Extended Evening Hours, After Hours 2023 - So Confusing

[hlrubin507]

I am a seasoned veteran and even I cannot keep all this straight

I am sure it makes all kinds of sense to the people sitting in the meeting, just like the meeting where they decided to call it "Individual Lightning Lane Selection" vs "Lightning Lane"....
My last visit was December 2020 when none of this was a thing.

I THOUGHT that if you were a Deluxe resort guest you got "extended evening Hours" for certain parks on particular nights.

Now, I am trying to plan a post-Wish-cruise (a 3-day stay on rented points at the Poly) and the website says nothing about "extended evening hours" beyond December 2022: https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/guest-services/extended-evening/

But I DO see I can pay $149 per person (!!!) to attend an "after hours" event from 10pm-1am in the Magic Kingdom on the Monday I happen to be there (2/27/23): https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/events-tours/magic-kingdom/magic-kingdom-after-hours/

Friends, please tell me -- is Disney actually taking a FREE (if ponying up the funds for Deluxe) benefit and turning it into some event I have to pay over $600 (family of 4) to attend?

I am going to remain calm until someone corrects what I am sure I am misunderstanding. Because if I am NOT misunderstanding and this is real, this may be the final straw for me.

Help please

 

[wilkydelts]

They are not the same. “After Hours” events are considered a party like Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween party or Very Merry Christmas party, “After Hours” just doesn’t have a theme. They are not new and have been done previously.

As for Deluxe Resort Extended Hours no one know when they will end. Disney normally releases them a week or two at a time. This weekend is a big weekend to see if the will continue the trend of Epcot on Monday and Magic Kingdom on Wednesday.

 

[focusondisney]

Friends, please tell me -- is Disney actually taking a FREE (if ponying up the funds for Deluxe) benefit and turning it into some event I have to pay over $600 (family of 4) to attend?

As PP said, it’s not the same thing. The deluxe extra hours in 2022 was announced to coincide with the 50th anniversary celebration. Disney hasn’t announced if they will continue into next year. After Hours Events started in 2015 or 16. They have always been a paid hard ticket event, usually around $125 - 150. They are ride focused, with no parades or character meets like the holiday parties have. They include some unlimited snacks (popcorn & ice cream treats) & bottles of soda & water. They occurred in addition to regular extra magic hours that were for all resorts. Those extra magic hours never returned after the Covid closure.


But yea, taking what was free & charging for it is pretty much Disney’s current M.O.

 

[HopperFan]

I am a seasoned veteran and even I cannot keep all this straight

I am sure it makes all kinds of sense to the people sitting in the meeting, just like the meeting where they decided to call it "Individual Lightning Lane Selection" vs "Lightning Lane"....
My last visit was December 2020 when none of this was a thing.

I THOUGHT that if you were a Deluxe resort guest you got "extended evening Hours" for certain parks on particular nights.

Now, I am trying to plan a post-Wish-cruise (a 3-day stay on rented points at the Poly) and the website says nothing about "extended evening hours" beyond December 2022: https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/guest-services/extended-evening/

But I DO see I can pay $149 per person (!!!) to attend an "after hours" event from 10pm-1am in the Magic Kingdom on the Monday I happen to be there (2/27/23): https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/events-tours/magic-kingdom/magic-kingdom-after-hours/

Friends, please tell me -- is Disney actually taking a FREE (if ponying up the funds for Deluxe) benefit and turning it into some event I have to pay over $600 (family of 4) to attend?

I am going to remain calm until someone corrects what I am sure I am misunderstanding. Because if I am NOT misunderstanding and this is real, this may be the final straw for me.

Help please

After Hours Events have been around for years, maybe a few years before COVID. They have mostly been at the Magic Kingdom. It is "limited" tickets sold, free snacks and shorter lines.

The Deluxe Extended Hours was only announced as a perk with the beginning of the 50th with no dates offered that I have seen past Dec. Likely a way to insure deluxe rooms would be booked at a top occupancy rate through the end of this year. NOW they might extend it through the 50th celebration .. March sometime ... but now that they added After Hours who knows.

Long story short After Hours was here first, if anything Extended Hours replaced them for a while for deluxe guests only.

Anyone, even offsite, can book After Hours. After Hours did not replace anything free, they offered extra hours outside of normal park hours. If anything they are just an off season party like Halloween and Christmas, but hopefully stay small, unlike the parties.

 

[Mousetopia]

No definite extension of extended hours for deluxe guests perk in to 2023 has been announced. I wouldnt count on it.

As previous said A.Hours is a party and ticketed event..so crowd size is limited to ticket sales. Our experience was fun! ..but would not do again..great fun to have the access but not worth the big bucks to us.

 

[greeneyedchick]

Disney is charging $149 for a 3 hour party?! That's insane considering that cost more than a 1 day ticket. Remember when the Magic Kingdom used to be open until 1AM for everyone?

 

[sponica]

Regular operating hours aren't even out beyond 60 days, right? If we get to early November and there's no extended hours on the early January calendar, then I'd be a little more concerned.

 

[Marthasor]

Disney is charging $149 for a 3 hour party?! That's insane considering that cost more than a 1 day ticket. Remember when the Magic Kingdom used to be open until 1AM for everyone?

After Hours ticket holders can enter the park as early as 7:00 pm - so it's 6 hours of park time, 3 hours of which will have very, very minimal crowds. Personally, I would consider doing this and eliminating a day on a multi-day ticket. It's still more expensive, but the MK experience with minimal crowds, included snacks/beverages, etc. is worth the up charge, IMHO.

 

[igrsod]

After Hours ticket holders can enter the park as early as 7:00 pm - so it's 6 hours of park time, 3 hours of which will have very, very minimal crowds. Personally, I would consider doing this and eliminating a day on a multi-day ticket. It's still more expensive, but the MK experience with minimal crowds, included snacks/beverages, etc. is worth the up charge, IMHO.

We did exactly this on our arrival day a few years back and it was totally worth it imo. We had a blast, ate lots of treats... had popcorn for days in our hotel room, and rode every ride we wanted to with no wait. There is something magical about having the castle and main street pretty much to yourself. When we went back to MK later in the vacation, we missed walking up to snack carts and getting what we wanted for "free" and just walking on rides.

 

[cakebaker]

Disney is charging $149 for a 3 hour party?! That's insane considering that cost more than a 1 day ticket. Remember when the Magic Kingdom used to be open until 1AM for everyone?

It's not a party. But it is amazing and I've been waiting for them to return. It's just unbelievable how uncrowded the parks are during After Hours. There were times that it felt like we were the only ones there. Almost every ride was a walk on and even the most popular ones had very short wait times. You'll get more done in 3 hours during After Hours than you will all day during regular hours and you don't need a regular ticket to buy. I'll buy them anytime they're available. The nice thing is, it doesn't cut into anyone else's time (unlike the holiday parties) and you don't have to buy them!

 

[DaviVascaino]

extended evening hours have always been a thing for years. nothing new. What was new was Disney STRIPPED that perk from all resorts and placed only for deluxe guests.

After hours is a different program. paid , on different days of EEH.

 

[Trinity88]

IMO, there is no real comparison between the paid event and the free deluxe guest event. We've done both. The after hours paid event is totally worth it! The park is empty. We would go 20 minutes without seeing another person. Ride lines were non existent. It is the best paid event, if you want to focus on rides and have some snacks (better than the parties for my family who love rides). The free deluxe guest nights were packed. Waits were an hour for headliners (Space, Mine train). And are those nights really free anyway? Staying deluxe is expensive....

 

[lugnut33]

I wish they'd really increase the price of the After Hours event to make sure the crowds stay low.

 

[cakebaker]

I wish they'd really increase the price of the After Hours event to make sure the crowds stay low.

In this case, that makes no sense. They're already capped extremely low. We've been to sold out After Hours and it was still a near empty park experience.

 

[brockash]

Disney is charging $149 for a 3 hour party?! That's insane considering that cost more than a 1 day ticket. Remember when the Magic Kingdom used to be open until 1AM for everyone?

And sometimes 2 and 3am for anyone staying on property. Yes, taking something that was included and now paying extra on top of it is their MO.

 

[RoseGold]

They release the deluxe hours a week at a time. Sometimes they move it a day or two, but the pattern is obvious. The HS ones are new, those might be for just the holidays.

In the current schedule, there is both deluxe after hours and paid events on the same night, I believe, just in opposite parks.

 

[gorkt]

Yeah I am staying at a deluxe in January and have a similar dilemma. During my January trip, "free" deluxe hours, if they are offered, are Epcot Mon, MK Wed. The paid after hours parties are MK Monday, HS Wednesday. I did go ahead and buy the HS one, because my family are huge Star Wars fans, and they aren't really MK fans as much. I am hoping they still have the Wed Epcot deluxe hours, just for the 6pm VQ drop of Guardians, but if they come out and cancel the deluxe hours, I may spring for the MK AH party too, if it isn't sold out. Honestly, I will be bummed if they don't offer those deluxe hours, kind of annoying to keep us in limbo like this.

 

[cakebaker]

And sometimes 2 and 3am for anyone staying on property. Yes, taking something that was included and now paying extra on top of it is their MO.

Except that this experience was never included. Late night park hours were open to the public and up until the last hour maybe, very crowded. This experience is nothing like that. I'll take paying for a near empty park over fighting crowds any day of the week. It also includes all the ice cream and popcorn you care to eat and as many soft drinks and bottles of water as you can stuff into your bags. At $5 a pop, it adds up! Regardless, later park hours and an after hours event are nothing alike.

 

[brockash]

Except that this experience was never included. Late night park hours were open to the public and up until the last hour maybe, very crowded. This experience is nothing like that. I'll take paying for a near empty park over fighting crowds any day of the week. It also includes all the ice cream and popcorn you care to eat and as many soft drinks and bottles of water as you can stuff into your bags. At $5 a pop, it adds up! Regardless, later park hours and an after hours event are nothing alike.

Our experience was anytime after midnight or so gave us pretty much walk-ons. No free snacks though. Those extra magic hrs were not open to the public...only resort guests. Agree it's certainly not the same experience as an after party paying event however for us, we'd take those 3 extra hours, which was included with our resort reservation over paying more than a whole day tix price on top of our resort fee for 3 hrs. with some snacks. Obviously they have enough ppl. who do not feel the same which is why they do them. If it didn't make them money, they wouldn't...just sad for those of us who keep feeling nickle nd dimed.

 

[cakebaker]

Those extra magic hrs were not open to the public...only resort guests.

We had given up on doing those extra hours years ago. When all the resort guests were included, it was hot mess all evening right up until maybe the last hour. It's just a preference for a quality experience you pay for or a mediocre one that is included with your stay. I much prefer paying more and since you don't have to have a park ticket, it takes the place of one for us. I'm the only one with an AP, but there's a significant discount for AP's and I can buy for the whole family.

But there's also no question that Disney has cut park hours significantly- but these really don't take the place of that at all. They're only offered once a week at a park.