VERY Upset!!!!!!!!!

[2princessintraining]

according to allearsnet.com

Grad nights....Apr. 22,23 & 29,30. MK closes at 7pm on those nights...that's two Fridays/Saturdays in a row...not fair for out of town visitors vacationing. We have PS in the MK for the 22nd and planned on staying in the MK for the rest of the evening now what??

 

[ILoveWDW2003]

How long is your vacation? Can you change your PS to another night?

I suggest getting to the park at opening and you'll have plenty of time to get everything in.

 

[bytheblood]

according to allearsnet.com

Grad nights....Apr. 22,23 & 29,30. MK closes at 7pm on those nights...that's two Fridays/Saturdays in a row...not fair for out of town visitors vacationing. We have PS in the MK for the 22nd and planned on staying in the MK for the rest of the evening now what??

I am sorry. I agree that it is not fair to out-of-towners who rarely get to visit.

 

[2princessintraining]

We are there from a Fri-Sat. It isn't that we aren't there long enough, but my parents won't be there with us the whole time. They are leaving on a Wed....haven't seen wishes, plus w/other arrangements we made it just is a major inconvienence. This should have been published somewhere sooner. I might not have gone down that week....

 

[Luv2Roam]

How long is your trip?
I have never been to grad night, but what I understand it is a hard ticket event.
From another site for MK Grad Night info:
* 9:30pm - 11:00pm
* Cookies, brownies, fresh fruit, fruit punch, water
* "Priority" entry into the Disney Grad Nite event
April 22nd, 23rd, 29th and 30th
Are you ready to celebrate from 10:00 pm to 4:00 am?

I would eat, do whatever you could and get out of there. Would you REALLY want to be there on Grad Night?
I don't know what Disney offers regular MK guests on these days.
I would make my plans to work around Grad Night.

 

[TammiMcMan]

So sorry that this is happening during your vacation. A good rule of thumb when planning a trip is to always check out last years schedule. I believe that they typically hold grad nights on the last two Friday & Saturday nights in April. That's not much help for you right now though.

Hopefully you will be able to take advantage of the evening extra magic hour at the MK. I know the schedule has been released through March, so April should be right around the corner.

 

[donnabc]

It's very frustrating when things like this put a glitch in your plans.
Now you'll have to regroup...I'm sending you some pixy dust and wishing you the best of luck
Try to think of the bright side...at least you found out in advance...great researching on your part!
But really, when we were just there the begining of this month the parks closed at 8; I was really discussed because I like to have plenty of time and feel like I got my money's worth for the day...but really our 5 yo was more than ready and in fact fell asleep on the bus when we left at 8...so maybe 7 isn't as bad as it sounds (I know my feet were killing me by then too)

 

[Ariel Wanna-be]

For the past two years, we've gone to DW the first week of May, and for both of those vacations, MK closed early due to grad nights. From what I've read previously, it has been that way for quite a while.

I knew about it ahead of time from reading these boards, but that didn't make it any easier to take, lol. While it WAS frusterating to have MK close so early, we just made the best out of it and went to other parks on those nights.

Just a warning though...the other parks were a little more crowded than normal on grad nights (I guess because of all non-grad guests being kept out of MK) and also, DD was VERY crowded with (mostly) unsupervised teenagers on the afternoons just prior to grad nights...I think they were all meeting there or something.

 

[AJDonn]

according to allearsnet.com

Grad nights....Apr. 22,23 & 29,30. MK closes at 7pm on those nights...that's two Fridays/Saturdays in a row...not fair for out of town visitors vacationing. We have PS in the MK for the 22nd and planned on staying in the MK for the rest of the evening now what??

This not a good. You could certainly use some pixie dust.

 

[debbiedoo]

Grad nite has been around for a long time!!

My sis went 1979
my brother--1982
me--1988
my nephew--2002
my other nephew--2006and he is waiting and waiting!!

it has been around for a long time. April/may a lot of schools do trips and you buy your gn tickets at the school. You receive them boarding the bus. Our school had 18 charter busses

Some good notes--mnsshp was in oct. We went to Mk on this day and park closed at 6. We had a great time very little wait times!! Then at 5:00 off to epcot for the evening. Hey you are a disney-- put a smile on your face!!


Hope this helps and other too. . . .

 

[cdpa4d]

I have been to WDW from Indiana about 4 or 5 times when Grad Nights were scheduled. We typically go for a week to 10 days. I can honestly say that Grad Nights are not that big of a deal as long as you schedule your trip away from they Grads actvities. In fact, the crowds are very manageable at the other parks. Locals and out-of-towners tend to stay away from the WDW Resort during Grad Night weekends and during the week for that matter. If you have PSs in the MK during Friday plan on leaving the park and visiting another park later that evening. In fact, you may find another park has EMH. That means another park will be open for 3 hours after closing. You may EPCOT or MGM may be open until 11:00PM.
ADP

 

[java]

We have not been there on a grad night but we were there on Gay day one year. It really didn't do much to the lines ect... In fact I think alot of people avoided the parks because of this so it was a really good day for us. As for Grad nites I always thought they were special late night hours for the events. Are you saying they are closing early to accomodate this. If that is the case I would complain and say you want your pass upgraded to park hopper so you don't waste your time.

 

[2princessintraining]

For those of us whowho didn't know, it is a shock. When your arrival date is planned and for those of us who have kids know, MK is the first park on their minds....

I think it is a great thing to do for schools, but up here in the NE, in NY graduation is in June, so I would've never expected something like this in April. Sat the 23rd, we are going to the HDR at FW so it is no problem, but on our last night (just like the first now) MK is off limits...It is the way we have always started and ended our Disney vacations....

It is a bummer to me...

 

[belleandthebeast]

Okay, all I have to say is thank goodness I have you guys!

I was planning to do MK on Friday or Saturday because we get there on Thursday. Which ticks me off too because my Mom has never, even been to WDW and I wanted to get as much done in the 3 days we're gonna be there.

Maybe they will have extra magic evening on the 28th. Hopefully, and this will all work out.

Good luck to all!

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

I understand how disappointed you must be! We just went to WDW earlier this month, and MK closed at 7 PM. BUT we were there for EMH so we got to stay until 10 PM.

I never went to Grad Night even though I lived in St. Petersburg when I graduated from high school. There was no way I wanted to go to Disney in a DRESS. LOL Do they still have that horrid dress code?

It is no fun to have things come at you to alter your trip. MK had a special event one night we were there, MGM had cheerleaders, Millionaire was closed due to taping, lots of things in rehab, but we still had a GREAT time. I would think MK would still do Wishes before the park closes to the public, so hopefully that will work for you. Is it still dark by 7 PM that time of year? Try not to let it get you down. There are worse things that could happen. Just make the best of it!

 

[TDC Nala]

They have had Grad Nights on these weekends for YEARS.

Good night to see Illuminations over at Epcot, or Fantasmic at MGM, both great shows.

Grad Nighters are usually given a party at PI before they go over to the MK, which is why they're all hanging around Downtown Disney. Personally I am more concerned with the late opening at PI than the early closing at MK.

 

[Duet]

Does anyone know if they will still show Wishes on the Grad Nights?

 

[disneyjunkie]

Does anyone know if they will still show Wishes on the Grad Nights?

I checked last year’s schedule when I realized we would be there during Grad Nights. Last year they had Wishes on Tuesday and Thursday.

I was a little upset when I first booked my trip, but what could I do? Pulling my son out for school for a trip isn't an option, so we have to go with the flow.

After we check in on April 22, we'll just bum around DD for awhile. I was able to book a breathless for Illuminations on the 23. On April 29 we'll have dinner at Boma's then head over to MGM for Fantasmic. I really wanted to start and end our trip at the Magic Kingdom (like we did last year) but it just isn't going to happen.

 

[TDC Nala]

In the past they have not shown Wishes or SpectroMagic on grad nights. They have generally been scheduled for the weekdays pretty much at the last minute.

 

[n2mm]

Nothing new here. We've been going to WDW late April/early May for 11 years this year and know to expect this. I think it's a great this that Disney does this. You do know that this affects PI too don't you. They have parties for the grad at PI too during this timeframe and it's closed to the public. there are things that go on at WDW all of the times which we are not privy to, but this one is one that most of us out of towners know about, along with the first week of June or Jersey week in November. I'll be there during the last 2 grad nights, and as always, MGM will probably be open a little later to accommodate us. Can't wait!!