During our upcoming trip, there are 3 nights with special events. 2 of the 3 nights have deluxe hours for which we do not qualify (1 at Epcot and 1 at MK) and 2 of the 3 nights have special events (1 at HS and 1 at MK). What is the general thinking on which park to visit if there is a special event that night? Or do those events not matter so much for daytime capacity? Should we simply go with crowd level?
Generally, deluxe evening hours have little to no effect on daytime crowds
Some hard-ticketed after hours events - like parties including Halloween and Christmas - tend to lower the daytime crowds. These parties start earlier in the evening and force an early closure typically around 6pm. There may be private events as well that would close the park earlier (around 6pm) and these also will generally push daytime crowds lower.
After Hours events tend to impact day crowds to a lesser degree, because these events start later in the evening and generally don’t force a park close time that is much earlier - if at all - than usual park closure times
Hope this helps!
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I was curious about this too. They just announced Extended Evening Hours for deluxe hotel guests at Epcot on the same night as our MK After Hours event. My hope is that it will mean more families choose Epcot that day, meaning that there will be fewer folks in Epcot the day before when we’ll visit, and fewer folks in MK when we start the After Hours. But right now that’s pure optimism, I have no proof that will actually be the case, lol.