Disney After Hours Event

[disneyflush]

...as many times as we have stayed on property, we have not seen empty parks during EME hours until less than 1 hour before the EME ends....never 3 hours worth of "walk right on" rides...wanted to point that out...

Based of this thread, a couple of questions:

1) Was it really 300 purchased? Keep seeing that number quoted...
2) Is there really only 1,000 tickets available for each After Hours Event?

1. Doubtful anyone will have the specific number outside of Disney corporate but even for comparison the walk between 300 people and 800 people (for example) when reflecting on 'how did this go' isn't that far a difference.

2. Earlier quotes in the thread ranged from an initial 3,000 ticket cap to upwards of a cap of 8,000 I believe.
Capping it at 1,000 would seem somewhat self-defeating.

 

[Biff215]

I don't know that that is true. They could simply stop offering EHMs (or, more likely, continue cutting them back until they no longer exist) and if the rooms keep filling up then it doesn't matter. Yeah, some would say, "Well, then it's not worth staying on-site," but that really doesn't matter if they have 90%+ occupancy rates. It was introduced to get more people to stay on-site.

There are plenty of people who'd stay on site just because it's more "magical" to them. I'm not making fun of them, that's how they feel and they want to be immersed in it. If having or not having EMH doesn't change that for them, and there's enough of them, then EMH makes no business sense.

We stay on-site every trip, yet EMH holds no value for us as we don't hit the parks before 9:00 and rarely stay late. It's still a nice perk for those who use it and I hope it sticks around. Staying on-site is partly about being surrounded by the "magic", but it's also about convenience for many.

Personally I truly hope this after hours event goes away, as it is about as much of a cash grab that you can get. No one should have to pay that kind of premium, regardless of whether they are willing to. I especially think it's a slap in the face to guests who already have tickets and are staying in Disney's resorts. It's like saying "thanks for coming but get out unless you want to fork out even more money."

 

[Dad 2 M & M]

I don't know that that is true. They could simply stop offering EHMs (or, more likely, continue cutting them back until they no longer exist) and if the rooms keep filling up then it doesn't matter. Yeah, some would say, "Well, then it's not worth staying on-site," but that really doesn't matter if they have 90%+ occupancy rates. It was introduced to get more people to stay on-site.

People seem to miss your last point: It was introduced to get people to stay on-site. If the resort occupancy reaches and is sustained at 90%+, the EMH can go away as it is no longer needed(for TDO) as a driver/perk for resort capacity.

There are plenty of people who'd stay on site just because it's more "magical" to them. I'm not making fun of them, that's how they feel and they want to be immersed in it. If having or not having EMH doesn't change that for them, and there's enough of them, then EMH makes no business sense.

Another good point. We love the resorts, and almost always stay at a Value (Pop, All-Star). It just feels Disney to us. With that said, now that we have APs, and the associated perk of free parking, the resort perk "value" is decreasing. If the EMH went away (leaving bus transportation to MK as the only perk we value), we might stay off-site more often. Last year we (myself and one of my DDs) did stay off-site a couple of times for spur of the moment weekend trips, but REALLY missed the EMEs.

**Edit** MK parking (even with free AP parking) is enough of a challenge that we USUALLY take the resort bus. We do on occasion drive, but it is a hassle to have to take the monorail or ferry. And, we rarely use EMM, just use EME...

 

[Ciciwoowoo]

This after hours event is good for those who are on a Universal/Sea World/Legoland trip. It would cost the family $100+ just to spend 1 day at the Magic Kingdom (because, let's face it, no other Disney park is worth it right now). Instead, for $40 more each, they can spend a night riding all the rides with no line. Because it is later in the day, you can even spend most of it at one of the places you are actually vacationing at for the week.

My family was actually considering this type of vacation next year. However, we found it much cheaper to take a cruise to Alaska. Oops, sorry Disney. Maybe in 2018. Maybe.

 

[raven]

WDW needs to fix Gates 2, 3 and 4 before contemplating a 5th Gate. And if you think adding "lands" takes years to complete, just wait to see how long it takes them to contract a 5th Gate ... I'm thinking 7-10 years from ground breaking?!?

While that would be ideal, think about current crowd levels. In order to fix the other parks they will have to shut down areas, which makes less space for guests to roam. I realize building a 5th gate could take years but we don't know what they already have plans for. Opening a new gate would alleviate crowds at some of the other parks while they are fixing it. In any case, someone just needs to light a fire under their butts because they are consistently slow at building EVERYTHING. Avatar land of DAK was announced in 2012 wasn't it? And here we are 4 years later and it STILL isn't open yet.

 

[ParentsOf4]

The Motley Fool has an interesting, balanced article:

Disney World's $149 Experiment Is a Flop -- for Now

It's fair to say that Disney (NYSE DIS) didn't turn a profit on its first night of Disney After Hours. The media giant kept its Magic Kingdom theme park open for three additional hours on Thursday night, promising anyone willing to fork over $149 easy access to several rides and complimentary sodas and ice cream bars.

It's the ultimate test of pricing elasticity. Will diehard Disney World fans pay roughly $50 an hour to walk on to many of the attractions at the world's most visited theme park?

If we go by the initial reports popping up on social media since Thursday night's debut, the House of Mouse didn't get a lot of takers. However, those who did take advantage of Disney After Hours were able to experience VIP treatment that sometimes meant having an entire ride for themselves.

Attractions Magazine estimates that there were 1,000 people in attendance. That may seem like a nice haul of incremental revenue for Disney. If a thousand guests paid $149 we would be talking about $149,000 in revenue; but that doesn't seem like enough to cover the tab for the staff it had to keep around, and the cost of the food and beverages it handed out. Disney never revealed at what level it would be capping ticket sales, but we do know that it did not sell out.

More troublesome than the low turnout is that many people who were there supposedly didn't pay to attend. Attractions Magazine is reporting that free tickets were given out to travel agents, ticket sellers, and Disney Vacation Club members. In other words, don't go adding $149,000 to Disney's theme parks division for its fiscal third quarter.

Disney After Hours flopping on its opening night is going to delight folks feeling that the House of Mouse was getting too greedy. In a year in which Disney World hiked single-day ticket prices by as much as 18%, and started charging 75% more for primo parking spots, it hit a point where customers fought back and clung onto their pocketbooks.

Let's not whistle by the grave of Disney After Hours just yet, though. The Haunted Mansion still only has 999 ghosts, and this pricey hard-ticket event still has a pulse. This is the first night, held on a weeknight during the park's off-season. Disney didn't actively market the event outside of its official blog, likely fearing a backlash. It will have the benefit of more time for the next six nights -- the next five Thursdays, and a Mother's Day edition on May 8 -- to get the word out.

You'll know the test has been flunked if Disney begins scaling back on the available attractions to save on staffing costs. However, it can also find ways to make things more valuable by including a new set of complimentary food offerings, if not an entire pre-event dinner.

Disney has more than 30,000 rooms on its property, according to visit-planning specialist TouringPlans.com. They receive early and late access to select parks already with the Extra Magic Hours perk, but sharing a park with as many as 30,000 families isn't the same kind of exclusivity that Disney After Hours is promising.

If Disney can get its Disney After Hours count up to 3,000 or 5,000 guests without having to discount too heavily, it can work. Disney has six more chances to get it right, but it's probably not a stretch to think that you -- yes, you -- want it to fail.​

 

[GoofGoof]

They certainly could.

Only an apologist would deny this was the company who built 2 new lakes, connecting canals, new highways, the Swan, the Dolphin, the Yacht Club,the Beach Club, Typhoon Lagoon, Pleasure Island, Wonders of Life, International Gateway and The Disney MGM Studios ALL AT THE SAME TIME.

Amen. That's why it kills me when people say that SW Land had to wait to start until Avatar was closer to being done. They could build them both at the same time. It's only been in the last 10 to 15 years that Disney is so frugal with its capital spend wanting to spread capex over multiple years. It wasn't that way in the past. Started right around when the weatherman took over.

 

[Chef Mickey]

Am I the only one who thinks with only 1,000 people, it would be well worth the $150 for 3 hours in the MK?

I guess I am, because I paid for it in 2 weeks.

 

[GoofGoof]

Am I the only one who thinks with only 1,000 people, it would be well worth the $150 for 3 hours in the MK?

I guess I am, because I paid for it in 2 weeks.

You and 299 other people...plus all the DVC owners who got in for free.

 

[Chef Mickey]

You and 299 other people...plus all the DVC owners who got in for free.

The DVC members paid dearly though.

 

[ParentsOf4]

Only an apologist would deny this was the company who built 2 new lakes, connecting canals, new highways, the Swan, the Dolphin, the Yacht Club,the Beach Club, Typhoon Lagoon, Pleasure Island, Wonders of Life, International Gateway and The Disney MGM Studios ALL AT THE SAME TIME.

Actually, it's not the same company.

The current Walt Disney Company has much deeper pockets than the company of the 1980s.

 

[Retroman40]

One thing that really hasn't been discussed too much (if at all) was the lack of any "vibe" during the event. The Attractions Magazine article hinted on it but to me at least anytime the MK is under 10 or 12 thousand the park feels "empty". Under this condition everything except 7DMT, PP and PFH are pretty much walk-ons. By 9:30 - 10:00 PM last Thursday the threat of extremely inclement weather had done a decent job of clearing a lot of guests out (the predicted storms never did come although it did spit rain periodically). I still believe that with some adjustments (price point, attractions operating, perhaps some entertainment, ticket limits) that there is a market for this type event. It will be interesting to see how it goes on the 21st and beyond.

 

[Pumbas Nakasak]

Am I the only one who thinks with only 1,000 people, it would be well worth the $150 for 3 hours in the MK?

I guess I am, because I paid for it in 2 weeks.

well done you. itll be fantastic and youll have the best time ever. you could let everyone know how it is by providing updates throughout the night.

 

[GoofGoof]

The DVC members paid dearly though.

If I spent $150 to get into this event and found out that most of the people there got in free I'd be pretty mad. I don't care how much they paid for their membership. Completely irrelevant.

 

[RSoxNo1]

They need a 5th gate. Adding "lands" takes them years to complete. Well...changing an existing ride into a different theme does too for some reason, but they need to make more space right now.

@ParentsOf4 had an interesting analysis on the need for a 5th gate in 10 years or so. Personally I think they need to better utilize the space they have in the existing parks. DHS and DAK seem to be moving in the right direction while the other two are question marks. It's why I think drastic moves need to happen at MK including moving it's a small world and Tomorrowland Speedway, then re-doing all of Tomorrowland and adding a phase 2 and 3 of New Fantasyland.

 

[ford91exploder]

@ParentsOf4 had an interesting analysis on the need for a 5th gate in 10 years or so. Personally I think they need to better utilize the space they have in the existing parks. DHS and DAK seem to be moving in the right direction while the other two are question marks. It's why I think drastic moves need to happen at MK including moving it's a small world and Tomorrowland Speedway, then re-doing all of Tomorrowland and adding a phase 2 and 3 of New Fantasyland.

Remember at one time Epcot was a people eater before Bad Eisner and Iger turned it into the worlds largest outdoor bar.

 

[RSoxNo1]

Remember at one time Epcot was a people eater before Bad Eisner and Iger turned it into the worlds largest outdoor bar.

Epcot can still absorb crowds, but the attraction lineup is thin. We know it's getting two major additions in the next month or two, but it sounds like Frozen will have an 1100-1200 hourly capacity while Soarin' should be around 1800-2000.

Soarin's capacity should be sufficient, but Frozen should be incredible low. When you also consider that many of the Future World attractions are skipped by guests, the capacity doesn't feel as high in that park.

 

[GhostHost1000]

Epcot can still absorb crowds, but the attraction lineup is thin. We know it's getting two major additions in the next month or two, but it sounds like Frozen will have an 1100-1200 hourly capacity while Soarin' should be around 1800-2000.

If only future world could get some tlc (imagination, energy, etc)

 

[note2001]

I maintain that there is no better way to get folks to pony up in Disney than to offer an entertainment item that cannot be seen outside of the park (other than in video). The streets are dead - add some street actors, or roaming characters. Something interactive and a lot of fun. It's a bit ironic that Disney sent some of the wonderful actors over at DHS to the unemployment line just recently.

You and 299 other people...plus all the DVC owners who got in for free.

If I spent $150 to get into this event and found out that most of the people there got in free I'd be pretty mad. I don't care how much they paid for their membership. Completely irrelevant.

I would be more upset at Joe & Jill vloggers who go to Disney on a weekly basis getting in for free only to rub it in the face of all those who would love to be there, than the DVC owners. Those camera yielding, don't-care-if-I-talk-loudly-on-rides, keep-my-video-screen-on-in-pirates types kill me.

 

[Jon81uk]

'll pay $200 easily ($50 per ticket plus park admission)

This is why I think with current pricing the After Hours even is only of value to people who were thinking of buying 1-2 day tickets to start with. At $117 for the one day ticket it's only $32 extra for the exclusive hours with almost zero queues and ice cream and unlimited soda bottles.
So for those who are concentrating on Universal but just want to visit Magic Kingdom or a quick night in the park before a cruise it is worthwhile. But if you already have seven or 10 day ticket then the upgrade to the event is a lot more than $32!