Walt Disney World should be experienced during the day and all over again at night – it seems like everything comes alive at night, especially in certain lands like Toy Story Land and Pandora – Land of Avatar when you take advantage of Disney World After Hours events.
What is Disney World After Hours?
Disney offers something unique to guests, called “Disney After Hours” events. This is a hard-ticketed event on select evenings throughout the year, wherewith a purchased special event ticket, you gain access to the park with little to no wait for major attractions, character meet and greets, and there are select desserts, popcorn, and refreshments included in the price.
This is not Extra Magic Hours
This event is not to be confused with “Extra Magic Hours” which is free access for any park guest staying on Walt Disney World resort property, which is held on select dates throughout the year as well. These are beneficial as well but more crowded than this hard-ticketed event.
How much will you have to shell out?
Tickets to the “Disney After Hours” events currently cost $125.00 per adult and child if purchased in advance, or $129.00 plus tax if purchased the day of. There is a discount for Annual Passholders and Disney Vacation Club members, where tickets are only $95.00 per person. The price is the same for both adults and children.
Times for Disney After Hours
Disney allows guests in for this event as early as 7:00 pm, or if you already had a regular day ticket, then you might already be in the park. There is no rule that you can’t use a regular day ticket (especially if you are already there for a week’s long vacation) and then stay after hours. However, you may plan to break up your vacation and not use a day ticket at the certain park that offers after-hours events, but only the after-hours ticket.
The actual event is scheduled from 10:00 pm to 1:00 am, which means that the park is closed during this time to guests without the hard-after-hours ticket. Cast members will be manned at the entrance to rides to check for tickets. The same goes for the complimentary food and character greets.
What about the stragglers from the day?
Now it might take some time to get all the people who are not part of this event out of the park. No one can prevent them from slowly walking out, but eventually, throughout the night the crowds get smaller and smaller. There have been reports that there is no wait for many attractions and only a very small wait for the most popular ones.
What Parks Participate in Disney After Hours?
Right now, Disney’s Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, and Hollywood Studios have dates released for Disney After Hours events. The dates and times for these events are located on Disney’s website. All the major popular attractions are open at Disney’s Magic Kingdom like Splash Mountain, Space Mountain, Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, Big Thunder Mountain, Space Ranger Spin, and much more (up to 25 attractions). At Hollywood Studios, all the major attractions are opened: Slinky Dog Dash, Alien Swirling Saucers, Toy Story Mania, Tower of Terror, and Rockin’ Roller Coaster. At Disney’s Animal Kingdom, the famous Flight of Passage and Navi River Journey are open as well as Expedition Everest, Dinosaur, and TriceraTop Spin. Even if you only rode these major attractions listed above, you would have covered the most highly anticipated rides to try and gain a fast pass too! To me, this event seems well worth the price. Especially if you maybe drop a day of regular park tickets and only go during this after-hours event.
So, tell us what you think? Do you have plans to buy tickets to one of these Disney After Hours events? Have you been before? Let us know in the comments below!
If you will be getting tickets to the event at Disney’s Animal Kingdom, be sure and check out our review of Avatar – Flight of Passage to learn more of what you can expect with this amazing ride!
Oh yeah, we have an amazing community of Disney World Fanatics hanging out on our Facebook Page. If you want to join us and thousands of other Disney World Enthusiasts to get all of your Disney Vacation questions answered, check out our Facebook Group – Disney World Questions and Answers.
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