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

[SmithSmith]

Just catching up, noticed that most of the March 1 reviews are from guests of Animal Kingdom Lodge. How many of us are staying here? We should do a meet up.

 

[Haley R]

Sorry to hear that! I hope you had an amazing time anyway. I hope they can clarify everything and you don't lose your FPs! Wishing you pixie dust and maybe some anytime FPs!!!!

Went to the front desk at pop and they fixed it for us!! No anytime FPs but that’s okay lol. Our niece did get an anytime FP at hs for our whole party just because it was her birthday.

 

[SmithSmith]

Also ran into @SmithSmith in the hallway which was a nice surprise! Sorry we couldn’t talk longer but I think we were both so exhausted!

Yep... and I’m still so exhausted.

March eighthers, don’t make my mistake and forget to schedule downtime either the day of or the day after DAH.

 

[MischaOz]

Went to DAH on 3/1. I won’t bore everyone with a recap of everything we did, lol, but thought I’d try to share a few tidbits that might be helpful.

We were able to pick up our lanyards at Liberty Square Guest services at 7pm.

We were told at BTMR that we could use our lanyard as FP starting at 8:45, but we didn’t need to because BTMR and Splash were walk ons after about 8:30ish.

We were able to get our own log on Splash and our own boat on Small World (party of 4).

Everything was walk on for us except Peter Pan and 7DMT. PP was about 5 min. They were using FP line so you can see how long the line is. 7DMT was posted 25 min (and CM was verbally telling people 25 min), but it was actually 10 min.

CMs did a GREAT job of moving lines and handing out snacks. The snack lines looked a little long at times (8-10 deep), but they moved really quickly.

It definitely looked like more than 3,000 people. As others have noted, the park was not “empty” by any means. We would do this event again in a heartbeat at the same price for the same crowd level, but if Disney starts increasing the number of tickets sold, I would reconsider.

 

[Disney.Denise]

Yep... and I’m still so exhausted.

March eighthers, don’t make my mistake and forget to schedule downtime either the day of or the day after DAH.

My last trip there was Oct 12th. I rope dropped MK and stayed all the way through MNSSHP What was I thinking? About midway of the party, I was done. I stayed til the end, but I was beyond exhausted.

We're going March 8th and I'm sleeping in that morning Thanks everyone for your tips and advice.

 

[GADisneyDad14]

Ok, a recap of my night.

Entered park earlier in the afternoon via AP; rides and dinner; got lanyard; dessert party and Happily Ever After.

Pre-DAH
Rode Peoplemover
Tried to use lanyard FP at Buzz but no luck. Didn’t want to wait for anything so headed back to Hub to meet my friend who was arriving from Epcot. Realized Once Upon a Time was about to start so I got to watch that.

By the end of OUAT, it was 9pm.
Buzz (walk-on)
Met Friend.
Peoplemover again, I love that ride!
Buzz again (per request of friend)
Space; got stuck behind someone not walking on exit moving walkway (they also had a manual wheelchair) and it was super annoying so we had to squeeze by them and the wheelchair and they gave us attitiude, so I snarked right back.
Barnstormer x2 (let us stay on so we called an audible and rode again)
Under the Sea
Considered seeing Ariel but wait was 15 min so skipped.
Grabbed some water/coke/ice cream bar for friend.
Winnie the Pooh

Split from friend as he headed to frontier and i wanted to do 7D despite posted wait time.
7DMT-posted wait 25 min; actually less than 10 min. Waited to get the back car.
7DMT again-posted 20 min, actually 7 min including plenty of time to play in queue (I’ve always just FPed it)
More water/sodas. I was too stuffed for ice cream.
Peter Pan-posted 25 min. No line until you get back out of the extended queue. I was alone in Nursery so i got to have awesome interactions with the shadows. Total wait about 7 min

Headed to Adventureland to meet friend again.
While waiting for him rode Magic Carpets x2. Had an awesome CM (I already tweeted a cast compliment), who was just hilarious and having so much fun! A highlight: “You get a carpet, you get a carpet, everyone gets a carpet!”

Met my friend at Jungle Cruise and it was his dream to have a private boat. We mentioned that to the CM and originally they were skeptical it would happen because more people kept coming up. But the skippers on the dock ended up working hard to get us a boat, with them filling up the previous boat, waiting for a new empty one and then rushing it along to get out of the dock before more people walked up! We even ended up with one of them as our Skipper because they did a switch off. And that ride was amazing! My friend videoed it all and the guy didn’t even need to use his speaker! He made plenty of new jokes (some you probably wouldn’t do in a larger group) and was having so much fun with us too. He even was able to talk in the temple cave since he wasn’t using a speaker. Truly wonderful and I also tweeted out a compliment for them.

By the time we were done it was 12:00 exactly, so no more rides.

Ended up waiting a while for AKL bus, but thankfully I got a seat. But it was packed full and a lot of people were left in the bus waiting area. I really wish I had just gotten a Minnie van or walked to contemporary and gotten an uber, as I forgot the bus also stopped at Kidani before Jambo. Got back to my room around 1:10 am.

Also ran into @SmithSmith in the hallway which was a nice surprise! Sorry we couldn’t talk longer but I think we were both so exhausted!

Overall it was a lot of fun! I’m not sure if I’ll do it again (partially because I don’t know if I’ll be visiting when it’s offered, and partially because I don’t know if I want to spend money).

Thanks for this detailed review @Lesley Wake - sounds like a fun night!

 

[pitpat]

Does HEA run from 7:55 to about 8:13? Got a 7:30-8:30 BTMRR FP and want to time it right. Trying to figure out the best way to shoehorn Splash, BTM and Jungle Cruise into that last hour, hour and a half before DAH.

I'll be there Thursday, GaDisneyDad!

 

[GADisneyDad14]

Does HEA run from 7:55 to about 8:13? Got a 7:30-8:30 BTMRR FP and want to time it right. Trying to figure out the best way to shoehorn Splash, BTM and Jungle Cruise into that last hour, hour and a half before DAH.

I'll be there Thursday, GaDisneyDad!

Got you added!

And yes, HEA is right around 18 minutes.

 

[Disney.Denise]

I would really love to be on Dumbo or BTMRR during the fireworks, but I haven't seen HEA yet. The last time I was there in October, we got Boo To You parade, etc.

 

[pitpat]

I would really love to be on Dumbo or BTMRR during the fireworks, but I haven't seen HEA yet. The last time I was there in October, we got Boo To You parade, etc.

At least the 9pm closing works better than 8pm if you want to see HEA.

 

[ConnecticutNonna]

I am sooo excited for this event March 8th which coincides with my 60th birthday I will be there celebrating with my sweet hubby. He doesn't do crowded parks, so I'm hoping this is slow and easy. Did March 1st appear crowded at a sell out, to anyone?

I will have this t-shirt on. If you see us, Please say hi! Would love to meet other Dis Board members.

DD and I will also be there, but not sure yet what our outfits are...
I'll look for you...
I can't wait!
I love what everyone has posted!

 

[GADisneyDad14]

DD and I will also be there, but not sure yet what our outfits are...
I'll look for you...
I can't wait!
I love what everyone has posted!

Hey @ConnecticutNonna - hope you have a GREAT time!

 

[rosysubmarine]

Is anyone else going to the dessert party on the 8th? I'll be wearing an Ariel LuLaRoe shirt.

 

[ConnecticutNonna]

Is anyone else going to the dessert party on the 8th? I'll be wearing an Ariel LuLaRoe shirt.

We are doing the dessert party on Wednesday when we arrive...
Have fun, I'll be looking for your Ariel shirt...

 

[asamklove]

Please help - advice needed! I’ll be leaving the park at midnight on March 8, but will need to get to my car at TTC to drive back to offsite hotel. Is this safe? In other words, does anyone else actually drive to DAH?

 

[MischaOz]

Please help - advice needed! I’ll be leaving the park at midnight on March 8, but will need to get to my car at TTC to drive back to offsite hotel. Is this safe? In other words, does anyone else actually drive to DAH?

Of course it’s safe. Lots of people drive to DAH just like any other day at MK.

 

[GADisneyDad14]

Please help - advice needed! I’ll be leaving the park at midnight on March 8, but will need to get to my car at TTC to drive back to offsite hotel. Is this safe? In other words, does anyone else actually drive to DAH?

Yes, absolutely, you won’t be the only person driving to DAH. Perfectly safe. The MK parking lots are typically well lit.

Have fun!

 

[Disney.Denise]

We are off site too. You'll be safe walking. Lots of people around. Hey, maybe the parking lot won't be lined up

 

[MermaidMommy]

It looks like Thursday’s weather is going to be a little cooler — high of 66, low 43.

For those of you who did DAH on a chillier night, any suggestions about what to wear? How warmly did you have to dress?

 

[jenushkask8s]

Is anyone else going to the dessert party on the 8th? I'll be wearing an Ariel LuLaRoe shirt.

My sister and I will be at the dessert party that night. I'll be in a Dr. Who Stitch shirt.