Disney World Announces After Hours Party 2025 Dates & Pricing

After Hours parties are returning once again starting in January 2025 at three of the four Walt Disney World theme parks! This post shares dates, pricing, and other details about the low-crowds special events at Magic Kingdom, EPCOT and Hollywood Studios, plus our recommendations about when to do and not do them, and a quick look at this year’s hard ticket events thus far.

Let’s start with the basics. In case you aren’t familiar with Disney After Hours, these late-night, separately ticketed events let you enjoy a Walt Disney World theme park for three additional hours after regular park hours. After Hours events include “free” treats such as ice cream, popcorn and select beverages (air quotes around free since you’re paying for a ticket and it’s presumably built into the cost).

Disney After Hours will start on January 6, 2025 at Magic Kingdom; January 22, 2025 at Disney’s Hollywood Studios; and February 27, 2025 at EPCOT. The only park not participating in After Hours is Animal Kingdom, which is probably because its initial experiment with the offering didn’t go so well. People did seem to enjoy Extended Evening Hours at Animal Kingdom last Party Season, but that’s a “free” event for certain on-site guests, so there’s a difference in expectations between that and the pricey After Hours parties.

The main selling point of Disney After Hours events is that the number of tickets for these events is limited, which means lower wait times for some of your favorite attractions. Unlike Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party or Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party, these After Hours evenings are advertised as low crowds events.

Event times at Disney’s Hollywood Studios are from 9:30 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. Event times at Magic Kingdom and at EPCOT are from 10 p.m. to 1:00 a.m. You can get a head start on attractions by entering the park beginning at 7 p.m. to squeeze even more fun out of your midnight merriment with family and friends.

Let’s take a look at attractions, event date ranges, ticket prices, and other details for After Hours at Walt Disney World in 2025…

After Hours at Disney’s Hollywood Studios

During After Hours at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, you can play in Andy’s backyard in Toy Story Land, join the resistance with Chewbacca in Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge and embark on a whimsical adventure aboard Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway, among other favorites.

At Disney’s Hollywood Studios, attractions include:

• Millennium Falcon: Smuggler’s Run
• Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance
• Slinky Dog Dash
• Toy Story Mania!
• Alien Swirling Saucers
• The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror
• Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith
• Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway

See our Guide to After Hours at Disney’s Hollywood Studios for full dates and specific ticket prices, strategy, and more.

After Hours at Magic Kingdom

At Magic Kingdom, this means you can enjoy more than 20 popular attractions with lower wait times, including the following:

• TRON Lightcycle Run (standby line offered)
• Tiana’s Bayou Adventure (standby line offered)
• Space Mountain
• Seven Dwarfs Mine Train
• Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin
• Haunted Mansion
• “it’s a small world”
• Jungle Cruise
• Peter Pan’s Flight

And many more!

See our Guide to After Hours at Magic Kingdom for full dates and specific ticket prices, strategy, and more.

After Hours at EPCOT

The following is a list of some of the attractions available during EPCOT After Hours:

• Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind
• Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure
• Frozen Ever After
• Soarin’ Around the World
• Gran Fiesta Tour Starring The Three Caballeros
• Living with the Land
• Mission: SPACE
• The Seas with Nemo & Friends
• Spaceship Earth

See our Guide to After Hours at EPCOT for full dates and specific ticket prices, strategy, and more.

2025 Disney After Hours Ticket Prices & Sales Dates

Note that After Hours still does not mean the end of the free Extended Evening Hours. While originally promoted as a special perk for the 50th Anniversary, Walt Disney World has confirmed that Extended Evening Hours will continue throughout all of 2025 for guests staying at a Disney Deluxe Resort, Disney Deluxe Villa Resort, or other select hotels.

About the only thing that might change is the schedule, with modifications along the lines of what we’ve seen for Party Season. But even that is doubtful, as After Hours doesn’t cause Magic Kingdom to close at 6 pm like MNSSHP or MVMCP.

If you’re eligible for it, we highly recommend Extended Evening Hours. It’s not as good as After Hours, but it also doesn’t cost extra. Given that, it’s difficult for us to justify (or recommend to others) paying more for After Hours. For more info on the free ‘version’ of this perk, see our Guide to Extended Evening Hours at Walt Disney World.

As you’re planning ahead for 2025 Walt Disney World vacations, one thing to keep in mind is that normal park hours are not just subject to change, but absolutely will change. We’ve heard from a couple of disappointed readers who bought After Hours tickets on the basis of shorter regular hours, only to have hours during their travel dates extended.

Don’t be surprised when regular operating hours are extended. This absolutely will happen. Walt Disney World always releases “boilerplate” hours that are virtually meaningless, with the three parks that do After Hours open from 9 am to 9 pm. Those are almost never the final hours, which begs the question: why release them in the first place?!

Honestly, this is a double-edged sword. If Walt Disney World does extend park hours by a significant amount (11 pm or midnight Magic Kingdom closing), it means they’re forecasting high attendance. If they do not extend park hours at all, it means they’re forecasting low attendance…and you probably won’t need After Hours in the first place.

Suffice to say, don’t use currently posted park hours as a basis for making a decision to buy (or not buy) After Hours tickets. You’re best off purchasing tickets to the event because you want to attend for fun, not because you need to attend due to hours or expectations about crowds. There are other ways to beat crowds. After Hours is best viewed as a quasi-VIP splurge that makes for an easier and more enjoyable park experience.

We’ve done every single After Hours event that Walt Disney World has held, from the themed ones (Villains, Halloween, Christmas) to these vanilla ones at Magic Kingdom and Disney’s Hollywood Studios (back in 2018 through early 2020) and again within the last year, including the newer After Hours at EPCOT.

For the most part, our experiences have been positive, although colored by a bit by annoyance that what was once free now costs money. At this point, that’s just the story of Walt Disney World. Magic Kingdom used to close at midnight on even moderately crowded days, and on many of those same nights, had Extra Magic Hours until 3 a.m. (Evening Extra Magic Hours used to be 3 hours long).

This was even the case during the Great Recession when attendance was lower than it is now, so daytime crowds were comparatively light. Now, attendance is significantly higher (by several millions of guests per year), and regular park hours have been reduced by several hours per day. More people crammed into fewer hours, which does not compute.

Nevertheless, we’ve (begrudgingly) bought the After Hours tickets in the past because we’ve felt that the parties are worth it as quasi-VIP experiences for a more approachable price. As noted above, After Hours is comparable to the Halloween and Christmas parties, albeit with significantly lower crowds and minus the seasonal entertainment. In fact, we’ve been so pleased with this event in previous years that it made our Best Value Splurges at Walt Disney World List.

You might notice those assessments are in the past tense. Ticket prices are up pretty significantly for the After Hours parties, by roughly $10 to $36 depending upon the date and park as compared to a couple years ago. For most of the ones we’d be able or want to attend, the increases are $20 to $30. That’s just too much for us to justify–but we’re also Annual Passholders who’ve been to the parks and done every attraction hundreds of times (well, save for the newest ones).

While we do expect future 2025 After Hours events to sell out, we can’t help but wonder if no dates have yet because others like us have reached their breaking point. Even as we really enjoy the event and have recommended it in the past, the prices are just too high for us–we’re out. Maybe we’re alone in that and other fans will happily pay the higher prices, but judging by crowds at the first few events this year, it doesn’t seem like it. Subsequent parties during busier or hotter times of year have sold out, but not nearly to the same extent as in previous years.

What we would pay to attend is themed After Hours events. Although not branded as such, that’s sort of what Disney Jollywood Nights Christmas Party is–a hybrid hard ticket party and After Hours event. Likewise, there was the aforementioned Villains After Hours at Magic Kingdom pre-closure, as well as the one-off Christmas and Halloween events in Magic Kingdom.

All of those offered unique hooks in addition to limited capacity and short lines. As fans who are repeat visitors to Walt Disney World, that’s what we need in order to be able to justify doing these events at $150+ price points. Otherwise, the value just isn’t there for us.

We have been begging for a Disney Afternoon or 90s Nostalgia Nite at Walt Disney World or Disneyland. That is the theme we know would “speak to” the infamous Childless Millennials–or Disney Adults of the parental or kid-free variety–with disposable income and sentimentality for their formative years.

I’d also love a reprise of the Pirate & Princess Parties, which could sell pretty well if given a second chance (they failed because they launched during the Great Recession and pre-social media–not due to quality). Beyond that, it seems like there’s a lot of potential to tap into the nostalgia of APs and DVC members by bringing back Wishes and other extinct entertainment on a limited time basis.

If you’re a first-timer or infrequent Walt Disney World visitor, your calculus probably differs from ours as Annual Passholders who are in the parks regularly. Essentially, the value proposition of After Hours is whether 6 hours (3 with low crowds, 3 with low to moderate crowds) is better than 10-12 hours in the parks during the day. Even if you used an efficient itinerary for Magic Kingdom or Disney’s Hollywood Studios during those normal operating hours, the answer to that used to be yes.

With that said, the equation has changed with Lightning Lanes, as well as Early Entry and Extended Evening Hours (at Magic Kingdom, at least). At least two of these things are controversial, but can be highly advantageous–especially at Magic Kingdom. Then there’s Early Entry at DHS, which is less divisive and offers a tremendous head start.

The other thing that it’s important not to overlook is the timing of After Hours. This is good or bad, depending upon your perspective. For many parents, it’s a total nonstarter, as the prime time for the event is post-bedtime for many kids.

For others, it’s a huge upside when considering the reality of Florida weather. Humidity can be oppressive and the midday sun can be draining. At night, the sun is down and it feels better. That’s one of the reasons why we love After Hours in the summer months. The weather is very different at the beginning of the year, but being in the parks at night is still nicer.

Ultimately, that’s my basis for reluctantly recommending After Hours at Magic Kingdom or Disney’s Hollywood Studios to first-timers or infrequent Walt Disney World visitors with limited vacation time and extra money for splurging. (We do not recommend After Hours at EPCOT to anyone.)

The After Hours events are unquestionably expensive, but also a good way to get a lot done at Magic Kingdom or Disney’s Hollywood Studios without waking up at the crack of dawn for Early Entry or criss-crossing the park while using Lightning Lanes. Most importantly, After Hours events are friction-less. 

You don’t need some grand strategy or plan-of-attack for experiencing a ton of attractions during these hard ticket events. They offer a quasi-VIP experience without having to be accompanied by a tour guide–best of both worlds! On top of that, After Hours occurs at night. Obviously. Point being, you’re getting the best of weather, crowds, wait times and (as a result of all three) just general pleasantness. You’re likely to enjoy After Hours a great deal, especially as compared to a normal day in the park.

Planning a Walt Disney World trip? Learn about hotels on our Walt Disney World Hotels Reviews page. For where to eat, read our Walt Disney World Restaurant Reviews. To save money on tickets or determine which type to buy, read our Tips for Saving Money on Walt Disney World Tickets post. Our What to Pack for Disney Trips post takes a unique look at clever items to take. For what to do and when to do it, our Walt Disney World Ride Guides will help. For comprehensive advice, the best place to start is our Walt Disney World Trip Planning Guide for everything you need to know!

Your Thoughts

Have you attended After Hours at Magic Kingdom, Disney’s Hollywood Studios, or EPCOT? What did you think of the event? Will you be buying After Hours tickets for 2025? Would you attend, or is it too pricey? Do you agree or disagree with our assessment? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!