Disney After Hours Event – April 28, 2016

[daveypoo]

So deb and I attended this event. We were scheduled to arrive in Orlando Airport at around 8pm, so we figured we’d have about 30 minutes to get the luggage and rental car, get to the Poly, check in, hop on the monorail and be in the park around 9pm (the event started at 10pm, but you could get in as early as 7pm). That whole plan went south from when we departed Providence. Our flight was delayed leaving Providence around 30 minutes. There was a delay getting our luggage once we arrived, but the drive to WDW and the check in process went quickly. We jumped on the Monorail and headed to MK.

We were like fish swimming upstream against all the people leaving. Understandable since it was 10PM, but a little tough on us and them. We went to the check-in spot and we were directed to Guest Relations since we had Will-Call tickets due to finding out we could get our tickets at half price ($74.99 vs. $149.99). No one knew what to do since the parks were officially closed at this point. About 10-15 minutes later, we FINALLY had our tickets and we were, again, swimming upstream (just keep swimming, just keep swimming). Once we were up Main Street towards the Hub, the crowds were better and easier to navigate.

There were a number of guests who were looking at us (and others for the event) like “What’s that all about?�. We had others who knew what it was about, and tried to scam their way onto attractions. That was handled well. We headed to Tomorrowland first, took a ride Astro Orbiter, then over to Space Mountain. The only waiting we had to do was for the attractions themselves, no lines at all. We then got free ice cream and drinks. We then sauntered over to Fantasyland.

We walked on to Little Mermaid, walked around a little, and then rode Mine Train (twice) and BOTH times we literally walked on, as in we walked up to the gates, they opened and we walked on without stopping. We wandered over to it’s a small world and the Cast Members were beyond tired so they were loopy and giddy. It was fun. We then rode Peter Pan and again, it was a walk on. Then we headed over to Haunted Mansion where we had to wait for the doors to open, no lines. A slight delay getting on our Doombuggy, and we had a great ride there.

At no time were there lots of people. We really did have the whole park to ourselves. Walking through Fronierland and into Adventureland, we didn’t see more than 10 people. We were going to see The Country Bears, but it was getting late and it was a 15 minute wait, so we headed over to Pirates. Again, a walk on. We then took a Jungle Cruise and when we looked at our watches, it was almost 1am. The night flew by. So we stopped at Casey’s for a hot dog, and sauntered out of the park a little after 1am.

We walked over to the resort Monorail only to find out that it was not operating and the only way out of MK was either ferry or bus. The buses only were running to non-monorail resorts, so our only option was the ferry and then a walk to the resort. Everyone was upset and there were no cast members to let us know or offer alternatives. A big downer after a nice evening. It wasn’t a bad walk, but considering we had been on the go since 3:30 and hadn’t even been to our room yet.

So overall, it was an OK evening. The price wasn’t bad since we got it for half off. Having walk-on access to the attractions was awesome. Free ice cream and drinks all night was also good, although also having popcorn would have made the snacks better. SOME case members were not happy about being there, others were having a ball.

For us, it was somewhat worth it since we were arriving late and it gave us the chance to head to MK. Us arriving later than expected had a negative impact for us, but most people were probably either already in the park or heading there at 7pm.

Based on what I’ve read, and how some of the other guests viewed the event, it’s probably not going to be a permanent fixture. I think paying that much for exclusive but limited access is a bit much. Although, at the half-price we paid, it was a more tolerable cost.

But this is only my opinion. Your millage may vary.
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When you're curious, you find lots of interesting things to do.
--Walt Disney

[Alacrity]

Thanks for posting! At half price the event is much more palatable for me...if I could stay up that late! Hitting the attractions without a line makes it very attractive at that price.

We ran into the same monorail problem at the Poly during our last visit a couple weeks ago. We were staying at the Poly and some friends (staying at Bay Lake Towers) stopped by to check out Trader Sams. After a fun visit they found the monorail down and had to take a cab back to BLT. Cab prices on property are usually pretty reasonable but it was kind of a disappointment.

[daveypoo]