**Villains After Hours - Magic Kingdom** FAQ & Discussion Thread

I'm thinking that we might just skip 7DMT and Space Mountain during VAH rather than deal with standing in 25/30 minute lines. We'll get 3 FP+ before this, so we'll make FPs for Space, 7DMT and one other, and then try to use more of the time to go on the rides with shorter lines. Does that seem like it would work?

That sounds like a good plan. 7DMT and Space Mountain had the longest lines all night so those will both save you the most time. Space Mountain and Pirates are the 2 attractions that do have an overlay for Villains though, so if you care about that, you'll want to ride it during VAH.
 
That sounds like a good plan. 7DMT and Space Mountain had the longest lines all night so those will both save you the most time. Space Mountain and Pirates are the 2 attractions that do have an overlay for Villains though, so if you care about that, you'll want to ride it during VAH.

Thanks! We watched the TimTracker video on the overlays and the Pirates one seemed very cool, but the Space Mountain one was just dark. Not sure that's worth waiting in a long line for :crazy2:
 
Thanks for your detailed report. We already have tickets for June VAH and we're trying to plan out our strategy. We'd also like to maximize our rides and grab a few snacks.

After reading your trip report (& some others), I'm thinking that we might just skip 7DMT and Space Mountain during VAH rather than deal with standing in 25/30 minute lines. We'll get 3 FP+ before this, so we'll make FPs for Space, 7DMT and one other, and then try to use more of the time to go on the rides with shorter lines. Does that seem like it would work?

We also decided NOT to get up early the following morning and are taking a lazy resort/non-park day after VAH. Reading your trip report definitely cemented that this is a good idea.
That is our plan! We booked our 3 FP for SM, PP and 7DMT before the event starts on 17April which we will then skip during VAH.
 




Although - while Diamond Horseshoe doesn’t exactly scream Villains - for an upcharge in an upcharge venue it is much better (in my opinion) than somewhere like Tony’s (MNNSHP and MVMCP special parties). Nice central spot, easy to get to without using too much time, etc.
 
Have adults been going in costume? We’re planning to, and the rules allow it from what I’ve seen, but I’d really hate to be turned away because I misread something. (The costumes meet the Halloween guidelines for Disneyland.)
 
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Have adults been going in costume? We’re planning to, and the rules allow it from what I’ve seen, but I’d really hate to be turned away because I misread something. (The costumes meet the Halloween guidelines for Disneyland.)

Costumes are permitted. Per Disney:

Dress Your Diabolical Best
Pay homage to your fave knave with villain-inspired attire! Before you go, please review our dress code and costume guidelines.
 
So weird there was no fire on that first night. I know nothing about park ops, but I’m assuming it must have been the wind. Not sure what the tolerance is there but it sort of seems like that could have been a factor.
 
Villain's After Hours Trip Report!!!!!!!!!

I went to the VAH Party on Friday, February 14th, and was only concerned with doing the rides. I would have preferred to do the normal After Hours Event since it sounds like those lines are shorter, but I flew out on Monday night so I wasn't able to take advantage of that. I figured I would just pay the extra surcharge for the Villain's event since it fit in my schedule even if I wasn't going to do any Villain's events. Before my trip, I managed to get a FP for Meet Mickey Mouse at Town Square, Enchanted Tales with Belle, and Seven Dwarfs Mine Train.

Magic Kingdom's hours were 9AM to 10PM and the VAH exclusive hours were 10PM to 1AM.

5:00PM: Flight lands in MCO, and I take an Uber to the TTC, and then take the express monorail to the Magic Kingdom.
The first time I came to Disney World, I stayed on property so I took the buses to MK, so this was my first time being at the TTC and taking the monorail, and going through the Contemporary was so cool! It was so neat to see Chef Mickeys and all the characters walking around.
6:44PM: Arrive at Magic Kingdom and check into the Villain's event. They had a few tapstiles specifically reserved for VAH attendees which was nice, and there was also no wait at this time.
6:55PM: Get in FP+ line for Mickey Mouse (standby was a posted 25 min)
I decided to get a FP for Mickey Mouse and Enchanted Tales with Belle because they don't have any character meet and greets during the event. I also have never met Mickey Mouse at Town Square so that was fun!
7:12PM: Exit Mickey Mouse Meet and Greet
7:16PM: Get a castle photo from a photopass photographer, and then wander around Main street and Tomorrowland to enjoy the ambiance while I waited for Happily Ever After.
7:30PM: As a single traveler, it was fairly easy to get a good spot in the hub for Happily Ever After. I had a FP for Belle from 7:30-8:30 so I positioned myself close to Fantasyland bridge so I wouldn't have to fight too hard after the show ended.
7:40PM: At this point, the rain started and I was cursing myself for leaving my raincoat in the hotel room!
8:00PM: First time watching Happily Ever After and it was amazing! One of my favorite shows, and the music is just so great. I enjoyed every minute of it, and it was worth getting drizzled on for a solid 20 minutes.
8:20PM: Show ends, walk to enchanted Tales with belle
8:28PM: I entered the FP+ line, but there was not a single person in the standby queue. If you're planning on doing this attraction at this hour, I would save your FP for something else. It was a fun show though, and the enchanted mirror was Awesome!
8:47PM: Exit show
At this point, it started getting pretty chilly and stayed that way for the rest of the night. So be sure to bring warm clothing and check the weather for your night!
8:50PM: Enter 7DMT FP+ line (standby was posted at 50 min wait). While in line for 7DMT, I snagged a small world FP+ which turned out to be useless. I actually felt that 7DMT was more fun than Big Thunder! The ride is so much more smooth, has a fun dark ride section, and feels pretty thrilling going down some of those drops!
9:02PM: Exit 7DMT (standby now a 90 min wait)
9:06PM: Enter Little Mermaid (walk on). This is one of my favorite rides, and I love the outdoor theming and rockwork compared to DCA
9:16PM: Exit little mermaid
9:24PM: Enter small world FP+ line (standby is walk on)
9:43PM: Exit small world
9:47PM: Get in line for Haunted Mansion (20 min posted standby wait)
10:00PM: Board ride. In hindsight, I should have gotten a Haunted Mansion FP instead of small world, because there was a solid 15 min wait.
10:07PM: Exit Haunted Mansion
10:08PM: At this point, I was starving so I went to one of the vendors outside HM to get some ice cream, and the line was super long. Fortunately, since no one had to pay, it went pretty quick. But I would recommend getting food a bit later, like 30-45 minutes into the party, because as soon as the party starts, everyone lines up to get free food.
10:17PM: Enter BTM (1 train wait)
10:27PM: Exit BTM
10:28PM: Enter BTM (8 min wait)
10:40PM: Exit BTM
10:45PM: Enter queue for pirates (11 min wait)
10:56PM: Board Pirates
11:04PM: Exit Pirates, get Mickey Premium Bar. Make sure your food is frozen! A lot of the CMs were leaving the boxes of ice cream bars outside to make it easier to hand them out to guests, but as soon as I picked up my mickey premium bar, the stick detached from the ice cream! It was almost half melted!
11:13PM At this point, I entered 7DMT with a 30 minute posted wait. I figured that since the stage show was at 11PM, this would be the shortest wait of the night, and I was right. The wait time went up to 35 min after this.
11:40PM: Board 7DMT(27 min wait)
11:45: Exit 7DMT (35 min posted wait)
11:48PM: Enter Peter Pan queue (15 min posted wait, 8 min actual wait)
12:00AM: Exit Peter Pan
12:03AM: Enter Pooh (walk on, 5 min posted wait)
12:08AM: Exit Pooh
12:12AM: Enter Space Mountain (20 min posted wait, 18 min actual wait)
12:34AM: Exit Space Mountain
12:38AM: Enter people mover (walk on)
12:49AM: Exit People Mover
1:01AM: Leave MK
1:20AM: Arrive at TTC via monorail


Overall, I had an enjoyable time at VAH, but if I could redo my trip, I probably would not have paid the $155 or so for the ticket for a few reasons.

1) First, although I accomplished basically all the rides I wanted to, I was disappointed by how long some of the lines were, especially since I had read trip reports from last year about much shorter wait times. I don't know if they were selling more tickets, or if it was because it was Valentine's Day + President's Day Weekend, but it seemed more crowded than I expected. For example, the line for Space Mountain was stretched past the entrance, and we shuffled slowly all the way through the entire queue until we boarded. This may have just been my expectations being too high though - so that's my fault.

2) Second, this is not really a VAH thing, but I just went to Disneyland in December, so I guess I was disappointed by the rides at MK. I feel like Small World, Big Thunder, Pirates, Space Mountain, Buzz, and Peter Pan were all so much better at Disneyland. The wonderful facade and outdoor portion in small world. The fun exciting ending to Big Thunder. The extra scenes and blue bayou ambiance in pirates. The smoothness of Space Mountain. And the projections and effects on peter Pan. This isn't really relevant to VAH, but I guess it kind of contributed to my disappointment about the value I was receiving.

3) Third, I wasn't prepared for the cold weather and rain! This was totally my fault so I should have prepared better, but it made it a little more uncomfortable than I wanted

4) Finally, I got up at 6AM on Sat/Sun/Mon to go to Hollywood Studios for Rise of the Resistance, so I was exhausted by the end of my trip. Getting so little sleep is not fun, but again, my fault for scheduling it this way!

In hindsight, it probably made more sense for me to add a 4th day to my ticket for less than $155, and enjoy the fireworks, meet and greets, 7DMT, and a few other rides before heading back to the hotel for some extra hours of sleep. It was more of an oversight on my part, and I'll use it as a lessons learned when planning for future Disney World trips!
Great job!
 

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