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

[lucas]

I just looked at my video of the Kiss Goodnight from Saturday, July 21...well, actually by that time it was Sunday. The time stamp on my phone says 1:15am.

 

[lucas]

Do any of the CMs wear their pin trading lanyards during DAH? I'm trying to decide if I should lug some traders with me.

 

[OhhBother]

We were already booked for Sept. 20 during our "real" vacation. But we just threw together a last-minute trip for next weekend to take advantage of the Passholder event Sunday night. So, of course, we added DAH for next Saturday!

 

[GADisneyDad14]

We were already booked for Sept. 20 during our "real" vacation. But we just threw together a last-minute trip for next weekend to take advantage of the Passholder event Sunday night. So, of course, we added DAH for next Saturday!

You, my friend, are Disney's TARGET audience.

PS: I'd be lying if I said I didn't have similar thoughts earlier today when I got that e-mail... but just couldn't pull it off.

 

[OhhBother]

You, my friend, are Disney's TARGET audience.

PS: I'd be lying if I said I didn't have similar thoughts earlier today when I got that e-mail... but just couldn't pull it off.

Guilty as charged!

 

[amalone1013]

Yes, you can.

Great. I'm going to surprise my husband as an anniversary gift. It's Sept 19th and we have a trip that week to celebrate. He doesnt get in MDE too often, but now I can make sure he won't see the tickets accidentally!

Is the first anniversary gift paper? Does this count?

 

[Aoife]

I'm sorry if this has been said before, does anyone have any idea when the summer 2019 dates will be announced?

 

[GADisneyDad14]

I'm sorry if this has been said before, does anyone have any idea when the summer 2019 dates will be announced?

These summer dates going on now are the first summer DAH events they’ve offered, so we don’t have any history to go by.

But FWIW, these summer events were announced 5/2/2018.

 

[esilanna]

I just made the decision and booked the 8/11 DAH! I've never done this before, and I'm so excited. We have an early morning ADR at 7:55 at the Poly (we're staying at AKL), but I'm most likely going to cancel it in favor of sleeping in after a long night... and then returning to MK

I'm just really hoping that the crowds stay low, especially after the marketing event they did with all the vloggers. As a matter of fact, the Tim Tracker's video was the final push for me to get the tickets. And I'm sure many are doing the same.

 

[SL6827]

Sounds as though Disney has a good thing going here with this event. One worth the time and money. One that I may consider in the future. Hopefully they won't be raising the prices or the number of tickets sold in the future by much at all. Makes me wonder if they realize that the number of tickets sold now is just enough to keep the sales good?

 

[Vickie1016]

Actually I did just email guest services following my last post! They do give the wrist bands for the holiday and dessert parties but lanyards for the DAH events. People are not getting in without a ticket once event begins but are obviously already in the park and just don't leave. It just amazes me that people think it's ok to try to participate in these events without paying.

Can I ask - what email address did you send your feedback to? We also attended 7/21 & to honest, was disappointed with the drinks running out well before midnight.

We were only able to get bottled water once, outside SDMT, all other locations had run out. I would have packed my own bottled water from my hotel room - if I knew there was a possibility of them running out of drinks.

 

[Vickie1016]

Quick review of 7/21 event - myself, DH, DD12. This was our last day of a 10 day trip, so we knew which rides we wanted & planned accordingly. We booked fastpasses prior to Saturday, based upon the info here, starting at 6:30 - BTMRR, 7:30 - Jungle Cruise, 8:45 - Speedway.

Upon arrival at the MK, there were gates specific for the DAH event, with a CM holding a large sign directing you to the correct tap style. We entered at 6:15. We rode BTMRR (FP), watched the Hoedown in Frontier Land, Country Bears, Jungle Cruise (FP). Walking to Tomorrow land, we noticed a lantern photopass near the TeaCups, so took pictures. We asked if the Tangled lantern would be available during DAH and was advised no, so we went directly there. Took pictures, then went back to Tomorrowland. Rode Peoplemover, Laugh Floor, then Speedway (FP). This brought us to 10:00. (We did a lot between 6:15-10:00, we walked to our destinations with a purpose & used the app for wait times, as we wanted to get all these done prior to 10:00)

During DAH we rode:
Dumbo
Barnstormer 7x w/o getting off
Meet Ariel
Little Mermaid ride
Photopass near Little Mermaid
Pooh
SDMT (at least a 20 minute wait, only rode once as line was long all night)
Snacks - water, ice cream
Peter Pan
** walking to HM we did notice the Tangled Lantern photopass **
Haunted Mansion
BTMRR 3x (had to exit, there was about 5 minute wait)
Snacks - popcorn, out of drinks
Meet Elena & Cinderella
At this point it was 12:30 & DD wanted to see Mickey before we left so we made our way down Main Street, took a couple of photopass
Meet Mickey Mouse (no wait)
Walked back up Main Street to snack cart - again no drinks, so got our last Mickey bars of the trip. The CM closed the line at exactly 1:00. We sat near the Plaza to eat out ice cream,
Took the bus back to WL

We all agree that this was worth the $$. If offered again next summer, we will defiantly book this again. That being said, if drinks are part of the cost, there should be drinks till 1:00, not run out before midnight on a hot & humid night! Also reading the other reviews from Saturday night, we did not personally see "sharing" of the lanyard - but it is not acceptable!!! There needs to be a better system - like the wristbands PP mentioned.

Thank you everyone for your previous reviews - reading them did help with the planning for our night!

 

[scjo68]

Quick review of 7/21 event - myself, DH, DD12. This was our last day of a 10 day trip, so we knew which rides we wanted & planned accordingly. We booked fastpasses prior to Saturday, based upon the info here, starting at 6:30 - BTMRR, 7:30 - Jungle Cruise, 8:45 - Speedway.

Upon arrival at the MK, there were gates specific for the DAH event, with a CM holding a large sign directing you to the correct tap style. We entered at 6:15. We rode BTMRR (FP), watched the Hoedown in Frontier Land, Country Bears, Jungle Cruise (FP). Walking to Tomorrow land, we noticed a lantern photopass near the TeaCups, so took pictures. We asked if the Tangled lantern would be available during DAH and was advised no, so we went directly there. Took pictures, then went back to Tomorrowland. Rode Peoplemover, Laugh Floor, then Speedway (FP). This brought us to 10:00. (We did a lot between 6:15-10:00, we walked to our destinations with a purpose & used the app for wait times, as we wanted to get all these done prior to 10:00)

During DAH we rode:
Dumbo
Barnstormer 7x w/o getting off
Meet Ariel
Little Mermaid ride
Photopass near Little Mermaid
Pooh
SDMT (at least a 20 minute wait, only rode once as line was long all night)
Snacks - water, ice cream
Peter Pan
** walking to HM we did notice the Tangled Lantern photopass **
Haunted Mansion
BTMRR 3x (had to exit, there was about 5 minute wait)
Snacks - popcorn, out of drinks
Meet Elena & Cinderella
At this point it was 12:30 & DD wanted to see Mickey before we left so we made our way down Main Street, took a couple of photopass
Meet Mickey Mouse (no wait)
Walked back up Main Street to snack cart - again no drinks, so got our last Mickey bars of the trip. The CM closed the line at exactly 1:00. We sat near the Plaza to eat out ice cream,
Took the bus back to WL

We all agree that this was worth the $$. If offered again next summer, we will defiantly book this again. That being said, if drinks are part of the cost, there should be drinks till 1:00, not run out before midnight on a hot & humid night! Also reading the other reviews from Saturday night, we did not personally see "sharing" of the lanyard - but it is not acceptable!!! There needs to be a better system - like the wristbands PP mentioned.

Thank you everyone for your previous reviews - reading them did help with the planning for our night!

Thanks so much for the review!
It sounds like 7DMT was the one long wait. That and the fact that they ran out of drinks seem to be the main drawbacks reported from the 7/21 party.
If they get lots of complaints about running out of drinks, they should fix that, since it is within their control. I would not be surprised if they require each guest to come to the cart to get their own drinks one at a time, rather than letting one person grab five at a time for their whole party.

Question:

I just bought our tickets for 8/11.
It is in my MDE. Should I need to pick anything up before we use our bands to get lanyards the night of the event? We have AP's that will not be activated until the day before the DAH, and got the AP discount to get the tickets. Will they need to see the actual AP card at any point?

 

[GADisneyDad14]

I just bought our tickets for 8/11.
It is in my MDE. Should I need to pick anything up before we use our bands to get lanyards the night of the event? We have AP's that will not be activated until the day before the DAH, and got the AP discount to get the tickets. Will they need to see the actual AP card at any point?

So long as you see the tickets in the MDX account and they’re attached to the right people, under normal circumstances you should not need to stop and pick up anything and your bands will work for DAH admission when you scan at a DAH entrance (or at a staton inside the park if you’re already in).

Occasionally things can go wonky and not work as described above, but I’ve never had a problem with it. I do have the confirmation e-mail saved in a folder than I can easily find should I run into any issues / need to visit Guest Relations.

 

[kcm105]

Quick review of 7/21 event - myself, DH, DD12. This was our last day of a 10 day trip, so we knew which rides we wanted & planned accordingly. We booked fastpasses prior to Saturday, based upon the info here, starting at 6:30 - BTMRR, 7:30 - Jungle Cruise, 8:45 - Speedway.

Upon arrival at the MK, there were gates specific for the DAH event, with a CM holding a large sign directing you to the correct tap style. We entered at 6:15. We rode BTMRR (FP), watched the Hoedown in Frontier Land, Country Bears, Jungle Cruise (FP). Walking to Tomorrow land, we noticed a lantern photopass near the TeaCups, so took pictures. We asked if the Tangled lantern would be available during DAH and was advised no, so we went directly there. Took pictures, then went back to Tomorrowland. Rode Peoplemover, Laugh Floor, then Speedway (FP). This brought us to 10:00. (We did a lot between 6:15-10:00, we walked to our destinations with a purpose & used the app for wait times, as we wanted to get all these done prior to 10:00)

During DAH we rode:
Dumbo
Barnstormer 7x w/o getting off
Meet Ariel
Little Mermaid ride
Photopass near Little Mermaid
Pooh
SDMT (at least a 20 minute wait, only rode once as line was long all night)
Snacks - water, ice cream
Peter Pan
** walking to HM we did notice the Tangled Lantern photopass **
Haunted Mansion
BTMRR 3x (had to exit, there was about 5 minute wait)
Snacks - popcorn, out of drinks
Meet Elena & Cinderella
At this point it was 12:30 & DD wanted to see Mickey before we left so we made our way down Main Street, took a couple of photopass
Meet Mickey Mouse (no wait)
Walked back up Main Street to snack cart - again no drinks, so got our last Mickey bars of the trip. The CM closed the line at exactly 1:00. We sat near the Plaza to eat out ice cream,
Took the bus back to WL

We all agree that this was worth the $$. If offered again next summer, we will defiantly book this again. That being said, if drinks are part of the cost, there should be drinks till 1:00, not run out before midnight on a hot & humid night! Also reading the other reviews from Saturday night, we did not personally see "sharing" of the lanyard - but it is not acceptable!!! There needs to be a better system - like the wristbands PP mentioned.

Thank you everyone for your previous reviews - reading them did help with the planning for our night!

Did you have any wait at all for the characters other than Mickey? I think yours is the first official review I've seen that included character visits!

 

[Vickie1016]

Did you have any wait at all for the characters other than Mickey? I think yours is the first official review I've seen that included character visits!

There was one family ahead of us for Ariel (got in just before a big family with several small children), one family ahead of us for Elena & Cinderella and about 5 for Mickey (but it went quick). DD had already visited Rapunzel & Tinker Bell earlier in our trip, so we did not visit them during DAH.

 

[kcm105]

There was one family ahead of us for Ariel (got in just before a big family with several small children), one family ahead of us for Elena & Cinderella and about 5 for Mickey (but it went quick). DD had already visited Rapunzel & Tinker Bell earlier in our trip, so we did not visit them during DAH.

Thanks!

 

[martaroo]

I was also at the DAH on 7/21. I have previously done DAH in Feb ‘17 and Feb ‘18. This was by far more crowded then the other two. Was most disappointed that 7dmt was a consistent 15-20 min wait. I know it’s still way better than normal but when you pay the price for only three hours that wait time is expensive.
Also ran into snack cart issues. About an hour in I was told by one cart they were out of water already. By the end of night most carts were out of a lot. One cart only had Diet Coke left and I could not find any with a frozen banana left (checked with 4 carts then gave up).

Hi, I just wanted to follow-up on my post. I did send an e-mail to Disney yesterday letting them know of the issues I mentioned in my prior post; that I was disappointed and that it may impact my attendance at future DAH events. I already received a call and e-mail back from WDW Guest Services. I spoke with a great CM who apologized and asked for more details about my experience. He also mentioned that coincidentally a co-worker of his attended DAH the same night and experienced similar issues.
He offered to refund 50% of my DAH cost in form of a Disney Gift Card. (I have an AP, so it is 50% of the reduced rate) He spent quite a bit of time talking to me about the process that will happen to ensure my feedback is heard by Disney leaders. I asked if the issues I experienced are ones that I should expect now going forward at these events. He said that while they are always looking for ways reduce bottle necks on the rides, that a 20 min wait may be typical for a ride like 7DMT going forward. He also stressed that he understood that 20 min is a long time when you only have 3 hours and most guests attending the party are doing so to have access to the big rides. But they would continue to see if they can make improvements. As far as the carts that ran out of the beverages and snacks he said that was not what is supposed to happen and should be addressed by Disney leadership. He said the CMs should be replenishing their carts with items they are out of throughout the evening and if this was not happening it would be flagged as an issue.
He said that DAH is new to them for the summer so they are still adapting as they go right now and they need Guest feedback to know where things need to change.
Overall, I was pretty impressed with Disney's response! I felt this CM did a great job engaging me and making me feel like a valued Guest. Thanks!

 

[donaldanddaisy]

Hi, I just wanted to follow-up on my post. I did send an e-mail to Disney yesterday letting them know of the issues I mentioned in my prior post; that I was disappointed and that it may impact my attendance at future DAH events. I already received a call and e-mail back from WDW Guest Services. I spoke with a great CM who apologized and asked for more details about my experience. He also mentioned that coincidentally a co-worker of his attended DAH the same night and experienced similar issues.
He offered to refund 50% of my DAH cost in form of a Disney Gift Card. (I have an AP, so it is 50% of the reduced rate) He spent quite a bit of time talking to me about the process that will happen to ensure my feedback is heard by Disney leaders. I asked if the issues I experienced are ones that I should expect now going forward at these events. He said that while they are always looking for ways reduce bottle necks on the rides, that a 20 min wait may be typical for a ride like 7DMT going forward. He also stressed that he understood that 20 min is a long time when you only have 3 hours and most guests attending the party are doing so to have access to the big rides. But they would continue to see if they can make improvements. As far as the carts that ran out of the beverages and snacks he said that was not what is supposed to happen and should be addressed by Disney leadership. He said the CMs should be replenishing their carts with items they are out of throughout the evening and if this was not happening it would be flagged as an issue.
He said that DAH is new to them for the summer so they are still adapting as they go right now and they need Guest feedback to know where things need to change.
Overall, I was pretty impressed with Disney's response! I felt this CM did a great job engaging me and making me feel like a valued Guest. Thanks!

Wow, that's great, I'm glad they paid so much attention! I hope they resolve the drink issue immediately -- we'll be there Saturday night! The wait I'm not sure there is a lot they can do about (except prevent sharing of lanyards) but they can clearly replenish drinks!

 

[disneymagicgirl]

Can I ask - what email address did you send your feedback to? We also attended 7/21 & to honest, was disappointed with the drinks running out well before midnight.

We were only able to get bottled water once, outside SDMT, all other locations had run out. I would have packed my own bottled water from my hotel room - if I knew there was a possibility of them running out of drinks.

These reports are quite concerning. I hope it was some sort of mistake/oversight and we don't hear about it again.