Official 2021 "Disney After Hours Boo Bash" Thread

[emily nicole]

Well, this is disappointing. We booked a short trip basically just for Boo Bash because we adore After Hours-type events (for the low crowds). We will make the best of it but I’m disappointed with Disney.

 

[Sarco11]

Someone on another forum did a live chat and got told they opened availability due to guests changing travel dates and additional capacity due to the increase by the state- makes no sense as there aren't any capacity limits from the state. But they tell them to call if they'd like a refund. Really, that's all anyone can do. Either go and put up with whatever crowd level there is or ask for your money back.

I called. I was told it was non refundable. When I pushed that I was no longer getting what I had paid for, I was told that it was still a limited capacity event. I did not escalate. I am pretty set on this trip, but am debating the planned DL trip in late November. I have not paid the $1k for tix for that yet nor bought flights. Maybe Disney has enough of my $ for this year.

 

[Lsdolphin]

I called twice first CM didn’t know anything about an increase in capacity second call the CM insisted party is non refundable you can only change dates or apply amount paid to another event...I asked what event she didn’t know. I’m waiting to see what those attending first few parties report....

 

[BroadwayHermione5]

Given our date was one of the ones not sold out i am and am not concerned. If that makes sense. I also wonder if they did in fact initially have lower capacity then is known for an AH event and then with restrictions lifting they went back to normal number for an AH event.

Either way this is going to get interesting

 

[CSLucas]

Well, this is disappointing. We booked a short trip basically just for Boo Bash because we adore After Hours-type events (for the low crowds). We will make the best of it but I’m disappointed with Disney.

Same boat - we added 2 extra nights to the front of our trip (not cheap, I might add, since it's a 2 bedroom) specifically so we could drive down on Friday afternoon and go straight to Boo Bash. I was one of the people who thought Disney was serious about limited capacity when dates started showing as sold out. My date still isn't sold out so maybe there is hope it will stay at the original "limited" capacity, but it sure is disappointing to see this type of bait-and-switch. And honestly, Disney wants us to believe that all those people suddenly switched their trip dates from October to September/August to make tickets available??!
Our date is the very end of August so if the early reports are looking pretty crowded I might call in and see if I can cancel the BB and get the value applied to a future trip if they won't refund it.

 

[MomOTwins]

The irony is Disney could have quietly just kept selling tickets instead of labeling the parties sold out and then changing their mind nobody would know because there were no assurances of a particular capacity level. People would have just thought sales were slow. The fact is everyone buying this year was buying a nonrefundable ticket blind without knowing what they get because this is the first year there has been a boo bash. It has hybrid elements of both after hours and MNSSHP—trick or treat, parade elements. It’s no good telling Disney you expected to be a certain crowd level because that was never guaranteed.

 

[Disneylvr]

Given our date was one of the ones not sold out i am and am not concerned. If that makes sense. I also wonder if they did in fact initially have lower capacity then is known for an AH event and then with restrictions lifting they went back to normal number for an AH event.

Either way this is going to get interesting

My date wasn't sold out either but with the price I paid (an October date) I am still concerned it won't be a true After Hours limited capacity. I am anxious to hear reports from the early experiences in August.

 

[cakebaker]

I called. I was told it was non refundable. When I pushed that I was no longer getting what I had paid for, I was told that it was still a limited capacity event. I did not escalate. I am pretty set on this trip, but am debating the planned DL trip in late November. I have not paid the $1k for tix for that yet nor bought flights. Maybe Disney has enough of my $ for this year.

I called twice first CM didn’t know anything about an increase in capacity second call the CM insisted party is non refundable you can only change dates or apply amount paid to another event...I asked what event she didn’t know. I’m waiting to see what those attending first few parties report....

Then they should tell their CM's answering questions online to stop recommending people call, because that's exactly what happened on another forum.

 

[cakebaker]

It’s no good telling Disney you expected to be a certain crowd level because that was never guaranteed.

I understand the frustration of expectations not being met, but people really need to read the fine print carefully and know what they're buying. Never for a second did WDW promise low, very low, short waits or low crowd levels. They promised shorter waits with limited sales- that's it. Maybe they meant shorter than what you see on Christmas Day. Maybe their limited sales means no more than park capacity- who knows. And apparently they are going to stick with the no refund policy. Lessons to learn.....

It is not bait and switch. They can up capacity significantly and still deliver what they promised- shorter waits, limited ticket sales.

 

[CSLucas]

I understand the frustration of expectations not being met, but people really need to read the fine print carefully and know what they're buying. Never for a second did WDW promise low, very low, short waits or low crowd levels. They promised shorter waits with limited sales- that's it. Maybe they meant shorter than what you see on Christmas Day. Maybe their limited sales means no more than park capacity- who knows. And apparently they are going to stick with the no refund policy. Lessons to learn.....

I agree with this for the most part, but a lot of people bought their tickets after some dates "sold out" before being available to non-resort guests. People could definitely make an educated guess about what Disney thought was "limited capacity" based on that, although I agree they can't actually know the number. Either way, to say that sales were limited implies a specific number and they clearly aren't sticking with that number. I personally think it is sad that we live in a society of "read the fine print" and Disney should be doing better.

 

[BroadwayHermione5]

My date wasn't sold out either but with the price I paid (an October date) I am still concerned it won't be a true After Hours limited capacity. I am anxious to hear reports from the early experiences in August.

This is true. We are a september date (sorry I am being vague) not too long before the 50th. As I said either way its going to be interesting.

 

[Gypsybear]

Having worked in Corporate America my entire career, I've learned to not only read the fine print, but to also analyze the choice of words used in statements. They craft their messages VERY carefully, leaving themselves leeway.

As someone staying off property, I'm thankful that I was able to snag a couple of tix this morning for the closest date to the one I originally thought I'd purchase (given the chance), before it sold out. So, I'll be keeping our annual tradition of being at Disney for Halloween. Next year, Disneyland (we switch every year).

 

[cakebaker]

I personally think it is sad that we live in a society of "read the fine print" and Disney should be doing better.

I couldn't agree more, but they aren't and if we're going to go, we have to work with what we have, not what we wish we had. Disney has a history of over booking parties and when I saw the wording they used, I remembered the issues with the Villains parties vs regular after hours and because of that, I knew this would not be the same kind of empty park experience that regular after parties were. I also knew that without crowd eaters (parades, shows and character meets) it could easily be longer lines than Villains.

What I really fault Disney for is using the same names for these events- it naturally leads people to believe they are similar when they may not be. Seriously! After Hours, Magic Hours, Extra Magic Hours, Magic Mornings.....who is responsible for these labels and why can't they come up with new names for each one? There are more words in the dictionary besides Magic and Hours.

I also understand the issue about choosing dates based on current availability, but if someone wanted a day that was sold out and it's now available, they can change it with no problems. It's a pain, no doubt, but it's doable.

 

[TCRAIG]

That wasn’t Disney saying they increased capacity (all though that appears to be what happened).
What you’re saying is possible, but it seems like that wouldn't make all of the dates available at the same time - wouldn’t those date changes make tickets available by the next day like with hotel reservations?
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The way the ‘swap’ works is that they sell you new tickets for the date requested and fill out a form for a refund on the originals - which can take up to 2 weeks to post - so I could definitely see them ‘releasing’ the swap dates in groups rather than real time like a room reservation…I did check a time or 2 after releasing the 10/12 ticket but the site still showed sold out…

 

[Lewisc]

The description implied attendance similar to an after hours event. Almost no lines.

The promise is shorter lines. The lines better be less then half or I'll be looking for a refund

 

[PrincessJasmine88]

I am going to Boo Bash in Friday 9/10. We are staying offsite, How hard will it be to get a Lyft/ Uber from TTC at midnight? Can I walk to Contemporary and order one from there?

 

[Heather07438]

I’m convinced Disney is engineering the appearance of crazy high demand. They keep doing it.
Remember when parks and ticket sales were reopening and they let everyone think they could be sold out even if you had a resort stay etc? They loved everyone go nuts worrying with Fear of Missing Out.
Did the same with Park Reservations. How many times have the calendars filled and wave after wave of green comes back again.
Now it looks like they’re doing it with Boo bash.
They were doing similar with park crowds before the closure. Tighten down the hours so even low crowd days felt busy. Are they really trying every trick possible to make things seem like there’s never enough to go around? I think so. Yes it’s busy but they ratchet it up a notch further for more sales and upsells.

 

[Best Aunt]

I am going to Boo Bash in Friday 9/10. We are staying offsite, How hard will it be to get a Lyft/ Uber from TTC at midnight? Can I walk to Contemporary and order one from there?

Normally you can walk from MK to Contemporary and request an Uber/Lyft from there.

I don't know if it's different when an After Hours event ends.

(I don't like to reply when I don't know the answer, but I was afraid your question would get lost.)

 

[Heather07438]

I am going to Boo Bash in Friday 9/10. We are staying offsite, How hard will it be to get a Lyft/ Uber from TTC at midnight? Can I walk to Contemporary and order one from there?

Hard to say but there will be drivers in the area even at that late time. I’d choose trying from Contemporary where hopefully help beat out some of the crowd taking longer to get to TTC. Less hectic all around.

 

[PrincessJasmine88]

Thanks!!