The return of AFTER DARK! Sweethearts, Villains, and Star Wars

[Kender]

Again, I’m traveling to CA for Star Wars Celebration that week, so the 27th is my only option. I live on the East Coast, traveling for the earlier dates isn’t an option here.

The reason for the upcharge it’s because they can. The convention is that week, we’re stuck with no other option, so they‘re going to soak us for all they can. I understand there’s an upcharge on expired tickets. I’m already dealing with that on my expired park hoppers I originally had for that trip too. I wouldn’t even be that upset if there was minimal upcharge on the SW Nite tickets. But this a $66 upcharge per ticket.

That’s insane. They’ve had my tickets and my money for almost two years. I’ve been looking forward to this forever, and they’re being tremendously lousy about it. Yes, they’re a business, but this is unreasonable.

And they’re only doing this because the convention. I don’t even think the holiday weekend figures into it. It’s the Star Wars convention.

I know you're traveling on that date. Please read my post again. You misread/misunderstood. I addressed that and said the upcharge would be cheaper than going on two trips to take advantage of an even exchange.

And I also said exactly what you just said: that the date is excluded because of the Star Wars Celebration.


EDIT:

Here is my post again with relevant portions bolded.

You only have to pay a difference for the May 27 date. The early May dates are an even exchange. If your trip was earlier in the month, you wouldn't need to pay anything extra. But I imagine it would be more expensive to do two trips rather than just pay the upcharge in your situation

The reason for the upcharge is that 5/27 is technically excluded. So all they're doing is like they do with expired tickets: give you face value to apply to a new ticket. And I'm guessing it's because of the Star Wars Celebration that's happening during the same time frame why the date is excluded from the exchange.

FINAL EDIT:

You can call and discuss your options if you don't want to pay the upcharge:

If you do not wish to exchange your 2020 Disneyland After Dark event ticket to the new event dates or you missed the exchange window, you may call (714) 300-7807 for your options.

 

[LilyStar]

I'm also one of those people who purchased the SW nite tickets for the week of Star Wars Celebration and was expecting them to rollover to the new date with no upcharge. We are not even sure we're attending the convention now and thus wouldn't be taking the trip to Cali and would need a refund. Along with many others who purchased these tickets years ago now, the original credit card expired. I know I need to call them about this, just curious if anyone else has experience with something similar? How do they credit an expired card, can I just give them the new expiration date or are they going to insist on giving me a gift card?

 

[JenM]

I know you're traveling on that date. Please read my post again. You misread/misunderstood. I addressed that and said the upcharge would be cheaper than going on two trips to take advantage of an even exchange.

And I also said exactly what you just said: that the date is excluded because of the Star Wars Celebration.

I understood your post, but no amount of screencaps or stating the obvious is going to settle my frustration here. Our convention was canceled. Our Disneyland night was cancelled. It wasn’t anyone’s fault.

But waited over a year for an update, let Disney keep our tickets and and our money and trusted them to do right by us. They did not. They screwed us.

We understand why they did it. We’re mad about what they did. (which certainly isn’t your fault, so pardon my crankiness, but…argh)

 

[Kender]

I understood your post, but no amount of screencaps or stating the obvious is going to settle my frustration here. Our convention was canceled. Our Disneyland night was cancelled. It wasn’t anyone’s fault.

But waited over a year for an update, let Disney keep our tickets and and our money and trusted them to do right by us. They did not. They screwed us.

We understand why they did it. We’re mad about what they did. (which certainly isn’t your fault, so pardon my crankiness, but…argh)

You responded with "Again, I’m traveling to CA for Star Wars Celebration that week, so the 27th is my only option. I live on the East Coast, traveling for the earlier dates isn’t an option here.". To me that reads as if you think I didn't know you were traveling on the only date with an upcharge. Especially with the "again" comment as of you had already responded to me. I did not suggest going a different day.

I merely corrected your comment about all the dates having an upcharge (your comment that the earlier dates were less of an upcharge) and said it would likely be cheaper to do the upcharge than to take two trips in your situation.

I'm sorry this seems to have offended you. I also only shared one screenshot that showed 5/27 is an excluded date and the only one requiring extra money. I get you're upset and your anger seems to be clouding your understanding of what others are saying. I mean that sincerely and it is the reason I'm trying to be gentle, but logical. I know anger can blind us.


I highly suggest calling Disney and seeing what your options are. I posted the information for you.

I hope you're able to find a solution that works for you even if it's not the most ideal that you would prefer.

 

[lalasmama]

That's the thing- Going on May the 4th is always a risk!!!

Completely. Totally didn't connect in my brain when I planned those dates for our trip!

 

[BadPinkTink]

Goodness, this is exciting. Wow, I'm so glad I did my park reservations and my dining reservations before all these event announcements. I will be there during Sweethearts Nites but I don't have park reservations those days, but thats ok. It means that my plans for Disneyland Main park will be fine and I wont have to leave the park early.

I can see the fireworks from The Esplanade and hopefully, with Lunar New Year in DCA and Sweetheart Nites in Disneyland Main park, Downtown Disney will be a nice escape from crowds.

 

[starlite_]

Again, I’m traveling to CA for Star Wars Celebration that week, so the 27th is my only option. I live on the East Coast, traveling for the earlier dates isn’t an option here.

The reason for the upcharge it’s because they can. The convention is that week, we’re stuck with no other option, so they‘re going to soak us for all they can. I understand there’s an upcharge on expired tickets. I’m already dealing with that on my expired park hoppers I originally had for that trip too. I wouldn’t even be that upset if there was minimal upcharge on the SW Nite tickets. But this a $66 upcharge per ticket.

That’s insane. They’ve had my tickets and my money for almost two years. I’ve been looking forward to this forever, and they’re being tremendously lousy about it. Yes, they’re a business, but this is unreasonable.

And they’re only doing this because the convention. I don’t even think the holiday weekend figures into it. It’s the Star Wars convention.

Agreed. If your ticket was for the same date (the Star Wars celebration weekend) then you should be able to have the equivalent ticket without extra charge.

 

[longtimedisneylurker]

Agreed. If your ticket was for the same date (the Star Wars celebration weekend) then you should be able to have the equivalent ticket without extra charge.

I think I see what this poster is upset about now and I get it. Disney can pretty much do what they want I guess, and it's up to the customer to decide what they will tolerate. There is no "same date" in this case (but there are equivalencies) since Star Wars Celebration had previously been scheduled for August 2020 and is being re-scheduled for May 2022. I could still be misinterpreting things, but from what I've been able to glean, all of the Star Wars Nite 2022 tickets are more expensive than the ones sold for 2020. Despite that, they will allow 2020 tickets to be straight exchanged for two of the nights, the two not associated with Star Wars Celebration. It's throwing the customer a bone while reducing hassle for themselves by not having to issue as many refunds or process too many ticket upgrades. Knowing that they will always have more than enough takers for the night during Celebration though, they are for that purpose considering the 2020 Star Wars Nite ticket expired and therefore only "upgradeable" to current pricing. Makes sense from a Disney business perspective but stinks from a customer perspective.

 

[starlite_]

I think I see what this poster is upset about now and I get it. Disney can pretty much do what they want I guess, and it's up to the customer to decide what they will tolerate. There is no "same date" in this case (but there are equivalencies) since Star Wars Celebration had previously been scheduled for August 2020 and is being re-scheduled for May 2022. I could still be misinterpreting things, but from what I've been able to glean, all of the Star Wars Nite 2022 tickets are more expensive than the ones sold for 2020. Despite that, they will allow 2020 tickets to be straight exchanged for two of the nights, the two not associated with Star Wars Celebration. It's throwing the customer a bone while reducing hassle for themselves by not having to issue as many refunds or process too many ticket upgrades. Knowing that they will always have more than enough takers for the night during Celebration though, they are for that purpose considering the 2020 Star Wars Nite ticket expired and therefore only "upgradeable" to current pricing. Makes sense from a Disney business perspective but stinks from a customer perspective.

Yup, for example, if I were to purchase a ticket on January for the 27th then it makes sense that it will be more expensive than previous years. Things cost more, sucks but it is what it is. But it's unfair to guests who already had a ticket to the event and suddenly their ticket is not valid for the equivalent date as before.

Like, I have been carrying around SDCC tickets purchased in 2019 because the promise is that they can be used in an equivalent date, aka SDCC 2022. Now Fridays and Saturdays are the most popular dates for that convention, if the organizers suddenly sent me an email that I need to pay more to attend those dates despite me already owing a ticket for them I would be really pissed. Regardless if it costs them more to hold the convention next year in comparison to 2020.

Same here, it's a blatant money grab but I guess it's what you can expect from $hapek. It's frankly really gross.

 

[Diana ZP]

I will be there for the Sweethearts Nites but without a sweetheart so not sure if that would be something I want to do...and the kids do not dance etc...so just keep my park ticket and leave at 5?

 

[Dudekiwi]

So excited for this!!!! I love the after hours events and it looks like there will be two exclusive firework shows to go with them!!! Anyone planning to go?

Parks Blog Official Info: https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/b...orites-for-the-winter-and-spring-2022-events/

My wife and I will be going to SweetHearts Nite. We went to the first two and this has been the one after hours event she has been patiently waiting for since the parks reopened. I would like to go on Valentines but my wife wants to go on either 2/10 or 2/3 because those are Thursdays.

 

[cruisehopeful]

I will be there for the Sweethearts Nites but without a sweetheart so not sure if that would be something I want to do...and the kids do not dance etc...so just keep my park ticket and leave at 5?

I went in 2020 and thought it was a waste of money. It seemed to appeal to those who wanted pictures with Disney couples. There were lines to do that all over the place. There were no amazing food/merchandise specials. If you look through trip reports, you'll probably find mine. I posted the map/schedule in there. I wouldn't do it again. For people who didn't want to pay for a day ticket and only wanted to go as date night or those who love getting their picture with various characters, it's a thing to do.

 

[poptart90]

We've never been to any of these events but will be there when a Villians Night is happening this year. Could anyone weigh in on whether that event is worth it? If it's just a lot of photo ops, we'll probably pass, unless it's a good time to ride! Which attractions do they typically keep open in DCA for these nights?

 

[cruisehopeful]

We've never been to any of these events but will be there when a Villians Night is happening this year. Could anyone weigh in on whether that event is worth it? If it's just a lot of photo ops, we'll probably pass, unless it's a good time to ride! Which attractions do they typically keep open in DCA for these nights?

The hard thing is that the only other Villains night was cancelled. So, nobody can predict. It still sound appealing to me since I like villains, but I fear that I would keep comparing it to Oogie Boogie and I'm sure it won't be nearly as good as that was. I believe it will just be a lot of photo ops, but the after hours events that I've been to in the past were excellent times to go on rides without long lines. In fact, there was a time when I was considering only going to after hours events and never visiting during the day for rides. If you think you'd use that time for rides and maybe not pay for the day ticket, it might be worth it to you. The paying twice for one day is kind of a dud to me. Also, consider the weather and how much cold bothers you. I've been to middle of the night events and been freezing the whole time.

 

[dizneedoll]

I went in 2020 and thought it was a waste of money. It seemed to appeal to those who wanted pictures with Disney couples. There were lines to do that all over the place. There were no amazing food/merchandise specials. If you look through trip reports, you'll probably find mine. I posted the map/schedule in there. I wouldn't do it again. For people who didn't want to pay for a day ticket and only wanted to go as date night or those who love getting their picture with various characters, it's a thing to do.

Were most of the rides open? We mainly want to go for rides with short wait times.

 

[DisSurfer878]

Were most of the rides open? We mainly want to go for rides with short wait times.

I think everything except Star Wars Land and anything "under refurbishment" was open during all of the After Hours Events. And Star Wars Land will be open during the Star Wars Event

 

[SOCALMouseMommy]

I understood your post, but no amount of screencaps or stating the obvious is going to settle my frustration here. Our convention was canceled. Our Disneyland night was cancelled. It wasn’t anyone’s fault.

But waited over a year for an update, let Disney keep our tickets and and our money and trusted them to do right by us. They did not. They screwed us.

We understand why they did it. We’re mad about what they did. (which certainly isn’t your fault, so pardon my crankiness, but…argh)

I completely understand your frustration. This is exactly how I felt when Disney released the three-day CA resident deal in July, which expired in September, and I bought it thinking that of course they would not bring back annual passes until after the deal was expired or why else offer the deal? And then shortly thereafter they announced sales of the Magic Keys would commence in August. Oh and by the way, although you can upgrade nearly any ticket to Magic’s Keys, you could NOT upgrade the three-day tickets to Magic Keys. I was (and still am) so pissed about that and feel it was a complete money grab and screw over by Disney.

(Yes, I read the fine print that the tickets could not be upgraded. And yes, I realize no one forced my to by those tickets. But why oh why did they do that and then basically immediately release the keys? Horrible timing and was such a waste of money for me. And left a terrible taste in my mouth of being screwed over by a company I love.)

 

[dizneedoll]

Anybody else in the queue for Sweetheart Nite tickets?

 

[Vala]

Me. Actually got throught rather fast - entered credit card data, cue "unexpected error", card charged anyway.

 

[popeye0777]

Just got a pair of tickets for Sweethearts Nite also. Maybe I missed it somewhere, but how do you go about getting the dining reservation offered for Sweethearts Nite? I remember going to the one last year and not knowing about the dining reservation and it was already sold out when the event started.