It’s the dream of many Disney World fans to stay in the parks after they close and enjoy the rides, entertainment, and ambiance without the huge crowds. Guess what? That dream can actually come true!

If you’re willing to pay some extra cash, there are several different options you can check out that let you stay late into the night in Disney World! Some of those events include special holiday parties, After Hours events, and Extended Evening Hours. In this post, we’re going to compare After Hours events and Extended Evening Hours to see which of these add-ons is right for your next Disney trip!

At both Disney’s After Hours events and Extended Evening Hours, you can stay late at select parks, and you’ll get to experience things that daytime guests typically don’t see. But even though they have some things in common, there are key differences between the two offerings that we’re going to break down!

Dates

After Hours Events

Let’s start with the “when” of these two events. After Hours events take place most of the year, though not usually during the months of October-December. In 2026, the events run at EPCOT and Hollywood Studios from January through September, while Magic Kingdom’s After Hours wrapped up for the season before August (because of the Halloween and Christmas parties). H2O Glow Nights at Typhoon Lagoon take place exclusively in the summer months.

On top of that, After Hours typically only happens once or twice a week, so you may have to modify your park schedule during your visit if you want to attend.

Learn More About Magic Kingdom After Hours Here!

Extended Evening Hours

Extended Evening Hours happen throughout the year, and there are usually one or two nights per week when they’re happening. Most Mondays, you’ll have Extended Evening Hours scheduled for EPCOT. Magic Kingdom is the option most Wednesdays, but during some times of the year, we’ve seen Hollywood Studios or Animal Kingdom offered during the Wednesday slot. That typically happens during the Halloween and Christmas party season when there are already nighttime events happening at Magic Kingdom multiple times a week.

Keep in mind that the schedule could change throughout the year, so double-check the parks and days of the week for Extended Evening Hours during your trip. You can see these listed on the calendar on the My Disney Experience app.

Who Can Attend?

After Hours Events

Anyone can purchase a ticket to attend After Hours events in Disney World. As long as the event isn’t sold out, you’re free to buy a ticket and attend the event!

Keep in mind that each person planning to attend After Hours will need a ticket to the event, and your day ticket for the park will NOT grant you admission during After Hours (they’re separately ticketed).

Extended Evening Hours

However, you must be a guest at a Disney-owned Deluxe hotel in order to take advantage of Extended Evening Hours. You also must have valid park admission for the day and park you want to visit.

If you’re staying at any of the following hotels, you qualify for this perk:

• Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge
• Disney’s Beach Club Resort
• Disney’s BoardWalk Inn
• Disney’s Contemporary Resort
• Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa
• Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort
• Disney’s Wilderness Lodge
• Disney’s Yacht Club Resort
• Bay Lake Tower at Disney’s Contemporary Resort
• Boulder Ridge Villas at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge
• Copper Creek Villas & Cabins at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge
• Disney’s Animal Kingdom Villas – Jambo House
• Disney’s Animal Kingdom Villas – Kidani Village
• Disney’s Beach Club Villas
• Disney’s BoardWalk Villas
• Disney’s Old Key West Resort
• Disney’s Polynesian Villas & Bungalows
• Disney’s Riviera Resort
• Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa
• The Cabins at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort – A Disney Vacation Club Resort (Please be aware that the extended evening hours benefit applies to Disney Vacation Club Cabins only.)
• The Villas at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa
• Walt Disney World Swan Hotel
• Walt Disney World Dolphin Hotel
• Walt Disney World Swan Reserve
• Shades of Green® on Walt Disney World Resort

During Extended Evening Hours, there are checkpoints where you must scan your ticket or MagicBand to verify that you’re a Deluxe Resort guest. Everyone participating in Extended Evening Hours must be listed on your hotel reservation.

Times

After Hours Events

If you’re heading to an After Hours event, the name gives away the timeframe. These hard-ticketed offerings don’t start until AFTER the park is closed for the evening. At Magic Kingdom, they typically run from 10 PM to 1 AM, and in Hollywood Studios and EPCOT, they usually take place from 9:30 PM to 12:30 AM. That’s 3 hours of late-night park time!

On top of that, you can enter the park early with your After Hours ticket at 7PM, giving you some extra time while the daytime crowds peter out. So ultimately, you get just a little bit more park time at Magic Kingdom than you do at Hollywood Studios and EPCOT. 

Now, if you’re doing H2O Glow After Hours at Typhoon Lagoon, the event runs from 8 PM to 11 PM. You can enter that park with your event ticket as early as 6 PM.

Extended Evening Hours

With Extended Evening Hours, there’s less time overall. Here, you have two hours of park time, starting immediately when the park closes. The actual hours vary depending on the time of year and how late the park is open for regular guests during the day.

Extended Evening Hours are like an added “bonus” to the end of your regular park ticket. After Hours are more of a “pay for a shorter amount of total time where you can have lower crowds” deal.

Crowds

Now, let’s get into the nitty-gritty of things! One reason people really enjoy the After Hours events is that they offer the chance to see Disney World with incredibly low crowds. Tickets are extremely limited, so you’ll find short wait times for the rides and large, empty spaces. This is the perfect time to get that castle pic!

We saw a similar picture at Extended Evening Hours. Once the daytime crowds left the park, wait times were very low, and the park felt virtually empty in some parts!

In terms of crowd levels, these 2 events are very similar.

Attractions and Entertainment

After Hours Events

In terms of specialty offerings, After Hours events have a little bit more available than during Extended Evening Hours. For example, during After Hours at Magic Kingdom, you could get a chance to watch the Disney Enchantment fireworks show, which no longer shows in the park regularly. The ONLY time to see it these days is during After Hours.

At Hollywood Studios and EPCOT, we’ve seen characters out and about in the park, including some more rare friends. The characters available during your event may vary. You may also get to experience unique entertainment during these events, like live DJs and dance parties.

The following attractions were open during Magic Kingdom After Hours in 2026:

• Haunted Mansion
• “it’s a small world”
• Jungle Cruise
• Peter Pan’s Flight
• Seven Dwarfs Mine Train
• Space Mountain
• The Magic Carpets of Aladdin
• Pirates of the Caribbean
• Swiss Family Treehouse
• Enchanted Tiki Room
• Country Bear Jamboree
• The Barnstormer
• Dumbo The Flying Elephant
• Mad Tea Party
• The Many Adventures of Winnie The Pooh
• Mickey’s PhilharMagic
• Prince Charming’s Regal Carrousel
• Under The Sea — Journey of The Little Mermaid
• Astro Orbiter
• Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
• Tomorrowland Speedway
• PeopleMover
• TRON Lightcycle / Run

The following attractions are open at EPCOT during After Hours:

• Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind
• Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure
• Frozen Ever After
• Soarin’ Across America
• Gran Fiesta Tour Starring The Three Caballeros
• Living with the Land
• Mission: SPACE
• The Seas with Nemo & Friends
• Spaceship Earth
• Test Track Presented by General Motors

Here’s what’s available at Hollywood Studios during After Hours:

• Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring The Muppets
• 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
• Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway

H2O Glow After Hours has more specialty offerings than the other events. Here, you can meet characters like Powerline Max, Chip ‘n’ Dale Rescue Rangers, and the DuckTales gang. The following attractions are open as well:

• Bay Slides
• Castaway Creek
• Crush ‘n’ Gusher
• Gangplank Falls
• Humunga Kowabunga
• Mayday Falls
• Miss Adventure Falls
• Storm Slides
• Typhoon Lagoon Surf Pool

Extended Evening Hours

During Extended Evening Hours, you’re likely not going to find much specialty entertainment or many rare characters. The main focus here is the rides.

Click Here to See Which Attractions Are Open at Each Park During EEH

Note that during both the After Hours events and Extended Evening Hours, most restaurants are CLOSED in the parks. A couple of restaurants will usually stay open for both events, and you can pick up free snacks at snack stands during the After Hours events, but don’t plan on too much dining availability during these times.

Included in Admission

Are there any “freebies” you can get at these events? We’re glad you asked! At the After Hours events, select snacks are included in your ticket price. If you visit popcorn stands around the park, you can get unlimited popcorn, ice cream novelties, and bottled drinks. (Pro tip: at the popcorn cart in Canada during After Hours at EPCOT, you can get free maple popcorn!)

There aren’t any freebies at the Extended Evening Hours events — these just offer straightforward time in the parks and low ride wait times.

Price

After Hours Events

Finally, we’ve got to talk about price! For After Hours events in 2023, prices ranged from $155 to $199, depending on the night. Tickets were a little more expensive at Magic Kingdom than they were for Hollywood Studios and EPCOT. Keep in mind that this gets you five and a half to six hours of park time if you enter at 7 PM.

To go to H2O Glow After Hours, it’ll cost between $85 and $89, depending on the date.

Extended Evening Hours

Extended Evening Hours are FREE…as long as you’re staying at one of Disney’s Deluxe hotels. Those Deluxe hotels usually cost $500+ per night (and some reach into the thousands per night during busy times!), so they definitely aren’t cheap.

However, if you’re planning to stay at one of these hotels anyway, or if you’re a DVC member at one of those hotels, you can take advantage of the free perk and extra park time.

Which Is Better?

So which of these events is better? If you’re already planning to stay at a Deluxe hotel, you can take advantage of Extended Evening Hours for FREE and you probably won’t need to buy a ticket for the After Hours events. But if you wanted to save some money, it’s likely going to be cheaper to stay at a Value or Moderate hotel (or even off Disney World property) and buy a ticket for an After Hours event.

The pricing may depend on your group, however. After Hours events cost up to $199 per person, so if you can get a good deal on a Deluxe hotel room (which is one cost for the whole room rather than a per-person cost), you might actually save some cash by going with Extended Evening Hours. Check the rates for Deluxe hotels during your trip to see which is cheaper!

If rides are your main focus and you don’t care about the “bonus” stuff, then you would be happy with Extended Evening Hours. However, if you want the all-you-care-to-eat popcorn, soda, and ice cream, the chance to meet a few characters, and the possibility of some fun entertainment, the After Hours events would be the way to go.

Hopefully this guide helps you when planning your late-night fun for your Disney World trip.

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Get the Rundown of After Hours in Hollywood Studios Here!

Have you ever been to these events in Disney World? Tell us in the comments!