HOw bad are e-ride nights on Sat, really?

[idontknow]

Fingers crossed, we will be going to the May 10th e-ride night. We arrive in Orlando at 10am and hope to get to AK around noon. When AK closes, we will head over to the MK. How bad do you think the crowds will be? Should we just head back to the hotel for a couple of hours instead? I can handle crowds and do not plan on doing much between 6pm and 9pm, but I don't want to be packed in, either. I figure we will grab a couple of fastpasses for the rides that will not be open for e-ride, get something to eat at Peco Bills and hit the attactions that do not have hour waits. It's been a long time since we've been to the MK without being rushed, so I'd like to take time to look around and enjoy the sites. We are going to do EE on Sunday, so what we miss on Sat, well do the next day. (plus a nap, too. LOL) Can someone please tell me what to expect?

 

[zulaya]

I didn't think e-ride nights were held on Sat. If that's true, I'd be prepared for crowds. Although I admit to not knowing how many tickets they sell for e-nights either.

 

[gonga]

We did an E-Ride night in November and it was great! There is a limited amount of passes sold so it is not jammed. Buy your passes upon check in at your hotel. E-Rides rarely sell out so you will be fine...........It's a blast! have fun - we are looking forward to E-Ride on May 17

 

[Fantasia Sam]

I thought that they sell they only sell the same set amount of tickets for each e-ride night - so once they're gone they're gone. We're going to go to the one on Saturday 10th May but only for the last 2 hours as we'd already made plans to eat at CG before the new e-nights were published

 

[tbear]

First...Disney only sells 5000 e-ride nite tix, so if you can imagine how "uncrowded" it will be, think about this...a light capacity day was once quoted as being 15-20,000 through the turnstiles..

Now, even though its a Saturday, I HIGHLY recomend this event...in other words, you will kick yourself if you dont do this...heres the basics on what 'usually happens.

Spectromagic(which is also happening this night,8:30) will draw ALOT of the crowds to the parade route..your normal,never been to Disney, and didnt do any homework(which accounts for a WHOLE LOT of folks)will start meandering towards the front gate....which will also give them Fantasy in the Sky at 9:15, they are given the Goodnight kiss, goodbye folks!!
(At about the same time as the thinning, you'll start noticing the wristbands on other folks....they will give yout that look...it says "We are psyched!!!!!I'll race you to BTMRR...LOL"

There will still be big lines at the big ten(those rides that remain open for enite)..its Disney policy to allow those folks through to ride....they(the CM's ) will start to police those who dont have wristbands out of the park(I have seen a few folks try to buck the system and they ALWAYS get caught, either inside or outside the rides...the protests are usually followed by some very un-Disney like comments(read cussing)

One of the things that you will notice at the begining of this, CM's are posted at key points and when folks who come across them will then be told to turn around, private function.

E-ride nite is not to be missed...once those who dont have wristbands are gone, you will find that theres something special about them...even to just get your picture in front of the castle at night, with NO ONE AROUND....thats magic(and in my book qualifies for the money being well spent.)

One of the things I remember the most, is coming from the haunted mansion after we rode without another soul in site...I mean, you could hear the spiel very clearly..it was.....AMAZING....ok, back on topic...were walking towards Liberty Square to get to the Hub(Fantasy Land is CLOSED during e-nite...you cannot pass through..a CM is posted at all side so dont try to...you can be ejected for crossing the line)..we looked across the area towards where the Hall of Pres. is, and saw NO_ONE, anywhere!!!!!!!this was during the second hour....it was virtually vacant.
Your never again going to see the magic kingdom like this....it really is special

One last thing....we will be there for this as well(May 10th)...if you see 2 parents and 4 kids, it may just be me!!!!

In parting, you HAVE to do this...trust me!!!Remember one thing though...once youve done enite...your hooked.You'll basically do as others who have done enite do...pray for enite, everytime you go to WDW!!!!!!

 

[puffkin]

I believe they limit E-ride nights to 5,000 tickets. We were at a sold out E-ride night last June, and it felt very crowded. You have to remember that only certain rides are open, so guests are pretty much crowded into two areas of the park. Also, they don't run as many trains/cars so lines can get long. We waited about 25 minutes for Splach Mountain, 20 minutes for BTMR and 20 minutes for Space Mountain. Hopefully your E-ride night won't be as crowded as ours was. Just go in with the attitude that you will be able to get most of the major attractions done in the MK in less than three hours. Don't expect the rides to be walkons or that you will get multiple rides, and you will have a good time. We managed to ride each attraction once (except for the AstroOrbiter) but it took us the whole 3 hours. Hope this helps!

 

[Rileygirl]

Something more to know about enights
they are becoming more well known and popular.....yes they only sell 5000 tickets, so e-night will never be crowded.... but I know for a fact that mom20f2 could not get enight tickes in march, they were sold out....so the problem is not whether or not to go (read an emphatic YES to that question,) its whether or not you will be able to get tickets. In order to purchase them you need to be checked into your disney hotel,.... they go on sale 3-5 days in advance.....I think
We went to the enight in march that was sold out.... it was great. Here is something I have never seen mentioned before... did you know that there are tons (and I mean tons) of characters in the hub? My kids spent half an hour cavorting with them, little to no lines, all the big stars, and they really took the time with the kids! Fabulous! you know, dont be scared to take the younger ones to e-night, I had my 4 yr old in tow, she closed the place and had a blast. She and my husband must have riden buzz 10 times, they did country bear and haunted mansion and btm, all the characters, well, she just loved it! Who am I kidding, I lOVED IT
rileygirl

 

[fredms]

tbear-
I really apprecaite all your comments, so can you give me some advice?
I am planning on being at MK on Friday May 23rd (b4 Memorial Day). I was praying Disney would make that an e-nite but instead they made an enite the 24th (saturday). Should I change the day I am spending at Mk from Fri to Sat so that I can take advantge of the e-nite, FITS and Spectro even though the crowds will probably be much greater than Friday? I am traveling with two other adults including my MIL who won't apprecaite crazy long lines.

I can't just do the e-nite on Saturday since I only have 3 day hoppers.

 

[jaysue]

Saturday's at MK are supposed to be the busiest days. Why not use your hoppers to go to another park for most of Saturday and then go to the MK late in the day for Spectro/Fireworks and then E-Ride.

DS and I are going to go to MGM for EE for the first part of the day, back to the hotel for a nap/swim and then over to Epcot and then monorail up to the MK for the evening and then stagger over to the CR and fall on the beds!!!

Thanks
Jason

 

[tbear]

......I agree with Jason(see above).....as long as you have hoppers, you neednt worry about going to MK "all day"....I would definitely follow his advise.....your main consideration is having that MK admission/multi-day park thingy ticket(i had made a mistake about not needing multi-day prior....checked into it and found that you need to have certain requirements

A}Disney resort guest(even if E-nite falls on checkout day, you can still attend!!)

B}Multi-day/Unlimited/Park-hopper.....you must have admission to MK(although you dont actually need to be in the park until e-nite happens....another one of those often misunderstood things)


If enite happens at 9 pm, even if you havent stepped foot in the MK all day, your first stop needs to be either at the tables that are set up near city hall(if they still do this...anyone know??)OR city hall itself...(dont forget your previously purchased tix, unless your taking your chances that you can still buy them at that late hour....I have witnessed a few folks who actually didnt know about e-nite, got turned back by CM trying to enter a ride, went to city hall, bought enite tix, came back, flashed the wristband, and thanked the CM...talked to them while waiting to board BTMRR the third or fourth time that night

Like I said...this event is beyond being well worth the little extra money it costs you....its.....MAGICAL in EVERY respect

Hope this helps!!!

 

[disneyjunkie]

You can also pick up you enight bands at Splash Mountain.

 

[wld]

You guys are very persuasive. We go usually in December where there are no enights. Going for a short trip in May for Star Wars and Flower and Garden (those darn annual passes) wasn't even considering e-night until I read this. We've been to MVMCP but this sounds less crowded. Anyone know/compare?
Thanks

 

[MelissathePooh]

We've been to e-nights that were empty, but the most recent e-nights we went too were packed. Packed in that it was all 5000 people and their strollers parked in Tomorrowland. I'm sure there were people at BTMRR and SM, but it seemed like everyone was in Tomorrowland - everyone with smaller children was lined up for Buzz for days!

 

[drogerstn]

I've read that it is rumored that there are only 5000 guests, but we have been on an e-ride night when there had to be many more people than that.

 

[Chloesmom]

We have been 2 e-ride nights. The last was in May and it was terrific! No lines, lots of characters, and lots of fun! Mickey even held my DD (2 at the time) up to get a drink from the fountain! Magic... We had made plans to do Sea World on saturday but are rethinking it seriously. I would kick myself if I missed it!

 

[formerCPer]

Question...
We're going to be at WDW on a package deal on 5/24. We want to do e-nite. Do we need additional tickets to this? From your posts it sounds like it, but I want to be sure. If so, can we purchase them now? Or do we have to wait. And if so, what is the best strategy to get them in advance of our arrival.
Thanks!

 

[idontknow]

Oh MY!!! This thread grew a life of it's own! LOL Thanks for everyone's advice. I wouldn't miss an eride for anything. I love to sit on the bench between Fantasyland and Frontierland and people watch as they come and go from the Haunted Mansion. It is soooo peaceful. I guess we will hit AK during the day and then head over to the MK when AK closes. I just didn't want to be overcrowded until 9pm. Thanks again!

 

[gonga]

formerCper

There is no way to buy E-Ride tickets in advance, they will not sell them to you....you must be checked into a WDW resort, then buy them. They are $12.00 per pass, I think. Hope this helps!

 

[tbear]

...the pass prices are $12. for adults, and $10. for 3-9 (I still have a hard time grasping that thought, my son will be considered an ADULT next trip...He will be 10 in August.I guess he wont have to be designated driver anymore, and he'll have to buy his own drinks at P.I. hehehehe

NO...seriously, back on topic(and no folks, I'm joking, I wouldn't let my son even step foot inside P.I. yet...so no attacks, or lectures..lol)

One thing tho, gonga, at your resort, sometimes they will let you buy your hard ticket(which you have to bring to MK on e-ride nite) in advance...sometimes up to five days out....on our last trip, we were lucky to be sandwiched between two e-ride nites, and did both.
When we purchased our tix, we were allowed to buy for both on check-in.
(Though, you still wont have your actual admission until e-ride nite)

ONE THING FOLKS....dont forget...you NEED to be wearing your wristband....without that, your sunk.....even if you have your hard ticket, you need to change it to the wristband!

One thing about this thread....it proves that e-ride nite is a once done, will do again type of thing.All we need to do is make sure it doesnt get toooooooo popular, or e-ride nite will be so packed.....hmmmm, dont even want to think about that..in fact, how about this,lets not tell anyone about this whole thing....it will be our little secret.

"What, e-ride, I think they do that at some OTHER park, I KNOW theres no e-ride nite,whatever that is,at MK.Also, the MK closes at 3pm EVERYDAY, so you all have to leave the park by then too!!!!"

 

[fredms]

Your secret is safe with me and I think even though I am totally obsessive compulsive and am having a small crisis over accomodating for this e-nite, as described above, I suspect its worth it. Even though I am still worried how crowded it will be since its Memorial Day Weekend. I'll just go to Universal on Friday instead.


Have a great and safe trip tbear! May your e-nite be empty!