Extended Evening Hours at Walt Disney World (A Complete Guide)

Extended evening hours are a benefit for guests of deluxe and deluxe villa resorts. Below, we’ll discuss everything you need to know about this exclusive offering, including eligible hotels, available attractions, and tips.

Introduction

If you’re planning a vacation, you’ll want to incorporate several perks and amenities. One of those items is extended evening hours. However, unlike early theme park entry, this benefit is only available to guests of select hotels.

To participate in extended evening theme park hours, which are held on select nights throughout the week, guests must be staying at one of Disney’s deluxe or deluxe villa resorts. Below, we’ll discuss everything you need to know about extended evening theme park hours, including eligible hotels and what rides you can experience.

If you’re eligible for this unique offering, you’ll likely want to take advantage of it. So, if you do not have a ticket that allows for park hopping, you’ll want to spend the day at the park that’s offering extended evening hours. This is something important to consider when planning your daily itineraries. Having extra time in a less crowded park atmosphere, even if it’s just for a few hours, is almost always worth it.

Eligible Hotels

Deluxe resort and villa guests of the following hotels are eligible for extended evening theme park hours. So, if you’re staying at one of these resorts, you are automatically eligible.

• Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge
  • Animal Kingdom Villas (Jambo House)
  • Animal Kingdom Villas (Kidani Village)
• Disney’s Beach Club Resort
  • Disney’s Beach Club Villas
• Disney’s BoardWalk Inn
  • Disney’s Boardwalk Villas
• The Cabins at Disney’s Fort Wilderness
• Disney’s Contemporary Resort
  • Bay Lake Tower
• Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa
  • The Villas at Grand Floridian
• Disney’s Old Key West Resort
• Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort
  • Polynesian Villas and Bungalows
• Disney’s Riviera Resort
• Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort and Spa
• Disney’s Wilderness Lodge
  • Boulder Ridge Villas
  • Copper Creek Villas and Cabins
• Disney’s Yacht Club Resort
• Walt Disney World Swan Hotel
• Walt Disney World Dolphin Hotel
• Walt Disney World Swan Reserve
• Shades of Green at the Walt Disney World Resort

*Valid admission and park reservations (where applicable) are required to enter the theme parks. Guests must have their resort reservations linked to their MagicBand, Keys to the World Card, or Disney MagicMobile Pass. One person in your party will usually have to scan their band at the entrance to each attraction.

The Schedule

Below, we’ve listed the attractions available during evening theme park hours. Over the past few years, extended evening hours have been historically offered throughout most of the year at Epcot on Monday evenings and the Magic Kingdom on Wednesday evenings. The parks remain open up to two hours after the scheduled closing time for regular guests.

However, the schedule does change from time to time. It is important to check the published hours on Disney’s calendar before your trip. For instance, this July, we’re seeing extended evening hours at Magic Kingdom shift to Disney’s Animal Kingdom.

Also, historically, during the holiday months (October through December), we see extended evening hours at Disney’s Hollywood Studios and Disney’s Animal Kingdom instead of the Magic Kingdom and Epcot.

The Bottom Line: Things can and will change. If you want to take advantage of this special resort benefit, you’ll need to check the schedule. The extended evening schedule is available in the My Disney Experience app or on Disney’s five-day calendar. They are posted about 60 days ahead of time. We have started posting a monthly calendar with extra hours for 2026. Here are the ones we have available to date:

• January 2026 Extended Evening Hours Schedule
• February 2026 Extended Evening Hours Schedule
• March 2026 Extended Evening Hours Schedule

Magic Kingdom

The following attractions are available during extended evening hours at Magic Kingdom.

• “it’s a small world”
• Astro Orbiter
• The Barnstormer
• Big Thunder Mountain Railroad*
• Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin*
• Country Bear Musical Jamboree
• Dumbo the Flying Elephant
• Haunted Mansion
• Mad Tea Party
• The Magic Carpets of Aladdin
• The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
• Mickey’s PhilharMagic
• Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor
• Peter Pan’s Flight
• Pirates of the Caribbean
• Prince Charming Regal Carrousel
• Seven Dwarfs Mine Train
• Space Mountain
• Swiss Family Treehouse
• Tomorrowland Speedway
• Tron Lightcycle / Run
• Under the Sea – Journey of The Little Mermaid
• Walt Disney’s Enchanted Tiki Room

*Big Thunder Mountain Railroad and Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin are closed for refurbishment. They are expected to open in Spring 2026.

Some of the more popular attractions during Extended Evening Hours are Tron Lightcycle / Run, Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, and Peter Pan’s Flight. We like that you have the opportunity to experience Tron after dark, but we probably wouldn’t rush straight to this ride as soon as evening hours began. We would wait until the last 30 minutes or so of extended evening hours to get in line. Technically, you could do as much as you’re able and then get in line at the very last few minutes.

Epcot

The following attractions are available during extended evening hours at Epcot.

• Frozen Ever After
• Gran Fiesta Tour Starring The Three Caballeros
• Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind
• Journey of Water, Inspired by Moana
• Mission: SPACE
• Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure
• Soarin’ Around the World
• Spaceship Earth
• The Seas with Nemo & Friends
• Test Track

We enjoy extended evening hours at Epcot, but some of the rides are a little more spread out from each other. So you’ll want to plan accordingly. If we’re exiting the park at the International Gateway, we always try to get in line for Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure in the last few minutes of the night. That way, we’re near the exit and don’t have to double back to the front of the park when we’re finished. If we were exiting the front of the park, we’d try to get in one last ride on Cosmic Rewind before the night’s end.

Hollywood Studios

The following attractions are available at Disney’s Hollywood Studios during extended evening hours.

• Alien Swirling Saucers
• Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway
• Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run
• Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith*
• Slinky Dog Dash
• Star Tours – The Adventures Continue
• The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror
• Toy Story Mania!

*The Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster is scheduled to close on March 1, 2026.

Note: Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance is not open during Extended Evening Hours.

Most of our extended evening hours at Disney’s Hollywood Studios are focused on Toy Story and Star Wars lands. We love this park at nighttime, better than any other. We covet late nights at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Since Rise of the Resistance isn’t open during Extended Evening hours, we would probably get in line for it at the very end of the night, before the park’s official closing. For example, if the park closed at 9:00 p.m., we would get in line at 8:50 p.m. From there, we would hit up Swirling Saucers, Toy Story Mania, and Slinky Dog Dash. Then, if we had enough time left, we’d get in line for Runaway Railway before the end of extended evening hours.

Animal Kingdom

The following attractions are usually available during extended evening hours at Disney’s Animal Kingdom.

• Avatar Flight of Passage
• DINOSAUR*
• Expedition Everest – Legend of the Forbidden Mountain
• Na’vi River Journey
• Zootopia: Better Zoogether!

*Dinosaur is scheduled to permanently close on February 2, 2026. (The last day to ride is February 1, 2026.)

It is very difficult to get into Disney’s Animal Kingdom after dark, and that’s a shame. So if you have the opportunity to visit at night, it’s worth it. Remember, if Animal Kingdom is open until 8:00 p.m. in the summer, it won’t be dark because the sun sets so late that time of year. You can do everything during the extended evening hours. We start with Dinosaur, move to Expedition Everest, then Na’vi River Journey. That leaves Avatar Flight of Passage as our last call for the night.

Tips

We’ve done a couple of extended evening hours in the parks this last year at Epcot and Disney’s Animal Kingdom. If we see extended hours at Animal Kingdom, we always like to book a room to take advantage of them. The opportunity to visit Disney’s Animal Kingdom after dark is rare. It is a treat to see the Tree of Life, the lanterns in Asia, and Pandora, the World of Avatar, lit up at night.

Last year, we stayed at Disney’s Beach Club and went to an extended evening when Animal Kingdom closed at 7:00 p.m. We visited the park between 7:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. We didn’t get there until 7:15 p.m. and were able to do the following:

• Dinosaur
• Expedition Everest
• Na’vi River Journey
• Flight of Passage

In less than two hours, we walked around the entire park, experienced four popular rides, and saw the Tree of Life Awakenings projection show. It was a slow-paced and memorable evening.

At Epcot, we like to get in Frozen Ever After, Test Track, Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind, and Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure. As mentioned above, if we stay in the Epcot Resorts Area, we usually leave Remy’s until last. That way, the line has died down, and we can exit nearby at the International Gateway.

Dining Need to Know: It is important to know that the majority of shops and restaurants in the parks are closed during Extended Evening Hours. The park’s major gift shops (e.g., Emporium, Creations, Mickey’s of Hollywood, Discovery Island Trading Post) will stay open. It is, however, exceptionally difficult to find dining after the park’s official closing time. So you will want to make sure you’ve had a decent meal or snack before the park closes. (It is also doubtful that any dining options will be open at your resort when you return.) We almost always have our car with us and have driven off-property to pick up fast food a couple of times after extended evening hours.

Final Thoughts

For more information on planning a Walt Disney World vacation, you might enjoy the following:

• The Best Disney Resort Hotels (Ranked)
• The Best Disney Resorts for Toddlers
• A Guide to Split Stays at Disney World
• The Ultimate Guide to Resort-Hopping for Disney World

Or see our entire guide to Disney World Resort Benefits. We’re always exploring what’s new around Walt Disney World! Stop by Resorts Gal again soon for the latest and sign up for our newsletter below.

In the Comments

Have you ever taken advantage of Extended Evening Hours at Disney World? Do you have any other questions this guide did not answer? Please let us know in the comments below or on our social media.