Once you’ve made the decision to book a trip to Walt Disney World, some of the next decisions revolve around how many days you’ll visit a theme park, which theme parks you will visit, and when you will visit. There are single day one park tickets, park hopper tickets, and even special event tickets such as Disney After Hours to consider. Disney After Hours is an after hours, separately ticketed event that allows you to remain in a theme park for three hours after official closing time so that you can enjoy rides and experience special activities with reduced crowds (and lower air temperatures). But many balk at the price tag of Disney After Hours events, claiming that the price tag is simply not worth it. So, is Disney After Hours for you?
The MouseHouseNews.net team recently visited Magic Kingdom for a Disney After Hours event in March. Despite the implication of the event occurring after hours, it should be pointed out that event-goers can enter the theme park at 7:00 PM, which we did. The night we attended, Magic Kingdom closed at 10:00 PM, meaning that Disney After Hours officially started at 10:00 PM and lasted until 1:00 AM. Because we entered the park at 7:00, we were able to enjoy the park for six hours. If you are not a 13-hour park open to park close type of person, you can easily use our real-world results to see how the after hours event compares to a regular park ticket.
Let’s first consider the cost differences. The day we attended Disney After Hours at Magic Kingdom, the cost of a single day, one park ticket for Magic Kingdom was $184. The cost of our Disney After Hours ticket was $185 each. Therefore, the cost difference was negligible, but for nearly half the amount of park time. When we first arrived at 7:00, there was a long entry line for Disney After Hours guests queued up at the entrance gate. Those guests had to scan their special event tickets, then received a wristband indicating their credentialed status for Disney After Hours. All of those guests had to go somewhere, which meant that the park was crowded starting at 7 PM until 10 PM. However, ride wait times were not really out of control during that time because of all of the day guests (and, presumably at least some of the event guests) staking out a spot on Main Street U.S.A. to see the 9:00 showing of the Happily Ever After fireworks show.
After Happily Ever After wrapped up, a lot of families with young children departed the park, which is typical behavior. Those day guests that did stick around were only allowed to do so until 10:00, when the park officially closed and Disney After Hours officially started. At that time, Disney World Cast Members began asking guests to flash those wristbands before entry to a ride queue was allowed. No wristband, no riding. I also believe those without wristbands were escorted out of the themed lands at that time (shopping on Main Street U.S.A. for one hour after park closing may have been an exception to that). The ride times really started dropping at this point. This is also the time when the free snacks started being made available. Yes, Disney After Hours guests are provided free beverages and snacks (20 ounce bottles of ice-cold Coke products including bottled water, boxes of popcorn, Mickey Premium ice-cream bars, Mickey Premium ice-cream sandwiches, and fruit bars). You can come back for more as much as you like, just as long as you have that coveted wristband.
So, in addition to lower ride wait times and being able to enjoy rides when it is not 90 degrees, you get fed! You also get to take advantage of two fireworks shows. Because you can enter the park at 7:00, you can see Happily Ever After. However, Disney World also gave Disney After Hours guests an opportunity to see Disney Enchantment, which was retired after the 50th Anniversary celebration, at 11:00 PM. That’s another perk to buying this special ticket. Now, how about those rides?
During our six hours in Magic Kingdom, in addition to watching two fireworks shows and being fed, we rode a total of 15 rides! There were a few that we rode twice, and we are counting each ride as one separate ride. Below are the rides we were able to enjoy:
- Pirates of the Caribbean
- The Haunted Mansion
- Barnstormer (x2)
- Dumbo the Flying Elephant (x2)
- It’s A Small World (x2)
- Mad Tea Party (x2)
- The Many Adventures of Winnie The Pooh
- Seven Dwarfs Mine Train
- Under the Sea – Journey of The Little Mermaid
- Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin
- Space Mountain
It is important to point out a few points. First, a couple rides we would have definitely rode were down for refurbishment: Big Thunder Mountain Railroad and Astro Orbiter. Second, Tiana’s Bayou Adventure was open and with a low wait time (as low as a posted 10 minute wait), but we did not feel like getting wet at night. Finally, TRON Lightcycle/Run was open all night as well and was as low as a posted 30 minute wait, but we have experienced the ride numerous times and did not feel like the wait was worth it even with it’s comparatively low wait time vs. the daytime wait which can easily exceed 2 hours.
In the end, can we recommend Disney After Hours? Yes, at least when it comes to Magic Kingdom. This park has enough rides and gets crowded enough during the day, especially during popular times of the year, where this limited access special event ticket with limited crowds is worth it. Of course, everyone has different ways of “doing” Disney World, so your experience may differ. If you are a park open to park close type of person, this may not be your cup of tea. For our team, who is not trying to be in a park for thirteen hours a day but still wants to be able to ride as many rides as possible, this is a great opportunity to maximize our shorter time in a park so we’re not standing in obscenely long lines. One thing is for certain: It is generally unheard of to be able to score 15 rides in six hours at Magic Kingdom during general admission without purchasing some sort of skip the line service such as Lightning Lanes. Given the results of this real world test, we highly recommend Disney After Hours at Magic Kingdom.
Disney After Hours is only offered on select dates and at select parks, and pricing varies by date. At the present time, tickets range from $175 to $185, plus tax. Currently, the following upcoming dates have been announced for Disney After Hours at Magic Kingdom:
- April 7
- April 28
- May 5
- May 12
- May 19
There are also Disney After Hours events offered at EPCOT and Disney’s Hollywood Studios.
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