The fun doesn’t have to end when the fireworks are over. 

While planning for my recent trip to Walt Disney World, I noticed that my itinerary would overlap with one of this year’s newest special nighttime events, Disney Villains After Hours at the Magic Kingdom, and I thought… what a perfect way to mix it up and kick off my trip! 

For those who don’t know, Villains After Hours is just one of Disney’s After Hours events, where on select dates certain Disney parks are open late (as late at 1am!) for a limited number of guests. Unlike your regular park tickets, After Hours events require a separate ticket, which means your theme park ticket is included in the cost. At Walt Disney World, After Hours events take place at the Magic Kingdom, Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom.

Special park events like this can be great for your itinerary, especially for your travel day (as long as you don’t tire out!). In our case, Villains After Hours landed on our travel day, so we opted to skip the park ticket for that day and focus on taking advantage of this special event. This was our only planned time in the Magic Kingdom, so we wanted to make the most and experience everything this special event had to offer.

A few things to know about After Hours and other ticketed events:

• Get there early. For many of these special ticketed events, you are able to enter the park a bit early, so even though the Villains After Hours party was from 10pm -1am, we were able to enter at 7pm to get a headstart. 
• Special Wristbands. Guests for the event are given a special wristband to wear, which you will need to show throughout the night (to make sure nobody sticks around that didn’t pay). When we first entered, we enjoyed taking pictures in front of Cinderella’s Castle with the sounds of a dance party in the background. After we got some great Memory Maker shots, we got right to the rides.
• No crowds? No problem! With over 20 attractions open, the best part of these events is that the crowds are non-existent! We walked right into to some of the park’s most popular rides, including Haunted Mansion, Splash Mountain, and Big Thunder Mountain. The longest we waited was 20 minutes for Pirates of the Caribbean and Space Mountain (which both featured villain-inspired enhancements for the night), as well as the ever-popular Seven Dwarfs Mine Train.
• Villains and Dragons, oh my! In addition to theme park attractions, Villains After Hours features a fun production featuring (you guessed it) the villains! What’s more, for the first time, Maleficent’s fire-breathing dragon float (from the Festival of Fantasy Parade) makes its way through the park …. So watch out!
• Snacks on snacks. If smaller crowds and unique entertainment aren’t enough, shall I mention that unlimited snacks (ice cream, popcorn, non-alcoholic drinks) are included with admission?! How many Mickey bars are acceptable to eat in one night? (Asking for a friend, of course!)

Overall, this event was a huge hit with our group (yay!) and is great to consider if you are looking to get on the top rides with little or no wait….. Or if you’re just a fan of the Disney Villains and want to dress up and catch your fave evil characters in action (dressing up is 100% optional).

For those headed to Disney this month, Disney Villains After Hours will continue on Thursdays through August 8, 2019. 

But don’t worry if you’re not able to make it to this special event, Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party and Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party are two more special events that are just around the corner. Plus, similar events take place at the Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios.

Ask your ET Family Travel agent about this event, or other similar events, for your next trip. Trust me, you will NOT be disappointed! 

by Tori Tomasheski – Co-Owner of ET Family Travel