Late Night Tips

[Minnie222]

Didn't read thru the whole thread.

Just want to add our experience:

1. We went during March Break. While day-time crowd level is high, late night is very quiet. After 10pm, we got to ride Magic Carpets a few times without getting off.

2. We meet the talking Mickey Mouse at Midnight. No one in line whatsoever. We had Mickey all to ourselves. It was amazing.

3. Book latest ADR at Coral Reef (or any restaurant) in Epcot. You get to walk out the park after park closing. You can enjoy the quietness and the park all to yourselves, and take a few night shots. This also maximizes park time for us.

 

[txnana]

ok...this is where I'm confused. We'll be going first time with the Magic Band concept. We normally do a ton of rides very late and never had a problem before getting in. Do we have to do anything FP/magic bands or can we go straight to the ride and line up to walk on?? We are not big fans of the 2-3 FP per day with the magic bands but know we have to play the game this trip. I sure hope we don't have to use them for late EMH parks

You can still line up "the old fashioned way" for everything unless there is a no stand by line test in place. All the time. This thread is merely pointing out that late at night you can walk on most rides without a waiting in line!

 

[discat73]

We are die-hard rope droppers but usually travel during the off-season so RD to close isn't always too long of a day. If there is a midnight close somewhere, we will usually RD at one park, take an afternoon siesta, and then close down the late night park.

My tip is to try to be near the back of the park at official closing time. You can then slowly meander your way to the exit, stopping to take photos of nearly deserted everything as you go.

 

[Babe the Blue Ox]

We'll be returning to WDW May 30 - June 6. Does anyone have some good tips to share?

 

[angierae]

It's a thread just for me! In 2012 I went with two teenage girls for the week leading up to Easter, and after hitting rope drop the first day we gave up on that immediately and started strolling into the parks later, taking a break before dinner, then heading back into whatever park had EMH that night. We stayed at MK until 1am a couple of times and til 3am towards the end of our trip. It was amazing, and it was so much fun to stroll out of MK at 3am. We did a photo on Space Mountain (our last ride of that night) where we all pretended to be asleep.

When DH and I go for Food and Wine this fall, our plan is to arrive at Epcot just as World Showcase is opening, spend a few hours there, and then move to another park for the afternoon/evening, and then schedule a dinner as late as possible.

 

[SuzyQue]

We've been to MK late night hours in January and February when there were literally no lines/wait after Wishes, but this will be our first time in March (7-12). MK will be open until 2:00 with Wishes at 10:00 and MSEP 9:00 and 11:00. What kind of crowds can we expect after wishes this time?

 

[Babe the Blue Ox]

bump for lugnut33

 

[sleepymouse]

If I am going to go with the late night approach, are the evening EMHs at HS and Epcot as good as the ones at MK? Or is it better to visit those parks on nonEMH days and stay until normal close? HS closes at 10 and Epcot at 9 during our August trip.

 

[MmmSuite]

I'm excited about the newly added 12-2 EMH hours during our trip. I had to revamp everything, but I think it'll be worth it!

 

[Jeannie in NJ]

marking

 

[C.C. Langley]

My daughter and I leave for disney in 2 days. After reading this thread, and a bunch of the RD threads... I think we are going to try and go for the best of both worlds - so to speak. We're gonny try getting up early to do RD and hit the park hard for 3-4 hours till it gets busy, then go back to our room mid day, swim and eat, then take a 3.5 hours nap so that we can do the late night hours too. LoL

 

[gunderda]

One of the things I want to do so badly is to stay at MK until they close (or after because I want to see the goodnight kiss).
However... we had a 8:15 ADR that morning... which means a SUPER early wakeup for me and my parents.
We also have a ADR for 5:30 at Kona that day as a "break" but if it's not too much of hassle we might have to take a real break from like 1-4 and rest back at the hotel and then go to dinner and then back to MK.
We only have 2 disney days - a day at one park each day so I can't really do MK early one day and late another day.

I just told my parents that I am sure I will be exhausted and not care to stay late but they are not allowed to let me leave NO MATTER WHAT. lol

 

[beachbumfun]

My daughter and I leave for disney in 2 days. After reading this thread, and a bunch of the RD threads... I think we are going to try and go for the best of both worlds - so to speak. We're gonny try getting up early to do RD and hit the park hard for 3-4 hours till it gets busy, then go back to our room mid day, swim and eat, then take a 3.5 hours nap so that we can do the late night hours too. LoL

Do the 7 Dwarf Mine Train right before or during fireworks... the line goes way down.

 

[Jenny Sanders]

Take time to notice the little things, like the twinkling lights in the trees at MK...

 

[nvrenoughdisney]

We'll be returning to WDW May 30 - June 6. Does anyone have some good tips to share?

I'd love to hear how your late night touring went (well, it's actually going on right now!). We are thinking of switching from doing a RD strategy at MK to a night strategy. We are going in early August. I think MK is open until midnight while we will be there. I know summer is busy so I'm a little worried about not being able to do as much at night. However, the good news is that we will probably have three nights there.

 

[maryj11]

I'd love to hear how your late night touring went (well, it's actually going on right now!). We are thinking of switching from doing a RD strategy at MK to a night strategy. We are going in early August. I think MK is open until midnight while we will be there. I know summer is busy so I'm a little worried about not being able to do as much at night. However, the good news is that we will probably have three nights there.

Same here, I just hope we can get a lot done late night. We are going the middle of August. When we went last May memorial day week I know splash and Big Thunder Mountain were about a 5 minute wait around 11:00pm. I hope it will be the same in August.

 

[Babe the Blue Ox]

Bumping for jajone