Extended Evening Theme Park Hours is an on-site perk for Walt Disney World friends staying at a Deluxe Resorts, DVC Villas, and choose different accommodations. This technique information covers the whole lot it is advisable to know: eligibility, trip rosters, how the profit works, and ideas for finest utilizing the time at night time. (Updated October 27, 2022.)
In phrases of fundamentals, Extended Evening Theme Park Hours is the oblique substitute for Evening Extra Magic Hours and is the present counterpart to Early Theme Park Entry. However, there are lots of variations between the morning and night further time within the parks.
Extended Evening Theme Park Hours has a smaller pool of eligibility and in addition happens much less ceaselessly. The nighttime profit is completely for friends staying at Walt Disney World Deluxe Resorts, Deluxe Villas (Disney Vacation Club models), and different choose accommodations (presently solely the Swan & Dolphin and Shades of Green). Guests staying at Value or Moderate Resorts will not be eligible for Extended Evening Hours.
October 27, 2022 Update: While initially promoted as a particular perk for the World’s Most Magical Celebration (which ends in March 2023), Walt Disney World has confirmed that Extended Evening Hours will proceed all through all of 2023 for friends staying at a Disney Deluxe Resort, Disney Deluxe Villa Resort, or different choose accommodations.
Additionally, there will probably be Extended Evening Hours at Disney’s Hollywood Studios choose dates this Christmas season (see full schedule under). Here’s hoping that pattern additionally continues in 2023!
Extended Evening Theme Park Hours has two kinds of resort eligibility, happens two nights per week, is at two parks, and runs for 2 hours (just about the whole lot in regards to the perk happens in twos). It’s often each Monday at Epcot and each Wednesday at Magic Kingdom.
By distinction, Early Entry is obtainable in any respect 4 theme parks each single day, runs for half-hour, and each on-site resort visitor is eligible, together with the third social gathering on-property accommodations. For the whole lot it is advisable to learn about that profit, see our Strategy Guide for Early Theme Park Entry at Walt Disney World.
The different huge distinction is you could accomplish an amazing quantity throughout Extended Evening Hours. We’ve completed it at each Epcot and Magic Kingdom, and it’s been a veritable ghost city in each parks–eerily uncrowded by the tip, with most sights being stroll ons.
With that mentioned, it’s positively superior at Magic Kingdom, and that’s largely because of the extra sturdy trip roster–and the truth that a number of headliners are situated close to each other. Magic Kingdom has as many common sights in Fantasyland as is the case within the entirety of Epcot. (Read about one such expertise in our Evening Extended Hours at Magic Kingdom Photo Report.)
Speaking of which, a little bit extra strategizing is required in an effort to knock out Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure, Frozen Ever After, Test Track, Soarin’ Around the World, and Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind throughout a single Extended Evening Hours in Epcot.
Read about certainly one of our latest makes an attempt at this in Evening Extended Hours at EPCOT Strategy & Report, which gives play-by-play from one night time that we did a pair months in the past. Still, we had a unbelievable time and extremely suggest profiting from Extended Evening Hours in each parks, if you happen to’re eligible.
Before singing its praises an excessive amount of, we must always most likely handle the elephant within the room: that “if eligible” asterisk. Many Walt Disney World followers have been crucial about Extended Evening Hours for excluding Value and Moderate Resorts.
Their perspective is that it caters to the rich or creates two tiers of on-site resort friends. Obviously, the purpose about decrease tier resorts not being eligible is correct. The different factors are subjective, and the identical claims could possibly be made about off-site v. on-site friends with the Early Entry profit.
Obviously, nobody likes shedding entry to a perk, however the cause Extended Evening Theme Park Hours are this satisfying is as a result of it’s restricted to a small subset of friends. Evening Extra Magic Hours have been crowded to the purpose of being virtually ineffective and unenjoyable of their final couple of years.
Extended Evening Hours are means higher than that, and in addition superior to the brand new early entry providing. That’s regardless of this solely occurring two nights per week and thus “consolidating” crowds into that single night. For probably the most half, there haven’t been a ton of friends profiting from this–and that has been true even throughout peak season. Extended Evening Hours have been wonderful–for individuals who are eligible.
In any case, we’re not right here to debate the basic equity of Extended Evening Hours. Rather, the aim of this information is to offer information in regards to the profit and enable you profit from it.
To that finish, potential choices for profiting from Extended Evening Hours with out breaking the financial institution embody doing Disney Vacation Club Point Rentals or reserving the Swan & Dolphin Resorts, that are often roughly the price of a Moderate Resort.
Another concept that we actually like is doing a break up keep, splurging on an evening at a Deluxe Resort (see How to Do Split Stays at Walt Disney World Hotels) after which doing finances lodging the remainder of your trip. You may additionally do a two night-stay, checking in on a Monday and out on a Wednesday, in an effort to benefit from each Extended Evening Hours nights.
If you actually wished to go huge, pair that with Club Level, profiting from the early/late hours and having fun with the membership through the center of the day. You may fairly accomplish each worthwhile attraction in Magic Kingdom or Epcot through the first few hours of the day plus the previous few hours of the night time. Do breakfast in one of many Club Level lounges, whereas additionally having fun with a pool day and each different foods and drinks unfold (save for desserts). That can be an superior solution to TREAT YO SELF, and could possibly be made attainable by slicing prices elsewhere out of your Walt Disney World trip finances.
For these enthusiastic about methods to benefit from the perk, let’s begin with the present schedule, so you may plan round it…
Holiday 2022 & Winter 2023 Extended Evening Hours Schedule
Please evaluation the chart under for the present prolonged night theme park hours schedule:
Date | Theme Park | Extended Hours |
Monday, Oct 24 | EPCOT | 9:00 PM to 11:00 PM |
Wednesday, Oct 26 | Magic Kingdom | 11:00 PM to 1:00 AM |
Monday, Oct 31 | EPCOT | 9:00 PM to 11:00 PM |
Wednesday, Nov 2 | Magic Kingdom | 10:00 PM to midnight |
Monday, Nov 7 | EPCOT | 9:00 PM to 11:00 PM |
Wednesday, Nov 9 | Magic Kingdom | 11:00 PM to 1:00 AM |
Monday, Nov 14 | EPCOT | 9:00 PM to 11:00 PM |
Wednesday, Nov 16 | Magic Kingdom | 11:00 PM to 1:00 AM |
Monday, Nov 21 | EPCOT | 9:00 PM to 11:00 PM |
Wednesday, Nov 23 | Magic Kingdom | 11:00 PM to 1:00 AM |
Monday, Nov 28 | EPCOT | 9:30 PM to 11:30 PM |
Wednesday, Nov 30 | Magic Kingdom | 11:00 PM to 1:00 AM |
Monday, Dec 5 | EPCOT | 9:30 PM to 11:30 PM |
Wednesday, Dec 7 | Magic Kingdom | 10:00 PM to midnight |
Monday, Dec 12 | EPCOT | 9:30 PM to 11:30 PM |
Wednesday, Dec 14 | Magic Kingdom | 10:00 PM to midnight |
Thursday, Dec 15 | Hollywood Studios | 9:00 PM to 11:00 PM |
Monday, Dec 19 | EPCOT | 9:30 PM to 11:30 PM |
Wednesday, Dec 21 | Magic Kingdom | 10:00 PM to midnight |
Thursday, Dec 22 | Hollywood Studios | 9:00 PM to 11:00 PM |
Monday, Dec 26 | EPCOT | 9:30 PM to 11:30 PM |
Wednesday, Dec 28 | Magic Kingdom | 10:00 PM to midnight |
Monday, Jan 2 | EPCOT | 9:00 PM to 11:00 PM |
Wednesday, Jan 4 | Magic Kingdom | 10:00 PM to midnight |
*Check again as extra dates are added. Schedule topic to alter.
Normally, Disney’s Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom don’t take part in Extended Evening Theme Park Hours–not an enormous shock, since neither have been staples of Evening EMH lately. However, Disney’s Hollywood Studios did take part in Extended Evening Hours earlier this spring, and can once more a few occasions through the Christmas 2022 season!
It’s value noting that these uncommon Evening Extra Magic Hours nights (post-Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge) at Disney’s Hollywood Studios have been unbelievable–the gang state of affairs throughout Evening EMH was all the time higher at DHS. We’d anticipate the identical to carry true for Extended Evening Hours at DHS, and would extremely suggest taking benefit if you happen to’re in a position to take action.
Next, let’s check out the eligible accommodations for Extended Evening Theme Park Hours…
Extended Evening Hours Eligible Disney Owned Hotels
Deluxe Resorts
- Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge
- Disney’s Beach Club Resort
- Disney’s BoardWalk Inn
- Disney’s Contemporary Resort
- Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa
- Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort
- Disney’s Wilderness Lodge
- Disney’s Yacht Club Resort
Disney Vacation Club & Deluxe Villa Resorts
- Bay Lake Tower at Disney’s Contemporary Resort
- Boulder Ridge Villas at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge
- Copper Creek Villas & Cabins at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge
- Disney’s Animal Kingdom Villas – Jambo House
- Disney’s Animal Kingdom Villas – Kidani Village
- Disney’s Beach Club Villas
- Disney’s BoardWalk Villas
- Disney’s Old Key West Resort
- Disney’s Polynesian Villas & Bungalows
- Disney’s Riviera Resort
- Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa
- Villas at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa
Extended Evening Hours Eligible Third Party Hotels
- Walt Disney World Swan Hotel
- Walt Disney World Dolphin Hotel
- Walt Disney World Swan Reserve
- Shades of Green
Next, the sights lineup for Extended Evening Theme Park Hours…
Extended Evening Theme Park Hours Attractions – Magic Kingdom
- “it’s a small world”
- Astro Orbiter
- Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
- Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin
- Country Bear Jamboree
- Dumbo the Flying Elephant
- Haunted Mansion
- Mad Tea Party
- Mickey’s PhilharMagic
- Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor
- Peter Pan’s Flight
- Pirates of the Caribbean
- Prince Charming Regal Carrousel
- Seven Dwarfs Mine Train
- Space Mountain
- Swiss Family Treehouse
- The Barnstormer
- The Magic Carpets of Aladdin
- The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
- Tomorrowland Speedway
- Under the Sea ~ Journey of The Little Mermaid
- Walt Disney’s Enchanted Tiki Room
Extended Evening Theme Park Hours Attractions – Epcot
- Beauty and The Beast Sing-Along
- Frozen Ever After
- Gran Fiesta Tour Starring The Three Caballeros
- Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind
- Mission: SPACE
- Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure
- Soarin’ Around the World
- Spaceship Earth
- Test Track
- The Seas with Nemo & Friends
Extended Evening Hours Attractions – Disney’s Hollywood Studios
- Alien Swirling Saucers
- Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway
- Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run
- Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith
- Slinky Dog Dash
- Star Tours – The Adventures Continue
- Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance
- Toy Story Mania!
- The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror
As you may see, not all Walt Disney World sights can be found throughout Extended Evening Hours. With minor exceptions, these lists are similar to the previous night Extra Magic Hours with headliners being the emphasis.
Moreover, the Extended Evening Theme Park Hours schedule and accessible sights are topic to alter with out discover. Applicable theme park, days and occasions of operation, attraction and repair availability could range and are topic to alter with out discover. Subject to capability and cancellation. [Insert other boring boilerplate caveats.]
Valid theme park admission and MagicBand, Key to the World Card, or Disney MagicCellular cross is required. Guests with out the Park Hopper Option or Park Hopper Plus Option should spend the day on the identical park the place they’d prefer to benefit from the Extended Evening Theme Park Hours profit.
To validate eligibility, Cast Members are stationed outdoors every attraction entrance, scanning MagicBands, resort room keys, and so on. Unlike Early Entry, this occurs at each single attraction all through the night time—not simply as soon as upon arrival. That’s as a result of different friends are already within the parks–that’s the one possible solution to decide who can trip sights for the reason that parks will not be actively cleared firstly of Extended Evening Hours.
Extended Evening Theme Park Hours Strategy
Strategy for Extended Evening Theme Park Hours is surprisingly easy. Start with much less common sights and end with extra common ones. Basically, do rides in reverse order of wait occasions, whereas nonetheless retaining in thoughts that 2 hours goes by shortly, which means you don’t need to waste any of that point on sights that may have minimal daytime waits (assuming you’re additionally visiting the identical park through the day).
One key to that is coupling Extended Evening Theme Park Hours technique with Genie+ and Lightning Lane utilization, or lack thereof. (See our Guide to Genie+ and Lightning Lanes FAQ for the whole lot it is advisable to know.) In explicit, friends who’re eligible for Extended Evening Hours most likely do not want to purchase Individual Lightning Lanes, and will as a substitute backload these sights into the tip of their night.
Let’s shortly run by means of what this implies for every park.
At Magic Kingdom, your final three sights ought to be Space Mountain, Peter Pan’s Flight, and Seven Dwarfs Mine Train–with that order making probably the most sense. Try to time it so that you get into line for Seven Dwarfs Mine Train ~5 minutes earlier than the tip of Extended Evening Hours. Disregard the posted wait time, because it’ll nearly actually be considerably inflated to discourage you from doing it.
At Epcot, the technique is a tad tougher as a result of there are solely a handful of common sights, all of which command decently-long waits throughout Extended Evening Hours. Conversely, the whole lot else is comparatively unpopular and will probably be a walk-on, however that’s additionally true throughout a lot of the daytime working hours. With that mentioned, finish your night with Soarin’ Around the World, Test Track, Frozen Ever After, and Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure.
Ideally, you’ll bounce into line for the Rat Ride about 5 minutes earlier than the tip of the night time. The additional advantage right here is that you just’ll have the ability to take a protracted, leisurely stroll out of World Showcase with just about nobody else round. You would possibly even have the ability to go the “long way” round to exit the park–assuming you’re not leaving by means of International Gateway.
Since Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind makes use of a digital queue, slot that in every time your return is known as–ideally nearer to the center of the additional hours than the start or finish.
Note that it’s attainable the Cosmic Rewind digital queue will probably be retired earlier than the tip of the 12 months. It’s already simpler to enter the 1 pm digital queue, and that was the harbinger for the tip of the boarding group system at each rides that beforehand used it. Plus, Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind is dependable and high-capacity. It would possibly hold utilizing the digital queue by means of Christmas 2022, however don’t rely on it.
We haven’t completed Disney’s Hollywood Studios for Extended Evening Theme Park Hours and so much has modified since this park final provided Evening Extra Magic Hours. Namely, Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance is working with out a digital queue and Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway is open, interval.
When DHS gives one other Extended Evening Hours, our suggestion is beginning with Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway, adopted by Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster and Tower of Terror, and ending with Slinky Dog Dash earlier than leaping in line for Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance proper on the very finish of the night time. That’ll doubtless be the perfect technique, and one we hope to check in December 2022!
Ultimately, that’s the whole lot it is advisable to learn about Extended Evening Theme Park Hours at Walt Disney World. What you do earlier within the night time doesn’t actually matter, as long as you put aside enough time for the aforementioned headliners on the very finish.
We will proceed updating this technique information within the coming months as Extended Evening Hours proceed to evolve, and as issues “settle down” and discover their groove. Stay tuned–we’ll proceed to cowl all the vital planning particulars and in addition share extra Extended Evening Hours photograph stories from our experiences with this new on-site resort profit!
Planning a Walt Disney World journey? Learn about accommodations on our Walt Disney World Hotels Reviews web page. For the place to eat, learn our Walt Disney World Restaurant Reviews. To lower your expenses on tickets or decide which sort to purchase, learn our Tips for Saving Money on Walt Disney World Tickets submit. Our What to Pack for Disney Trips submit takes a novel have a look at intelligent objects to take. For what to do and when to do it, our Walt Disney World Ride Guides will assist. For complete recommendation, the perfect place to begin is our Walt Disney World Trip Planning Guide for the whole lot it is advisable to know!
YOUR THOUGHTS
Thoughts on Extended Evening Theme Park Hours at Walt Disney World? Excited to benefit from the brand new on-site visitor perk or suppose it’s too quick to be helpful? Disappointed in regards to the eligibility guidelines or attraction lineups? Do you agree or disagree with our evaluation? Any questions we might help you reply? Hearing your suggestions–even while you disagree with us–is each fascinating to us and useful to different readers, so please share your ideas under within the feedback!