Called "Disneyland After Dark" in Anaheim, the event kicks off January 18. Tickets will go on sale to Annual Passholders on Nov. 30 and then, if any tickets remain, to the general public on Dec. 7. Disney has not yet confirmed the price for the event, nor its starting time. The event will run until 1am but Disneyland has not yet released its hours of operation for January, so we don't yet know the official closing time for the park on the 18th.
Nor has Disney announced any additional dates for the event. Disney After Hours at Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom will run for three hours each on nine evenings between January 19 and March 8 next year, with a $119 ticket price.
The After Hours event basically works like a hard-ticket Extra Magic Hours, when the park stays open exclusively to ticket holders rather than Disney hotel guests. At Disney World, the event has included free ice cream, popcorn, and drinks. At Disneyland, the event will include free unlimited Photopass downloads for pictures taken by Disney photographers during the evening.
With Disney selling more and more tickets to its original after-hours, hard-ticket events — the Halloween and Christmas parties — I have been hearing from some fans that they now consider the Disney World After Hours events to be a better deal, as they attract far fewer guests to clog ride queues, allowing people the easy, walk-on access to otherwise-crowded attractions that once was a big draw for the party events.
The first Disneyland After Dark event will be themed as a "Throwback Nite," honoring the 1950s and 60s-era at the park, with bands and dancing. The park will hand out vintage-style park maps and fire off a showing of the Fantasy in The Sky fireworks for event guests.
Previously:
If people want to buy these, and Disney is able to give these guests perceived value, good for everyone involved. However, if these events start eating into established park hours on a routine basis (cutting traditional 12-hour operational days short to accommodate these events), I'm going to be upset.
Disneyland with a family of four runs about $1000/day, so when you're told you day is being cut 25% short, well, that's $250 that Disney just stole from me. And yes, I know that hours are subject to change, but Disney should have the obligation to informed travellers in advance for one of these pre-booked events. That they do not makes it even worse.
They will always update their offerings based on feedback and sales.
As for Russell's comment, keep in mind that Orlando in the daytime, with the sun beating down on you can take its toll, so 3-5 hours in a mostly empty park AT NIGHT...pretty good perk.
Not to mention there oughtta be less kids and babies. Oughtta be, at least.
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