Prolonged Night Theme Park Hours is an on-site perk for Walt Disney World company staying at a Deluxe Resorts, DVC Villas, and choose different inns this yr and in 2025. This technique information covers all the things you must know: eligibility, trip rosters, the way it works, and ideas for greatest utilizing the additional time. (Up to date February 24, 2025.)
By way of fundamentals, Prolonged Night Theme Park Hours (ExEH) is the oblique alternative for Night Additional Magic Hours and is the present counterpart to Early Theme Park Entry. Nonetheless, there are a number of variations between the morning and night further time within the parks.
Prolonged Night Theme Park Hours is often provided after common park closing on Monday nights at EPCOT and Wednesday nights at Magic Kingdom. That schedule does change now and again, however is correct the overwhelming majority of the time. See Walt Disney World’s official calendar for particular occasions for every occasion evening. Be aware that if common hours are added inflicting park closing to happen later, which occurs continuously, Prolonged Night Hours shifts to after that.
The pool of eligibility for Prolonged Night Hours is pretty small. This nighttime profit is solely for company staying at Walt Disney World Deluxe Resorts, Deluxe Villas (Disney Trip Membership items), and different choose inns (presently solely the Swan & Dolphin and Shades of Inexperienced). Friends staying at Worth or Reasonable Resorts aren’t eligible for Prolonged Night Hours.
Whereas initially promoted as a particular perk for the fiftieth Anniversary, Walt Disney World has confirmed that Prolonged Night Hours will proceed all through all of 2025. There are different updates because of official bulletins and omissions from Walt Disney World.
First, Walt Disney World has revealed its park hours calendar via the upcoming shoulder season, and in a uncommon twist, Animal Kingdom will host Prolonged Night Hours on Monday, Could 5, 2025. As famous above, this might usually be an EPCOT evening.
The schedule past that’s not but identified, however we don’t count on Animal Kingdom to take over Prolonged Night Hours from EPCOT this summer season. Extra probably, there’s a company buyout of EPCOT that evening, which occurs now and again when massive conventions and different occasions are being hosted at Walt Disney World.
Usually, EPCOT hosts Prolonged Night Hours all year long with just a few random exceptions (like this) which are often one-offs. It’s Magic Kingdom that often doesn’t provide Prolonged Night Hours on an prolonged foundation, however that doesn’t occur till later within the yr.
The park stops internet hosting ExEH when Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Celebration and Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Celebration kick into excessive gear. That usually begins in mid-to-late September and continues via early January. The traditional cadence is for Disney’s Hollywood Studios to take over ExEH in September and October, after which Disney’s Animal Kingdom in November as soon as the Jollywood Nights Christmas Events begin at DHS.
This will likely appear to be a downgrade, however we’ve carried out Prolonged Night Hours at Magic Kingdom a few occasions throughout the Celebration Season prior to now, and it has been bonkers busy. Transferring it over to DHS and Animal Kingdom throughout these busy stretches is the proper transfer for everybody. Particularly since Animal Kingdom is underrated within the evenings, and Disney’s Hollywood Studios has a number of headliners. (Because of the structure of the parks and distance between huge rides, we choose Prolonged Night Hours at DHS to EPCOT.)
Subsequent, some trip roster adjustments for 2025. The excellent news is that digital queues are ending at Walt Disney World as of February 25, which means that Tiana’s Bayou Journey and Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind will now not person them as of that date. (TRON Lightcycle Run’s digital queue was retired final fall.)
Beforehand, there was a 6 p.m. digital queue entry time for Prolonged Night Hours for sights utilizing the boarding group system. Now, they’ll use standby strains similar to every other trip.
Walt Disney World nonetheless has NOT added Tiana’s Bayou Journey to the Prolonged Night Hours trip roster. That is one other reimagined trip–the alternative for Splash Mountain, which was an ExEH attraction.Tiana’s Bayou Journey had been utilizing a digital queue throughout its preliminary opening interval to take care of downtime points and reliability woes.
It switching to standby suggests these issues could now not exist, by which case, Tiana’s Bayou Journey may be a part of the Prolonged Night Hours lineup quickly. This may be a really welcome addition, particularly with Large Thunder Mountain Railroad down till 2026, and rolling refurbishments taking different rides down for shorter timeframes.
Turning to a subject of confusion, Prolonged Night Hours is distinct and completely different from After Hours at Magic Kingdom and After Hours at EPCOT. These are arduous ticket occasions to which anybody should buy admission. After Hours additionally lasts longer and contains refreshments.
Though the schedule varies, Magic Kingdom usually hosts After Hours on choose Monday and Thursday nights–however not Wednesdays. It’s additionally value noting that After Hours costs vary from $125 to $175.
Against this, Prolonged Night Hours are “free” for company staying within the aforementioned resort tiers, are shorter in length, and don’t embrace refreshments. After Hours and Prolonged Night Hours are additionally held on completely different dates. If cash is not any object, After Hours is definitely higher, however that’s a reasonably large asterisk. We’ll take the “free” occasion any day of the week over having to pay further–they’re not that a lot completely different.
Early Entry can also be completely different from Prolonged Night Hours. Clearly, one happens within the morning and the opposite at evening. Past that, 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 get together on-property inns. For all the things you must find out about that profit, see our Technique Information for Early Theme Park Entry at Walt Disney World.
As soon as once more, Prolonged Night Theme Park Hours has two forms of resort eligibility, happens two nights per week, is at two parks, and runs for 2 hours (just about all the things in regards to the perk happens in twos).
The opposite huge distinction is which you can accomplish an incredible quantity throughout Prolonged Night Hours. We’ve carried out it at each Epcot and Magic Kingdom, and it’s been nice in each parks–eerily uncrowded by the tip, with most sights being stroll ons.
With that mentioned, it’s undoubtedly superior at Magic Kingdom, and that’s largely because of the extra strong trip roster–and the truth that a number of headliners are positioned close to each other. Magic Kingdom has as many fashionable sights in Fantasyland as is the case within the entirety of Epcot. (Examine one such expertise in our Night Prolonged Hours at Magic Kingdom Picture Report.)
Talking of which, somewhat extra strategizing is required in an effort to knock out Remy’s Ratatouille Journey, Frozen Ever After, Take a look at Observe, Soarin’ Across the World, and Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind throughout a single Prolonged Night Hours in Epcot.
Examine considered one of our current makes an attempt at this in Night Prolonged Hours at EPCOT Technique & Report, which provides play-by-play from one evening that we did a pair months in the past. Nonetheless, we had a unbelievable time and extremely suggest profiting from Prolonged Night Hours in each parks, if you happen to’re eligible.
Now that Cosmic Rewind has lastly dropped its digital queue, we’ll be subject testing technique once more to see if it’s nonetheless potential to hit the entire headliners in a single night.
Earlier than singing its praises an excessive amount of, we should always in all probability handle the elephant within the room: that “if eligible” asterisk. Many Walt Disney World followers have been crucial about Prolonged Night Hours for excluding Worth and Reasonable Resorts.
Their perspective is that it caters to the rich or creates two tiers of on-site resort company. Clearly, the purpose about decrease tier resorts not being eligible is correct. The opposite factors are subjective, and the identical claims could possibly be made about off-site vs. on-site company with the Early Entry profit.
Clearly, nobody likes shedding entry to a perk, however the purpose Prolonged Night Theme Park Hours are this pleasurable is as a result of it’s restricted to a small subset of company. Night Additional Magic Hours had been crowded to the purpose of being virtually ineffective and unenjoyable of their final couple of years.
Prolonged Night Hours are approach higher than that, and likewise 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 company profiting from this–and that has been true even throughout peak season. Prolonged Night Hours have been superb–for many who are eligible.
In any case, we’re not right here to debate the elemental equity of Prolonged Night Hours. Moderately, the aim of this information is to offer data in regards to the profit and make it easier to profit from it.
To that finish, potential choices for profiting from Prolonged Night Hours with out breaking the financial institution embrace doing Disney Trip Membership Level Leases or reserving the Swan & Dolphin Resorts, that are often roughly the price of a Reasonable Resort.
One other concept that we actually like is doing a cut up keep, splurging on an evening at a Deluxe Resort (see How one can Do Break up Stays at Walt Disney World Accommodations) after which doing funds lodging the remainder of your trip. You can additionally do a two night-stay, checking in on a Monday and out on a Wednesday, in an effort to benefit from each Prolonged Night Hours nights.
If you happen to actually wished to go huge, pair that with Membership Stage, profiting from the early/late hours and having fun with the membership throughout the center of the day. You can fairly accomplish each worthwhile attraction in Magic Kingdom or Epcot throughout the first few hours of the day plus the previous few hours of the evening.
Do breakfast in one of many Membership Stage lounges, whereas additionally having fun with a pool day and each different food and drinks unfold (save for desserts). That will be an superior strategy to TREAT YO SELF, and could possibly be made potential by chopping prices elsewhere out of your Walt Disney World trip funds.
Subsequent, let’s check out the eligible inns for Prolonged Night Theme Park Hours…
Prolonged Night Hours Eligible Disney Owned Accommodations
Deluxe Resorts
- Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge
- Disney’s Seaside Membership Resort
- Disney’s BoardWalk Inn
- Disney’s Up to date Resort
- Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa
- Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort
- Disney’s Wilderness Lodge
- Disney’s Yacht Membership Resort
Disney Trip Membership & Deluxe Villa Resorts
- Bay Lake Tower at Disney’s Up to date Resort
- Boulder Ridge Villas at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge
- Cabins at Fort Wilderness – Disney Trip Membership Resort
- Copper Creek Villas & Cabins at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge
- Disney’s Animal Kingdom Villas – Jambo Home
- Disney’s Animal Kingdom Villas – Kidani Village
- Disney’s Seaside Membership Villas
- Disney’s BoardWalk Villas
- Disney’s Previous Key West Resort
- Disney’s Polynesian Villas & Bungalows
- Disney’s Riviera Resort
- Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa
- Island Tower at Disney’s Polynesian Villas & Bungalows
- Villas at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa
Prolonged Night Hours Eligible Third Celebration Accommodations
- Walt Disney World Swan Lodge
- Walt Disney World Dolphin Lodge
- Walt Disney World Swan Reserve
- Shades of Inexperienced
Subsequent, the sights lineup for Prolonged Night Theme Park Hours…
Prolonged Night Theme Park Hours Sights – Magic Kingdom
- “it’s a small world”
- Astro Orbiter
- The Barnstormer
- Large Thunder Mountain Railroad (closed till 2026)
- Buzz Lightyear’s Area Ranger Spin
- Nation Bear Jamboree
- Dumbo the Flying Elephant
- Haunted Mansion
- Mad Tea Celebration
- The Magic Carpets of Aladdin
- The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
- Mickey’s PhilharMagic
- Monsters Inc. Snort Ground
- Peter Pan’s Flight
- Pirates of the Caribbean
- Prince Charming Regal Carrousel
- Seven Dwarfs Mine Prepare
- Area Mountain
- Swiss Household Treehouse
- Tomorrowland Speedway
- TRON Lightcycle Run
- Underneath the Sea ~ Journey of The Little Mermaid
- Walt Disney’s Enchanted Tiki Room
Prolonged Night Theme Park Hours Sights – Epcot
- Frozen Ever After
- Gran Fiesta Tour Starring The Three Caballeros
- Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind
- Journey of Water, Impressed by Moana
- Mission: SPACE
- Remy’s Ratatouille Journey
- Soarin’ Across the World
- Spaceship Earth
- The Seas with Nemo & Mates
- Take a look at Observe (closed for reimagining till Late Summer time 2025)
Prolonged Night Hours Sights – Disney’s Hollywood Studios (Seasonal)
- Alien Swirling Saucers
- Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway
- Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run
- Rock ‘n’ Curler Coaster Starring Aerosmith
- Slinky Canine Sprint
- Star Excursions – The Adventures Proceed
- Toy Story Mania!
- The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror
Prolonged Night Hours Sights – Disney’s Animal Kingdom (Seasonal)
- Avatar Flight of Passage
- DINOSAUR
- Expedition Everest – Legend of the Forbidden Mountain
- It’s Powerful to be a Bug!
- Na’vi River Journey
As you’ll be able to see, not all Walt Disney World sights can be found throughout Prolonged Night Hours. With minor exceptions, these lists are an identical to the previous night Additional Magic Hours with headliners being the emphasis.
Furthermore, the Prolonged Night Theme Park Hours schedule and accessible sights are topic to alter with out discover. Relevant theme park, days and occasions of operation, attraction and repair availability could fluctuate and are topic to alter with out discover. Topic to capability and cancellation. [Insert other boring boilerplate caveats.]
Legitimate theme park admission and MagicBand, Key to the World Card, or Disney MagicMobile move is required. Friends with out the Park Hopper Choice or Park Hopper Plus Choice should spend the day on the identical park the place they’d prefer to benefit from the Prolonged Night Theme Park Hours profit.
To validate eligibility, Solid Members are stationed exterior every attraction entrance, scanning MagicBands, resort room keys, and so on. In contrast to Early Entry, this occurs at each single attraction all through the evening—not simply as soon as upon arrival. That’s as a result of different company are already within the parks–that’s the one possible strategy to decide who can trip sights for the reason that parks aren’t actively cleared initially of Prolonged Night Hours.
Prolonged Night Theme Park Hours Technique
Technique for Prolonged Night Theme Park Hours is surprisingly easy. Begin with much less fashionable sights and end with extra fashionable ones. Principally, do rides in reverse order of wait occasions, whereas nonetheless protecting 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 throughout the day).
One key to that is coupling Prolonged Night Theme Park Hours technique with Lightning Lane utilization, or lack thereof. (See our Information to Lightning Lanes at Walt Disney World for all the things you must know.) Particularly, company who’re eligible for ExEH in all probability do not want to purchase Lightning Lane Single Move, and may as an alternative backload these sights into the tip of their night.
Let’s shortly run via what this implies for every park.
At Magic Kingdom, your final three sights needs to be Area Mountain, Peter Pan’s Flight, and Seven Dwarfs Mine Prepare–with that order making probably the most sense. Attempt to time it so that you get into line for Seven Dwarfs Mine Prepare ~5 minutes earlier than the tip of Prolonged Night Hours. Disregard the posted wait time, because it’ll virtually definitely be considerably inflated to discourage you from doing it.
Then there’s TRON Lightcycle Run.
As famous above, TRON Lightcycle Run dropped its digital queue, proper as Prolonged Night Hours ended at Magic Kingdom for the yr. We haven’t had an opportunity to check technique for TRON’s standby line throughout ExEH, however will very quickly. Our expectation is that doing it on the very finish of the night is the most effective method, however we’ll affirm and report again.
At Epcot, the technique is a tad harder as a result of there are solely a handful of fashionable sights, all of which command decently-long waits throughout Prolonged Night Hours. Conversely, all the things else is comparatively unpopular and shall 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’ Across the World, Take a look at Observe, Frozen Ever After, and Remy’s Ratatouille Journey.
Ideally, you’ll soar into line for the Rat Experience about 5 minutes earlier than the tip of the evening. The additional benefit right here is that you simply’ll have the ability to take a protracted, leisurely stroll out of World Showcase with nobody else round. You may even have the ability to go the “good distance” round to exit the park–assuming you’re not leaving via Worldwide Gateway.
Since Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind switched to standby, we haven’t had an opportunity to check ExEH technique. Our expectation is that the optimum method shall be just like After Hours at EPCOT, the place doing it final shall be greatest. That is largely as a result of the pre-shows are so lengthy that Cosmic Rewind takes up a number of time from start-to-finish. And demand is excessive, so pushing that wait till after ExEH has ended is right.
When DHS provides one other Prolonged Night Hours, our advice is beginning with Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway, adopted by Rock ‘n’ Curler Coaster and Tower of Terror, and ending with Slinky Canine Sprint earlier than leaping in line for Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance proper on the very finish of the evening.
Principally, the concept is beginning with the lowest-demand sights and ending with highest. It stays to be seen whether or not Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance will take part in ExEH in Late 2025. It’s not on the official record, however it has been open on a hit and miss foundation prior to now. If it’s not taking part, we’d suggest leaping in line for that shortly earlier than official park closing.
In the end, that’s all the things you must find out about Prolonged Night Theme Park Hours at Walt Disney World. What you do earlier within the evening doesn’t actually matter, as long as you put aside adequate time for the aforementioned headliners on the very finish.
We’ll proceed updating this technique information within the coming months as Prolonged Night Hours proceed to evolve, and as issues “cool down” and discover their groove. Keep tuned–we’ll proceed to cowl the entire necessary planning particulars and likewise share extra Prolonged Night Hours photograph reviews from our experiences with this new on-site resort profit!
Planning a Walt Disney World journey? Find out about inns on our Walt Disney World Accommodations Critiques web page. For the place to eat, learn our Walt Disney World Restaurant Critiques. To save cash on tickets or decide which kind to purchase, learn our Suggestions for Saving Cash on Walt Disney World Tickets submit. Our What to Pack for Disney Journeys submit takes a singular have a look at intelligent gadgets to take. For what to do and when to do it, our Walt Disney World Experience Guides will assist. For complete recommendation, the most effective place to begin is our Walt Disney World Journey Planning Information for all the things you must know!
YOUR THOUGHTS
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