I have 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 doable rides throughout my visits. Whether or not it is attending to the parks earlier than the gates open and beelining to standard points of interest like Seven Dwarfs Mine Practice or Peter Pan’s Flight at rope drop or mastering strategies for utilizing Disney’s digital queue system to get on rides like Tron Lightcycle / Run, I’ve numerous pixie-dusted methods up my sleeve.
Associated: Are Disney World’s after-hours events value it?
Once I found a strategy to get on virtually each journey on the Magic Kingdom with out getting up early or ready in lengthy traces, I knew I needed to strive it out to see if it was value including to my arsenal of Disney methods. 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 friends. These occasions embrace entry to points of interest, 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 friends had cleared the park, it felt like I had the place to myself. The walkways have been large open, I may snap pictures of Cinderella Citadel with out 1000’s of strangers within the background and most rides had no wait in any respect.
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You may buy tickets on Disney’s web site or via a licensed Disney trip planner.
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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 range per park, so let’s check out each:
Magic Kingdom
- Value: $155 to $175 per individual plus tax
- Time: 10 p.m. to 1 a.m.
- Dates: Feb. 29, March 4, March 18, April 8, April 22, April 29, Might 13, June 13 and June 27
Disney’s Hollywood Studios
- Value: $145 to $175 per individual 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, Might 22, Might 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, Might 9, Might 23, Might 30, June 6, June 20 and July 18
What’s included with Disney After Hours?
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Throughout Disney After Hours, you’ll be able to have limitless Mickey ice cream bars. TARAH CHIEFFI/THE POINTS GUY
The Disney After Hours choices at every park are barely totally different, however every supplies entry to most points of interest — together with standard rides that sometimes have lengthy waits throughout 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 is now solely carried out throughout Disney After Hours. That is along with the common nighttime fireworks displaying of Fortunately Ever After, which takes place throughout the mix-in portion of the night time earlier than the occasion formally begins. Epcot and Disney’s Hollywood Studios do not 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 to take pleasure in rides which might be tougher to get on resulting from lengthy traces or difficult-to-grab digital queue spots, equivalent to Seven Dwarfs Mine Practice and Tron Lightcycle / Run.
Lastly, I wished to seek out out if I may 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 stored an in depth checklist of the common wait occasions for rides on the Magic Kingdom and my precise wait time for every journey I went on. Understand that lots of the rides listed a five-minute wait time, however that often means there isn’t a wait; it simply accounts for the time it takes to stroll via the queue.
What you see within the chart under is my precise wait, which was generally lower than the posted wait. I used a website referred to as Thrill Knowledge to tug common wait occasions on the Magic Kingdom throughout the earlier month.
| Attraction | Common wait | My wait |
|---|---|---|
| Seven Dwarfs Mine Practice | 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 |
| House 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 House 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, despite the fact that I used to be on the park for about half the time I might be there on a traditional day, I knocked out 12 points of interest and spent a couple of quarter of the time in line that the common daytime visitor does. I’ve waited in some lengthy traces 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 quite than requiring you to enter a digital queue or buy a person Lightning Lane. I’ve first rate luck snagging a digital queue spot, however hopping in line was a lot simpler.
Once I bought in line at about 11:30 p.m., the wait time was listed as 40 minutes, however I solely waited about 30. It could have been even much less if I had waited till later within the night, however I used to be on that facet of the park and figured that was a very good 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 points of interest that already had quick waits, equivalent to Dumbo the Flying Elephant. What stunned me, although, was that I made time for points of interest I generally skip as a result of I knew that the wait occasions for the most well-liked rides can be shorter later within the night.
I knew I’d have loads of time to journey my favourite curler coasters, so I took extra time early within the night to chill out and revel in points of interest like Walt Disney’s Enchanted Tiki Room. I’m so completely satisfied that this occasion allowed me to journey the most well-liked rides and go to my favourite singing birds.
I assumed my final journey of the night can be the Haunted Mansion. The posted wait time was 13 minutes — the equal of there being no wait, because the journey 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, once I walked off the journey, it was 12:57 p.m. You may get in line for points of interest 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 individual let in for the expertise, and having each characters wave and want me goodnight was the proper strategy to finish such a enjoyable night.
Is Disney After Hours value it?
I am completely satisfied to report that the occasion exceeded my expectations on all fronts.
The worth of Disney After Hours is corresponding to an everyday daytime ticket. In actual fact, on the date of my go to, it was solely a greenback greater than a one-day Magic Kingdom ticket. Contemplating all the pieces included and the way a lot you will get performed, I felt just like the occasion offered nice worth.
I rode simply as many, if no more, points of interest 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 journey to journey. I unashamedly ate a number of Mickey ice cream bars and snacked on popcorn whereas ready in line for rides, and all these free Food regimen Cokes stored me awake till the wee hours (don’t be concerned, I stayed hydrated with the complimentary bottled water, too).
Who ought to go to Disney After Hours?
Whereas I might like to maintain Disney After Hours all to myself, there are some particular occasions once I’d suggest others partake within the occasion.
If you wish to journey each journey within the park in 1 day
In case your important objective once you go to Disney World is to journey as many rides as doable 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 throughout the day due to the upper wait occasions.
In case you do not 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+ shouldn’t be your concept of a trip, you may take pleasure in hopping in brief standby queues on a whim throughout Disney After Hours.
If you’re an evening owl
If the considered waking up at 6 a.m. and dashing to the parks to be first in line once 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 purchase a Disney After Hours ticket as an alternative of an everyday daytime ticket and revel in the identical variety of rides as you’ll throughout the day with out getting up early.
Who should not go to Disney After Hours?
Regardless of my glowing overview, there are just a few cases the place Disney After Hours might not be best for you.
If you’re 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 feel this occasion can be excellent for him. Nevertheless, I would not need to spend that cash to convey my 5- and 7-year-olds to Disney After Hours.
On prime of not getting as a lot performed (their little legs cannot transfer as quick as mine), I do not suppose they’d have been capable of keep awake till the top of the occasion. This might not be the case for all children, but it surely’s one thing to contemplate earlier than shopping for a ticket.
If it is your first time visiting a park
Though the crowds will not be as thick and choose characters are out greeting friends, you will not get the complete Disney World expertise throughout these occasions. I would not suggest attending Disney After Hours at a park you have by no means visited throughout daytime hours. You will miss out on a number of the eating, leisure and environment that you could solely expertise with an everyday daytime ticket.
If you’re hoping for unique experiences
Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Occasion and Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Occasion are stuffed with unique experiences like nighttime spectaculars, dance events, parades, reside leisure and uncommon characters. Disney After Hours would not have as a lot of this. Whereas I beloved seeing Enchantment, it wasn’t my sole motive for going to Disney After Hours.
The obvious good thing about this occasion is how a lot you will get performed 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 have been to Disney World dozens of occasions and need to strive one thing new otherwise you love squeezing in as many rides as doable throughout your Disney journeys, Disney After Hours is an effective way to see the parks in a special mild — or, to be extra correct, in the dead of night.
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