Magic Kingdom After Hours coming back (DAH); Reviews: Page 18 >>

[Accident]

Sorry, yeah, I meant the cap. I guess said another way, just wondering if we all tend to think the lower price will mean a flood of folks for this or if it will be be really low attendance like last time.

I think it's impossible to tell if it was low attendance with this event. I don't really care what everyone said as far as selling or sold out or whatever. The number I heard was the cap was 3000 tickets. If the theoretical capacity of magic kingdom is 120,000 like many say it is means they only planned to sell 2.5% of capacity that disney world can hold. I think a party cap is roughly 40-50% of capacity to compare Even if they doubled that your still talking a fraction that goes to rope drop.

I haven't been paying attention but I haven't heard anything about dates sold out yet but we also don't know the cap this time. I also have this theory that 90% of the people that want to go do not find out about the event once they have completed their fastpasses. they've basically finished planning and just waiting to go at that point. I think it'll start slow and pick up near the middle if my theory is correct but at the same time, we know what this even is this time. everyone was confused until it happened last time and there was under 2 weeks notice of the first one and it ended 5-6 weeks after that. so anyone in a resort had no clue because they had fastpasses before it was even announced and done planning.

 

[maryj11]

Will they continue this into the summer? I would really like to go to DAH. But as I look at the calendar that is up on the Disney site I see they are on Thursdays which is the only day we will not be at Disney. You might know they would choose Thursdays. I wonder if they will add different days if they continue it into the summer

 

[whiporee]

If anyone ends up going this time, please post a report. I'm curious to whether the crowds stay crazy low or they pick up.

Also, anyone want to place odds on it being extended? I need three weeks to get to late March!!

(for the record, I think crowds will be marginally higher, and it stops before the mass of Spring Breakers arrive, then back again in late May/Early June.)

 

[Accident]

Will they continue this into the summer? I would really like to go to DAH. But as I look at the calendar that is up on the Disney site I see they are on Thursdays which is the only day we will not be at Disney. You might know they would choose Thursdays. I wonder if they will add different days if they continue it into the summer

Extra magic mornings was the family, daytime with breakfast version of this event that started last year about the same time and the way it's worked is every couple months they seem to add on another couple months of dates (and added a second theme park). I think if it does well enough that they will keep adding on weeks when possible. I can also see them possibly doing some AK after hours weeks here and there once pandora opens but they might want until next year to try that..

If anyone ends up going this time, please post a report. I'm curious to whether the crowds stay crazy low or they pick up.

Also, anyone want to place odds on it being extended? I need three weeks to get to late March!!

(for the record, I think crowds will be marginally higher, and it stops before the mass of Spring Breakers arrive, then back again in late May/Early June.)

I went to the last one on one of the lowest attendance nights and the sold out last night.. The last night was very different. It was approaching that spot where a tiny line might form, it also had larger groups and wasn't mostly couples and new parents with young children. thinking about it, I would say if they put 1000 more people in the park, you would still get that almost nobody feeling, a tiny line might form on 2 or 3 rides (under 5 minute type line at the most popular, we want to ride it a lot over and over attractions) and it might actually enhance the evening because more people would be hiding in queues making it feel like your alone and a 1-5 minute wait isn't a big deal. Assuming the rumored 3000 max tickets was the cut off, 33% more than the sold out night I went too I think it doable to get up to 4000 or maybe even 4500 people.

Keep in mind, the guessed capacity of MK is 120,000 so we're talking 3-4% of the maximum capacity of the park. That's a ghost town with a tour bus stopping to check it out amount of people.

I don't know what they sell or cap a party at but if I had to guess, it's around 45,000 people so we're talking 1/10th the size of a party. If they asked everyone at after hours to stand in the hub, they wouldn't fill it.

 

[DisAuntie]

Will they continue this into the summer? I would really like to go to DAH. But as I look at the calendar that is up on the Disney site I see they are on Thursdays which is the only day we will not be at Disney. You might know they would choose Thursdays. I wonder if they will add different days if they continue it into the summer

They can only do DAH when the park closes early. MK stays open much later in the summer, anywhere from 11pm-12am. They do need down time to do overnight maintenance/cleaning, etc.

 

[Accident]

They can only do DAH when the park closes early. MK stays open much later in the summer, anywhere from 11pm-12am. They do need down time to do overnight maintenance/cleaning, etc.

It didn't last summer. They were closing weekdays (tues, wed, thursday) earlier than they closed when they did after hours in the spring. I vividly remember that people were yelling they didn't extend the hours, then after hours ended and the park hours got shorter. I hated it, I couldn't go after work, it just wasn't worth it..

They've basically started to stay open just late enough to do the night entertainment and then they quickly close if they didn't close and then do it.

These lower than normal hours continued all fall until middle of december when they jumped up and last week started to once again close earlier than normal again.

Even weekends were not as late.. there was very few midnight and even fewer after midnight closes.

 

[DisAuntie]

It didn't last summer. They were closing weekdays (tues, wed, thursday) earlier than they closed when they did after hours in the spring. I vividly remember that people were yelling they didn't extend the hours, then after hours ended and the park hours got shorter. I hated it, I couldn't go after work, it just wasn't worth it..

They've basically started to stay open just late enough to do the night entertainment and then they quickly close if they didn't close and then do it.

These lower than normal hours continued all fall until middle of december when they jumped up and last week started to once again close earlier than normal again.

Even weekends were not as late.. there was very few midnight and even fewer after midnight closes.

So they close earlier for this extra paid event?

 

[Accident]

So they close earlier for this extra paid event?

No they don't. The way it happened is the parks were closing about 10 or 11pm every night in the spring. Then after hours came along right when you would think the parks would go to 11 to midnight so everyone argued that instead of increasing hte hours, they made you pay for them. Then after hours ended and the parks went from 10 and 11 closes to 9 and 10pm closes on the 3 lower crowd weekdays (fri - monday still had later hours but they didn't extend the to midnight for the summer, most weekends it was closing about 11 in the summer with some exception..

Then the fall came and every couple weeks as the it got darker earlier and earlier, the closing time got shorter, then msep ended and the times really got shorter. They only went back to 10 or 11 everyday closes around the third week of december and this week that just finished they went back to 9 closing.. some scattered midnight and 1am close times but it was not like previous years.. they reduced hours and operating costs hard last year.

all summer AK was the open late park closing at 11:30 all days in the summer. I was just moved here, I wanted to hit the parks almost every night and MK become the closed first park on most weekdays.

edit to add: this isn't a party btw, you don't have to leave if you don't have a ticket. you just can't get on and rides without a ticket and most shopping and almost all food is closed. If you wanted to stay to be in an empty park, take photos, whatever you can do without riding you could stay. I did this a couple nights myself, I wanted to get empty park night photos but not pay and didn't need to ride anything..

edit to add again: If you look at this years hours, they are 9 or 10 starts, they aren't 10 or 11 starts like last spring. the park just isn't opened the way it used to be. (but many morning are earlier than it used to be, just not evening hours)

 

[buteraa]

UGH! We don't arrive until March 14th. Maybe they'll expand the dates??

 

[soniam]

So they close earlier for this extra paid event?

Sometimes, but not necessarily. I think what @Accident is saying is that the park was just naturally closing early last summer, even without DAH. I think they are closing early again now too. I do remember the park closing fairly early all days during our late July trip, compared to our mid-March 2016 trip.

 

[Accident]

Sometimes, but not necessarily. I think what @Accident is saying is that the park was just naturally closing early last summer, even without DAH. I think they are closing early again now too. I do remember the park closing fairly early all days during our late July trip, compared to our mid-March 2016 trip.

thanks, I was struggling for how to word it. The park just isn't staying opened as late anymore. even in summer. It gets dark, fireworks, don't get hit by the door on the way out hours for all parks (weekends a little later but not midnight later)

 

[soniam]

thanks, I was struggling for how to word it. The park just isn't staying opened as late anymore. even in summer. It gets dark, fireworks, don't get hit by the door on the way out hours for all parks (weekends a little later but not midnight later)

It will be interesting to see how late DAH runs if they are still doing it in the summer. I am debating MK EMM or DAH for our late July/early August trip. I don't think DS could stay up as late as they ran last summer though, until like 2am I think. He could manage the hours they have now, but I think that's due to slow times/early park closings. I think it will run late again next summer, probably until at least 1am.

 

[Suzanne74]

They can only do DAH when the park closes early. MK stays open much later in the summer, anywhere from 11pm-12am. They do need down time to do overnight maintenance/cleaning, etc.

I have been to Disney where it closed at 11pm and EMH were until 1am so I think for them to close at 2am, isn't that big of a deal.

 

[Accident]

It will be interesting to see how late DAH runs if they are still doing it in the summer. I am debating MK EMM or DAH for our late July/early August trip. I don't think DS could stay up as late as they ran last summer though, until like 2am I think. He could manage the hours they have now, but I think that's due to slow times/early park closings. I think it will run late again next summer, probably until at least 1am.

I think it really depends how many rented after the park closes evenings they have. Last summer they introduced the after hours weddings. I wouldn't be in a spot where I had to say no to a 500K wedding because I had a 250k after hours night happening. (2500 tickets at 100 each, just guessing the average price per ticket and what number they want to hit for sales to call it successful).

and then, how cut down is the staff, do you even have enough people to run a shift after hours and still have enough for the morning without getting into overtime or that edge where you can't call them part time anymore. It's not just general employees, you need ride castmembers that can operate everything and the behind the scenes you never see for those rides..

 

[Suzanne74]

thanks, I was struggling for how to word it. The park just isn't staying opened as late anymore. even in summer. It gets dark, fireworks, don't get hit by the door on the way out hours for all parks (weekends a little later but not midnight later)

And now that they don't have MSEP which was usually 8 and 10pm on busy nights, all the more reason to not stay open as late.

 

[Accident]

And now that they don't have MSEP which was usually 8 and 10pm on busy nights, all the more reason to not stay open as late.

very true..

It's MLK weekend and just a few days ago it finally started to drop in crowds from the winter. thursday night mk closed at 9pm, HS at 7 or 7:30. it's 11 the next couple days at MK, 9 at Epcot, 8 at HS and 7:30 at AK. and it's MLK weekend, one of the more crowded 3 day weekends at WDW. EMH is all mornings where they open at 8 instead of 9am..

It's also making it feel more crowded because rope droppers are starting later and night dwellers are starting a little earlier.

 

[Suzanne74]

And sometimes I wouldn't care if MK chooses not to stay open late if they would just keep some of the other parks open later to spread the masses. It has always been other parks during the day and back to MK at night because of the hours. Even more so now that that FP system tiers you and really only allows 4 FP in MK. I hope the eventually new evening AK hours will help. But I have never understood Epcot closing at 9pm every darn night of the year except EMH, even in the summer. There should be later nights, even if it is just WS. Add a few little night street shows in a few countries. The food and drink purchases alone would appeal to many locals, AP's, and tourists without kids.

 

[Suzanne74]

I have been to Disney where it closed at 11pm and EMH were until 1am so I think for them to close at 2am, isn't that big of a deal.

Wait, I take that back. My 15yr old just corrected me. They used to stay open until midnight on peak days and evening EMH were 3 hours with parks closing at 3AM! Ah, those were the days. Nap and swim during the day, get a fantastic dinner and then have an empty park at night.

 

[Accident]

There should be later nights, even if it is just WS. Add a few little night street shows in a few countries. The food and drink purchases alone would appeal to many locals, AP's, and tourists without kids.

I've seen epcot opened past illuminations and everyone disappears. I can't see them even breaking even. didn't they try adult nights in 2015 or when pleasure island first closed in 2014 for a test in epcot? I don't remember anyone even talking about how that went.

springs is doing well and later than most parks. plenty of drinking stops there if that is what you're looking for.

 

[Mom2Stitch]

My apologies if this has been answered somewhere in the thread, do you need regular park admission in addition to the cost of the DAH ticket?

I'm planning on a May trip and so far I have not added PHs to our package, I'm thinking that I'd rather use that money towards DAH tickets for us.