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

[mommajo143]

we fly in tomorrow; we haven't purchased tickets for 7/18 yet and now i am quite on the fence...hoping to hear more reviews of tonights events... We are mostly interested in the cooler temps and SHORTER WAITS...but TBH DH LOVES MNSSHP so of course I am hoping this will satisfy him (I booked our usual fall vacay for July to avoid the SWGE crowds, and bc DS12 is in Middle School now and we have a new school superintendant, so he cant miss like he could in the past).

 

[preemiemama]

20 minute wait for jungle cruise? I’m not actually there so I don’t know if that’s legit but I sure hope not. The waits do look pretty long. 30 for SDMT, 25 for SM, 25 for pirates.

Agreed they were long tonight!

 

[preemiemama]

Okay so can’t really go off what the app is saying. Have you waited long for anything?

Posted 15 for Space but was more like 20-25. 7DMT was the posted 25.

 

[Haley R]

Posted 15 for Space but was more like 20-25. 7DMT was the posted 25.

Ick that’s not good

 

[cakebaker]

This event is very disappointing after the other After Hours events. It's past midnight and there are still 30 minute waits across the park, the walkways are crowded and food lines are long and slow. It doesn't really feel less crowded than it did prior to the event.

That's really disappointing,. Has to make you wonder what it would be like with a sold out event as I don't think any of them have? I loved the quiet, almost empty park feel of a regular DAH and was afraid they'd increase capacity with this one. I was on the fence as to whether to add this for our trip at the end of the month, but I've read enough of this kind of report that I think we'll pass. We do have one scheduled for AK, but I'm not hearing that capacity is increased there, so fingers crossed. I do hope if they go back to having DAH, they don't continue to increase ticket sales.

 

[provoaggie]

Now that I'm back at my computer I'll post a bit more. Back in January we did AH at Hollywood Studios and absolutely loved it. We loved having the park to ourselves and being able to cram an entire days activities into 1 night for about the same price. For this trip we did Animal Kingdom AH on Monday night and Villains last night. Animal Kingdom was the same after hours that we loved before. Low crowds, a short line for Flight of Passage and no other waits throughout the park. This time we have my mother-in-law with a mobility scooter as well and getting around the park was a breeze.

Last night we arrived at 6:15 and got lined up. Immediately we noticed a huge like to get into the park before we even got there and it continued to grow. This was different as at Animal Kingdom there were maybe 30 people in line at 7:00 when they let us in. There were a few hundred when we got let in at 6:37 last night. Magic Kingdom was crowded which was to be expected since the day crowd was still there but we did our 3 fast passes for Splash Mountain, Ariel Meet and Greet and Under the Sea. Those were by far the 3 shortest lines we waited in during our evening. 10:00 hit and the crowds didn't shrink. Getting around with the scooter was extremely hard all the way until the event ended as walkways were congested. We used to let the kids ride whatever they wanted but we had to be choosy this time to make sure we got the rides we wanted the most. They wanted to ride Winnie the Pooh, Peter Pan and Tomorrowland Speedway but they all had 20 minute waits and looking at the queues those wait times looked accurate. Then they wanted to do Buzz Lightyear and it was the same. We waited about 25 minutes for Space, 20 for Big Thunder, 15 for Jungle Cruise (which appeared to only be running 2 boats and even after our boat was full we had to wait for the other one to get back). We ended up skipping 6 or 7 rides that we wanted to do. We stopped by the hub at the end of the night to watch a bit of the last show and the entire area was crammed with people. Moving down main street at the end of the night was very slow and difficult with the scooter. We stopped in the Emporium on the way out and they had way too few registers open for the crowd. After leaving the park the Ferry's were not enough to get people out in a timely manner. As far as I'm concerned, Disney took a good thing and absolutely ruined it by charging more for increased crowds.

 

[Elle :)]

Now that I'm back at my computer I'll post a bit more. Back in January we did AH at Hollywood Studios and absolutely loved it. We loved having the park to ourselves and being able to cram an entire days activities into 1 night for about the same price. For this trip we did Animal Kingdom AH on Monday night and Villains last night. Animal Kingdom was the same after hours that we loved before. Low crowds, a short line for Flight of Passage and no other waits throughout the park. This time we have my mother-in-law with a mobility scooter as well and getting around the park was a breeze.

Last night we arrived at 6:15 and got lined up. Immediately we noticed a huge like to get into the park before we even got there and it continued to grow. This was different as at Animal Kingdom there were maybe 30 people in line at 7:00 when they let us in. There were a few hundred when we got let in at 6:37 last night. Magic Kingdom was crowded which was to be expected since the day crowd was still there but we did our 3 fast passes for Splash Mountain, Ariel Meet and Greet and Under the Sea. Those were by far the 3 shortest lines we waited in during our evening. 10:00 hit and the crowds didn't shrink. Getting around with the scooter was extremely hard all the way until the event ended as walkways were congested. We used to let the kids ride whatever they wanted but we had to be choosy this time to make sure we got the rides we wanted the most. They wanted to ride Winnie the Pooh, Peter Pan and Tomorrowland Speedway but they all had 20 minute waits and looking at the queues those wait times looked accurate. Then they wanted to do Buzz Lightyear and it was the same. We waited about 25 minutes for Space, 20 for Big Thunder, 15 for Jungle Cruise (which appeared to only be running 2 boats and even after our boat was full we had to wait for the other one to get back). We ended up skipping 6 or 7 rides that we wanted to do. We stopped by the hub at the end of the night to watch a bit of the last show and the entire area was crammed with people. Moving down main street at the end of the night was very slow and difficult with the scooter. We stopped in the Emporium on the way out and they had way too few registers open for the crowd. After leaving the park the Ferry's were not enough to get people out in a timely manner. As far as I'm concerned, Disney took a good thing and absolutely ruined it by charging more for increased crowds.

Oh Man, this is not looking good. We have one planned for 7/25 and this reports are making me nervous! We are all paying a pretty penny to get it. It kinda defeats the purpose if the lines are still long.

 

[123SA]

I wonder if there is a correlation between the day crowd and the lines for DAH. If it takes a long time to clear the day crowd, is that increasing the lines during DAH? In the first hour, there would be longer lines due to the day crowd. THe second hour, maybe lines are longer because a number of people will do other things (shop, snack, photo ops, rides with short lines) until the day crowd clears.

 

[cmarsh31]

I'm going on the 18th (I went last July and in March, both at MK) so I'll report back with a comparison!

 

[BrianL]

I'm officially going to the August 1st event now, and I have been keenly reading over this thread. Thanks for all the impressions. I have FP for Space and Pirates before the party and honestly the overlays don't matter much to me. I'm gonna ride me the Haunted Mansion about zillion times!

 

[fbb]

I'm going on the 18th (I went last July and in March, both at MK) so I'll report back with a comparison!

The comparison is rough. Last July 14th we rode Space Mountain 10 consecutive times without leaving the building. Last night we rode it once; entered the line at 12:18am and boarded the ride at 12:44am.

 

[cmarsh31]

The comparison is rough. Last July 14th we rode Space Mountain 10 consecutive times without leaving the building. Last night we rode it once; entered the line at 12:18am and boarded the ride at 12:44am.

I'm going with friends, most of whom have never done DAH... so we'll have fun either way. I'll stand in line for 7D and Buzz... we'll see how it goes. My expectations are pretty low at least. I just want to see the new show!

 

[skullsplitter]

Went last night 7/11. Never been to an after hours event. We had a great time. Crowds were lower than a Halloween party. Circus was a ghost town. Rode dumbo all alone once and another time just the 4 of us. I have a pic of totally empty space near pecos bills too. We got a lot done and felt it was worth the money. Here is what we did with our actual wait times. There are some stops for pictures too that I didn’t note.

In park at 550
Splash fp
Thunder fp
Pirates
Bought merch 730 at pirates
Skippers for supper
Space Moubtain walk-on at end of foreworks

1002 pm
Tea Cups Walk on
Pooh 5
Barnstormer walk-on x2
Dumbo walk-on x3
15 people in circus area
Snack
Haunted mansion 5 minutes
1105 pm
Thunder 5 minutes
Jungle cruise 10 minutes
Pirates 15 minutes
1205 pm
Snack
Hub
Space 20
Astro Orbiter walk-on
Snack
1am
Maleficient on main st
Villains farewell

 

[cakebaker]

Crowds were lower than a Halloween party.

That's not saying a lot. Halloween parties are insanely crowded for the most part. I certainly hope with a great deal less to offer and charging what they do, crowds would be much, much less than for a holiday party. When we did a regular DAH, the entire park was literally a ghost town. The only place you'd see any amount of people was around SDMT, but walkways were very empty. It sure would appear they have significantly increased capacity and that's exactly what a lot of people were afraid of.

 

[roylanc]

I'm officially going to the August 1st event now, and I have been keenly reading over this thread. Thanks for all the impressions. I have FP for Space and Pirates before the party and honestly the overlays don't matter much to me. I'm gonna ride me the Haunted Mansion about zillion times!

We have the 1st of August booked to.
Our plan is to get there for around 07:00, watch the fireworks & we do have 1 FP for 08:00 at 7DMT.
We are then going to try & do as many rides as possible from 10pm to 01am. before watching the 01:00am show.
Hopefully it will work out for us & this is our first After hours event.

 

[BrianL]

We have the 1st of August booked to.
Our plan is to get there for around 07:00, watch the fireworks & we do have 1 FP for 08:00 at 7DMT.
We are then going to try & do as many rides as possible from 10pm to 01am. before watching the 01:00am show.
Hopefully it will work out for us & this is our first After hours event.

I have some FPs too for Space, Pirates and HM before the party (I'd like to change HM but whatcha gonna do?). I waited too long so no 7DMT for me, but I'll watch the times at the party. I also plan to watch the 1 AM show.

 

[ninafeliz]

We have the 1st of August booked to.
Our plan is to get there for around 07:00, watch the fireworks & we do have 1 FP for 08:00 at 7DMT.
We are then going to try & do as many rides as possible from 10pm to 01am. before watching the 01:00am show.
Hopefully it will work out for us & this is our first After hours event.

This is what we did, except we had 3 FPs and got a 4th prior to the start. It did work, for the most part, but it quite as well as I had hiped. we started in Tomorrowland and 3 of the first 4 rides we did had 15-20 min waits (space, Astro orbiter, and speedway). From then on out it was walk on but the even was half over. I’m not sure if that was based on time or location of the rides (probably a combo). I would maybe skip rides with the waits like I listed unless they were ones you really wanted to ride, and stick with the walk on ones. Without our 4 FPs prior to the start I would have been really disappointed in what we rode. With them we did hit a majority, I think we got 14 of the 20 advertised attractions for the event.

ETA but no re-rides like we had been able to do with the previous regular DAH we did.

 

[disneycat321]

Went last night 7/11. Never been to an after hours event. We had a great time. Crowds were lower than a Halloween party. Circus was a ghost town. Rode dumbo all alone once and another time just the 4 of us. I have a pic of totally empty space near pecos bills too. We got a lot done and felt it was worth the money. Here is what we did with our actual wait times. There are some stops for pictures too that I didn’t note.

In park at 550
Splash fp
Thunder fp
Pirates
Bought merch 730 at pirates
Skippers for supper
Space Moubtain walk-on at end of foreworks

1002 pm
Tea Cups Walk on
Pooh 5
Barnstormer walk-on x2
Dumbo walk-on x3
15 people in circus area
Snack
Haunted mansion 5 minutes
1105 pm
Thunder 5 minutes
Jungle cruise 10 minutes
Pirates 15 minutes
1205 pm
Snack
Hub
Space 20
Astro Orbiter walk-on
Snack
1am
Maleficient on main st
Villains farewell

Thanks for the report!

To me, it sounds like if you’ve done a DAH event at MK, it’s a disappointment, and if not, it’s fine. We haven’t since we aren’t frequent WDW visitors (DLR is our home), so I’m not too worried.

FWIW, I follow the DAH AK and HS threads because we’re going to those too, and people have been complaining about lines at those as well, mostly FOP, SDD, and TOT. I think Disney has probably increased the amount of tickets sold for all of them, but even more for MK, which is not super surprising. I guess if people keep being willing to do it, they’ll keep raising the prices as much as they can.

Anyway, since we’ve never done a DAH event, I have a feeling we’ll personally love all three of them. Half the appeal to us is being there after dark and in cooler weather. But people counting on regular DAH crowds should maybe reconsider.

 

[AngiTN]

Wow, not disputing either post by any means but there's hardly any way one can read these and come to the conclusion that these 2 reports are from the same exact night. They are polar opposites, not even close to the same experiences.

Personally, we've done all parties, other types of ticketed events like SW Celebration at HS or Harambe Nights at AK, plus DAH multiple times. Including every iteration offered at MK, initial roll out to last month. We are going to the VAH event next Thursday night. So I have a lot to compare it to.

Now that I'm back at my computer I'll post a bit more. Back in January we did AH at Hollywood Studios and absolutely loved it. We loved having the park to ourselves and being able to cram an entire days activities into 1 night for about the same price. For this trip we did Animal Kingdom AH on Monday night and Villains last night. Animal Kingdom was the same after hours that we loved before. Low crowds, a short line for Flight of Passage and no other waits throughout the park. This time we have my mother-in-law with a mobility scooter as well and getting around the park was a breeze.

Last night we arrived at 6:15 and got lined up. Immediately we noticed a huge like to get into the park before we even got there and it continued to grow. This was different as at Animal Kingdom there were maybe 30 people in line at 7:00 when they let us in. There were a few hundred when we got let in at 6:37 last night. Magic Kingdom was crowded which was to be expected since the day crowd was still there but we did our 3 fast passes for Splash Mountain, Ariel Meet and Greet and Under the Sea. Those were by far the 3 shortest lines we waited in during our evening. 10:00 hit and the crowds didn't shrink. Getting around with the scooter was extremely hard all the way until the event ended as walkways were congested. We used to let the kids ride whatever they wanted but we had to be choosy this time to make sure we got the rides we wanted the most. They wanted to ride Winnie the Pooh, Peter Pan and Tomorrowland Speedway but they all had 20 minute waits and looking at the queues those wait times looked accurate. Then they wanted to do Buzz Lightyear and it was the same. We waited about 25 minutes for Space, 20 for Big Thunder, 15 for Jungle Cruise (which appeared to only be running 2 boats and even after our boat was full we had to wait for the other one to get back). We ended up skipping 6 or 7 rides that we wanted to do. We stopped by the hub at the end of the night to watch a bit of the last show and the entire area was crammed with people. Moving down main street at the end of the night was very slow and difficult with the scooter. We stopped in the Emporium on the way out and they had way too few registers open for the crowd. After leaving the park the Ferry's were not enough to get people out in a timely manner. As far as I'm concerned, Disney took a good thing and absolutely ruined it by charging more for increased crowds.

Went last night 7/11. Never been to an after hours event. We had a great time. Crowds were lower than a Halloween party. Circus was a ghost town. Rode dumbo all alone once and another time just the 4 of us. I have a pic of totally empty space near pecos bills too. We got a lot done and felt it was worth the money. Here is what we did with our actual wait times. There are some stops for pictures too that I didn’t note.

In park at 550
Splash fp
Thunder fp
Pirates
Bought merch 730 at pirates
Skippers for supper
Space Moubtain walk-on at end of foreworks

1002 pm
Tea Cups Walk on
Pooh 5
Barnstormer walk-on x2
Dumbo walk-on x3
15 people in circus area
Snack
Haunted mansion 5 minutes
1105 pm
Thunder 5 minutes
Jungle cruise 10 minutes
Pirates 15 minutes
1205 pm
Snack
Hub
Space 20
Astro Orbiter walk-on
Snack
1am
Maleficient on main st
Villains farewell

 

[TISHLOVESDISNEY]

It's all about timing. We went 7/1, and I'd watch the app for waits on busier rides we wanted to hit. Space was 10, we walked over, and by the time we got there, 25. We went to ride TS, wait dropped again on Space, my kids got in line. As I was waiting, the 12am stage show ended, and the wait jumped to atleast 30, the line was all the way out to the snack cart where I was waiting. I had to move bcuz of the crowds.
My advice, if Space is a priority, hit it during a show.