During our last trip to Walt Disney World, we decided to attend the Disney After Hours at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. This ticketed event is offered at all four theme parks for a limited time and allows guests to experience the park later in the evening. Some benefits are lower wait times, character meet and greets, and snacks included!
Tickets
Walt Disney World offers ticketed events like behind-the-scenes tours or holiday parties. Although they are enjoyable and special experiences, many do not include park admission. So for most guests, this can mean paying hundreds of dollars on top of the hundreds already spent on park tickets. However, while looking into purchasing tickets to Hollywood Studios’ Disney After Hours, we were won over when we found out it included park admission. And even better- we qualified for a discount! This event varies in price depending on the date and can be anywhere from $145 to $175 per person, not including tax. However, Annual Passholders and Disney Vacation Club members like myself can also take advantage of discounts: currently, DVC member prices range from $115 to $145 per person, not including tax. We recommend purchasing tickets sooner rather than later, as these events can sell out!
Park Entry
Although Disney After Hours events run from 9:30 pm to 12:30 am, ticket holders can enter the park as early as 7:00 pm- this gives guests over 5 hours in the park! We decided to take advantage of this and arrived at Hollywood Studios at 6:30 pm. After parking, we walked to the entrance where signs guided us to a section to stand in right before entry. Cast Members then scanned our tickets and gave us wristbands used to identify us for when the park closed for regular hours. By 7:00 there was a whole crowd of us making our way down Hollywood Boulevard!
Rides
The best part of the Disney After Hours events is the line rides- or lack thereof. When we first got into Hollywood Studios at 7:00 it was typical wait times with more popular options like Tower of Terror and Rise of the Resistance being over an hour. We decided to grab a bite to eat while we waited for things to quiet down, so we headed over to Docking Bay 7 in Galaxy’s Edge. After dinner, we jumped on Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway with only about a 15-20 minute wait. These wait times only lowered as the night progressed; we hopped on Toy Story Mania, Rise of the Resistance, Smuggler’s Run, Slinky Dog Dash, and more. And many of our favorites we even got on twice!
Food
If park admission wasn’t enough, snacks and drinks are also included with Disney After Hours tickets! During this event, guests can find cart locations that offer popcorn, ice cream, and bottled drinks. According to their website, four of these carts are at the following locations: Toy Story Land, Sunset Boulevard, Hollywood Boulevard, and Grand Avenue. Guests can also purchase drinks and food at Woody’s Lunch Box and the Milk Stand, while bars like Oga’s Cantina will be available for walk-up. As previously mentioned, we took advantage of the early entrance and ate dinner when we entered the park, which we found to be a good use of time during normal park hours.
Some of our favorite restaurants in Hollywood Studios include 50’s Prime Time Cafe and The Hollywood Brown Derby- but if you don’t want to waste any time in the park, I would suggest dining at one of the nearby resorts. At the Boardwalk you can find sit-down options like Flying Fish and Trattoria al Forno, while the Yacht and Beach Club has Ale and Compass, Beaches and Cream Soda Shop, Cape May Cafe, and Yachtsman Steakhouse! There are even more options and the Swan and Dolphin hotels. And the best part? Guests can walk or take a boat to Hollywood Studios from any of these locations!
Characters
During this event, guests can also get in line to see some of their favorite characters! Similarly to the rides, the lines were a lot shorter and the opportunities felt endless; everywhere we went it felt like there was another character waiting to sign autographs and take pictures! Classics like Mickey, Minnie, Donald, and Daisy were dressed to the nines, while more rare characters like the White Rabbit from Alice in Wonderland were stationed around the park for the evening. We saw a variety of princesses while gallivanting, so if there are any bucket list characters guests are searching for, Disney After Hours might be helpful!
Overall, we enjoyed our experience at the Disney After Hours event at Hollywood Studios. With the low wait times, we made the most out of our tickets and got on all our favorite rides at least once, if not twice! We also took advantage of the drinks and snacks that were included and got to see so many more characters than usual. We highly recommend and currently, event dates are available throughout the summer! We hope to be back soon for another Disney After Hours!
Featured Photo: Emily Murray.
Written by
Brittany Gallant
Contributing Writer
Brittany has been traveling to Walt Disney World since she was two years old. Now a Disney Vacation Club member and annual passholder, you can often find Brittany at The Most Magical Place On Earth. She and her family are always looking for something new, whether that’s a restaurant they haven’t tried, a hotel they haven’t stayed at, or an adventure not yet experienced.
