If people buy tickets to an After Hours event expecting a Halloween party, of course they'll come up short.
If they buy tickets because they understand this is an attraction focused event, and see value in doing a ton of rides in a short period, they'll be happy.
I can read; hence I fall into the latter category. The only way I anticipate being a bit disappointed is if I encounter a lot of long lines. (I have agreed with many of your posts on this subject all day.)
With the obvious disclaimer that I haven't gone yet, and the acknowledgement that my circumstances are very specific and perhaps out of the ordinary, my expectations are: being in MK at night when it's cooler and the sun is not beating down, enjoying that nighttime atmosphere when it's slow like it used to be years ago, being able to walk-on many rides, maybe some free drinks and what not, etc.
The somewhat unusual things that make this a perfect set of circumstances for us:
1. It's the first time in a long time we are going without AP's (exception, two nights last September.) So the 7PM entrance means something to us. It's a 5 and a half hour event, not three.
2. Since we are buying daily park tickets (and not going to MK or any other park that day) there are two ways to look at it: a) it's really only costing $40 more than a regular park ticket per person; or, more accurately but less impressive b) it's really only costing $90 more than a regular park ticket, since we are buying the FL resident Summer Fun pass this time. Either way, some amount of the $140 out of pocket would have been spent on park entrance, anyway.
3. It happens to be on our arrival night, which would have been a "get there, eat, and go to bed" night without this event. The parks aren't open until midnight very often, and a regular park ticket would not have been worth it. This will kick off our trip with a lot more fun, I think.
4. It's really not costing us much of anything. I bought the tickets completely on Chase Disney Visa points. Yes, I could have spent those points on something else. That's OK, I have lots of them. If I were paying out of pocket: if I had my AP, I probably wouldn't go (just like I've never gone to any previous ones) and I think $80-$100 per ticket would be more reasonable.
5. It's my freaking 50th birthday trip, and it's been a rough year (for everyone.) I'm not really caring if I would have preferred x or y. I just want to get away and do something a little special, and most of the usual special Disney things are not currently available (tours, wine tastings, chef tables, etc.)
If this had no Halloween theme at all, I'd still be doing it. Whatever Halloween stuff is going on is a bonus (and a little weird since it's before Labor Day in the summer.)
If the drive and the stop at Best Friends Pet Care go according to plan, we hope to arrive right around 7PM, do any attractions (like Carousel of Progress) that won't be running during the event, have dinner at Skipper Canteen just before 9PM (letting the park empty out, the popcorn lines go down, and having a couple of drinks to "get this party started," and I don't see how I can have a bad time from then on. Life is what you make it. If you want to find a reason to complain, you always can.
Let's see how this attitude holds up after the trip LOL. I'll report back for sure.
