Ah, the annual 24 hour event. Finally home and caught up on life n stuff so I guess I can give my usual views on it:
Right at the beginning Disney made it quite obvious who this event caters to by showcasing everybody's favorite reminder that some people are more special (read: Entitled) than others...Ferdalump...right there dancing on the train station with the Frozen girls right from the get go..and the Lifestylers ate it up...oh did they love it. And that...is who these events are aimed for...judging by the amount of attention the more "popular" social media "Celebrities" got the entire night.
The place was over-run by people hoping to be the "next big thing" on the ol' Disney-grammer scene. The amount of "meet ups" and butt kissing going on was incredible. I especially love those who are trying to claim they did the entire event using the hashtag #teamnosleep, even tho they went back to their hotel halfway through the day to take a nap before coming back saying how tired they are...and then boasting how they were the "last ones out". I purposely shied away from all sorts of meetings, and appreciated those who sent me messages on social media before coming up to me. I am not a mean person by far, but I think my deliberate "delayed posting" as to my location made it obvious I was there to be in my own world and not in one where everyone is trying to be part of a clique of other lifestylers. Right...anyway..enough on that topic..on to the event itself..
Personally, I WAS there the entire time (not boasting at all, honestly I am a bit ashamed by it), and it was more crowded but FAR better handled than the previous years. A big part of it was the LACK OF SPECIAL EVENTS/CHARACTERS. It was by most accounts just another normal day at the MK..just with longer hours. No long lines to meet a character they drag out once our twice a year, very few special food options, and aside from an added parade showtime here and there..it was just business as usual.
So why did I go, and ultimately stay the entire time? Photos. As some of you may know from following my social media accounts, I go to the parks quite often..driven mainly by a passion for the company and a passion for capturing it with my camera. Its a hobby, it makes me happy, and I got really absorbed in the 24 hour event that I lost track of time and before I knew it I was past the point of no return (by my definition, thats about 15 hours in). I rode rides, but refused to wait on any line longer than 30 minutes (Which interestingly enough, the mine train opened on last years event..with no fastpass it had a max wait time of an ACTUAL 90 minutes, this year it peaked at 130 minutes..yay progress!). It isnt about the rides..its about the atmosphere on these sort of events. Sure its cool to say you stayed the entire time (if you did indeed ACTUALLY stay instead of not counting your mid day nap..be it at your hotel or on the floor of the Space Mountain gift shop). Everybody has their own reasons for doing it, be it for atmosphere, or "bragging rights"..for me it was just because I don't often get dual sunrise opportunities.
Do I recommend this event to anyone else? Absolutely. It is fun and has a different vibe from the guests there, but don't try too hard to "do it all". If you are tired..call it quits. Seriously. I was saddened by not only the hobo-esc nappers on the hub grass (keeping it trashy) or on gift shop floors, but by the parents dragging a sleeping child along at the wee hours of the morning as well.