Disney After Hours BOO BASH

[Figments Friend]

Hmmm...

Looking at the above video compilation of last night's entertainment offerings, two things seem obvious to me -



1. - A minimum of effort to put this 'event' together. ( all items carried over from prior Halloween events )
Nothing 'new'.

2. - WDW is still hurting staffing wise for entertainment CMs.
Thus why there are still no parades.
Watching the calvacade example shown above made that very clear.
Still a lot of Cast needed.



That said, the prime selling point of this 'After Hours' event is not the entertainment.
It is the lure of getting short lines and low wait times for the Attractions.
So if one is just looking to ride as much as they can all night and cover as much ground as possible, this may be seen as a 'win'.
The lack of effort to bring this a little above that seems disappointing for the price of a ticket....but your mileage may vary.
I personally wouldn't bother, and just await the return of the real deal....the real 'Halloween Party'.

Also have to comment on the very generic looking 'Boo Bash' guide map.
No colorful artwork, no Disney character art.....standard text listings....just very bland looking visually.
Usually, the guide maps for events are fun souveniers in their own right....but this looks like it was slapped together last week in Windows Paint.

Let's hear more from those who were actually there.
Will be interested in more reviews in the coming weeks once more people have had a chance to experience this.

-

 

[Figments Friend]

That's it?!?!?!?
We are going in October for our 1st "Halloween trip" that has been re-scheduled twice and has gone up in price more than 20% overall.
I could care less about parades/cavalcades but no ride overlays, castle show or anything?
This "long weekend" trip is costing me more than a 7 day RC balcony cruise on one of the biggest ships in the world.

Perhaps you might wish to reconsider, and do the cruise instead?

Not trying to be a 'wise guy' ...I am just honestly suggesting you might want to rethink things if this was going to be a highlight of your WDW visit.

-

 

[dreday3]

Disney After Hours BOO BASH - short waits, but short on entertainment​

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Good review. Fair to those who wanted more entertainment.

So for a couple like us - who have zero interest in stage shows (never watch them), think the cavalcades are cute, love candy, mainly went to the Halloween parties for the eerie feel/lighting and want to experience low waits on rides, especially this year - sounds like we did the right thing in buying tickets!

thanks!

 

[Sans Souci]

Right on! DH and I will be doing the same, and appearing (in more of a Disneybounding fashion, with costume-printed shirts - and of course a bandolier and leather satchel for me - and themed ear loop face masks) as Chewbacca and Boba Fett, respectively. If we feel we've become too dignified to dress up and indulge our inner child at WDW, we might as well shrivel up and die. Besides, even our surly teens are doing it -- they'll be dressed as Mike Wazowki and Sully. Our daughter spent a good hour yesterday lovingly tie-dying a shirt to just the right shade of turquoise with purple spots.

Have you decided on your costume yet?

That sounds fun!

I just have a devil horns and a white t-shirt onto which I painted a fried egg in puffy paint.

I usually go on a "Halloween on the High Seas" cruise, but I didn't feel comfortable with the rules. I usually wear this to the adult Halloween party on the ship.

It is light weight and packs easily.

 

[wdwmagic]

Good review. Fair to those who wanted more entertainment.

So for a couple like us - who have zero interest in stage shows (never watch them), think the cavalcades are cute, love candy, mainly went to the Halloween parties for the eerie feel/lighting and want to experience low waits on rides, especially this year - sounds like we did the right thing in buying tickets!

thanks!

Yep there are definitely going to be those who it works for - enjoy your trip!!

 

[Disstevefan1]

In Looking at the YouTubes from last night, it looks like it looks like there is some limiting; it did not look mobbed, it was a little crowded but not MOBBED like the pre pandemic not so scary parties..

 

[flynnibus]

Disney After Hours BOO BASH - short waits, but short on entertainment​

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Nice piece... but to your discussion of what's the compromise point, why isn't it just the existing After Hours events, or even something like the Villians event. It had the character elements, it had a stage show, it had special attraction overlays, had atmosphere elements... and still had the low crowds. It seems the old AH price point was accessible.

I mean the elephant in the room is obviously this event was less than prior, more expensive, yet positioned in place of the Halloween Parties.

Only Disney can evaluate if they can justify the cost of the parade and fireworks at this low capacity... but the scary part is, the strong sellout even at this price point. So if Disney were to say "ok, lets do the party, but at the capacity closer to AH events" we would see even at the AH++ price point it would sell out... again putting more pressure on the # of nights the MK is taken over for this kind of event.

A perfect world would be Disney running seasonal fireworks/parades on these nights PRE-party - and run normal entertainment on other nights. Sell it as a halloween AH event at AH pricing. Then there is still seasonal entertainment to bring people on property, and an upsell opportunity for those who want limited crowds.

 

[wdwmagic]

to your discussion of what's the compromise point, why isn't it just the existing After Hours events, or even something like the Villians event. It had the character elements, it had a stage show, it had special attraction overlays, had atmosphere elements... and still had the low crowds. It seems the old AH price point was accessible.

Villains After Hours was still light on entertainment for those who were Not-So-Scary fans. But yes, I agree with your point of running Halloween entertainment pre-party for all guests, and then just retaining after hours for minimal crowds.

 

[raymusiccity]

Currently shown on MDE as of 11:50pm
View attachment 578962View attachment 578963View attachment 578964View attachment 578965

Might as well go to the Magic Kingdom on a rainy day for the same wait times! MNSSHP is so worth waiting for. If fans keep buying tkts to this 'Bash', Disney will keep lowering the bar.

 

[Wendy Pleakley]

Villains After Hours was still light on entertainment for those who were Not-So-Scary fans. But yes, I agree with your point of running Halloween entertainment pre-party for all guests, and then just retaining after hours for minimal crowds.

This approach is appealing because many people have complained about how seasonal offerings at Disney are behind a paywall, which wasn't how it used to be. There was a time when those were just part of a visit to WDW.

I imagine the overall reaction to this After Hours event will depend on how much guests understand what it is, and what it isn't.

Casual fans are more likely to be disappointed, I imagine, because they think it's a Halloween party that has been downgraded.

Those of us who follow Disney a little closer and are aware of the different offerings understand that this is an After Hours event with some upgrades, and will react to it more positively.

Hence the photos of people lining up for a cavalcade. To me, that's not the point of an AH event. That's something I might stop and watch for a few minutes if I happen to be passing by, but if you're lining up for that instead of going on attractions, you may have missed the intent of an AH event.

 

[sup]

Chapek did a number doing Halloween same as after hours. Its really to late for lil ones who are suppose to enjoy Halloween. So all those people who brought non refundable Boo Bash Tickets...Do what you can to enjoy it. It isn't up to Walt's par and a big waste of money. To bad for the lil. ones. Chapek took out all the magic anyway. If you look at the crowds at the cavalcades,, no real difference than an actual parade. If the candy pass out cast members can get so close to a kid...y can't Mickey.

 

[Hawg G]

If the candy pass out cast members can get so close to a kid...y can't Mickey.

Question of the event right here. Although the characters have a union. They need a Princess M&G BAD. Even if it is no hugs right now. Those cavalcade are just sad compared to Boo To You. A bit of an Itchy and Scratchy Land vibe.

I have tickets, and am going with my daughter who does sleep in, so midnight is no problem for her. I figure the challenge is “can I ride as many rides in the 3 hours as during a normal day”. E tickets that is. I think so. Although Im always hesitant to do Pirates, or even Mansion with a small wait. That can suck up 15% of the event time, just one ride.

Candy is a bonus of course. As are the snacks. I read reports popcorn had a big wait at the beginning. Was this true the whole night? I expected the free food would be easily available to grab whenever. If they use that to throttle your time too, that’s not cool.

 

[flynnibus]

Villains After Hours was still light on entertainment for those who were Not-So-Scary fans. But yes, I agree with your point of running Halloween entertainment pre-party for all guests, and then just retaining after hours for minimal crowds.

The big variant there is of course the parade. But it seems Disney is doing all they can to avoid evening parades these days so I was trying to look past that and not hinge the whole thing on that.

I mean... Disney sold more AH events for halloween season then they've done for all AHs events combined right? They were about 5-10 dates each in the past?

The price point is now locked in... the question is 'will the party crowd be satisfied' with this event. If there is even a 'good enough' attitude, I'd imagine the parties and their special entertainment go away for awhile. Only to return when the lure of short lines isn't enough on its own to sell 20 dates each fall season.

That's the other thing about AH... if it becomes so common through the year, will people keep paying the high price? I guess that depends on how Disney manages their lines in the coming year

 

[flynnibus]

Candy is a bonus of course. As are the snacks. I read reports popcorn had a big wait at the beginning. Was this true the whole night? I expected the free food would be easily available to grab whenever. If they use that to throttle your time too, that’s not cool.

I wasn't there last night, but my past experience was the carts would have long lines at the start of the evening as everyone gourged -- but once the initial wave passed... they were almost no lines. Or simply skip the cart with a line to find the next

 

[ne4now]

Perhaps you might wish to reconsider, and do the cruise instead?

Not trying to be a 'wise guy' ...I am just honestly suggesting you might want to rethink things if this was going to be a highlight of your WDW visit.

-

We are doing the RC cruise this Feb (hopefully).
This trip was originally from last year and had to be canceled/rescheduled.
I'd love to reschedule but my poor wife (surrounded by boys) has wanted to take our little guy (5) for Halloween for a few years now and is afraid he will quickly outgrow Disney like our 2 older boys did. - In their defense, back then it was mostly little kids stuff and princesses & there was no Star Wars or Marvel for them (other than star tours). Once they were a little older & experienced Universal, they were OUT when it came to WDW, which broke my wife's mouse-shaped heart.

The BOO BASH was basically an excuse to "just do a long weekend" with another family who has never been to WDW.
Our middle son (21) is coming w/ his gf to see galaxy's edge and we bought them boo bash passes as well.
It's just disappointing to be spending all this $ for an event that sounds nothing like what we were looking forward to as I can not see us doing it ever again.

 

[wdwmagic]

Question of the event right here. Although the characters have a union. They need a Princess M&G BAD. Even if it is no hugs right now. Those cavalcade are just sad compared to Boo To You. A bit of an Itchy and Scratchy Land vibe.

I have tickets, and am going with my daughter who does sleep in, so midnight is no problem for her. I figure the challenge is “can I ride as many rides in the 3 hours as during a normal day”. E tickets that is. I think so. Although Im always hesitant to do Pirates, or even Mansion with a small wait. That can suck up 15% of the event time, just one ride.

Candy is a bonus of course. As are the snacks. I read reports popcorn had a big wait at the beginning. Was this true the whole night? I expected the free food would be easily available to grab whenever. If they use that to throttle your time too, that’s not cool.

No in most cases the popcorn was being boxed and stacked up on the carts and people were just grabbing them as they walked by. Same for sodas.

 

[Jon81uk]

That's it?!?!?!?
We are going in October for our 1st "Halloween trip" that has been re-scheduled twice and has gone up in price more than 20% overall.
I could care less about parades/cavalcades but no ride overlays, castle show or anything?
This "long weekend" trip is costing me more than a 7 day RC balcony cruise on one of the biggest ships in the world.

But none of that was really promised. It’s an after hours event with a few extra things.

 

[Animaniac93-98]

It's impossible not to compare this with MNSSHP when everything about it is recycled from that event.

You can't use the same floats, music, character costumes, CM uniforms and activities like trick-or-treat and the Tomorrowland DJ and expect people to pretend it's something else entirely. Marketing lingo only gets you so far.

 

[Casper Gutman]

This approach is appealing because many people have complained about how seasonal offerings at Disney are behind a paywall, which wasn't how it used to be. There was a time when those were just part of a visit to WDW.

I imagine the overall reaction to this After Hours event will depend on how much guests understand what it is, and what it isn't.

Casual fans are more likely to be disappointed, I imagine, because they think it's a Halloween party that has been downgraded.

Those of us who follow Disney a little closer and are aware of the different offerings understand that this is an After Hours event with some upgrades, and will react to it more positively.

Hence the photos of people lining up for a cavalcade. To me, that's not the point of an AH event. That's something I might stop and watch for a few minutes if I happen to be passing by, but if you're lining up for that instead of going on attractions, you may have missed the intent of an AH event.

I mean, it is a downgraded Halloween party. That’s simply an accurate description. WDW spin has come up with the After Hours designation to try and distance it from the parties, but that’s PR.

I never found the waits at the party particularly overwhelming, although I haven’t been since about 2016. Maybe things have changed. Do we have any accurate measure of how much smaller the ticketed crowd is for this then Not So Scary? Even if it’s quite a bit smaller, you have to weigh that against the significantly reduced hours, which limits ride times, and the lack of entertainment pulling people away from attractions and shortening waits. How many more rides are people actually getting?

Even the idea of paying for reduced waits is kind of offensive - waits have become much worse because Disney has reduced regular hours, staffing, and spent more then a decade sinking billions in useless data mining programs rather then investing in capacity. And now they demand guests pay extra to escape the problems their mismanagement has caused.

When I mention the price comparison with HHN, I always get the “but I don’t want a scary event response.” But that’s not the point. The point is that Comcast, every bit as greedy a conglom as Disney, sees great value in holding an annual event with 10 unique, highly detailed mazes that are new each year, two major new shows, and park wide scare zones with hundreds of actors and large set pieces. Even charging far less then WDW, that’s very profitable for them. It makes the absurdity of WDWs prices, lackluster event, and naked greed all the more apparent.

This is also where I remind people of E-Ticket nights and ask to be reminded how much those cost.

 

[Wendy Pleakley]

I mean, it is a downgraded Halloween party. That’s simply an accurate description. WDW spin has come up with the After Hours designation to try and distance it from the parties, but that’s PR.

It's impossible not to compare this with MNSSHP when everything about it is recycled from that event.

You can't use the same floats, music, character costumes, CM uniforms and activities like trick-or-treat and the Tomorrowland DJ and expect people to pretend it's something else entirely. Marketing lingo only gets you so far.

I disagree because the After Hours events are an existing and established offering.

We know what they are. We know what they have provided to guests in the past. They added some things this year for guests missing the Halloween party, but nothing about the event name or description states that these are a Halloween party.

They didn't downgrade MNSSHP, that event isn't happening this year due to COVID (at least in part).

Some people may have expected AABB to be similar, and perhaps Disney was a little bit willing to let people assume that's what this was, but you know what they say about assuming. If a guest bought a ticket to an After Hours event and expected a full Halloween party, that's on them.