The Only Time You Can Instantly Board Peter Pan’s Flight
I attended Magic Kingdom After Hours on February 17, 2025, and was seriously impressed. If you’re unfamiliar with After Hours, it’s a special ticketed event held on select nights, typically twice a month. Guests can enter the park at 7pm and stay for three extra hours after it officially closes. The event includes exclusive character meet-and-greets, complimentary beverages, popcorn, and ice cream, plus access to most rides with minimal wait times.
After Hours at Magic Kingdom is amazing for one simple reason: you can experience dozens of attractions with virtually no wait. This includes Peter Pan’s Flight, Journey of the Little Mermaid, It’s a Small World, Space Mountain, and more. The most popular ride of the night was TRON Lightcycle Run, which had a 30-minute wait, reasonable compared to its usual 70-minute wait during regular park hours.
I was a bit disappointed that Tiana’s Bayou Adventure wasn’t open during After Hours, but that may change once it exits the Virtual Queue system on February 25, 2025. Most of the shops are also closed, and the streets tend to empty out, which could be a letdown for those who enjoy the hustle and bustle of a crowded park or live shows. However, if you're all about enjoying the rides, you’ll have a fantastic time here.
What We Liked About After Hours at Magic Kingdom
It’s easy to see why having Magic Kingdom almost to yourself is such a great experience. By 10 PM, when most day guests have left, the park feels practically empty, creating a truly exclusive atmosphere. Ride wait times drop significantly, aside from TRON Lightcycle Run at 30 minutes and Seven Dwarfs Mine Train at 15 minutes, everything else was practically a walk-on.
I was able to hop on popular attractions like Space Mountain, It’s a Small World, Haunted Mansion, Journey of the Little Mermaid, and Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin with zero wait. Best of all, I managed to ride TRON Lightcycle Run three times in a single night, and finished the event by riding Seven Dwarfs Mine Train twice.
After Hours at Magic Kingdom is pretty valuable when you take into consideration that this is the most popular theme park in the world with so many rides to see, which is practically impossible during regular park hours.
The complete list of rides available during Magic Kingdom After Hours
These are the rides available during After Hours at Magic Kingdom:
- Jungle Cruise
- The Magic Carpets of Aladdin
- Pirates of the Caribbean
- Swiss Family Treehouse
- Walt Disney's Enchanted Tiki Room
- Country Bear Musical Jamboree
- Haunted Mansion
- The Barnstormer
- Dumbo the Flying Elephant
- "it's a small world"
- Mad Tea Party
- The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
- Mickey's PhilharMagic
- Peter Pan's Flight
- Prince Charming Regal Carrousel
- Seven Dwarfs Mine Train
- Under the Sea: Journey of The Little Mermaid
- Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin
- Space Mountain
- Tomorrowland Speedway
- Tomorrowland Transit Authority PeopleMover
- Tron Lightcycle Run
See? That’s a lot! You can easily focus on dark rides and make the most of After Hours with so many options available.
Another great perk of After Hours, at any Disney park, is the complimentary snacks and drinks available at food carts throughout the park. Guests can enjoy free popcorn, bottled water, Coke, Diet Coke, Sprite, and a selection of ice creams, including Mickey bars, Mickey sandwiches, and fruit popsicles. Lines are always very short to grab snacks, and most of the time you just walk to one of them, order what you want and that’s it.
Another great perk is that you don’t need to worry about Virtual Queues or Lightning Lanes. Both services are disabled during After Hours, and you only have to walk to your favorite attraction.
What We Didn’t Like About After Hours at Magic Kingdom
After Hours does have its downsides, and that’s true for every Disney park. For example, live shows and attractions that require actors are always closed during this special event. The park also tends to empty out, with many stores closed. At Magic Kingdom, the main store open is the Emporium, and some ride-related shops near attraction exits remain open.
Otherwise, most stores are closed, and the Agrabah area near The Magic Carpets of Aladdin becomes a ghost town.
I was also a little disappointed that Tiana’s Bayou Adventure was closed during the February 17 Disney After Hours. Maybe this will change once Tiana’s transitions to a standard queue? I do hope so.
If you’ve never been to Magic Kingdom, I wouldn’t recommend visiting during After Hours. The park becomes darker, and the lively atmosphere is almost nonexistent. Magic Kingdom is all about Disney magic, and I think it loses a bit of that during this event. However, that’s fine since After Hours typically focuses more on rides than atmosphere, and you can experience nearly every attraction in record time.
If you’re all about rides and want to experience nearly everything Magic Kingdom has to offer in just three hours, I’d definitely recommend After Hours. You can hit every dark ride in about an hour, leaving plenty of time for the more popular attractions. For example, Seven Dwarfs Mine Train has a two-hour wait during regular park hours but only a 15-minute wait during After Hours. Tron, which usually has a 70-minute wait, only has a 30-minute wait during the event. You can’t beat that if your main goal is to experience the rides!
