Moonlight Magic vs Disney After Hours

[ontdvc2015]

We are headed to WDW in Feb 2024 and unfortunately there are no Moonlight Magic nights while we are there. There is however a couple of After Hour events.

Has anyone done both? Are the after hours similar to MM as far as crowd levels? What about the snack options at the After Hours?

We have loved every MM event we have done, so maybe this will be a (more expensive) replacement for this trip?

 

[Geomom]

We have done both. MM at Animal Kingdom and Hollywood studios and After hours at magic Kingdom. After hours have very low wait times, especially at MK, lots of walk on rides, and 15-30 minutes for the mine train. Included snacks are popcorn, basically all the ice cream treats from the carts, and bottles of soda and water from the carts.

MK can be worth it with tons of rides close together. Not sure about the bigger parks. We've done after hours when we didn't have park tix that covered our entire stay.

 

[DonaldDunk]

I have done both and I would say they are similar as far as crowds/wait times. The biggest plus of either is that there is not a lightning lane line to contend with. So even the longer lines are constantly moving. I wouldn’t expect walk ons (for either event) for the bigger ticket rides but the lines do move much better without genie plus running.
The snack options are better at moonlight magic with the snack coupons we get but after hours does have all the ice cream options, popcorn and bottled soda (as the previous poster mentioned). I think they are worth it, although the price has gone up for next years events. I’d buy this in lieu of a day ticket for sure.

 

[ontdvc2015]

Thanks for the feedback! I think that helps make up our minds! Can’t wait for our trip even more now!

 

[wdw4rfam]

I feel after hours crowds are lower than MM. we just went to the MM at HS in September and felt it to be crowded. Especially in Toy Story land. Lines were same as earlier in the day. Seems like they are more crowded than years ago. That being said, we did after hours once and don’t feel it was worth the cost where MM is free.

 

[eandt]

I am sure I have seen the info on here but haven’t been able to locate it ….. Are the quick service restaurants and adult beverage locations open during either of these events?

 

[PalmettoPath]

We've done both quite a few times over the years.

For us, MM is marginally better. Disney After Hours we find to be a waste of money. Long ride wait times (not much better than any regular night -- especially in MK) and feels equally as crowded.

We've found MM to be a better experience. Better snack options (as you get a voucher for a one-time thing beyond just free Mickey sandwiches -- I mean how many can you even eat?). Plus, we find MM slightly less crowded. Still longish wait times. Neither one is as advertised with short wait times.

We find the best of all to be late night extra magic hours for Deluxe guests. These ones actually do have short wait times with nothing usually over 15-20 mins and walk on during the last 90 mins (even for E ticket rides).

 

[kittylady1972]

We did both last year...at HS. For the HS one, we bought for 4 of us for May as a surprise for my daughter and her boyfriend who were on a trip with us. We were staying at Riviera, but planned to do only the Universal parks because we all had APs to those parks.

So the After Hours was HS in May...and it was a rainy evening which may have helped thin crowds a bit, but it cleared up well enough by the time we arrive and we go there close to the early 7pm entry. The lines were a bit long for the ice cream/popcorn/drinks early on, at least in the Toy Story area, but they thinned later. We went early so we could do a quick dinner at Mama Melrose before our evening, so we weren't starving for the "free" snacks but we got our fill. We rode all that we wanted before midnight, and the best thing was our ride on a TOTALLY EMPTY Tower around the 11pm mark. We had the whole elevator to ourselves and we each sat in a corner.

Returned in September for the Sept 13th Moonlight Magic. We still did quite a bit, but the lines for food were much longer (since you had the vouchers for the other food) and since we had just been in May we weren't trying to do ALL the things. I think I actually preferred the paid event over the DVC one in that case.

Now we have been fortunate to do MM at Typhoon Lagoon, Magic Kingdom, and Animal Kingdom but no paid events there. MK was YEARS ago so hard to compare as it's different now. Typhoon Lagoon was super fun and we got to meet Elvis Stitch! AK was nice. I am HOPING to finally do an EPCOT MM event as we already had a trip planned for January when they announced the January event! If I can just ride Guardians over and over again for that event I'll be happy.