I've Changed My Mind About Splurging on This Disney World Party

This year was the second year of Jollywood Nights in Disney’s Hollywood Studios, and let’s just say they couldn’t have been more different.

Were the offerings the same? There were a few new additions this year, but ultimately yes, tickets were around the same price both years, and our team attended the event on the very first nights both years to see how they compare. And while last year we were shaking our heads and recommending you maybe skip it, this year we’re saying the TOTAL opposite!

Jollywood Nights is a separately ticketed after hours event that gives you access to the majority of the attractions, rare meet and greets, special entertainment, and so much more. It happens on select nights from November 9th through December 21st, 2024 from 7:30PM to 12:30AM, but ticket holders can enter the park as early as 6PM.

In 2023, let’s just say the opening night was a MESS. Lines were egregiously long all around, especially to get our wristbands and enter the park, as well as to grab any of the special snacks available for the event. We found it very difficult to feel we got our money’s worth, and we heard the same feedback from many of our readers!

We did hear that the event appeared to improve as time went on in 2023, but by that point, so many people had heard about the negative experiences and had canceled their tickets, or chosen against getting them! So when this year’s opening night came along, we found ourselves nervous. We REALLY wanted Jollywood Nights to do well and improve from the previous year, but were scared it would disappoint us yet again.

But thankfully that DIDN’T happen! Our team had an incredible time at the event, got to see tons of the different shows offered (as Sage says, #liveentertainmentisimportant!), try ALL the exclusive treats, and even had EXTRA time at the end of the night to go searching for as many of the character meet and greets we could find.

Lines were much shorter than they had been in 2023, and our team found themselves genuinely having a great time while they crossed of their to-do lists, whereas last year they more found themselves just stressed they wouldn’t be able to get everything done. We also felt it was less crowded overall, which certainly helped with those lines, and we feel the food really stepped up its game overall as well.

Just like we were hearing negative feedback from our readers last year, this year we’ve heard the party get rave reviews that we 100% agree with! Many of our readers are having similar experiences we did, and are much happier paying the hefty price tag than they were last year. We’re thrilled with this, because we knew Hollywood Studios was absolutely capable of hosting a great party, it just needed to get some experience under its belt.