Prolonged Night Theme Park Hours is an on-site perk for Walt Disney World visitors staying at a Deluxe Resorts, DVC Villas, and choose different motels this 12 months and in 2025. This technique information covers the whole lot it’s worthwhile to know: eligibility, trip rosters, the way it works, and ideas for finest utilizing the additional time. (Up to date February 24, 2025.)

By way of fundamentals, Prolonged Night Theme Park Hours (ExEH) is the oblique alternative for Night Further Magic Hours and is the present counterpart to Early Theme Park Entry. Nevertheless, there are a variety of variations between the morning and night further time within the parks.

Prolonged Night Theme Park Hours is often supplied after common park closing on Monday nights at EPCOT and Wednesday nights at Magic Kingdom. That schedule does change on occasion, however is correct the overwhelming majority of the time. See Walt Disney World’s official calendar for particular instances for every occasion night time. Word that if common hours are added inflicting park closing to happen later, which occurs ceaselessly, Prolonged Night Hours shifts to after that.

The pool of eligibility for Prolonged Night Hours is pretty small. This nighttime profit is completely for visitors staying at Walt Disney World Deluxe Resorts, Deluxe Villas (Disney Trip Membership items), and different choose motels (at present solely the Swan & Dolphin and Shades of Inexperienced). Visitors staying at Worth or Average Resorts are usually not eligible for Prolonged Night Hours.

Whereas initially promoted as a particular perk for the fiftieth Anniversary, Walt Disney World has confirmed that Prolonged Night Hours will proceed all through all of 2025. There are different updates due to official bulletins and omissions from Walt Disney World.

First, Walt Disney World has revealed its park hours calendar by the upcoming shoulder season, and in a uncommon twist, Animal Kingdom will host Prolonged Night Hours on Monday, Might 5, 2025. As famous above, this could usually be an EPCOT night time.

The schedule past that’s not but recognized, however we don’t anticipate Animal Kingdom to take over Prolonged Night Hours from EPCOT this summer season. Extra seemingly, there’s a company buyout of EPCOT that night time, which occurs on occasion when giant conventions and different occasions are being hosted at Walt Disney World.

Usually, EPCOT hosts Prolonged Night Hours all year long with only some random exceptions (like this) which can be often one-offs. It’s Magic Kingdom that often doesn’t supply Prolonged Night Hours on an prolonged foundation, however that doesn’t occur till later within the 12 months.

The park stops internet hosting ExEH when Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Celebration and Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Celebration kick into excessive gear. That sometimes begins in mid-to-late September and continues by early January. The conventional cadence is for Disney’s Hollywood Studios to take over ExEH in September and October, after which Disney’s Animal Kingdom in November as soon as the Jollywood Nights Christmas Events begin at DHS.

This may occasionally look like a downgrade, however we’ve completed Prolonged Night Hours at Magic Kingdom a few instances through the Celebration Season up to now, and it has been bonkers busy. Shifting it over to DHS and Animal Kingdom throughout these busy stretches is the appropriate transfer for everybody. Particularly since Animal Kingdom is underrated within the evenings, and Disney’s Hollywood Studios has a number of headliners. (As a result of structure of the parks and distance between large rides, we favor Prolonged Night Hours at DHS to EPCOT.)

Subsequent, some trip roster modifications for 2025. The excellent news is that digital queues are ending at Walt Disney World as of February 25, that means that Tiana’s Bayou Journey and Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind will now not person them as of that date. (TRON Lightcycle Run’s digital queue was retired final fall.)

Beforehand, there was a 6 p.m. digital queue entry time for Prolonged Night Hours for sights utilizing the boarding group system. Now, they’ll use standby traces identical to every other trip.

Walt Disney World nonetheless has NOT added Tiana’s Bayou Journey to the Prolonged Night Hours trip roster. That is one other reimagined trip–the alternative for Splash Mountain, which was an ExEH attraction.Tiana’s Bayou Journey had been utilizing a digital queue throughout its preliminary opening interval to take care of downtime points and reliability woes.

It switching to standby suggests these issues could now not exist, through which case, Tiana’s Bayou Journey would possibly be a part of the Prolonged Night Hours lineup quickly. This might be a really welcome addition, particularly with Massive Thunder Mountain Railroad down till 2026, and rolling refurbishments taking different rides down for shorter timeframes.

Turning to a subject of confusion, Prolonged Night Hours is distinct and completely different from After Hours at Magic Kingdom and After Hours at EPCOT. These are onerous ticket occasions to which anybody should purchase admission. After Hours additionally lasts longer and consists of refreshments.

Though the schedule varies, Magic Kingdom sometimes hosts After Hours on choose Monday and Thursday nights–however not Wednesdays. It’s additionally price noting that After Hours costs vary from $125 to $175.

Against this, Prolonged Night Hours are “free” for visitors staying within the aforementioned resort tiers, are shorter in period, and don’t embody refreshments. After Hours and Prolonged Night Hours are additionally held on completely different dates. If cash is not any object, After Hours is certainly higher, however that’s a fairly large asterisk. We’ll take the “free” occasion any day of the week over having to pay further–they’re not that a lot completely different.

Early Entry can also be completely different from Prolonged Night Hours. Clearly, one happens within the morning and the opposite at night time. Past that, Early Entry is obtainable in any respect 4 theme parks each single day, runs for half-hour, and each on-site resort visitor is eligible, together with the third social gathering on-property motels. For the whole lot it’s worthwhile to find out about that profit, see our Technique Information for Early Theme Park Entry at Walt Disney World.

As soon as once more, Prolonged Night Theme Park Hours has two forms of resort eligibility, happens two nights per week, is at two parks, and runs for 2 hours (just about the whole lot in regards to the perk happens in twos).

The opposite large distinction is you could accomplish an incredible quantity throughout Prolonged Night Hours. We’ve completed it at each Epcot and Magic Kingdom, and it’s been nice in each parks–eerily uncrowded by the top, with most sights being stroll ons.

With that mentioned, it’s positively superior at Magic Kingdom, and that’s largely because of the extra sturdy trip roster–and the truth that a number of headliners are positioned close to each other. Magic Kingdom has as many fashionable sights in Fantasyland as is the case within the entirety of Epcot. (Examine one such expertise in our Night Prolonged Hours at Magic Kingdom Photograph Report.)

Talking of which, slightly extra strategizing is required so as to knock out Remy’s Ratatouille Journey, Frozen Ever After, Check Monitor, Soarin’ Across the World, and Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind throughout a single Prolonged Night Hours in Epcot.

Examine one in all our current makes an attempt at this in Night Prolonged Hours at EPCOT Technique & Report, which gives play-by-play from one night time that we did a pair months in the past. Nonetheless, we had a incredible time and extremely advocate benefiting from Prolonged Night Hours in each parks, in case you’re eligible.

Now that Cosmic Rewind has lastly dropped its digital queue, we’ll be subject testing technique once more to see if it’s nonetheless doable to hit all the headliners in a single night.

Earlier than singing its praises an excessive amount of, we should always most likely tackle the elephant within the room: that “if eligible” asterisk. Many Walt Disney World followers have been crucial about Prolonged Night Hours for excluding Worth and Average Resorts.

Their perspective is that it caters to the rich or creates two tiers of on-site resort visitors. Clearly, the purpose about decrease tier resorts not being eligible is correct. The opposite factors are subjective, and the identical claims could possibly be made about off-site vs. on-site visitors with the Early Entry profit.

Clearly, nobody likes shedding entry to a perk, however the motive Prolonged Night Theme Park Hours are this fulfilling is as a result of it’s restricted to a small subset of visitors. Night Further Magic Hours had been crowded to the purpose of being virtually ineffective and unenjoyable of their final couple of years.

Prolonged Night Hours are means higher than that, and in addition superior to the brand new early entry providing. That’s regardless of this solely occurring two nights per week and thus “consolidating” crowds into that single night. For probably the most half, there haven’t been a ton of visitors benefiting from this–and that has been true even throughout peak season. Prolonged Night Hours have been wonderful–for many who are eligible.

In any case, we’re not right here to debate the basic equity of Prolonged Night Hours. Reasonably, the aim of this information is to supply data in regards to the profit and allow you to take advantage of it.

To that finish, potential choices for benefiting from Prolonged Night Hours with out breaking the financial institution embody doing Disney Trip Membership Level Leases or reserving the Swan & Dolphin Resorts, that are often roughly the price of a Average Resort.

One other concept that we actually like is doing a cut up keep, splurging on an evening at a Deluxe Resort (see The right way to Do Break up Stays at Walt Disney World Accommodations) after which doing funds lodging the remainder of your trip. You could possibly additionally do a two night-stay, checking in on a Monday and out on a Wednesday, so as to make the most of each Prolonged Night Hours nights.

When you actually wished to go large, pair that with Membership Degree, benefiting from the early/late hours and having fun with the membership through the center of the day. You could possibly fairly accomplish each worthwhile attraction in Magic Kingdom or Epcot through the first few hours of the day plus the previous couple of hours of the night time.

Do breakfast in one of many Membership Degree lounges, whereas additionally having fun with a pool day and each different foods and drinks unfold (save for desserts). That will be an superior solution to TREAT YO SELF, and could possibly be made doable by reducing prices elsewhere out of your Walt Disney World trip funds.

Subsequent, let’s check out the eligible motels for Prolonged Night Theme Park Hours…

Prolonged Night Hours Eligible Disney Owned Accommodations

Deluxe Resorts

• Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge
• Disney’s Seaside Membership Resort
• Disney’s BoardWalk Inn
• Disney’s Up to date Resort
• Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa
• Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort
• Disney’s Wilderness Lodge
• Disney’s Yacht Membership Resort

Disney Trip Membership & Deluxe Villa Resorts

• Bay Lake Tower at Disney’s Up to date Resort
• Boulder Ridge Villas at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge
• Cabins at Fort Wilderness – Disney Trip Membership Resort
• Copper Creek Villas & Cabins at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge
• Disney’s Animal Kingdom Villas – Jambo Home
• Disney’s Animal Kingdom Villas – Kidani Village
• Disney’s Seaside Membership Villas
• Disney’s BoardWalk Villas
• Disney’s Previous Key West Resort
• Disney’s Polynesian Villas & Bungalows
• Disney’s Riviera Resort
• Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa
• Island Tower at Disney’s Polynesian Villas & Bungalows
• Villas at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa

Prolonged Night Hours Eligible Third Celebration Accommodations

• Walt Disney World Swan Lodge
• Walt Disney World Dolphin Lodge
• Walt Disney World Swan Reserve
• Shades of Inexperienced

Subsequent, the sights lineup for Prolonged Night Theme Park Hours…

Prolonged Night Theme Park Hours Points of interest – Magic Kingdom

• “it’s a small world”
• Astro Orbiter
• The Barnstormer
• Massive Thunder Mountain Railroad (closed till 2026)
• Buzz Lightyear’s House Ranger Spin
• Nation Bear Jamboree
• Dumbo the Flying Elephant
• Haunted Mansion
• Mad Tea Celebration
• The Magic Carpets of Aladdin
• The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
• Mickey’s PhilharMagic
• Monsters Inc. Snigger Ground
• Peter Pan’s Flight
• Pirates of the Caribbean
• Prince Charming Regal Carrousel
• Seven Dwarfs Mine Prepare
• House Mountain
• Swiss Household Treehouse
• Tomorrowland Speedway
• TRON Lightcycle Run
• Below the Sea ~ Journey of The Little Mermaid
• Walt Disney’s Enchanted Tiki Room

Prolonged Night Theme Park Hours Points of interest – Epcot

• Frozen Ever After
• Gran Fiesta Tour Starring The Three Caballeros
• Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind
• Journey of Water, Impressed by Moana
• Mission: SPACE
• Remy’s Ratatouille Journey
• Soarin’ Across the World
• Spaceship Earth
• The Seas with Nemo & Buddies
• Check Monitor (closed for reimagining till Late Summer time 2025)

Prolonged Night Hours Points of interest – Disney’s Hollywood Studios (Seasonal)

• Alien Swirling Saucers
• Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway
• Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run
• Rock ‘n’ Curler Coaster Starring Aerosmith
• Slinky Canine Sprint
• Star Excursions – The Adventures Proceed
• Toy Story Mania!
• The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror

Prolonged Night Hours Points of interest – Disney’s Animal Kingdom (Seasonal)

• Avatar Flight of Passage
• DINOSAUR
• Expedition Everest – Legend of the Forbidden Mountain
• It’s Powerful to be a Bug!
• Na’vi River Journey

As you may see, not all Walt Disney World sights can be found throughout Prolonged Night Hours. With minor exceptions, these lists are similar to the outdated night Further Magic Hours with headliners being the emphasis.

Furthermore, the Prolonged Night Theme Park Hours schedule and accessible sights are topic to vary with out discover. Relevant theme park, days and instances of operation, attraction and repair availability could differ and are topic to vary with out discover. Topic to capability and cancellation. [Insert other boring boilerplate caveats.]

Legitimate theme park admission and MagicBand, Key to the World Card, or Disney MagicMobile cross is required. Visitors with out the Park Hopper Choice or Park Hopper Plus Choice should spend the day on the identical park the place they’d wish to benefit from the Prolonged Night Theme Park Hours profit.

To validate eligibility, Solid Members are stationed outdoors every attraction entrance, scanning MagicBands, resort room keys, and many others. Not like Early Entry, this occurs at each single attraction all through the night time—not simply as soon as upon arrival. That’s as a result of different visitors are already within the parks–that’s the one possible solution to decide who can trip sights for the reason that parks are usually not actively cleared at the beginning of Prolonged Night Hours.

Prolonged Night Theme Park Hours Technique

Technique for Prolonged Night Theme Park Hours is surprisingly easy. Begin with much less fashionable sights and end with extra fashionable ones. Principally, do rides in reverse order of wait instances, whereas nonetheless preserving in thoughts that 2 hours goes by shortly, that means you don’t wish to waste any of that point on sights that may have minimal daytime waits (assuming you’re additionally visiting the identical park through the day).

One key to that is coupling Prolonged Night Theme Park Hours technique with Lightning Lane utilization, or lack thereof. (See our Information to Lightning Lanes at Walt Disney World for the whole lot it’s worthwhile to know.) Particularly, visitors who’re eligible for ExEH most likely do not want to purchase Lightning Lane Single Move, and may as a substitute backload these sights into the top of their night.

Let’s shortly run by what this implies for every park.

At Magic Kingdom, your final three sights needs to be House Mountain, Peter Pan’s Flight, and Seven Dwarfs Mine Prepare–with that order making probably the most sense. Attempt to time it so that you get into line for Seven Dwarfs Mine Prepare ~5 minutes earlier than the top of Prolonged Night Hours. Disregard the posted wait time, because it’ll virtually definitely be considerably inflated to discourage you from doing it.

Then there’s TRON Lightcycle Run.

As famous above, TRON Lightcycle Run dropped its digital queue, proper as Prolonged Night Hours ended at Magic Kingdom for the 12 months. We haven’t had an opportunity to check technique for TRON’s standby line throughout ExEH, however will very quickly. Our expectation is that doing it on the very finish of the night is the perfect strategy, however we’ll affirm and report again.

At Epcot, the technique is a tad tougher as a result of there are solely a handful of fashionable sights, all of which command decently-long waits throughout Prolonged Night Hours. Conversely, the whole lot else is comparatively unpopular and will likely be a walk-on, however that’s additionally true throughout a lot of the daytime working hours. With that mentioned, finish your night with Soarin’ Across the World, Check Monitor, Frozen Ever After, and Remy’s Ratatouille Journey.

Ideally, you’ll leap into line for the Rat Experience about 5 minutes earlier than the top of the night time. The additional benefit right here is that you simply’ll have the ability to take an extended, leisurely stroll out of World Showcase with nobody else round. You would possibly even have the ability to go the “good distance” round to exit the park–assuming you’re not leaving by Worldwide Gateway.

Since Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind switched to standby, we haven’t had an opportunity to check ExEH technique. Our expectation is that the optimum strategy will likely be just like After Hours at EPCOT, the place doing it final will likely be finest. That is largely as a result of the pre-shows are so lengthy that Cosmic Rewind takes up a variety of time from start-to-finish. And demand is excessive, so pushing that wait till after ExEH has ended is right.

When DHS gives one other Prolonged Night Hours, our advice is beginning with Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway, adopted by Rock ‘n’ Curler Coaster and Tower of Terror, and ending with Slinky Canine Sprint earlier than leaping in line for Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance proper on the very finish of the night time.

Principally, the thought is beginning with the lowest-demand sights and ending with highest. It stays to be seen whether or not Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance will take part in ExEH in Late 2025. It’s not on the official listing, however it has been open on a hit and miss foundation up to now. If it’s not collaborating, we’d advocate leaping in line for that shortly earlier than official park closing.

Finally, that’s the whole lot it’s worthwhile to find out about Prolonged Night Theme Park Hours at Walt Disney World. What you do earlier within the night time doesn’t actually matter, as long as you put aside enough time for the aforementioned headliners on the very finish.

We are going to proceed updating this technique information within the coming months as Prolonged Night Hours proceed to evolve, and as issues “cool down” and discover their groove. Keep tuned–we’ll proceed to cowl all the necessary planning particulars and in addition share extra Prolonged Night Hours picture stories from our experiences with this new on-site resort profit!

Planning a Walt Disney World journey? Study motels on our Walt Disney World Accommodations Opinions web page. For the place to eat, learn our Walt Disney World Restaurant Opinions. To economize on tickets or decide which sort to purchase, learn our Suggestions for Saving Cash on Walt Disney World Tickets publish. Our What to Pack for Disney Journeys publish takes a singular have a look at intelligent objects to take. For what to do and when to do it, our Walt Disney World Experience Guides will assist. For complete recommendation, the perfect place to start out is our Walt Disney World Journey Planning Information for the whole lot it’s worthwhile to know!

YOUR THOUGHTS

Ideas on Prolonged Night Theme Park Hours at Walt Disney World? Excited to make the most of the brand new on-site visitor perk or assume it’s too quick to be helpful? Disenchanted in regards to the eligibility guidelines or attraction lineups? Do you agree or disagree with our evaluation? Any questions we may help you reply? Listening to your suggestions–even while you disagree with us–is each fascinating to us and useful to different readers, so please share your ideas under within the feedback!