"Official" 2018 Disney After Hours (DAH) Thread (Now Closed, see New 2019 Thread)

[mdmetromom]

I'm not going to the 8/30 event, but is it weird that HEA is at 8:55 and after hours starts at 9pm? Won't there still be a ton of regular guests in the park for the beginning of the event?

I thought that was kind of strange too. I'm going on 9/20, and HEA is at 8pm and OUAT is at 8:45pm. I was excited to see that schedule.

 

[mcurrence]

9/20 will be the first time we have an extra hour as a buffer...that said, we've never had an issue with HEA and DAH starting at the same time. It is true that most people head out to the Hub and then leave

 

[BK2014]

I'm not going to the 8/30 event, but is it weird that HEA is at 8:55 and after hours starts at 9pm? Won't there still be a ton of regular guests in the park for the beginning of the event?

This was the same time setup as our DAH in January. If you aren't dead set on seeing HEA in front of the castle, I would suggest being back in by Dumbo, or even Thunder Mountain. Both are good locations to ride and still see fireworks. We rode Dumbo last year with no wait as DAH and HEA were starting. The fireworks seem a lot closer from that area.

 

[Haley R]

This was the same time setup as our DAH in January. If you aren't dead set on seeing HEA in front of the castle, I would suggest being back in by Dumbo, or even Thunder Mountain. Both are good locations to ride and still see fireworks. We rode Dumbo last year with no wait as DAH and HEA were starting. The fireworks seem a lot closer from that area.

I second this. Riding BTMR during fireworks is probably our favorite thing to do. I almost make it a game to see if I can time it right so we are on the ride when the fireworks start. When we went to dah in July I actually got that to happen and it was awesome especially for the people who didn’t expect it.

 

[DisneyFansInNYC]

Does anyone know if PhotoPass photographers are still around for After Hours? Would love to get some photos in front of the castle at night with a limited crowd.
Thanks!

There are definitely photopass Photographers around. Actually there are many of them around the castle until way after 1am (that is when our party ended). We got our picture at 1:15am and then we left and there were many people on line when we left. Enjoy - it truly was the best part of our trip - besides the Halloween party.

 

[GADisneyDad14]

Guest List on Post #2 has been updated.

Only 5 days away from the 8/30 DAH night. The first Thursday night DAH since 6/28 and the first summer DAH series with 9pm-12am hours (vs 10pm-1am hours). Also the first DAH during MNSSHP season.

The last three DAH nights have sold out day of.

Pretty strong DIS contingent going on 8/30 - hope everyone has a great time!

 

[Davkind76]

What is a good strategy for the 9 to 12? Aren’t people still on rides for a little while after nine in the lines?

 

[GADisneyDad14]

What is a good strategy for the 9 to 12? Aren’t people still on rides for a little while after nine in the lines?

Day guests can get in line up until 8:59pm. Yes, you will have some carry over for the initial portion of DAH time. It is similar to PM EMHs in this regard.

I personally would stick to low priority/non headliners for the first 30 mins or so. In June, for example, I went on PeopleMover a bit after the start to eat some time. And I like the ride too.

 

[mdmetromom]

I have an after hours ticket question - my friend had to cancel and I am now stuck with an extra ticket. I know there is a "reassign" option for the ticket in my MDE account. Does this mean I can sell it or offer it to someone else?

 

[amalone1013]

Has anyone who picked their tickets up at will call gotten physical tickets? Are they just the normal style tickets?

 

[GADisneyDad14]

Has anyone who picked their tickets up at will call gotten physical tickets? Are they just the normal style tickets?

Yep - just the normal cards. Nothing special.

 

[GADisneyDad14]

I have an after hours ticket question - my friend had to cancel and I am now stuck with an extra ticket. I know there is a "reassign" option for the ticket in my MDE account. Does this mean I can sell it or offer it to someone else?

Yes, tickets can be reassigned to friends/family connected to your MDE account.

 

[amalone1013]

Yep - just the normal cards. Nothing special.

Hmm, wonder I'd I cam sneak away from DH and get them...

 

[sophie131]

I am asking this assuming they are going to release more dates for our upcoming trip!

We have 14 day park hoppers but we are only there for 10 days. We will obviously use our usual 3 fast pass entitlements each day. Is there anyway to be able to also have 3 fast passes for the DAH tickets on the same day? E.g we use 3 fast passes at Epcot in the morning and then get 3 fast passes on the DAH ticket to use close to the start of the event?
I'm thinking if we had a secondary MDE account to use just the event tickets on (we don't have a second account right now, would have to look into if this was against Disney rules!)...? Now i'm writing it down, I have a feeling it might not be worth the extra effort!

Does anyone have any experience in this area that could offer some advice?

 

[DebbieB]

What is a good strategy for the 9 to 12? Aren’t people still on rides for a little while after nine in the lines?

When we went on 6/30, we were allowed through the fastpass line after closing. There were still some standbys for 7DMT, but we went fastpass and waited like 10 minutes. We loved it! It was 10 to 1, the park was practically empty the last hour. The only bad thing were were staying at the Polynesian and the monorail was shutdown when we came out at 1:00am. We had to go for a bus or boat. We didn't see a boat coming so we went for a bus. While we were waiting, the ferry did pull up but there were a ton of people waiting, so we just waited for the bus.

 

[Haley R]

I am asking this assuming they are going to release more dates for our upcoming trip!

We have 14 day park hoppers but we are only there for 10 days. We will obviously use our usual 3 fast pass entitlements each day. Is there anyway to be able to also have 3 fast passes for the DAH tickets on the same day? E.g we use 3 fast passes at Epcot in the morning and then get 3 fast passes on the DAH ticket to use close to the start of the event?
I'm thinking if we had a secondary MDE account to use just the event tickets on (we don't have a second account right now, would have to look into if this was against Disney rules!)...? Now i'm writing it down, I have a feeling it might not be worth the extra effort!

Does anyone have any experience in this area that could offer some advice?

When is your trip?

You are only allowed 3 FPS per day so you would have to choose between FPS for Epcot or DAH. Honestly, doing a park before DAH is super tiresome. We chose to hang by the pool instead and have an early dinner at 4.

 

[HatboxHaint]

When we went on 6/30, we were allowed through the fastpass line after closing. There were still some standbys for 7DMT, but we went fastpass and waited like 10 minutes. We loved it! It was 10 to 1, the park was practically empty the last hour. The only bad thing were were staying at the Polynesian and the monorail was shutdown when we came out at 1:00am. We had to go for a bus or boat. We didn't see a boat coming so we went for a bus. While we were waiting, the ferry did pull up but there were a ton of people waiting, so we just waited for the bus.

Was the bus crowded? Was it shared with GF?

 

[DebbieB]

Was the bus crowded? Was it shared with GF?

Yes it was full. I think it shared with GF, we got off at the first stop at Poly.

 

[mcurrence]

Was the bus crowded? Was it shared with GF?

When we stayed at the Poly it shared with GF Wilderness Lodge, Contemporary and I think one or two more. We were the third or fourth stop and it was pretty crowded and frustrating!!

 

[GADisneyDad14]

Was the bus crowded? Was it shared with GF?

We were there 6/30 too. Left MK around midnight (edit, correction, was closer to 1am) and took the bus to Poly (which other than the Ferry to the TTC and walking, is the only transportation option after DAH). The bus that trip was shared with GF only (thank goodness). Waited maybe 5-10 min for the bus to arrive...pretty painless at the end of the day.