Disney After Hours at Magic Kingdom

Disney After Hours is a special event offered on select dates at Magic Kingdom. It’s not cheap, but it might be worth it for many people.

Here’s info on what it is, how much it costs, who should plan to attend, and a suggested itinerary if you decide to go.

What is Disney After Hours at Magic Kingdom?

Disney After Hours is a specially ticketed event (meaning it’s a ticket that is purchased separate from regular park tickets) that allows people to enter Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom at 7 p.m. and stay until midnight or 1 a.m. (ending time varies by date).

Unlike Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party or Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party, this special event takes place AFTER the parks close, hence the name.

What makes Disney After Hours so great?

Have you ever dreamed of having Magic Kingdom all to yourself?

Same.

And that is what makes Magic Kingdom After Hours so darn amazing: it almost feels as if you get the park to yourself.

Ok, maybe that is a slight exaggeration. But the crowds really are low and that is all because for After Hours events, the capacity is greatly limited. That means you’ll find that the wait times are small (think 5–10 minutes) or, better yet: non-existent!

Seriously, the park is almost empty and kind of eerily quiet.

And you can walk on rides, meet select characters, and enjoy treats and bottled beverages (they’re included with the ticket!) as you walk through the park.

We’ve done After Hours at Magic Kingdom several times, including in 2023. Each and every time we’ve walked away glad that we did it.

When can you enter Magic Kingdom for After Hours?

If you have an After Hours ticket for Magic Kingdom, you’ll be able to enter the park with just your event ticket starting at 7:00 PM. If possible, we highly recommend you do that because that means you’ll have 3 hours before the event officially begins to enjoy a few rides and, more importantly, catch the fireworks.

When you arrive, look for the signs at the tapstiles.

You’ll scan your MagicBand or ticket and receive your special “After Hours” wristband at that time.

Already planning to be in Magic Kingdom? No worries. You don’t have to go all the way back to the front of the park to check in.

You’re able to pick up your After Hours wristband at stations in the park, like this one in Tomorrowland.

What about food?

During the event you’ll find that most of the regular Table Service and Quick Service locations aren’t open (although there will be a couple of spots like Main Street Bakery that are) but that may not be necessary since the event includes unlimited ice cream treats, popcorn, and bottled beverages.

You’ll typically find these at the carts and kiosks spread throughout the park, so if the line looks long at one, it might be worth it to hold off and try the next one you come across.

Food to Purchase

If you need something more than ice cream and popcorn, both Casey’s Corner and Main Street Bakery will be open.

Just don’t spend TOO much time eating; there are rides to get to!

Disney After Hours cost

Current ticket prices are:

$135-$159 plus tax per adult or child (depending on date)

Discounts

There are some discounts available, though.

Annual Passholders and Disney Vacation Club (DVC) members can purchase tickets for $105-$129 so that is a nice bit of savings if you are a member of either of those groups.

How to get tickets

When it comes time to purchase tickets, you have a couple of options:

You can purchase them from your travel professional (we recommend Small World Vacations).

Or, if you’d rather, tickets can be purchased online or by calling 407-827-7185.

Disney After Hours dates and times

The Disney After Hours event at Magic Kingdom starts at 10:00 p.m. and ends at 1:00 a.m. in 2023. Tickets for 2023 are now on sale; however, dates are only currently available through March 27, 2023.

2023 Disney After Hours dates

January

Monday, January 9, 2023
Monday, January 16, 2023
Monday, January 23, 2023

February

Thursday, February 16, 2023
Monday, February 20, 2023
Monday, February 27, 2023

March

Thursday, March 2, 2023
Monday, March 6, 2023
Monday, March 13, 2023
Thursday, March 16, 2023
Monday, March 20, 2023
Monday, March 27, 2023

Historical Event Dates

Oftentimes you’ll find that Disney only releases event dates a few months out, which can make it difficult if you’re trying to plan your vacation.

To help, we have included some historical dates below.

Keep in judgement that these dates are not guarantees of what will happen in the future; rather, use them as guides as to what you might expect to see.

These are the dates the event was offered in 2019 and 2020:

January 2019

Monday, January 7, 2019³
Thursday, January 17, 2019³
Thursday, January 24, 2019³
Monday, January 28, 2019³

February 2019

Thursday, February 7, 2019³
Thursday, February 14, 2019²
Thursday, February 21, 2019²
Thursday, February 28, 2019³

March 2019

Thursday, March 7, 2019²
Thursday, March 21, 2019¹
Thursday, March 28, 2019¹

April 2019

Thursday, April 4, 2019¹
Thursday, April 11, 2019¹

May 2019

Thursday, May 2, 2019¹
Thursday, May 9, 2019¹
Thursday, May 16, 2019¹
Thursday, May 23, 2019¹
Thursday, May 30, 2019¹

June 2019

Thursday, June 6, 2019 (Disney Villains After Hours)
Thursday, June 13, 2019 (Disney Villains After Hours)
Thursday, June 20, 2019 (Disney Villains After Hours)
Thursday, June 27, 2019 (Disney Villains After Hours)

July 2019

Monday, July 1, 2019 (Disney Villains After Hours)
Thursday, July 11, 2019 (Disney Villains After Hours)
Thursday, July 18, 2019 (Disney Villains After Hours)
Thursday, July 25, 2019 (Disney Villains After Hours)

August 2019

Thursday, August 1, 2019 (Disney Villains After Hours)
Thursday, August 8, 2019 (Disney Villains After Hours)
Thursday August 22, 2019¹
Thursday, August 29, 2019¹

September 2019

Thursday, September 5, 2019¹
Thursday, September 12, 2019¹
Thursday, September 19, 2019¹
Thursday, September 26, 2019¹

November 2019

Monday, November 18, 2019¹

December 2019

Monday, December 9, 2019¹

January 2020

Monday, January 6, 2020³
Monday, January 13, 2020³
Friday, January 17, 2020²
Monday, January 20, 2020²
Thursday, January 23, 2020³
Monday, January 27, 2020³
Friday, January 31, 2020³

February 2020

Monday, February 3, 2020²
Friday, February 7, 2020 (Disney Villains After Hours)
Monday, February 10, 2020²
Friday, February 14, 2020 (Disney Villains After Hours)
Monday, February 17, 2020²
Friday, February 21, 2020 (Disney Villains After Hours)
Monday, February 24, 2020²
Friday, February 28, 2020 (Disney Villains After Hours)

March 2020

Monday, March 2, 2020³
Friday, March 6, 2020 (Disney Villains After Hours)
Monday, March 9, 2020¹
Wednesday, March 11, 2020 (Disney Villains After Hours)

¹event takes place from 10 p.m. to 1 a.m.
²event takes place 9 p.m. to midnight
³event takes place 8:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m.
Disney Villains After Hours (more info on what that means below) took place 10 p.m. to 1 a.m.

Attractions & Character Meets

Definitely, the main focus of Disney After Hours is the ability to ride lots of attractions and see some select characters with little to no waits.

As you can tell by the list below, the majority of the park will be open, making it easy to see and ride all of your favorites.

Here’s what you can typically find available:

Main Street U.S.A.

Meet Mickey Mouse at Town Square Theater

Adventureland

The Magic Carpets of Aladdin
Jungle Cruise
Pirates of the Caribbean
Swiss Family Treehouse
Enchanted Tiki Room

Frontierland

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
Country Bear Jamboree

Liberty Square

Haunted Mansion

Fantasyland

The Barnstormer
Dumbo
“it’s a small world”
Mad Tea Party
The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
Mickey’s PhilharMagic
Peter Pan’s Flight
Meet Disney Princesses in Princess Fairytale Hall
Seven Dwarfs Mine Train
Under the Sea ~ Journey of the Little Mermaid

Tomorrowland

Astro Orbiter
Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin
Space Mountain
Tomorrowland Speedway
Tomorrowland Transit Authority PeopleMover

And here’s what’s NOT available:

Fireworks (although, you can get into the park with just your event ticket in time to see the fireworks)
Most character meets not listed above

Fantasyland

Enchanted Tales with Belle

Liberty Square

The Hall of Presidents

Tomorrowland

Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor
Carousel of Progress

How many rides can you ride during Disney After Hours – Magic Kingdom?

Although it depends on how much you are crisscrossing the park, on average, we find that it is relatively easy to do about 3 attractions per hour and still have time to snag a treat or 2 and pause for a restroom break.

Who should attend?

Although the price sounds high for just 4-6 hours in the park, we suggest it does make sense if you think of it in terms of number of attractions rather than number of hours.

You can get more done at the event than you could in a whole day at Magic Kingdom.

For that reason, we’d highly suggest it for people who have short trips and want to fit in as much as possible because it’s a really great way to do that.

Planning your time

Here’s how we recommend you plan to spend your time at this event.

7:00-10:00 pm

Arrive at Magic Kingdom just before 7:00, so you can enter the park as soon as you can.
Visit any attractions that won’t be open during the event.
See the fireworks.

10:00 pm – 1:00 am

Spend most of your time visiting attractions and meeting characters, picking up snacks at kiosks throughout Magic Kingdom as you go.
Grab some drinks to bring back with you to your hotel. We’ve noticed that the snack carts in the hub close earlier than the ones in the lands, so grab them before you head towards Main Street, U.S.A.
Have a PhotoPass photographer snap your pic on Main Street on the way out. Gotta take advantage of having almost nobody in the park to clutter up your photo!

Disney Villains After Hours (Not Currently Offered)

In the Summer of 2019, Disney began offering a new twist to the already popular After Hours events: Disney Villains After Hours. This is no longer being offered at this time, but historical information is available below.

During Villains After Hours, you got all the regular stuff included (like access to attractions, free bottled beverages and ice cream treats, etc.) but in addition to all of that you’d also have a few fun extras:

Disney Villains stage show: This new show called “Villains Unite the Night” starred Hades and Meg from “Hercules” with some special appearances by Jafar, The Queen, Dr. Facilier and Maleficent
Maleficent the Dragon: Maleficent the Dragon (which is the super popular float from the Festival of Fantasy parade) was found creeping through the park and breathing her scary fire
“Villanous Enhancements” to attractions: Both Pirates of the Caribbean and Space Mountain got some fun villain-themed additions for these special nights
Special food & beverage offerings: In addition to the free goodies, guests also found an assortment of specially-themed items available for purchase all inspired by some of your favorite villains like The Queen, Cruella de Vil, Maleficent, Hades, Dr. Facilier, and even Emperor Zurg
Villain-themed merchandise: Event-specific merchandise was available for purchase

NOTE: One thing was NOT available, though: special villain character meets.

And, for added fun – much like with Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party, for this special event guests were encouraged to “feel free to show off [their] sinister side by dressing in attire inspired by [their] favorite baddie.”

Back when it was offered, prices for this enhanced version of Disney After Hours were slightly more expensive than the regular After Hours events:

$145 (plus tax) for tickets purchased in advance.
$155 (plus tax) for tickets purchased on the night of the event.

Discounts were available, though. Guests that had Annual Passes or were members of Disney’s Vacation Club could save $30/ticket (making the total with discount $109 plus tax).

Read more about Disney Villains After Hours.

Video: Disney After Hours: Is it worth it?

*************

Liked what you read? Save this post to Pinterest for later!