I attended the 7/13/2026 MK after hours and wanted to share my experience for those also considering this option. This event was 10pm to 1 am.
Pros:
1. Not as hot as midday
2. Yes, smaller crowds, but…
3. Yes, quicker lines, but…
4. 2 fireworks shows
5. Yes, can enter park at 7 pm, but…
Cons:
1. Gates opened at 7:30, so expected “extra” time and planning was shot right away
2. Rides were limited to the 4 majors; Big Thunder, Tron, 7 Dwarves, Space Mountain. Space Mountain was down the entire night. Haunted House was also open.
3. Day pass guests were allowed to linger causing crowds/lines that were bigger than expected (after 10). AH guests were quickly encouraged to leave.
4. Free snack stations were sparse. Not a big deal but water was critical (be aware it is sodium laced Dasani). Closed down at 1 am on the dot so don’t think you’ll be able to grab something on the way out. We got there 15 mins before and they were out of sodas and ice cream was melted.
5. Monorails do not run after so you are on a bus (hotel) or ferry (parking lot). Trams ran to first two parking lots and only one ran per side (villian/hero) so there was a wait.
6. 3 rides broke down while we were at AH. Normally, ok. But when you have a precious 3 hrs every min counts. Communication wasn’t great so you wasted time waiting to find out if it was coming back on line.
I’m a WDW lifer, literally there in 1976 and have loved it ever since. This was my first AH event and I just wasn’t sure of the value. We accomplished most of what we wanted (rode Tron without a 3 hr wait, didn’t die from heat stroke and dehydration, and could walk mostly comfortably through the park) but the space mtn thing was a big bummer. My daughter’s bd and she’d never ridden it. We don’t live in FL.
MK gave the standard response-sorry, but in case you’ve missed it the last 50 years, we can sort of do what we want how we want anytime regardless of what we promoted. We can change event hours, event terms and any time. We’re real sorry about that and how you feel about that but love us or leave us. That $179/ticket buys you the dream.
Given the option to do it again I think we would but we’d be less disappointed knowing all of the above.