One of our favorite ways to experience short lines at Disney World is back! Disney World After Hours events are returning in 2024. If you love doing a ton of rides with almost no wait and snacking the night away, this is the event for you!
In this guide, you’ll find out the scoop on when Disney World offers these After Hours events, what’s included with the ticket price, and why it might be a great idea for your Disney World vacation.
Update 10-25-2023: Disney World has announced the return of Disney After Hours in 2024. We’ve updated this guide, including new information about Tron and Magic Kingdom fireworks during the events.
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ToggleWhat is Disney World After Hours?
Disney World After Hours are ticketed events that let you stay in one of WDW’s theme parks for three hours after park closing. Capacity is very limited, so the parks will be extremely uncrowded. For the three hours after park closing, guests at Disney World After Hours can enjoy short lines at the most popular rides in Disney World, such as Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, Tron Lightcycle Run, Rise of the Resistance, and Slinky Dog Dash.
Disney World After Hours tickets give you admission to the theme park starting at 7 pm, which will give you an extra 2.5-3 hours inside the park before the event starts. In total, guests purchasing Disney After Hours tickets get 5.5-6 hours inside the theme park.
The H2O Glow After Hours event gets you admission into Typhoon Lagoon starting at 6 pm.
Snacks, soft drinks, and water bottles are included in the price of the event. Guests can receive their complimentary snacks and drinks at kiosks located throughout the park.
Which parks offer Disney World After Hours?
Disney World After Hours will be available at Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, and Hollywood Studios in early 2024. Right now, dates are announced for January through April, but Disney has extended these dates in the past.
Typhoon Lagoon hosts a similar event called Disney H2O Glow After Hours, but there are currently no dates announced for 2024.
Disney World is always announcing new special events, so if Disney World After Hours comes to Animal Kingdom as well, we will update this guide.
Magic Kingdom Disney After Hours Dates & Pricing
Magic Kingdom Disney After Hours runs from 10 pm – 1 am on the following nights. Guests with event tickets can enter the park starting at 7 pm.
Magic Kingdom Disney After Hours Dates | Price (Excludes Tax) | Price for Annual Passholders & DVC Member Price (Excludes Tax) |
---|---|---|
Thursday, January 11 | $155 | $125 |
Monday, January 15 | $165 | $135 |
Monday, January 22 | $165 | $135 |
Thursday, February 1 | $165 | $135 |
Monday, February 5 | $165 | $135 |
Monday, February 12 | $175 | $145 |
Thursday, February 29 | $175 | $145 |
Monday, March 4 | $175 | $145 |
Monday, March 18 | $175 | $145 |
Monday, April 8 | $175 | $145 |
Magic Kingdom Disney After Hours Attractions
Most major attractions at Magic Kingdom are available during Disney After Hours. Here’s the full lineup from previous events, plus a newly added ride:
Fantasyland
- Seven Dwarfs Mine Train
- Peter Pan’s Flight
- Under the Sea – Journey of the Little Mermaid
- it’s a small world
- Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
- The Barnstormer
- Mickey’s Philharmagic
- Mad Tea Party
- Prince Charming Regal Carrousel
Tomorrowland
- Tron Lightcycle Run
- Space Mountain
- Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin
- Astro Orbiter
- Tomorrowland Speedway
- Tomorrowland Transit Authority PeopleMover
Adventureland
- Jungle Cruise
- Pirates of the Caribbean
- Walt Disney’s Enchanted Tiki Room
- Swiss Family Treehouse
- Magic Carpets of Aladdin
Frontierland
- Country Bear Jamboree
Liberty Square
- Haunted Mansion
Will Tron have a Virtual Queue during Disney After Hours?
No, Tron will not have a Virtual Queue during Disney After Hours. Disney has confirmed that Tron will run with a standby queue exclusively during this event.
With the low wait times, that means that you can launch into the grid as many times as you’d like during the event. It will also give you an opportunity to ride Tron at night, which is the best time to go on the ride.
Disney After Hours Fireworks at Magic Kingdom
In 2024, Magic Kingdom is adding the Disney Enchantment fireworks to the After Hours attraction lineup. This will happen in addition to the Happily Ever After fireworks during regular park hours.
That means that event guests will be able to see both Happily Ever After and Enchantment in one night, as long as they arrive early enough. This is an amazing event for fireworks fans!
EPCOT Disney After Hours Dates & Pricing
EPCOT Disney After Hours runs from 10:00 pm – 1:00 am on the following nights. Guests with event tickets can enter the park starting at 7 pm.
EPCOT After Hours Date | Price (Excludes Tax) | Price for Annual Passholders & DVC Members (Excludes Tax) |
---|---|---|
Friday, February 2 | $149 | $119 |
Thursday, February 8 | $149 | $119 |
Thursday, February 15 | $159 | $129 |
Thursday, March 7 | $159 | $129 |
Thursday, March 28 | $159 | $129 |
Thursday, April 4 | $159 | $129 |
EPCOT Disney After Hours Attractions
Disney has not announced a final lineup for EPCOT After Hours, but they do highlight the following attractions on their official event website:
- Frozen Ever After
- Gran Fiesta Tour Starring The Three Caballeros
- Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind
- Living with the Land
- Mission: SPACE
- Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure
- The Seas with Nemo & Friends
- Soarin’ Around the World
- Spaceship Earth
- Test Track Presented by Chevrolet
Like Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios, this attraction lineup covers pretty much every major ride inside the park.
EPCOT Free Snack Locations
Event guests can find complimentary ice cream, popcorn, and bottled beverages at the following locations:
- Mission: SPACE Cart
- Imagination Cart
- Connections Cart
- Fountain Popcorn Cart
Hollywood Studios Disney After Hours Dates & Pricing
Hollywood Studios Disney After Hours runs from 9:30 pm – 12:30 am on the following nights. Guests with event tickets can enter the park starting at 7 pm.
Event Date | Price (Excludes Tax) | Passholders & DVC Members (Excludes Tax) |
---|---|---|
Wednesday, January 10 | $155 | $125 |
Wednesday, January 24 | $165 | $135 |
Wednesday, February 21 | $175 | $145 |
Monday, Feburary 26 | $175 | $145 |
Wednesday, March 13 | $175 | $145 |
Wednesday, March 20 | $175 | $145 |
Wednesday, March 27 | $175 | $145 |
Wednesday, April 3 | $175 | $145 |
Wednesday, April 10 | $175 | $145 |
Hollywood Studios Disney After Hours Attractions
From Rise of the Resistance to Slinky Dog Dash, the major attractions you’d want to be open at Hollywood Studios are available for Disney After Hours guests.
- Star Wars Rise of the Resistance
- Slinky Dog Dash
- Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway
- Millennium Falcon: Smuggler’s Run
- Tower of Terror
- Toy Story Mania
- Alien Swirling Saucers
- Star Tours – The Adventures Continue
Hollywood Studios Free Snack Locations
Event guests can find complimentary ice cream, popcorn, and bottled beverages at the following locations:
- Grand Avenue
- Hollywood Boulevard
- Sunset Boulevard
- Toy Story Land
Food and beverages will also be available to purchase at the Anaheim Produce, the Milk Stand in Galaxy’s Edge, and Woody’s Lunchbox. You’ll can also buy a drink at Oga’s Cantina, which has walk-up availability.
Typhoon Lagoon H2O Glow After Hours Dates, Pricing, and Info
H2O Glow After Hours at Typhoon Lagoon currently has no 2024 dates announced. The event takes place from 8 pm – 11 pm. Admission gets you into the water park starting at 6 pm.
2023 Prices: Tickets are $75 for adults, and $70 for children (ages 3-9). DVC members and Annual Passholders can purchase discounted tickets for $59 per adult, and $54 per child.
Typhoon Lagoon H2O Glow Attractions
H2O Glow features special entertainment, such as a DJ dance party, character appearances, and dazzling lighting. All of the attractions at Typhoon Lagoon will be available to enjoy, including:
- Bay Slides
- Castaway Creek
- Crush ‘n’ Gusher
- Gangplank Falls
- Humunga Kowabunga
- Mayday Falls
- Miss Adventure Falls
- Storm Slides
- Typhoon Lagoon Surf Pool
What food is included during Disney World After Hours?
As mentioned above, a small lineup of snacks and beverages are included in Disney World After Hours. There is no limit, so this is your chance to go wild on some Mickey Ice Cream Bars!
- Popcorn
- Ice Cream Novelties – including Mickey Bars and Mickey Ice Cream Sandwiches!
- Select Bottled Beverages (i.e. Coke, Diet Coke, Dasani Water, etc)
Food is still available to purchase at select restaurants throughout the park.
How to buy Disney World After Hours tickets
Tickets for the Disney After Hours at Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, and Hollywood Studios go on for resort guests beginning November 7, 2023. All other guests may purchase tickets beginning November 14.
You can purchase Disney After Hours tickets from DisneyWorld.com.
Can you go to more than one park during Disney World After Hours?
The Disney World After Hours event ticket is only good for one specific night at one specific park. In fact, there are no nights that overlap between Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, and Hollywood Studios, so don’t plan on park hopping.
Time is so limited and valuable inside the park that we wouldn’t recommend park hopping even if it was an option.
How is Disney After Hours different than Extended Evening Hours?
Extended Evening Hours is a free perk included with Deluxe Resort stays, as well as stays at the Swan, Swan Reserve, Dolphin, and Shades of Green hotels. Like Disney After Hours, guests can stay in a certain park after closing. However, there are some big differences with Extended Evening Hours vs Disney After Hours:
- Extended Evening Hours only runs for two hours after park closing. Disney After Hours runs for three hours.
- Extended Evening Hours is currently available at EPCOT regularly, and as of this writing it’s shifting between Magic Kingdom, Hollywood Studios, and Animal Kingdom depending on the month.
- Extended Evening Hours does not include free snacks. Disney After Hours does include free snacks and drinks.
- Extended Evening Hours is available year-round. Disney After Hours is only available on select dates.
However, here is the biggest difference between Disney After Hours and Extended Evening Hours: Extended Evening Hours is available to all Deluxe resort guests, which means that many more people will be in the park versus Disney After Hours. Disney After Hours will have lower crowds and shorter wait times.
Is Disney World After Hours worth it?
Should you go to Disney After Hours? If Disney World is holding an After Hours event during your vacation, we recommend to strongly consider getting a ticket to one of the events.
This is the best way to experience Disney World parks with extremely low crowds. Even during holiday parties that have smaller than typical capacity, the crowds can feel big and the lines can get long. This is not so at Disney After Hours. The crowds are extremely light. Honestly, I can’t remember the last time I was at Magic Kingdom with shorter wait times than when I attended Disney After Hours. It was easy to go on rides like Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, Space Mountain, and Splash Mountain multiple times in an evening.
For an idea of how uncrowded Magic Kingdom feels during Disney After Hours, here’s a video we shot at an After Hours event in 2019. The park feels essentially empty.
For the three hours with minimal capacity, you can get A LOT done at the parks. This is why I strongly recommend the Disney After Hours event if you go to Disney World only once every year or two, and I especially recommend it as a worthwhile upgrade if this is your big once-in-a-decade or once-in-a-lifetime Disney trip. For the money, there’s no better way to experience every major ride with low waits and no crowds. Plus, the tickets get you into the parks for a total of 5.5-6 hours, which is plenty of time to do pretty much every attraction you’d want to do in the park.
For example, Rise of the Resistance is typically a walk-on during Disney After Hours. That’s right. There’s no wait for Disney World’s most in-demand attraction. This ride usually has a wait that’s at least 60-120 minutes on your typical day at Hollywood Studios.
The free snacks and drinks are a nice bonus. As someone with an irrational love of Disney World popcorn and Mickey Ice Cream bars, part of me could argue that the price of admission is worth it for these unlimited treats. But that’s ridiculous. The snacks are not the main draw, and they don’t make this After Hours party a good deal.
There are two main drawbacks to Disney After Hours: the price and the timing. At $119-$175per person, tickets for Disney After Hours are as pricey as a whole day ticket to Disney World’s theme parks. If you already have a multi-day ticket, getting a Disney World After Hours ticket is an expensive addition to your vacation. Also, with events ending at 12:30 am and 1 am, Disney After Hours is not the best idea for families with very small children.
However, if you are the type of person that wants to go on the best rides multiple times, the pros way outweigh the cons in our book.
If you want to experience Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, and Hollywood Studios with the lowest crowds possible for several hours, we definitely recommend Disney After Hours if you can fit it in your vacation budget.
What about H2O Glow at Typhoon Lagoon? Is that worth it? It is significantly less expensive than the theme park tickets, but lines and crowds have never been too much of an issue for us at Typhoon Lagoon. So the value proposition changes. If you love Disney’s water parks and you want to experience one at night, this event could be worthwhile. H2O Glow includes some special entertainment and character appearances, which should make for a fun evening. But if you are mainly concerned with skipping lines like at the theme park events, we’d recommend just adding on the water park ticket option to your park ticket. This is a more affordable option, and includes other perks such as mini-golf rounds at Disney World’s excellent putt putt courses.
Disney World After Hours Guide Recap
Disney World After Hours is a premium event that lets you experience Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, or Hollywood Studios with low waits and small crowds. While pricey, we consider this one of the best ways to experience many of Disney World’s best rides multiple times. If you purchase a ticket, we recommend getting to the park right at 7 pm and staying until the event is over to get the most bang for your buck.
What do you think about Disney World After Hours? Let me know in the comments below!
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James Grosch
James is a lifelong Disney Parks fan. While at the parks, he loves finding new details, learning more about Disney World history, and taking pictures. His favorite WDW attractions include Rise of the Resistance, Spaceship Earth, and Tower of Terror.
James is a filmmaker and writer based in Atlanta, GA.
After looking at the price list for those after hours tickets I can say there is no way I would spend that much money for a ticket to stay in the park for 2.5-3 hours, free snacks or not.
I definitely agree that the price is a big con. It’s expensive, for sure! Thank you for sharing your thoughts, Jeff!
I have read through your post a few times. Do you have to purchase a regular ticket AND the After Hours ticket as well, or can you just purchase the After Hours and just get in at 7pm?
Hi Jeremy!
Disney After Hours is a separate-ticket event. You do not need a regular park ticket in addition. You can purchase just the admission to the After Hours event and get into the park starting at 7.
Let me know if you have any other questions!