MK at midnight — crazy or crazy fun?

[tinkerbelletreasure]

We love late nights in the park! Fantasyland becomes a ghost town after the fireworks and we can usually walk on to everything over there except Peter Pan and Seven Dwarves. Tomorrow land is pretty cool all lit up at night too.

 

[Sugardimples]

I would do it. It will be a great memory.

 

[mamamelody2]

Sounds awesome! I'd totally do it!

 

[MrsPete]

If I were going with my oldest child, it'd be a no. She's not a late-night person, and she'd be cranky and dragging the next morning.

If it were my youngest child, it'd be a yes. We're both late-night people and would have a great time. We would, of course, try to sleep on the plane to prepare ourselves ... but we'd probably be unable to do so.

 

[DisneyFive]

Crazy. It's not worth the punishment you'll feel from staying up so late.

I think of it this way. The earliest you'll probably get to the park is about midnight. So you get a couple of hours in MK at most.

Those two hours and the ride back to POP will put you back at the resort at roughly 2:30am. Then you need to unwind and sleep.

I would not risk the balance of a trip for such a limited time in the park.

Dan

 

[glocon]

See how you feel when you get there. I think you should do it, especially if you’re having a late start the next day.

 

[Lou'sMommy]

We did a spur of the moment late night MK evening once a few years ago. We had dinner at O'hana then looked around the Poly a bunch and watched the fireworks from the beach there. Suddenly about 10:00 or so we got the idea to go over to MK since we had park hoppers and EMH were until 2:00 am. We jumped on the monorail and headed for fun. We got to ride quite a few rides (PP and SDMT were still busy though) and generally had a ball. I think my husband and son even rode Splash and were damp for the rest of the evening. There was something really magical about the crowds thinning out, the night time lights at MK, and feeling that we somewhat had the park to ourselves. We generally stay in the Epcot area and love the times that we do something like that in Epcot, but we had never done it at MK. It's a really happy memory for all of us even though we came dragging back to BC around 3:30 in the morning.

For your daughter's graduation, I would say crazy fun!! Thanks for the super idea of a mother/daughter trip for HS graduation too!

 

[mousestruck]

Crazy. It's not worth the punishment you'll feel from staying up so late.

I think of it this way. The earliest you'll probably get to the park is about midnight. So you get a couple of hours in MK at most.

Those two hours and the ride back to POP will put you back at the resort at roughly 2:30am. Then you need to unwind and sleep.

I would not risk the balance of a trip for such a limited time in the park.

Dan

Thanks for the advice! That is exactly what the practical voice in my head is saying. You're right... we would suffer a bit the next day, no question, even with a later start. But I am never spontaneous (especially at Disney) and enticed by the idea of doing something a little crazy and creating a special memory. I suppose it will come down to how we feel when we roll into POP - ready for adventure or ready to hit the sack!

 

[CartyGirls]

crazy FUN!

 

[Shellyred8]

Another vote for Crazy Fun!!! I love MK at night when it's all lit up. So magical!

 

[DisneyFive]

Thanks for the advice! That is exactly what the practical voice in my head is saying. You're right... we would suffer a bit the next day, no question, even with a later start. But I am never spontaneous (especially at Disney) and enticed by the idea of doing something a little crazy and creating a special memory. I suppose it will come down to how we feel when we roll into POP - ready for adventure or ready to hit the sack!

Sounds like a good idea to see how you feel when you get there.

If it was your last day I would say 100% go for it!!! Have a blast, because there is no potential impact to the rest of your vacation. Being arrival day I would hate for you to get run down and have issues for the rest of your stay.

My thought would be to get a decent nights rest and be ready to tackle the next four days full on. Enjoy a leisurely evening around pop century and the art of animation grounds

Dan

 

[westie55]

Fun! I look forward to the days my kids are old enough to do that with me. Right now they are 3 and 1 and there is no way I would ever be able to stay up till midnight, let alone them! Before we had kids, my husband and I were in the MK around midnight and it was awesome. Fantasyland was quiet and many of the rides were walk ons. You can accomplish a lot and it isn't burning hot either! Do it!

 

[MarkinNM]

Some of my best memories were with my then 12yo son and EMH till 1AM 10 years ago, I mean wow, we had so much fun, rode HM 3 times in row, PotC 4 times with out even getting off the boat!! SM, got off walked by up and got back on, ZERO wait, it was that way most of the night, I remember walking around that night with little to no people, it was almost creepy.......but had so much fun.....

 

[mbdavidson]

Crazy fun! My husband and I are going towards the end of July, on a 5am flight. We have 1 day park hoppers. We are taking an extended afternoon break, but I am so excited to have the MK open until 2am.... pool day for us the next day.

 

[sandam1]

Crazy fun!

My suggestions might be to:

a. Consider skipping the Disney transportation - using Uber/Lyft from the hotel and/or from the hotel to the park. Not just to save time, but to save mental bandwidth in not having to navigate transportation.
b. Consider not checking bags - this would be a time saver.
c. Have your park bag completely ready to go so there is no having to shift things around (i.e. find your Magic Band) when you land.
d. Pack the essentials for the first night and the next morning separately (I use packing cubes so this is super easy, but a large ziploc bag will work as well) so you don't have to completely unpack until you get back to the room on Day 2.
e. Plan a slightly later start to Day 2 OR an earlier than usual afternoon break to make sure for the late night before.

Like other posters, my friend and I did late night EMH and they are sooooo neat. I remember eating a Dole Whip in deserted area while my friend went on Pirates. It was kind of spooky, but extremely memorable. And if you find that you are too tired when you get there (or travel plans go south), you are ready to start off strong the next day.

 

[mdsouth]

Thanks for your thoughts! We will try to sleep on the plane and would adjust the next morning’s schedule for a later start. I guess we’ll see how we feel upon arrival... whether we’re too tired or energized!

Sounds like a good plan.

We love late nights in the park! Fantasyland becomes a ghost town after the fireworks and we can usually walk on to everything over there except Peter Pan and Seven Dwarves. Tomorrow land is pretty cool all lit up at night too.

Another vote for CRAZY FUN!

I went to one of the late nights at MK until 2 am with my teenager son. We had a blast! The main crowds were gone and another plus no one mentioned is that it is great to be in the park in the summer at night when the temperature is cooler!

 

[Tomh]

My daughter and I are sneaking away to the World to celebrate her high school graduation. It is a quick getaway - 4 nights, 7/3 - 7/7 - so we’ll be packing a lot in! We arrive very late Wednesday night - landing at 10:45 pm. MK is open until 2 am that night (with EMH). Is it nuts to drop our bags at POP and head over to MK? We have annual passes, so tickets not an issue. We’d only have an hour or so, but we’d get to see the castle and do an attraction or two. Crazy or crazy fun???

If you won't be too exhausted as a result of it, I say crazy fun. The parks are always a bit more magical after dark for me!

 

[scionchigirl]

Here is the deal...your daughter graduates high school once,you will be in WDW for 4th of July, how AMAZING will a late night hop to MK be? Shoot, I'd do it AND rope drop later. Caffeine, my friend!My own daughter graduated high school,did an overnight party at the school,we picked her up at 7am and drove straight to the airport where we flew from Chicago to LA.She slept on the plane,we landed 3.5 hours later and were inside Disneyland 2 hours after we landed.Do it!!!

 

[LiteBrite]

I say go for it, this has the potential to be a once in a life time memory.

Remember how fast those little kid years went by? Well, the late teen/young adult years aren't any slower. This is prime time for the two of you to do something nuts like this. Even if you are too tired the next day, who cares. It will be worth it for the memory.

 

[Bjkandma]

Do it! It will be fun and a GREAT memory. Even if you only go to have ice cream and the Goodnight Kiss. Something the two of you can talk about and laugh about for years.