Editor’s word: Disney supplied the author with a complimentary ticket to Disney After Hours. All opinions are the author’s personal and weren’t topic to evaluate by Disney.
I’ve been going to Disney World since I used to be a child, and I’ve grown accustomed to the routines essential to get on essentially the most potential rides throughout my visits. Whether or not it’s attending to the parks earlier than the gates open and beelining to widespread sights like Seven Dwarfs Mine Prepare or Peter Pan’s Flight at rope drop or mastering methods for utilizing Disney’s digital queue system to get on rides like Tron Lightcycle / Run, I’ve numerous pixie-dusted tips up my sleeve.
Associated: Are Disney World’s after-hours events price it?
Once I found a technique to get on virtually each experience on the Magic Kingdom with out getting up early or ready in lengthy strains, I knew I needed to attempt it out to see if it was price including to my arsenal of Disney tips. Right here is my expertise at Disney After Hours on the Magic Kingdom.
What’s Disney After Hours?
Disney After Hours is a individually ticketed occasion that takes place within the night after the park has closed to daytime company. These occasions embody entry to sights, character meet-and-greets and complimentary snacks and drinks.
The precise begin and finish occasions rely on which park you go to, however every Disney After Hours occasion lasts three hours. Your Disney After Hours ticket will get you into the park beginning at 7 p.m., although, so you will get into the parks and begin the enjoyable early. Meaning you get a complete of six hours within the park to benefit from the occasion.
Associated: Ideas for visiting Disney World in 2024: 19 methods to economize and have extra enjoyable
Disney retains crowds small by limiting the variety of tickets to those occasions. I attended Disney After Hours on the Magic Kingdom on a Monday night. By the point daytime company had cleared the park, it felt like I had the place to myself. The walkways had been huge open, I might snap images of Cinderella Fort with out hundreds of strangers within the background and most rides had no wait in any respect.
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You possibly can buy tickets on Disney’s web site or via an approved Disney trip planner.
Which parks have Disney After Hours occasions?
Disney After Hours occasions are held on the Magic Kingdom, Disney’s Hollywood Studios and Epcot. The pricing, occasions and dates fluctuate per park, so let’s check out every one:
Magic Kingdom
- Value: $155 to $175 per particular person plus tax
- Time: 10 p.m. to 1 a.m.
- Dates: Feb. 29, March 4, March 18, April 8, April 22, April 29, Could 13, June 13 and June 27
Disney’s Hollywood Studios
- Value: $145 to $175 per particular person plus tax
- Time: 9:30 p.m. to 12:30 a.m.
- Dates: Feb. 21, Feb. 26, March 13, March 20, March 7, April 3, April 10, Could 22, Could 29, June 12, June 19, June 26, July 10, July 17, July 31, Aug. 7, Aug. 14, Aug. 21 and Aug. 29
Epcot
- Value: $149 to $159
- Time: 10 p.m. to 1 a.m.
- Dates: March 7, March 28, April 4, April 25, Could 9, Could 23, Could 30, June 6, June 20 and July 18
Annual move holders and Disney Trip Membership members obtain a $30 ticket low cost. Disney releases new dates periodically. There could or will not be extra occasion dates this 12 months, as Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Social gathering will possible run from August via Halloween, with Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Social gathering kicking off quickly after.
What’s included with Disney After Hours?
The Disney After Hours choices at every park are barely completely different, however every offers entry to most sights — together with widespread rides that sometimes have lengthy waits in the course of the day — plus unique leisure or character meet-and-greets and complimentary snacks and drinks. After the park closes, Disney solid members wheel out carts with freshly made popcorn, Mickey ice cream bars, Mickey ice cream sandwiches, fruit-flavored frozen pops, bottled sodas and bottled water.
I selected the Magic Kingdom for my Disney After Hours expertise for a number of causes.
First, Disney introduced again Enchantment, the fireworks present it debuted for the park’s fiftieth anniversary that’s now completely carried out throughout Disney After Hours. That is along with the common nighttime fireworks exhibiting of Fortunately Ever After, which takes place in the course of the mix-in portion of the evening earlier than the occasion formally begins. Epcot and Disney’s Hollywood Studios don’t provide particular leisure throughout Disney After Hours, however they do have uncommon character meet-and-greets with Chip and Dale, Sew and Jiminy Cricket, amongst different characters.
I used to be additionally hopeful that with the smaller crowds, I’d be capable of get pleasure from rides which are more durable to get on resulting from lengthy strains or difficult-to-grab digital queue spots, reminiscent of Seven Dwarfs Mine Prepare and Tron Lightcycle / Run.
Lastly, I wished to seek out out if I might squeeze the identical variety of rides I can get on throughout a typical Disney day into Disney After Hours’ six or so hours.
What number of rides are you able to get on throughout Disney After Hours occasions?
Odds are that is the highest query in your thoughts. Fortunately, I saved an in depth record of the typical wait occasions for rides on the Magic Kingdom and my precise wait time for every experience I went on. Remember the fact that most of the rides listed a five-minute wait time, however that often means there is no such thing as a wait; it simply accounts for the time it takes to stroll via the queue.
What you see within the chart beneath is my precise wait, which was typically lower than the posted wait. I used a website known as Thrill Information to tug common wait occasions on the Magic Kingdom in the course of the earlier month.
| Attraction | Common wait | My wait |
| Seven Dwarfs Mine Prepare | 84 minutes | 10 minutes |
| Princess Fairytale Corridor | 41 minutes | 5 minutes |
| Tron Lightcycle / Run | Digital queue or Lightning Lane | half-hour |
| Peter Pan’s Flight | 66 minutes | 5 minutes |
| The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh | 43 minutes | 10 minutes |
| Area Mountain | 60 minutes | quarter-hour |
| Pirates of the Caribbean | 38 minutes | 10 minutes |
| Below the Sea — Journey of The Little Mermaid | 28 minutes | 5 minutes |
| Dumbo the Flying Elephant | 27 minutes | 5 minutes |
| Buzz Lightyear’s Area Ranger Spin | 39 minutes | 5 minutes |
| Haunted Mansion | 48 minutes | 5 minutes |
| Walt Disney’s Enchanted Tiki Room | quarter-hour | 5 minutes |
| Whole | 489 minutes | 110 minutes |
As you’ll be able to see, though I used to be on the park for about half the time I’d be there on a standard day, I knocked out 12 sights and spent a couple of quarter of the time in line that the typical daytime visitor does. I’ve waited in some lengthy strains at Disney World, and strolling proper onto most rides with no wait in any respect felt like a dream come true.
One other perk of Disney After Hours on the Magic Kingdom is that Tron Lightcycle / Run makes use of a standby queue somewhat than requiring you to enter a digital queue or buy a person Lightning Lane. I’ve respectable luck snagging a digital queue spot, however hopping in line was a lot simpler.
Once I obtained in line at about 11:30 p.m., the wait time was listed as 40 minutes, however I solely waited about 30. It might have been even much less if I had waited till later within the night, however I used to be on that aspect of the park and figured that was a great time to knock it out.
As a result of I arrived early, I used the time earlier than the occasion formally began to expertise just a few sights that already had brief waits, reminiscent of Dumbo the Flying Elephant. What shocked me, although, was that I made time for sights I typically skip as a result of I knew that the wait occasions for the most well-liked rides could be shorter later within the night.
I knew I’d have loads of time to experience my favourite curler coasters, so I took extra time early within the night to calm down and luxuriate in sights like Walt Disney’s Enchanted Tiki Room. I’m so pleased that this occasion allowed me to experience the most well-liked rides and go to my favourite singing birds.
I assumed my final experience of the night could be the Haunted Mansion. The posted wait time was 13 minutes — the equal of there being no wait, because the experience chooses this quantity as an alternative of 5 minutes to maintain with its spooky theme — and I hopped in line round 12:45 a.m.
A lot to my shock, although, after I walked off the experience, it was 12:57 p.m. You will get in line for sights proper up till the top of the occasion, so as an alternative of ending my go to a couple of minutes early, I made a beeline for Princess Fairytale Corridor to fulfill Cinderella and Ariel. I used to be the final particular person let in for the expertise, and having each characters wave and need me goodnight was the proper technique to finish such a enjoyable night.
Is Disney After Hours price it?
I’m pleased to report that the occasion exceeded my expectations on all fronts.
The value of Disney After Hours is corresponding to an everyday daytime ticket. The truth is, on the date of my go to, it was solely a greenback greater than a one-day Magic Kingdom ticket. Contemplating every thing included and the way a lot you will get finished, I felt just like the occasion supplied nice worth.
I rode simply as many, if no more, sights than I’d on an everyday day and in a fraction of the time. I additionally wasn’t battling the Florida solar or hordes of individuals as I bounced from experience to experience. I unashamedly ate a number of Mickey ice cream bars and snacked on popcorn whereas ready in line for rides, and all these free Weight loss plan Cokes saved me awake till the wee hours (don’t fear, I stayed hydrated with the complimentary bottled water, too).
Who ought to go to Disney After Hours?
Whereas I’d like to preserve Disney After Hours all to myself, there are some particular occasions after I’d advocate others partake within the occasion.
If you wish to experience each experience within the park in 1 day
In case your most important objective whenever you go to Disney World is to experience as many rides as potential and on a number of events, plan on combining a daytime ticket with a Disney After Hours ticket. Through the occasion, you’ll be able to re-ride your favorites many times or hit the rides you skipped in the course of the day due to the upper wait occasions.
In case you don’t need to cope with Disney Genie+
Throughout Disney After Hours, all rides use a standby queue. If waking up early to vie for a digital queue spot or spending time (and cash) to schedule rides utilizing Disney Genie+ will not be your concept of a trip, you’ll get pleasure from hopping briefly standby queues on a whim throughout Disney After Hours.
In case you are an evening owl
If the considered waking up at 6 a.m. and dashing to the parks to be first in line after they swing open the gates makes you need to throw the covers over your head and return to sleep, Disney After Hours is the proper different. You should buy a Disney After Hours ticket as an alternative of an everyday daytime ticket and luxuriate in the identical variety of rides as you’ll in the course of the day with out getting up early.
Who shouldn’t go to Disney After Hours?
Regardless of my glowing evaluate, there are just a few cases the place Disney After Hours will not be best for you.
In case you are visiting with younger kids
Whereas I noticed a fair proportion of younger children being pushed round in strollers throughout my go to, I’d not have introduced my youthful kids to this occasion. My oldest is 10, and I believe this occasion could be good for him. Nonetheless, I wouldn’t need to spend that cash to deliver my 5- and 7-year-olds to Disney After Hours.
On prime of not getting as a lot finished (their little legs can’t transfer as quick as mine), I don’t assume they’d have been in a position to keep awake till the top of the occasion. This will not be the case for all children, however it’s one thing to think about earlier than shopping for a ticket.
If it’s your first time visiting a park
Though the crowds aren’t as thick and choose characters are out greeting company, you received’t get the total Disney World expertise throughout these occasions. I wouldn’t advocate attending Disney After Hours at a park you’ve by no means visited throughout daytime hours. You’ll miss out on a number of the eating, leisure and ambiance you could solely expertise with an everyday daytime ticket.
In case you are hoping for unique experiences
Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Social gathering and Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Social gathering are stuffed with unique experiences like nighttime spectaculars, dance events, parades, stay leisure and uncommon characters. Disney After Hours doesn’t have as a lot of this. Whereas I liked seeing Enchantment, it wasn’t my sole purpose for going to Disney After Hours.
The obvious advantage of this occasion is how a lot you will get finished in a brief period of time with smaller crowds. If unique experiences are your objective, I like to recommend one of many holiday-themed after-hours events as an alternative.
Backside line
I had a blast at Disney After Hours, and I’ve already begun recommending it to my family and friends. Whether or not you’ve been to Disney World dozens of occasions and need to attempt one thing new otherwise you love squeezing in as many rides as potential throughout your Disney journeys, Disney After Hours is an effective way to see the parks in a distinct gentle — or, to be extra correct, at the hours of darkness.
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