"Official" 2018 Disney After Hours (DAH) Thread (Now Closed, see New 2019 Thread)

[focusondisney]

They do advertise it as unlimited though

I agree it is ridiculously greedy but at the prices Disney charges for everything, people will look for ways to feel less bent over. And $120 for three hours is ridiculously greedy as well.

Disney wouldn't eliminate snacks but maybe limit the number one person could get at a time.

Yea, they do advertise unlimited snacks. But I think there is an implied reasonableness to anything listed as "unlimited". And yes, maybe the lady was getting those ice creams for 30 other paid attendees. Or maybe she was stocking her freezer for the next few months.

The Christmas party admission used to get you a nice photo & a pin. The party got popular, the price went up, the photo & pin went away. Disney takes more stuff away than they add to events. If everyone started taking 20 Mickey bars & 15 sandwiches, you can bet that next year's event wouldn't offer unlimited ice cream. The price will go up & the treats will go down.


Maybe it's just the crabby old lady in me. But I always found it true that a "few bad apples" can spoil it for everyone. And I would really hate to have this event spoiled! Because it is great as it is!!

 

[MIAMouseketeer]

Any chance dates will be added later in the year? We have a trip planned in July and this would be the icing on the cake lol

Doubt it. They tend to do this in slow months. Last year it was only January - March and I expect 2018 to be the same.

 

[focusondisney]

To everyone for their reports from last night! So helpful!

I’m behind in linking reviews to Post #1, but I’ll get to it this weekend.

Thanks again!

Moderating a whole forum getting in the way of our little thread, huh?

 

[MIAMouseketeer]

My husband and I are going 3/1 and our tickets say 439-440. They were purchased on 1/5/18. I usually plan our Disney trips very meticulously but don't really know how to plan for DAH as far as the order of rides, snacks, etc. Would most people say that the best plan is just to know which rides you want to hit, how may times each, and then move in order of lands to eliminate wasting too much time walking back and forth between lands? I also saw some posts recommending doing 7DMT toward the end of the night vs the beginning. From those who have been or have already planned their night, does that sound about right? Since our night is a 9-12 night, I definitely think that by getting in around 6pm and staying to 12 we shouldn't have any trouble doing any- and everything we want to do. I just hope the Disney adrenaline can keep us going that long! We will have worked M-W and then are getting up early and driving ~7 hours to Orlando Thursday morning (our DAH day) and hopefully make it in time to check in at POFQ, early dinner at Ohana at 4:10, then off to DAH until midnight! Going to be a long day but I'm determined not to let us squander this once in a lifetime opportunity so I'm planning to load up on as much caffeine as we need to make it through!

We are going the same night and all I know is we plan to end with Splash Mountain. So I guess we will start in Tomorrowland. Pirates will be closed, so we probably won't make it over to Adventureland. We are going the following Sunday with our 2 year old, so we will be focusing on the rides we normally can't ride with him.

 

[The_Big_Goof]

We had another really great event. We managed to get everything done that we wanted to.

Entered MK at 4pm using our AP and bought After Hours Tickets.
Played Sorcerers
Rode the Railway all the way around the Kingdom.
FP Jungle Cruise
Played Sorcerers
Caseys for Dinner
Walked to the front to get our lanyards
Stop at the Confectionery and then Starbucks for sugar hits.
Magic Carpets (CM let us use FP line)

Walked to Big Thunder, got in line 7:57pm

Rode Big Thunder four times (once during fireworks which was a dream of mine!)
Snack stop in Liberty Square - Popcorn/Ice Cream and Drinks.
Walk across to Tomorrowland (cutting across Main Street)
Buzz Lightyear x 3
Another Ice Cream stop.
Winnie the Pooh (for stuck for a few minutes)
Carousel x 2
Met Tiana and Rapunzel (sign said it was a mystery princess instead of Tiana.)
Popcorn stop
Space Mountain (longest wait of the night - 12 minutes)
Drink stop.
Peter Pan Ride
Ice Cream and final popcorn stop (picked up 2 to full my refillable bucket)
Carousel
Mine Train (said 30 minute wait. Was under 10)
Ice cream stops (CMs asked if we wanted anything more to take with us. Grabbed an ice cream each and a drink each)

Photopass was still out so we took two photos, took some extra photos of an almost (and then empty) Main Street. We watched The Kiss Good Night 3 or even 4 times (we finally got the photo of us laying down on Main Street with the castle in the background) CMs were awesome and helped us take our photos. They were lovely and we were the last ones out of the Kingdom.

It was an amazing night! I hope everyone had a great time too!

Okay so I got to know which is better - Seven Dwarf Mine Train Or Big Thunder during the fireworks?! This event gives us the opportunity to do either, so I want to make it count!

 

[WelshDH@98CPAlum]

So, we are planning on going on 3/1. I was going to wait to buy the tickets, but would be very bummed if it sold out before we bought (especially now that 2/15 sold out this early) - so plan on buying today. However, I plan to upgrade my 5 day ticket to an Annual Pass. Hoping its not an issue to get the discount refunded/applied towards the upgrade. I've read a few stories indicating they had this done, but hoping I don't run into any issues. Also, hoping the people that said they want to go will still want to go (since there are no refunds, etc.) and that the weather holds out.

 

[Haley R]

Okay so I got to know which is better - Seven Dwarf Mine Train Or Big Thunder during the fireworks?! This event gives us the opportunity to do either, so I want to make it count!

I’ve actually done both and we like btmr better. Mostly because we were able to ride it twice during fireworks but IMO the actual ride is quicker and more exciting than 7dmt.

 

[Haley R]

Yea, they do advertise unlimited snacks. But I think there is an implied reasonableness to anything listed as "unlimited". And yes, maybe the lady was getting those ice creams for 30 other paid attendees. Or maybe she was stocking her freezer for the next few months.

The Christmas party admission used to get you a nice photo & a pin. The party got popular, the price went up, the photo & pin went away. Disney takes more stuff away than they add to events. If everyone started taking 20 Mickey bars & 15 sandwiches, you can bet that next year's event wouldn't offer unlimited ice cream. The price will go up & the treats will go down.


Maybe it's just the crabby old lady in me. But I always found it true that a "few bad apples" can spoil it for everyone. And I would really hate to have this event spoiled! Because it is great as it is!!

I could also see Disney taking it away for that reason. We definitely won’t be taking tons of food and drink back with us. I don’t think we would have the space or the time to even drink/eat it all. Plus we are on the dining plan so we get 2 snacks a day anyway. I can kind of see why that person might’ve taken that much with them and even though I won’t do that I still thought it was funny to imagine. I know someone said last year that people brought large bags to get pop and they still kept the unlimited snacks this year.

 

[lark]

Not being able to get the lanyards at Liberty Square this time is a real bummer, but at least people didn't need to leave and re-enter. Seems like it would be relatively simple to accommodate folks already in the park, but I suppose it's just not a priority.

It's going to be interesting whether they stick to the 6:00 p.m. entry time on the 9:00 p.m. starts.

Did anyone try to get in with their hard ticket before 6:00 this time?

 

[wootejl]

We are going the same night and all I know is we plan to end with Splash Mountain. So I guess we will start in Tomorrowland. Pirates will be closed, so we probably won't make it over to Adventureland. We are going the following Sunday with our 2 year old, so we will be focusing on the rides we normally can't ride with him.

That sounds very similar to our plan! This will be out only MK day, but we are not bringing out 18 mo. old with us so we also plan to ride all of the "adult" rides I can't wait!

 

[Haley R]

Not being able to get the lanyards at Liberty Square this time is a real bummer, but at least people didn't need to leave and re-enter. Seems like it would be relatively simple to accommodate folks already in the park, but I suppose it's just not a priority.

It's going to be interesting whether they stick to the 6:00 p.m. entry time on the 9:00 p.m. starts.

Did anyone try to get in with their hard ticket before 6:00 this time?

I would also like to know this. I haven’t really heard from anyone lately trying to use their physical dah card to get in.

 

[senadler]

I wish they would be consistent about where you can get your lanyards. I have switched the order of my fp+ three times now based on where we are going to be able to pickup the lanyards (Liberty Square vs. entrance). I guess I will just assume we have to go to the front and plan to be in that area for our last one.

 

[Belle0101]

I would also like to know this. I haven’t really heard from anyone lately trying to use their physical dah card to get in.

We used our actual cards versus our AP/Magic Bands. I'm can't say that it made a difference ... Liberty Square CM and Plaids had said they weren't getting the lanyards and by the time we navigated up to the front they were already letting guests in.

 

[Haley R]

We used our actual cards versus our AP/Magic Bands. I'm can't say that it made a difference ... Liberty Square CM and Plaids had said they weren't getting the lanyards and by the time we navigated up to the front they were already letting guests in.

Did you get in with your dah ticket? If so, how early?

 

[mn51]

I did DAH on !/30. We had a wonderful time! I hope that everyone has a great time tonight!!

We were there on 1/30 too. It was so wonderful. We started on BTMRR and worked our way back. Rode most rides several times. I don't believe that night sold out. Would do DAH again!

 

[GADisneyDad14]

Post #1 has been updated with review links from the 1/30 and 2/8 dates (towards the bottom of the post). Huge THANK YOU to everyone who shares their experiences!

 

[CAQDaddy]

Okay so I got to know which is better - Seven Dwarf Mine Train Or Big Thunder during the fireworks?! This event gives us the opportunity to do either, so I want to make it count!

btmr

 

[Disney_Princess83]

Were you the two people who were taking photos lying down on Main Street near the Emporium/flagpole? If so I definitely walked past you a few times (was walking up and down Main Street trying to get nice empty park photos)!

Yes, that was us! We have always wanted to get that photo but the parks are always just too busy. We were laying on Main Street between the Emporium and the Confectionery taking photos. They came out really great.

 

[Disney_Princess83]

Okay so I got to know which is better - Seven Dwarf Mine Train Or Big Thunder during the fireworks?! This event gives us the opportunity to do either, so I want to make it count!

Big Thunder. Mine Train is over too quickly and you aren't at a great angle to see the fireworks.

 

[SmithSmith]

Thanks everyone for all your reports! They’re such a huge help.

So we’re down to the final 3, correct? Is anyone else worried that the upcoming nights are going to have the 7:00 entry enforced? Are we really going to be that lucky to gain an extra hour over the earlier nights? I hope so, but...