Guest Review: Disney After Hours Magic Kingdom

Do you ever wonder what it would be like to visit a Disney park without the crowds? How about being able to go on most rides with little to no wait? Even better, how about complimentary ice cream novelties, bottled soda and water, and popcorn? Seems like a dream right? Well, Disney is the place where dreams come true! And thanks to Disney After Hours, you can make it happen!


Cinderella Castle


Disney after hours is a special ticketed event offered at Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios on select nights. Recently, we had the chance to attend the Magic Kingdom event. Spoiler alert: it was awesome!


Main Street USA


The event we attended ran from 10pm until 1am but we were allowed to enter the park at 7pm. We arrived just before 10, and since the park closed at that time, it was still fairly crowded, especially on Main Street USA. We headed to the Tomorrowland Transit Authority ( aka People Mover). We walked right on and watched the crowds heading for the exit from Tomorrowland. When we got off the ride, the park was noticeably less crowded so we walked over to Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger spin. We walked right on, no wait! Space Mountain had a posted wait time of 20 minutes but in reality, it was 5 minutes and that was only because it takes that long to walk through the queue. There was a short wait at the Tomorrowland Speedway, but luckily the line moved faster than the cars.

From Tomorrowland we headed for Fantasyland , stopping in Storybook Circus for a quick ride on Dumbo. This area of the park was a ghost town. It was so quiet and peaceful. There was no line at Voyage of the Little Mermaid, Winnie the Pooh, Prince Charming Carousel, and only a 15 minute wait at Seven Dwarves Mine Train which is almost unheard of these days. We did not go on the other rides in Fantasyland, but they looked to have no lines either.


Fantasyland After Dark
Check Out The Low Crowds


Next up was Frontierland where the trend continued and there were no lines at Big thunder Mountain or Splash Mountain. In fact, many of the Splash Mountain boats were empty. Adventureland was almost empty which meant the ride queues were too.

While we did not ride everything, it is very possible to do so. We took our time, walking around and enjoying the emptiness of the park. We also made sure to enjoy our fair share of complimentary goodies. The event we attended offered popcorn, bottled soda, bottled water and ice cream novelties such as Premium Mickey bars, Premium Mickey ice cream sandwiches, frozen bananas and no sugar added strawberry bars.


All You Can Eat Mickey Bars
Popcorn and Frozen Bananas


Overall, we really enjoyed this event. It was a nice change from the usual crowded, chaotic days at Magic Kingdom. And since we went in May when the weather was hot, it was nice to have the cool evening and no blazing sun.

After Hours tickets are $125 per adult or child in advance, $129 day of event or if you are an Annual Passholder or Disney Vacation Club member, $95.

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Thanks so much to Guest Author Erica C., also known as Spook in our member forums. Erica lives in Ontario, Canada, loves everything Disney, and visits Walt Disney World every year. She and Husband Erik became Disney Vacation Club members in 2014!