Disney After Hours is a hard ticketed event that gives guests exclusive access to the parks after normal park closing. Also included are complimentary snacks and beverages. Disney describes it as “Enjoy 3 extra hours of magical fun—experiencing thrilling attractions, snacking on tasty treats and more—at select theme parks at Walt Disney World Resort.” This event is currently offered at the Magic Kingdom, Hollywood Studios, and EPCOT.
As you can imagine, this kind of access comes at a cost. We paid $185 plus tax per person for the Magic Kingdom version. The Hollywood Studios and EPCOT events run about $20 cheaper. Have you recovered from the sticker shock yet? These events never get any cheaper, that’s for sure. But we all know that value isn’t just about money. So was this even worth it? Let’s find out.
The After Hours event officially runs from 10pm to 1am, but you can enter the park as early as 7pm. I highly recommend taking advantage of that extra time. Lines for rides generally get shorter as the night goes on and so those extra 3 hours offer great opportunities to get some attractions in before the After Hours clock officially begins to tick. We arrived about 20 minutes before 7pm and were greeted to a moderate crowd waiting to be allowed in.
As you can see from the number of winter hats and jackets in the above photo, it was cold this evening. Almost the entire country was in the grips of a polar vortex and central Florida was no exception. It was in the low 40’s this evening and with a gentle breeze that felt more like a slap in the face. With proper attire and our Northeastern constitution we found it completely manageable, and it probably helped crowds thin out even faster than usual.
We were allowed in right before 7pm. It took about 10 minutes to get through the line and get our wrist bands. It was an hour before Happily Ever After and Main Street was starting get a little congested. Not too bad though.
We slowly made our way down Main Street taking in the incredible ambiance of Main Street USA at night and headed towards Adventureland to ride Pirates. Pirates was posted as a 5 minute wait, which generally means a walk on and that’s exactly what it was. Not bad for 3 hours before official park closing.
After Pirates we headed over to the Columbia Harbor House for dinner. We mobile ordered the Chicken Platter and the Trio Platter. The Chicken Platter is the typical Disney chicken tenders while the Trio Platter offered a chicken tender, a fish “tender”, 4 shrimp and hush puppies. We very much enjoyed the spread of fried food. The chicken platter was definitely a better value, at only $10.99 it felt like a steal. The trio platter was $4 more and you’re really just paying for the variety. We were one of only 2 or 3 parties that took advantage o the upstairs dining room. We ate our bounty overlooking the Haunted Mansion queue. One of the best views in the park!Spea
Speaking of the Haunted Mansion, I noticed that the wait time was listed at 13 minutes. That’s Haunted Mansion code for a walk on. The fireworks were starting as we were finishing up our meal so that likely played a big role in the non-existent wait, but I have to imagine that most guests weren’t enthralled by the idea of waiting outside in 40 degree weather.
After almost becoming the 1000th happy haunt in the Haunted Mansion we made our way through fantasyland. Peter Pan was listed as a 30 minute wait, but the queue seemed shorter than I would have expected. Turns out that’s because I never waited in the stand by queue before and didn’t realize how much of it was actually indoors. That said, the true wait was only around 20 minutes. I was really impressed by the scenes in the queue and would recommend taking the time to experience it if you’ve never done it before.
We exited Peter Pan around 8:45pm and the crowds were dwindling even further. I wasn’t sure if attractions like Carousel of Progress or the People Mover would be open during After Hours (Carousel was not, People Mover was) and wanted to make sure to experience them. We headed to People Move first. Unsurprisingly, it was a walk on as well. The cold weather was probably the biggest deterrent here. Space Mountain was down and we got to see the ride with the lights on, so that was a cool unique view.
From there we went right over to Carousel of Progress and welcomed in the great, big, beautiful tomorrow!
Carousel of Progress was well attended this evening. Again, likely owing to the low temperatures as a heated, comfortable theater provided a welcome opportunity to warm up. By now it was 9:45pm and regular park guests were continuing to leave the park. As we walked around the park we made it a point to walk slowly and enjoy the incredible nighttime views coupled with very low crowds along the walkways.
This is one very unique feature of events like After Hours, you feel like you have the park all to yourself. Attraction wait times are low, but the walkways are almost eerily empty. It’s an incredible feeling to walk unimpeded around the Magic Kingdom and really take in the sights.
With just a few minutes before the official start of After Hours we hopped in line for Winnie the Pooh. The line was short and moved about as quickly as this slow loading ride can handle. As we exited the attraction, After Hours had just started. Since we were in Fantasyland already we decided to get in line for Seven Dwarves. This was not the optimal approach to minimizing wait times. There were likely still regular park guests working through the line, but even still we waited only around 20 minutes. This would prove to be the longest wait of the evening to give you an indication of what waits would be like going forward.
Next, we wrapped around to the back of Fantasyland to ride the Little Mermaid ride. I think I saw 2 other guests in this area of the park and literally none of the other visible ride vehicles were occupied. I guess most folks were still in Tomorrowland or doing more popular attractions.
By now it was about 10:45pm and there was one new attraction I was dying to experience. Not it wasn’t Tiana’s, in fact that wasn’t offered during After Hours. It was originally listed but Disney quietly removed it approaching the first event of the year. Honestly, we wouldn’t have ridden it even if we could. Getting soaked on a 35 degree real feel night seems bad. Still, bad form on Disney for listing it and then removing it without so much as a mention. Anyway, the attraction I really wanted to see was the new Country Bear Jamboree!
One thing to mention about After Hours at the Magic Kingdom is that you get a second fireworks show just for event guests. Disney offers a showing of the Enchantment show at 11pm. That means if you’re attending After Hours and take advantage of the 7pm entry time you can see both Happily Ever After AND Enchantment in one night. Pretty cool.
We had a few minutes before the Country Bears started so we watched the show from Frontierland. You don’t get the entire impact from this vantage point, but it’s unique and way more chill.
We headed into the theatre around the time Enchantment was wrapping up. Good timing here Disney!
Overall, I loved this iteration of the show. The animatronics were much more lifelike and made the show more immersive. The songs were Country Bear takes on some Disney favorites making it more accessible for the typical Disney fan. I missed the old songs, but have to admit this is a better show now. Well done, Disney!
At this point it was almost halfway through the After Hours period. Since Haunted Mansion is my favorite ride in all of Disney we did that for a second time. It was another walk on. We were on and off about as quickly as possible. Now it was time to head to Tomorrowland to ride Space Mountain (thankfully it was back up after being down for the first 3 or so hours we were in the park) and Tron.
Unsurprisingly, both of these attractions had a bit of a line. about 10-15 minutes for Space Mountain and about the same for Tron. The lockers always add a few minutes to the Tron queue and it otherwise moved pretty well otherwise. The outdoor portion of Tron nearly took my breath away from the combination of the cold air and speed of the coaster. I could see this scaring younger riders so just a word of warning if you’re there when it’s 40 degrees with a breeze!
At this point we had done all we wanted to do in the park. We hit up one of the refreshment stands to stock up on soft drinks for our room – they gave us each 2 bottles without any issue, be sure to take advantage and stock up! We slowly made our way out of the park again taking advantage of lack of people to really soak it all in.
We walked out of the park at almost exactly 1am.
So was the Magic Kingdom After Hours event worth it? To us, that is an emphatic YES! The cost is undeniable steep, coming in at around $400 for 2 tickets after taxes and fees. After the initial shock wears off and I ran the numbers that price really wasn’t any more than the cost of adding another day to our tickets and paying for Lightning Lane Multi Pass for two people – which is a must at Magic Kingdom. Factor in the free snacks and drinks and After Hours was actually cheaper than adding a 4th day to our ticket. This math gets worse for After Hours the longer you stay though as additional days get much cheaper after the 5th day or so. But for us, it was a push on price.
The real value of these events is the low crowds. Wait times were essentially non-existent for most attractions and that was even with 2 big time attractions not running – Big Thunder Mountain was down for refurbishment as well. Crowds would have been even better dispersed with either that or Tiana’s running. But the real benefit is the way the rest of the park feels when crowds are this low. Words and even pictures can’t do it justice. If you’ve never seen Main Street USA almost completely empty or walked down a side path of Magic Kingdom without encountering another soul, put it on your Disney bucket list. Just an indescribable feeling. We always make it a point to attend these events if they’re offered during our stay and I don’t see that changing any time soon.
