Your Jaw Will DROP When You See How EMPTY Magic Kingdom Is During an After Hours Event

OK, we’re gonna be honest. It’s a little strange rolling up to the Magic Kingdom park entrance AFTER sunset. It’s not every day that you get to drive through the Magic Kingdom gates in the DARK. So, what brings us out to Disney World at this late hour? We’re here to PARTY at a Disney After Hours event at Magic Kingdom!

Let’s PARTY!

As you can probably guess from the name, Magic Kingdom’s After Hours event is a specially ticketed event where guests can enjoy Magic Kingdom attractions WITHOUT the typical lines and crowds! The event is currently offered on select nights from January 11th through April 8th, 2024. Of course, one of the biggest questions people ask is, “What are the crowds REALLY like during an After Hours event?” Well, we’re here to show you!

Magic Kingdom officially closes to day guests at 10PM, though guests with an After Hours event ticket can enter the park as early as 7PM. But the party officially gets going at 10PM and runs until 1AM. We arrived at the front gates of Magic Kingdom around 7PM. As you can see, we weren’t the only ones…

The line may look a little long!

The line to enter the park was pretty long at 7PM. Here’s a tip! When you arrive, always try to go to the far left line. It’s typically the shortest line.

Don’t freak out!

We noticed a few non-After Hours guests were a little confused about which line to stand in, which may have contributed to the long lines. But luckily, the line moved pretty quickly.

The line moved pretty quickly!

Once we got inside, we were met with those typical nighttime crowds. Don’t forget — the park isn’t officially closed to regular Magic Kingdom guests until 10PM. Disney’s Happily Ever After fireworks show started at 8PM, so naturally, we found a spot by Cinderella Castle and enjoyed the show!

Magic Kingdom doesn’t close to day guests until 10 p.m., so you’re going to see crowds that look like this for a bit (especially as we wait for Happily Ever After to start at 8)! #DisneyAfterHours pic.twitter.com/GURpgTAoxn

— Disney Food Blog (@DisneyFoodBlog) January 12, 2024

Around the same time (8PM), the Magic Kingdom wait times were looking nice and low. This isn’t surprising — we see the wait times plummet during the fireworks pretty much every night.

©Disney

Speaking of rides, After Hours guests have easy access to over 20 Magic Kingdom attractions during the event (including TRON Lightcycle / Run!). Here’s a look at every ride that’s open during the event:

Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin
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
Tomorrowland Speedway
PeopleMover
TRON Lightcycle / Run

Wait times check! Here’s a peek at the wait times as of 9PM. We’re hoping those numbers go DOWN once the event begins.

©Disney

By 10PM, the day guests exited the park, and the REAL fun began. Here’s a look at Main Street, U.S.A. as people began to filter out.

The crowds started to filter out!

Event wristband? CHECK! Now, let’s see how the wait times are holding up.

We got our wristband!

At 10PM, the wait times were looking pretty low. But do you see what we see? Yep — TRON Lightcycle / Run is using a STANDBY LINE for the FIRST time!

©Disney

The wait time was around 45 minutes when we stopped by.

TRON wait time

If you’re wondering what a 45-minute standby line looks like here, the queue snaked all the way down the ramp. We’re hoping that line shrinks as the event continues.

Look at that line!

Sometimes, it’s easier to just SHOW you what we’re talking about when we say the park is empty. Fantasyland was awfully quiet (and we LOVED it!).

EMPTY!

Over in Storybook Circus, Dumbo the Flying Elephant was a walk-on. Now that’s what we like to see!

No one over here!

At 11PM, the wait times were looking low! Haunted Mansion was sitting at a spooky 13-minute wait, while TRON went down to 30 minutes!

©Disney

This news made us SUPER happy. Magic Kingdom’s Enchantment fireworks show started at 11PM, and the crowds were NONEXISTENT. Seriously — this might be the MOST space we’ve ever had during a fireworks show!

This may be the most space we’ve ever had for a fireworks show in Magic Kingdom! Enchantment is up next! 🎇🎆 pic.twitter.com/h9j0rs2ouL

— Disney Food Blog (@DisneyFoodBlog) January 12, 2024

The park is EMPTY, and we’re having a BLAST. In the meantime, we’re always on the lookout for the latest Disney news, so stay tuned for more.

Take It From Us, This ONE Warning Could Make or Break Your Disney World After Hours Experience

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Have you ever attended an After Hours event in Disney World? Let us know in the comments!