Me too!!! Isn't it wonderful!!
IDK if Enchantment factors into the price but I'm loving the AH Setup! I do agree that we shouldn't have to pay a fortune for this...
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News Disney Very Merriest After Hours
- Thread starter DCBaker
- Start date
IDK if Enchantment factors into the price but I'm loving the AH Setup! I do agree that we shouldn't have to pay a fortune for this...
Nov 21 is available again. Probably due to cancellations. So, it will probably re-sell-out soon.
Heh… I can’t even look at the calendar in my MDE app right now. It’s blank where you would put in how many tickets you want. 
#DisneyITFTW!!!
ETA: And now, after doing a force-close of MDE and trying it again, my phone was completely locked up (and I switched to my home computer to type this out). Had to do a hard reset to get any functionality back. Bravo, Disney, bravo.
#DisneyITFTW!!!ETA: And now, after doing a force-close of MDE and trying it again, my phone was completely locked up (and I switched to my home computer to type this out). Had to do a hard reset to get any functionality back. Bravo, Disney, bravo.
PolynesianPrincess
Well-Known Member
I understand what it is. I'm not saying it's the same thing. I'm wondering if this is going to replace MVMCP going forward and if Boo Bash is going to replace MNSSHP. I understand attendance is limited. The other ones were too. But for a family of 3 who likes MNSSHP, paying for Boo Bash is just far too much. The AH events also have far less entertainment. We loved the entertainment at the parties. The characters in their costumes and holiday gear.. Just curious if they will be bringing back those type of meet and greets for the future..
Tha Realest
Well-Known Member
All of you members on here have been INCREDIBLY helpful to me in imparting your past and recent experiences, so I wanted to help pay it forward and share ours as well in the hopes it helps others.
EDIT: This is for our visit the night of Thursday, Nov. 18. Sadly, it sounds like it was busier the following night.
We took a quick, no-kids trip to take in the Very Merriest Party and Wine and Food Festival at EPCOT. Did a split stay between GF and Boardwalk Villas, both DVC rentals. Stayed Wednesday through Saturday (on Magical Express Mears bus as I write this).
Arrived early on Wednesday. Lines/checkin for Magical Express did not take long, but waited about 25-30 minutes in line before getting on bus, and another 20 minutes before leaving. Arrived at MCO at approx 1:10 pm, got to hotel just after 3:00 pm. Day was overcast, so spent time around the Monorail resorts and checked out Wilderness Lodge. It has a warm, cozy feeling with all the decorations and lovely tree. Dinner was at Narcoossee’s, and it was EXCELLENT. Highly recommended if that is your thing.
Wanted to go to Saratoga Springs/ Disney Springs the next morning and asked CMs the best way to get there. They said take the monorail from GF to MK, then take a bus to Saratoga Springs. Big mistake! Just take an Uber/Lyft, which we did after waiting more than 45 minutes.
Okay, that throat clearing out of the way, here is our experience getting in to the party. We arrived at 6:30pm, knowing that they typically let people in earlier than the 7:00 entry. Kept waiting, kept waiting…and they finally let us in at 6:55 pm. They put on our wristbands immediately, which made a huge difference (see below).
We made our way to Tomorrowland to do Carousel of Progress (we’re old souls, and saw it wouldn’t be open during the party) but they had already stopped the shows for the day. Too bad. Opted for People Mover (less than 5 min wait) and got a ride stop right next to the EPCOT model. While on the ride, we saw a huge line snaking through Tomorrowland. Not sure what it was. Buzz Lightyear was a 5 minute wait (posted 15). Autopia, 3 minute wait (posted 10). Fireworks started while on ride. While exiting Tomorrowland we asked what the line was for, and they said Very Merriest wristbands. Longest line we saw all night, so try and get them as soon as you get in the park if possible.
Watched 8pm fireworks from Tomorrowland bridge to hub. Then did Barnstormer back to back to back (3x) as they let you stay on it no one is assigned to that row. Did Dumbo (walk on) and then Tea Cups, which was 3 minute wait (timed it bad- could’ve been walk on if 30 seconds earlier). Haunted Mansion was a walk on. By this point (approx 925) the parade was about to begin, so we walked over across from Sleepy Hollow. It gave us a good perspective with the castle in the background, but in hindsight would’ve done it differently. We SHOULD have caught it at the start near Golden Oak/Pecos Bill’s, for this reason: once the parade ends the rides fill up again. For example, once the final float went by us we went to Jingle Cruise. Posted wait was 20, and the actual was just about that. Five minutes after we got in line, wait time jumped to 45 minutes, then 50 by the time we were off. So, if not picky about being on Main Street or near castle, try and catch the parade closer to the start of the route. (ALSO: Watch the first parade if you can. Due to rain, the second parade was apparently a cavalcade. I heard this happened to an earlier party as well. Point being, the first parade may be your only chance.)
Pirates was a walk-on after Jingle Cruise. It was fireworks time by now (close to 11:15) so we made our way near the hub to see the projections. The rain was coming down pretty good but they did the full show. After the fireworks we walked on to Monster’s Laugh show (with Christmas overlay) and that was fun (it was a good break from the rain).
At this point it was a bit after midnight and had less than an hour. Made our way to Big Thunder and it was walk on; no one was in our row when we returned to the queue so they let us stay on for a back to back ride. Splash was walk on but I am a ride wimp, so went over to Peter Pan. Rode it 3x, back to back to back, as they just had us get off and immediately converged to the boarding entrance. Walked over to Seven Dwarves at 12:59, and off the ride at 1:13 am.
General pointers:
1) We felt we did everything we wanted (except COP) and never had to made any sacrifices (eg parades vs rides) as we were able to accommodate everything.
2) Hot chocolate and cookies were very plentiful, and they gave more if asked. They had gluten free and vegan options as well.
3) The popcorn/drink snack carts weren’t as obvious as the hot chocolate/cookie locales, but still very good.
4) IF YOU CAN SWING IT- staying at a monorail resort can lessen headaches after the party. I didn’t see the bus depot station but there was a huge line for the TTC monorail at 1:30 am.
5) Many of the normal shops and food places close at 8pm, and everything closes promptly at 1am. So, if you really want to hit the main shops on Main Street, have to factor that into your time.
EDIT: This is for our visit the night of Thursday, Nov. 18. Sadly, it sounds like it was busier the following night.
We took a quick, no-kids trip to take in the Very Merriest Party and Wine and Food Festival at EPCOT. Did a split stay between GF and Boardwalk Villas, both DVC rentals. Stayed Wednesday through Saturday (on Magical Express Mears bus as I write this).
Arrived early on Wednesday. Lines/checkin for Magical Express did not take long, but waited about 25-30 minutes in line before getting on bus, and another 20 minutes before leaving. Arrived at MCO at approx 1:10 pm, got to hotel just after 3:00 pm. Day was overcast, so spent time around the Monorail resorts and checked out Wilderness Lodge. It has a warm, cozy feeling with all the decorations and lovely tree. Dinner was at Narcoossee’s, and it was EXCELLENT. Highly recommended if that is your thing.
Wanted to go to Saratoga Springs/ Disney Springs the next morning and asked CMs the best way to get there. They said take the monorail from GF to MK, then take a bus to Saratoga Springs. Big mistake! Just take an Uber/Lyft, which we did after waiting more than 45 minutes.
Okay, that throat clearing out of the way, here is our experience getting in to the party. We arrived at 6:30pm, knowing that they typically let people in earlier than the 7:00 entry. Kept waiting, kept waiting…and they finally let us in at 6:55 pm. They put on our wristbands immediately, which made a huge difference (see below).
We made our way to Tomorrowland to do Carousel of Progress (we’re old souls, and saw it wouldn’t be open during the party) but they had already stopped the shows for the day. Too bad. Opted for People Mover (less than 5 min wait) and got a ride stop right next to the EPCOT model. While on the ride, we saw a huge line snaking through Tomorrowland. Not sure what it was. Buzz Lightyear was a 5 minute wait (posted 15). Autopia, 3 minute wait (posted 10). Fireworks started while on ride. While exiting Tomorrowland we asked what the line was for, and they said Very Merriest wristbands. Longest line we saw all night, so try and get them as soon as you get in the park if possible.
Watched 8pm fireworks from Tomorrowland bridge to hub. Then did Barnstormer back to back to back (3x) as they let you stay on it no one is assigned to that row. Did Dumbo (walk on) and then Tea Cups, which was 3 minute wait (timed it bad- could’ve been walk on if 30 seconds earlier). Haunted Mansion was a walk on. By this point (approx 925) the parade was about to begin, so we walked over across from Sleepy Hollow. It gave us a good perspective with the castle in the background, but in hindsight would’ve done it differently. We SHOULD have caught it at the start near Golden Oak/Pecos Bill’s, for this reason: once the parade ends the rides fill up again. For example, once the final float went by us we went to Jingle Cruise. Posted wait was 20, and the actual was just about that. Five minutes after we got in line, wait time jumped to 45 minutes, then 50 by the time we were off. So, if not picky about being on Main Street or near castle, try and catch the parade closer to the start of the route. (ALSO: Watch the first parade if you can. Due to rain, the second parade was apparently a cavalcade. I heard this happened to an earlier party as well. Point being, the first parade may be your only chance.)
Pirates was a walk-on after Jingle Cruise. It was fireworks time by now (close to 11:15) so we made our way near the hub to see the projections. The rain was coming down pretty good but they did the full show. After the fireworks we walked on to Monster’s Laugh show (with Christmas overlay) and that was fun (it was a good break from the rain).
At this point it was a bit after midnight and had less than an hour. Made our way to Big Thunder and it was walk on; no one was in our row when we returned to the queue so they let us stay on for a back to back ride. Splash was walk on but I am a ride wimp, so went over to Peter Pan. Rode it 3x, back to back to back, as they just had us get off and immediately converged to the boarding entrance. Walked over to Seven Dwarves at 12:59, and off the ride at 1:13 am.
General pointers:
1) We felt we did everything we wanted (except COP) and never had to made any sacrifices (eg parades vs rides) as we were able to accommodate everything.
2) Hot chocolate and cookies were very plentiful, and they gave more if asked. They had gluten free and vegan options as well.
3) The popcorn/drink snack carts weren’t as obvious as the hot chocolate/cookie locales, but still very good.
4) IF YOU CAN SWING IT- staying at a monorail resort can lessen headaches after the party. I didn’t see the bus depot station but there was a huge line for the TTC monorail at 1:30 am.
5) Many of the normal shops and food places close at 8pm, and everything closes promptly at 1am. So, if you really want to hit the main shops on Main Street, have to factor that into your time.
Last edited:
CntrlFlPete
Well-Known Member
at least they have contingencies! When I was a kid (some 50 years ago) if it was too wet for a parade, we had no parade.
We went to the event on 11/19. The last party we had been to would have been in 2011, the only other After hours we have been to would be a BooBash earlier in the year.
Things started off wet, but we did not expect it to be too bad as the rain was forecast to end by the time the party started (we arrived to enter at 7, so we thought the rain would end by 9 PM.
We were up near the front of the turnstiles, was a little funny in that we thought they might open at 6:45 -- they did try and start letting folks in at 10 'til, but no one told the computer -- so they had to wait until 7 PM before the touch points we recognize the event tickets as valid.
From the time the party started until we left, we found any ride we tried to be a walk on. This was nice as there were a lot of people around, I think the scheduled entertainment for this event did a better job of pulling people to the hub and away from the rides than what seemed to happen at the Boo Bash we went to.
We were at a point/place where we decided to watch the first parade. It was no longer raining at that moment, but it was certainly wet out. The parade was then announced to be a cavalcade right before it arrived to where we were standing, better than nothing i guess.
I assume the castle show did not take place either. We did a few things, watched the fireworks -- and it got more rainy and then the forecast seemed to hint that the rain we get worse before it got better so we left after the fireworks (which we enjoyed and never had seen prior).
The worst part of the whole experience for my family was the walk in the rain from T&TC to the Scar lot in the rain!! Such fun to enjoy a cold rain on a long walk!
When it is raining, the lines do tend to grow longer -- can't help the weather so we did not get any of the true 'special' entertainment -- but the night seemed to be what was offered (if the weather hadn't stopped all the entertainment)
We went to the event on 11/19. The last party we had been to would have been in 2011, the only other After hours we have been to would be a BooBash earlier in the year.
Things started off wet, but we did not expect it to be too bad as the rain was forecast to end by the time the party started (we arrived to enter at 7, so we thought the rain would end by 9 PM.
We were up near the front of the turnstiles, was a little funny in that we thought they might open at 6:45 -- they did try and start letting folks in at 10 'til, but no one told the computer -- so they had to wait until 7 PM before the touch points we recognize the event tickets as valid.
From the time the party started until we left, we found any ride we tried to be a walk on. This was nice as there were a lot of people around, I think the scheduled entertainment for this event did a better job of pulling people to the hub and away from the rides than what seemed to happen at the Boo Bash we went to.
We were at a point/place where we decided to watch the first parade. It was no longer raining at that moment, but it was certainly wet out. The parade was then announced to be a cavalcade right before it arrived to where we were standing, better than nothing i guess.
I assume the castle show did not take place either. We did a few things, watched the fireworks -- and it got more rainy and then the forecast seemed to hint that the rain we get worse before it got better so we left after the fireworks (which we enjoyed and never had seen prior).
The worst part of the whole experience for my family was the walk in the rain from T&TC to the Scar lot in the rain!! Such fun to enjoy a cold rain on a long walk!
When it is raining, the lines do tend to grow longer -- can't help the weather so we did not get any of the true 'special' entertainment -- but the night seemed to be what was offered (if the weather hadn't stopped all the entertainment)
Ayla
Well-Known Member
Wait wait WAIT! The CM's at GF DO NOT KNOW there is a bus from GF to DS?!?!
Chip Chipperson
Well-Known Member
FYI, if anyone is a AAA member and thinking about getting tickets to one of the available nights it might be worth checking to see if you will save money on tickets through their site - especially if you live in FL or in a state without a sales tax and weren't planning on using Disney gift cards. They have the tickets for $188/person for the $209 nights, but they appear to charge both FL sales tax and the sales tax of the state you live in (and possibly an additional small fee, but they don't break it down so it's not entirely clear - but the taxes added up to a few dollars more than just FL & NJ taxes combined). Being in NJ, their discount only would have saved me exactly $10 for 2 tickets after taxes and fees, but we have a Rewards card that covered 80% of the cost so I decided to use that and put as little money out of pocket as possible. Still $10 is better than the $0 discount offered to DVC and Passholders for December events.
They will not give you a refund, but they will convert it into a future credit.
wendysue
Well-Known Member
We were supposed to take our last trip a couple weeks ago but the week before the trip I messed up my knee. When I called to see what would happen to our Christmas party tickets, I was told that they would just stay on my MDE for use on future tickets. Well, they are not listed so I emailed but no answer. Guess I will have to call and wait on hold for another 2 hours or just eat the loss and move on. (Letting Ap's expire in January anyway).
dothebrdwalk
Well-Known Member
With the return of Mickey's Once Upon a Christmastime Parade to daily parkgoers on Dec 22, I wonder if this will prevent those local from buying tickets to the After Hours... Seems like this was a big draw for people to bite the bullet.
JMcMahonEsq
Well-Known Member
Looks like they hit the right price point pretty close to dead on.
Because less than half of the events are sold out?
Because no event that has occurred hasn't been sold out yet.
Fair. Does tonight's event start the counter on those that don't sell out? Because I can still buy a ticket for it and it starts in just over an hour.
I honestly want the rest of the events to not sell out, because it dings whoever thought these prices were acceptable. On the other hand, if they don't sell out, those that do go should/will have a better time with thinner crowds.