Disney’s After Hours events are practically a hidden gem in plain sight. It’s going to be really hard to convince us otherwise. These events boast drastically reduced crowds, rare character appearances, most if not all rides and attractions open for enjoyment, and there are even complimentary snacks!
Check the map to see what’s open!
However, food is the one place with these events where we can get a little squirrely. There are pros and cons to any event that Disney holds and this one point is certainly no exception. We’ve already attended After Hours events this year in Disney’s Hollywood Studios and Magic Kingdom and places to eat (and what was served) seem to be our dividing point.
We’ve already weighed whether or not these exclusive after-hours events are worth your time and money to pay to experience the Disney World parks at night. Meeting rare characters and seeing the parks so empty at night really made these experiences top-notch for us. But, we couldn’t help but feel at times there was just one thing that Disney didn’t seem to get quite right.
Popcorn
Our one complaint that we can take away from these events is the dining options. Take for instance Disney’s Hollywood Studios. When we attended, there weren’t many restaurants (only Anaheim Produce, Milk Stand, Rosie’s All American Cafe, KRNR The Rock Station, and Woody’s Lunch Box) open, however, one of the alternative options was Oga’s Cantina. They accepted walk-ups during the event…
Oga’s Cantina in Disney’s Hollywood Studios
… and there was food from their menu available for purchase.
Our experience at Magic Kingdom wasn’t too different. We were so busy the whole night that it was hard to find time to stop to eat with so much to do.
Magic Kingdom Fireworks
Thankfully, we ate during one of the 2 fireworks shows, however, if we had arrived at 7PM and specifically for just attending the event, we would have found ourselves in a tricky situation stuck between riding rides and visiting characters, or making time to stop and eat.
YUM!
Even at that, though, our options would have been very limited to places like Main Street Bakery (which is practically a Starbucks) and Casey’s Corner.
These events do start late (they are named “After Hours”, right?), and the real attraction for most people is rides with low wait times, so it may be that Disney just doesn’t expect enough people to stop and eat to justify keeping a lot of restaurants only. We get it — especially since you do get free snacks during the event. But if you’re planning for a late dinner at Disney World, we just want to warn you not to count on that. Our best advice is to eat before you head to the park for After Hours!
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The One Thing That’s MISSING From Magic Kingdom’s After Hours Events
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