If you’re looking for low crowds, complimentary snacks, and an excuse to stay up until 1AM before your mandatory rope drop the next morning, all for an extra price…Disney After Hours might be for you! This ticketed Disney World option gives you the chance to fit lots of rides into little time, perfect for short trips in particular. Here’s everything you need to know about After Hours at Disney World!
What Is After Hours at Disney World?
Disney World After Hours is a series of ticketed events held on select nights at select parks throughout the year. After Hours tickets usually include:
Entry into the park during regular park hours at 7PM
3 hours of event-exclusive, low-crowd access to the park after it closes to day guests
Select complimentary ice cream bars, popcorn, and bottled beverages
The exact hours of After Hours vary, but are typically somewhere in the area of 9PM - 12AM or 10PM - 1AM. Since After Hours guests can enter the park at 7PM, this means they get somewhere between 5 and 6 hours in the park, 3 of which will have the low crowds of only ticketed guests.
Which parks have After Hours?
In 2025, three parks have After Hours—Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, and Hollywood Studios. Animal Kingdom has previously hosted After Hours, but it hasn’t done so in years. We expect After Hours will return around 2027 with the opening of the new Tropical Americas land.
There is another After Hours event—Disney H2O Glow After Hours at Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon water park—that we won’t discuss in this post. It’s worth considering if the water parks interest you, but we won’t cover it in this post.
Is After Hours the same as Extended Evening Hours or Other Events?
After Hours is not the same as Extended Evening Hours. While both are extra nighttime hours in select parks on select nights, Extended Evening Hours is a perk available to all guests of Disney’s deluxe resorts and After Hours is a paid, ticketed event available for anyone to purchase. (Extended Evening Hours is also typically two hours and does not include complimentary snacks and beverages.)
That said, the offerings are similar, and you wouldn’t need to do both at the same park during your visit.
Relatedly, After Hours is also distinct from Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party, Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party, and Jollywood Nights. Those are Halloween and Christmas-themed events that are (1) more crowded than After Hours and (2) more focused on unique entertainment and character greetings than on rides.
How Much Does After Hours Cost?
After Hours tickets range from about $155+tax to $185+tax. Discounts may be available for DVC members and annual passholders.
Notably, After Hours tickets will usually cost you more than adding a day to your park tickets. So, let’s pretend you’re flying in on Monday at 10AM. You’re already set on going to the parks Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, but unsure how to spend Monday. And there’s an After Hours event Monday evening. You have to choose between:
Spending slightly less money to add a day to your ticket and be in the parks as soon as you arrive until park close OR
Spending slightly more money to do an After Hours event after you’ve settled in
How long are waits at After Hours?
Waits vary, but in general you should expect the most popular rides in the park to have waits of around 30 minutes with other rides only having waits of 5 to 10 minutes. The best thing to do to prepare is to visit Thrill Data and check wait time data for recent After Hours events.
2025 Disney World After Hours Calendar
Here’s a look at the dates for After Hours in 2025. In total, there are 53 events between January 6 and September 25 (this ignores the H2O Glow Nights at Typhoon Lagoon).
Note: 2026 After Hours dates have not yet been announced. 2025 dates were announced August 27, 2024.
Magic Kingdom After Hours Dates (Jan 6 to May 19)
There are 17 Magic Kingdom After Hours events between January 6, 2025 and May 19, 2025. Prices start at $175+tax. Here are the dates:
January 6, 13, 20, 27
February 3, 10, 17, 24
March 3, 17, 24, 31
April 7, 28
May 5, 12, 19
August through October, Magic Kingdom hosts Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party, followed by Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party in November and December. These events are very focused on entertainment and atmosphere and not as good for getting on rides as After Hours.
Hollywood Studios After Hours Dates (Jan 22 to Sep 3)
There are 22 Hollywood Studios After Hours events between January 22, 2025 and September 3, 2025. Prices start at $155+tax. Here are the dates:
January 22, 29
February 12, 19
March 5, 26
April 1, 30
May 14, 28
June 4, 11, 25
July 2, 9, 16, 23, 30
August 6, 20, 27
September 3
In November and December, Hollywood Studios hosts Jollywood Nights. This event is very focused on entertainment and atmosphere and not as good for getting on rides as After Hours.
EPCOT After Hours Dates (Feb 27 to Sep 25)
There are 14 EPCOT After Hours events between February 27, 2025 and September 25, 2025. Prices start at $155+tax. Here are the dates:
February 27
May 8, 29
June 19, 26
July 10, 24, 31
August 7, 14, 21, 28
September 11, 25
A Quick Look Analysis of the After Hours Events
Finally, we’ll do a quick analysis of After Hours each of the four parks. It should be noted that in general I don’t consider After Hours to be a good “splurge.” Rather, After Hours usually makes sense only if you have to take a short trip and want to get the most out of it. Essentially, you’re trying to cut a day out of your trip and replace it with an After Hours event.
If you can spend four full days—one in each park, from open to close—in the parks, then I think you’ll find little need for After Hours. And keep in mind you could add Lightning Lane Multi Pass all four days for less than the cost of an After Hours ticket.
With that in mind, let’s go through it park by park…
After Hours at Magic Kingdom Is the Best Value
Because of Magic Kingdom’s extensive ride lineup, After Hours here offers the best value even if prices are a little bit higher than the other events. I think a full day at Magic Kingdom is just about a perfect theme park experience, but there are a few key scenarios in which After Hours here makes a lot of sense:
You want a more relaxing full or half day in the park with key rides saved for After Hours
Your family is older and mostly interested in a few key thrill rides rather than dedicating a full day to the park
You’re really into characters and want to spend the day meeting them, saving rides for After Hours
You might think these three scenarios could apply just as well to the other parks, but they won’t. Those parks are small enough that a full day in them is going to get you close to doing everything, and thus leaving After Hours as a bit unnecessary.
After Hours at Hollywood Studios Is All About Efficiency
Unlike After Hours at Magic Kingdom, After Hours at Hollywood Studios can essentially replace a full day in the park. You might not visit everything, but with good planning you’ll be able to hit the highlights and a majority of the rides.
You’ll miss out on shows that typically operate only during the day, and you’ll have a lot of fun jam-packed into a short amount of time, but if you can’t fit the park into your regular schedule, After Hours at Hollywood Studios can make sense.
After Hours at EPCOT Oversimplifies the Park
The big problem with After Hours at EPCOT is that you’re missing out on the bulk of the World Showcase—EPCOT’s famed journey through 11 uniquely themed country pavilions. Give the park a full day and you’ll have a nice balance of rides, entertainment, and food & drink.
After Hours will help you with some key rides—Test Track and Cosmic Rewind being the top two—but the 9PM to 11PM slot might not be best for the demographic with its heart set on Frozen Ever After and Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure.
After Hours at Animal Kingdom Rarely Makes Sense
After Hours hasn’t been offered at Animal Kingdom for some time, and it’s easy to understand why. The park is easy to fit into a day and not really tough to fit into half a day. With its ride count only going down until 2027, After Hours here probably won’t be an option for some years.
All Your Other Disney World Planning Questions Answered
Don't be overwhelmed by Disney World planning! Take a second to check out our most important content and you'll not only be an expert, but you'll save big $$$ along the way.
Just starting out? Check out our Walt Disney World planning guide! If you're still picking dates, we've got everything you need to know about Disney World crowd calendars. For picking your hotel, check out our Walt Disney World hotels guide.
When it comes time to book we’ll help you find discount Disney World tickets. Decide whether you need a dining plan in our Complete Guide to Disney World Dining Plans! And don't forget to book those Disney World Advance Dining Reservations!
Don't forget to master your Disney World Lightning Lane Guide and Strategy a few months in advance. We'll keep you out of long lines so you can maximize the magical time in the parks! We've got park-specific guides as well: Magic Kingdom Lightning Lane Strategy, Epcot Lightning Lane Strategy, Animal Kingdom Lightning Lane Strategy, and Hollywood Studios Lightning Lane Strategy.
Know what to ride with our guides to: Magic Kingdom rides, Hollywood Studios rides, Epcot rides, and Animal Kingdom rides! Plus learn about the water parks with our guide to Blizzard Beach and our guide to Typhoon Lagoon! And for some some fun prep, check out our Ranking of Every Ride at Walt Disney World.
Finally, before you head out, be sure to check out our to-the-point packing list, 10 essentials you forget to pack for every Disney trip. And if you're interested in saving, there's no better list than our 53 Ways to Save on your Disney trip from start to finish.