One day at Magic Kingdom- Daytime, or *Just* After Hours?

OverDoozy

OverDoozy

New Member
We are taking a last minute trip to WDW, but are planning to spend just one day at Magic Kingdom. We'll be there the week of July 8th... so it will be HOT and CROWDED. Just two adults, no kids. We don't get to WDW frequently-- in fact, this will be my husbands 2nd time ever.

Would you go during the day and brave the crowds/heat (but have longer to explore)
OR
Would you get the After Hours ticket, enter the park at 7pm and enjoy the limited rides, limited crowds, and cooler temps?

I'd love to hear your reasons for your choice!

Thanks!
 
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skyphotographer

skyphotographer

Well-Known Member
In your situation, I would choose the after hours ticket. I'm going to be there on July 4th, 5th, and 6th and I plan to go to the parks only in the evening for the same reasons you gave. I might hit a rope drop one morning but I won't stay long.
 
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Much-Pixie-Dust

Much-Pixie-Dust

Well-Known Member
We are in the same boat as you and we are just doing DAH in August. We did it this past February and got in all the rides and characters we wanted, riding several rides multiple times. It was great, especially for those on short trips.
 
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plutothedoggo

plutothedoggo

Member
It's way to hot for the day at MK. Too busy and too hot. We went to the After Hours this past March and it was stunning! We booked another short 3 night stay in early August to go to one of those again. We are just hanging by the pool all day at the Jambo House until like 5ish. They will let you in after 6 in a special line for the ticketed event. We are also doing a park hopper day on Sunday the 5th, but I'm sure we won't last that long after AK in the morning. Might have to take a rest before Epcot at night.

Quick note on the lines for DAH - none. It was incredible. The only wait is once your inside the ride and walking around the lines, that's the only hold up on most rides. We went on Snow White twice within 10 minutes. It's just great! Have fun
 
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JohnD

JohnD

Well-Known Member
OverDoozy said:
We are taking a last minute trip to WDW, but are planning to spend just one day at Magic Kingdom. We'll be there the week of July 8th... so it will be HOT and CROWDED. Just two adults, no kids. We don't get to WDW frequently-- in fact, this will be my husbands 2nd time ever.

Would you go during the day and brave the crowds/heat (but have longer to explore)
OR
Would you get the After Hours ticket, enter the park at 7pm and enjoy the limited rides, limited crowds, and cooler temps?

I'd love to hear your reasons for your choice!

Thanks!
Click to expand...

You're an excellent candidate for After Hours. You're not tacking on to the same day but choosing a separate ticket for the evening. While the length of time in the park will be shorter (3 hours), you'll make up for it with shorter wait times on rides, in addition to cooler temps (relatively speaking for July. It could still be hot and muggy in the evening). I'd choose the Disney After Hours.
 
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JohnyKaz2078

JohnyKaz2078

Well-Known Member
You are in a perfect situation to use the After Hours. Stay and relax in your hotel in the morning while everyone else is trying to queue for the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train at 2pm with 90 degree temperatures and leave your hotel around 5-6pm. You will have gone through the turnstiles at 6:30pm to 7pm (depending on where you stay). Do some attractions while the sun is still up if you want, see the fireworks and then you have the hole park for yourself!
 
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KrzyKtty

KrzyKtty

Well-Known Member
I also think that the after-hours is the way to go. Just make sure you have realistic expectations about what rides you want to hit and do those first.
 
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D

davidfarley

Member
OverDoozy said:
We are taking a last minute trip to WDW, but are planning to spend just one day at Magic Kingdom. We'll be there the week of July 8th... so it will be HOT and CROWDED. Just two adults, no kids. We don't get to WDW frequently-- in fact, this will be my husbands 2nd time ever.

Would you go during the day and brave the crowds/heat (but have longer to explore)
OR
Would you get the After Hours ticket, enter the park at 7pm and enjoy the limited rides, limited crowds, and cooler temps?

I'd love to hear your reasons for your choice!

Thanks!
Click to expand...
I would highly recommend the after hours event. With just two adults you will be able to accomplish a ton. I would try to avoid a lot of snacks as this seemed to take up too much time when I was there in January. I've been to the world dozens of times and DAH with my DD23 was one of my best experiences.
 
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winstongator

winstongator

Well-Known Member
JohnD said:
You're an excellent candidate for After Hours. You're not tacking on to the same day but choosing a separate ticket for the evening. While the length of time in the park will be shorter (3 hours), you'll make up for it with shorter wait times on rides, in addition to cooler temps (relatively speaking for July. It could still be hot and muggy in the evening). I'd choose the Disney After Hours.
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Agree on the after hours. It might still be hot & muggy, but much less so than earlier in the day. Plus don’t have to worry about sunscreen & shade
 
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R

Rasstuss

Member
WildernessLodge said:
We were in a similiar situation with our upcoming August trip. We always go for one day to MK during every trip no matter which other parks we go to. Bc the Halloween party is so early this year, we debated just using that as our "day" to MK, hoping that the lines will be shorter and we can ride just as much as we would in a regular full day. So, we bought the tickets! We won't know for sure until we experience it but we are so excited to not have the crowds (plus the special entertainment of course)!
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I think this will work out great for you. A few years back while visiting relatives in Tampa we wanted to drive over and do MK for one day. Since it was early November the Very Merry parties were just starting and we decided to do that instead of a full day. It worked out great and the best part was the lack of crowds and being able to virtually walk on to almost everything those last few hours. We enjoyed it so much we planned out upcoming week long stay in early December so we can have another Very Merry party night.
 
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JillC LI

JillC LI

Well-Known Member
We were in Disneyland Paris on a 100 degree day. People were melting all around us but we never lost the smiles on our faces because we were at Disney! If I was there, I couldn't possibly not be in the park all day. Just take advantage of a/c whenever you can in restaurants and indoor attractions.
 
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DarthVader

DarthVader

Sith Lord
JillC LI said:
We were in Disneyland Paris on a 100 degree day. People were melting all around us but we never lost the smiles on our faces because we were at Disney! If I was there, I couldn't possibly not be in the park all day. Just take advantage of a/c whenever you can in restaurants and indoor attractions.
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That's doesn't work with kids :)

I was at WDW, this past April and the temps crept up into the high 80s/90s not too bad in the scheme of things, but for kids used to the 50 degree range, it too a lot out of them
 
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JillC LI

JillC LI

Well-Known Member
DarthVader said:
That's doesn't work with kids :)

I was at WDW, this past April and the temps crept up into the high 80s/90s not too bad in the scheme of things, but for kids used to the 50 degree range, it too a lot out of them
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Ours were 13 and 15 at the time, and we're from NY.
We were also in WDW for MNSSHP when the kids were 8 and 10, and it was mid-90s and our costumes were sweltering, but we still had a blast.
 
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