Would love to know what goes on after hours in the theme parks

[Cozfamilyof6]

Anyone know somebody who works in the parks after hours? I imagine there would be a lot of cast members cleaning, stocking store shelves and restaurants.

[DisneyTeen]

Cleaning Cleaning and More Cleaning.
You can see the cleaning start @ MK right after wishes, they use those push Vacuum type machines.

[mouseketeer mom]

Oooo. Wouldn't THAT be a fun tour? The after hours tour! I'd love that one!

[Ian]

Having been privvy to the scene, I can assure you it's pretty dull.

I watched a lot of what goes on out of the window of the Castle Suite and it's exactly what others have said ... a lot of cleaning, restocking, some minor maintenance ...

One thing that was cool, was that the turn some lights on that keep the place bright. They look like big spots. Also, it was neat in that they were driving vehicles around in the parks.

It was very odd to see a big box truck trundling around Liberty Square!

[SAHDad]

I imagine you could simulate most of an after-hours tour by visiting your local 24-hour big box store. Stocking shelves, vacuuming, floor polishing, cleaning, and so forth really doesn't have a whole lot of tourist appeal.

I do recall seeing a show on the Travel Channel (I think) about WDW, and they mentioned the after-hours work that goes into theming the parks for the holidays. It was interesting, but I imagine viewing it in person would have a very limited personal appeal.

[brownie]

In addition to the cleaning, their is painting, and I bet they do some, if not most, of the landscaping work at night.

[pook@wdw]

Cleaning, refurbing, loading/unloading, and maintaining the attractions. If you look @ just the right time, you can see the steam rising up from the street cleaning and it cast a eerie kind-of fog over the entire park. Way Cool! :waycool:

[LoriMistress]

Cleaning, stocking, refurbishing, gardening, preparing food, etc.

[jkj1224]

lots of pressure washing, painting, major landscaping...it is kind of eerie to see heavy machinery rolling down the streets of the MK. But at the same time very cool to be there because the attraction lights and music play 24/7 even when you're the only one there. It's very peaceful. :)

[EPCOT Princess Horizons]

I am planning on moving to Orlando next year and I am going to try to get a job at EPCOT after hours, I wonder if they need somebody to dust off the audio-animatronic figures in my favorite attraction Spaceship Earth?:mickey:

[mouseketeer mom]

ummm..nevermind:-o..I guess I am the only one who thinks it might be interesting..maybe its the appeal of being privy to the park after hours. Would it still feel magical at all?

[CaptainJessicaSparrow]

Magical? Maybe not the best word, but it certainly makes you appreciate just how much goes into keeping a place the size of Disney looking as good as it does. It is a 24/7/365 day job. Disney only closes to its Guests, but there are people there all day and night. Decorations for holidays go up overnight.

Merchandise - largest shops closes 1 hour after park but CM's are there until 2-3 hours after the last Guest leaves to stock and organize.

F&B - Closes at park/shop closing and takes up to 2 hours to clean and sanitize everything.

So for EMH, Emporium won't close until 1 hour after park....which can be 4 am sometimes and then we will have to stay and clean, stock, organize. But you can play with all the toys. :thumbsup:

[TheRustyScupper]

1) Ahhhhh.
2) The Romance.
2) The Magic.
3) The Allure.

4) But, it isn't after closing.
5) As mentioned, this is work time.
. . . pure manual labor
. . . maintenance and repairs
. . . cleaning
. . . stocking of merchandise
6) Actually, kind of boring.
. . . no guest interaction
. . . no excitement
7) Pretty much just another job.

[tkerbow]

We got a taste for this on the Keys to the Kingdom Tour last Saturday. It's a 5 hour tour for adults only and you see lots of stuff that goes on backstage. You will see lots of cleaning and preparations going on. You can ask any questions you want. Do you know what Disney does with the guests trash? I could not beleive it. Great tour. Best thing we did on this trip. It includes lunch and 2 rides with no wait.

[Iluvpooh]

ummm..nevermind:-o..I guess I am the only one who thinks it might be interesting..maybe its the appeal of being privy to the park after hours. Would it still feel magical at all?

Not even close!! This is my ultimate dream!! To be in the park after hours- I would spend the entire night sitting at the tables in front of Main Street Bakery-Drink coffee and watch them paint the hitchin' posts and change light bulbs.:cloud9: Main Street lit up and empty would be magical even if they were washing the streets.

[Bringonthemouse!]

Wow, are you guys ever wrong. Haven't you read "Kingdom Keepers" by Ridley Pearson. There's a lot more going on after hours than cleaning and painting! :eyes:
:hmghost::malef:

Seriously though, I would love to see how/what things are done after hours.

[Joy2theworld]

When we had our wedding photo shoot in the park, it was like 5 am because the park was scheduled to open that day at 7. Like everyone said, there was lots and lots of cleaning... washing down the walkways (all the water ruined the bottom of my dress :( ) I was also surprised about the vehicles driving all around the park. I never noticed the gates for vehicles before, but when we were leaving the park in the van, many of them were already closed, so we had to get someone to lift them. It was pretty interesting and unique to have the park almost to ourselves, but it isn't quite the same without all the smells and sounds!

[DisneyDudet]

Wow, are you guys ever wrong. Haven't you read "Kingdom Keepers" by Ridley Pearson. There's a lot more going on after hours than cleaning and painting! :eyes:
:hmghost::malef:

Seriously though, I would love to see how/what things are done after hours.

I sure hope you are joking about the Kingdom Keepers...


When we had our wedding photo shoot in the park, it was like 5 am because the park was scheduled to open that day at 7. Like everyone said, there was lots and lots of cleaning... washing down the walkways (all the water ruined the bottom of my dress :( ) I was also surprised about the vehicles driving all around the park. I never noticed the gates for vehicles before, but when we were leaving the park in the van, many of them were already closed, so we had to get someone to lift them. It was pretty interesting and unique to have the park almost to ourselves, but it isn't quite the same without all the smells and sounds!

I would LOVE to see your wedding photos!

I can imagine that it can be very mysterious at night, but with none of the animatronics moving in the rides... that would be rather spooky!

[Brer Mickey]

We will be staying for two nights at the All Star Music Resort on Dec 28 and 29, and we will not have a rental car for the first day and 1/2.

We have never stayed at any of the All Star Resorts before and since this will be a crazy-busy time at WDW, I was just wondering what to expect for bus wait times (when and where to catch, etc.) Any suggestions would be most helpful.

[Iluvpooh]

During the busy times, All Star Sports is usually a better bet for buses. MOST of the time the buses pick up and drop off at ASSp first. If you can, I would walk to the main bus stop at ASSp to be the first on the bus. A lot of the time by the time it gets to ASMu it is full and sometimes it will have to bypass ASMo. I have heard that during really busy times of the year each resort gets it own bus. I don't know because I've never stayed during a peak time.
If you want to walk to ASSp or be near the main bus stop at ASMu. I would suggest staying in the Calypso buliding 1 (NOt 10 if you want to walk to ASSp) I will PM you a link to a copy of the resort map.