If you’re just a daytime guest, you may not realize that Disney World and Disneyland Resort host all kinds of nighttime special events!

Throughout the year, you can attend holiday parties on both coasts for the Halloween and Christmas seasons, as well as special events like Star Wars Nights in Disneyland or H2O Glow Nights in Disney World. This week, we got the chance to visit Disney California Adventure’s Grad Nite event, and if you’re planning on stopping by soon, we’re breaking down all the excitement we got to experience!

Arriving for the Event

This year, Disneyland After Dark: Grad Nite Reunion takes place on select nights throughout the spring and summer. Tickets are already available and start at $150 per person. It begins at 8PM each night, but guests can start entering the park at 5PM.

Once you arrive, follow the signs to the check-in area. There was a small queue, but when we walked up there wasn’t a wait at all. You’ll want to check in early if you can — don’t want to waste any valuable party time waiting in line!

Cast Members assisted us with getting checked in for the event, then made sure we were ready to go with a lanyard and a park map. They also give you a wristband so that Cast Members know which guests have paid for the event ticket and which ones haven’t. 

The map has a listing of all the special offerings for the evening. You’ll find entertainment, character meets, food, and more here, so make sure to check it out before you start the night!

The map also shows photo spots, so make sure to stop and snap some pics throughout the night. We love this fun yearbook theme they’ve got going on!

When checking in, we also noticed this sign for day guests, notifying them that tickets for the evening’s event may still be available. If you haven’t purchased them by the day of your visit, look out for this QR code and scan to check.

Once we got checked in, we were ready to go have some fun!

Entertainment

Let’s start out with the entertainment options you can expect at Grad Nite. The Pep Rally was one of the main hits of the night, with “Mickey’s glee club and Goofy’s dance team amped up with music by the All-American College Band.”

There were some pretty unique characters that we got to see during this little parade, including friends from A Goofy Movie!

And is that Roz from Monsters, Inc. that we see? Lookin’ good Roz!

All around the park, there were different musical decade parties you could check out. We got 60s tunes in Cars Land, retro karaoke in Pacific Wharf, and a dance party in Hollywood Land. If you like listening to bands, we also got to hear a few songs from the Suburban Legends!

They had multiple performances throughout the night scheduled starting at 8:30PM.

Characters & Photo Ops

If you are hoping to meet some characters and snap some pics, then this is the event for you! Mickey and Minnie meet guests in their graduation best, and you can say hello to both of them at the same time.

But they weren’t the only ones decked out in their graduation regalia! We also saw Donald Duck…

…and Chip at different points in the night! Each character met in front of a large Mickey-shaped photo op.

We spotted Sulley out and about in his letterman jacket, meeting guests in front of a Monsters University-themed backdrop. We saw a lot of MU school spirit during the event!

And if you’re interested in rare characters, Professor Ludwig Von Drake was attending the party as well. He’s not one who we see out very often!

Even when the characters weren’t out, there were plenty of spots to snap some photos. We saw this school bus photo op…

…this yearbook-themed backdrop…

…and even a diploma photo prop to help you remember the occasion!

There was no shortage of Insta-worthy moments at Grad Nite, and we’re not complaining one bit!

Food & Snacks

As with any event that Disney hosts, you know that there has to be special food involved! We tried a few different items from the night’s menu, including the Cheeseburger Mac Burger from Smokejumpers Grill. It’s $8.99 and COVERED in cheese. (YES!!!)

Next up was the Cherry CONE-vertable made with vanilla soft serve in a cinnamon bread cone and topped with warm cherries. It was available for $7.99 at Cozy Cone Motel. And yes, it was absolutely delicious!

Disney didn’t forget about Avengers Campus either — we snagged two treats from that area. First was the Stupendous Sriracha & Bacon Pizza Slice from PYM Test Kitchen. It’s $14.99 and was definitely pretty unique!

Nearby at Terran Treats, we snagged the Unicorn Raspberry Cheesecake Ration. It’s colorful and topped with cheesecake-flavored icing, but it definitely fell short of our expectations. You can try it out yourself for $7.25.

Those weren’t even all the food items available, so you could definitely make a night of just snacking around the party if you wanted to!

Click Here to Read Our Review of the Cheese-Covered Burger!

All in all, we had a great time at Grad Nite! There’s a lot to do at this event, so you could definitely fill up your evening with characters, entertainment, snacks, and even rides if you wanted to. If you’re interested in grabbing tickets for the next Grad Nite, you can check online to see if there’s still availability.

Stay tuned to DFB for more coverage of big after-hours events at Disneyland Resort. Coming up in a few months, we’ll be covering all the excitement when Oogie Boogie Bash returns to Disney California Adventure!

Click Here to Get All the Oogie Boogie Bash Details!

Have you ever been to a nighttime event at Disneyland Resort? Tell us in the comments!