Will you pay $150 for the new "Disney After Dark" event in the MK?

[opus1guy]

My ticket is purchased. And I very happily did so. Here's why:

I've got a 4 night Disney Resort Hotel trip booked coming up in May. My arrival at Disney is fairly late in the afternoon, so I really only have 3 full days to play with. My breakdown for the full days was:

Full Day 1 - Epcot all day & night
Full Day 2 -Studio til 1pm, Animal Kingdom afternoon/eve (hopefully expanded hours for Rivers of Light)
Full Day 3 - Magic Kingdom all day until 8:15 Luau at the Polynesian

The Disney After Dark ticket now allows me to add the following:

Arrival Day - Magic Kingdom from approx 8pm until 2am

With my Fastpass+ bookings during the public part of the early evening, combined with the hopefully low attendance Disney After Dark ticketed event...I expect to be able to knock out my complete list of Magic Kingdom attractions in this one night. And if it is indeed a low attendance late evening, I expect it to be a much more enjoyable experience than a packed Park day would be.

So now, Magic Kingdom will be completed on my arrival day, freeing up Full Day 3 to hit other things I'd like to do. Perhaps a few hours at Disney Springs, some hotel visits, maybe more time in World Showcase, an afternoon nap...whatever. For me, it really takes the pressure off so to speak and I feel like it almost gives me a whole extra day worth of fun. Certainly worth the $149 for me. And I don't give a poop about free sodas or ice cream or anything else. It's an attraction run for me!

Do I wish they gave a discount for holders of Premier Passports, since we already have admission? Yes. But even at full boat, it's worth it for me. And for the length of my stay, with the help of Disney After Dark, Fastpass+ and good planning...I'm going to bet I get more done in my short stay than most tourists accomplish in a full week.

At least that's how I hope it pans out.

 

[snayak]

I think it's funny that everyone wants to compare this event to the price of a one day ticket. But just a couple weeks ago when Disney added tiers to one day tickets, I was repeatedly told that nobody buys one day tickets.

This event only makes sense if you either have a limited amount of time or unlimited money.

If you're visiting for 5+ days or have an annual pass it might not make sense. But for me, living in Boston, with 3 weeks off total per year, to save 2 days of vacation (13%) by paying for this event it might be worth it.

If you don't compare it to a one day ticket then what do you pick? I ran the numbers for me and my wife (party of 2) and found that we could drop from a 4 day to a 3 day park hopper ticket and add this event and the numbers work out for us. If we were a party of 6 the math would be different.

Ultimately, everybody is going to have to run the numbers for themselves - on the surface this seems like a worse deal for AP holders & on-site guests since they have either free access to the parks (with extended/summer park hours) or EMH (for on-site guests) - now they'd have to pay too.

But - as mentioned before - the parks are PACKED! They turn people away sometimes (phased closures) - why not try charging $ for an emptier park?

 

[whiporee]

This event only makes sense if you either have a limited amount of time or unlimited money.

If they're really going to cap is hard at under 15, I think it makes a lot of sense. $50 an hour for walk-ons or nearly walk-ons isn't a terrible price (within the overall craziness of a WDW, or any prestige destination). If you're getting 5-10 headliner rides an hour, it's not a crazy price for things. You add in the three hours before it's exclusive -- complete, I assume, with FPs -- and it's not hard to justify at all.

If they don't cap it that low, i still don't think it's an awful deal, but if they are doing what they are saying -- which is much lower than their party levels -- then it makes sense to me, even from a financial point of view.

 

[Sammie]

My ticket is purchased. And I very happily did so. Here's why:

I've got a 4 night Disney Resort Hotel trip booked coming up in May. My arrival at Disney is fairly late in the afternoon, so I really only have 3 full days to play with. My breakdown for the full days was:

Full Day 1 - Epcot all day & night
Full Day 2 -Studio til 1pm, Animal Kingdom afternoon/eve (hopefully expanded hours for Rivers of Light)
Full Day 3 - Magic Kingdom all day until 8:15 Luau at the Polynesian

The Disney After Dark ticket now allows me to add the following:

Arrival Day - Magic Kingdom from approx 8pm until 2am

With my Fastpass+ bookings during the public part of the early evening, combined with the hopefully low attendance Disney After Dark ticketed event...I expect to be able to knock out my complete list of Magic Kingdom attractions in this one night. And if it is indeed a low attendance late evening, I expect it to be a much more enjoyable experience than a packed Park day would be.

So now, Magic Kingdom will be completed on my arrival day, freeing up Full Day 3 to hit other things I'd like to do. Perhaps a few hours at Disney Springs, some hotel visits, maybe more time in World Showcase, an afternoon nap...whatever. For me, it really takes the pressure off so to speak and I feel like it almost gives me a whole extra day worth of fun. Certainly worth the $149 for me. And I don't give a poop about free sodas or ice cream or anything else. It's an attraction run for me!

Do I wish they gave a discount for holders of Premier Passports, since we already have admission? Yes. But even at full boat, it's worth it for me. And for the length of my stay, with the help of Disney After Dark, Fastpass+ and good planning...I'm going to bet I get more done in my short stay than most tourists accomplish in a full week.

At least that's how I hope it pans out.

Be sure to check back in after and let us know how it goes.

 

[eastendlights]

As long as they are being vague, I'm not trusting them to keep it really low. I'm just not. Their track record with that sort of thing sucks. So even if it starts low, I doubt it would stay that way.

Exactly. Why would they not just come out with the number if it was really that low? Isn't that the whole selling point? It is like advertising a car and carrying on about the fantastic gas mileage it gets while refusing to say what the MPG really is.

 

[dfb]

It was free to you as a member but DVC paid for it.

Not sure about this particular event but DVC collects maint dues each month from members which a portion of is budgeted for recreation / member events. I get very skeptical when I see words "Free" and "Disney" or "DVC" used in the same sentence. EMH was touted as a free perk for onsite guest but you know the cost of EMH is built into the resort cost. The magic express, resort and parks parking were also "free" perks for onsite guest. Now there is talk of additional resort fees to cover these items.

Generally speaking there is nothing free about Disney.

I'm sure enough people will pay these fees and event prices. I'm also sure there will be an extra resort fee coming soon and EMH will soon disappear.

 

[Sammie]

Not sure about this particular event but DVC collects maint dues each month from members which a portion of is budgeted for recreation / member events. I get very skeptical when I see words "Free" and "Disney" or "DVC" used in the same sentence. EMH was touted as a free perk for onsite guest but you know the cost of EMH is built into the resort cost. The magic express, resort and parks parking were also "free" perks for onsite guest. Now there is talk of additional resort fees to cover these items.

Generally speaking there is nothing free about Disney.

I'm sure enough people will pay these fees and event prices. I'm also sure there will be an extra resort fee coming soon and EMH will soon disappear.

This event was not paid for by members but completely by DVC.

And of course EMH is built into room costs which is why I think it will remain. Disney has to have something special besides location to market their rooms for the cost.

If someone can stay off site in much larger accommodations for less and pay for this special event, to do away with EMH is to me undermining their own resorts. I don't see them doing that.

 

[Megsmachine]

I don't understand how they expect people to buy these tickets without telling everyone what attractions will be open for the 3 hours.

 

[BabaBooeyNoin]

As much as I like Disney, to me, it's just not worth it and not in my budget. Now, if I were filthy stinking rich with money to burn, probably. I'd rather just get an annual pass and go whenever I want.

 

[dfb]

This event was not paid for by members but completely by DVC.

And of course EMH is built into room costs which is why I think it will remain. Disney has to have something special besides location to market their rooms for the cost.

If someone can stay off site in much larger accommodations for less and pay for this special event, to do away with EMH is to me undermining their own resorts. I don't see them doing that.

The magic express, parking, recreation activities are also expenses built into the room cost. There will soon be an extra resort fee to cover the cost of these items again. If people pay for extra hours then why would they give them away for free. Yes your right they will keep some token perk in the process to keep onsite guest "felling special" but EMH as we know it will soon be history.

The tell tell signs are in the surveys. Currently there are surveys asking about the resort fees. Last year, I think, after my Jan or Feb trip I received a survey asking would I pay a fee for access to the parks with fewer crowds. As with all of their surveys there is not an option for the real answer you want to give. Apparently enough people took the bait and said "yes". At first it always sounds like a good idea but after seeing the results of these loaded surveys, I have no confidence the event will be to the benefit of the guest. At least not worth it for me.

Out of curiosity, how do you know the event was paid for completely by DVC?

 

[horse11]

I don't understand how they expect people to buy these tickets without telling everyone what attractions will be open for the 3 hours.

Fro me what I do not understand is how people can buy them without knowing how many people it is limited to. I hate to say this but it reminds me how people blindly voted for Obama because he screamed "Change" but never really explained what he meant by it. I would think today's consumer would need very explicit information in order to make the right decision before spending that much money per person especially if you have a large family.

 

[Kona65]

If this does happen, Disney will do what Disney has always done. If it becomes successful, they will over sell the tickets just like the Halloween party and the Christmas Party, where you still have to wait in line to ride the rides. Just another money grab by Disney. After our AP's run out this year, this might be it for us. Started in 1978, ended in 2016.

 

[Mom2darlingboys]

Well, the good news is we now know what Disney values these EMH hours at. So, when they get rid of them, I'm sure they will just take that $50 per hour, multiply it by the amount of EMH hours they've taken away during our stay, and take that off the cost of our rooms... Oh, wait a minute...

 

[johnsonet]

Hopefully these after hours events won't be popular and will be ditched. But somehow I doubt it.

 

[MJ6987]

All these people asking how many people this event is going to be capped at are missing the point I think - the very high price point will in itself act as a cap so it won't be crowded at all. This is aimed at people who have no money limitations - I.e. Only the very elite - just look at the poll results here as an indication.

 

[Mikie]

My ticket is purchased. And I very happily did so. Here's why:

I've got a 4 night Disney Resort Hotel trip booked coming up in May. My arrival at Disney is fairly late in the afternoon, so I really only have 3 full days to play with. My breakdown for the full days was:

Full Day 1 - Epcot all day & night
Full Day 2 -Studio til 1pm, Animal Kingdom afternoon/eve (hopefully expanded hours for Rivers of Light)
Full Day 3 - Magic Kingdom all day until 8:15 Luau at the Polynesian

The Disney After Dark ticket now allows me to add the following:

Arrival Day - Magic Kingdom from approx 8pm until 2am

With my Fastpass+ bookings during the public part of the early evening, combined with the hopefully low attendance Disney After Dark ticketed event...I expect to be able to knock out my complete list of Magic Kingdom attractions in this one night. And if it is indeed a low attendance late evening, I expect it to be a much more enjoyable experience than a packed Park day would be.

So now, Magic Kingdom will be completed on my arrival day, freeing up Full Day 3 to hit other things I'd like to do. Perhaps a few hours at Disney Springs, some hotel visits, maybe more time in World Showcase, an afternoon nap...whatever. For me, it really takes the pressure off so to speak and I feel like it almost gives me a whole extra day worth of fun. Certainly worth the $149 for me. And I don't give a poop about free sodas or ice cream or anything else. It's an attraction run for me!

Do I wish they gave a discount for holders of Premier Passports, since we already have admission? Yes. But even at full boat, it's worth it for me. And for the length of my stay, with the help of Disney After Dark, Fastpass+ and good planning...I'm going to bet I get more done in my short stay than most tourists accomplish in a full week.

At least that's how I hope it pans out.

I hope you have a great time & share your observations here. I'm optimistic on your behalf that the early events will be the best ones. I believe based on their track record of over-filling parties that this event, if successful, will also end up getting oversold, but that shouldn't happen for these newest offerings. Also, if kept at the low level that really gets guests low/no wait, that amount of people entering the park starting at 7 wouldn't adversely affect day attendees like the 30/40k parties do. If it can happen that way, it will be a win all around. . .

 

[cvjpirate]

I know I will not do that on my next trip as my budget is all done for this one. I can't see paying that much for each person in my family without taking days away from my trip so don't see me ever doing it, Now if I was only going for a couple of days and had some extra cash, maybe, but I don't ever see that happening.

 

[provencio]

This may be asked.. but is this only offered during the slower periods? April - May (yes I know there are no slow periods now) but you know what I mean, I am heading out in June and am surprised the late hours have not been extended.. wondering if this is why. Or am I at as late as it gets.... "for free"???? Hmmmmmmmm

 

[Anal Annie]

Nope. We've already paid Disney all the money we're going to pay. We bought DVC. They got our money for that + our annual maintenance dues. We buy AP's so we can plan multiple trips per year. The price point is just too high for our pockets. Ain't payin' another red cent for anything else. The whole reason we bought DVC was to try to hedge our annual vacation costs and keep them from escalating out of control. I think this new after hours thing is a gimmick geared to rope in the first timers or people who don't get to go very often or for those who just plain don't know any better.

 

[johnsonet]

Nope. We've already paid Disney all the money we're going to pay... I think this new after hours thing is a gimmick geared to rope in the first timers or people who don't get to go very often or for those who just plain don't know any better.

Totally agree.