food IS a theme park
Calling all Disney World night owls!
Cinderella Castle at night
If you do your best theme parking late at night, there are plenty of ways to accomplish your goals long after dark. From holiday parties to Extended Evening Hours, we’ve spent plenty of late nights in the parks. And if that’s your plan, you’ll be happy to know that a popular event is returning for 2025!
Disney World brought its After Hours events back to the parks for 2024.
Tower of Terror
These events are taking place in three of the four parks — Magic Kingdom, Hollywood Studios, and EPCOT. At the After Hours events you can have extra time to ride all the rides without the extra crowds and wait times. They also offer complimentary treats like Mickey ice cream bars, popcorn, and soda. Up until recently, the events this year haven’t been overly popular (which helps keep the wait times down), but now we noticed that a couple of nights have sold out a one of the parks!
We’ve got some exciting news from Disney World!
It’s time!
After Hours events are officially back for 2024 and Disney is kicking them off over at Hollywood Studios! These special events require a separate ticket and allow you to spend a few hours in the parks after closing time. There are many perks to doing an After Hours event (including super short wait times), but now we’re taking you through everything that’s included in the ticket price!
It’s already time to talk about — *rubs eyes* — 2024?!?!
EPCOT
We have a couple of questions. How did we get here? And why does time move so strangely now? In all seriousness, Disney World saw so many changes in 2023 with the new Jollywood Nights event, a huge leap in the EPCOT transformation construction, and TRON Lightcycle /Run opening (yes, that was this year people!). Now we need to start looking ahead into the exciting things happening at the parks in 2024, so here are some major changes coming to Disney World in January!
A full day in Disney World is SO intense that we think “theme parking” should qualify as an Olympic sport.
Crowds in Magic Kingdom
Okay, maybe it’s not quite that bad, but still. You can train for months, walking laps around your neighborhood and hitting the gym, and STILL not be prepared for the heat that the Disney World parks bring…literally. You’re hitting 20,000 steps most days, sweating in the sometimes 100-degree heat, and partying from dusk till midnight — it’s a sport not made for the faint of heart. But if you’re a hardcore Disney parkgoer, then we’ve got a challenge for you: 18 hours straight in Disney World parks!
If you want to experience Disney World in a unique way, get ready to buy some special tickets!
EPCOT
After Hours events give guests the ability to spend time in certain parks AFTER they’ve officially closed for the day. Guests can get on some popular rides with significantly shorter waits, enjoy certain complimentary snacks, and more. Note that these are separately ticketed events and are NOT the same as the Extended Evening Hours hotel perk available to some Disney World hotel guests. Disney recently announced some exciting After Hours news and now we’ve got an update!
Attending a Disney After Hours event is one way to add some extra magic to your Disney trip!
Hollywood Studios during After Hours
This special, separately ticketed event allows guests to enjoy the park for three hours AFTER the regular park guests have gone home for the day. The ticket includes access to select rides with lower waits, complimentary snacks, and more. We’ve got an entire page dedicated to just what you’ll experience at the Hollywood Studios After Hours events, a look at how EMPTY the park is during these events, and more details. But now we’ve got even more news!
The time has FINALLY come — After Hours events are BACK in Disney World!
After Hours Event
When Disney World reopened after the park closures, not all entertainment offerings came back at once. Disney announced that After Hours Events would be returning to the parks in January 2023, and that day is officially here! It has all kicked off at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, so come with us as we see what crowds and wait times are like at the very FIRST returning After Hours Event!
After Hours Events are officially back in Disney World, and they’ve kicked off with After Hours at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. These are ticketed events that allow guests to have a few extra hours in the parks.
After Hours Check-In
We’ve been keeping a close eye on all the dates that sell out for these events, and have reported on what Disney has said will be available at these events. Now it’s time to see for ourselves what you can experience after hours!
As Disney World continues its phased reopening after the COVID-19 pandemic closures, we’ve seen more and more offerings return. EPCOT behind-the-scenes tours are returning, characters are coming back to ‘Ohana and Crystal Palace, and Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique is open once again in Magic Kingdom. So what’s left?
Cinderella Castle at night
We’re still missing a few special events in Disney World, but it’s finally been announced that After Hours events are going to return to the parks soon! Find out when they’ll return and how much they’ll cost here. [Read more…]
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