If you’ve ever wanted to feel like you were staying out past curfew to ride all of the fun rides you couldn’t get to during the day (including the major headliners), read on.
Extended Evening Hours are a perk for guests staying at Deluxe-tier or eligible resorts at Walt Disney World (not to be confused with After Hours, a hard-ticket event anyone can purchase on select nights at select parks).
In a nutshell, Deluxe resort guests get extra park time at certain parks on certain nights after the park officially closes to other guests.
And it’s wonderful.
Note: We would not spend the hundreds to thousands of dollars extra to book a Deluxe resort just to attend Extended Evening Hours, but it’s a nice perk if you were already planning on going Deluxe.
While staying for EEH doesn’t take the near-PhD-level strategy required for a daytime visit, fitting in all of the attractions you want to visit in two hours still takes some strategy.
Let’s dive into it so you can make the most of your Extended Evening Hours at Magic Kingdom!
Is it worth it?
Definitely.
Extended Evening Hours usually have a fraction of the people attending than the usual daytime crowd levels. As a result, it can often feel like a VIP event.
Fewer people translates to shorter waits, so you can get a pretty solid number of attractions done in the two hours you’re given.
But the best part?
You can hit a few of those mega headliners—you know, the ones with the hard-to-get Lightning Lanes and long standby waits?—and usually see wait times of 25 minutes or less in the last hour of the event.
Important Note: Don’t forget! There are no Lightning Lanes available during extended hours, just standby queues (but you won’t need ‘em anyway).
General Strategy
Navigating the parks and fitting in all the attractions you want to ride in two hours still takes a little strategy.
We’ll dive into strategies for each park to help you make the most of your Extended Evening Hours, but here are two key points to remember:
- The later into the event, the shorter the lines will get (typically). Make sure to save any high-demand attractions until then.
- Pace yourself. A full day at a Disney park is no joke, especially if you plan to hang around after hours.
Trust us, Disney is much more fun when everyone in your party is well-rested! Dedicate your morning to a full, sit-down breakfast (our vote is Boma at Animal Kingdom Lodge!) and save the parks for the late afternoon.
OR:
If you feel Rope Drop FOMO and still want to hit the park in the morning, plan to take a big midday pool break and return to the parks after ~5 pm to close it out.
Extended Evening Hours tend to follow the pattern of mostly EPCOT on Mondays and Magic Kingdom on Wednesdays—but this does change seasonally.
Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios do get thrown into the mix, and MK and EPCOT will get thrown out depending on what else is going on. You’ll absolutely want to check the official Disney calendar for your visit, k?
A Note on Split Stays: If you plan a split stay (which means spending part of your Disney trip at a Deluxe resort, usually a strategy to save money), be sure to check thepark hours calendar and see if you can plan to attend Extended Evening Hours on nights you’re staying at the Deluxe.
Extended Evening Hours Strategy: Magic Kingdom
Despite needing a solid strategy in place during regular park operations, you don’t need to over-plan your evening strategy at Magic Kingdom.
Unless it’s Spring Break or a major school holiday, the majority of the rides will be less than a 15-minute wait except for Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, Tron, and Peter Pan’s Flight.
At the start of the event, we suggest starting in either Tomorrowland or Frontierland – unless you’ve got young kids and would rather focus on Fantasyland.
Note: We recommend saving Seven Dwarfs Mine Train or Tron as your final ride of the evening, since you’ll see waits of around 35 minutes in the first half of the event, versus 20 minutes or less near the end of the night.
If you opt to end with Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, you also wind up behind the Castle and can enjoy taking beautiful nighttime photos as you walk down a near-empty Main Street USA. A nice bonus!
Since it’s mostly big kids and adults hanging out late, we like to focus on thrills at Magic Kingdom EEH.
- We like to start by hitting Big Thunder Mountain and/or Tiana’s Bayou Adventure in Frontierland—these typically have reasonable waits earlier in the evening, and you can get through the queues fairly quickly.
- Then we might do an optional pit stop at Pirates of the Caribbean and Haunted Mansion before we head over to Tomorrowland. Riding the Mad Tea Party while we cut through Fantasyland is another fun option if time is on our side.
- Finally, we’re aiming to ride both Space Mountain and Buzz Lightyear in Tomorrowland if we have time, then end the night by getting in line for Tron or Seven Dwarfs Mine Train. Know that either attraction will still have somewhat of a wait, and you likely won’t have time to do both.
Bonus Rides We Don’t Like to Miss
Riding attractions after dark – especially those outdoors – is a super fun option to take advantage of during EEH. The nighttime experience is totally different, and we think choosing one (or even a few) of these is worth a stop.
- PeopleMover
- Tomorrowland Speedway
- Mad Tea Party
- Jungle Cruise
- Big Thunder Mountain
- Dumbo (for the view of the Castle!)
- Astro Orbiter (also for the view of the Castle!)
- Prince Charming Regal Carrousel
Ending Your Magic Kingdom Day the Right Way
Extended Evening Hours is one of those perks that largely flies under the radar but can completely change how you end your day at the parks. Since nighttime is one of our favorite ways to experience the parks (lighter crowds, cooler temps, shorter waits – what’s not to love?), we’re big fans of EEH.
Just remember that a little strategy goes a long way, so all that’s left is to ride your favorite rides and soak up that Disney magic – after dark!
Want more insight into your Magic Kingdom day? We have itineraries for every size and guides on everything from the best snacks to top attractions to the best places to stand during the fireworks!