Disney World hotels come with several perks, like free transportation between the hotels, parks, and Disney Springs and access to Early Entry so that you can enter any theme park 30 minutes before its official opening time. But there’s one perk that’s reserved ONLY for guests at Disney World’s Deluxe hotels.
Disney World’s Deluxe hotels are the fanciest and most expensive hotels on property. It costs a pretty penny to stay there, but is it WORTH IT to get access to this perk?
The perk that we’re talking about is Extended Evening Hours, and ONLY people staying at Deluxe hotels can access them.
We’ll explain more about what Extended Evening Hours are, see how much more Deluxe hotels really cost compared to other hotels on property, and help you decide whether or not the perk is worth the extra cost. Plus, if you don’t want to stay at a pricey hotel but still want after-hours access to the theme parks, there’s a possible alternative that you might not have considered! Let’s dive in!
What Are Extended Evening Hours?
Guests staying at any Walt Disney World Resort hotel get access to an added perk: EXTRA time in the theme parks, including Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, Disney’s Hollywood Studios, and Disney’s Animal Kingdom. All Resort hotel guests have access to Early Theme Park Entry, but only guests staying at Deluxe Resort hotels may also enjoy Extended Evening Hours at select parks on select nights.
With this perk, Deluxe hotel guests can stay inside certain theme parks for a few hours after the park has closed to other guests!
Some rides, restaurants, and gift shops stay open during Extended Evening Hours, which means you can get access to some of the most popular attractions with little to no wait. (Note that not ALL attractions and restaurants remain open: Click here to find out which rides are open during Extended Evening Hours.)
Although Early Entry applies to every park every day, Extended Evening Hours only take place at select parks on certain days.
For example, on January 3rd, 2024, Extended Evening Hours take place at Magic Kingdom from 9PM to 11PM. Not all parks have Extended Evening Hours every month. Here’s a look at the schedule for December 2023 (as announced so far):
- Monday, December 4th — Animal Kingdom, 7PM – 9PM
- Thursday, December 7th — EPCOT, 9:30PM – 11:30PM
- Monday, December 11th — EPCOT, 9:30PM – 11:30PM
- Thursday, December 14th — EPCOT, 9:30PM – 11:30PM
- Monday, December 18th — EPCOT, 9:30PM – 11:30PM
- Thursday, December 21st — EPCOT, 9:30PM – 11:30PM
- Monday, December 25th — EPCOT, 9:30PM – 11:30PM
- Thursday, December 28th — Animal Kingdom, 7PM – 9PM
Click here to see all the DATES and PARKS for Extended Evening Hours.
Disney has announced that Extended Evening Hours will continue through 2024 at least. That means that during your upcoming vacation in 2023 or 2024, you will be able to take advantage of this benefit as long as you’re staying in one of the qualifying hotels.
Check out our review of Extended Evening Hours here.
Qualifying Hotels
Extended Evening Hours are available to guests staying at a Deluxe or Deluxe Villa Walt Disney World Resort hotel for the length of their stay.
The Extended Evening Hours benefit is available for guests at the following hotels:
- Disney’s Contemporary Resort
- Bay Lake Tower at Disney’s Contemporary Resort
- Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort
- Disney’s Polynesian Villas & Bungalows
- Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa
- The Villas at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa
- Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge
- Disney’s Animal Kingdom Villas – Kidani Village
- Disney’s Animal Kingdom Villas – Jambo House
- Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa
- Disney’s Wilderness Lodge
- Boulder Ridge Villas at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge
- Copper Creek Villas & Cabins Disney’s Wilderness Lodge
- Disney’s Beach Club Resort
- Disney’s Beach Club Villas
- Disney’s Yacht Club Resort
- Disney’s BoardWalk Inn
- Disney’s BoardWalk Villas
- Disney’s Old Key West Resort
- Disney’s Riviera Resort
- Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin
- Walt Disney World Swan Reserve
- Shades of Green Resort
Guests will need a valid ticket or pass AND a Park Pass Reservation for the park that is offering Extended Evening Hours that day (or a ticket or Annual Pass with the Park Hopper option, provided the park with the Park Pass reservation was already entered earlier that day). Guests will also need a Resort ID (such as a MagicBand or Key to the World card).
Of course, after January 9th, guests with date-based tickets will not need a Park Pass Reservation, as Park Passes are going away for certain ticket types on that day.
How Much More Do Deluxe Hotels Cost in Disney World?
Extended Evening Hours is a pretty awesome perk, but is it really worth paying extra for a Deluxe hotel in order to access it? To find out, we need to know exactly HOW much more Deluxe hotels cost compared to Moderate and Value hotels in Disney World.
We looked at a few different Value, Moderate, and Deluxe hotels to compare the prices per night. We looked at traditionally busy times (like December 2023) and times that are expected to be less busy (like April 2024) to get a better view of the whole picture.
The dates we chose were weekends across the board (so that the prices are really comparable), so you can expect weekdays to be possibly a little bit cheaper than the numbers we pulled.
Here’s what we found when we pulled per-night hotel rates (numbers pulled on November 1st, 2023):
According to these numbers, Deluxe hotels are definitely significantly more expensive than Value hotels. Looking at the December column, Grand Floridian is about $800 more expensive than Pop Century PER NIGHT. OOF!
Comparing Deluxe to Moderate is still a pretty big gap: Wilderness Lodge is almost double the price of Disney’s Caribbean Beach.
Looking at April, the price difference is significant. Grand Floridian is about $600 more than Pop Century per night, but Wilderness Lodge is just $341 more — still, that’s more than double the cost to stay at Pop Century.
In July, Grand Floridian is $512 more per night than Pop Century, and Wilderness is also double the price.
However, there’s one BIG anomaly when it comes to Deluxe prices: the Walt Disney World Swan Hotel! You can often find MUCH cheaper prices at the Swan and Dolphin compared to other Deluxe Disney hotels, and guests at the Swan and Dolphin still qualify for Extended Evening Hours! (Note that we looked at the cheapest possible rooms at Swan and Dolphin — there are more expensive rooms available, too.)
Is It WORTH IT?
Deluxe hotels are significantly more expensive than Value hotels — between $250 and $800 more PER NIGHT, depending on which hotels you’re comparing (based on our research). But is that cost difference worth it? Let’s break down the benefits and problems.
The Benefits
The obvious benefit of Extended Evening Hours is that you get extra time in the parks. Hooray! Getting two extra hours could be the difference between getting on your favorite roller coaster or not.
The extra time is made even more valuable by the reduced crowds during this event. Ride wait times typically go WAY down, so you’re likely to get on more of those super popular attractions with a significantly lower wait time.
In addition, we just love being in the theme parks at night when fewer people are around. The vibes are great, and it feels exclusive (because it is).
The Problems
However, there are some big problems with Extended Evening Hours, too. The biggest one is obviously the cost difference between Deluxe hotels and the rest of the hotels in Disney World.
In addition, Extended Evening Hours aren’t held every night. There are limited dates, and your favorite park might not even have any Extended Evening Hours events during your vacation. You kind of have to plan your vacation dates around the events in order to make the most of them.
Not everything is open in the parks during these exclusive events. Although most of the biggest rides are open (but check this list of what’s open so you know if your favorites will be available!), not every attraction will be available. And we’ve found in the past that there weren’t tons of restaurant options open during the extra hours.
So even though you’ll likely get to ride some big rides and grab a few snacks, it’s not like the parks are exactly like they are during the day.
Overall
In general, whether paying for a Deluxe hotel to get Extended Evening Hours is worth the cost for you and your group is going to depend on your priorities! If you’re open to splurging a little (maybe for a special occasion), it can be a fun extra perk.
However, those Deluxe hotel prices are no joke. If you don’t want to pay those prices, we have a pretty solid alternative option that gets you basically the same thing at what is probably a significantly cheaper price.
The Alternative: After Hours Events
The alternative is to purchase tickets for a Disney World After Hours event! Anyone can buy these tickets, and the after hours events are very similar to Extended Evening Hours, where you’ll get to stay later and enjoy lower wait times at popular attractions.
The capacity for these special events is limited so guests have easy access to those popular coasters and rides. And guess what? Ice cream, popcorn, and drinks are included!
Note that, like Extended Evening Hours, After Hours events are only offered on certain days. Right now, these events aren’t available at Disney’s Animal Kingdom, but they are at Magic Kingdom, Hollywood Studios, and EPCOT.
Click here to check out the After Hours events schedule for 2024!
Prices for After Hours events are between $155 and $175 for Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios, between $149 and $159 for EPCOT, and (when offered) $129 for Animal Kingdom.
Note that each person needs their own ticket, so you need to multiply that by however many people are in your group. That reduces the price gap between Deluxe hotels and this option a little bit if you have a big group, because you only have to pay for one Deluxe hotel room to get everyone staying in that room inside Extended Evening Hours.
Still, if you have a group of four people who want to stay later in Magic Kingdom in December 2023, it’d cost $800 more (PER NIGHT) to stay at Grand Floridian vs. Pop Century and only up to $700 more (total) to pay for a Magic Kingdom After Hours event.
Make sure to price out the difference so that you know which event will really be cheaper for your group, but in general it looks like After Hours (and staying at a Value hotel) would be the cheaper option.
Learn all about Disney’s After Hours events here:
- Magic Kingdom After Hours Events
- Disney’s Hollywood Studios After Hours Events
- EPCOT After Hours Events
- Disney’s Animal Kingdom After Hours Events
Stay tuned to DFB for more updates and tips as you plan your upcoming Disney World vacation!
Click here to learn more about Extra Theme Park Hours Benefits for Disney World hotel guests.
Want More Details About Disney World’s Hotels?
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The “I’m So Tired; Just Tell Me What To Do” Guide To Choosing the Perfect Disney World Hotel
13 Critical Things You’re FORGETTING About When Booking a Disney World Hotel
8 Gadgets You Need for Your Disney World Hotel Room
The Surprising Things You Won’t Find in Your Disney World Hotel Room
The Secret Way to Stay in Disney World’s Hotels for LESS!
What's New at the Disney World Hotels
All About Disney World's Resort Hotel Refillable Mugs
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Do you prefer to stay at a Deluxe or Value resort in Disney World? Let us know in the comments.
Christina says
Don’t forget that After Hours events let a LOT more people in too, and the crowds mean it’s not necessarily worthwhile.