Hi, Christine! Welcome back to planDisney! Thanks for flippin' your fins on over with your
Disney After Hours question. I'm happy to help walk you through all the whozits and whatzits in store for you before and after the party starts.
When I went to
Disney After Hours at Disney's Hollywood Studios, I, too, wanted to maximize the time between when I could enter the park with my event ticket (7:00 PM) and when the park officially closed to day Guests (9:30 PM since you'll be going in April). A good strategy for this window of time is to focus on experiences that aren't available during the actual event. I'm happy to share that if it's open between 7:00 PM and 9:30 PM, you can experience it with your Disney After Hours ticket.
I took a look at the schedules, and it looks like times for
The Little Mermaid - A Musical Adventure and
Disney Villains - Unfairly Ever After are only available through April 2. You are correct that there are times in the 7:00 PM hour. Since Disney After Hours at Disney's Hollywood Studios is on April 29, you'll want to keep an eye on the schedules for your date, so you'll have the exact times. Keep in mind that it will take some time to enter the park and then walk to the show, so it might be tricky to get both in, although not impossible depending on show times. You also might have an opportunity to see Ariel and villains in
Fantasmic! as well.
Once the event officially starts, you'll get to experience all the open attractions and enjoy included popcorn, ice cream novelties and bottled drinks like soda and water. You'll also get to meet characters and more. They'll hand you an event map when you enter, which will list everything that's open and available to you.
Christine, I hope you have a great time at After Hours and know that you are always part of our world here at planDisney if you have any other questions.
Have a magical trip!
Melanie