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

[Davkind76]

Every single ride I went on, they were eyeballing wristbands even if they weren’t asking

 

[lvcourtneyy]

We had an enjoyable night. Got to MK around 7:30 after spending the day at Epcot. Before the event started, we rode Jungle Cruise, Magic Carpets, Pirates and Splash. We started the event with BTMRR during fireworks.

Rode BTMRR 3 x in a row without getting off.
Splash- lights came on, music and animatronics went off and ride went down.
Got popcorn, ice cream and drinks
Haunted Mansion
It’s a Small World
Peter Pan- 5 minute wait
Ice cream stop
7DMT- 5-10 minute wait
Winnie the Pooh
Dumbo
Barnstormer x2 (mostly because we didn’t feel like standing up)
Space Mountain x 2 had a 10 minute wait but when we were exiting the CM asked if we wanted to ride again and sent us back to the platform bypassing the line
Buzz x 3 stayed on
Ended the night with a treat stop.

We got to the bus stop to a full YC/BC/BWI/ Swan and Dolphin bus but another came within 5 minutes. The bus sharing is frustrating though especially when your feet are too tired for extra walking.

That said, I probably won’t do another After Hours event. The excitement of the event to me was being able to ride the “big” rides over and over again and with each time I’ve done the event, that’s been less of an option. As a passholder, the value isn’t there for me. We make and modify FPs all day and can accomplish the same thing as the event at this point.

 

[RDarling]

1. This was my 3rd DAH this year. The first two were way busier. This one was much less crowded. We had a great time!

 

[Clare Voince]

Not a single person asked to see our wristband tonight

They never asked, but I could see them glance at my wrist as I got in the queue.

 

[Clare Voince]

Times have been very low Brayden from Mickey Views is live streaming it and he mentioned something about the lanyards not being ready for tonight's event?

Brayden was speculating. It seemed like he didn't know about the abuse that's been going on.

 

[Clare Voince]

Peter Pan went down for a bit as well.. right after I got in line. They said it wasn't broken, but couldn't say when it would be up so most people left to ride other things, myself included. Being out of shape an obese really hampered my enjoyment of this event. It seems like the people that get the most of it are ones who can run around the park from ride to ride. I wasn't the only old fart making multiple bench visits. The bus was prompt.. I only waited about 10 minutes for one. But I left at 11:30.

 

[Lsdolphin]

Crowds tonite seemed light Very little waiting for most rides. When I attended a January DAH we were allowed to use Fast pass entrances tonite only the regular entrance but there were no significant waits so it didn't really matter.
I also didn't see many lines for photos and there quite a few photographers out and about. The lines at ice cream carts were interesting I saw passed carts in FL several times and never saw a line however there was a line at the cart near

Not a single person asked to see our wristband tonight

I was asked if I had a wristband quite a few times and I did notice the CMs just looking to check

 

[AngiTN]

We had a great night too. Glad we opted to stay at CR. Ended up booking a CL room to knock out front every CL on property. Which is why we didn't go till 9:00 or so. We stayed at the resort for evening food then walked over

Cool, thanks Angi! Now get off the DIS and go have fun!

LOL, I got on to see what was up with just wrist bands. We didn't go in till 9:00 so I wasn't sure if they'd run out of what. I knew folks here would know. I still find it odd that in part years no one shared or didn't enough for it to be an issue. Wonder why it started and took off so?

They’re only running one side of space? That’s strange.

When we rode the people mover about 9:45 Space was down, lights were on so guess one side was better than Noone

Not a single person asked to see our wristband tonight

Every single ride I went on, they were eyeballing wristbands even if they weren’t asking

Yep, they may not have asked but they were looking for them. My wrist was out of view several times as we went on a ride and we had to stop to show them. They never were not looking at ours

 

[SL6827]

Sounds like the combination of it being a limited access event first and then second, the fact that many schools are back in session, made this party ticket very worthwhile.

 

[GADisneyDad14]

LOL, I got on to see what was up with just wrist bands. We didn't go in till 9:00 so I wasn't sure if they'd run out of what. I knew folks here would know. I still find it odd that in part years no one shared or didn't enough for it to be an issue. Wonder why it started and took off so?

My "guess" is that the mid-summer dates (the first that have been scheduled in the summer) probably attracted more teens, college kids, and/or disingenuous adults/families who used warm weather, late park hours, and care-free summer vacations as a chance to try to game the system. Contrast that vs the winter dates which have mostly been during off-peak dates... have been cold/low temps.... likely less of a chance for mischief.

Who knows of course, it just seems summer may be more ripe for that kind of stuff than some other times.

 

[areno79]

I'm so happy to see the reports of lower crowds at last night's event. I've been worried that the 9/20 event I'm attending would be packed, taking away the time savings benefit of paying for a premium event.

 

[kkbookmom]

I'm so happy to see the reports of lower crowds at last night's event. I've been worried that the 9/20 event I'm attending would be packed, taking away the time savings benefit of paying for a premium event.

Me too @areno79 I was getting a little discouraged by some of the summer reports. Yes, it would still be less crowded than the average busy MK day. Part of the allure to me is being able to have the space and time to appreciate MK in a way that I can't during those "average busy MK days"... hear the music, notice the details. I'm excited again about that part. Though short waits for rides and free Olaf bars are not bad either. ;-)

 

[lucas]

Went to the event last night and had a great time. It was well worth it.

They let us in right at 6:00. Crowds were light. Got some great pics of nearly empty streets. Snack lines weren’t long and snacks were plentiful. Didn’t have to wait that long for the bus back to PORFQ.

All in all I thought it was fantastic and I would definitely do it again.

Thanks to all who answered my questions leading up to the event!

 

[DisneyFansInNYC]

Went to the event last night and had a great time. It was well worth it.

They let us in right at 6:00. Crowds were light. Got some great pics of nearly empty streets. Snack lines weren’t long and snacks were plentiful. Didn’t have to wait that long for the bus back to PORFQ.

All in all I thought it was fantastic and I would definitely do it again.

Thanks to all who answered my questions leading up to the event!

Glad you enjoyed it. We really enjoyed the 8/11 event and if last night was less crowded it must have been even better.

 

[whiporee]

Me too @areno79 I was getting a little discouraged by some of the summer reports. Yes, it would still be less crowded than the average busy MK day. Part of the allure to me is being able to have the space and time to appreciate MK in a way that I can't during those "average busy MK days"... hear the music, notice the details. I'm excited again about that part. Though short waits for rides and free Olaf bars are not bad either. ;-)

It's nothing like a average day. Nothing at all. It may not be "empty," but I can almost guarantee that short of a terrorist attack or hurricane, you won't see smaller crowds there. Ever. As with the parties, I don't deny anyone their right o be disappointed, but I do wish those who complain would provide context -- if they're upset about 7DMT having a "20 minute" wait, they might want to point out that virtually nothing else has much wait at all. But that's their decision and their report, so how they write it and present it is up to them. However, if you're reading reports of DAH and thinking it might just be like a slightly less crowded MK day, it's nothing like that. Nothing at all.

The only downside of the event is because it's so empty, you're tempted to rush to get as much done as humanly possible, because you don't get the chance to go from walk-on to walk-on to walk-on very often, if at all. So you might find yourself taking less time to enjoy the atmosphere simply because the opportunity cost of slowing down is pretty high.

 

[beaprn]

We had a great night too. Glad we opted to stay at CR. Ended up booking a CL room to knock out front every CL on property. Which is why we didn't go till 9:00 or so. We stayed at the resort for evening food then walked over


LOL, I got on to see what was up with just wrist bands. We didn't go in till 9:00 so I wasn't sure if they'd run out of what. I knew folks here would know. I still find it odd that in part years no one shared or didn't enough for it to be an issue. Wonder why it started and took off so?


When we rode the ho mover about 9:45 Space was down, lights were on so guess one side was better than Noone
f they come


N
Yep, they may not have asked but they were looking for them. My wrist was out of view several times as we went on a ride and we had to stop to show them. Theynever were not looking at ours

This I am not sure what took the lowlifes so long to think up how to cheat this system but from the last two reports on DAH regarding crowds it is apparent it must have been happening on a large scale this summer! It could be a couple of reasons p.1) more people on vacations during DAH (1st time it has been held during the summer and some figured out ways to “economize” their budget 2) no one has ever said they were the sharpest crayon in the box, it takes awhile to figure a way to cheat the system. These things take time you know LOL. Too bad cast members didn’t catch some of them in.the act and press charges to the fullest extent of the law! That would have put an end to it pronto especially if the newspapers picked it up. This is the same as stealing or shoplifting! There will always be jck**** figuring out a way get something for nothing, the key is plugging the hole and staying on top of the next scam. And while we are on the subject of scamming that includes the people who constantly complain about anything and everything to anyone who will listen, then want a discount or freebies. Disney needs to keep a log of incidents then if a pattern is established politely tell them that “ since we cannot seem to please you without GIVING you upgrades and free stuff perhaps you should look elsewhere for your entertainment needs” then put them on a do not book list at the Disney hotels and if they return to the parks and start complaining remind them of the previous conversation.

 

[firsttimemom]

Another happy DISer after the DAH event thursday. We arrived around 7 and did Jungle Cruise, Pirates, Splash, BTMRR and HM before 9. Ate mickey bars while watching the fireworks and then were able to get in SDMT x2, Pooh, Peter Pan, IASW, Space Mtn, Buzz, People Mover and Astro Oorbiter by 11:15.

We were staying at BWI and were guided to a lane to share w/ Swan and Dolphin. We watched many many buses go by before ours arrived. Wait was about 20 minutes and BWI was last stop (figures!).

With the AP discount, this was well worth the money!

 

[Remy is Up]

We have the 9/20 after an AP studios morning event. Food and wine midday. Going to be fun

 

[beaprn]

Peter Pan went down for a bit as well.. right after I got in line. They said it wasn't broken, but couldn't say when it would be up so most people left to ride other things, myself included. Being out of shape an obese really hampered my enjoyment of this event. It seems like the people that get the most of it are ones who can run around the park from ride to ride. I wasn't the only old fart making multiple bench visits. The bus was prompt.. I only waited about 10 minutes for one. But I left at 11:30.

Nope you are not the only “old fart” running around these parties but I will bet the “old farts” like us enjoy them more because we can get around and have fun without killing ourself stop get everything in,we just go a little slower I always said aging is not an option but growing old is a choice; I refuse to grow up or grow old. My nieces,nephews and greats think of me as an overgrown kid that can drive LOL! They always refer to me as part of “us kids”. Be kind to your inner child!

 

[BK2014]

The only downside of the event is because it's so empty, you're tempted to rush to get as much done as humanly possible, because you don't get the chance to go from walk-on to walk-on to walk-on very often, if at all. So you might find yourself taking less time to enjoy the atmosphere simply because the opportunity cost of slowing down is pretty high.

I completely agree with this. When we did this in January, it was the last night of the trip and we had been to MK during our trip already. So we didn't feel the need to do everything that evening. We got a FP+ for SDMT before the event started. This allowed us to enjoy everything we might usually bypassed, such as Dumbo, Tiki Room and Country Bears. Since we weren't using the event to focus on the top attractions, everything we did was a walk-on. This allowed us to ride a lot. When the fireworks/DAH started, we were at Dumbo, went to the Tea Cups, where we were the only ones on the ride during the fireworks, went to Peter Pan and then made our way counter-clockwise around the park ending back up in Tomorrowland. We finished with Buzz and the Peoplemover before taking pictures in front of the Castle and finally going to get pictures with Mickey at the Theatre. To our surprise, we were done with everything at least 30 minutes before the end of DAH, so we just sat on the rocking chairs on the porch of the Theatre, people watching, finishing our popcorn and enjoying a largely empty Magic Kingdom at night.