2023 Moonlight Magic Parties at Disney World
Moonlight Magic parties are returning to Walt Disney World in 2023, with dates at EPCOT, Animal Kingdom, Hollywood Studios, and Typhoon Lagoon! During these free after hours parties, DVC members can experience a night full of fun: attractions with short wait times, rare character sightings, exclusive entertainment, and free food!
Disney Vacation Club is bringing the fan-favorite membership extra back to the Florida parks. This isn’t as big of a surprise as the return of Moonlight Magic to Disney California Adventure, which is occurring after a lengthy hiatus. By contrast, the events returned to Walt Disney World last year and it sounds like more of the same this year.
We cannot wait–we absolutely love Moonlight Magic, having done this many times in the past, including last year. We’ve attended Moonlight Magic at every single Walt Disney World park except Blizzard Beach (to my recollection, they’ve never done the event there…but I could be wrong) and usually have a blast. More on that in the commentary.
Here’s what Disney Vacation Club has revealed thus far about the 2023 Moonlight Magic parties:
EPCOT Moonlight Magic Event Dates: February 8, 2023 and February 15, 2023.
Initial Registration Window – Opens January 25, 2023: The initial registration window for EPCOT events is open to eligible Members with existing Resort reservations at a Disney-owned-and-operated hotel at Walt Disney World Resort in Florida or at Disney’s Vero Beach Resort—with party size modifications finalized prior to today.
General Registration – Opens February 2, 2023 and February 9, 2023: Event registration for the February 8, 2023 event at EPCOT opens to all eligible Members on February 2, 2023 (pending availability). Event registration for the February 15, 2023 event at EPCOT opens to all eligible Members on February 9, 2023 (pending availability).
Disney’s Hollywood Studios Moonlight Magic Event Dates are May 11, 2023 and September 13, 2023.
DHS Registration Window: Please check back for information about when to register.
Animal Kingdom Moonlight Magic Event Dates are July 11, 2023 and August 2, 2023.
DAK Registration Window: Please check back for information about when to register.
Typhoon Lagoon Moonlight Magic Event Dates: May 23, 2023 and August 23, 2023.
Typhoon Lagoon Registration Window: Please check back for information about when to register.
Per Disney Vacation Club, highlights for the “privileged partiers” at Moonlight Magic include:
- Shorter-than-usual wait times for select park attractions
- Disney Characters sightings (this presumably means meet & greets and just hasn’t been updated from last year’s “sightings” language)
- Reimagined entertainment
- Complimentary special treats and delectable delights
Moonlight Magic Eligibility – To be eligible for Moonlight Magic, you must be a “blue card” Disney Vacation Club member, meaning that you purchased directly from Disney or bought before the resale restrictions were implemented back in April 2016. If you have a member card, you’re good. This also means that anyone renting Disney Vacation Club points is not eligible for Moonlight Magic. Unlike other on-site perks, Moonlight Magic is based on the membership and not the stay.
Party Size Limits – A Member can register themself and up to 4 additional Guests per Membership (for a total of 5)—or up to the number of Guests on their Resort reservation, provided it was finalized prior to applicable deadlines for each registration window. Children younger than 3 years of age do not need to be registered for this event.
Members With Multiple Resort Reservations – If Members have multiple Resort reservations, additional party size guidelines apply depending on how the reservation was booked:
- When staying using Vacation Points or Reservation Points, Members can register themselves and up to the number of individuals on their Resort reservation(s).
- When staying on your Interval International Membership using cash or points, Members can register themselves and up to the number of individuals staying in the same room as the Member, per Membership.
- When staying on your RCI Membership using cash or points, Members can register themselves and up to the number of individuals staying in the same room as the Member, per Membership.
Modifications & Cancellations – This event cannot be booked or modified through Member Services. If a Member wishes to change their party size within the party size limits, or the date that they are attending Moonlight Magic, they may modify their event registration through the link found in their confirmation email. Please note:
- If you cancel your Resort reservation, your event registration will be cancelled automatically.
- Cancelling and rebooking an event registration increases the risk of losing one’s registration.
- Modifications or cancellations of an event registration cannot be made the same day as booking.
Registering for Another Member on Your Membership – If the primary Member is not registering for the event, another Member with the same Member ID number may be added as an alternate to check in at the event. Valid Disney Vacation Club Digital Membership Card and photo ID are required at check-in.
Event Date Limits – In order to allow as many Members as possible to enjoy Moonlight Magic, only one event date for each participating park will be available per Membership.
Other Important Information
- Registration is required and limited. Unfortunately, walk-ins will not be permitted.
- Valid Disney Vacation Club Digital Membership Card and photo ID required at check-in. Member listed on the Digital Membership Card must be in attendance.
- Complimentary admission to the after-hours event is valid for the duration of the event. If you wish to enter a park before the event, valid theme park admission and reservation are required.
- This offer is complimentary, nontransferable and cannot be sold. It is subject to availability, change or termination without notice.
- Attendees under 18 years of age must be accompanied by a participating parent or guardian.
- This is a rain-or-shine event; some experiences may be cancelled due to inclement weather.
- We request that Members cancel at least 48 hours in advance.
- Disney Genie, Disney Genie+ and individual Lightning Lanes are not available for use during Moonlight Magic Events.
Reservations must be made by the person listed as the “owner” on the Membership and can be booked with points through Disney Vacation Club or with cash through the Disney Reservation Center or a travel provider. Please note that Members who have a Resort reservation booked under another Member’s membership are not eligible for early booking.
As noted at the top, we’ve attended many Moonlight Magic parties since the event began several years ago. Many highlights exist, from stumbling upon rare characters from “a bug’s life” with zero lines to playing mini-golf with Disney Afternoon characters at DCA to being offered an entire box of cookies from Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party. (A wholesale sized box that had to have contained 200-500 cookies. I “settled” for filling my camera bag and a shopping bag.)
We even attended the very last Moonlight Magic that was held in Magic Kingdom, back in March 2020. That also ended up being our last evening in the park before the multi-month closure. I still think back to that evening fondly, remembering scarfing down multiple hot dogs from Casey’s Corner before seeing the fireworks and meeting Disney fur character royalty.
In looking back at some of our party reports, I see there were downsides to each event. There have been instances of surprisingly long lines for food, characters, or attractions since the beginning. There were also events early on when some members literally brought coolers to stock up on ice cream and other snacks, causing the kiosks to run out.
However, we largely ‘smooth over’ the negatives in our minds, fondly recollecting the positives–special fireworks, rare characters, free food, and other unique moments enjoying (mostly) empty parks. Even with issues here and there, the Moonlight Magic events are absolutely fantastic.
Perhaps its recency bias, but last year did seem to have more problems than normal. There were still some rare characters, but not as many. Entertainment was lighter than normal, particularly exclusive nighttime spectaculars or special fireworks. The distribution of special popcorn buckets and snacks left a lot to be desired.
a lot of that can be attributed to staffing shortages that meant fewer Cast Members for character meet & greets and to operate more food & beverage locations. (Passing the popcorn buckets out at the entrance or another centralized location might’ve solved some of this–and maybe they did that at later events; I’m not sure.)
There’s also the reality that there were fewer Moonlight Magic events than pre-closure, which is a trend that continues in 2023. Due to there being fewer Moonlight Magic parties, I also suspect that Disney Vacation Club increased the attendance caps, resulting in larger crowds. (Perhaps that’s simply my perception, though. Not 100% sure on that one.)
Ultimately, Moonlight Magic is still great, and the pros of the free event far outweigh the cons–even last year. I’m hoping that Moonlight Magic goes smoother in 2023, with improved staffing remedying some of these issues and lessons learned from last year fixing others.
Even with the hiccups, Moonlight Magic is a great event that is essentially a free version of After Hours for DVC Members, with a few extra enhancements that make it better than After Hours, in our view. It’s a great perk for those who are able to take advantage; we’ve loved attending over the years, and hope the 2023 Moonlight Magic parties mark more of a return to normal. We’ll be experiencing the first Moonlight Magic of the year next week, and will report back on how it goes!
If you’re thinking about joining DVC, be sure to read our Ultimate Guide to Disney Vacation Club. This covers the pros & cons, resale v. direct, how much money you’ll save, and other important things to know before taking the plunge. If you still can’t decide whether membership is right for you, “try before you buy” with the recommendations in How to Save BIG on Deluxe Disney Accommodations Renting DVC Points.
YOUR THOUGHTS
Planning on registering for one of the 2023 Moonlight Magic party nights? Excited to see this free event returning as a benefit for DVC members? Have you attended one of the Moonlight Magic events at Walt Disney World? Did you meet any rare characters or enjoy special entertainment? What did you think of the experience? Any questions or thoughts about anything in this party report? Hearing your feedback about your experiences is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts or questions below in the comments!
For non DVC members, would you recommend to avoid park reservations on days that the park is hosting a MM? Looking for insights if the parks will see lower or higher crowds when a MM is hosted.
Tom, have you written about the individual Moonlight Magic events at various parks? I am particularly curious about MM at Animal Kingdom. I assume all the animal attractions (especially the safari) will be closed?
We don’t use the term character sightings anymore, edit this and use the term, “character greetings”, because the distanced sightings are no longer relevant
Disney used the term character sightings in their release describing the event and its policies–hence my parenthetical in the post.
I’ve been a DVC member since 2015, but this is the first time I’ll actually be at WDW while one of these events happens. Very nervous about not succeeding at pre-registration because we have a large group split over two reservations. Are there any tips to (hopefully) increase our chances?
You’re eligible for the pre-registration? If so, you probably don’t have anything to worry about. I could be wrong, but I don’t think Moonlight Magic has ever filled up at that stage. (We’ve definitely never had any issues with pre-registration.)
It’s those competing for the limited general registration that’ll have the problems…
Kay,
Like Tom said shouldn’t be a problem but it also MAY depend on how your reservations were made… First of all, both reservations must have been made by a “blue card” holder. If the same “Blue Card” holder made both reservation, I would call DVC Guest Services today to make sure what your process will be…
secondly, if made by two different “blue card” holders and/or the reservations are not identical, at a minimum you should log into the system with two devices (phone and laptop for example) to register each reservation.
You have a pretty unusual situation and at a minimum, if I were you, I would consider calling customer services to make sure you understand any special requirements.
Thanks folks! I am a blue card member and I made both reservations myself using my points months ago (one reservation is for my family, and one is for my parents). I will give Member Services a call to make sure there’s no special requirements for reservations – thanks for the suggestion!
Just make sure you have your DVC info ready and number in your party. You will be put in a queue and see the “people ahead in line” reduce. You can sign in early but has no bearing on your position. Last time we did this for EPCOT, when Disney opened the queue for registration, we were around number 3250. We registered in about 10 minutes. Good Luck!!
I’ve had issues with the advance registration time. One tip I learned was to have the site open on a couple devices to maximize the random queue positions
Yes! We had a stay booked last year coinciding with a HS moonlight magic. I didn’t know any better so I was only logged onto one device. I was around number 13000 when virtual cue opened. We were shut out! Cue lasted around 2 hours.
I got online and read and people were logging onto multiple devices. A few weeks later when they opened registration to the general public I was logged into like 8 devices. Good thing because it sold out to the general public within 15 minutes…but we got in! Be logged in on as many devices as possible.
Our stay this year lines up with animal kingdom so fingers crossed we get in during early registration this year.
Thanks everyone for the great tips! I opened the window on two different devices and the lowest number was 3800-ish, which took 30 minutes! We made it in. Great tips!
As new DVC (2020) members I’m excited to attend this for the first time on Feb 15 as we happen to arrive that day to OKW using our points: I haven’t received a follow up email from DVC though. I did however find historical information online that the virtual queue will begin at 11a eastern. Do you know anything about the start time for this tomorrow? Thanks much!
Normally, the page for the virtual queue would already be available. You could have it open and it’ll simply enter you randomly once the queue actually goes live. However, I don’t see it on the official site yet. I’d keep checking back periodically throughout the day, and again tomorrow morning at around 9 am. Don’t count on an email from DVC.
Yes, typically 11:00 est. I have not received sn email either…. Very unusual
That’s so funny it didn’t auto correct my name. Thank you to both of you! -Rachel The whole mystery about when the virtual queue begins is giving me Cosmic Rewind preview vibes.
I did an online chat with member services and the person said an email will come out the afternoon with instructions