Disclosure: I was invited to attend Disney Villains After Hours.
This summer Walt Disney World is debuting the Disney Villains After Hours event at Magic Kingdom! Similar to the Disney After Hours event but with more.. villains. What a perfect theme for a late night adventure.
You can read my reviews of other Disney After Hours events here:
Disney After Hours at Magic Kingdom
Disney After Hours at Hollywood Studios
Disney After Hours at Animal Kingdom
Event Details
The Villains Unite the Night stage show is new just for this event. Expect to see Hades and Meg, Jafar, The Queen, Dr. Facilier and Maleficent take the stage in front of Cinderella Castle. You can also see the Maleficent dragon at night! The fire breathing dragon from Festival of Fantasy parade will be creeping through the park for the first time after dark. Ride enhancements! In Pirates of the Caribbean you can see live pirates in the queue and Captain Barbosa on the attraction. Space Mountain has villains audio added to a ride in the total dark. There are Villains inspired treats inspired by The Queen, Cruella de Vil, Maleficent, Hades, Dr. Facilier and even Emperor Zurg. Note that this event will not offer character meet and greets.
Tickets are $139 but note that Annual Passholders and Disney Vacation Club Members receive a $30 discount. The event begins at 10:00 p.m. and ends at 1:00 a.m. You can enter the park early at 7:00 p.m. Unlimited ice cream, popcorn and drinks are included in the price. Themed villains treats and face painting are available for an additional cost.
Disney Villains After Hours Dates
Thursday, June 6, 2019
Thursday, June 13, 2019
Thursday, June 20, 2019
Thursday, June 27, 2019
Monday, July 1, 2019
Thursday, July 11, 2019
Thursday, July 18, 2019
Thursday, July 25, 2019
Thursday, August 1, 2019
Thursday, August 8, 2019
Disney Villains After Hours Review
Disney Villains After Hours Merchandise
After experiencing this event I can tell you it feels different from the regular Disney After Hours and Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party. I was kind of expecting it to be somewhere in between the two but it’s very much its own thing. Disney Villains After Hours has a loud, edgy, party vibe with the hub and castle area turned into a DJ party.
Disney Villains After Hours Treats from Storybook Treats in Fantasyland
The first half hour of the event may not feel significantly different than a regular night because many day guests are still in the park and cycling through rides. There’s no buffer in between the park closing and the event beginning. As the night goes on the park starts to feel more like your own as the ride waits go down and the lands empty out. We waited about 10 minutes for Pirates and it was only that long because it was a special part of the event and popular. However, for the show and watching the dragon it felt busier than a regular After Hours event because many guests are interested in those unique offerings and all in the same place to see them vs. being spread out over the entire park.
Disney Villains After Hours castle in Villains Unite the Night
To enjoy this fully you have to get there right when the ticket permits at 7:00 p.m. If you’re hoping to go on a bunch of rides and see the Villains festivities you’ll really need to hustle, have an action plan and prioritize! Seeing the stage show and Maleficent would take up nearly a third of the event so plan accordingly. Another tip is to wait a little bit to get in line for bigger rides. Our first stop was Seven Dwarfs Mine Train and we ended up waiting about 15 minutes. That’s still a great wait time for one of the most popular rides at Walt Disney World but later in the night it would have been shorter.
Note that Disney Villains After Hours has not replaced the Disney After Hours event at Magic Kingdom. Villains is just for summer so far. If you’re trying to choose between the two, I recommend the Disney After Hours for lots of rides and Disney Villains After Hours if you really like villains. The Disney After Hours at Magic Kingdom event will take place on these dates:
Thursday, May 30, 2019
Thursday, August 22, 2019
Thursday, August 29, 2019
Thursday, September 5, 2019
Thursday, September 12, 2019
Thursday, September 19, 2019
Thursday, September 26, 2019