News Disney Villains After Hours coming to the Magic Kingdom

[monothingie]

I would like Disney to increase their Halloween offerings. MNSSHP is very enjoyable but it would be nice if they offered a Villains Not Too Scary Halloween Party and a Scary Party like Halloween Horror Nights. Currently I go to MNSSHP every 3 years but would do one of these every year on a rotating basis. WDW has AK and HS they could use for these parties. Besides with all the new hotel rooms Disney, Universal and everyone else keep building, more capacity is needed for these Halloween events.

Mickeys Very Scary Halloween Party 12-3am after The regular party night. Why have 1 party when you can have 2 for double the price!

 

[DisneyOutsider]

Since the Villains special event was such an amazing success at DHS it is really surprising they did not do this sooner. And it would also be surprising if they have announced all the details.

Supply meets demand.

The DHS event was cool, but it was an operational disaster. It's the reason that there are no meet and greets at this event.

but that event did make it clear that the demand for this kinda thing is very strong.

 

[drizgirl]

The DHS event was cool, but it was an operational disaster. It's the reason that there are no meet and greets at this event.

but that event did make it clear that the demand for this kinda thing is very strong.

There are other answers besides "no characters". I think they oversold that DHS event substantially.

 

[ImperfectPixie]

They don't kick day guests out until the advertised park closing time for the After Hours events. At this point that is anywhere from 8:30pm-10pm.

He makes a good point though. Regular day tickets should be pro-rated so the price reflects the hours the park is closing early for parties/after hours events.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

If the park is open from 9am to 10pm, even 11pm, that's a sufficent whole day. Anything more is just fans being self-centered. Unless I'm mistaken Disney doesn't not specify what a full day is. So they could be open from 8am to 5pm 365 days a year and charge $200. You're still getting a full 8 hour day

And again, nobody cares what they did in 1990 or 1980 or 1971 or even 2005. Those days are dead and gone. Accept what they have now for deal with. They dont care about what you want. Why should you?

It’s gonna take a while to untangle the wreckage of the train on this one...

You can’t make a pricing point on the term “sufficient”

And it certainly doesn’t get you to “self centered”...

Fallacy argument.

You know who thinks less hours are “sufficient”??
Me...as in I couldn’t care less. I have many times walked into an entry plaza...looked at a wall a people...and turned right around. Fast passes be damned.

But I can’t make the argument any hours are “sufficient”

Facts are facts. And they are these: whether you pay $10 for a ticket...or $300...if they no longer flex hours to adjust to crowd levels - which all parks have done since Russia 1705 - and instead Set hard barriers to sell upsells (which don’t really offer anything different), then it IS an erosion of value.

The statement of sufficient or “self centered” cannot be made with any validity.

And we end up defending a conglomerate that never needs defending...yielding your best interests as a consumer.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

I know this is what they've done for a few years now and we're just supposed to accept it, but it's one of the most infuriating things that Disney does. Guests are expected to arrange the details of their itineraries months in advance, yet Disney can't figure out whether or not its flagship park will be busy in July.

Perhaps if they weren't the nation's leading family vacation destination, or if they didn't have nearly 5 decades of experience, or if they were on the verge of bankruptcy, I would have a little more sympathy for this sort of thing. It just reeks of desperation to do the absolute bare minimum, while simultaneously putting unnecessary burdens on the guests.

Disney sells a premium product and is the industry leader, but acts like they've never done this before and they're not quite sure whether or not this whole theme park thing will still be around in 6 months. It's not unreasonable to expect them to know in April what they're doing this summer, or to expect them to have minimal fluctuations in hours over the course of any given week.

Disneyland is open 8am to midnight during all weekends and busy periods throughout the entire year, and has been for decades. Why can't MK figure out a similarly consistent schedule? Why are WDW guests only given the bare minimum, while being charged exorbitant prices and being forced to use unwieldy planning tools to get any sort of value out of their time?

This is an unforced error on Disney's part. It makes them look petty and aloof, with very little meaningful benefit. For a company that charges premium prices and positions itself as a premium product, it really isn't a good look.

This is a joke, right? Disneyland does flex scheduling far more severely than the Magic Kingdom. I was there for an entire week on my last trip. There was ONE night with fireworks, zero showings of Fantasmic, zero showings of World of Color, zero night parades in either park, and most of the stage shows were weekends only. Good for their long summer park hours, they shut things down for entire seasons at a time and put extreme limits on the attractions that midweek guests get to see.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

If the park is open from 9am to 10pm, even 11pm, that's a sufficent whole day. Anything more is just fans being self-centered. Unless I'm mistaken Disney doesn't not specify what a full day is. So they could be open from 8am to 5pm 365 days a year and charge $200. You're still getting a full 8 hour day

And again, nobody cares what they did in 1990 or 1980 or 1971 or even 2005. Those days are dead and gone. Accept what they have now for deal with. They dont care about what you want. Why should you?

If nothing else, it's not going to affect someone's itinerary that much. Opening time, closing time if earlier than usual, parade, fireworks, and nighttime spectacular times, and which days have EMH. If you know that information, you can plan your trip. Nobody's itinerary has ever been messed up by Disney ADDING park hours from 10pm to midnight.

 

[monothingie]

I'm still not sure why people think a theme park needs to be open past 10 or 11pm? Face the facts, what they are charging now is a decent price for what you get. Remember a WDW trip isn't a God given right. You are not entitled to see some 20 year olds dance around in costumes to make your dumb kid happy. Just saying, find a cheaper alternative if you feel "too poor"

Capacity. Adding hours adds capacity without having to build anything new.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

Capacity. Adding hours adds capacity without having to build anything new.

I know this is unpopular, but I really don't think the capacity problem is as dire as everyone makes it out to be. Visit for a week and you can ride absolutely everything. Easily.

 

[The Pho]

It’s the reason why DHS (pre SWGE) and DAK never went consistently past 9PM, even during peak periods.

Didn’t MGM/DHS used to stay open fairly regularly on its Friday magic hours until 1:30? So normal hours until 10:30.

 

[ppete1975]

Nope. I pay to park hop. If someone is careless enough to go to a theme park not knowing anything about the operating hours that day, they don’t get a paid option for free. Sorry not sorry.

I park hop as well and suggest it to everyone. The point is more.. why turn people away mad (ive seen the crowds forced to leave while entering the Christmas party) and I can see where it could "ruin" someones vacation, especially if you were insane and bought the one day pass to just MK (totally insane), for Disney to close the parks early as often as they do now (to make more money).. especially for MK (the park some people think is the entire theme park).. why not give the consumer something that actually makes Disney money in the long run.

• They will prob buy food
• they will prob buy more trinkets
• might come back another time for that park
• leave happier instead of furious
• instead of someone coming for 1-2 days maybe they come for 3-4 next time.

 

[ppete1975]

They don't kick day guests out until the advertised park closing time for the After Hours events. At this point that is anywhere from 8:30pm-10pm.

Oh I thought this was the same as when I went to the Christmas party where the parks closed at 7 to reopen to the party (I think it was 7) but that was 2014. I didn't see anything in the release yesterday saying times (the release posted here, I didn't look at the official Disney.com one, since I'm not going)

 

[The Pho]

I know this is unpopular, but I really don't think the capacity problem is as dire as everyone makes it out to be. Visit for a week and you can ride absolutely everything. Easily.

I’d say the complaints stem from attendance vs capacity growth. People remember it being less crowded and enjoyed it more. When attendance for Magic Kingdom was 11 million in 1994 vs 20.5 million in 2017 without a growth in the park’s capacity, it’s seen as an issue because the experience is vastly different for the guest. Sure you can do everything in a week, but when there was a better capacity/attendance balance you could do much more.

 

[ppete1975]

The writings on the wall on emh...

The customers are allowing them to “re-monetize” operational hours with upsells...emh is a hindrance to tnat.

I would expect it to go to the Disneyland “one Magic morning”...then go away all together.

You’re staying on property for the label and the transport now...and warm and fuzzies. But they even have dabbled in selling transport now too. Stay tuned

The transportation is nice. You can fly in and then not think about rental cars or anything the entire trip. That's why I stay on property.. but if I drove to Disney I would prob stay off property.. esp since they charge parking now (that perk is gone)

 

[LuvWDW2]

I park hop as well and suggest it to everyone. The point is more.. why turn people away mad (ive seen the crowds forced to leave while entering the Christmas party) and I can see where it could "ruin" someones vacation, especially if you were insane and bought the one day pass to just MK (totally insane), for Disney to close the parks early as often as they do now (to make more money).. especially for MK (the park some people think is the entire theme park).. why not give the consumer something that actually makes Disney money in the long run.

• They will prob buy food
• they will prob buy more trinkets
• might come back another time for that park
• leave happier instead of furious
• instead of someone coming for 1-2 days maybe they come for 3-4 next time.

Who would pay for a park hopper mid August through late December then? Just check into MK on one of the 200 party days and hop for free! They are not going to give away a paid perk for free.

 

[Missing20K]

If the park is open from 9am to 10pm, even 11pm, that's a sufficent whole day. Anything more is just fans being self-centered. Unless I'm mistaken Disney doesn't not specify what a full day is. So they could be open from 8am to 5pm 365 days a year and charge $200. You're still getting a full 8 hour day

And again, nobody cares what they did in 1990 or 1980 or 1971 or even 2005. Those days are dead and gone. Accept what they have now for deal with. They dont care about what you want. Why should you?

It it was a sufficient full day, there would not be demand for a less crowded, smaller lines park "after hours".

Maybe I've misunderstood, but are you asking why a person should care about what they want? That's odd, seems like everyone cares about what they want.

This is an unforced error on Disney's part.

This is the only place I'd disagree. They have so much data, this is calculated to the nth degree, and there was a power point presentation to a suit somewhere that showed them the company will make X more by implementing the "After Hours" strategy.

 

[JusticeDisney]

I don't agree the parks are too expensive but I will agree that their resorts are a joke. Not a single deluxe resort is actually deluxe. I wouldn't say I am a frequent traveler but I do it enough to know that anyone who thinks the Grand is a quality hotel are kidding themselves. For example, I had the single greatest front desk experience at a hotel in Miami this past January. We were staying on for one night. Yet the front desk host went out of her way to recommend dining, shopping, entertainment etc. She even offered us a room upgrade at a reduced cost, free late check-out, among others. That has never happened anytime I've been going to WDW hotels. .

I agree that there are certainly a ton of hotels out there that are much nicer than the Disney Deluxes, but it is ridiculous to refer to the Disney Deluxes as a joke. They are in fact some very nice resorts. Overpriced? Yes. But a joke? Not even close.

 

[ppete1975]

Who would pay for a park hopper mid August through late December then? Just check into MK on one of the 200 party days and hop for free! They are not going to give away a paid perk for free.

It would only be after you are kicked out of the park that you paid for (modern technology for the win), and it wouldn't even be announced.. just as you are leaving or if you are being forced to leave say if you would like to attend another park the rest of the day we can take care of that or blah has been added to your magic band... use the technology, worst case give them a wristband that's only good for 2-3 hours of park hopping that one day.
Watch people get kicked out at 7pm when they thought they paid 100 dollars a person for a full day and you will see that Disney should do something for this small percentage of people. I have never been in that group but I have seen them leave and it shows that Disney is being a bit greedy. But its my opinion only. Normally I'm a Disney apologist.. this is the one thing (and fix some maintenance issues) that I think they could do better.
Yes there are signs, yes its on the website.. but this does happen to people and instead of saying they should know better.. maybe Disney should be a bit less greedy.. especially since they will make money off of it.

 

[LuvWDW2]

Do you honestly think that tip won’t go viral?

A quick glance at the ticket price calendar shows that in September, party days are priced a bit less than non party days (when comparing Saturday to Sunday as an example).

 

[Kman101]

I am a huge Disney villain fan, but there doesn't seem to be a whole lot offered for the price. When I saw the title of the thread, I was hoping it was another event like the Villain's Sinister Soiree: A Wicked Takeover of Cinderella's Castle (2014). Except not with a halloween party this time. The interactions during that event were top notch, and it was in the castle. Not sure why they don't do that again - now that's an upcharge people will pay for. Anything in the castle.

It's not really an "event", per say. It's After Hours (basically paid Extra Magic Hours) with a Villains theme (which now "allows" them to charge more). People seem to get hung up on 'event' when I see it for what it is ...