all agree it is the highlight of our vacation. Thank you to everyone who has been making reports and keeping up the enthusiasm!

My friend and I will be there Feb 28 too. We are leaving the hubby's and kids at the resort and doing a moms night We are super excited !!!

 

[jsbowl16]

My daughter and I are thinking about going to the DAH on 2/7 and using our AP discounts. I was reading that you cannot get AP discounts the day of. Does anyone have any experience with this? We were wondering if we could go to MK around 2 pm that day and then decide if we want to buy DAH tickets depending on what we can ride during normal hours. Would it be possible to buy DAH tickets that late and if so, could we still get our AP discount? Thanks in advance.

 

[focusondisney]

My daughter and I are thinking about going to the DAH on 2/7 and using our AP discounts. I was reading that you cannot get AP discounts the day of. Does anyone have any experience with this? We were wondering if we could go to MK around 2 pm that day and then decide if we want to buy DAH tickets depending on what we can ride during normal hours. Would it be possible to buy DAH tickets that late and if so, could we still get our AP discount? Thanks in advance.

My understanding is that day of, you don’t get the discount. But I could be totally wrong. There is an event tomorrow. As of right now, there are tickets available. You could sign in to the website tomorrow & see if it shows the discounted price or if it’s full price. Should let you know what to expect day of.

 

[PolyRob]

My daughter and I are thinking about going to the DAH on 2/7 and using our AP discounts. I was reading that you cannot get AP discounts the day of. Does anyone have any experience with this? We were wondering if we could go to MK around 2 pm that day and then decide if we want to buy DAH tickets depending on what we can ride during normal hours. Would it be possible to buy DAH tickets that late and if so, could we still get our AP discount? Thanks in advance.

I have not personally done it, but there have been successful reports of those who have. You cannot do it online or in the app day of. You have to purchase in person. I guess you just have to find the right CM.