**Villains After Hours - Magic Kingdom** FAQ & Discussion Thread

[cindianne320]

I’d almost guarantee they’ll extend closing until 10. They don’t usually have an hour buffer at the MK. I’m not sure they’ve ever done it.

I thought it was weird, too. Guess I'll keep my eye on park hours and plan on doing the Headliners way after party start time...

 

[cakebaker]

I really wish they’d make a bigger difference in the names of the 2 events- After Hours and Villains After Hours. They are 2 completely different experiences.

It’s important to carefully read the descriptions of each. Villains is described as a “ limited number of tickets” while After Hours clearly says “little wait times”. Last year villains had the verbiage “ lower wait times”, but that has been dropped. To advertise limited ticket sales really means nothing. All ticket sales are limited, and none of us know what those limits are. Historically, waits are shorter than a normal park day, but there’s no guarantee of that anymore.

If you’re going for the experience, VAH may be for you, but if you’re all about the rides with short waits, I’d go for AH.

 

[AMK53]

Review 2/21/20. The coldest night I've ever spent at Disney and I thought a past night in December was bad. Love it cold but this was windy too

All this contributed to an excellent experience! Most rides were walk ons. 7 Dwarfs was 20 minutes. Space Mountain was 5 minutes.

Plentiful places to get the free snacks with lines at most a couple of minutes

Loved the Magic Shots

Didn't get the best viewing for the castle show but loved the Cursed Caravan.

At end of night Main Street was empty by 12:20 and they were still taking photos. I was happy to get the one with Olaf since it truly was a frozen night due to the wind chill.

If you are not a Villians fan, stick to regular MK After Hours event to save a little on tickets. I was glad I went

 

[lisa cameron]

Review 2/21/20. The coldest night I've ever spent at Disney and I thought a past night in December was bad. Love it cold but this was windy too

All this contributed to an excellent experience! Most rides were walk ons. 7 Dwarfs was 20 minutes. Space Mountain was 5 minutes.

Plentiful places to get the free snacks with lines at most a couple of minutes

Loved the Magic Shots

Didn't get the best viewing for the castle show but loved the Cursed Caravan.

At end of night Main Street was empty by 12:20 and they were still taking photos. I was happy to get the one with Olaf since it truly was a frozen night due to the wind chill.

If you are not a Villians fan, stick to regular MK After Hours event to save a little on tickets. I was glad I went

Awesome review! Totally different perspective than other reviews from the same night. What were the posted times compared to the actual times? Others posted Space was 50 minutes.

 

[AMK53]

Awesome review! Totally different perspective than other reviews from the same night. What were the posted times compared to the actual times? Others posted Space was 50 minutes.

At 9pm got MagicShot by Tomorrowland bridge, 5 minute wait I did People mover then Buzz then Astro Orbiters. Went to Space Mt about 9:45 and posted time was 15 minutes, waited 5. Walked on Pooh. Went to SDMT, posted was 25 waited 15. Then did Magic shots in Fantasy land, there are two they did back to back in about 10 minutes. Did Peter Pan, posted was 20, waited 12. Did Country Bear and Tiki then Scar magic shot in Adventureland.

Posted wait to pirates was 30 and I wanted to get magic shot at hub so got multiple phots near hub. Should have positioned myself better for castle show, waited til 11:15 to do that. Had great spot for Cursed Caravan did two photos at hub then went down main Street, ducked in to restroom near Casey's, then to Emporium. Got to regular magic shots at close to 12:30. Never felt like they were pushing us out.

 

[lisa cameron]

At 9pm got MagicShot by Tomorrowland bridge, 5 minute wait I did People mover then Buzz then Astro Orbiters. Went to Space Mt about 9:45 and posted time was 15 minutes, waited 5. Walked on Pooh. Went to SDMT, posted was 25 waited 15. Then did Magic shots in Fantasy land, there are two they did back to back in about 10 minutes. Did Peter Pan, posted was 20, waited 12. Did Country Bear and Tiki then Scar magic shot in Adventureland.

Posted wait to pirates was 30 and I wanted to get magic shot at hub so got multiple phots near hub. Should have positioned myself better for castle show, waited til 11:15 to do that. Had great spot for Cursed Caravan did two photos at hub then went down main Street, ducked in to restroom near Casey's, then to Emporium. Got to regular magic shots at close to 12:30. Never felt like they were pushing us out.

Very helpful!

 

[parsonm]

Thank you for all those providing information on this thread it has been so useful.

We attended on Friday (02/21). It was absolutely freezing, even for a family from the UK. We arrived at the main gate at 6:30 and walked straight in, so I’m not sure what time they started letting people in. We’d booked Fastpasses for Buzz, Peter Pan and Jungle cruise and did those 3 along with People Mover, Laugh Floor, Teacups and Small World as well as watching the fireworks before the party started at 9.

At 9 o’clock the headliners were still showing 50 mins wait, so we looped round doing Little Mermaid, Dumbo, Barnstormer x3 and Winnie the Pooh. As we exited, SDMT was showing 20 mins (just after 9:45), so we jumped in the queue and it was walk on. We exited to do the ride again, and waited around 10 minutes.

After SDMT, we headed over to Space Mountain where the posted time was 5 mins, but this was again a walk on. We looped round to re-ride and waited a little longer this time (maybe 10 minutes).

We then did Buzz again two more times, leaving ourselves an hour to do the other side of the park in which time we did Jungle Cruise, Pirates and BTMR x2 (all walk on). All in time to watch the parade at 11:45.
We absolutely loved it despite the weather and felt the park was quiet and queues almost non existent. We also stopped for snacks twice.

I hope this helps...

 

[lisa cameron]

Thank you for all those providing information on this thread it has been so useful.

We attended on Friday (02/21). It was absolutely freezing, even for a family from the UK. We arrived at the main gate at 6:30 and walked straight in, so I’m not sure what time they started letting people in. We’d booked Fastpasses for Buzz, Peter Pan and Jungle cruise and did those 3 along with People Mover, Laugh Floor, Teacups and Small World as well as watching the fireworks before the party started at 9.

At 9 o’clock the headliners were still showing 50 mins wait, so we looped round doing Little Mermaid, Dumbo, Barnstormer x3 and Winnie the Pooh. As we exited, SDMT was showing 20 mins (just after 9:45), so we jumped in the queue and it was walk on. We exited to do the ride again, and waited around 10 minutes.

After SDMT, we headed over to Space Mountain where the posted time was 5 mins, but this was again a walk on. We looped round to re-ride and waited a little longer this time (maybe 10 minutes).

We then did Buzz again two more times, leaving ourselves an hour to do the other side of the park in which time we did Jungle Cruise, Pirates and BTMR x2 (all walk on). All in time to watch the parade at 11:45.
We absolutely loved it despite the weather and felt the park was quiet and queues almost non existent. We also stopped for snacks twice.

I hope this helps...

Wow, a very successful night! Love your strategy! Glad to hear you were let in early! Thank you for sharing.

 

[MarthaJr.]

Well after reading all 29 pages we have decided to go for it and book the 3/27 VAH which runs 10-1 am. (We plan to arrive between 6-7 and take our chances at getting in early.) We are staying at POFQ for 2 nights and don't plan to go to parks during the day. It is spring break and I've checked the crowd forecast and it shows that date being 6/10. However, that is sure to change. So...I think we'd be fighting the crowds during the day anyway. I can buy discounted tickets through work--only $6 off-but it helps ease the pain of the ticket price a bit. We did MNSSHP back in 1994 with our kids and have gone to many an evening EMH in our time and have noticed crowd levels high for evening EMH anyway. We only seem to be at MK around spring break, Halloween or Thanksgiving so we do have lots of "crowd experience" during peak times. I think the best advice is to manage your expectations and enjoy the experience for what it is on that particular evening.

 

[eeyoreandtink]

I sent an email to guest services earlier in the week about my concerns over the excessive wait times. I just got a follow up called. I told her it was unacceptable to have a 45 min wait for a ride during a 3 hour event. That we have attended these events in the past and this wasn’t the case. She said basically that crowds are bigger and they are trying to make sure everyone has a chance to attend the event. My response was that these are billed as limited ticket event, with little to no wait. At some point increased ticket sales had to take a back seat to delivering what those who already had tickets were paying for. She encouraged me to talk to guest services in park if we have a bad experience and said she would be passing along the feedback.

 

[Zaz936]

I now regret my choice for week of March 1st... thank you for your feedback.

 

[cakebaker]

I sent an email to guest services earlier in the week about my concerns over the excessive wait times. I just got a follow up called. I told her it was unacceptable to have a 45 min wait for a ride during a 3 hour event. That we have attended these events in the past and this wasn’t the case. She said basically that crowds are bigger and they are trying to make sure everyone has a chance to attend the event. My response was that these are billed as limited ticket event, with little to no wait. At some point increased ticket sales had to take a back seat to delivering what those who already had tickets were paying for. She encouraged me to talk to guest services in park if we have a bad experience and said she would be passing along the feedback.

VAH is not advertised as little to no wait. All they say is it is limited tickets- that means nothing. They use that verbiage for the holiday parties too. Regular after hours does advertise as “ little waits”, but I’m afraid at VAH, you’re just not promised short waits anymore.

 

[eeyoreandtink]

VAH is not advertised as little to no wait. All they say is it is limited tickets- that means nothing. They use that verbiage for the holiday parties too. Regular after hours does advertise as “ little waits”, but I’m afraid at VAH, you’re just not promised short waits anymore.

When I bought tickets, it still said lower waits. If we don’t speak up, there is no way anyone knows we are unhappy about the direction they have gone.

 

[CJN]

VAH is not advertised as little to no wait. All they say is it is limited tickets- that means nothing. They use that verbiage for the holiday parties too. Regular after hours does advertise as “ little waits”, but I’m afraid at VAH, you’re just not promised short waits anymore.

The Disney site does still say “low wait times”, although I guess it’s subjective as to whether 45 minutes qualifies as low.

IMO the biggest problem here is if we’re not on rides then there really isn’t nearly as much to do as compared to the holiday parties. And none of us are paying for an extra event just for the privilege to stand in line for 3/4 of it.

 

[UpstateMick]

We (my DW and DD-15) attended the event on Friday, February 21st. We have (in the past) attended the After Hours event. We had booked this event because it fell during our vacation (2/18 - 2/23) and we had wanted to do an after hours event. We entered the park at 6:45 and decided to do Tiki Room and Carousel of Progress because they would both be down for the event. We finished at about 8:00 and started to look for a place to eat, but Pecos Bills and Columbia Harbor House both closed at 8:00, leaving only Starlight Cafe open with a few lines open and WAYYYY too many people and not enough cast members serving food, so that took far too long. I would suggest eating WAY BEFORE the event starts and NOT in MK. We left Starlight Cafe (where is Sonny Eclipse btw!?) and started at Buzz for a 15 minute wait, then to Speedway for a 10 minute wait, then to Pooh for a 10 minute wait, on to Small World walk-on, to Peter Pan 15 minute wait to Haunted Mansion 5 minutes. We then caught the Caravan over by Liberty Square (cool, but WAY too short and for Disney status, and looked kind of cheap and cheesy...my daughter commented that it felt like our local parade in our small town lol) then to to Big Thunder 15 minutes and to Pirates where we hit the WALL! There was a 30 minute wait because I guess something had gone down for a bit and it really slowed us down...ate up a BUNCH of time. We then went to Jungle Cruise with about 8 people and an AMAZING skipper (Grace was her name) and then by that time we were done at 11:45. We stopped throughout the night at 2-3 stands for popcorn and ice cream, but it was COLD so that wasn't really a concern. We did not do the headliners (Space Mt. / 7 Dwarfs) as we had done those rides the previous day, and we didn't watch the stage show because we just don't like those shows anyway. Overall, I would call it a meh...If you have only a short vacation and want a night event (like us) it is good to do, but certainly not a must do and definitely overpriced for what you get and the wait times. As I said, we had done the After Hours event last February and that was SO much better. This event was definitely not limited...people were all over, where After Hours felt empty. This does not even begin to compare to the Halloween party. Like I said, it feels cheap (a few lights and some creepy music) and definitely not up to Disney standards. No doubt feels like a money grab for sure...all three of us said that at the end of the night. We had fun for what it was, fun with each other and making memories, but unless you have a very short trip and no opportunity for a night event or to hit the rides more than once, this is not an event to attend. We are returning next February (we have been going for the past 12 years since DD was 3) and we are done staying on site (we have always in the past) and done putting up with mediocre events, inattentive and downright rude cast members, declining quality of food with increased prices on EVERYTHING, crowd mismanagement, closures, constructions, and coming soons...poor housekeeping and bus service at resort with drunk, rude guests, and a sad overall decline of quality of experience. This is not the Disney we fell in love with. We noticed on this trip more than any other, and this is coming from Disney Superfans, that Disney simply doesn't care anymore. We are staying off-site next year, buying a two-day ticket, and spending the rest of our time at our resort enjoying the sun. It has been a great ride for the past 12 years, but all good things must come to an end

 

[lisa cameron]

I now regret my choice for week of March 1st... thank you for your feedback.

You might be able to change to a regular AH is you call.

 

[cakebaker]

The Disney site does still say “low wait times”, although I guess it’s subjective as to whether 45 minutes qualifies as low.

IMO the biggest problem here is if we’re not on rides then there really isn’t nearly as much to do as compared to the holiday parties. And none of us are paying for an extra event just for the privilege to stand in line for 3/4 of it.

You are correct- if you read deep into the description is does still include the promise of low wait times vs little wait times for regular AH’s., but they don’t promise little to no waits.

I don’t disagree at all. People should absolutely let Disney know if things aren’t what they think they should be, but I’m not seeing reports this round that differ much from last time so I don’t think they’ve increased the number of tickets being sold.
People should know up front that the wait times at VAH’s are going to be longer than at AH’s. Personally, I don’t think there’s enough at a VAH to make up for longer waits and the extra cost, but that’s just my personal preference.

 

[sWDWcopeland]

Does anyone have any thoughts on why VAH is on a Thursday on May 14? Is something else going on that will make it more crowded? It just seems strange that its typically on Friday, except for this week.

 

[kristenabelle]

Thank you for all those providing information on this thread it has been so useful.

We attended on Friday (02/21). It was absolutely freezing, even for a family from the UK. We arrived at the main gate at 6:30 and walked straight in, so I’m not sure what time they started letting people in. We’d booked Fastpasses for Buzz, Peter Pan and Jungle cruise and did those 3 along with People Mover, Laugh Floor, Teacups and Small World as well as watching the fireworks before the party started at 9.

At 9 o’clock the headliners were still showing 50 mins wait, so we looped round doing Little Mermaid, Dumbo, Barnstormer x3 and Winnie the Pooh. As we exited, SDMT was showing 20 mins (just after 9:45), so we jumped in the queue and it was walk on. We exited to do the ride again, and waited around 10 minutes.

After SDMT, we headed over to Space Mountain where the posted time was 5 mins, but this was again a walk on. We looped round to re-ride and waited a little longer this time (maybe 10 minutes).

We then did Buzz again two more times, leaving ourselves an hour to do the other side of the park in which time we did Jungle Cruise, Pirates and BTMR x2 (all walk on). All in time to watch the parade at 11:45.
We absolutely loved it despite the weather and felt the park was quiet and queues almost non existent. We also stopped for snacks twice.

I hope this helps...

This review is music to my ears. Thanks so much for sharing!

 

[Heartdisney101]

Last year, we were able to purchase merchandise around 7:00. We just had to show our bands.

Oooh, that sounds good. I was looking for this answer.