Extra hours to spend at Walt Disney World? Yes, please! We know that there are many benefits to staying on-site at a Walt Disney World Resort hotel and the newest perk is a game-changer. For those staying at Disney Deluxe, Deluxe Villas and other eligible resorts, there is an incredible added benefit called Extended Evening Hours. On select nights, certain parks are open two hours after park close exclusively to Deluxe Resort guests. This is an underrated perk that can really help you get more done in the parks. Disney has confirmed the benefit will continue for visits through 2024. Read on for more details about the Extended Evening Hours benefit at Disney World!
Overview of Disney Extended Evening Hours
Extended Evening Hours debuted in October 2021 (along with Early Theme Park Entry). Those staying at eligible hotels can utilize both perks to maximize their time. Extended Evening Hours occur for two hours after park close on select nights. It's similar to the Extra Magic Hours benefit of the past. Typically, EPCOT offers Extended Evening Hours on Mondays, and Magic Kingdom offers Extended Evening Hours on Wednesdays, but be sure to double-check hours and dates closer to your trip to confirm and plan accordingly. The benefit will be available for trips through 2024.
Recently announced, Disney's Hollywood Studios and Disney's Animal Kingdom Theme Park will offer extended evening hours on select dates, currently through Dec. 2023.
Hollywood Studios 2023 Dates — Sept. 30, Oct. 5, Oct. 11, Oct. 19, Oct. 25
Animal Kingdom 2023 Dates — Nov. 8, Nov. 22, Dec. 4, Dec. 28
Guests need valid admission and a park reservation, along with a valid linked hotel reservation, in order to access Extended Evening Hours. Those with park hopping abilities must enter their first park, but then may hop over to the park with the extended hours.
Which Hotels Offer Disney Extended Evening Hours?
Guests of Disney Deluxe or Deluxe Villa Resorts and a few select hotels have access to Extended Evening Theme Park Hours on select nights in select theme parks (similar to evening Extra Magic Hours of years past). Here's a full list of participating hotels:
- Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge and Jambo House and Kidani Village Villas
- Disney's Beach Club Resort and Disney's Beach Club Villas
- Disney's BoardWalk Inn and Disney's BoardWalk Villas
- Disney's Contemporary Resort and Bay Lake Tower at Disney's Contemporary Resort
- Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa and The Villas at Disney's Grand Floridian
- Disney's Old Key West Resort
- Disney's Polynesian Village Resort and Disney's Polynesian Villas & Bungalows
- Disney's Riviera Resort
- Disney's Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa
- Disney's Wilderness Lodge and Boulder Ridge Villas and Copper Creek Villas
- Disney's Yacht Club Resort
- Walt Disney World Swan Resort Hotel
- Walt Disney World Dolphin Resort Hotel
- Walt Disney World Swan Reserve
- Shades of Green on Walt Disney World Resort
Available Attractions During Extended Evening Hours at Disney World
During Extended Evening Hours, select attractions, merchandise and food and beverage locations are operating. While attractions are subject to change without notice due to refurbishments or unplanned closures, here's a full list of the available attractions.
Magic Kingdom Park
- "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
- TRON Lightcycle / Run*
*Guests of Disney Deluxe, Deluxe Villa and other select hotels will need to join the virtual queue at 6 p.m. (from any location) in order to ride during Extended Evening Hours.
EPCOT
- 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
*Guests of Disney Deluxe, Deluxe Villa and other select hotels will need to join the virtual queue at 6 p.m. (from any location) in order to ride during Extended Evening Hours.
Disney's Hollywood Studios
- Alien Swirling Saucers
- Lightning McQueen's Racing Academy
- Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railway
- Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run
- Muppet Vision 3D
- 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
Disney's Animal Kingdom Theme Park
- Avatar Flight of Passage
- Dinosaur
- Expedition Everest
- It's Tough to be a Bug!
- Meet Mickey and Minnie at Adventurers Outpost
- Na'vi River Journey
- TriceraTop Spin
Strategy and Insights for Extended Evening Hours at Disney World
We recently utilized Extended Evening Hours at Magic Kingdom and hoppily got so much done! We hopped into the park to catch Happily Ever After, but if you are arriving at or near park closure, look for the park turnstile (or signage) for Extended Evening Hours guests.
Once the park fully closed, we were asked to scan in at rides, much like you would with Genie+ returns, so that cast members could verify that we were eligible to stay. You can use your MagicMobile pass on your smartphone or watch or your MagicBand (if your hotel reservation is linked to My Disney Experience), or your Keys to the World card. As a family, we were able to ride Big Thunder Mountain, Haunted Mansion, Peter Pan's Flight and Space Mountain, all during Extended Evening Hours. On top of the rides, we were able to grab a snack or two and take some really beautiful shots of Cinderella Castle, as well as an empty Main Street.
We contemplated riding Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, but at a 50-minute wait, we decided that took up too much of our precious time that night. However, if you're a family who has been anxiously waiting to ride, the lowest wait times for Mine Train are during Early Theme Park Entry and Extended Evening Hours. If you'd rather not wait, splurge on an individual Lightning Lane selection for the ride during regular park hours. Wait times for other rides remained low throughout the evening. About half an hour after Extended Evening Hours began, wait times ranged from 5 to 15 minutes for most rides — with the exceptions of Mine Train and Peter Pan's Flight (which were posted at 25 minutes).
Disney transportation will continue to run during these extended hours — our bus back to Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge was ready and waiting for us when we left! If you're at a Bay Lake resort with boat access, such as Wilderness Lodge or Fort Wilderness, ask your skipper upon departing the boat how late it's running, as sometimes buses become the primary transportation option later in the evening.
At EPCOT, our experience with Extended Evening Hours was a little more limiting. Because there are fewer rides offered, we found that lines were longer, particularly for popular, high-demand rides. The Extended Evening Hours at EPCOT also typically fall earlier than the hours at Magic Kingdom, so more people may be more willing to stay later (for example, during this past spring break season, Extended Evening Hours at EPCOT were 9 to 11 p.m. while the hours at Magic Kingdom were 11 p.m. to 1 a.m.). We still think it's worth riding a high-demand attraction during this time, but just know that you may experience longer wait times at this park!
The Extended Evening Hours perk gives you the wait times from an After Hours party (without the free food and drink). For smaller tadpoles, the late night may be difficult. But for kiddos (and let's be real, adults like Leap who really value their shut-eye) who can handle it, our ideal strategy would be to take advantage of Early Theme Park Entry in the morning, head back to the hotel mid-day for a nap or a swim, then head back at the end of the evening to take advantage of Extended Evening Hours. Use that time to knock out popular rides at their lowest wait times and take some gorgeous photos of an empty park!
Have you attended Extended Evening Hours at Disney World yet? Let us know in the comments below!
Related: Everything You Need to Know About Early Theme Park Entry at Walt Disney World
Hoppy planning!
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