This isn't our first After Dark event, so maybe knowing what we were getting into in advance helped set us up for success. So those going to 90s Nite, learn from the mistakes of those of us at Sweethearts Nite
We learned from the first event that you just can't do everything, come at 6 to get any non event stuff done before the event starts, you need to pick out what is important to you in advance, if exclusive food isn't important to you then eat before the event starts cuz those event food lines got 3 times as long at our first After Dark event than they did at this one and these food lines were still longer than I'd like to wait. Also if you are an AP holder then go get your free AP button before the event official starts. We brought an Ipad loaded up with digital versions of our favorite tabletop boardgames to play in the longer lines, you might want to bring a charger to play heads up on your phone, or answer Disney trivia, or have some sort of in line entertainment if you aren't the kind of person that can entertain themselves (I'm not, I get line anxiety yuck). If you wanted to know where certain characters were or when certain parts of the event were happening there were lots of cast members around that did have all the info but also lots that were apoligetic that they didn't know what was up at all, so you just had to sometimes ask and ask more than once. That info should have been better communicated on the map tho, we shouldn't have had to hunt down higher up CMs or wander all around the parks all night to figure out what was actually happening.
With that sort of stuff in mind we were able to meet Milo & Kida from Atlantis, Mickey & Minnie in their Valentine's Day outfits, Clarabelle & Horrace and saw a few other cool ones but didn't bother waiting for them. We danced with Clarice, Chip, Dale, Max & Goofy at the Tomorrowland dance party, saw more rare characters there after but wanted to go check out the other entertainment too. Peeked in at the Ball and took pictures of the characters dancing with guests but didn't time it well to join in ourselves. We got a lot of photo ops done by timing those right: basic heart themed backdrop in Tomorrowland (waited over an hour but that is because we went to do this one before the others opened, before the event start time, to get it over with), Sleeping Beauty (waited 15 mins), Little Mermaid (waited 1 hour 3 minutes, I track the longer lines with a stopwatch to show myself they are not as long in reality as they are in my head, this time it was actually as long as I had anticipated since the line stretched from Edelweiss Snacks to the edge of the sub lake), Up (20 minute wait because we waited til the end & it is a bit secluded), Toy Story (NO WAIT, it looked like CMs were standing at the entrance to close off the line but when I asked them they said it was still open and only one other couple was ahead of us) and the Lady & the Tramp photo op (no wait but this one shouldn't count, a very kind CM offered to take pictures of a few couples with the backdrop before packing it up, after the lights for it were off, after the event was technically already over). We also sat and listened to the dueling piano players (and talented singers from the audience invited to come up and sing with them) for a while at Rancho. Every ride we walked by was a complete walk on with the exception of Space and Big Thunder that had 15-20 min wait times but we didn't bother with any rides because our priority was the event exclusive stuff and also the parks have been dead this trip and we already got to ride everything we wanted during regular park hours. There were only 3 things we had wanted to do that we missed out on (and that's not to say that we were disappointed, or couldn't have done them if we prioritized them over the rest)- Herc & Meg (their line was 1/2 hour - an hour long most times we walked by so we decided to skip it), The Tangled photo op (we were willing to wait the 2 hours for it because it's special to us but we rolled up at 11:30 and they had already cut off the line for the night because it was over a 2 hour line yikes) and the band playing on the moonlit Mark Twain trips (it was just too cold, we simply wimped out of this one). My biggest complaints were that the map/program for the night was too vague (list locations of characters not just their names, list times of events but don't imply the Ball goes all night when it's only at short scheduled intervals, say which photo ops are where because we just knew that there were 4 in Fantasyland and an idea of where A photo op was but not WHAT photo op it would be. We would have gone straight for Tangled if we knew it was the one hiding in Pixie Hollow and not one of the other 3 that we rushed to first) and that it was SO COLD but that one isn't Disney's fault
Overall it was a really fun event & we will keep coming to these After Dark event as long as the theme and budget keep working out for us. I'm really looking forward to 90s Nite. I hope that those running these events learn from the mis steps of this one but if not then me & DH are ready to tackle it all again in a month regardless