For the last few years guests have been able to stay late in the Walt Disney World theme parks by using Extended Evening Theme Park Hours. What does it mean and who can benefit? We’ll break it all down for you.
As you know, since the Disney World reopening phase began in 2020, the popular Extra Magic Hours were essentially eliminated from the theme parks meaning all guests could arrive at the same time without any advantage for on-site Disney World Resort hotel guests.
Now that has changed with Extended Evening Theme Park Hours and the morning Early Theme Park Entry.
The way it works is guests staying at one of the Disney Deluxe or Deluxe Villa Resort hotels get extended access to the theme parks on select nights. That means that you will be able to stay late at the parks and continue enjoying the attractions while all the other guests will have to go home.
In this guide, we will explain everything you need to know about Extended Evening Hours including how it works, which hotels participate in extended evening hours, which attractions are open and how to take best advantage of your time there.
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(UPDATE) Extended Evening Hours Continuing Throughout All of 2025
Disney has just announced that its Extended Evening Theme Park Hours perk is being extended to select Walt Disney World Resort hotel guests for the entire 2025 year.
Originally, Extended Evening Theme Park Hours was supposed to only stick around through the end of the 50th Anniversary celebration in 2022, but every year since, they have continued bringing it back, and we now know that guests can use it at least through the end of 2025.
Recently Disney also announced that it was extending Early Theme Park Entry for guests who want to get to the parks early, so it was only a matter of time before they also announced Extended Evening Hours were sticking around too.
We think they made the right choice as Extended Evening Hours give guests at Deluxe Resorts a huge advantage, being able to ride the attractions with low wait times.
(UPDATE) Extended Evening Hours Not Offered at Hollywood Studios
When the new Extended Evening Theme Park Hours originally debuted, it was only being offered at EPCOT and Disney’s Magic Kingdom park, but a different times over the past few years, Disney’s Animal Kingdom and Disney’s Hollywood Studios have also been included in the list of theme parks running the event.
However, at this time Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom have been removed from the Extended Evening Theme Park Hours, which means you won’t get to stay extra late in those parks anytime soon.
Why Disney isn’t offering Extended Evening Hours at we are unable to understand. It makes sense to bring this back this year, especially during the busiest times of the year at Spring Break and into the summer. Crowds have been picking up in recent months, so it would be nice if guests could once again enjoy a couple of extra hours of fun in all the parks.
What we aren’t sure about at this time is if Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom being off the list of theme parks for Extended Evening Hours is for the rest of the year, or if dates will eventually be added later on.
When Extended Evening Hours is running at Hollywood Studios, the full lineup of available attractions includes:
- Alien Swirling Saucers
- Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway
- Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run
- Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith
- Slinky Dog Dash
- Star Tours – The Adventures Continue
- Toy Story Mania!
- The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror
As of this writing, it also appears that only EPCOT and Magic Kingdom will remain on the schedule.
Stay tuned for more updates to Extended Evening Hours, including whether more Hollywood Studios dates are eventually added, if it will come back to the Animal Kingdom, and keep reading down below for all the details about this event.
(UPDATE) Extended Evening Hours Returning to Disney’s Magic Kingdom
Extended Evening Hours at the Magic Kingdom has been on hold since September, but that is changing starting in January 2024 as Disney is bringing it back.
Extended Evening Hours will be available at Disney’s Magic Kingdom starting on January 3, 2024 from 9:00 pm to 11:00 and it looks like guests will be able to use it for the foreseeable future after that.
The reason for this change is simple. During the fall and holiday months Disney’s Magic Kingdom was/is hosting Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party and Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party. When they are running, it’s natural for Extended Evening Hours to stop for a time and move to another park instead, which is exactly what happened.
My guess is that Extended Evening Hours will stick around past January and at least into the spring when the crowd levels are especially high. So if you are going during that time you should have ample opportunity to take advantage.
We’ll have to wait to see what happens once the Disney calendars are updated so stay tuned.
When Did Extended Evening Hours Start?
Extended Evening Hours started on October 4, 2021, and are now available to guests. The schedules are updated on a regular basis on the Walt Disney World website and it typically runs for 2 hours after the regular theme park closing time on a given day.
Which Parks are Open and When?
Different from Early Theme Park Entry, Extended Evening Hours is not in every park, and not every night of the week. It’s similar to the old Extra Magic Hours with each park selected on certain nights.
- There are two participating Walt Disney World theme parks at this time: Magic Kingdom and EPCOT. Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom do not have any Extended Evening Hours dates scheduled at this time.
- Disney’s Magic Kingdom has Extended Evening Hours on Wednesdays, and EPCOT on Mondays. However, the days do change so don’t assume those are always the days they are held. When Hollywood Studios is running the dates are more sporadic without a set weekly schedule. Check the official schedule to make sure you have the dates right.
- On those nights, those parks are open 2 hours later than the listed closing time.
So far on the schedule, the participating theme parks are:
- Disney’s Magic Kingdom – on most Wednesdays (some other weekdays at times), for 2 Hours after park closing time.
- March 20 (10:00 pm to 12:00 am)
- March 27 (11:00 pm to 1:00 am)
- April 3 (11:00 pm to 1:00 am)
- April 10, 17, 24 (9:00 pm to 11:00 pm)
- May 1, 8 (9:00 pm to 11:00 pm)
- May 15, 22 (10:00 pm to 12:00 am)
- EPCOT – on most Mondays, for 2 Hours after park closing time
- March 18, 25 (9:00 pm to 11:00 pm)
- April 1, 8, 15, 22, 29 (9:00 pm to 11:00 pm)
- May 6, 13, 20, 27 (9:00 pm to 11:00 pm)
- Disney’s Hollywood Studios – for 2 Hours after park closing time.
- No Dates Scheduled at this time
- Disney’s Animal Kingdom – for 2 Hours after park closing time.
- No Dates Scheduled at this time
Right now each of those parks is only selected once per week (at least most of the time). Each park is open for an extra 2 hours which is a nice bonus for Deluxe Resort guests and lets you get all your favorite attractions done with greatly reduced wait times.
Check the Walt Disney World website for the latest schedules and times.
How Does it Work?
In order to access the Extended Evening Hours, guests will need a valid ticket or pass and a theme park reservation for the same park on the same day. You will also need to use your MagicBand, Disney MagicMobile pass, or Key to the World to prove which resort you are staying at.
Guests can enter with an Annual Pass (granted they are staying at a Deluxe Resort) or with the Park Hopper option as long as they already entered the park where they had a reservation earlier in the day.
It’s important to note that Disney says that “select attractions” are running during Extended Evening Hours. While not every single attraction is open, most of the popular E-Ticket rides are available.
Merchandise, as well as food and beverage locations, are also running during Extended Evening Hours, though it’s a limited number of dining locations and not all of them are open.
Park Hopping is also possible with Extended Evening Hours, so you can be at another park earlier in the day or evening and then head over to either EPCOT or the Magic Kingdom to enjoy the extra time. Just keep in mind that you need to have entered the park where you made your original park pass reservation before park hopping to a second park.
Which Hotels Qualify for Extended Evening Hours?
Guests who want to take advantage of the Extended Evening Hours perk must be staying at one of the following hotels:
- Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge
- Disney’s Animal Kingdom Villas – Kidani Village
- Disney’s Animal Kingdom Villas – Jambo House
- Bay Lake Tower at Disney’s Contemporary Resort
- Disney’s Beach Club Resort
- Disney’s Beach Club Villas
- Disney’s BoardWalk Inn
- Disney’s BoardWalk Villas
- Boulder Ridge Villas at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge
- Copper Creek Villas & Cabins Disney’s Wilderness Lodge
- Disney’s Contemporary Resort
- Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa
- The Villas at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa
- Disney’s Old Key West Resort
- Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort
- Disney’s Polynesian Villas & Bungalows
- Disney’s Riviera Resort
- Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa
- Disney’s Wilderness Lodge
- Disney’s Yacht Club Resort
- Walt Disney World Swan Hotel
- Walt Disney World Swan Reserve
- Walt Disney World Dolphin Hotel
- Shades of Green Resort
Extended Evening Hours are NOT available to guests staying at any of the Walt Disney World Moderate or Value Resorts.
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Attractions Open for Extended Evening Hours
One of the best advantages of being in the Disney theme parks for Extended Evening Hours is getting to ride your favorite attractions with shorter-than-usual wait times.
Here is the full list of attractions that are running in each Disney World park during Extended Evening Hours:
- “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
- Walt Disney’s Enchanted Tiki Room
In total there are 22 attractions open at the Magic Kingdom during Extended Evening Hours with most of the best attractions available such as Space Mountain, Pirates of the Caribbean, and Seven Dwarfs Mine Train.
- 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
There are 9 attractions open at EPCOT during Extended Evening Hours including favorites such as Test Track, Soarin’ Around the World, and Frozen Ever After.
- Alien Swirling Saucers
- Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway
- Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run
- Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith
- Slinky Dog Dash
- Star Tours – The Adventures Continue
- Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance (not currently included)
- Toy Story Mania!
- The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror
There are 9 attractions open at Disney’s Hollywood Studios during Extended Evening Hours including Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance, Slinky Dog Dash, and Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway.
- Avatar Flight of Passage
- DINOSAUR
- Expedition Everest – Legend of the Forbidden Mountain
- It’s Tough to be a Bug!
- Meet Favorite Disney Pals at Adventurers Outpost
- Na’vi River Journey
- TriceraTop Spin
FAQs
Extended Evening Hours start after the regular theme park closing time and run for 2 hours. Guests can show up at the desired park at any time during the day. Once the Extended Evening Hours begin, guests’ theme park tickets or MagicBands will be checked before entering attractions to make sure they should be there.
At this time Disney’s Magic Kingdom, and EPCOT are participating in Extended Evening Hours. Disney’s Hollywood Studios and Disney’s Animal Kingdom do not currently have any dates scheduled.
There is no additional charge for Extended Evening Hours. All guests staying at one of the Disney World Deluxe or DVC Resorts are eligible.
Even though it’s a watered-down version of Extra Magic Hours, at least Disney is doing something to make Disney World Resort guests feel special (even if it only is the Deluxe Resort guests in this case).
We’ll keep you updated as soon as Disney makes any changes to this new program. Stay tuned…
If you are going to Disney World soon, make sure to read our Disney World Planning Guide for all the tips and info you will need to cover everything! Also, check out our Disney World Crowd Calendar so you know when the best time to visit is!
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Your Thoughts
I want to know what you think about the Extended Evening Hours at Walt Disney World…
- Do you think this is a good addition?
- What benefits would you like to see with it?
Let us know in the comments section below!
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My name is Ziggy and I love Disney, everything Disney! I grew up on Disney and it has and continues to be a huge part of my life. I started young when my parents took me to Disney World when I was 18 months old. Little did they know that would be the first of an uncountable number of trips we would take. I have so many amazing memories going to Disney with my family and friends and it has been interwoven into my DNA.
wendy
Saturday 19th of August 2023
We are coming over next year when coming from England huge cost of flying and huge cost of staying in Disney why shouldn’t everyone paying to stay in a Disney resort get the same privilege as the next person let’s hope by next year Disney will get this sorted and treat everyone the same.
Roberta
Wednesday 7th of June 2023
So if my family of 15 are staying at an offsite venue (rented house), we are not able to attend the extended hours even though we have paid thousands of dollars for Park tickets. Correct or not? If so, how unfair! Roberta
Ziggy Oskwarek
Wednesday 7th of June 2023
Hi Roberta. Yeah, i know that it's unfair. Disney does this as a special add-on for guests staying at the Deluxe Resorts only. While it stinks for most, it's an added incentive of staying on-site and specifically at one of the Deluxe Resorts. Sorry...
Holly
Tuesday 31st of January 2023
I hope Disney changes the extended after park hours to the way it used to be! That anyone staying at a Disney resort can take advantage of these perks. Not very fair to exclude the moderate and value resorts.
marion
Thursday 19th of January 2023
Sounds good to take advantage of the late hours. Bonus is it's ok then to sleep in the next day. ? ?
Non-Deluxe Guest
Thursday 8th of December 2022
Disney is now for the rich. Felt outcasted as we were not staying in a deluxe result. If you want to get in more than 2 rides per day, you have to pay for the Genie+...and the most popular/new rides need even more money with Light Lane. Bad experience overall.