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

[The_Big_Goof]

I’ll try not to be a downer here but I’m afraid Disney has done what it does best... ruined a good thing by putting profits before people. I am here now and fantasy land is a mad house, Peter Pan was 15-20 minutes and now I’m in line for sdmt and the line is pretty long 20 minutes I would guess. Definitely not the empty park experience I had hoped for. They definitely sold a lot of tickets tonight. Here’s to hoping the other lands are quieter.

 

[nancy155]

So odd how....

1) It’s the last DAH night

2) It sold out the furthest in advance

3) It has had the least live chatter on this thread

Maybe too cold to be typing?

I hope it means everyone is too busy having a GREAT night!

I too am surprised and the level of very little live chatter. I am hoping all are having a great time. I know on 2/15 I had a fabulous time enjoying a less crowded "quite/peaceful" Magic Kingdom.

 

[GADisneyDad14]

I too am surprised and the level of very little live chatter. I am hoping all are having a great time. I know on 2/15 I had a fabulous time enjoying a less crowded "quite/peaceful" Magic Kingdom.

Actually, now that I’m thinking about it... MNSSHP and MVMCP never have a very climactic end either. They all start with a bang and end with a whimper.

 

[The_Big_Goof]

About 10 minute for sdmt... so not too bad I guess. Just a lot of people here still.

 

[Iowamomof4]

About 10 minute for sdmt... so not too bad I guess. Just a lot of people here still.

Fantasyland is always the biggest magnet, in my limited experience. I imagine every other land would be significantly less crowded.

 

[The_Big_Goof]

Just got back... had a great time and rode everything we wanted to. The park seemed much more crowded than what was reported for earlier dates. The only popular ride we “walked on” was splash mountain and I assume that has something to do with it being 50 degrees here. Peter Pan was about 20 min wait, sdmt was 10-20 depending on what time during the night. Haunted mansion had no wait for the preshow but the room was full. Bmtr had a short wait the two times I rode it. Space mountain had a short but consistent line that was at one point almost at the split which still only took about 5 minutes. No where in the park was it empty. Can’t remember who talked about the secret walkway out of the exit back onto space mountain but that was a huge timesaver and I felt like a true Disney insider when I used it haha so props to whoever that was. Thanks to everyone that provided so much info for this event and made my planning so much easier!

 

[Minniemoo15]

Had a BLAST tonight ... it was chilly even by this Canadian’s standards - i wasn’t dressed as warm as I should have been so ended up buying a fabulous Mickey Mouse sweatshirt that did the trick.

We took our time and enjoyed the sights, stopped for snacks several times and still managed to do a ton. Having the 9pm start time was awesome because at 8pm we had Frontierland to ourselves and walked on Splash & BTMRR several times while everyone was watching HEA. At 8:45 BTMRR got a bit of a wait but the CMs started letting us use the FP lane. From 8:00-12:00 we did:

BTMRR x2 during fireworks -awesome!
Splash
BTMRR
Popcorn break
Tiki birds
Haunted Mansion
Ice cream break
Philarmagic
Barnstormer
Speedway
Buzz
People Mover
Space Mountain
7DMT x2
Ice cream break
Peter Pan

We could have snuck one more ride in but we were getting a bit nauseous from all the rides so we grabbed bottles of water and headed for the exit stopping for some photopasses along the way. Arrived at the bus stop at 12:15 and were back at Beach Club by 12:45.

Overall it was a FANTASTIC night. Saving SDMT and Peter Pan for the end was a smart move because both were walk ons even though it said 20 mins. We did the event as a “date night”, leaving the kids at the hotel with grandparents. It was so nice to meander around the park slowly, not dealing with pushing strollers in crowds, potty breaks, cranky kids, etc. It was worth every penny and I would do it again in a heart beat.

 

[Iata]

We had a blast, will report tomorrow night, i need a little sleep, Animal Kingdom early tomorrow morning

 

[ScottKC]

3/8/18 After Hours Report

We were in the park by 6:30. Our Party was myself & the Mrs., and our soon to be 13 year old son and our 2 1/2 old son.

Rode the
WDWRR to Fantasyland, by the time we got to Fantasyland it was 7PM & 2 1/2 year old took a nap.
Had 7DMT Fastpasses, 13 yr old rode twice due to rider switch (me & the mrs. rode once each)
Rode Peter Pan via Fastpass
Rode BTMRR, 13 yr old rode twice due to rider switch (me & the mrs. rode once each)
9:00 PM (2yr old woke up)
First snack stop at Liberty Square
Aladdin's Magic Carpets 2x
Walt Disney's Enchanted Tiki Room
The Jungle Cruise
2nd snack stop at Liberty Square
10:00 PM
Tangled Photopass
The Haunted Mansion
3rd snack stop at Haunted Mansion
It's A Small World
Winnie The Pooh
Mad Tea Party (Our Family was in one Teacup and we were the only ones on the ride)
11:00 PM
Astro Orbiter
Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin
Tomorrowland Speedway
4th snack stop near Tomorrowland Speedway
Castle Photopass
Main Street Emporium Shopping and lingering
12:45 AM Bus departs for our hotel

Overall observations:
We had a great time! Once the party starts you feel a sense of urgency to keep up an exhausting pace. You really must be systematic and do what you want in each land and then move onto the next land to not waste your time. We started in Adventureland and moved north through Frontierland/Liberty Square, on to Fantasyland, down into Tomorrowland and then through the hub and down into Main Street. West side of the park was really the only part of the park that felt empty when we were there, and Fantasyland & Tomorrowland had quite a few people. I dont think Peter Pan or 7DMT were ever close to walk ons, atleast 20-25 minute posted waits(waits seem to be on average half the posted time). Longish lines for photopasses and snack carts although none of the carts we went to had much of a wait. We had done the biggies with fastpasses before the party started so we always went toward walk ons. We feel we did a lot and had a blast, but the event did not really feel like an "empty" park.

 

[Pdollar88]

I echo some of the other reports said. I have zero complaints about the event. I thought it delivered the very low crowd that was promised. We walked on everything. Maybe a 3 minute wait at Space or Mine Train. Agreed with above, the pace of the event is a tiny bit exhausting but work with.

We were slowed down by my bf’s smoke breaks. But we entered the park around 7:20.

Met Tinkerbell, FP
Picked up Sorcerer’s cards
BTMRR (FP) during fireworks
Space x 2 with lanyard before 9
Barnstormer (right at 9)
Dumbo
Treehouse
Aladdin
JC
Snack (popcorn, ice cream)
BTMRR
Mansion
Pooh
Astro
Space
Ariel
7D
PP
Photos on the way out, pretty exhausted.

The bus took a few and was standing room only, but I’m still thrilled with the event. We did all the attractions we did on our 12 hour day in a span of 3 hours. Crowds were very light.

 

[DGsAtBLT]

We were at the event last night and after the insane crowds we’ve been experiencing in the last week, even the “crowded” DAH night was so nice to experience. I have nothing to compare it to as it was our first time.

We did everything we wanted to, and basically felt like we covered everything in the park that has a substantial wait in the day (except Mickey, we didn’t make it up there in time). Oh and no Splash, because even as Canadians we weren’t about to brave that! We watched HEA on Main Street and escaped the crowds as quickly as we could through Adventureland. My 6 year old requested we start the night on barnstormer, so that’s where we headed. Along the way we tried to use our lanyard as a FP at HM (told no) at Peter Pan (told no, but to go anyways lol) and we hit up philharmagic while we waited for 9. After 9 we did:

Barnstormer
Speedway
Astro Orbiter
Buzz
Space Mountain
Pooh (small wait here)
Mine Train (we waited here, probably about 15-20 mins)
Tiana and Rapunzel
Haunted Mansion
Thunder Mountain
Space Mountain

I’m probably missing some in there’s We tried to squeeze one last buzz in but it was 12:01. We stopped for lots of snack breaks and went at a pretty relaxing pace sitting a few times, but didn’t feel like we wasted any of our time. We did a few photopass stops too. Overall we were very happy with the event but mostly how pleasant and relaxing it was compared to the wall to wall people at nearly every park we’ve been to during the week. It definitely wasn’t anywhere near empty, but that was okay with us. I’m sure the freezing night (no splash) and pirates being down had something to do with that.

 

[Disney.Denise]

What an amazing time we had. We got into MK about 6pm and got lanyards at that time. We had a FP for Mickey at 6:30 so headed there first. Mickey sang Happy Birthday to me and showed me a magic trick. We then saw Hall of Presidents. Amazing new film to open show.

I don't have words for Happily Ever After. So incredible.

The park started clearing about 9ish. I wouldn't say it was empty but all rides were walk on with the exception of 7D and that was only 5min max. We rode everything we wanted, some twice. The only bad thing I can say is the weather. It was so cold for Florida, but we were at Disney, so no complaints!

I would definitely do this again if it was held later in the year bec the weather was so unseasonably cold.

A nice gentleman said hi to me in the Cinderella line. I didn't get his name but I said "DisBoard" and he shook his head yes. So thank you to him. Always fun meeting other DisBoard members.

I will post some pictures here once I sort through. The lantern pictures are fun.

A very fun event

 

[DGsAtBLT]

I forgot to mention the absolute best part was allowing my son to dictate our plans and being able to do whatever he wanted to do. Not having to worry about schedules and fastpasses and strategizing to avoid long waits was worth every single penny.

 

[focusondisney]

I’m probably missing some in there’s We tried to squeeze one last buzz in but it was 12:01. We stopped for lots of snack breaks and went at a pretty relaxing pace sitting a few times, but didn’t feel like we wasted any of our time. We did a few photopass stops too. Overall we were very happy with the event but mostly how pleasant and relaxing it was compared to the wall to wall people at nearly every park we’ve been to during the week. It definitely wasn’t anywhere near empty, but that was okay with us. I’m sure the freezing night (no splash) and pirates being down had something to do with that.

I think you hit the reasons people are saying it felt busier than other nights. Those are 2 big rides that take a lot people out of the walkways & other lines. With no Pirates to draw them there, I wonder if some people didn't even bother going to Adventureland at all. That would mean more bodies in Fantasyland & Tomorrowland, leading to the reports of larger crowds than other nights.

Glad you enjoyed the night, thanks for reporting back!!

 

[GADisneyDad14]

I think you hit the reasons people are saying it felt busier than other nights. Those are 2 big rides that take a lot people out of the walkways & other lines. With no Pirates to draw them there, I wonder if some people didn't even bother going to Adventureland at all. That would mean more bodies in Fantasyland & Tomorrowland, leading to the reports of larger crowds than other nights.

Glad you enjoyed the night, thanks for reporting back!!

I tend to think this is spot on, generally speaking.

 

[Haley R]

I think you hit the reasons people are saying it felt busier than other nights. Those are 2 big rides that take a lot people out of the walkways & other lines. With no Pirates to draw them there, I wonder if some people didn't even bother going to Adventureland at all. That would mean more bodies in Fantasyland & Tomorrowland, leading to the reports of larger crowds than other nights.

Glad you enjoyed the night, thanks for reporting back!!

We went on March 1 when pirates was closed. We basically walked right through Adventureland because there wasn’t much to do.

 

[Disney.Denise]

What an amazing time we had. We got into MK about 6pm and got lanyards at that time. We had a FP for Mickey at 6:30 so headed there first. Mickey sang Happy Birthday to me and showed me a magic trick. We then saw Hall of Presidents. Amazing new film to open show.

I don't have words for Happily Ever After. So incredible.

The park started clearing about 9ish. I wouldn't say it was empty but all rides were walk on with the exception of 7D and that was only 5min max. We rode everything we wanted, some twice. The only bad thing I can say is the weather. It was so cold for Florida, but we were at Disney, so no complaints!

I would definitely do this again if it was held later in the year bec the weather was so unseasonably cold.

A nice gentleman said hi to me in the Cinderella line. I didn't get his name but I said "DisBoard" and he shook his head yes. So thank you to him. Always fun meeting other DisBoard members.

I will post some pictures here once I sort through. The lantern pictures are fun.

A very fun event

 

[Iowamomof4]

Oh, I love that!!! I want one like that!

 

[GADisneyDad14]

Well if that pic doesn’t give you the Disney feels, I’m not sure what will. What a great photo! And one without the obvious bathroom door in the background - awesome!

 

[ConnecticutNonna]

@Disney.Denise
I looked for you last night, but didn't see you, hope you had a GREAT birthday!

We wore winter coats, gloves and hats...
IT WAS SOOOO WORTH IT!!!

Great night!