Disney After Hours

[SurferStitch]

It's official.

Ticket sales will be "limited." No details on how many will be sold.

Cost is $149 per person.

Limited to the number of tickets they can sell, I'm sure!

[Stu29573]

Wow, yet another money grab. Who would have ever thought. Mickey is getting a little too desperate and needy for me to continue this relationship. I'll check back in if and when he gets a little counseling...

[i'm grumpy]

Does Mickey Mouse hold your hand while walking around the park?

Probably can't with it stuck in your pocket the whole time, but maybe!

[dlpmikki]

Having seen this would start at 11pm on the dates we are there I can't see it happening, even if I wanted to pay that much!

[Tekneek]

Limited to the number of tickets they can sell, I'm sure!

That has been the trend, hasn't it? I seem to recall some consternation when "limited tickets" for some event had a park packed and hours long waits for character meet-and-greets (didn't this happen for the Villian's Party?).

[1DisneyNut]

We did the Christmas party back in November and it was packed like a regular park day. The limited ticket special events are only limited by how many are willing to buy tickets.

[Arielfan98]

If they're gonna do this I hope they greatly reduce the price for on-site staying guests. What a rip-off!

[BrerGnat]

If they're gonna do this I hope they greatly reduce the price for on-site staying guests. What a rip-off!

Why would they do that? Onsite guests get EMH already for free. The point is to get those OFFSITE guests to pay for this perk on non EMH nights.

[GeorgeOfTheJungle]

As long as it doesn't replace EMH for Resort guests, I'm fine with it!

[chefmickey3]

Interestingly, last summer we participated in the DVC Beach Bash at Typhoon Lagoon. We had a blast! There were stations set up with complimentary drinks and ice cream treats which sounds a lot like the refreshments at this event. While we were there, we were discussing why they would offer an event like this and brainstormed that they may be testing it for a new pay event. Afterwards, we completed a survey and were asked if we would be willing to pay for an event like the Beach Bash at other parks. Sounds like enough people said yes! I think $149 is way too much. I too remember E-ride nights before kids and we have great memories of these fun nights.

[Lindslou]

I'm hoping that this doesn't sell well and that they do away with it. It is a pretty outlay and without the benefits of the parties I can't see that many people going for it. Of course I could be wrong. If it discontinues then there's no risk of them doing away with free EMH!

[VWL Mom]

You know, the more I think about this, the less expensive it seems. I mean, people pay (IMO) ridiculous amounts of money for these following "experiences" every day at WDW: character meals, "dessert parties", fireworks cruises, etc. All those things run several hundred dollars for the average family. And they are, by and large, short experiences with minimal "extras."

I'm starting to think it's not too bad for some people either. A one day ticket would cost you $110 plus tax so for $149 you still get 7 hours and 3 of them will have lower crowds. Both my boys (20 & 24) said they would go for this if they didn't have APs and were visiting the Orlando area.

[WiltonJohn]

You know, the more I think about this, the less expensive it seems. I mean, people pay (IMO) ridiculous amounts of money for these following "experiences" every day at WDW: character meals, "dessert parties", fireworks cruises, etc. All those things run several hundred dollars for the average family. And they are, by and large, short experiences with minimal "extras."

For some people... this $150 price tag is NOT what they might call "expensive". They have the disposable income to handle these kinds of things without thinking much about it. This is targeted niche marketing....as are the other experiences that are mentioned in the quote above.

We've saved up the pennies for a long time and done a couple of the "experiences", and they were well worth the price. Not something we can afford to do regularly... nor are some of them affordable for us EVER (like swimming with dolphins, the old race car stuff, etc.).

Some people will gladly buy these offerings. For Disney, it's an additional revenue stream. Those who don't buy are not really impacted... because they can still go to the parks as they usually do.

I doubt that they will simply do away with Extra Magic Hours..... it is a benefit of staying on property and helps with the marketing of that offering. They might try to mesh the two groups together though. Stay on property and get EMH included ........ or pay an additional $150 a day to get the same thing if you stay off property. The single days might be a test marketing things to see if the flag waves when they raise it.

best,

................john

[PopPhan]

Got this off another site:

Disney After Hours

Updated:

Would you pay $150 to be among a few thousand people to enjoy three hours inside the Magic Kingdom after it closes to the general public? If the rumors are true, a new premium event called "Disney After Hours" may offer you the chance to do just that on select nights on April and May.

The source of this rumor is an e-mail reportedly sent to some cast members on Monday, though Disney has yet to make an official announcement. The exclusive event is scheduled to take place on seven Thursday nights this spring:

April: 14, 21, 28
May: 5, 8, 12, 19
Reservations are now open. expected to open on April 6. The cost is $149 per person (ages 3 and older), plus tax. The event includes select attractions and character experiences, along with ice cream novelties and bottled soft drinks from vending carts around the park.

At first glance, it's hard to see how this offering would appeal to all but a handful of park visitors, especially if they are also eligible for Extra Magic Hours.

Extra Magic Hours offers Walt Disney World Resort hotel guests a 1- or 2-hour bonus before or after park hours at selected parks and dates. On Wednesday, April 13, the Magic Kingdom closes to the public at 11:00 p.m., with Extra Magic Hours offered until 1:00 a.m.

On Thursday, April 14, the supposed first date of this event, the Magic Kingdom again closes at 11:00 p.m., so this Disney After Hours event would likely run until 2:00 a.m.. That timing alone is enough to rule out most families with children.

Of course, Disney could make this experience much more compelling by changing the timing—closing the Magic Kingdom to the general public earlier in the day, creating an "After Hours" event that doesn't run until last call. It's not hard to believe that Disney might tweak the Magic Kingdom's schedule to close much earlier one night each week, especially if Animal Kingdom further extends its evening hours following the debut of the new Rivers of Light show and nighttime safaris.

Update: now that Disney has announced the event to the public, it turns out that the event does include more than 3 hours of admission to the park. Guests who purchase the ticket have access to the Magic Kingdom starting at 7:00 p.m., 3 or 4 hours (depending on date) earlier than the park's posted closing time. The "after hours" portion runs until 3 hours after the theme park closes to the public, so 1:00 a.m. or 2:00 a.m. depending on date.

To crunch the numbers, we have to first look at the normal price of admission on one of these event dates. All of these events fall on a "regular" season date, when the price of a one-day ticket is $110.

Again referring to April 14, the park is open to the public from 9 a.m. to 11 p.m., or 14 hours. That works out to $7.86 an hour to share the park with however many tens of thousands of people also visit that day.

The Disney After Hours ticket is valid from 7:00 p.m. to 2:00 a.m., or 7 hours. It works out to $21.29 per hour, and half of the time you'll have the park almost entirely to yourself. Disney won't officially confirm the number of tickets to be sold each night, but CMs tell us it's about the capacity of Mickey's PhilharMagic (just under 500).

If this number is accurate, you better convince your friends to join you for the event, else you may not see another non-employee the entire night. With just 500 people in the park, you could probably ride the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train as many times in a row as you wanted without ever getting off. With just 500 people in the park, you could have all the face time with Cinderella and Rapunzel that any princess fan could ever ask for. That few people could probably all ride Pirates of the Caribbean at the same time.

So yes, you're spending three times as much per hour to be inside the park, but the longest wait you'd have for any attraction is the time it takes you to walk to it. For the time-is-money crowd, this could be a very attractive prospect indeed. I could see this as being popular with convention-goers, a way to unwind after a long day of seminars and meetings.

Reservations are available by calling (407) 827-7185. [Ask the automated system for "tickets," because this offering is not yet recognized the by voice response system]

Now, if it IS only 500 tickets per event, it might be worth trying this out. Still would depend on what attractions are available and what "Meet and Greets" would be happening.

[Stu29573]

Got this off another site:



Now, if it IS only 500 tickets per event, it might be worth trying this out. Still would depend on what attractions are available and what "Meet and Greets" would be happening.

I don't see how they could make money with numbers that low. I would doubt the accuracy of that report. Although, if true, it would be worth it for customers...

[DonaldDuck1117]

Well with some quick math we get 500 X 149 to get $74,500, For only staying open 3 hours longer than posted hours. That means Disney is making $24,833 an hour.

Another thing to consider is this is just an additional revenue stream and that the park would probably be open with EMH at this time of year anyways so it's not too much of an additional cost to Disney. They've basically just added an extra $75,000 a day to the bottom line for doing almost nothing extra on their end.

Going further this runs for 7 nights. 74,500 X 7 is $521,500. They will add half a million dollars in only 1 weeks time. Unreal.

[Stu29573]

Well with some quick math we get 500 X 149 to get $74,500, For only staying open 3 hours longer than posted hours. That means Disney is making $24,833 an hour.

Another thing to consider is this is just an additional revenue stream and that the park would probably be open with EMH at this time of year anyways so it's not too much of an additional cost to Disney. They've basically just added an extra $75,000 a day to the bottom line for doing almost nothing extra on their end.

Going further this runs for 7 nights. 74,500 X 7 is $521,500. They will add half a million dollars in only 1 weeks time. Unreal.

But if they are running EMH those same nights, then you wouldn't be one of 500....The crowds would be much larger. Also, I'm pretty sure 24,000 an hour, while huge to us, isn't very impressive to WDW.

[DizneyRox]

Admin costs will eat that $75000 pretty quick. Between CMs to run the rides, maintenance people, security, parking attendants, etc. Can't imagine 500 is a good number. They won't do this to break even, they are looking to make a killing! 500 people in the park won't do that.

[dnickels]

The 500 number surprises me too. Even absolute bare-bones staffing of the MK plus parking lots has got to be a couple of hundred CMs, plus the extra energy costs to keep the rides running. After subtracting that from the $25,000 per hour revenue number that's peanuts in the grand scheme of Disney's theme parks division revenue. I'm surprised it would be worth it to Disney.

[BrerGnat]

It won't be 500.