By A long time ago, Disney introduced a way for loyal fans to experience the parks in an entirely different way.
With the debut of after-hours parties, Disney allowed guests to stay at the parks at a time when they’re technically closed to guests.
Since almost everyone else has gone home, the people who do stay basically have the run of the place.
You can ride almost all the rides quickly since fewer people are standing in line ahead of you.
Disney also hosts parades and other nighttime presentations at some of these events as well.
So, you’ll feel like you’re visiting the same Disney theme park, only you’re not fighting the crowds.
Obviously, these options are quite magical…at a cost. Four of the six options we’re about to discuss require a special admission ticket to attend.
Generally speaking, you should expect to pay $120-$230 for these events. However, a couple of them are free as long as you’re a qualifying guest.
Let’s quickly discuss the various forms of Disney After Hours events.
Disney After Hours
This particular event is actually one of the newer ones on this list, having debuted in 2016.
We would describe Disney After Hours as the most basic version of the after-hours ticketed event concept.
Guests pay $155 to $185 per person to enjoy three hours at the park when it’s otherwise closed to guests.
Disney has never confirmed its attendance thresholds for these events, but it’s presumed to be 5,000 people or less.
On an average day, Magic Kingdom hosts nearly 50,000 people, suggesting that the parks are 90 percent empty during these events.
You can experience so many attractions during this event, although Disney After Hours only lasts for three hours.
That’s a bit less than some of the other options we’ll discuss, making this event a bit less valuable than some of the others.
More recently, Disney added a second theme park as an option. So, you can attend Disney After Hours at Hollywood Studios, too.
This option may provide better value since so many of the attractions require extensive waits throughout the day.
You could ostensibly do as much in three hours during the event than you could during a full day at the park.
Also, you should know that Disney will allow you to enter the park up to 150 minutes early when you own a ticket for Disney After Hours.
Realistically, you’ll probably have standard admission tickets anyway, but that’s something to keep in mind.
Finally, at Disney After Hours and most of the other events on this list, you get some snacks and drinks included with your admission ticket.
During Disney After Hours, you can get “free” popcorn, snacks, and beverages. We put the “free” in quotes since you’re still paying for the party ticket. So, it’s really more of a package deal.
Disney Jollywood Nights
Here’s the newest event on this list, having started in 2023. And it’s a Christmas holiday event.
At Disney Jollywood Nights, you can spend five hours at Hollywood Studios after the park closes to regular guests.
We’d describe this particular party as the most adult thing on the list of various after-hours events. It skews decidedly adult.
Disney even operates an exclusive lounge solely during Jollywood Nights. So, it’s the only time you can visit the Tip-Top Club, the place made famous by the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror.
Speaking of which, most Hollywood Studios attractions operate during this event, and Disney hosts some unique shows, too.
You can watch an ice skating performance akin to Disney on Ice at Glisten!, or you can attend What’s This? Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas Sing-Along.
Another popular event-exclusive show is Disney Holidays in Hollywood, which stars The Muppets. Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy host this charming show.
You’ll also discover thematic live music throughout the park, especially jazz and holiday tunes.
Disney also populates Hollywood Studios with all sorts of party-only character greetings. So, it’s now or never for several of them, with many in holiday outfits to boot!
Jollywood Nights started a bit wobbly in 2023, but by the end of that year, it had evolved into a great event. Then, Disney perfected it in 2024 and 2025.
We’re big fans with the caveat that this one’s for the grown-ups. If you’re traveling with small children, choose the other Christmas holiday party we’ll discuss in a moment.
Extended Evening Hours
Here’s one of the two unique after-hours events at Walt Disney World, as they’re both free. There’s a catch with each one, though.
During Extended Evening Hours, you’ll enjoy two hours of exclusive park access. This one’s a bit different, though.
The only people who can attend Extended Evening Hours are the ones staying at Deluxe Tier Disney resorts.
We’ll discuss them in a different section of the book, but Deluxe Tier hotels cost the most. So, this particular party is arguably the most limited of all in terms of crowds.
That means you can do the most during Extended Evening Hours, with Disney typically hosting this amenity on Mondays and Wednesdays.
You’ll find an Extended Evening Hours event at all four Disney World parks. However, Magic Kingdom hosts them most often when it’s not throwing the holiday parties.
EPCOT and Hollywood Studios are next-most likely to host Extended Evening Hours, with Animal Kingdom’s odds increasing toward the end of the year.
We’ve attended this one several times, and we can say from experience that it works differently than the others.
Extended Evening Hours prioritizes the attractions over everything else. So, you won’t find exclusive character greetings or shows.
At its core, this event extends your park visit by two hours at a time when virtually nobody else is there.
Anecdotally, when Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind was at its hottest, we rode it back-to-back three times during Extended Evening Hours.
That’s a blueprint example of how empty the parks are during these events.
Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party
Here’s our favorite. Like, it’s not even close. We’ve done most of the others, yet we can say in all sincerity that Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party is the one we prioritize.
Seriously, we typically spend Halloween at Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party (MNSSHP).
We did that six times in ten years, and that was with a global pandemic falling in the middle of it.
We are dedicated to Disney’s Halloween party because it’s the most adorable thing.
Disney hands out treat bags when you enter the park. And if you lose yours, don’t worry! You’ll find countless more throughout Magic Kingdom, the host park for the party.
Throughout your five-hour visit, you’ll bump into treat stations, places where Cast Members fill your bag with candy.
Yes, no matter how old you are, you can still trick-or-treat at Magic Kingdom! It’s bliss.
Cast Members act like that house in your old neighborhood that gave out full candy bars, too. You remember them, right?
Well, the workers at the treat stations take it upon themselves to fill your bag as much as possible. That’s why everyone’s smiling at MNSSHP.
Well, okay, it’s part of the reason. This is Disney’s most expensive event, with tickets costing as much as $229 per person plus tax.
So, Disney loads up the party with an overwhelming number of entertainment options.
In 2025, you could hang out with Hitchhiking Ghosts, Haunted Mansion Grave Diggers, Constance Hatchaway, Mother Gothel, the Country Bears, and many more.
Personally, we’ve waited two full hours in line for a character greeting with Elvis Stitch, aka Rock ‘n’ Roll Stitch, Kim’s favorite photo op ever. It’s only available during this event.
Speaking of party exclusives, have you heard about the Dapper Dans? Yeah, tragedy befalls them every Halloween.
They get bitten by zombies every August and transform into the Cadaver Dans. They’re disgusting versions of the band who tend to sing spookier songs.
Miraculously, they recover by November each year and return to their default barbershop quartet state.
So, your only opportunity to watch them occurs during the Halloween party. Oh, and we haven’t mentioned the best part yet.
Mickey’s Boo-to-You Halloween Parade might be our favorite thing all year at Disney.
Good and evil Disney characters make their way around the park as they sing Boo to You all the while. It’s a show-stopper and singlehandedly justifies the cost of a party ticket.
We could gush about Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party for hours. Let’s just say that it’s an absolute must-do during a fall Disney World visit.
The parties typically start in mid-August and last until Halloween, sometimes even early November, depending on the calendar configuration.
You’ll have plenty of opportunities to visit, as Disney hosts more than 35 events annually.
However, we will warn you that tickets sell out shockingly fast. Sales of Halloween Night tickets rarely last a week before they’re entirely booked.
So, if tickets go on sale in June, you should buy in June! Otherwise, you run the risk of facing a sellout.
Finally, you should know that Disney not only allows but encourages guests to wear costumes for these parties.
You should check Disney’s official site to learn the various rules and restrictions, but they’re fairly straightforward.
As long as you don’t dress in something offensive or try to pass yourself off as a Cast Member by signing autographs/posing for pictures, you should be fine.
If you have any questions about the legality of your outfit, you’re probably pushing boundaries anyway. So, please take a step back.
You want to enjoy the party, not spend the entire evening worrying whether your costume will get you in trouble.
Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party
Everything we just said about the Halloween party applies to Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party. They’re twin events.
Disney hosts one for the Halloween crowd and the other for those who relish Yuletide bliss.
Since David is known to watch Hallmark Christmas movies in mid-summer, he’s the target audience for Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party.
This event skews a bit younger, as it’s one of Disney’s most family-friendly activities on the entire calendar.
Host Mickey Mouse dresses up in holiday gear, as does his darling Minnie Mouse. Santa Claus also appears as a character greeting.
This party features its own holiday parade, Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmas Parade, and a charming fireworks presentation, Minnie’s Wonderful Christmastime Fireworks.
However, this one works a bit differently because the Christmas party typically ends a few days before Christmas.
So, the Christmas parade and Minnie fireworks become free during Christmas Week, which means you can go to some of this stuff with a regular admission ticket.
But you cannot get free holiday cookies and hot cocoa with regular admission. Disney reserves those as treats during the Very Merry party.
What we’re saying is that there are pros and cons to both approaches. Realistically, if you’ll visit Disney in mid-December to Christmas, you should go to both holiday parties, though.
As we referenced earlier, Jollywood Nights caters almost exclusively to adults. The Very Merry party will delight children of all ages…but especially actual children.
Moonlight Magic
Finally, we have another free but exclusive event, Moonlight Magic. It’s for qualifying Disney Vacation Club members only, and Disney only hosts it a few nights a year.
Presuming that you can attend, it’s similar to Extended Evening Hours, albeit with a better twist. Disney throws in three food vouchers!
These particular vouchers are only good for up to $10 and are mainly for foods you’d ordinarily consider when you have dining plan snack credits.
However, Disney throws in free ice cream treats such as Mickey Mouse Ice Cream Sandwiches and ice cream bars.
An enterprising guest can clean up when Disney hosts Moonlight Magic at EPCOT. That’s because you can use your vouchers to eat at festival food booths.
You’re living well when that’s an option. Similarly, the food options are better when a Disney water park hosts Moonlight Magic as Disney’s a bit more liberal with the free snacks.
You’ll also get complimentary non-alcoholic beverages during Moonlight Magic, which typically lasts three hours per event.
Unfortunately, Disney has restrictions on who can attend. It’s just DVC members but specifically ones eligible for Membership Extras.
If you are a member, you should know whether you qualify, and if you’re not, this section doesn’t really apply to you anyway.
We love Moonlight Magic, but there are a couple of caveats. The first is that these events sell out, usually quite quickly. So, that limits their value.
Also, the meal vouchers can be a trap of sorts. Later in the evening, DVC members realize it’s a “use it or lose it” situation with the vouchers.
So, they bottleneck the lines, thereby reducing the amount of free park time for everyone standing there. It’s a problem.
If you do plan to attend Moonlight Magic, we strongly recommend that you use your meal vouchers early. Then, use the free ice cream to fuel you if you get hungry.