Extended Evening Theme Park Hours at Disney World (Who’s it For & What to Expect)

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 resorts or a Disney deluxe villa resort. Below, we’ll discuss everything you need to know about extended evening theme park hours, including eligible hotels, the extra virtual queue opportunity, 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 park hopper ticket, you’ll want to plan to spend the day at the park with extended evening hours. This is something important to consider when planning your daily itineraries. Having extra time in a less crowded park atmosphere is almost always worth it.

*This benefit is scheduled to continue through 2025

List of Hotels Eligible for Extended Evening Theme Park Hours

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 on 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.

Select Attractions Available During Extended Evening Theme Park Hours

Below, we’ve listed the attractions available during evening theme park hours. Throughout most of the year, extended evening hours are offered at Epcot on Monday evenings and at Magic Kingdom on Wednesday evenings. The park remains open up to two hours after the scheduled closing time for regular guests.

Guests also have an opportunity to join another virtual queue on these evenings. Per Disney:

• At 6:00 p.m. on nights with extended evening theme park hours at Epcot, select guests can request to join the virtual queue for Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind.

*You do not need to be in the park to join this virtual queue.

We like to set our phone alarm for around 5:58 p.m. to remember to join the queue when we’re eligible. If not, we completely forget about it. I’ve also found that if I set my alarm too early, my attention span fades, and I miss the time. Like most of the other queue drops, the times fill up almost immediately, so you want to be ready for it.

Magic Kingdom Extended Evening Hours Rides

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 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

Epcot Extended Evening Hours Rides

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*

Extended Evening Theme Park Hours are sometimes held at Disney’s Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom. They are usually available during the holiday season, starting in late September and lasting through December. They will be listed in the park hours section of the My Disney Experience app.

*Test Track is closed for a lengthy refurbishment.

Disney’s Hollywood Studios Extended Evening Theme Park Hours

The following attractions are usually 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!

*Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance is not listed as being open during Extended Evening Hours.

Disney’s Animal Kingdom Extended Evening Theme Park Hours

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
• It’s Tough to be a Bug!
• Na’vi River Journey
• TriceraTop Spin

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. It is rare to be afforded the opportunity to visit Disney’s Animal Kingdom in the evening. It is so beautiful to see the Tree of Life, the lanterns in Asia, and Pandora, the World of Avatar, lit up at night.

Last November, 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 actually 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, and Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure. 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. We made the mistake of going straight to Remy’s one evening after the fireworks and waited a long time to ride it. So, I would not recommend doing it first.

The extended evening schedule is available in the My Disney Experience app or on Disney’s five-day calendar. Remember to check closer to time for the exact dates and hours.

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

• Perks of Staying at a Walt Disney World Hotel
• How To Create a Budget For Disney World
• A Guide to Split Stays at Disney World
• The Ultimate Guide to Resort-Hopping for Disney World

In the Comments

Have you ever experienced extended evening hours at Disney World? What rides were you able to do? Will you take advantage of these evenings? Leave us a comment below with your thoughts. We enjoy hearing from you and reading your responses.