Not sure $149 Disney After Hrs event is doing well... (ETA: reviews in 1st post)

[tinkerbella16]

The cost won't be $600 for everyone. One person pays $149. Eight people pay $1,192. Tens of thousands pay zero, because they don't see the value and don't buy any tickets.

Is this like the other extra ticket events where your ticket for the event gets you in at 4pm, and no other MK admission is required? Or is the $149 on top of your MK admission, and you get in at 7pm?

 

[Nancyg56]

So that's it, no wait times for rides and attractions most people have done multiple times has this much value to people?

I've said this before but for $600 how about a pic with Walts Frozen Head?

I've lost faith in my fellow man.

I don't understand. What part of how others spend their money and how they find value on those dollars spent upsets you? There is no way I would spend a dime at a ski resort going down that same mountain multiple times, (or in my case, falling down that mountain multiple times) but I would never disparage those who do.

I also would not consider upgrading to first class to fly anywhere, but I understand why there are people who find it a value.

There are a lot of expenditures I do not need to make in order to respect that others value.

 

[Nancyg56]

Is this like the other extra ticket events where your ticket for the event gets you in at 4pm, and no other MK admission is required? Or is the $149 on top of your MK admission, and you get in at 7pm?

Nope,, that's the price. You are allowed to check in at 7 with no additional park ticket.

 

[BattyKoda]

Ok, the reviews so far sound pretty good, but, apparently, most of the people that were there last night got in for free. I'd like to see what someone who had to pay thought of last night. Do they feel that they got their money's worth?

 

[atricks]

A few places were reporting that the number actual paid for tickets was about 300. That's pretty bad.

I suspect this will either drop in price or be cancelled altogether.

 

[Mikie]

Ok, the reviews so far sound pretty good, but, apparently, most of the people that were there last night got in for free. I'd like to see what someone who had to pay thought of last night. Do they feel that they got their money's worth?

A few places were reporting that the number actual paid for tickets was about 300. That's pretty bad.

I've seen so many numbers thrown around. . . 8,000 free DVC members ticketed, no 8,000 DVC free *invited*, 3,000 total and "sold out", 3,000 total but not a sellout, now 300 ticketed. . . Wonder if we'll ever get reliable numbers.

Also, early descriptions were a a list of rides, ice cream treats and drinks, and "much, much more!" Any word on what the "more" was?

 

[SureAsLiz]

My view of this event as a non-EMH-guest:

I arrived at MK after work about 615. Crowds were extremely low - spring break is definitely over. I saw 1 couple with credentials about 6:30 coming in, but no more really until after fireworks (I'm sure they were out. But with the low crowds, I was averaging about 15 minutes per ride so I wasn't paying too much attention)

After Wishes I made my way over to Tomorrowland for the last 40 minutes of regular park hours. In that time I was able to ride Space, Little Mermaid, and Haunted Mansion. NFL was deserted, There were maybe 10 people in my stretching room in HM. Overall, the park was extremely empty. I saw Peter Pan marked as 20 minutes, I probably could have gotten my own boat on Small World. I didn't check out 7DMT, but based on the complete lack of people I would guess that it was a pretty short wait at that point too.

I got out of HM a few minutes after 11, so everything was officially EMH. I saw 4 people walking towards HM, a few waiting in Liberty Square for MSEP, but other than that I didn't see any credentials (I was in Liberty square which has no attractions, so that's probably why). After watching the parade, I started to head towards the exit at 11:30. There weren't any checkpoints to see if I had credentials (I could have easily wandered the park unlike the parties). Walking down Main Street, Casey's and Starbucks were the only food open - Casey's was blocked off to non-EMH guests, and I saw a group get turned away.

The stores were supposed to have a hard close at 11, but they all seemed to be open to everyone - every door was open and there were no CMs checking credentials.

I left the park about 11:45. My overall impression was that it felt like a standard off-season after-wishes evening, and the event crowd didn't add anything noticeable. Even after the official check-in time, I was still averaging 15 minutes a ride.

 

[Misha72683]

There are more people than you imagine who do just that. They have one day. They buy a one day pass. Think about the folks who come in for a cruise and want one day in Disney before the begin. Shoot, this would be a great idea. You arrive a day earlier than planned, enjoy the day preparing and relaxing, hit the MK by 7, leave after teh even and board your ship the next day. I might consider this if we were that family, we had one day and we were going to the MK anyway.

This. My cousin had one day at the MK in February. They stayed onsite two nights though, but arrived too late to make the parks worh it. It was her, her husband and their 15 year old son. I think that this had been a n option, they woud have leapt at it because they can all do late nights, she and her son mostly wanted to do rides, and it would hsve freed up their second day for another park (her son woud have liked DHS). They bought one day tickets anyway and may have found more value in this (and might have still bought one day tickets, but the slightly cheaper non-MK ones).

 

[tinkerbella16]

Nope,, that's the price. You are allowed to check in at 7 with no additional park ticket.

There was so much speculating before anything was made official, so I thought it was the other way around. Good to know!

 

[Nancyg56]

A few places were reporting that the number actual paid for tickets was about 300. That's pretty bad.

I suspect this will either drop in price or be cancelled altogether.

Or the favorable reviews we have been reading will drive more people to pay the price. I admit that there are circumstances I can see that would make me think about it, but that yesterday I would not even consider this kind of event.

 

[jknc]

A few places were reporting that the number actual paid for tickets was about 300. That's pretty bad.

I suspect this will either drop in price or be cancelled altogether.

So $45,000 revenue for 3 hours extra time? Just a hunch but my guess is it costs more than $15,000 an hour to operate MK.

Even with 1000 tickets sold that's $150,000 revenue and anyone's guess on operating expense each hour.

 

[Nancyg56]

This. My cousin had one day at the MK in February. They stayed onsite two nights though, but arrived too late to make the parks worh it. It was her, her husband and their 15 year old son. I think that this had been a n option, they woud have leapt at it because they can all do late nights, she and her son mostly wanted to do rides, and it would hsve freed up their second day for another park (her son woud have liked DHS). They bought one day tickets anyway and may have found more value in this (and might have still bought one day tickets, but the slightly cheaper non-MK ones).

At $150 a person they probably would be able to be happy with the one night in MK, and get just about all they wanted to accomplish done, and more than one time. It really can be a plus for a specific go up of guests.

 

[Ladyfish77]

For anyone who attends tonight, please look and see if they put up the "Sold Out" event signs. I feel like they might do this to ramp up the enthusiasm and make people wish they had bought a ticket earlier. It's false advertising in my mind, though.

So someone said it was listed as "Sold Out". Anyone who was there who can verify this statement? If so, boo to Disney for misleading advertising. I know I checked MDE in the afternoon yesterday and it was still available for purchase.

 

[thegajone]

Like many have stated already, this event looks GREAT for certain situations, but not worth the money in others.

Back in January, I was vacationing elsewhere in Florida but was flying in and out of Orlando. I convinced my wife to leave our condo a day early so we could spend 1 day at one of the parks before flying home the next morning. Weighing all the options, we went with Universal instead of Disney because there was more we could get done in 1 day there. If this option was available back then, it would have been an absolute no-brainer to go to this event. The cost to attend wouldn't be that much higher than buying 1-day tickets.

If I were going during peak summer times and peak summer heat, and hadn't yet planned out my vacation, I'd probably be going also. I'd make sure to plan around it and either spend a day at the water parks or at the resort pool then head over at night. That sounds like an amazing day to me!

But in my current situation, it just doesn't make sense. We already planned out our trip months before this event was announced, which means our tickets have already been paid for, meaning this would be a true $149 add-on. We're going the first week of May where crowds will be manageable and the heat won't be oppressive (it'll be warm for sure, but not super humid yet). We are going to spend about a day and a half in MK. It'll be 4 adults, so there are plenty of rides to skip (Dumbo, AO, Carpets, Tea Cups, Regal Carousel). Which means 1.5 days will be PLENTY of time to do everything at least once. With the 4 of us being adults, there just isn't much of a re-ride factor. The idea of riding ANY ride in MK multiple times in a row does nothing for me. Ride everything once, feel the "magic", soak up the nostalgia, and be on our way. Splash Mountain is my favorite amusement park ride in any park I've ever been to, and I've been to about a dozen, but riding it over and over would cause the "magic" to wear off mighty fast. That's not so say that there's anything wrong with you if you'd love it by any means; it's just not for me!

So I can definitely see the appeal in certain situations, but it happens to not fit mine at the moment. Even still, the appeal of going to a dead MK with very few or no children running around is quite tempting! Ultimately though it doesn't make a ton of sense for me.

I can't understand why some people are so vehemently opposed to this. If it's not a fit for you, fine, but I don't understand why you don't want anyone else to have it as an option?

 

[Robo]

So that's it, no wait times for rides and attractions most people have done multiple times has this much value to people?

What "more value" does anyone get when they go back to WDW for multiple vacations?
What "more value" do DVC owners get?
What "more value" do AP holders get?

Some of us LIKE to ride the attractions and enjoy the atmosphere at WDW.
If others don't care, they don't need to go back.

 

[serenitynow]

Wdwmagic is reporting the event last night as sold out

 

[sunshine1]

Were characters out doing meet and greets?

 

[SureAsLiz]

So someone said it was listed as "Sold Out". Anyone who was there who can verify this statement? If so, boo to Disney for misleading advertising. I know I checked MDE in the afternoon yesterday and it was still available for purchase.

I believe tickets for this event for not available for purchase same day like party tickets are. I will go back and check, but that's what I remember reading. I don't recall seeing any sold out signs at the entrance.

ETA: It looks like tickets could in fact be purchased at guest relations. I think originally they could only be purchased in advanced which is why I got confused

Were characters out doing meet and greets?

The only characters available were Mickey and the princesses in Fairy Tale Hall

 

[Jake&IzzyLand]

All I can say is, man I wish I was there!

 

[tinkerbella16]

Were characters out doing meet and greets?

Someone posted this on FB from last night. Everything that was available during the event. I actually think having meet and greets open, like Mickey and princesses is great!