Disney After Hours Events may be my new favorite offering at Disney World. I recently had the opportunity to attend two Disney After Hours Events at Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom. I know what everyone really wants to know: is it worth it? Keep reading Disney After Hours Events to see if it will be worth it to your family!

Disney After Hours Events

Disney After Hours is a special, ticketed event offers you the chance to explore the Disney World parks after closing. This means low-crowds (and seriously, I mean LOW crowds), a chance to see parks like Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom after normal park hours, and as a bonus you get free snacks and drinks during the event. Free ice cream, popcorn, and drinks? Count me in!

What to Expect

With the low crowds you should be able to take your time and really take in the sights and theming around you. Normally during a park day I feel like I have to rush around but the After Hours event allowed me to seriously relax, take my time and get some great pictures while I was at it. I probably have some of the most amazing shots of the Tree of Life ever because I was able to make a full cycle around the park to take pictures up close, far away, and from all angles.

During these events only select attractions are open but some of the most popular rides in all of the Disney parks were included like Avatar Flight of Passage and Slinky Dog Dash. I will say that with the low crowds and super short wait times this opens up the opportunity for you to get to ride these rides multiple times in one night which isn’t always possible during a regular park day. As a side note, Animal Kingdom’s Avatar Flight of Passage is possibly the coolest ride I’ve ever ridden. Slinky Dog Dash is also by far my favorite roller coaster at Disney World’s Hollywood Studios. If you haven’t ridden them you should!! I’m not normally a person who will hang in tough for long wait times, so having the chance to ride these rides with little to no wait time at the After Hours event was perfect for me!

Dining Options

There are limited restaurant options that are open for the After Hours events with food available for purchase. There are also popcorn, ice cream bars (Mickey and fruit bars), and drinks included with your admission. Between the options available and the included snacks, you should be good to go to enjoy your night without going hungry!

What Attractions Are Open?

The main advantage to attending a Disney After Hours Event is having extra time in the parks once everyone has left, but I enjoyed having the opportunity to be in-park a few hours early so that I could still check out some of the things that weren’t going to be available during the After Hours event. Attractions like Kilimanjaro Safaris or Lightning McQueen’s Racing Academy were not available for the After Hours events, so it’s important to know that the list of attractions and rides were limited for both Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios.

What’s Open During Disney After Hours at Hollywood Studios

• Slinky Dog Dash
• Alien Swirling Saucers
• Toy Story Mania!
• Twilight Zone Tower of Terror
• Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith
• Star Tours – The Adventures Continue
• Star Wars Launch Bay
• Character Greetings (including Star Wars characters, Toy Story Land Pals, Mickey, Minnie, and Olaf)

What’s Open During Disney After Hours at Animal Kingdom

• It’s Tough to Be a Bug!
• Na’vi River Journey
• Avatar Flight of Passage
• Expedition Everest – Legend of the Forbidden Mountain
• TricerTop Spin
• DINOSAUR
• Meet Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse at Adventurers Outpost
• Pandora Drummers – Swotu Wayä
• Rivers of Light: We Are One
• Dinoland USA DJ Dance Party

So Is It Worth It Or NOT?

I think that depends on what you’re looking for out of an event like this. If you want a chance to ride some of the most popular rides in each park multiple times with very low wait times, then these experiences are for you. But if you’re looking for a more comprehensive park experience where you see everything and do everything a park normally has to offer, you’ll probably want to stick with a full-day park ticket to each park. I do like that buying an After Hours ticket means that you have access to the park starting at 7:00 pm the night of the event so a regular park ticket isn’t necessary and you can spend the beginning of the day in a different park using a regular park ticket if you want. However, since this is a special ticketed event you can’t Park Hop from one park to the event since it requires special admission.

Disney After Hours Events Pricing

Disney After Hours was an awesome opportunity for me to hit some of my favorite rides multiple times and to experience new rides too. For the cost of $129 plus tax per ticket, I found that both events were a great deal for me. (Annual Passholders and DVC Members can purchase specially priced tickets for just $95 per adult or child, plus tax!). If purchased in advance, you will save $5.00 off of each ticket.

There are still Disney After Hours dates available for the summer, so be sure and check them out if you can!

If you are heading to the parks, be sure to check out these last minute tips and tricks you may need to know before you go!

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