The Ultimate Guide to Villains After Hours at Magic Kingdom

Villains After Hours have been suspended until further notice

What is Villains After Hours?

The Villains After Hours event is a special ticketed event at Magic Kingdom select nights between February February 7 through July 10, 2020. The event is typically from 10pm-1am (3 of the nights are from 9pm-12am), but you can get into the park as early as 7pm with your event ticket. None of the special event activities start until the beginning of the party. Tickets are $145 + tax per person in advance or $155 + tax at the gate. If you’re a DVC Member or Annual Passholder, you can get $30 off each ticket. (Regular Magic Kingdom After Hours is $129 + tax per person).

Though you can link the tickets to your My Disney Experience, but be sure to bring your actual tickets just in case they don’t properly link to your account like they’re supposed to. This happened to us, but they were able to find the tickets through the credit card we purchased it on, so don’t worry if you forget tickets: they are able to look them up if they need to (it is faster to have your tickets though so you can walk right in, so you don’t have to waste any time).

What To Know When You Arrive 

When you arrive at Magic Kingdom, there is a special event entrance for you to go through to get into the park. If you are already in the park, there are cast members with iPads in select locations where you can register for the event and get your wrist band. Every guest must have a wrist band to ride the rides and stay in the park. You will also receive a pamphlet outlining everything there is to do, see, and eat while you’re there. These were surprisingly well printed and had a really cool spot-gloss finish.

Unite the Night Show

The Unite the Night show was on the Castle stage and was about 25 minutes long, so it takes up a decent portion of your time; however, we really enjoyed it and thought it was worth it. You’ll get to see Meg and Hades from Hercules, Dr. Facilier from Princess and the Frog, the Evil Queen from Snow White, Maleficent from Sleeping Beauty, and Jafar from Aladdin. There are dancers, flame throwers, and swordsmen as well. The show plays 3 times and most of the guests went during the first showing. We recommend going to the last showing at the end of the party (12am or 1am) because then you have the other 3 hours to enjoy the other activities around the park, plus lines get lower during the show. 

All-You-Can-Enjoy Ice Cream, Popcorn, and Bottled Soda/Water

Because this is an After Hours event, every guest gets unlimited Mickey ice cream bars, Mickey ice cream sandwiches, popcorn, and bottled soda or water. This is one of our favorite parts of the whole night! There are carts all over the park where you can grab a Mickey bar or some popcorn while you’re wandering the park. We suggest getting snacks right before you know you’ll be waiting in line for a bit for a ride or during the show. Then you can enjoy more than one special event at a time. You can also bring a backpack or large purse for any extra drinks you may end up with throughout the night (wheeled coolers and loose ice are not allowed in the park).

Attractions

Not every attraction is open during the Villains After Hours event, so keep that in mind if there’s something you or a family member really wants to do. Of course all of the most popular attractions are open (Seven Dwarves, Space Mountain, Thunder Mountain, Pirates, Tea Cups) but shows and smaller attractions are not open (Carousel of Progress, Hall of Presidents, Splash Mountain, Laugh Floor).

There are also some special changes to a couple attractions. Space Mountain is unique in that you ride it in complete darkness. It was actually really scary! But we both loved it. Pirates of the Caribbean had live actors in the queue telling everyone to turn back, and a few actors throughout the ride as well that talk to you. It was really neat and added more interaction and fun to the ride. Both of these rides are a can’t miss during this event.

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Most of the ride lines are no more than 10-15 minutes. We were able to walk right on to Pirates, and Space Mountain took us about 12 minutes in line. 7 Dwarves Mine Train always has a longer wait time because it’s so popular (this is where you’d grab an ice cream and popcorn before you wait in the 20-30 minute line). Tea Cups was walk on and so was Thunder Mountain. 

See Maleficent the Dragon at Night

One of the highlights of the night was seeing Maleficent the Dragon roaming Magic Kingdom breathing fire. During the day she looks like a parade float, but at night, she looks truly terrifying! We loved it! She came out twice during Villains After Hours and then for a final appearance at 1:20am (after the final Unite the Night showing) to see everyone out. Watching her go down Main Street was awesome! (Note: there are several narrow areas on her route, so find wider paths like further down Main Street to see her breathe fire and take pictures because the narrow areas are too close for her to breathe fire).

Special Magic Shots

There are special Magic Shots from Disney Photopass photographers around the park that you’ll definitely want to take advantage of. Scar, Oogie Boogie, Maleficent the Dragon, and Hades all make appearances in different magic shots. There’s also a sign that says “Villains After Hours” you can take a picture with. For a really unique picture spot, head to Main Street USA near the end of the Unite the Night show to get fireworks in your pictures. We tried doing this but went too early in the show and missed the fireworks part.

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Dressing Up

Just like at Mickey’s Not-So-Scary-Halloween Party, you are allowed to dress up for Villains After Hours. We love dressing up and were so glad we did, but most of the guests did not. This was really disappointing because we love seeing all the amazing costumes people come up with. There were a few great ones, but this was definitely not Halloween Party level. (Be sure to check out Disney’s rules for costumes if you decide to dress up).

Special Snacks to Purchase

There was a whole list of special snacks and desserts for Villains After Hours ranging in price from $5-$7 each. They all count as snack credits, so if you’re on the dining plan, this is a fun way to try a few without having to spend more money. If you’re not, it’s fun to get one or two to try if you want to, but with unlimited Mickey ice cream bars and sandwiches and popcorn, we really don’t think it’s worth it to buy a bunch of them since you can get other treats for free. The few we tried were Hades Temptation Mocktail, de Vil’s Treat, Hades Nachos, Dr. Facilier’s Tarot Card Tart, and the Headless Horseman Browkie (yes, it is a brookie but apparently they couldn’t call it that). Everything we tried was really good, so no matter what you choose, you’re sure to have an enjoyably villainous snack.

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Decor

To put you in the villain spirit, there was eerie music playing throughout the park as well as projections randomly found on buildings of villains. We enjoyed looking for them. Main Street was lit up red which made it look amazing and scary. It fit perfectly with the event.

Special Merchandise

There is special merchandise you can purchase for Villains After Hours in the shops on Main Street, but we never made it over to see any of it (we’re still super sad about this). They had a hat, shirt, mug, and several other things that all looked amazing in pictures (you can see it all here). They keep the shops open on Main Street until just after 1, so be sure to head there during the event if there’s anything you want to buy or you might miss out like we did.

Villains Saying Goodbye

A great way to end the night was seeing villains standing up in the train station talking and waving goodbye to guests. It does make it hard to leave since everyone stops to take pictures and video, but we were part of the crowd doing so because they kept making us laugh! They answered a few questions from guests and talked about random subjects. They all stayed in character so well and were the perfect ending to the evening.

Is Villains After Hours Worth It?

We know Villains After Hours is pricey, especially when you start getting several people you have to pay for. It’s even more expensive than the normal Magic Kingdom After Hours, so is the price difference worth it? If you love villains, you won’t want to miss this event! If you have to choose between Villains After Hours and Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween party, we enjoyed the Halloween Party more than the Villains After Hours event. However, neither of us are die hard villains fans, so keep that in mind when you’re deciding if this is worth it for you or not.

Regardless, the opportunity to enjoy shorter lines and all-you-can-eat treats is hard to resist, and we think it’s worth attending.

To Note

There are no villain meet and greets of any kind during the Villains After Hours event. You will see villains in the Unite the Night show and when you are leaving the park, but you won’t be able to take pictures with any of them.