Me and my family are debating which event we should plan on Hollywood Studios After Hours or Jollywood Nights. I know they are at different times of the year, but our travel plans are open at this point. Which do you think is better for shorter ride lines?
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I don’t know about ride lines, but AH is just 3 hours and JN is 5. They both let you enter the park 90 minutes early.
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Welcome! Ask anything & as often as you need!
I have not done After Hours, but did Jollywood last year. If your priority is mostly rides then Jollywood is amazing! Most people are there for the holiday shows, characters and food…
I was there for the rides! I rode every single attraction at DHS, including RotR, while doing MF:SR & ToT each twice. The only ride that had any significant queue was SDD. That was about 30+ minutes. Everything else was under 10 minutes or a walk-on!
I did watch the Muppets holiday show as well. If I had skipped that I could’ve repeated a few more rides. (I enjoyed the show & love the Muppets! Seeing Kermit & Piggy live was a dream come true!)
After 10pm I was, literally, one of the ONLY people in SW:GE. I walked right into Oga’s for a quick drink and there were only 3 people there…
I stayed all the way until after the fireworks / close. If you don’t have small kids that can’t stay up past 10pm - 11pm then that would be an issue - IMHO.
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I did After Hours pre-COVID. I rode SDD so many times in a row that I got motion sick from doing it and had to stop.
With After Hours you get free water (and sodas?) and Mickey ice cream bars. Unlimited quantities. I don’t think Jollywood does that.
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We did After Hours in March and Slinky didn’t drop below posted 65 until the last 30 minutes of the event. It may have been actually less than an hour but the entire queue was full. We only rode once to close out the night. Rise was down at the beginning of the night as well as MMRR at some point as well so that may have contributed to Slinky’s line.
We enjoyed it but it didn’t feel like enough time for us to ride anything more than once. There were a bunch of characters with no waits though!
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Jollywood was the opposite. IMHO - It was because they brought out “limited edition / Seasonal” characters like Duffy, Seven Dwarves, Pinocchio and the Fab Five all in Christmas clothes. There was always a queue. People would just camp & wait for the character to return. Not getting to meet even one character was my only downside of my Jollywood night. (It was my choice to do rides & repeats!) However, the event is one hour longer this year. That would’ve made it possible for me this year…
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Hi - I have done both. I did Jollywood last December and After Hours in June. and found them similar but not the same. I would hands down do Jollywood over After Hours because I loved the festive atmosphere and specialty drinks/food/shows.
But I think it depends on your priorities. Here are my thoughts:
After Hours
- Unique character meets have very short lines
- Free popcorn, ice cream, water and sodas
- Some lines can be short - SWGE
- Some lines are not as short, but they are still shorter than daytime - SDD (if anything is down) and TOT and MMRR at the end of the evening when everyone is back in that part of the park.
- Low crowds so it was nice to be able to freely roam
- Limited food options
Jollywood
- Specialty Character lines are longer than AH
- Characters are in Holiday outfits
- Special shows only for Jollywood - Nightmare Before Christmas, Variety Show, Bands and DJs through the parks, Jingle Bells Jingle Bam!
- Fun specialty drinks and food (but they cost $$)
- Lines are reportedly very low because of all these other things
- Park is more crowded than during After Hours.
The friend I was there with said that After Hours made her miss Jollywood. I agree.
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I haven’t done After Hours but we did Jollywood. We rode SDD, ToT, RnRC and then focused on the three shows special to the event. It was one less hour last year but none of those things had ridiculous lines; slinky was the longest I believe at 20 min or so. We also avoided the long character lines and long food lines and stuck the specialty food at The Market and ABC Commissary which did have a charge. We also saw some of the live bands briefly. I would do this event again. The festive spirit, special shows and chance to dress up were worth it to me.
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