Is After Hours Worth $165 at Magic Kingdom?

After Hours events are like no other.

Have you ever been in an almost completely empty Disney park but you still get to ride most of the rides? That’s an After Hours event, and they’re happening right now in Magic Kingdom and Disney’s Hollywood Studios on select nights. But these events cost extra, sometimes just as much as a normal day park ticket. Is paying $165 worth it for Magic Kingdom? Let’s break it down!

First, let’s cover the positives about this event and why it very much may be worth it for you and your family!

YES!

The first reason this event may be perfect for you and your family is because you can ride nearly all of Magic Kingdom’s rides with little to no wait! Wait times for even the most popular rides don’t typically get above 30 minutes for the whole event.

Plus, you’ll have the opportunity to meet Disney Princesses at Princess Fairytale Hall and Mickey at Town Square Theater throughout the night! These lines can get a little longer than you may expect, but they will be lower than you may see them during the day.

Did we say there are free snacks? Yes, included with your After Hours ticket is unlimited free generic Disney popcorn, ice cream bars, bottled sodas, and bottled waters. These can be found at the popcorn stands around Magic Kingdom, and it really IS unlimited!

Lastly, the ambiance of a nearly empty Magic Kingdom in the middle of the night is truly like nothing else. It’s an experience many people won’t soon forget, and it can make for some pretty fantastic photos to remember the night by. You could stand in the middle of Main Street U.S.A. and have no one else with you!

That all sounds pretty amazing, so why wouldn’t the After Hours event be worth it? Well, not everything is sunshine and rainbows.

NO!

Unlike the After Hours event happening at Hollywood Studios, there are no roaming characters in Magic Kingdom. Since you’re paying the same for both events, if characters are important to you, you may be better off getting your money’s worth at Hollywood Studios.

If you’re replacing a full park day ticket with an After Hours ticket (which we don’t necessarily recommend unless you’ve been to Magic Kingdom tons of times before), you likely won’t have time to really do *everything* in the park in essentially half a park day. Not all the rides will be open for the event, and you won’t be able to meet as many characters as you would during the day. And that’s even WITH being able to enter the park at 7PM before the event starts, which is the earliest guests with ONLY after hours tickets can enter the park.

Speaking of entering the park early, if you’re looking to eat more than just snacks at the event, you’ll want to eat before the park closes for regular guests, because most dining locations will close with it. So we suggest entering the park early and immediately grabbing dinner so you’re not starving during the rest of the night.

Lastly, if you’ve got kiddos with you, be realistic about if they can stay up that long to really take advantage of the event. Even if they have a great nap during the day, 1AM is a LONG time for young kids (and adults, if we’re being honest) to be HAPPY in the park taking in the magic.

So is it worth it? Like many things in Disney World, it’s ultimately up to you and your family, but unless you’re someone who really prioritizes meeting rare characters around the parks, we’d say it’s worth the price. 

However, as we mentioned earlier, we would recommend using this as a replacement for a full Magic Kingdom park day (because doing both is just TOO MUCH even for us), unless you haven’t been to Magic Kingdom before/it’s been awhile.

We’re always here to help you plan your Disney World vacation, so stay tuned to AllEars!

Is Hollywood Studios After Hours event worth the price? Here’s what we found out!

Do you think After Hours events are worth the price? Tell us in the comments!

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