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

[mamapenguin]

I was there last night. Not impressed. Much prefered EMM last Sunday. Infact, when I came back last Sunday evening, with refreshing, had just as good a time with almost as many rides. Plus during EMM 7dwarves was walkon x4. I saw 35 minute wait for it last night! I waited a solid 10minutes for Pooh!!!

You should email Disney your disappointment. They won’t change if no one complains.

 

[briemer99]

But I don't think you can blame Disney too much for it -- it's a pretty natural progression for the place. You have to remember that Disney doesn't force a ticket on anyone, and it's people's demand that causes crowd.

Of course Disney doesn't force anyone to buy a ticket, but they are more than capable of setting a limit for each night that keeps waits to a minimum, especially when the event is only 3 hours and the amount you are paying for it. When Disney looks to control crowds, their answer is always raising prices, which is totally understandable with regular daytime admission. But with this kind of event, a much more effective way of controlling the crowds would be to cap the numbers at a reasonable amount, which is why I hope they don't issue a price hike and instead cap the numbers where they used to be last year.

 

[mamapenguin]

Sorry to hear that people aren't enjoying it as much. I'm going on the 28th, and I pretty much expect it not to be as cool as it was for us in June last year. But I don't think you can blame Disney too much for it -- it's a pretty natural progression for the place. You have to remember that Disney doesn't force a ticket on anyone, and it's people's demand that causes crowd. I'd prefer it to be capped at 50 people, as long as I'm one of the 50.

I'm also hopeful -- hopeful -- that a 10-1 session is less crowded than a 9-12 one. The later the better, but I'm not overly optimistic.

We will be there the same night. You can blame Disney if they don’t staff properly and run rides at appropriate capacity for the way they sold the event “low crowds.”

I do expect our night to sell out. I don’t have unreasonable expectations, but I don’t expect to wait 30 min for anything at a 3 hour paid event.

 

[Haley R]

O.K. , just going to put this out there ........
Went last Night (Sold out , 3/7) and this event was far from having that "empty" feeling . There were crowds everywhere . Not daytime crowds , but crowds none the less . If you think you are going to get empty main street pictures, or castle pictures, or even frontier-land "empty" pictures ......think again . Not at a sold out event at least . Not sure what the cap is for these events, but it is NOT 3000 people, or even 5000 . A half hour wait worth of guests at SDMT and BTM , plus TONS of other people all over the place , and in other line ques ,snack ques , bathrooms , etc, do not equate to low crowd capacity as advertised . Just a guess , but maybe 10,000 people is the limit right now ?

Big Thunder was disappointing with 25-30 minutes all night . With only one side of the train que open .....it never got to be anything close to walk on . We were able to walk on some rides , but it was a constant flow of people with full loads of ride vehicles everywhere . Towards the last hour or so , some of the rides started to lighten a little . Snack carts were pretty busy right up until the last hour as well . Jumped into the SDMT 1/2 hour cue right about 12 , and it seemed a lot of people had the exact same idea, as the line started to build in the last 15 minutes towards 12.
The 6pm entry , is I feel something they have to do at MK . There is literally no where to "stack" up the waiting DAH crowds as they build . Tons of people coming and going, and the DAH crowd line stuck right in the middle . Lots of people crossing through the line to get to the other side of the courtyard . The 6pm MK DAH entry is pretty much a necessity I think . It would be mayhem in the courtyard if they didn't allow early entry .
I dont know if Disney is starting to oversell these events now too (like every other event eventually) , but it was way more crowded than we thought there would be . Bathrooms were a bit crowded . Even the buses at the end of the event were packed .

The best thing I can relate, at least a sold out MK DAH event too, is to a late night EMH from back in the day . Like a late night EMH from 10-15 years ago is what it felt like.

For us, it was still ok as we are doing a basically non -park trip and only did Epcot for opening day of Flower and garden, and this DAH event for out MK day .

In the end , it was WAY less crowded than a normal MK day , but it was still more crowded than we though it would be . Not sure if its worth $125. ? We are DVC owners, so it was $95 for us which made it a little easier to swallow .

Still a little miffed about the BTM que with only one train side running . Heard a lot of people mumbling complaints about this one ! They should not have let this happen for the money people are spending for this special event. Just open both cues and keep the line moving !

Still worth it for us , as it full-filled our "MK" day for our trip . We got to ride everything we wanted to do basically , but it had a definite "rushed" feeling. 4 hours would be a little better .

Just our opinion on the event, to let other people know, NOT to expect these events (if they are sold out) , to be EMPTY . They are not !

I definitely think you should email them and let them know how you feel about btmr. That is absolutely ridiculous for them to run one side. We went in January and they were running both sides and it wasn’t even sold out. We rode at the beginning of the event so that might be why but btmr should not be a 25-30 minute waiting during dah

 

[Syndrome]

Yes , it’s not about “Disney doesn’t force you to buy tickets “ , it’s about expectations . Last night clearly fell short . Thank goodness they had both sides of SM running or that would have been a 1/2 hour too . Some attractions were short staffed. Haunted mansion was only running 1 stretching room , and it was filled to capacity like a heavy crowd day . Jungle cruise boats waited till they were full , etc , etc , etc . It
just could have been better .

Still WAY better than a normal day in MK , but it could have been better , and they could have easily dealt with the sold out crowds a little better . The short staffing was evident .

 

[focusondisney]

Sorry to hear that people aren't enjoying it as much. I'm going on the 28th, and I pretty much expect it not to be as cool as it was for us in June last year. But I don't think you can blame Disney too much for it -- it's a pretty natural progression for the place. You have to remember that Disney doesn't force a ticket on anyone, and it's people's demand that causes crowd. I'd prefer it to be capped at 50 people, as long as I'm one of the 50.

I'm also hopeful -- hopeful -- that a 10-1 session is less crowded than a 9-12 one. The later the better, but I'm not overly optimistic.

This is copied directly from the Disney World website DAH page:

“Be among a limited number of Guests to enjoy a unique, 3-hour park experience—featuring more than 25 popular attractions and Character Greetings, with little-to-no wait!”

Who should be blamed if not Disney???? Disney sets the number of tickets sold. The event is advertised as a limited number of guests, with little to no wait. Disney is the one who should be assuring we get what we paid for: little to no wait. Don’t care what the demand is. They should live up to their advertising & limit the number of tickets sold so guests get what they pay for: little to no wait. IMO, 20+ minute waits for 3 rides is NOT little to no wait. And some other rides inching up there too. As PP said, 10 minutes for Pooh. Haven’t had those reports before either, so something is different.

As I said before, this is Disney’s way. Push the limits until the event isn’t what it started out as. If they cap the number & people wait too long to buy tickets, they risk it selling out. Oh well. That is not Disney’s fault. Should have bought sooner. But upping the number just because more people want to go..... that changes the event for everyone.

I hope you enjoy your night. It will be interesting to see how the next few go & what happens in the future. I remember back when these were first introduced: $150, no one was going to go, it was way too much money, how dare Disney sell what was previously free extra hours. Now, it is only $25 cheaper, but numbers seem to be increasing with every batch of dates. Reports are Disney hosted bloggers a few weeks ago. They didn’t do that because they want to keep numbers limited.

 

[dachsie]

Hmmm....sounds like I may pass even if they do offer in May.

 

[eagle1992]

No excuse for long wait times for a ticketed event like this, but purely from a speculation perspective...this is March so we are talking Spring Break...that being said Disney should do better to ensure they have enough personnel to run the event to deliver on the expectations...actually...not even expectations...their promise...of little to no wait.

 

[maryj11]

We had a ton of fun tonight! Started with Space Mountain right at 9, had about a 10 minute wait. Then we walked on to Buzz and the Astro Orbitor before going back to Space, which was a complete walk on at this point- so we rode it 3 times in a row. Then we got snacks and walked over to Fantasyland. The line for 7 Dwarfs was longer than I cared to wait, and so was Peter Pan, so we just did Winnie the Pooh and moved on. Then we basically walked onto Haunted Mansion, got more snacks, did the Tangled lantern photo (only waited about 10 minutes, if that) and headed to Big Thunder. They were only running one side so it ended up being about a 20 minute wait. A little annoying, but whatever. Then we walked onto Pirates, and rode it again, and then got snacks AGAIN before calling it a night

All in all it was a great time and I'd definitely do it again! If nothing else, it's amazing to have such low crowds, especially after a busy and crowded day. The snack distribution was much better than at AK's after hours, they had a lot more stands open which helped keep the lines down. I think I enjoyed both events about the same, the AK one was much slower paced wheras this one went by SO fast, but they were both great!

That's a bummer about Big Thunder being a 20 minute wait. You didn't see how long the wait time for Splash was?

 

[michelepa]

Sorry to hear that people aren't enjoying it as much. I'm going on the 28th, and I pretty much expect it not to be as cool as it was for us in June last year. But I don't think you can blame Disney too much for it -- it's a pretty natural progression for the place. You have to remember that Disney doesn't force a ticket on anyone, and it's people's demand that causes crowd. I'd prefer it to be capped at 50 people, as long as I'm one of the 50.

I'm also hopeful -- hopeful -- that a 10-1 session is less crowded than a 9-12 one. The later the better, but I'm not overly optimistic.

I agree! We're going the same night.

I wonder if Disney increases the amount of tickets they sell for the event based on the crowd levels expected, rather than a flat ticket allocation regardless of time of year. Disney is all about making money and does not care about their customers unless they get a big push back from guests and by that I mean if guests aren't spending the $$$ Disney will reevaluate what they're doing. From what I see Disney will be doing no such thing with this event.

Luckily, I have nothing to compare the event to and I think that's a big thing with a lot of people.
Those who usually write the negative critics are those who are comparing the events to those of the past and they always seem surprised that things have changed as Disney biggers and biggers their enterprise.

 

[Syndrome]

That's a bummer about Big Thunder being a 20 minute wait. You didn't see how long the wait time for Splash was?

Splash was pretty empty all night ..... it was kind of cold , so I think a lot of people didn’t want to chance getting wet .

 

[maryj11]

Splash was pretty empty all night ..... it was kind of cold , so I think a lot of people didn’t want to chance getting wet .

Ok thank you. The cold must of kept the waits down.

 

[DVC Jen]

We are going to be at WDW 6/2-6/9, and are really hoping they have a DAH event available during our stay. Historically, it doesn't look like they have held them in early June...but we are keeping our fingers crossed.

Us too. We will be there June 2-14.

 

[Syndrome]

Oh , a few other things that irked us just a little .....

According to other reviews of this event ...... Peter Pan was running the DAH crowds through the regular cue . GREAT for us , we have never seen the regular que since we always FP PP . Not last night ...... PP was using the FP que ! Bummer for us .
Also , as soon as we entered the park , we went into the Starbucks Bakery , as we collect those coffee mugs . Didn’t want to carry one through the park the whole night , and the CM guaranteed the bakery / Starbucks would be open till after the event “ Probably till about 1am” he said . Well , on our way out heading down Main Street about 12:15/20 ...... yep dang it ! , the Starbucks was locked up tightl ! We would have grabbed the mug earlier if we were not given the wrong info ! Another Bummer for us !

Again NOT major issues , just little things to add to the way the event unfolded ! Just kind of bummer moments !

Btw , if anyone is going to MK in the next few days , pick us up a Starbucks mug and we will pay you for it , lol !!! Unfortunately for us , the DAH event was our only MK ticket this trip !

 

[maryj11]

No excuse for long wait times for a ticketed event like this, but purely from a speculation perspective...this is March so we are talking Spring Break...that being said Disney should do better to ensure they have enough personnel to run the event to deliver on the expectations...actually...not even expectations...their promise...of little to no wait.

I agree. Disney is greedy and probably started selling more tickets then they should. I hate hearing this about wait times!

 

[MikeandReneePlus5]

I agree. Disney is greedy and probably started selling more tickets then they should. I hate hearing this about wait times!

I wonder if they started selling more tickets or its always been this way and the vent is now selling out? I hope this doesen't happen to EMM....

 

[focusondisney]

I wonder if they started selling more tickets or its always been this way and the vent is now selling out? I hope this doesen't happen to EMM....

GaDisneyDad14 keeps the first page updated, including sellout information. Most of the events last winter (Jan ‘18) were sell outs. Most of this winter’s have not been. This was the first event of this batch that is reported as a sellout. And wait times are increasing even tho there are fewer sell outs. To me, that points straight to more tickets being sold.

 

[Iowamomof4]

Oh , a few other things that irked us just a little .....

According to other reviews of this event ...... Peter Pan was running the DAH crowds through the regular cue . GREAT for us , we have never seen the regular que since we always FP PP . Not last night ...... PP was using the FP que ! Bummer for us .
Also , as soon as we entered the park , we went into the Starbucks Bakery , as we collect those coffee mugs . Didn’t want to carry one through the park the whole night , and the CM guaranteed the bakery / Starbucks would be open till after the event “ Probably till about 1am” he said . Well , on our way out heading down Main Street about 12:15/20 ...... yep dang it ! , the Starbucks was locked up tightl ! We would have grabbed the mug earlier if we were not given the wrong info ! Another Bummer for us !

Again NOT major issues , just little things to add to the way the event unfolded ! Just kind of bummer moments !

Btw , if anyone is going to MK in the next few days , pick us up a Starbucks mug and we will pay you for it , lol !!! Unfortunately for us , the DAH event was our only MK ticket this trip !

One very consistent report has been that the shops close up immediately at the end of the event. It's unfortunate that the cm gave you wrong information about that.

I wish they DID keep the stores open for a few minutes afterward for people to browse on their way out, but I guess they just want to get everyone out ASAP. It's too bad, really.

 

[whiporee]

I've no doubt they've increased the number of tickets sold -- i don't know if they've increased beyond their original plans. They're probably trying to find the sweet spot, and people reported some of those same problematic issues at times last year -- carts running out of water and snacks, stuff like that. Barely anyone went to the first year of the thing, and even last year it was a bit of a secret -- you had to know about it to ask about it. Now they are actively promoting it. And I'm sure they are trying to figure out staffing when they get to a sell-out range. A few pages ago I thought this would happen -- WDW starts it, everyone says it's overpriced but the few who decide to go have a blast. News of it being a blast permeates the blogosphere, and people start to justify the price. The overwhelming majority of people who go say it's fantastic, so more and more people want to take part.

And then lines get blurred a little. People get upset that things that were true in the first couple of versions don't stay true -- the lanyards being used as FPs went away after the first round. The lanyards themselves went away after the second. Maybe CMs stop letting people load up on waters and snacks to take home -- maybe they cut off the quick route back to Space Mountain. And then people's well-intended and justified expectations aren't met. But it's still better than the regular parties in terms of actual ride availability, so people keep coming. And if you're not judging it against what you've done before or what you've heard, it still seems like a really good time.

But last year, I have to say they were only running one track for BTM when i was there. Maybe they need to run the second now that it's more crowded. Also probably didn't help that it was cold, so people who might have gravitated to Splash in Frontierland went to -- and kept going to -- BTMR instead. I'd be interested in knowing the time patterns for the waits the last reviewer was talking about -- were they early in the event, or did they last the whole night?

And I think the 9 pm start is early. A lot of people who aren't attending the event will stick around until 10-ish even if they aren't riding.

So I'll go in optimistic with tempered expectations. And we'll see. Thanks to the folks who are reporting, BTW. The best way to temper expectations and keep people from being disappointed is to accurately talk about what they experienced. Sorry it wasn't as great as you were led to believe it would be.

 

[KCSherri]

I attended the 3/7 event last night, and I concur with the reports above. I have attended this event 2x in the past (back in the days of the lanyard), and it was totally different last night.

I used my AP to enter the park around noon, and used my 3 FP’s, as well as having a good dinner around 5. Around 6, I made my way over to Tomorrowland, where I picked up my wristband. I was supposed to use a FP around 4:00 pm for Buzz Lightyear, but the ride was down - thereby giving me an “anytime” FP. I ended up walking back to Haunted Mansion to use it there, while waiting for some of the day time crowd to either weed out or start camping out for the fireworks.

At 7:00 pm, I was in the FP line at Haunted Mansion when THAT ride went down. We stood in line easily for 15-20 minutes with no movement, so at 7:20, I bailed. I headed to the Magic Carpets ride, and walked on with a 10-minute wait. Unfortunately, it was dark by this point, and I missed seeing one of the spitting camels. He nailed me, and my yoga pants were now wet. And it was a tad chilly. Gah.

Around 7:45 pm, I headed over to BTMR, and got in the standby line with a 30-minute wait. At this point, they had both sides going. When I got off the ride around 8:30 pm, I decided I would try to ride it again - this time, hoping to use the wristband as a FP. Another family walked up to show their wristbands prior to me, and the CM vehemently shook her head no, and said, “That doesn’t start until 9.” No FP for you, basically.

I hung out with the family until 8:45 pm, at which point another CM walked over and told the other CM that we WERE allowed to use our wristbands for the FP lane. Even so, it was a good 20-minute wait in the FP line, because ALL of the daytime FP users had flooded the line after the fireworks were over. They still had both sides of the attraction open at this point.

I got through the ride about 10 after 9, got off, ran around to get back on - and now saw they had closed one side. This meant another 15 minutes. Gah.

I basically ran into this all night. Some rides (Dumbo, Mad Tea Party, Under the Sea, Buzz Lightyear, Carousel) were basically walk-ons, while others (PeterPan, Pooh, 7DMT, and BTMR) had 10-30 minute waits. I didn’t attempt to ride Splash (as it was too cold!), and I skipped Space Mtn. I got into line at 7DMT at exactly 10:45 pm with a 30-minute posted wait; it actually took about 20 minutes to reach the front. It was around 10:45 pm that I saw both Princess lines had a 15-minute wait, which again, was more than I’ve experienced than in the past.

Snack lines were long, everywhere I went.

I enjoyed it, only because after fighting the Mardi Gras crowds the last few days, it was nice to have significantly fewer crowds than during the day. However, it is very different than the events in the past.