Extended Evening Hours - 2023 Deluxe Hotels

[Mousetopia]

With the return of After Hours, the perk of a couple of hours for extended evenings that in our experience have been quite crowded, really doesn't mean much to us. I've always been a devoted fan of the Deluxe resorts, but have been doing resort switches just to include the eeh's at the MK during our stays. I really do love our Deluxe resorts, but there's just nothing in the way of perks to justify staying there. Discounts have been abysmal and there were actually no AP discounts at all for our last stay- not out of availability- there wasn't an offer at all.

After Hours are pricey, but IF they continue with the same crowd levels they had before, worth every penny. AP's get a pretty decent discount so I can buy for the whole family. We can get more done in 3 hours at AH's than we can all day in a busy park and the experience is much more pleasant. And what I spend for those tickets will be offset and more by a less expensive resort. I really like POFQ, so most likely that's going to be my resort of choice until they decide to offer something that makes a Deluxe worth the price for us. I paid over $700 a night for our BC stay- I can get any moderate for much, much less. I'm sad to give them up, but even I get to the point where I see it's just not worth what I'm paying. EEH's were the last shred of perks linked to a deluxe stay.

renting points from authorized dvc reseller is the way to go!!! I am staying at AKL savannah view in December for 325 per night in a studio! CHEAPER than the first 2 nights I have at a moderate

 

[Mousetopia]

With the return of After Hours, the perk of a couple of hours for extended evenings that in our experience have been quite crowded, really doesn't mean much to us. I've always been a devoted fan of the Deluxe resorts, but have been doing resort switches just to include the eeh's at the MK during our stays. I really do love our Deluxe resorts, but there's just nothing in the way of perks to justify staying there. Discounts have been abysmal and there were actually no AP discounts at all for our last stay- not out of availability- there wasn't an offer at all.

After Hours are pricey, but IF they continue with the same crowd levels they had before, worth every penny. AP's get a pretty decent discount so I can buy for the whole family. We can get more done in 3 hours at AH's than we can all day in a busy park and the experience is much more pleasant. And what I spend for those tickets will be offset and more by a less expensive resort. I really like POFQ, so most likely that's going to be my resort of choice until they decide to offer something that makes a Deluxe worth the price for us. I paid over $700 a night for our BC stay- I can get any moderate for much, much less. I'm sad to give them up, but even I get to the point where I see it's just not worth what I'm paying. EEH's were the last shred of perks linked to a deluxe stay.

renting points from authorized dvc reseller is the way to go!!! I am staying at AKL savannah view in December for 325 per night in a studio! CHEAPER than the first 2 nights I have at a moderate

We are excited for the Epcot deluxe extra hours. Staying over at Yacht/Beach so even better.

Is Living With the Land open? That's really our only must do . Something about riding it late at night is eerie. Also looking forward to just taking pictures around an emptier Epcot at night.

Epcot is magical at Christmas. I plan to go just to stroll and enjoy

 

[Disturbia]

renting points from authorized dvc reseller is the way to go!!! I am staying at AKL savannah view in December for 325 per night in a studio! CHEAPER than the first 2 nights I have at a moderate

Epcot is magical at Christmas. I plan to go just to stroll and enjoy

We tried renting points once but our dates (Spring break end of March) were completely unavailable. We take our own trash out anyway (housekeeping has been minimal even at deluxe resorts).

Do you have any tips, how far ahead to request? Have you had any IT issues with linking the reservation on MDE and park passes?

Disney is constantly changing rules and it’s hard enough to keep up without having to deal with additional restrictions so we just paid out of pocket.

 

[cakebaker]

I went this summer, and also after the marathon, which is a peak crowd. I thought the EEH park was practically empty. All the kiddie rides are walk on. They just let us sit on Soarin. Maybe if you're over at Test Track?

These EEH are a whole lot less people than they were before. Even the Waldorf doesn't get to go. I think they're an even better perk than they used to be.

They are absolutely better, but what we've experienced is still many, many more people than the hard ticket events. We've been to several at both parks and none I would consider close to be practically empty or even very low crowds. But yes, there are fewer people because of the limitations- the old evening hours were completely worthless to us. If given a choice, and with the current perks at the Deluxes, I much prefer staying at a moderate and purchasing the evening hour events. I absolutely love them!

 

[Mousetopia]

We tried renting points once but our dates (Spring break end of March) were completely unavailable. We take our own trash out anyway (housekeeping has been minimal even at deluxe resorts).

Do you have any tips, how far ahead to request? Have you had any IT issues with linking the reservation on MDE and park passes?

Disney is constantly changing rules and it’s hard enough to keep up without having to deal with additional restrictions so we just paid out of pocket.

Its been the same "rules" for years and years. Ive had 0 trouble. In planning aspects it is just a normal disney reservation. It links in MDE just fine. If you have requests that needs to be sent for you by the member. 11 months in advance if you want a popular resort.

 

[Disturbia]

Its been the same "rules" for years and years. Ive had 0 trouble. In planning aspects it is just a normal disney reservation. It links in MDE just fine. If you have requests that needs to be sent for you by the member. 11 months in advance if you want a popular resort.

They change rules regarding park passes and how many a pass holder can book.

 

[Mousetopia]

They change rules regarding park passes and how many a pass holder can book.

I was referring to booking DVC only

 

[RoseGold]

I was referring to booking DVC only

They change the DVC rules constantly too. They just changed the borrowing rule a few weeks ago.

 

[MousetersInc]

Okay, time for speculation about future EEH. Currently they're only announced through Jan 4. I'm planning a trip for MLK, Jan 15-18, and decisions about when to do Universal and when to do which Disney park could be shaped by EEH. What are the odds that it's even still happening then, and if it is, what are the odds that it follows the "Monday Epcot, Wednesday MK" pattern that seems to be established?

 

[Tom_E_D]

Okay, time for speculation about future EEH. Currently they're only announced through Jan 4. I'm planning a trip for MLK, Jan 15-18, and decisions about when to do Universal and when to do which Disney park could be shaped by EEH. What are the odds that it's even still happening then, and if it is, what are the odds that it follows the "Monday Epcot, Wednesday MK" pattern that seems to be established?

Disney has already announced that Extended Evening hours will continue through the end of 2023, so it'll still be happening then. Post 31 of this thread has a link to an article about it. Whether it is still Epcot on Mondays and MK on Wednesdays is less certain, but the fact that MK has Extended Evening hours on January 4 while HS has an After Hours party the same night indicates that there may not be a change to the Extended Evening schedule just because other parks have After Hours parties those nights.

 

[Scalemaster34]

Okay, time for speculation about future EEH. Currently they're only announced through Jan 4. I'm planning a trip for MLK, Jan 15-18, and decisions about when to do Universal and when to do which Disney park could be shaped by EEH. What are the odds that it's even still happening then, and if it is, what are the odds that it follows the "Monday Epcot, Wednesday MK" pattern that seems to be established?

They said through 2023.

Based on the paid options they are opening up... I expect they'll still to the current pattern. But that's a guess.

 

[DisneyFive]

They are absolutely better, but what we've experienced is still many, many more people than the hard ticket events. We've been to several at both parks and none I would consider close to be practically empty or even very low crowds. But yes, there are fewer people because of the limitations- the old evening hours were completely worthless to us. If given a choice, and with the current perks at the Deluxes, I much prefer staying at a moderate and purchasing the evening hour events. I absolutely love them!

I agree that the EEH nights were far from empty. However we've only experienced one EEH night at MK and one at EP, both late July. Personally I would rather have the old early and late EMH hours for all resort guests.

I can believe that the hard ticket evening hour events were awesome, but they were just way too dang expensive for our family of 5. MNSSHP has even gotten out of reach for us. We absolutely loved MNSSHP the few times we went in the 2012-2015 timeframe, but tickets were more like $60 per person then. No way I can justify today's prices.

Dan

 

[MousetersInc]

What about the relative merits of EEH vs AH? I know, I know, lots of disclaimers: AH was just restarted and all we have to go on is experiences from the Before Times; AH can get you HS while EEH usually doesn't; etc. But as easy as it is to balk at the price of AH, I'm making my choice of hotel here, and contemplating Swan&Dolphin specifically to "buy into" EEH. (I know, there are probably some other great reasons to choose it too.) But if I pay the same amount "extra" for it, compared to a cheaper hotel, then it's reasonable to ask which event gets you the most enjoyment and experience.

 

[SkyGuy]

What about the relative merits of EEH vs AH? I know, I know, lots of disclaimers: AH was just restarted and all we have to go on is experiences from the Before Times; AH can get you HS while EEH usually doesn't; etc. But as easy as it is to balk at the price of AH, I'm making my choice of hotel here, and contemplating Swan&Dolphin specifically to "buy into" EEH. (I know, there are probably some other great reasons to choose it too.) But if I pay the same amount "extra" for it, compared to a cheaper hotel, then it's reasonable to ask which event gets you the most enjoyment and experience.

This thread has been discussing this topic!

https://www.disboards.com/threads/after-hours-vs-parties.3899907/unread

 

[RoseGold]

renting points from authorized dvc reseller is the way to go!!!

There are no "authorized" resellers or rental agencies. You don't need Disney's permission to do any of this.

 

[MousetersInc]

This thread has been discussing this topic!

https://www.disboards.com/threads/after-hours-vs-parties.3899907/unread

Seems to me that thread is mostly about comparing ticketed After Hours events to ticketed party events like MNSSHP, vs hotel-related EEH…

 

[Tom_E_D]

Seems to me that thread is mostly about comparing ticketed After Hours events to ticketed party events like MNSSHP, vs hotel-related EEH…

Here is the thread discussing After Hours parties vs. Extended Evening hours: https://www.disboards.com/threads/extended-evening-hours-after-hours-2023-so-confusing.3899337/

 

[SkyGuy]

Seems to me that thread is mostly about comparing ticketed After Hours events to ticketed party events like MNSSHP, vs hotel-related EEH…

Oops, linked the wrong one. My mistake. I see someone else linked the correct one.

 

[cakebaker]

agree that the EEH nights were far from empty. However we've only experienced one EEH night at MK and one at EP, both late July. Personally I would rather have the old early and late EMH hours for all resort guests.

That's assuming that the After Hours took the place of the old EMH's and as far as I know they didn't. They just took them away. After Hours isn't something everyone wants to or can pay for, but I'm glad we have the option. As for us, the old EMH just weren't worth it. It was extra park time, but under the same conditions as a regular park day. Of course since we stayed Deluxe anyway, we found the EEH's to be much better. I can understand being unhappy that the original was taken away though.

 

[MousetersInc]

Here's something I don't see covered yet in this thread: One of the things to do at Epcot, besides headliner rides, is to enjoy the World Showcase. Ooh and ahh at the buildings, interact with the "cultural ambassadors," sample the foods, shop in the fun little shops (like the Japan one). I'm guessing, during EEH, the only part of this you can do is "ooh and ah at the buildings"; everything else closes up and goes home. Is that true?