The One Thing That's MISSING From Magic Kingdom's After Hours Events

Have you ever attended a Disney World After Hours event?

After Hours in Magic Kingdom

These special limited-ticketed events give you access to Disney World’s four theme parks on select days after the parks close (hence the After Hours name). You’ll get shorter lines for rides, an experience with fewer crowds, and FREE select snacks and drinks. But if you’re thinking about going to Magic Kingdom’s After Hours events, you might want to rethink it, especially if characters are a priority.

So we recently attended two After Hours events, one in Disney’s Hollywood Studios and the other in Magic Kingdom. Both events had low wait times and low crowd levels. Both had free snacks. However, the After Hours event in Hollywood Studios brought out some roaming characters. We’re talking about characters we rarely see, including White Rabbit, Duffy, Pocahontas, and Meeko.

Duffy at the Hollywood Studios After Hours event

However, we didn’t have that same experience in Magic Kingdom. Now, you can still meet some characters in their usual spots, but the only two open locations are Town Square Theater, where you can meet Mickey, and Princess Fairytale Hall, where you can meet Disney Princesses. But we saw no roaming characters. We asked a Cast Member at Princess Fairytale Hall, and she told us that she had not heard anything about roaming characters at Magic Kingdom.

Fantasyland in Magic Kingdom during an After Hours event

In Hollywood Studios, we also saw Mickey and Minnie roaming around, so if characters are a priority for you during After Hours events, you might want to steer clear of the Magic Kingdom event and buy tickets for the Hollywood Studios After Hours events instead. You’ll find full details about that event here. If you’re still interested in the Magic Kingdom event, though, we’ve got all the details here.

YUM!

Ultimately, you’ll need to decide if an After Hours event is for you and your family (and if you’re not late-night people, the answer might be “no”) and then decide which suits your party’s needs best. Would you rather ride the PeopleMover a dozen times with no wait or interact with some RARE characters in Disney’s Hollywood Studios? It’s up to you!

Stay tuned to DFB for more.

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

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Will you be attending an After Hours event in Disney World this year? Why or why not? Let us know in the comments!