I'm all about short waits on rides, so you know I am extra thrilled that Disney After Hours is back at EPCOT! The separately ticketed event offers a chance to ride the park's most popular attractions, including Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind. In 2026, the event dates begin Jan. 22 and run through Sept. 24. (Psst ... save some extra green by purchasing tickets through your favorite frogs!) Here are all the frogciting details for 2026, including Disney After Hours on-sale dates and new event hours at EPCOT!
Overview of Disney After Hours at EPCOT
Disney After Hours is a three-hour, separately ticketed event that allows guests to stay in the park after normal park hours, with limited crowds. That means you’ll encounter little to no lines while you wait for rides, character meet-and-greets, and other experiences at the parks. Sweet! Additionally, you'll get complimentary popcorn, ice cream and bottled beverages throughout the night once the event officially starts!
Disney After Hours events also take place at both Magic Kingdom and Disney's Hollywood Studios. Check out our complete guide to Disney After Hours so you can get the full scoop, plus our guide for After Hours at Hollywood Studios and Magic Kingdom for even more info. H2O Glow After Hours also takes place at Disney's Typhoon Lagoon Water Park over the summer! Stay tuned for date announcements.
Check out our froggerific video on everything we accomplished at EPCOT After Hours 2024, and continue reading for all the hopful details to help you plan for 2026!
EPCOT After Hours Tickets
EPCOT After Hours events kick off Jan. 22, 2026, and will run through Sept. 24, 2026. There are 19 event nights.
The event runs on select Thursday nights (and two Wednesday nights) from 9:30 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. — that's right, it starts and ends 30 minutes earlier in 2026! You may enter the park as early as 7 p.m. with an event ticket. Therefore, be sure to use the specific event turnstiles at the entrance. If you wish to enter before 7 p.m., you'll need regular park admission, plus you may need a theme park reservation for select non-dated ticket types. As a reminder, most multi-day tickets no longer require theme park reservations. Hop here for more info.
Here are the 2026 dates:
- Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026
- Thursday, Jan. 29, 2026
- Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026
- Thursday, March 5, 2026
- Thursday, March 12, 2026
- Thursday, April 2, 2026
- Thursday, April 9, 2026
- Wednesday, April 15, 2026
- Thursday, April 23, 2026
- Thursday, April 30, 2026
- Thursday, May 21, 2026
- Thursday, June 11, 2026
- Thursday, June 18, 2026
- Thursday, July 9, 2026
- Thursday, July 23, 2026
- Thursday, Aug. 6, 2026
- Thursday, Aug. 13, 2026
- Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2026
- Thursday, Sept. 24, 2026
Ticket Sales Dates
Tickets are on sale now to the general public! There was a special early-booking opportunity available on Oct. 9, 2025, for select Walt Disney World Hotel guests (including those booked at Walt Disney Swan/Swan Reserve and Dolphin Hotels and Shades of Green). Dates for this event can sell out, so be sure to book as soon as possible!
What's Offered at EPCOT After Hours
While most of the park is open for you to explore, not everything will be open during the event. The good news is that the following rides are available during Disney After Hours at EPCOT. Furthermore, there are tons of select characters and entertainment for you to enjoy!
Attractions
- Spaceship Earth
- The Seas with Nemo & Friends
- Soarin'
- Living with the Land
- Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind
- Mission: SPACE
- Test Track
- Frozen Ever After
- Gran Fiesta Tour Starring The Three Caballeros
- Remy's Ratatouille Adventure
We enjoyed little-to-no-wait on rides and walked right on to just about all of them! Our longest wait was 20 minutes for Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind, though this included the pre-show, so we barely waited at all.
Characters
Select characters may periodically appear throughout the park. This year, meet Mickey Mouse at the Dreamer statue, Minnie Mouse in France and Goofy at the DJ Dance Party.
Entertainment
EPCOT After Hours sure feels like one big party with the event DJ spinning some awesome tunes near CommuniCore Plaza. The music gets piped into most of the main speakers, so you can groove to "real" music throughout the night! For example, in the past, Chip 'n' Dale rocked the house with some epic dance moves at the dance party. However, in 2026, it's all about Goofy! Goofy's DJ dance party offers a fun, interactive experience fit for frogs of all ages. They typically do 30-minute sets, so be sure to save a little time to dance with our favorite pal!
Furthermore, catch live bands at the Canada Mill Stage. Plus, select PhotoPass photographers are stationed throughout the park for photos (we saw lots of fun props like the Tinker Bell lantern!).
Dining
Enjoy complimentary ice cream, popcorn and bottled beverages from snack carts:
- Mission: SPACE Cart
- Imagination Cart
- Connections Cart
- Fountain Popcorn Cart
Select food and beverages are available for purchase at:
- Kringla Bakeri Og Kafe
- Rose & Crown Pub
- Various kiosks around the World Showcase
Shopping
- Creations Shop
- ImageWorks – The "What If" Labs
- Mission: SPACE Cargo Bay
- Test Track SIMporium
- SeaBase Gift Shop
In the past, most shops inside World Showcase closed early, but Plaza de los Amigos and World Traveler were open. Your best bet for shopping will be in the park's main areas.
What's Not Offered During Disney After Hours?
Something to keep in mind for Disney After Hours: while most rides are open, there are no stage shows and limited character appearances. Here are some offerings that are not available during Disney After Hours:
- Shows such as Turtle Talk With Crush, Beauty and the Beast Sing-Along, Awesome Planet and Canada Far and Wide
- Characters such as the princesses around World Showcase and Figment
- Festival booths
Note that the section from China through Morocco is usually closed during the event. As such, you'll need to go from Norway, Mexico, the entrance to World Showcase, Canada, the United Kingdom and then France.
Tips and Strategy for EPCOT After Hours
To maximize your time at After Hours, we've compiled our top tips and strategy for your night at EPCOT:
- Arrive as close to 7 p.m. as possible to get the most park time for your money. For instance, we recommend eating dinner during this time if you have not already. Since most of the restaurants are closed during the event, the bonus time is a perfect way to try some of the great EPCOT restaurants or many booths from EPCOT International Festival of the Arts, EPCOT International Flower and Garden Festival or EPCOT International Food and Wine Festival.
- The pre-event time is also great for doing anything not available during the event, such as the EPCOT fireworks (Luminous The Symphony of Us), meeting characters and watching any shows. Be sure to hop on some smaller rides such as Journey Into Imagination, Living with the Land, The Seas With Nemo & Friends and Spaceship Earth, since they usually have low wait times toward the end of regular park hours.
- There is now 30 minutes between when the park closes and the event officially starts. Typically, fireworks start at 9 p.m. and day guests can enter a ride up until 9 p.m., so there will still be some longer ride lines and crowds until the day guests are fully filtered out. During the in-between time, you can hop on any available ride by showing your event wristband. The complimentary snacks and drinks will not start until 9:30 p.m.
- Check the park hours closer to the event. With the event starting 30 minutes earlier in 2026, EPCOT could close to day guests 30 minutes earlier than in 2025.
- Check the My Disney Experience app just before park closing to get an idea of wait times. Ride wait times will not appear in the My Disney Experience app during the transition time, but all event attractions should remain open (wait times will reappear at 9:30 p.m.). If you're looking to do all the rides, this is a great time to knock out a shorter wait before the event starts.
- You'll want to decide if your goal is to either do as many rides as possible or ride your favorites multiple times.
- The shops and food carts close when the event ends at 12:30 a.m., so grab any last complimentary snacks and drinks before then.
- Nearly every ride we did was a walk-on, except for Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind, which had a 20-minute wait. Cosmic Rewind remained listed at about a 25-minute wait throughout the night. We decided to hop on right after the fireworks ended (during the transition time between regular park hours and the event start). We recommend either starting with Cosmic Rewind or saving it for your final ride to extend your night.
What We Love About Disney After Hours at EPCOT
Just How Much You Can Get Done
Even with only three hours, you can get just as many rides done as a full park day, and even potentially more.
Experiencing the Parks in a Whole New Way
It's always fun to see the theme parks at night, especially with the glow of the Spaceship Earth lighting. It feels extra magical all lit up — plus, it is a great way to escape the Florida heat. We think EPCOT really shines (get it) at night — especially with the new World Celebration area — and is so much cooler, as it can be hard to find shade during the day (plus, we were able to get a photo with the Walt the Dreamer statue with no wait!).
The Calmness and Lack of Crowds
Tickets are limited for this event, so you'll find the park nearly empty in some places. It's very peaceful with such low crowds. Staying up late can be draining, but with very little standing in line, you hardly realize how late it is. Plus, at any point, you can get a pick-me-up with free popcorn, ice cream and drinks!
Is It Worth It?
We think EPCOT After Hours is worth the cost, especially with the addition of Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind. For example, we highly recommend this event if:
- You aren't planning to go to EPCOT during the day with a regular park ticket, which will have similar costs, especially if you factor in purchasing Disney Lightning Lane Multi Pass and/or costs for a Guardians' Lightning Lane Single Pass.
- You can book for your arrival day if you know your family can stay up late after a day of traveling. This could be especially ideal for those traveling from the West Coast. Reverse jet lag for the win!
- You want a short wait for Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind.
- You want to enjoy the parks with fewer crowds.
Alternatively, After Hours might not be a good fit if ...
- You can only get to EPCOT once during your trip and you want to experience everything that a park has to offer. The park has a variety of characters, entertainment and cultures that are definitely worth experiencing!
- You have young tadpoles that won't make it past midnight (or perhaps you're a fully grown frog who wants to catch up on sleep — we get it!).
In conclusion, we think that Disney After Hours is worth it! Do you plan on attending Disney After Hours at EPCOT? Let us know your experiences in the comments below!
Related Posts: How to Make the Most Out of Disney After Hours Events at Disney World
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Keep hopping!
