Disney World has a NEW ticket option, and fans are divided about it!

If you’re going to Disney World this summer and looking for a way to save money on your tickets, the new afternoon ticket might be just what you’re looking for. But even though it’s more budget-friendly, it definitely has some pros and cons to consider.

After 2PM Ticket

To start, what is this new afternoon ticket? Well, it’s the After 2PM Ticket, a date-based ticket with start dates from May 26th through July 29th, 2026, so it’s only available for the summertime. Each day of the ticket, you can use it to access one of the four Disney World theme parks…but only after 2PM.

You can purchase either a 2-day or a 3-day After 2PM Ticket. The 2-day ticket must be used within four days of the selected start date, and the 3-day ticket must be used within five days of the selected start date. You can only visit one park per day with this ticket, and no Disney Park Pass reservations are required.

For the 2-day ticket, prices range from $234.99-$315.81 per person, depending on the dates you select. The 3-day tickets range from $346.86-$461.50 per person.

Is Disney World’s New Afternoon Ticket Deal Worth It?

Magic Kingdom

So, who is this ticket for? Well, starting at Magic Kingdom, you might want to use this After 2PM Ticket if you’re the type of person who doesn’t like to get up early and do rope drop in the park. Crowds can be rough here midday, but if you can hang until park close, you’ll get shorter wait times post-fireworks. And speaking of fireworks, it’s a decent deal if that’s a priority to you, as opposed to the entertainment that happens earlier in the day. If you get into the park at 2PM and it’s open until 10PM or 11PM, that’s still eight or nine hours you can spend knocking out your to-do list.

You should probably skip this type of ticket in Magic Kingdom if you want to prioritize the characters or daytime parades and cavalcades. Showtimes for those things can vary, and sometimes they happen before 2PM. Characters typically wrap up their day (if they meet outside) before dinnertime, so you wouldn’t get many chances to meet them. Magic Kingdom is also a popular park for families with littles, and if your kids have a strict bedtime, this is probably not the ticket for your group. Finally, you might want to skip the After 2PM Ticket in Magic Kingdom if you’re hoping to maximize your day and do all the rides — it’s the park with the most rides, so you’ll need pretty much the whole day if you want to accomplish it all.

See the Guide to Magic Kingdom Here!

EPCOT

EPCOT could be a good candidate for using the After 2PM Ticket if you’re the type of person who mostly comes here for the food and evening vibes. When it’s festival season, it’s incredibly popular for Annual Passholders to just pop into this park for dinner, and you could do the same! Also, ride wait times drop significantly in EPCOT in the evenings (since most people head to World Showcase), so you could use this ticket to do rides with lower waits.

You should probably skip using this ticket in EPCOT if you want to hit up the front AND back of the park. EPCOT is absolutely massive, and doing the ride and attraction-heavy neighborhoods of World Celebration, World Nature, and World Discovery, along with doing the food-heavy World Showcase in the same day, will require more hours than this ticket will give you. That’s a lot of steps, my friends!

Check Out the Guide to EPCOT Here!

Hollywood Studios

At Hollywood Studios, this ticket could be a good idea if you want to hit a few of the big rides or if you’ve got a group that can hang until park close. If you’re really interested in seeing Fantasmic, this ticket could give you that opportunity, but if you’re not as keen on nighttime entertainment, the After 2PM Ticket gives you a prime opportunity to hit up high wait time attractions like Slinky Dog Dash, Rise of the Resistance, and the new Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring The Muppets.

Similar to Magic Kingdom, you should skip using the After 2PM Ticket here if daytime entertainment is important to you, you want to see a lot of characters, or if you want to do ALL the rides. There are several theater shows at this park that run during the day, and if you use the After 2PM Ticket, you’ll have to pick and choose one or two of them to see.

See Our Guide to Hollywood Studios Here!

Animal Kingdom

The last of the bunch is Animal Kingdom, which has an interesting situation. The park hours here are situated so that this park closes earliest, and that might make you think that the After 2PM Ticket is a bad choice for this park. However, those last few hours of the day at Animal Kingdom are when crowds drop significantly. You might be able to get more done from 2PM-6PM here than you would from 8AM-2PM. 

But if you truly are concerned about “bang for your buck,” this park gives the least value for the afternoon ticket. Also, like Hollywood Studios, there are multiple stage shows here that have showtimes ending around 5PM, so you might not get the chance to see them all. More attractions close early here in general, so navigating this park with only afternoon hours could be tricky.

Click Here to See the Animal Kingdom Guide!

As you can see, this afternoon ticket deal could be a lifesaver or a plan-buster for your vacation, depending on your priorities. This is one of those cases where you need to evaluate your must-do list before you make the purchase!

Learn More About Disney World Tickets Here!

Would you use this ticket type? Tell us in the comments!