Disney After Hours Events

It was a great experience. I wouldn’t mind doing it again, highly recommend.

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Those days are mostly over, unfortunately. They are now super crowded with some 30+ minute wait times for a lot rides. It seems like everyone does it so much now that they most sellout. To me, it's almost like paying for an extra day with free cookies, ice cream, etc - but now have to stand in line because there's no FP's for these events.

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You have no clue what OP is asking about obviously.

We did magic kingdom after hours 2 weeks ago and it was amazing. Worth every penny and more.

We rode everything we wanted 2 plus times, that includes seven dwarfs mine train, thunder mountain, haunted mansion, space mountain and others.

Didnt wait in one line, actually was eerie because there were times that we didnt see anyone. Took pictures in front the castle with non one passing in them.

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Now the Christmas party and Halloween party is oversold like crazy and at times worse than a regular day at magic kingdom

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Thanks for correcting yourself and agreeing with exactly what I was talking about and what i said ...

The OP asked a question and I answered it as someone who was there just 4 weeks ago. It was nothing like the other times that we've been after hours.

ETA - We've been going to DW for the last 17 years. Have done everything from After Hours, all of the DVC stuff, VIP Tours, Behind the Scenes, etc....
It's not even close to what it once was as far as tickets now being bought for these events! Went last month - the week after Thanksgiving - and it was the most crowded that I've ever seen. While the park levels were relatively light, the AH was slammed compared to years past. I had a friend there last week and they had never saw half that many people at an event before.

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Those days are mostly over, unfortunately. They are now super crowded with some 30+ minute wait times for a lot rides. It seems like everyone does it so much now that they most sellout. To me, it's almost like paying for an extra day with free cookies, ice cream, etc - but now have to stand in line because there's no FP's for these events.

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I think you may be confusing the after hours events with things like the Halloween and Christmas parties which are super crowded.

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Anybody done any of the after hours events at the parks. Care to share your experiences. Was it worth the price to not deal with the crowds.

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We did Christmas.

First, Don't use a park ticket day at all. Even though they're supposed to start at 7 or 8, they let you in as early as 4. It would be a waste of money to use both a park day from a regular ticket along with the extra price of the event.

Second, the appeal to many is the special fireworks and parades and characters. So if you want it simply to ride rides with shorter lines, go for it. You'll get plenty in without waiting long. Also, if you want to see the castle and fireworks, go to the contemporary and eat that day (even lunch) at California Grill. You can either eat during the fireworks for a great view or you can go back for them with your receipt.

The parades and characters aren't really that special, IMO.

When we did it, we enjoyed the free cookies and hot chocolate, easily getting on some high demand rides, and the fireworks up close. When we do it again, we will go for Halloween with our young son who will love the Trick-or-Treating.

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Now the Christmas party and Halloween party is oversold like crazy and at times worse than a regular day at magic kingdom

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Lol. No. They're definitely NOT worse than a regular day.

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after hours was great. Still only selling a very limited amount of tickets

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You're the idiot here. Extra magic hours aren't a ticketed event. They're for anyone staying on site. Which is the majority of the crowds. There's almost no limit to them unless you count the capacity of every hotel on site. So misinformed.

There are a few people in this thread that may be confusing several hard ticket events and the free Extra Magic Hours.

Extra Magic Hours are available to WDW Resort Hotel guests (And several affiliated hotels like Swan/Dolphin and Disney Springs area hotels) for no additional cost. This will allow you access to certain parks on certain days an hour early or a few hours after the park closes. There are A LOT of people eligible for Extra Magic Hours and these times are often quite crowded.

There are several hard ticket events (that require an additional paid ticket) where access is restricted. The ones I'm aware of are as follows:

1. Early Morning Magic- This is where you are allowed access into ONE in-demand area of a park, like Fantasyland in the Magic Kingdom or Toy Story Land in Hollywood Studios, approximately 1.5 hours early. The crowds are EXTREMELY low. We rode 12 rides in an hour and 20 minutes in Fantasyland, and 10 rides in an hour and a half in Toy Story Land last trip during EMM events. It cost us $79 per person, and you will be served a decent breakfast.

2. Disney After Hours- This event is more expensive ($125, $95 for passholders), but much of the park will be open, instead of one area. You and other DAH guests will have the park to yourselves (except a few holdovers that are waiting in line when the park closes) for 3 hours, but you can enter the park a few hours earlier without using a day on your regular ticket. The crowds for this event will also be VERY, VERY low. You will be served some free snacks and beverages.

3. Christmas Party(MVMCP) or Halloween Party (MNSSHP)- These are longer than the other two events at 5 hours, and like Disney After Hours, you can arrive 3 hours before they officially start without using a day on your regular ticket. Nearly all the rides will be open during these events, and there will be special shows, character meet-and-greets, a special parade, special fireworks, etc. You will be served some free snacks and beverages, and several restaurants will be open for you to PURCHASE full meals. Crowds will be lower for these events than a regular park day, but sold-out parties will still be crowded, especially during the fireworks and the first parade. The most popular rides will still have a pretty long wait. During our Christmas party, the wait for 7 Dwarfs Mine Train was still an hour, and people waited multiple hours to meet certain characters. Prices for the parties vary slightly depending on when and which party you book, but will generally be around $95 to $125.

IMHO, the Early Morning Magic and Disney After Hours events are absolutely worth it. We will schedule at least two of these events every trip as long as they're available. We probably will not bother with Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party or Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party again, unless we go with family or friends that really want to attend. Disney is overselling these parties for the price they're charging, and it's just not worth it... Again, just my opinion. If you're really into meeting certain characters, the special parades, Trick-or-treating, etc., then you may feel differently. We think Happily Ever After is better than either of the party fireworks shows, but we do really like the parades at the parties.

ETA- Just to note, we didn't actually ride 10-11 DIFFERENT RIDES during EMM, because there aren't that many rides open. I mean we rode 7 Dwarfs Mine train 6 times, Peter Pan 3 times, etc., etc.

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We've been going to DW for the last 17 years.

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Yikes.

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$125 for 3 hours

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It's 8 hours since they let you in at 4 and it goes till midnight. Just to be fair.

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I’ve never heard of After Hours until now

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Same. I didn't realize they'd created a whole "event" for something that used to be free for resort guests and, before that, a small fee on some random nights throughout the year only at MK.

I miss those old E-ticket nights where only 8 or so rides were open, it was $10/person and you got a wristband that let you stay in the park for 3 extra hours riding those 8 rides constantly. They were the only things open. You could ride Space Mountain constantly without waiting for all 3 hours. The 8 rides were Space Mountain, Splash Mountain, Haunted Mansion, Thunder Mountain, Buzz Lightyear, Peter Pan, and 2 others that would change periodically. One time we had the Country Bear Jamboree.

We did this a few months ago at MK. The event itself is 3 hours long and includes popcorn, ice cream, and soft drinks. Lines were, at the most, 5 minutes long. Most rides were walk-up.

Depending on the night you go, the event times are

8-11
9-mid
10-1 am

However, they will let you in at 7 pm disney time so really like 645 or so. So... if you go on an 10-1am event night, you get in for 6 hours... 3 hours regular time and 3 hours event time.

I, personally, did not find a lot of value in it... but that's because we go pretty much every year and have ridden everything tons of times, and know our way around the park and FP+ system and EMH systems pretty well.

If I was going there once every few years, I would absolutely do it - especially on a 10-1am event night. This would probably be a day in which I would either 1) do Animal Kingdom or 2) do other non-park stuff that day. Get a dinner and get to the front gate by 630 pm.