Tips for Extended Evening Theme Park Hours
A great perk of staying at a Deluxe Disney Resort, including the DVC resorts, is Extended Evening Theme Park Hours. These hours take place on select nights at the Magic Kingdom and EPCOT after the parks have closed to the general public, which means lower crowds and wait times! Here are some tips to maximize your time at these 2-hour events.
Check Your Park Reservation
If you have a regular theme park ticket, make sure you have a park reservation for the park that is hosting Extended Evening Theme Park Hours that day. If you have a park hopper or annual pass, you can either have a reservation for the park that is hosting Extended Evening Theme Park Hours that day, or just make sure you first enter the park where you made a reservation. For example, if you have an annual pass and a park reservation for Hollywood Studios, you have to first visit Hollywood Studios before hopping to Extended Evening Theme Park Hours.
Review the Available Attractions
While many attractions are available during Extended Evening Theme Park Hours, not all of them are open. It’s best to review the list of attractions beforehand. This way, you can prioritize any attractions that are must-dos for your travel party. Wait times are often shortest at the very end of the night, so if you can stay for the full event, it can pay off!
Eat Dinner Beforehand
Few eateries are open during Extended Evening Theme Park Hours. For the most part, you’ll only find snacks and drinks available for purchase from some of the carts. One exception for the EPCOT Extended Evening Theme Park Hours is Rose & Crown Pub in the United Kingdom Pavilion, which closes a little later than the other restaurants in the park.
Check Out Day Counts
If you happen to be doing a split stay with a Deluxe Disney Resort as one part of your trip, you are still eligible for evening hours on check out day. For example, if you were staying at the Polynesian (a Deluxe Disney Resort) and then moving to Coronado Springs (a Moderate Disney Resort), and your Polynesian check out day is the same day as one of the Extended Evening Theme Park Hour events, you would still be eligible to go!
Join the 6pm Virtual Queue
Extended Evening Theme Park Hours at the Magic Kingdom include TRON Lightcycle / Run, and those at EPCOT include Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind! Both attractions use a virtual queue that opens at 6pm. The process for joining the queue via the My Disney Experience app is the same as joining the 7am and 1pm queues though you do not need to be in the park to join the queue. Also, you can still join the 6pm virtual queue even if you got a boarding group earlier in the day.
Extended Evening Theme Park Hours will continue through the end of 2023, so be sure to take advantage of this perk during your trips this year. If you don’t have a trip planned, get started today by browsing the confirmed reservations!
