If you’re looking for a way to maximize your time in the theme parks and experience more of the magic of Disney, Extended Evening Hours are a great way to gain access to the Walt Disney World theme parks after they have officially closed to the public for the day! In this article, we will explore how guests can become eligible for Extended Evening Hours, what attractions are available when entering the parks, and share advanced strategies to make the most of your extra time in the Walt Disney World theme parks. Let’s get started!
What Are Extended Evening Hours?
Extended Evening Hours at Walt Disney World refer to the additional 2 hours time that select Disney theme parks are open beyond their regular schedule. During extended evening hours, select attractions, restaurants, and shops remain open, offering guests more time to experience the magic of the theme parks. These extended hours are reserved for guests staying in Disney World’s Deluxe Resorts, or a few other qualifying Disney-owned resort hotels.
Extended Evening Hours usually take place on Monday’s at EPCOT and Wednesday’s at Magic Kingdom, and guests in the park are able to enjoy reduced wait times, and much smaller crowds.
When Are Extended Evening Hours Available?
Extended Evening Hours are only available on select nights for select theme parks. You can find a table below that shows all of the dates where Extended Evening Hours are confirmed to be available.
| Park | Month | Dates | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Magic Kingdom | Aug | 30 | 10 PM to Midnight |
| EPCOT | Aug | 28 | 9 PM to 11 PM |
| Magic Kingdom | Sept | 6, 13, 20 | 10 PM to Midnight |
| EPCOT | Sept | 4, 11, 18, 25 | 9 PM to 11 PM |
| Hollywood Studios | Sept | 30 | 9 PM to 11 PM |
| EPCOT | Oct | 2, 9, 16, 23, 30 | 9 PM to 11 PM |
| Hollywood Studios | Oct | 5, 11, 19, 25 | 9 PM to 11 PM |
| EPCOT | Nov | 2 | 9 PM to 11 PM |
| Animal Kingdom | Nov | 8 | 7 PM to 9 PM |
How To Become Eligible For Extended Evening Hours
In order to be eligible for Extended Evening Hours, guests must have a valid theme park ticket or annual pass, a Park Pass Reservation for the desired theme park, and be a guest at either a qualifying Disney Resort hotel, or be a guest at a Disney Vacation Club resort.
Eligible Walt Disney World Deluxe Resorts & Resort Hotels
One of the easiest and most popular ways to become eligible for Extended Evening Hours is to simply stay at one of the many qualifying Disney-owned Resort Hotels on the Walt Disney World property. Both Disney Vacation Club members, and their guests, including those who rent from DVC members, will be automatically eligible as all DVC resorts at Walt Disney World are on the list of qualifying resorts.
Here is a complete list of qualifying Disney Vacation Club Resorts (also referred to as Disney Deluxe Villa Resorts):
- 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
- Villas at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa
An Extra Chance To Join Virtual Queues
Guests who book a stay at Disney Deluxe Resort, Disney Deluxe Villa Resort, or other eligible hotels will be granted an additional chance at 6 p.m. to join virtual queues for Disney’s newest attractions.
Currently there are 2 new attractions using the virtual queue system:
- Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind at EPCOT
- TRON: Lightcycle / Run at Magic Kingdom
It is expected that this convention will continue in the future, but keep in mind, these details could change as new rides debut and new virtual queues are put in place.
Rides Available For Extended Evening Hours
During the extended evening theme park hours, select merchandise and food and beverage locations will be available to park guests.
Let’s take a look at the rides and attractions that are typically available to guests who utilize Extended Evening Hours.
Magic Kingdom
Tips For Making The Most Of Your Extended Evening Hours
One of the most popular strategies for wisely using your extra two hours in the park would be to start your Extended Evening Hours with the least popular ride you would want to ride, and finish your night with the most popular ride.
This strategy is simply taking advantage of the fact that if you are in line for an attraction at closing time of the park, you will still be allowed to finish waiting in line, and board the ride. Even if finishing waiting in line and riding the attraction extends well past closing time.
Simply put, you’ll want to rank attractions from lowest to highest wait times, start with attractions with low wait times, then ideally get in line for the attraction with the longest wait time just before your Extended Evening Hours have elapsed. Let’s take a look at what this might look like at each of the theme parks that are currently offering Extended Evening Hours.
Magic Kingdom
Ideally, the last attractions you would want to ride would be:
- Space Mountain
- Peter Pan’s Flight
- Seven Dwarfs Mine Train
You’ll want to pay close attention to timing to make sure you are in line for Seven Dwarfs Mine Train about 5 to 10 minutes before Extended Evening Hours have ended.
If you have entered the Virtual Queue for TRON: Lightcycle / Run, and get a return time during your Extended Evening Hours, you may have to move these plans around, but ideally you would be able to ride TRON directly after riding Space Mountain, then move through the rest of the list.
EPCOT
For EPCOT, there are a few different ways to plan your strategy, but a solid option would be to end your night with the following attractions in this order:
- Soarin’ Around the World
- Test Track
- Frozen Ever After
- Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure
If you have entered the Virtual Queue for Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind, and need to work around your return time, you can always mix this list up a bit, but it would be best to ride Test Track directly before or after your return time, since you’ll be in that area of the park already.
Save On Deluxe Disney Accommodations
Extended Evening Hours is an excellent way to maximize the amount of attractions you are able to experience in a day. If you’d like to take advantage of this unique opportunity to experience the parks with dramatically lower wait times, you don’t have to pay full price to stay at Disney’s Deluxe resorts!
If you’d like to view confirmed reservations for rent, you can experience Disney’s Deluxe resorts for much less than retail price, even without being a DVC member! If you’re interested in becoming a member, and joining the DVC family, you can save thousands by shopping from our current DVC resale listings.
DVC Deluxe Resorts
Written by
Rachel Van Norman
Contributing Writer
Rachel fell deeply in love with all things Disney as a little girl. Now as a wife and a mother herself, she shares this Disney obsession with her son and everyone around her. From her love of princesses to eating all the Disney food, Rachel spends her time radiating Disney magic and keeping everyone up to date on Disney news.
