After Hours strategies...are any even needed?

[Raya]

Might not be needed for rides, definitely needed for shopping and food. I was very surprised to see all of the shopping options closed and most of the food options gone. There's maybe two restaurants on Main Street open. Sooooooo:

If you enjoy shopping make sure you get there as early as possible and do your shipping first. If you're a foodie eat a good meal before the restaurants close. Be aware that if you're in the back of the park, the free popcorn and soda may literally be your only food options.

 

[sharona]

Might not be needed for rides, definitely needed for shopping and food. I was very surprised to see all of the shopping options closed and most of the food options gone. There's maybe two restaurants on Main Street open. Sooooooo:

If you enjoy shopping make sure you get there as early as possible and do your shipping first. If you're a foodie eat a good meal before the restaurants close. Be aware that if you're in the back of the park, the free popcorn and soda may literally be your only food options.

Good to know thanks! We made a res at Whispering Canyon for 5pm that night so we’ll have eaten a nice dinner before we get there but the 1am close will mean we’ll need lots of snacks to keep going. Popcorn and ice cream are great but will bring some trail bars in case we need energy. Will shop on our regular MK day the day before if everything will be closed. I’m surprised about that. You’d think they’d want to get all the revenue they could out if it.

 

[YawningDodo]

If you're not waiting in the preshow areas, you'd just be waiting in the queue for the previous ride cycle to end.

I was thinking about that! I've seen a lot of people say they would prefer if they could skip the pre-show, and I was thinking that it's probably still in operation less because of the entertainment value it offers and more because it operates as a holding area while they clear the theater. They have four theaters, though...but I don't know if they run all four during AH.

Good to know thanks! We made a res at Whispering Canyon for 5pm that night so we’ll have eaten a nice dinner before we get there but the 1am close will mean we’ll need lots of snacks to keep going. Popcorn and ice cream are great but will bring some trail bars in case we need energy. Will shop on our regular MK day the day before if everything will be closed. I’m surprised about that. You’d think they’d want to get all the revenue they could out if it.

Probably the cost of staffing the shops and restaurants would outweigh the revenue. There just aren't that many guests in the park during AH, and I'd guess that a majority of guests will probably be focused on attractions.

 

[pitpat]

For MK After Hours, we tried to get longer rides like Splash, JC and HM out of the way with FPs before the event officially started. Those will eat up a big chunk of your time.

 

[eeyoreandtink]

Our strategy was pretty much what everyone else is saying for MK. We started with pirates and went around. I think the biggest thing is not to try to crisscross the park. Do everything you want to do in an area before moving on. We were able to get multiple rides on lots of stuff, make it all the way around ,then go back for a couple things again.

 

[sharona]

For MK After Hours, we tried to get longer rides like Splash, JC and HM out of the way with FPs before the event officially started. Those will eat up a big chunk of your time.

Great idea. Especially JC and POC too I think. We can't book any FP in advance since we'll be at EP that day but as soon as EP runs out of Tier 1 FP, we'll see what we can get at MK. As for Splash we have a FP for that at the end of our regular MK day. We probably won't ride it again at the AH even though it's a family fave. It will be December and I don't want to be wet and cold walking around the park until 1am - just not worth it.

 

[sharona]

Speaking of...last time we went, POC had recently undergone a refurb and there was a lot more "splash" than with the previous version. Seats were wet and people in front were getting splashed in the face. Has that been fixed or is POC now considered a wet ride?

 

[Farro]

Probably the cost of staffing the shops and restaurants would outweigh the revenue. There just aren't that many guests in the park during AH, and I'd guess that a majority of guests will probably be focused on attractions.

If they start staffing more shops/restaurants that would probably point to more tickets being released and sold for these. So let's hope that doesn't happen!

 

[DisneyCowgirl]

We have annual passes, so could enter the park at any time. For Animal Kingdom, we got there in time to do the Safari, the walk-thru part in that area (Gorilla something maybe?), and the Lion King show, since all this would be closed during the event. Then we ate dinner and saw the regularly-scheduled Rivers of Light. After that, started with Everest, Dinoland, and then to Pandora. We got popcorn and icecreams and drinks in Dinoland. We rode everything we wanted, including multiple times on FoP and a fair amount of time just looking around, and were finished before the event ended. So I'd say you don't really need a strategy

For MK, we have been multiple times, and there is not enough time to do everything that is open, so you at least need a plan of what your must-dos are.

 

[CyndiLooWho]

For MK, we got fastpasses for 6:45, 7:45, 8:45 for the 3 mountains, and then got in line for 7DMT just before the fireworks ended (25 min wait time), and were able to get in line for PPF right before the park closed to day guests. Right at close, the lines for the mountains and 7DMT were fairly long, so we were glad to know we'd already ridden those. Of course, we walked on to both those rides about 60-90 min into the DAH times, after riding a bunch of other rides with little to no wait and eating Mickey bars and popcorn beforehand.

We rode absolutely everything that was open and were at the ferry about 15 min before the event shut down. It was amazing. I was glad that we didn't have to wait in any lines for the biggest rides (except 7DMT), bc wasting even 30 min in line for one of the big rides during DAH would have reduced what we could ride.

 

[kwdw]

Speaking of...last time we went, POC had recently undergone a refurb and there was a lot more "splash" than with the previous version. Seats were wet and people in front were getting splashed in the face. Has that been fixed or is POC now considered a wet ride?

You can still get a tad bit of splash - but the soaked seats and standing water in the bottom of the boats that was prevalent right after the refurb a couple years ago - that was all fixed. It's "pretty much" a dry ride again.

 

[kwdw]

I was glad we had a bit of a strategy for AK DAH - mainly because we didn't want to walk between the sections of the park. But - I don't think one was much needed. Definitely don't plan on eating or drinking except for the free stuff, don't plan to shop, and don't plan to criss-cross the park multiple times. I was worried that the strategy of leaving Pandora to the end would be everyone's strategy - and that would make it crowded at the end but that simply wasn't true. The crowd really wasn't that large. I hope Disney preserves the crowd limit for these events!

 

[acarsme123]

thanks everyone, appreciate the input!

 

[mullysisters]

I'm going in February and have splurged for DAH, against my usual judgement. I really hate waiting in lines. I wanted AH in DHS but it isnt offered when I am there. This is great information and I appreciate all of your responses.

 

[Genie-In-Training]

I think it depends on how many attractions you want to squeeze in, at least for Magic Kingdom. I did After Hours last December and had a wonderful time. I arrived at 8pn and the park was really crowded. I rode Peoplemover twice and saw Carousel of Progress (two of my favorites). Once the event began, I started at Haunted Mansion and did a loop through Frontierland, Adventureland, pictures on Main Street, Tomorrowland and ending up in Fantasyland. I made sure to ride my favorites multiple times before moving on so I didn't have to double-back. Since there were refreshment stands in every land, it was easy to pick up snacks as I went. I finished my last ride, Dumbo, with 10 minutes to spare. I found that having a basic strategy made my evening more efficient and didn't take away a bit of fun. I'm doing After Hours again this December and plan on doing the exact same thing. In the end, there are no wrong answers. I have friends who have had a great time just riding the mega-attractions, eating their weight in ice cream bars and skipping their way through an empty park. As they say on TV, "you do you."

 

[haackclan372]

So I have tickets for the After hours in MK in Jan. First family trip. What are the rides that are open, I would like to make a plan but not sure what will be available to us beside what Disney list on the website which is not much.

 

[GADisneyDad14]

So I have tickets for the After hours in MK in Jan. First family trip. What are the rides that are open, I would like to make a plan but not sure what will be available to us beside what Disney list on the website which is not much.

FYI, you can find nearly everything you’d ever want to know about the event on the first few posts of this thread: https://www.disboards.com/threads/disney-after-hours-magic-kingdom-faq-discussion-thread.3713652/

 

[Beachyrock]

For DAH, bus transportation (and the Ferry to the TTC) are the only transportation options when leaving. It depends on the resort, but some will operate in non-traditional sharing arrangements after DAH. FYI.

We are planning on going to DAH at MK during our February trip. Since it sounds like boats and monorails aren't running then, does anyone know, given the above situation, what the bus route will be from MK to the GF at that time? Would it most likely be a shared route with Poly and CR somehow? Has anyone done this or know how long it takes? Also, does the bus only run at the end of the night, or all throughout the night?

thanks

 

[GADisneyDad14]

We are planning on going to DAH at MK during our February trip. Since it sounds like boats and monorails aren't running then, does anyone know, given the above situation, what the bus route will be from MK to the GF at that time? Would it most likely be a shared route with Poly and CR somehow? Has anyone done this or know how long it takes? Also, does the bus only run at the end of the night, or all throughout the night?

thanks

In more recent times it has generally been Poly and GF. Although I have been on one from DAH awhile ago that shared with all five MK resorts (including FW), which was pretty brutal.

There will be buses available at any point in the evening.

 

[cindyfan]

A lot also depends on favorites and what you want to do multiple times. I've done DAH at MK twice and would love to do it again on my trip in March, but none is scheduled. But... there is one at AK, so planning on that.
For MK, I started with FP+ from 7p-9p and hit things that I knew took up a little more time... such as Jungle Cruise, Pirates and Splash and didn't care to do more than once. Then start DAH with Big Thunder 3 times during the fireworks. Let the crowds empty out and started my way clockwise..... Haunted Mansion, then to Fantasyland, but skipping Dumbo etc, and over to Tomorrowland. Hitting some things twice others just once. Did not hit Space Mtn, it's just not a favorite of mine. Then circle back to Haunted Mansion and back to Thunder Mtn..... always end my nights at MK with Thunder!! Last year I rode that 6 times the night of DAH!!

Now for AK, it might depend on what time Rivers of Light shows..... so I may mix it up a bit..... but.... I figure on starting with Dinosaur and then head back to Rivers and Everest. Everest is a favorite so multiple rides on that. Then head towards Pandora for Navi and FOP. Depending on the time.... maybe stopping at Bugs and Awakenings before Pandora. And then possibly head back to Everest for the last ride of the night!!