Evening Magic Hours for Deluxe Guests Only

[mshanson3121]

Good. It's about time Disney gave better perks to Deluxe resort guests.

And this is why they do it. Only a Disney fan would think getting the same thing they always got, is now a "perk" lol.

 

[thanxfornoticin]

Yes- it spreads out the crowds. On average 1/4 of the people will be in those parks than before. And with 30 minutes you could easily do 1 walk-on and 1 short line before everyone else comes in.

It's like EMHH - Extra Magic Half-Hour!

 

[pens4821]

I don't know how many people a couple extra evening hours will convince to stay deluxe.

Maybe once they announce FP you’ll get extra of those too. I wouldn’t be surprised at all if thats something that’s going to happen. So say if you get one or two extra evening hours in one park per day plus three extra free FP per day I’d bet that would drive some people to book deluxe.

Heck, I’d think about it. Especially since I only go once every 2/3 years. If I was going multiple times a year or even yearly I wouldn’t. But that extra cost may be worth it to get more done with minimal waits.

 

[JakeAZ]

This also fantastic news for those of us who don't want to get up super early every day and fight rope drop crowds on our vacations. IMO the parks have always been more enjoyable late at night.

 

[Louis morrell]

Well I like the idea but I already have a trip planned in December with parkpasses in place. Now if they don't align with the Emus it will be a mad dash to change them when the dates are announced. Heck, with cancel and rebook one could get shut out.

 

[StitchesGr8Fan]

I think this is a perk for deluxe guests, not just a watered down version of old EMH. Here’s why - less competition for rides during the evening extra hours. With no moderate, value, or good neighbor hotels allowed to ride, it means the ability to do more during that time for deluxe guests.

 

[oktxregulators2020]

I think I'll pass on this. I'm not a RD person and don't have the need to complete a majority of the crowds before park opens. There is not way in the world I will stay at a Deluxe for over twice the price just so I can get an extra hour in the park on certain nights. I will continue to stay off property and save money.

 

[mshanson3121]

100% on board with this. Pay more, get more. Such is life.

In the past, you didn't really "get more" if you paid for a "Deluxe" hotel. Now you do. Good for Disney for adding making Deluxe more attractive.

You paid more and got more in that you got better pools, bigger/better rooms, better restaurants, and better transportation.

Disney has always marketed itself as ALL on site guests getting the same perks.

 

[Future_WorldPhonencian]

It will be interesting to see if this benefit is actually that beneficial. Towards the end of EMH evening hours were never all that useful since it drew all the resort guests + good neighbor hotels (and that was a LOT of people) Anyone know the breakdown of how many Deluxe/ Deluxe Villa Rooms/ people are on property at any one time? Part of me doesn't like the unfairness, but another part of me understands the logistics side, it might actually afford Deluxe/ DVC to actually do something during evening bonus hours. In the end the point of this and other early/ late entry programs should be to spread guests evenly around property so that everyone has a great vacation. The EMH just didn't accomplish that towards the end, in fact it was better to avoid them like the plague and have a much less crowded park with just a few fewer operating hours.

 

[ShouldBeWriting]

30 min early entry is pretty useless compared to the 2 hour Magic Hours pre-covid. Although it may not be fair, I can see why Disney would make it extended evening hours for deluxe guests—they need to keep people interested in paying the high prices for those rooms and the removal of EMH was a pretty big disincentive. Still, I hope things seem a bit more Disney normal ASAP.

 

[Grasshopper2016]

An extra hour after the park closes available to all deluxe guests isn’t much of a benefit tbh. It’ll probably still be super crowded.

There can’t be that many guests staying in Deluxe resorts, can there? As a percentage of the total day’s crowd, I would think that it has to be very small. So it seems to me like you’re getting your own mini After Hours event at no additional cost. (Leaving aside the mark up for Deluxe rooms to begin with.).

I do, however, get the point that everyone gets in line for the headliners at closing, and thus the benefit of this perk might be less than it first seems. If you are staying Deluxe and want to ride FOP, the whole hour might be over before the day guest standby line has even cleared. I wonder if Disney will allow Deluxe guests to use the fastpass lines, as they have sometimes done with DAH. That would solve the problem.

 

[MICKIMINI]

Some moderates (example Ft Wilderness cabins) are almost to the low end of deluxe. It sounds like Disney is hoping to nudge people who are close in price up a notch. Time is money at WDW and that is another sales pitch for DVC.

You pay more to fly first or business vs coach and this isn't any different IMO in Disney's post pandemic strategy to recoup the money they lost in the past year and a half.

 

[oktxregulators2020]

There can’t be that many guests staying in Deluxe resorts, can there? As a percentage of the total day’s crowd, I would think that it has to be very small. So it seems to me like you’re getting your own mini After Hours event at no additional cost. (Leaving aside the mark up for Deluxe rooms to begin with.).

I do, however, get the point that everyone gets in line for the headliners at closing, and thus the benefit of this perk might be less than it first seems. If you are staying Deluxe and want to ride FOP, the whole hour might be over before the day guest standby line has even cleared. I wonder if Disney will allow Deluxe guests to use the fastpass lines, as they have sometimes done with DAH. That would solve the problem.

It almost makes you think that if FP comes back will Deluxe people get more FP as well?

 

[Pens Fan]

Does it say somewhere that the evening EMH will only be one hour?

No. Here is the exact wording from Disney Parks Blog (bolding is mine):

In addition, with the kickoff of the 50th anniversary, guests staying at one of our Disney Deluxe or Deluxe Villa Resort hotels will also be able to enjoy extended evening hours on select nights in select theme parks. Extended evening hours will begin in early October with specific dates and parks to be shared at a later time, so please be sure to check back on DisneyWorld.com for the latest.

I'm not sure where folks are getting the idea it's only one hour.

 

[kristenabelle]

You paid more and got more in that you got better pools, bigger/better rooms, better restaurants, and better transportation.

Disney has always marketed itself as ALL on site guests getting the same perks.

I'd agree with everything except for transportation - sometimes Deluxe resort transportation is downright awful (sharing buses between resorts, less buses at night when the parks close, no queue at the station so people jockeying for spots when the buses finally arrive). I know bus transportation can be unreliable at all resorts regardless of level (and Deluxe resorts may have more options depending on location), but staying Deluxe never got us better bus transportation.

 

[JakeAZ]

Well I like the idea but I already have a trip planned in December with parkpasses in place. Now if they don't align with the Emus it will be a mad dash to change them when the dates are announced. Heck, with cancel and rebook one could get shut out.

If you don’t have hoppers, yes this will be an issue. Hopefully they announce the days / parks well in advance.

 

[Timandalicia]

So... this definitely confirms, Disney wants the rich folks - not their middle class, budget guests. Gotta say, this feels like a slap in the face.

Eta: the new proposed early morning entry is no replacement for EMH, which were morning and night, longer, and available to all. IMO.


https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/b...l-during-walt-disney-worlds-50th-anniversary/

Ugh. Walt is rolling over in his grave.

 

[JakeAZ]

Ugh. Walt is rolling over in his grave.

The same Walt who came up with Club 33?

 

[bluezy]

We've stayed in a suite at AoA several times and are booked to stay there next summer as well. Every time we've stayed there, we could have gotten a standard room at almost any deluxe resort for about the same price (some were even less than the cost of the suite). So I'm a little miffed/confused that *my* $575/night room isn't as "important" as a less expensive room at AKL or WL. I know I could choose to stay at one of those deluxe resorts instead, but with 2 teenage/young adult daughters, I'll take the larger square footage, 2 bathrooms, and the private master bedroom that the suite offers over a standard hotel room layout and skip evening EMH on this trip.

I will say that we used to love evening EMH back when they would be from 12-3 a.m. at MK. Most people would leave the park by 12:30 and you could literally walk on almost every single ride from 1:30 or so. I remember walking around Tomorrowland and not seeing any other guests -- it was eerie. But in 2018 when the park closed at 11:00 and EMH only went until 1:00 a.m. -- well, meh -- it wasn't that great. Things didn't really empty out until after midnight and the headliners still had a 5-10 minute wait even up until 1:00 (we actually waited for 20 minutes to get on 7DMT at 12:20 -- and found out that they had closed the line already when we got off the ride at 12:45ish). I think the earlier closing hour (more people were still in the park at closing time) and the shorter length of EMH just didn't provide much of a benefit. We'll probably do a paid after-hour event if there are any available when we're there.

 

[Jcsquirrel]

Great perk keep them coming. Just wish they Said for how long it would run, it would be nice it if it is for the entire 50th