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Walt Disney World’s after-hours events, like Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Social gathering and Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Social gathering, supply visitors a singular alternative to go to Disney World’s theme parks at evening after they’ve closed to daytime visitors. This implies smaller crowds, shorter wait occasions and experiences which are solely out there to celebration visitors.
Disney with out the daytime crowds sounds nice, proper?
The problem is that the after-hours perks include a value that may be onerous to justify on high of your different Disney trip bills, equivalent to multiday park tickets and even annual passes. You have to particular occasion tickets that price $100 to $200 per individual, relying on the occasion.
Let’s take a better take a look at a few of Disney World’s hottest after-hours events to see how they rank for crowds, unique experiences and included perks that can assist you reply the age-old dilemma: “to celebration, or to not celebration.”
Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Social gathering
Held annually on the Magic Kingdom, Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Social gathering normally kicks off in mid-August and runs on choose nights via late October or early November. It might seem to be a whole lot of methods and treats when a lot of the nation celebrates only one evening of Halloween. Nevertheless, the long term offers out-of-town visitors ample alternative to expertise the occasion.
On occasion nights, the Magic Kingdom closes early for daytime visitors, sometimes by 6 p.m.; solely these with a celebration ticket can keep for the night’s festivities. Visitors are inspired to decorate in costumes, and your favourite Disney characters costume up for the event, too.
Ticket price
Tickets for Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Social gathering price between $109 and $199 plus tax for adults or from $99 to $189 plus tax for teenagers ages 3 to 9. Reductions can be found for Disney Trip Membership members and annual cross holders. Click on right here to buy tickets.
Additional hours spent within the park
Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Social gathering begins at 7 p.m. and ends at midnight, however visitors with tickets to the celebration can enter the Magic Kingdom as early as 4 p.m. This implies even with no common park ticket, you may spend as much as eight hours within the park.
As a result of the ticket costs can climb to almost $200 on sure nights, skipping a daily daytime ticket and getting into the park early for the Halloween celebration is likely one of the finest money-saving methods.
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No matter your priorities for the evening, the lowered crowds ought to provide you with ample time to see and do every thing you need to do if you happen to arrive across the 4 p.m. early entry time.
Wait occasions for rides
The wait occasions for rides are a lot shorter than common throughout Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Social gathering. For instance, well-liked rides like Seven Dwarfs Mine Prepare and Peter Pan’s Flight usually have wait occasions between 60 and 90 minutes through the day; nonetheless, the waits are about half that point on celebration nights. Most different rides have wait occasions of lower than half-hour.
Disney Genie+ and Lightning Lanes are usually not out there through the celebration, however you need to use them between 4 and seven p.m. if maxing out rides is your high precedence. You may also save time by getting in line throughout one of many nightly parades or the fireworks present.
Included snacks and drinks
There are not any included snacks or drinks at Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Social gathering, however you can also make out like a bandit with sweet on the trick-or-treat stops.
All celebration visitors obtain a reusable trick-or-treat bag and an occasion map upon getting into the park. There are trick-or-treat spots all around the Magic Kingdom, and you’ll simply fill your bag to the brim if you happen to hit all of them. Allergy-friendly treats are additionally out there.
Although you’ll have to shell out additional for them, there are a selection of specialty foods and drinks choices which are unique to Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Social gathering. In case you are there for the complete size of the celebration, you’ll need to eat. It is enjoyable making an attempt out the meals, sweets and drinks you can solely get through the occasion.
Unique leisure and experiences
You’ll be able to meet uncommon characters just like the Seven Dwarfs or Jack and Sally from “A Nightmare Earlier than Christmas.” Nevertheless, the wait occasions can climb as excessive as three hours for the preferred characters, so be ready to attend.
There may be additionally reside leisure you may solely expertise through the occasion, together with “Mickey’s Boo-to-You Halloween Parade,” the “Hocus Pocus Villain Spelltacular!” stage present and “Disney’s Not-So-Spooky Spectacular” fireworks present. The parade and the “Hocus Pocus”-themed present are held a number of occasions nightly, so it is easy to suit them into your schedule no matter your different priorities for the evening.
Rides, together with House Mountain and the Mad Tea Social gathering, get enjoyable Halloween overlays you may solely expertise through the occasion.
Is Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Social gathering price it?
Price it for characters and leisure
In case you are going for the unique meet-and-greets and leisure choices, Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Social gathering is unquestionably price it. These are additionally the explanation why you will want to find out your priorities and develop a technique earlier than your go to. If there are characters you simply have to fulfill, you will need to line up as early as attainable. This may increasingly imply forgoing rides or trick-or-treating.
Price it for brief wait occasions and experience overlays
In case your objective is to get on as many rides as attainable, Mickey’s-Not-So-Scary Halloween Social gathering is an efficient time to do this as properly. It’s possible you’ll miss out on among the Halloween-specific choices, however you will nonetheless be surrounded by spooky settings and music as you hop from experience to experience.
Not price it when you’ve got younger children who go to mattress early
The celebration is probably going not price it if you happen to — or your little ones — want to go away and go to mattress by 8 or 9 p.m. So, take that under consideration. You may miss out on a lot of the Halloween-specific choices, which negates going for a particular occasion.
Not price it if you happen to aren’t into Halloween
At Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Social gathering, everyone seems to be wearing costume, and you will get hundreds and a great deal of sweet. If filling your trick-or-treat bag with Halloween treats is not your, properly, bag, and also you could not care much less about characters in costumes, it’s possible you’ll need to skip this one.
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Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Social gathering
Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Social gathering takes place every vacation season on choose nights from early November via late December. It is the closest you will discover to a winter wonderland in Central Florida — full with a magical “snowfall” and a go to from Santa Claus on the finish of the parade.
Associated: Up all evening: How Disney transforms the Magic Kingdom from Halloween to vacation in a single day
Throughout the occasion, the park is illuminated with vacation lights, and Christmas tunes fill the air. As a result of Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Social gathering is a individually ticketed occasion, you will get to benefit from the sights and sounds of the season with decrease crowd ranges than you will expertise through the day.
Ticket price
Tickets for Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Social gathering price between $159 and $199 plus tax for adults or from $149 to $189 plus tax for teenagers ages 3 to 9. Reductions can be found for Disney Trip Membership members and annual cross holders. Click on right here to buy tickets.
Additional hours spent within the park
Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Social gathering begins at 7 p.m. and ends at midnight. Along with the 5 official occasion hours, visitors with celebration tickets can enter the Magic Kingdom as early as 4 p.m. for as much as eight hours within the park.
Wait occasions for rides
Disney sells a restricted variety of tickets to Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Social gathering, so the wait occasions are shorter than a typical day through the vacation season. Nevertheless, you should still wait upward of 45 minutes for well-liked rides like Seven Dwarfs Mine Prepare and Peter Pan’s Flight; you may also look ahead to rides that get vacation overlays like House Mountain and the Jungle Cruise.
Included snacks and drinks
The free meals and drinks are an excellent perk of Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Social gathering. Along with specialty foods and drinks gadgets out there for buy, there are stations throughout the park with complimentary cookies and sizzling cocoa.
Unique leisure and experiences
Should you begin enjoying Christmas songs as quickly as you get up Nov. 1, Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Social gathering will greater than fulfill your want for vacation leisure. You’ve 4 alternatives every night to observe “Mickey’s Most Merriest Celebration” stage reveals and two possibilities to get a great place for “Mickey’s As soon as Upon a Christmastime Parade.” Additionally, every evening at 10 p.m., you may view “Minnie’s Great Christmastime Fireworks Present.”
All through the night, you may cease by Membership Tinsel and partake within the “Disney Junior Jingle Jam” to bounce to vigorous vacation music with numerous characters. The leisure alone may preserve you busy till the celebration ends.
Is Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Social gathering price it?
Price it for reveals, parades and fireworks
The specialty leisure choices are what set Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Social gathering other than a typical daytime go to. Sure, you may see the decor and listen to the vacation tunes through the day. Nevertheless, few issues will get you within the Christmas spirit sooner than seeing Santa and his reindeer within the parade, watching Clarabelle Cow sing “All I Need For Christmas is You” and seeing purple and inexperienced fireworks mild up the sky over Cinderella Citadel.
Price it at no cost snacks and drinks
There are only a few alternatives to get one thing free at Disney World, and we love that the included cookies and sizzling cocoa add to the festive temper throughout this celebration.
Not price it if you happen to simply need to go on rides
Regardless of the shorter-than-normal wait occasions, rides are usually not the rationale to attend Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Social gathering. There are such a lot of party-specific actions that you’re higher off visiting the park throughout daytime hours if you’re solely in it for the rides.
Not price it if you happen to aren’t ready to remain up late
Like every Disney after-hours celebration, you need to be prepared to remain up previous your bedtime to benefit from Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Social gathering. If you wish to strive it, we advocate skipping a daytime ticket and utilizing that point to relaxation up earlier than the celebration begins.
Disney After Hours
You do not have to attend for a vacation to get pleasure from a late-night Disney World celebration. On choose nights in 2024, the Magic Kingdom, Epcot and Disney’s Hollywood Studios will keep open previous midnight for individually ticketed Disney After Hours occasions. Just like the Halloween and Christmas events, Disney sells a restricted variety of tickets for these occasions. Meaning shorter wait occasions for rides and character experiences.
The present parks and occasions are:
Magic Kingdom
- Value: $155 to $175 per individual plus tax
- Time: 10 p.m. to 1 a.m.
- Dates: Feb. 29; March 4 and 18; April 8, 22 and 29; Might 13; and June 13 and 27
Disney’s Hollywood Studios
- Value: $145 to $175 per individual plus tax
- Time: 9:30 p.m. to 12:30 a.m.
- Dates: Feb. 26, March 13, 20 and 27; April 3 and 10; Might 22 and 29; June 12, 19 and 26; July 10, 17 and 31; and Aug. 7, 14, 21 and 29
Epcot
- Value: $149 to $159 per individual plus tax
- Time: 10 p.m. to 1 a.m.
- Dates: March 7 and 28; April 4 and 25; Might 9, 23 and 30; June 6 and 20; and July 18
Ticket price
Disney After Hours ticket costs begin at $145 (plus tax) for Disney’s Hollywood Studios and $155 (plus tax) for the Magic Kingdom and go as much as $175 (plus tax) for each parks. Epcot After Hours ticket pricing is barely decrease, beginning at $149 (plus tax) and going as much as $159 (plus tax). Reductions can be found for annual cross holders and Disney Trip Membership members.
Tickets are on sale now, and you should buy them right here.
Additional hours spent within the park
Official occasion occasions are 9:30 p.m. at Disney’s Hollywood Studios and 10 p.m. on the Magic Kingdom and Epcot; nonetheless, visitors can enter the park for Disney After Hours starting at 7 p.m. even with out buying a daytime ticket. Meaning you may rise up to 6 hours contained in the park along with your occasion ticket.
Wait occasions for rides
The thinned crowds and shorter wait occasions are the primary promoting factors for Disney After Hours.
Disney retains most rides open for these occasions, together with well-liked rides like Tron Lightcycle Run, Seven Dwarfs Mine Prepare, Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance and Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind. These sights sometimes have lengthy waits through the day.
At evening, you may anticipate wait occasions of round 5 to half-hour for many sights. With the low wait occasions and smaller crowds, it is attainable to squeeze in simply as many rides through the occasion as you can throughout a typical full day at Disney if you happen to arrive at 7 p.m. after they allow you to into the park.
Included snacks and drinks
Meals and drinks, like ice cream, popcorn and nonalcoholic drinks, are all included in the price of your ticket. Limitless Mickey ice cream bars could also be well worth the value of admission on their very own. You may want the sugar and caffeine so you will have the power to remain awake till the occasion ends, anyway.
Unique leisure and experiences
With one exception, Disney After Hours occasions don’t supply party-exclusive parades, fireworks or stage reveals. The one exception is on the Magic Kingdom, the place you may see “Enchantment,” the nighttime fireworks spectacular Disney unveiled through the park’s fiftieth anniversary celebration. Should you arrive early, you may see “Fortunately Ever After” and “Enchantment” on the identical evening.
Is Disney After Hours price it?
Price it for an all-day, all-night experience marathon
In case your most important objective whenever you go to Disney World is to experience as many rides as attainable as many occasions as attainable, you may mix a daytime ticket with a Disney After Hours ticket to max out your experience rely. Throughout the occasion, you may experience your favorites repeatedly or hit the rides you skipped through the day due to the longer wait occasions.
Price it if you happen to do not need to take care of Disney Genie+
Throughout Disney After Hours, all rides use a standby queue. If waking up early to vie for a digital queue spot or spending time (and cash) to schedule rides utilizing Disney Genie+ is just not your concept of a trip, you will get pleasure from hopping in brief standby queues on a whim throughout Disney After Hours.
Not price it for unique experiences
Except you want your repair of “Enchantment” on the Magic Kingdom, there isn’t a party-specific leisure that may make the price of this ticket price it for you. Nevertheless, it’s possible you’ll run into particular characters at Epcot and Disney’s Hollywood Studios.
Not price it on your first time visiting a park
Though the crowds are smaller and choose characters are out greeting visitors, you will not get the complete Disney World expertise throughout these occasions. We would not advocate attending Disney After Hours at a park you’ve got by no means visited throughout daytime hours. You may miss out on among the eating, leisure and ambiance you can solely expertise with a daily daytime ticket.
Backside line
Disney’s after-hours events are extremely popular and will be price it — relying on what you hope to get out of the expertise. Do you need to meet uncommon characters, see parades and reveals that solely occur through the celebration or munch on free popcorn and sip on complimentary soda all evening?
As soon as your priorities (and what number of free Mickey ice cream bars you may eat), you may simply decide which of Disney’s after-hours events will create essentially the most magic for you.
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