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

[Haley R]

I attended the 3/7 event last night, and I concur with the reports above. I have attended this event 2x in the past (back in the days of the lanyard), and it was totally different last night.

I used my AP to enter the park around noon, and used my 3 FP’s, as well as having a good dinner around 5. Around 6, I made my way over to Tomorrowland, where I picked up my wristband. I was supposed to use a FP around 4:00 pm for Buzz Lightyear, but the ride was down - thereby giving me an “anytime” FP. I ended up walking back to Haunted Mansion to use it there, while waiting for some of the day time crowd to either weed out or start camping out for the fireworks.

At 7:00 pm, I was in the FP line at Haunted Mansion when THAT ride went down. We stood in line easily for 15-20 minutes with no movement, so at 7:20, I bailed. I headed to the Magic Carpets ride, and walked on with a 10-minute wait. Unfortunately, it was dark by this point, and I missed seeing one of the spitting camels. He nailed me, and my yoga pants were now wet. And it was a tad chilly. Gah.

Around 7:45 pm, I headed over to BTMR, and got in the standby line with a 30-minute wait. At this point, they had both sides going. When I got off the ride around 8:30 pm, I decided I would try to ride it again - this time, hoping to use the wristband as a FP. Another family walked up to show their wristbands prior to me, and the CM vehemently shook her head no, and said, “That doesn’t start until 9.” No FP for you, basically.

I hung out with the family until 8:45 pm, at which point another CM walked over and told the other CM that we WERE allowed to use our wristbands for the FP lane. Even so, it was a good 20-minute wait in the FP line, because ALL of the daytime FP users had flooded the line after the fireworks were over. They still had both sides of the attraction open at this point.

I got through the ride about 10 after 9, got off, ran around to get back on - and now saw they had closed one side. This meant another 15 minutes. Gah.

I basically ran into this all night. Some rides (Dumbo, Mad Tea Party, Under the Sea, Buzz Lightyear, Carousel) were basically walk-ons, while others (PeterPan, Pooh, 7DMT, and BTMR) had 10-30 minute waits. I didn’t attempt to ride Splash (as it was too cold!), and I skipped Space Mtn. I got into line at 7DMT at exactly 10:45 pm with a 30-minute posted wait; it actually took about 20 minutes to reach the front. It was around 10:45 pm that I saw both Princess lines had a 15-minute wait, which again, was more than I’ve experienced than in the past.

Snack lines were long, everywhere I went.

I enjoyed it, only because after fighting the Mardi Gras crowds the last few days, it was nice to have significantly fewer crowds than during the day. However, it is very different than the events in the past.

I haven’t seen anyone else post waits of 15 minutes for the princesses. When we went there was one person in front of us waiting to meet them. At the end of the event they were outside meeting with guests. That was last March though

 

[KCSherri]

I haven’t seen anyone else post waits of 15 minutes for the princesses. When we went there was one person in front of us waiting to meet them. At the end of the event they were outside meeting with guests. That was last March though

Yes, I was surprised! I had done EMM earlier this week, and the Princesses had a wait time of 5 minutes, which was awesome. Again, things have certainly changed for this event - you can feel the crush of people a bit more than previously.

 

[mcurrence]

I agree, everywhere we went there were "crowds", nothing like the daytime crowds but this is not the same event it was even a year ago Has anyone received a survey? I only received one after the 2017 event...I remember one of the questions being whether you thought the park was too crowded, I wish they would send the surveys again!!!

 

[Haley R]

I agree, everywhere we went there were "crowds", nothing like the daytime crowds but this is not the same event it was even a year ago Has anyone received a survey? I only received one after the 2017 event...I remember one of the questions being whether you thought the park was too crowded, I wish they would send the surveys again!!!

Wow I’m sorry it was so crowded

 

[focusondisney]

Has anyone received a survey? I only received one after the 2017 event...I remember one of the questions being whether you thought the park was too crowded, I wish they would send the surveys again!!!

We went in January last year & early February this year. We did not get a survey for either one. Wish we would have.

 

[jaceraden]

I'm curious to see what time people get allowed in on March 21. Can anyone who goes on this night and doesn't use an AP or regular ticket for entry please report back with what time DAH are actually allowed in?! Please and thank you. I know it says 7 but I also know that what is written and what happens are not always the same.

 

[Superchikk]

I'm curious to see what time people get allowed in on March 21. Can anyone who goes on this night and doesn't use an AP or regular ticket for entry please report back with what time DAH are actually allowed in?! Please and thank you. I know it says 7 but I also know that what is written and what happens are not always the same.

I'd also love to know this. We're going in April with a 10pm park close time.

 

[Dbktmc]

Sorry to hear that people aren't enjoying it as much. I'm going on the 28th, and I pretty much expect it not to be as cool as it was for us in June last year. But I don't think you can blame Disney too much for it -- it's a pretty natural progression for the place. You have to remember that Disney doesn't force a ticket on anyone, and it's people's demand that causes crowd. I'd prefer it to be capped at 50 people, as long as I'm one of the 50.

I'm also hopeful -- hopeful -- that a 10-1 session is less crowded than a 9-12 one. The later the better, but I'm not overly optimistic.

I appreciate your point of view but I think that your idea that we "can't blame Disney" is way off. The sold out event reviews from years past to the sold out event reviews of the current year are very different. They had to have increased the amount of tickets sold and considering that this event is more expensive than a day ticket should mean that they stick to their marketing of "little to no wait". A 15-30 minute wait for the headliners is beyond ridiculous for a 3 hour event. I can do that on a normal day with good fast passes.

Yes , it’s not about “Disney doesn’t force you to buy tickets “ , it’s about expectations . Last night clearly fell short . Thank goodness they had both sides of SM running or that would have been a 1/2 hour too . Some attractions were short staffed. Haunted mansion was only running 1 stretching room , and it was filled to capacity like a heavy crowd day . Jungle cruise boats waited till they were full , etc , etc , etc . It
just could have been better .

Still WAY better than a normal day in MK , but it could have been better , and they could have easily dealt with the sold out crowds a little better . The short staffing was evident .

I agree that it should have been better and guests should not have had to have waited so long for the rides. And considering the event is more expensive than a normal day Disney should be sure that they reduce the number of tickets sold. We are so torn on what to do if they offer this event during our trip.....

Thank you to everyone who is reporting their experiences... good and bad. I do like having an accurate idea of what is happening in order to make an informed decision on such an expensive event.

 

[PolyRob]

Thanks I will have to check out the app. I did call Tickets at Work and they said the 2017 date was the date they received the cards from Disney and then they somehow attach the DAH Event to the card after I purchased it. Does that sound right? The lady seemed kinda miffed when I told her I was concerned and just checking. She said I should be able to go right to the gate and not guest services? Any idea if that is true? Thanks!

Hmm if you can supposedly go right to the gate, you should be able to link them. If you can't get the code to link in the app or online, I would suggest giving the Internet Helpdesk a call at 407-939-4357 and explain your issue. A CM should be able to assist.

 

[PolyRob]

O.K. , just going to put this out there ........
Went last Night (Sold out , 3/7) and this event was far from having that "empty" feeling . There were crowds everywhere . Not daytime crowds , but crowds none the less . If you think you are going to get empty main street pictures, or castle pictures, or even frontier-land "empty" pictures ......think again . Not at a sold out event at least . Not sure what the cap is for these events, but it is NOT 3000 people, or even 5000 . A half hour wait worth of guests at SDMT and BTM , plus TONS of other people all over the place , and in other line ques ,snack ques , bathrooms , etc, do not equate to low crowd capacity as advertised . Just a guess , but maybe 10,000 people is the limit right now ?

Big Thunder was disappointing with 25-30 minutes all night . With only one side of the train que open .....it never got to be anything close to walk on . We were able to walk on some rides , but it was a constant flow of people with full loads of ride vehicles everywhere . Towards the last hour or so , some of the rides started to lighten a little . Snack carts were pretty busy right up until the last hour as well . Jumped into the SDMT 1/2 hour cue right about 12 , and it seemed a lot of people had the exact same idea, as the line started to build in the last 15 minutes towards 12.
The 6pm entry , is I feel something they have to do at MK . There is literally no where to "stack" up the waiting DAH crowds as they build . Tons of people coming and going, and the DAH crowd line stuck right in the middle . Lots of people crossing through the line to get to the other side of the courtyard . The 6pm MK DAH entry is pretty much a necessity I think . It would be mayhem in the courtyard if they didn't allow early entry .
I dont know if Disney is starting to oversell these events now too (like every other event eventually) , but it was way more crowded than we thought there would be . Bathrooms were a bit crowded . Even the buses at the end of the event were packed .

The best thing I can relate, at least a sold out MK DAH event too, is to a late night EMH from back in the day . Like a late night EMH from 10-15 years ago is what it felt like.

For us, it was still ok as we are doing a basically non -park trip and only did Epcot for opening day of Flower and garden, and this DAH event for out MK day .

In the end , it was WAY less crowded than a normal MK day , but it was still more crowded than we though it would be . Not sure if its worth $125. ? We are DVC owners, so it was $95 for us which made it a little easier to swallow .

Still a little miffed about the BTM que with only one train side running . Heard a lot of people mumbling complaints about this one ! They should not have let this happen for the money people are spending for this special event. Just open both cues and keep the line moving !

Still worth it for us , as it full-filled our "MK" day for our trip . We got to ride everything we wanted to do basically , but it had a definite "rushed" feeling. 4 hours would be a little better .

Just our opinion on the event, to let other people know, NOT to expect these events (if they are sold out) , to be EMPTY . They are not !

I attended the 3/7 event last night, and I concur with the reports above. I have attended this event 2x in the past (back in the days of the lanyard), and it was totally different last night.

I used my AP to enter the park around noon, and used my 3 FP’s, as well as having a good dinner around 5. Around 6, I made my way over to Tomorrowland, where I picked up my wristband. I was supposed to use a FP around 4:00 pm for Buzz Lightyear, but the ride was down - thereby giving me an “anytime” FP. I ended up walking back to Haunted Mansion to use it there, while waiting for some of the day time crowd to either weed out or start camping out for the fireworks.

At 7:00 pm, I was in the FP line at Haunted Mansion when THAT ride went down. We stood in line easily for 15-20 minutes with no movement, so at 7:20, I bailed. I headed to the Magic Carpets ride, and walked on with a 10-minute wait. Unfortunately, it was dark by this point, and I missed seeing one of the spitting camels. He nailed me, and my yoga pants were now wet. And it was a tad chilly. Gah.

Around 7:45 pm, I headed over to BTMR, and got in the standby line with a 30-minute wait. At this point, they had both sides going. When I got off the ride around 8:30 pm, I decided I would try to ride it again - this time, hoping to use the wristband as a FP. Another family walked up to show their wristbands prior to me, and the CM vehemently shook her head no, and said, “That doesn’t start until 9.” No FP for you, basically.

I hung out with the family until 8:45 pm, at which point another CM walked over and told the other CM that we WERE allowed to use our wristbands for the FP lane. Even so, it was a good 20-minute wait in the FP line, because ALL of the daytime FP users had flooded the line after the fireworks were over. They still had both sides of the attraction open at this point.

I got through the ride about 10 after 9, got off, ran around to get back on - and now saw they had closed one side. This meant another 15 minutes. Gah.

I basically ran into this all night. Some rides (Dumbo, Mad Tea Party, Under the Sea, Buzz Lightyear, Carousel) were basically walk-ons, while others (PeterPan, Pooh, 7DMT, and BTMR) had 10-30 minute waits. I didn’t attempt to ride Splash (as it was too cold!), and I skipped Space Mtn. I got into line at 7DMT at exactly 10:45 pm with a 30-minute posted wait; it actually took about 20 minutes to reach the front. It was around 10:45 pm that I saw both Princess lines had a 15-minute wait, which again, was more than I’ve experienced than in the past.

Snack lines were long, everywhere I went.

I enjoyed it, only because after fighting the Mardi Gras crowds the last few days, it was nice to have significantly fewer crowds than during the day. However, it is very different than the events in the past.

Ugh! So sorry you both had these larger crowds. These recent reports are alarming. I last went July 2018 and had a fantastic time. I thought it would be a great to attend in April during peak spring break time since we would have a cooler and less crowded park, but now IDK if I should just try PM EMH on Wednesday.

 

[Ashley Marie]

Please contact guest services with this post-event feedback. Don’t wait for a survey. But fill out the survey if you get one, too!

Even if they don’t reduce the amount of tix sold this season, they can, and should, make small changes that would go a long way in crowd control and creating that “little to no wait” feeling, like opening that second Thunder Mountain track. (For what it’s worth, only one side was open at the two July dates I attended, but it sounds like they’re bringing in more people now and they need to make accommodations for that.)

When executed as marketed, DAH has been really excellent — to the point where some of us have planned trips just for it.

 

[mamapenguin]

Ugh! So sorry you both had these larger crowds. These recent reports are alarming. I last went July 2018 and had a fantastic time. I thought it would be a great to attend in April during peak spring break time since we would have a cooler and less crowded park, but now IDK if I should just try PM EMH on Wednesday.

We are doing PM EMH on they day before DAH. I don’t have high hopes for it, but we’ll give it a shot. It could turn into shopping and ice cream time. I booked DAH after reading all of the PM EMH reports.

 

[PolyRob]

We are doing PM EMH on they day before DAH. I don’t have high hopes for it, but we’ll give it a shot. It could turn into shopping and ice cream time. I booked DAH after reading all of the PM EMH reports.

Shopping and dining are great for PM EMH! If I go, I usually use the PM MK EMH to do things that are enjoyable, but I rarely FP+ like Monsters Inc, Under the Sea, It's a Small World, etc. Right now I have all major MK FP+ between 3 days so no missing out if there is a long DAH line. I just don't want to be let down by the event knowing what I have accomplished in the past based on waits. My current Wednesday night plan is to relax (which is always nice to have in the middle of a WDW trip) and watch HEA from a MK resort.

 

[sls404]

I attended the 3/7 event and agree it was a bit more crowded than I expected, but this was our first DAH so nothing to compare it to.

BTMRR was a 25 minute wait 40 minutes into the party, so I regretted doing that.

Snack lines were not bad. Whenever we saw long lines we just kept going and found several carts with shorter lines. My only complaint is how rude a couple of the CM were at these carts. The CM at the cart near Pinocchio’s had a scowl on her face the entire time and was just rude when we asked for things she was out of. Same for the very next cart we went to near Tomorrowland Speedway. No smile, no greeting, and wouldn’t answer me when I asked twice if she had frozen bananas. So finally I just had to say “yes or no?” And she proceeded to get it out. All of the other CMs were wonderful, especially at the attractions.

The worst part of the night was getting stuck on Pooh for about 20 minutes. We were the second to last hunny pot about to get off when it suddenly stopped. They let the car in front of us out, then proceeded to start from the very first car and let everyone out. We were the last to be “rescued”. They did give us paper FPs to use on another day at MK but it was really frustrating considering we lost valuable time sitting in a hunny pot.

I have an AP and go several times a year, so not sure I would do again unless it was a very short trip.

 

[iujen94]

I do hope that everyone who has had negative crowd experiences, problems with ride understaffing, etc. will take a minute to email your thoughts to Disney. If they keep selling tickets and no one is complaining, they aren’t going to change things. Here’s a good email to use: wdw.guest.communications@disneyworld.com

 

[sls404]

I do hope that everyone who has had negative crowd experiences, problems with ride understaffing, etc. will take a minute to email your thoughts to Disney. If they keep selling tickets and no one is complaining, they aren’t going to change things. Here’s a good email to use: wdw.guest.communications@disneyworld.com

Thanks for the email address! I just contacted them describing the issues we encountered. Hopefully they will take our feedback into consideration.

 

[Ashley Marie]

Have any of you taken young children to DAH?

When we went in July, it was a quick getaway for just adults. I'm sort of considering the April dates, this time with our two kids, 7 and 4. On our last family Disney vacation, they were 6 and 3. 6yo made it through MNSSHP and had lots of fun. 3yo slept through almost all of the party. He is tall enough for everything except Space Mountain at MK, so if he could stay awake that'd be great. They have early bedtime routines at home but I let things go at Disney.

Do I risk it? Do I amp him up with all the free ice cream, hope the sugar rush gets him through and have a pool day the next day?

Am I crazy? (My husband will think I am when I bring up this idea.)

 

[mamamelody2]

Boy, I'm really not liking what I'm reading lately about the DAH events. I hope they get it together soon!

 

[Superchikk]

Have any of you taken young children to DAH?

When we went in July, it was a quick getaway for just adults. I'm sort of considering the April dates, this time with our two kids, 7 and 4. On our last family Disney vacation, they were 6 and 3. 6yo made it through MNSSHP and had lots of fun. 3yo slept through almost all of the party. He is tall enough for everything except Space Mountain at MK, so if he could stay awake that'd be great. They have early bedtime routines at home but I let things go at Disney.

Do I risk it? Do I amp him up with all the free ice cream, hope the sugar rush gets him through and have a pool day the next day?

Am I crazy? (My husband will think I am when I bring up this idea.)

You know your kids best. But I would not have been able to swing it with my kids when they were that age. We were there when they were 5 & 2, then 8 & 5. The older one would've been ok, but my younger would've had meltdowns before the end of the night.

 

[Cinderumbrella]

Boy, I'm really not liking what I'm reading lately about the DAH events. I hope they get it together soon!

Me either. We’re going in June so there may not be any, but I’m pretty sure I’ll be skipping it if this becomes a pattern. I’ll put the extra money towards my SW:GE trip instead.