Just glancing at the hours it does not seem to change the regular park hours at all. The deluxe hours are only for deluxe guests with either APRs for that park or hoppers. Reports are that the number of deluxe guests attending these hours has been small.
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The hours for all of the days that week are the same, so that might not be an issue, but I was wondering about the regular day crowds. I also had Epcot on Wednesday and now that is the extra evening hours there too.
Oh, I see I confused the deluxe hours with the events that cause the parks to close early. During my trip MK closes at 4:30pm at least once.
I am so impressed by your post! I really appreciate you getting the confirmation. I hope this change does not impact your stay.
I will admit, this action really bothers me. I donāt think other guests at the value moderate resorts should have to watch as this select group attends an event as a ābenefitā .
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Iām of mixed mind on this. On the one hand, I totally agree with you. On the other, it sounds like this isnāt them getting a benefit that others in value and moderates arenātā¦but rather, a benefit they are paying for explicitly that diminishes the benefit for Deluxe guests who potentially saw this as a reason to book Deluxe instead of value or moderate.
The whole situation makes me wonder. Iāve read reports that the evening hours are not heavily attended. If people arenāt using this benefit as Deluxe guests, it might suggest to Disney that people arenāt then paying extra to stay in a Deluxeā¦which means they are offering a benefit that likely ultimately costs them more money (for staffing, etc) than they would make by upgraded guests. As such, I can imagine that the evening hours for Deluxe guests only might eventually go away and be replaced with something elseā¦perhaps more After Hours events, maybe? Weāll see.
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They might not be heavily attended but I will admit I am a bitter old lady and I am pretty proud of my Presidents week plan that has me rope dropping and attending both deluxe nights. My plan includes every attraction I want to do (I donāt have to do āeverythingā) and does not include any Genie+ or ILL. Could I buy everything? Yup- but I am not paying any up charges this trip (see first sentence- bitter old lady).
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Well, it sounds like youāre safe, since they have already announced hours that far out (havenāt they? Iām second guessing myself. ETA: Yes! I was right.). I was just thinking more LONGER term, that this āexperimentā might eventually come to an end and be replaced with something else that drives more revenue into Disneyās pockets (as they see it, at least).
Itās not youā¦itās Disney. They seem to be doing it to everyone lately! 
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Iām not sure Iām following. It seems to me the people who booked through the dance group are getting a benefit others in value and moderate arenāt. Unless the dance attendees are paying over rack rate for the resort rooms. I havenāt confirmed their pricing but I would be surprised if it was over rack rate.
This is one of the decisions lately that irks me the most to be honest. They changed the dates and are adding more people to a park that was advertised as being a deluxe resort perk.
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This is a valid point. I was saying what I said based on the fact that it was a negotiated contract. But it COULD be that they arenāt technically paying more. It COULD be that the Dance Competition wanted some perk for doing it at Disney rather than bailing and going to some other locationā¦which would be lost revenue to Disney. So, in order to keep them there, filling up those rooms with a bunch of people who will likely also end up in the parks spending money, they agreed to provide this additional benefit. It was, then, a business tactic to drive up revenue for them, which isnāt needed for ānormalā value and moderate guests, who have booked already. (If thatās the case, though, it seems a bit short-sighted, because Disney could be losing out on value and moderate guests who might choose to stay on-site rather than off-site with such a perk.)
I totally agree there. It certainly waters down the benefit that the Deluxe guests are supposed to expect right now.
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I donāt think itās that these dates arenāt well attended, just that there are a lot fewer rooms in Deluxe resorts than value/moderate resorts, so attendance feels low.
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I suspect the Dance Championships are a major deal for Disney. They wonāt want to lose those to Universal, like they did with the Pop Warner event in December.
I also believe that this special event for the dance teams is a regular part of the contract between the organisers and Disney. So rather than have a special event just for the Dance teams, Disney have decided that the numbers attending the Deluxe Extended Hours events are low enough to be able to offer the same event to the dance teams as an equivalent perk that they always get.
They pay a special rate, which will probably be less than rack rate. BUT they always get a special event night at MK, as part of the contract between the organisers and Disney.
What Disney have done is simply combine both events to avoid having to staff two separate MK events in one week.
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I think youāre absolutely right that Disney is trying to keep them from leaving. From the Dance website though (and your earlier post) it looks like they get a MK party AND after hours.
From the FAQ, it tells the competitors they need a HS reservation for Friday or to hop to HS. Iām assuming thatās a mistake and they meant MK - or maybe this is all a misunderstanding (or was changed after all the hoopla over it). It also says they are ābringing backā extended park hours. I wonder if they are referring to old evening EMH that the value and moderate guests received as well so it wasnāt anything special. But to keep the dancers from thinking they are getting less this year they are letting them into the deluxe hours.
I still think itās awful that Deluxe guests get longer lines during their hours to let dance groups in.
I found the pricing on the dance website too but havenāt calculated the price versus rack rate. I really need to get back to work.
This doesnāt affect my plans. Itās not on my dates, but if it was and I was staying deluxe I might consider a moderate instead. I may be writing an email to Disney about this one. If they wanted to keep the dancers happy they could have done it without making the deluxe guests have a worse experience. But again, since their FAQ says HS, maybe itās not really a problem. I might give it some time.
Edited for clarity.
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One more point. @Nicky_S 's post about the FAQ had the info about the extra night and celebration party of page 6 out of 10. Itās currently on page 7 out of 8. So they appear to have changed the FAQ. Which makes me wonder if Disney is giving them their own hours at HS to counteract the backlash. 
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The dance team also has a special event on another night, donāt they?
Something did create the change? They did report MK at first, so something is weird.
Since the dance competitionās extra paid event is on Sunday. If Disney is throwing free extended hours at HS for groups that book with them (even at values and moderates) but no other guests- I guess that is their choice. It is strange that they will provide a free benefit that no other guest can get.
I wish WDW would switch the Epcot EE to DHS. I would think most deluxe guests would prefer the extra time at DHS with TSL and SW:GE. I wonder why Epcot was chosen over DHS. Is Epcot cheaper to operate?
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I bet there is more revenue generated w/ EC due to the alcohol and snack/food purchases.
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Good point. I can see WDW basing its decision on that.
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Benefit of being a hot teenage girl in a skimpy outfit? Kidding, kidding!
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