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

[Katie1174]

when im there in april next year MK hours are to 9pm and after hours is 10pm-1am . does that mean you could expect normal hours to be extended till 10pm or do they normally have a hour gap ?

Probably change hours to 10pm. We went to all 3 AH last May and only AK and HS had a 30 minute gap between park close and event start. MK started the exact time the park closed but, at least in May, it was a non issue. The line wait dropped to 10-15 min pretty quickly after the party started, then went down from there. A lot of people leave after the fireworks. We started our evening at BTMR and even at 10 on the dot, it was a 5 min wait tops and by the time we rode 3 times it was a walk on. But every night is different, we were very lucky that all 3 of ours were very low crowds.

 

[ElsasFan]

I've read that they often times leave that gap hour between regular closing and the beginning of DAH to allow time for those regular day guests to exit the park. I hope that's true because we're paying a premium for just three hours of park time... and if the first hour of those three we're still dealing with all the regular day guests that waited to get in attraction lines just before official closing time, it could be a little while before the crowds really go down.

We went to a DAH event in Magic Kingdom last May. We rode Buzz Lightyear between 8 and 9 p.m. (9:00 park closing time) and it was very crowded in Tomorrowland when we went into Buzz. When we came out a little after 9:00, the place was empty! I don't know how they did it.

 

[georgina]

That used to be true for Christmas and Halloween parties, but that was a decade ago or more. To my knowledge has never been true for DAH.

They brought it back for Christmas and Halloween parties. Park closes at 6, parties start at 7.

I agree that the time DAH starts for MK means the park will close at that time.

 

[Iowamomof4]

I've read that they often times leave that gap hour between regular closing and the beginning of DAH to allow time for those regular day guests to exit the park. I hope that's true because we're paying a premium for just three hours of park time... and if the first hour of those three we're still dealing with all the regular day guests that waited to get in attraction lines just before official closing time, it could be a little while before the crowds really go down.

That used to be true for Christmas and Halloween parties, but that was a decade ago or more. To my knowledge has never been true for DAH.

They've sometimes had a gap at AK, but never at MK for after hours.

 

[eeyoreandtink]

They brought it back for Christmas and Halloween parties. Park closes at 6, parties start at 7.

I agree that the time DAH starts for MK means the park will close at that time.

Are they completely clearing the park, like they used to, and only letting party guests in at 7? We did MNNSHP last year ,and they didn't do this. We got in well before the party started.

 

[Tessaf]

I've read that they often times leave that gap hour between regular closing and the beginning of DAH to allow time for those regular day guests to exit the park. I hope that's true because we're paying a premium for just three hours of park time... and if the first hour of those three we're still dealing with all the regular day guests that waited to get in attraction lines just before official closing time, it could be a little while before the crowds really go down.

When we did DAH in 2018 we got there right before the parked closed. We headed over to BTMRR and they had cast members waiting at the bridges and walkways and made us show our wristband before we could continue. The people next to us got turned away since they didn’t have wristbands. I didn’t notice any crowds hanging around that night. But I’m not sure if that’s the norm or not.

 

[cakebaker]

I would love it if they had DAH events every day of my stay. I would skip the parks during the day and just do them.

Same here practically. When we do a DAH's, we still go to the park on another day but we can skip dealing with rides for the most part and have a much more relaxed time. We book 3 fp's and that's it. It also allows us much more resort time. They are just the best thing Disney has done in a very long time. I know it irks some that it's cut into the evening emh's, but since we just don't do those anymore because of crowds, doesn't bother me at all. I'd rather pay more and get a much more enjoyable experience.

 

[eeyoreandtink]

They are just the best thing Disney has done in a very long time..

ITA. We LOVED our experiences with DAH and cannot wait to do it again.

 

[Rich M]

Same here practically. When we do a DAH's, we still go to the park on another day but we can skip dealing with rides for the most part and have a much more relaxed time. We book 3 fp's and that's it. It also allows us much more resort time. They are just the best thing Disney has done in a very long time. I know it irks some that it's cut into the evening emh's, but since we just don't do those anymore because of crowds, doesn't bother me at all. I'd rather pay more and get a much more enjoyable experience.

This is exactly what we are hoping for. We got the DxDDP and plan to enjoy a more leisurely trip with just hitting rides with FP and during the DAH or Christmas parties. The only line we will have no choice in is the new Star Wars ride but since we have DL AP we might just wait until January and go there.

 

[Alison S]

DAH definitely gives us more leisurely days. We'll do DAH + 1 MK day (so that day we will have done a ton of stuff already, so we'll just do our favourites & anything that isn't open in the evenings). Should be out of the park mid-afternoon for more resort time that day. Then since I only need to use 1 day of our ticket for MK, I'll do 2 AK days instead. We'll get to enjoy the park atmosphere and do everything at least once.

 

[Gina]

YES!!!!! I can't believe they finally released DAH dates for the last week of January! I had given up hope, honestly, especially when they released VAH dates beyond that. Still, I left that Monday evening (1/27) open just in case, with the rest of the day being a take-it-easy day with a nice relaxing carriage ride earlier. Now we're all booked now for the event on 1/27, and it is taking everything in me to not get up and dance on my desk at work.

 

[Lisa F]

I'm kind of waiting to see if they add anything at DHS. The after hours page still lists DHS, though there are no dates currently available.

I only have the one day (and a too-close-for-comfort travel date) so I am thrilled that anything was released, I doubt they would do competing events on the same night. But if I were trying to plan a full stay I'd be waiting a bit to see what else they release. They may not think about that until they see what the new ride opening early december is like.

 

[Iowamomof4]

I only have the one day (and a too-close-for-comfort travel date) so I am thrilled that anything was released, I doubt they would do competing events on the same night. But if I were trying to plan a full stay I'd be waiting a bit to see what else they release. They may not think about that until they see what the new ride opening early december is like.

Yeah, I wouldn't be surprised if they're waiting until after Rise of the Resistance opens to see how crowded it gets.

 

[cakebaker]

I'm in the camp that once ROR is open they'll start back with DAH at HS. I can't imagine a reason for not doing them. Fingers crossed they have them for our March trip!

 

[kylenne]

DAH definitely gives us more leisurely days. We'll do DAH + 1 MK day (so that day we will have done a ton of stuff already, so we'll just do our favourites & anything that isn't open in the evenings). Should be out of the park mid-afternoon for more resort time that day. Then since I only need to use 1 day of our ticket for MK, I'll do 2 AK days instead. We'll get to enjoy the park atmosphere and do everything at least once.

This sounds like a great plan! We had the same idea especially since I have an AP but my gf doesn’t. We are going for 2 more days on the May trip that last year and I wanted to substitute AH for some park days on her hopper ticket. We also expressly wanted to build in more resort time since it was our one regret from our Poly stay last year. We had some but not as much as we wanted. We are both night owls anyway and prefer the atmosphere of MK at night. And I’m glad to hear it makes days more leisurely; we are an ADHD couple and sometimes crowded parks are a challenge due to overstimulation.

My only problem now is being torn between regular DAH and Villains. Hopefully the sheer number of dates combined with the lower priced alternative will alleviate some of the crowd issues VAH had last year. And they dropped this news four days before our ADR day...ay yi yi Disney!

 

[Rich M]

I would be so happy to have a HS DAH. In my perfect world I would do the DAH in the evening and water parks or pool time during the day. I would actually consider going during the summer again

 

[NikkiDP]

I am so excited they announced end of January dates!! DH and I were trying to figure out if we were doing AK DAH but once these came out we immediately decided MK was the way to go! This will be our first AH event and I can't wait to be in the parks with limited crowds at night

 

[Sarahslay]

YES!!!!! I can't believe they finally released DAH dates for the last week of January! I had given up hope, honestly, especially when they released VAH dates beyond that. Still, I left that Monday evening (1/27) open just in case, with the rest of the day being a take-it-easy day with a nice relaxing carriage ride earlier. Now we're all booked now for the event on 1/27, and it is taking everything in me to not get up and dance on my desk at work.

I had given up hope too!! I'm only there for 4 days/3 nights and I also figured they would end up doing just a monday (the day after I go home) and I'd be out of luck anyway, but I was wrong!! I have my ticket for 1/31, I'm alone so kinda glad it's an 8-11 since I really don't enjoy those resort walks at 2 am by myself (I also won't be falling asleep on the bus with no one to wake me up lol)

 

[glk2009]

Do you think crowds for DAH are still going to stay low? That Disney isn’t selling more tix?

We did DAH when they first started and it was awesome. So awesome.

I was about to bite the bullet and buy tix for VAH for our April trip and just suck it up and deal with more people. But if DAH is definitely fewer people, I’d rather do that.

Sorry if I missed it in the past posts. I did try and read through the more recent pages.

TIA!

 

[Lsdolphin]

Oh yes Oh yes!!!! Booked DAH for 1/31 so happy Disney added the additional dates for last week of Jan!!!