2026 Moonlight Magic Dates & Details for Disney World

Moonlight Magic is returning to Walt Disney World and Disneyland Resort in 2026, with dates at EPCOT, Animal Kingdom, Hollywood Studios, Typhoon Lagoon, and California Adventure! During these free after hours parties, DVC members can experience a night of fun: low crowds, rides with low wait times, rare character sightings, exclusive entertainment, and free food!

We cannot wait. Moonlight Magic is one of our favorite events of the year, and it’s free (with the huge asterisk of having to spend tens of thousands of dollars on a Disney Vacation Club contract, plus hundreds to thousands more dollars in annual dues–minor detail). We’ve done Moonlight Magic pretty much every year for the last decade. We’ve attended Moonlight Magic at every Walt Disney World park except Blizzard Beach (I don’t think they’ve ever done the event there…but I could be wrong) and usually have a blast. More on that in the commentary.

During a Moonlight Magic event, eligible Disney Vacation Club Members can visit a select theme park at Walt Disney World or Disneyland Resort for a special celebration after the park has closed to the public! Enjoy an evening of enchantment, entertainment and so much more as the park becomes your playground.

Highlights for DVC’s privileged partiers include:

• Shorter-than-usual wait times for popular park attractions
• Disney Characters greetings
• Exceptional entertainment
• Complimentary special treats and delectable delights

Here are the event dates for the 2026 Moonlight Magic parties at Walt Disney World and Disneyland Resort…

2026 Animal Kingdom Moonlight Magic Dates

• January 20, 2026

Early registration opens on December 16th – The early registration window for the January 20, 2026 event is open to eligible Members with qualifying Resort reservations. See the “Know Before You Register” section for more information. All Resort reservations and modifications—including changing your party size—must be completed by 11:59 PM Eastern Time on December 10th. Modifications to your Resort reservation party size after December 10th will not increase your party size for the event.

General Registration opens on December 19th – The general registration window for the January 20, 2026 event is open to all eligible Members (limited availability).

2026 EPCOT Moonlight Magic Dates

• February 12, 2026
• September 10, 2026

February event early registration opens on December 16th – The early registration window for the February 12, 2026 event is open to eligible Members with qualifying Resort reservations. See the “Know Before You Register” section for more information. All Resort reservations and modifications—including changing your party size—must be completed by 11:59 PM Eastern Time on December 10th. Modifications to your Resort reservation party size after December 10th, will not increase your party size for the event.

February event regular registration opens on December 19th – The general registration window for the February 12, 2026 event is open to all eligible Members (limited availability).

September event early registration opens on June 4, 2026 – The early registration window for the September 10, 2026 event is open to eligible Members with qualifying Resort reservations. See the “Know Before You Register” section for more information. All Resort reservations and modifications—including changing your party size—must be completed by 11:59 PM Eastern Time on May 31, 2026. Modifications to your Resort reservation party size after May 31, 2026, will not increase your party size for the event.

September regular registration opens on June 11, 2026 – The general registration window for the September 10, 2026 event is open to all eligible Members (limited availability).

2026 Disney’s Hollywood Studios Moonlight Magic Dates

• April 22, 2026
• July 20, 2026

For the April 22, 2026 Disney’s Hollywood Studios event, early registration opens on February 26, 2026. All Resort reservations and modifications—including changing your party size—must be completed by 11:59 PM Eastern Time on February 22, 2026.

General Registration opens on March 5, 2026. The general registration window for the April 22, 2026 event is open to all eligible Members (limited availability) starting March 5, 2026.

For the July 20, 2026 Disney’s Hollywood Studios event, early registration opens on June 4, 2026. All Resort reservations and modifications—including changing your party size—must be completed by 11:59 PM Eastern Time on May 31, 2026.

General Registration opens on June 11, 2026. The general registration window for the July 20, 2026 event is open to all eligible Members (limited availability) starting June 11, 2026.

2026 Typhoon Lagoon Moonlight Magic Dates

• June 25, 2026
• August 4, 2026
• August 20, 2026

For the June 25, 2026 Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon event, early registration opens on February 26, 2026. All Resort reservations and modifications—including changing your party size—must be completed by 11:59 PM Eastern Time on February 22, 2026.

General Registration opens on March 5, 2026. The general registration window for the June 25, 2026 event is open to all eligible Members (limited availability).

For the August 4, 2026 and August 20, 2026 Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon events, early registration opens on June 4, 2026. All Resort reservations and modifications—including changing your party size—must be completed by 11:59 PM Eastern Time on May 31, 2026.

General Registration opens on June 11, 2026. The general registration window for the August 4, 2026 and August 20, 2026 events is open to all eligible Members (limited availability).

2026 Disney California Adventure Moonlight Magic Date

• February 23, 2026

For the February 23, 2026 Disney California Adventure event, early registration opens on December 16th. All Resort reservations and modifications—including changing your party size—must be completed by 11:59 PM Eastern Time on December 10th.

General Registration opens on December 19th. The general registration window for the February 23, 2026 event at DCA is open to all eligible Members (limited availability).

Only one event date for each participating park will be available per Disney Vacation Club Membership, per calendar year. Meaning that, in theory, you could do both the December 13 and February 27 Moonlight Magic parties at Animal Kingdom since one is this year and the next is in 2024.

2026 Moonlight Magic Rules

One Event Per Season – In order to allow as many Members as possible to enjoy Moonlight Magic, Members are eligible to register for one event date during each event season regardless of whether your registered event date was confirmed during early registration or during general registration.

2026 Event Seasons:

• Winter: January – March
• Spring: April – June
• Summer: July – September

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.

Early Booking Eligibility – To qualify for the early booking window, the resort reservation must be booked in the state where the Moonlight Magic event is taking place. Eligible resorts booked using your Membership include every on-site hotel with “Disney” in its name, and not just the DVC resorts. Meaning, for example, that All Star Sports, Pixar Place Hotel, Vero Beach Resort…and everything in between is eligible!

Party Size Limits – A Member can register themselves and up to 4 additional guests per Membership (for a total of 5) —or up to the number of Guests on their Resort reservation. Children younger than 3 years of age do not need to be registered for this event.

Modifications and Cancellations – This event cannot be booked or modified through Member Services. If a Member wishes to change their party size 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 which was used to access early registration, your event registration will be cancelled automatically. This does not apply to Resort waitlists. A Resort waitlist match, cancel and rebook, does not affect the Moonlight Magic event registration.
• 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.
• Members are requested to cancel at least 48 hours in advance.

Other Important Information

• 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.
• Lightning Lanes are not available for use during Moonlight Magic Events.
• Resort reservations must be made by the person listed as the “owner” on the Membership.

Event registration is required to attend the 2026 Moonlight Magic events. Register online when your registration window opens. Registration periods for guests with and without resort reservations will vary, as will the window for various parks.

All of the below info is boilerplate based on how things worked this year. One thing we’d note is that registration can be very competitive, so you want to be online and ready to join the virtual queue ASAP when your window opens. Even then, you risk being shut out!

Register for Moonlight Magic:

• Visit this page and select “RSVP Online”. Be sure to have your Member number ready.
• You will enter a virtual waiting room, which secures your place in line. Do not refresh the page.
• When it’s your turn, you’ll be sent to the registration form to sign up for a night of Moonlight Magic!

Important Registration Information

• Registration is required and limited. Unfortunately, walk-ins will not be permitted.
• The Member who registers must be in attendance and be the person who checks in their full party.

Checking In

When checking in, please keep in mind:

• Your valid Disney Vacation Club Digital Membership Card and photo ID are required at check-in.
• The Member who was selected during the event registration process must be in attendance to check in their full party.
• The entire party must check in together to gain access to the event.
• Entry prior to the event mix-in time requires a separate paid theme park admission and park reservation.

Our Moonlight Magic Experiences

As noted at the top, we’ve attended many Moonlight Magic parties since the event began several years ago. We’ve had many highlights, 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.

Most recently, we’ve done Moonlight Magic each of the last few winters at Disney California Adventure. Over the course of these events, we’ve enjoyed good food, low crowds, and rare characters. One year, we ‘captured’ one of our white whales that we thought we’d never see again: OG Disney’s California Adventure Minnie & Mickey Mouse.

The following year, it was rare characters from Disney Afternoon, including both Rescue Rangers and TailSpin. (Characters from Treasure Planet and/or Atlantis were also present, and seemed very good…from what little we remember of those movies.) Most recently, it was Duffy and ShellieMay.

In looking back at some of our old 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.

I would say that in the last two years, Moonlight Magic has really hit its stride at all of the events we’ve attended, but especially DCA. That’s the party we attend year in and year out, whereas we’ve done DHS, EPCOT, and Typhoon Lagoon once each during that same timeframe.

It hasn’t been all perfect. While there’s been an appreciable uptick in rare characters in the last couple of years, entertainment has been lighter than normal, particularly exclusive nighttime spectaculars or special fireworks.

There also seems to be fewer Moonlight Magic events than pre-closure, although that may no longer be the case with the bonus Animal Kingdom dates. I also suspect that Disney Vacation Club increased the attendance caps, resulting in larger crowds.

This is also notably occurring as Disney Vacation Club continues to open new properties and sells more points. Disney’s Riviera Resort, Villas at Disneyland Hotel, Villas at Grand Floridian, and Island Tower at the Polynesian are all new or newly-expanded. By the time some of these 2026 parties roll around, there also may be new additions for sale at the massive Disney Lakeshore Lodge, too! All of this means more members consolidated into fewer nights.

Ultimately, Moonlight Magic is still great, and the pros of the free event far outweigh the cons. Most importantly, it seems to me that Moonlight Magic is trending in the right direction. The events we attended in 2024 were better than 2023, and this year has been as good or better than last year; DVC seems to be remedying some of these issues and learning lessons.

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 2026 Moonlight Magic parties have a few surprises in store!

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 2026 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 and Disneyland? 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!