Villains After Hours Review & Tips
Villains After Hours at Magic Kingdom is a Walt Disney World hard ticket event with lower crowds, short waits, and special Halloween-inspired entertainment. In this review, we’ll share party photos, what’s new, info on what we did, and whether it’s worth the money.
Let’s start with a quick description of the event. Villains After Hours is like a mix of the normal Disney After Hours at Magic Kingdom and Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party. It has a definite Halloween vibe, but without any proximity to spook season.
Disney Villains After Hours party takes place from 10 pm until 1 am nightly, and tickets can be purchased in advance for $145 per adult or child (plus tax) or day-of for $155 per adult or child (plus tax). Annual Passholders and Disney Vacation Club Members can buy discounted advance purchase tickets for $30 off.
For this event, I ended up paying $116.09 for my discount ticket, as compared to $133.13 for an after-tax 1-day ticket to Magic Kingdom for the same date. Of course, there are some key differences, but it’s nonetheless an interesting comparison.
Compared to other Walt Disney World upcharges, this is actually one we can endorse. It’s only slightly more expensive than the Magic Kingdom Fireworks Dessert Parties (which increased in price). It’s comparable to the Halloween and Christmas parties, albeit with significantly lower crowds. In fact, we’re so pleased with this event that it made our Best Value Splurges at Walt Disney World List.
Disney After Hours events offer 3 hours of time when crowds are low (plus another 3 hours of early admission with regular Magic Kingdom day guests), which means low wait times on 24 Magic Kingdom attractions, including all headliners. On a normal day this time of year (assuming no hard ticket events are scheduled), Magic Kingdom is open for around 14 hours this time of year.
Another difference is that Disney After Hours offers unlimited refreshments, soda, and ice cream. The final difference, and one unique to Disney Villains After Hours, is special entertainment unique to the event. That’s mainly the Villains Unite the Night stage show and Villains’ Cursed Caravan Parade, the latter of which is somewhat new–it’s in addition to the Maleficent float from Festival of Fantasy rolling down the parade route at night.
Disney Villains After Hours definitely has a Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party meets After Hours vibe, and the marketing really plays up the villainous entertainment. However, the villains theme is probably emphasized because there’s guest demand–people love villains.
With that said, the emphasis should be on the short wait times and low crowds. You can get a ton done during this event–perhaps more than during a full day in Magic Kingdom. In short, the entertainment is a nice value-add, but it shouldn’t be main the reason to purchase Villains After Hours party tickets.
With that said, let’s start with the entertainment and special offerings, as Disney After Hours at Magic Kingdom is otherwise nothing new. Both Villains Unite the Night and Villains’ Cursed Caravan Parade are good, but they’re nowhere on par with Hocus Pocus Villain Spelltacular or a full parade. These are enhancements, not the heart of the event as their counterparts are at Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party.
Villains’ Cursed Caravan is new for the current season’s Disney Villains After Hours parties. Previously, this was simply the Maleficent float and a few performers from Festival of Fantasy running down the parade route twice nightly. Nonetheless, it was pretty cool.
There’s an entire character procession with Ursula, Gaston, Oogie Boogie, Cruella DeVil, Captain Hook, Lady Tremaine, Drizella, Anastasia, Queen of Hearts, and other characters. Some are in cars, some walk the parade route, others are presented in different ways (Gaston is on horseback). It should be noted that this is not a fully-fledged parade. It’s more a procession of characters, with the Maleficent float still being the highlight. All in all, the Villains’ Cursed Caravan is a nice enhancement to the event.
The more substantial entertainment offering is Villains United the Night. The plot is some nonsense about the five planets aligning as part of a prophecy that Hades–and subsequently Jafar, the Queen, Dr. Facilier, and Maleficent–each believe foretells of them ruling the universe. In the end, the true prophecy is one of friendship (or something like that), which I suppose is heartwarming in an evil sorta way.
The story is not why I enjoyed Villains Unite the Night. Rather, there’s some cool choreography, eye-catching projections, and a healthy amount of pyro and other visual effects. It ended up being a fun challenge to photograph, so I enjoyed that component of Villains Unite the Night quite a bit. Your mileage may vary if you’re actually there for the story.
There are two showings of Villains Unite the Night and the Villains’ Cursed Caravan Parade each. As is often the case, the earlier showings/runnings will be more crowded than the later ones, but neither should be particularly packed. It’s not like the Halloween or Christmas Parties. We recommend viewing the later showings of both, in succession. With that approach, you can extend your evening by about 15-30 minutes just watching these two things plus the ‘farewell’ at the Main Street USA Train Station.
That might not seem like much, but time is money at this event, and each minute has a cost. Moreover, it makes the ‘strategy’ for Villains After Hours pretty easy. Do rides during the official event, and then do the entertainment once the rides are closed. You should be able to jump into line for Seven Dwarfs Mine Train towards the end of the night and be out in front of Cinderella Castle just in time to catch the beginning of the show.
In addition to the entertainment, there are also attraction overlays on Pirates of the Caribbean and Space Mountain. These are very similar to overlays that debuted last year for Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party. You’ll want to save both of these attractions for towards the end of the night; there’s a lot of rubbernecking guest curiosity about the overlays, leading to wait time spikes early on.
Space Mountain consists of turning off the lights on the roller coaster and adding some ominous music plus dialogue snippets from villains. It’s not terrible, but it’s also nothing to seek out. Magic Kingdom’s Space Mountain isn’t really conducive to audio additions, and until Walt Disney World springs for screens in the ride (a la Ghost Galaxy and Hyperspace Mountain at Disneyland), these are always going to fall flat.
Pirates of the Caribbean adds 3 live actors to the attraction; two are giving foreboding warnings in the queue, while Barbossa lurks overhead on a bridge during the ride. If you’ve experience Pirates of the Caribbean hundreds of times, this is an “interesting” new twist.
If it’s your first time on the ride, it’s a weird distraction that doesn’t mesh with the Audio Animatronics eliminates that crucial suspension of disbelief. I’m going to guess/hope most guests aren’t experiencing Pirates of the Caribbean for the first time during Villains After Hours, so I’m going to give Disney some points for effort.
Finally, there’s event exclusive food, beverage, and merchandise available for purchase.
I’m not entirely sure why any non-blogger guest would buy snacks when there are free ones, but “you do you” as the kids say. If you want a sweet treat, the Not-So-Poison Apple Cupcake is a personal favorite.
Circling back, the other question with regard to the value proposition of Villains After Hours is whether 6 hours (3 with low crowds, 3 with low to moderate crowds) is better than 14 hours (or so) in Magic Kingdom. Even if you used an efficient itinerary for Magic Kingdom during those normal operating hours, I think the answer to that is yes.
While we don’t expect June through August to be particularly bad in terms of crowds at Magic Kingdom, it’s not uncrowded either. You’re essentially looking at ‘moderate’ season this time of year, dropping off as August approaches.
I attended the Villains After Hours event with Josh from easyWDW.com, a known Dino-Rama advocate. He wanted to spend the entire time seeing if he could break his previous record of consecutive rides on the Magic Carpets of Aladdin, whereas I wanted to loop the TTA PeopleMover as many times as possible. We compromised and did the following, in this order:
- Minnie & Mickey Mouse at Town Square Theater*
- Enchanted Tales with Belle*
- Splash Mountain*
- The Magic Carpets of Aladdin*
- Happily Ever After*
- “it’s a small world”*
- Under the Sea ~ Journey of the Little Mermaid
- The Barnstormer
- Dumbo the Flying Elephant
- Mad Tea Party
- The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
- Tomorrowland Speedway
- Tomorrowland Transit Authority
- Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin
- Astro Orbiter
- Space Mountain
- Pirates of the Caribbean
- Peter Pan’s Flight (x3)
I can’t recall the last time I did that many rides at Magic Kingdom in a single day. We could’ve ended with Seven Dwarfs Mine Train on a normal night, but it was having technical difficulties. Everything with an asterisk is before 10 p.m., and everything after 10 p.m. was between a walk-on and 5 minute wait.
We could’ve been more efficient then if we also weren’t taking photos of merchandise, random lighting effects, and so on. We also had to stop so Josh could get his face painted. He wanted both the Jungle Tiger and the Dark Raven, which I thought would be excessive, but it turned out great. He basically looked like a fancy tiger at a masquerade ball–$50 very well spent.
Our biggest enemy was time (rather than wait times), so we focused on attractions with shorter ride times, with the one exception being the Peoplemover, since we needed to catch our breath in the middle of the evening. This is the exact opposite of what I’d do in normal circumstances, but I think it makes more sense for the After Hours events.
With a solid rope drop strategy you can certainly get a lot done, so maybe I could surpass this in a full day if I really gave it my all. In reality, I’d probably just give up by midday and focus on things with minimal waits (and air-conditioning), doing Carousel of Progress, Country Bear Jamboree, and the Tiki Room repeatedly. On second thought, this full day itinerary sounds delightful.
The other thing that it’s important not to overlook is the reality of Florida weather. Even at rope drop, humidity can be oppressive and the midday sun can be draining. At night, the sun is down and it feels better. Between that, the lower crowds, and a mild breeze, Villains After Hours was a downright pleasant experience.
In fact, this is the most pleasant time I’ve had in Magic Kingdom in a long time–perhaps since the last DVC party we attended. The event had a relaxed, low stress and pressure vibe, and just enough extras to give it a “special” vibe. It ended up being a pretty awesome evening, and I stayed until the very end–the first time in a while I’ve seen this:
I’m not sure the last time I could write such positive words about a visit to Magic Kingdom. Disney Villains After Hours was an objectively better experience than the (over-crowded) Halloween and Christmas parties we attended last year–and I absolutely love those holiday events!
Sure, evenings in the park are always nicer than the daytime hours, but the practical reality is that evening Extra Magic Hours have become way too busy and regular late nights are likewise packed. It’s not the same experience it was even a few years ago.
On that note, I’d be remiss if I didn’t point out that not too long ago, Magic Kingdom closed at midnight in the summer and those same nights the park had Extra Magic Hours until 3 a.m. (Evening Extra Magic Hours used to be 3 hours long).
This was during the Great Recession when attendance was lower than it is now, so daytime crowds were comparatively light. Now, attendance is significantly higher (by several millions of guests per year), and regular park hours have been reduced by several hours per day. More people crammed into fewer hours, which does not compute.
These upcharge events would disappear if guests said, ‘enough is enough‘ and didn’t attend. That’s exactly what happened with the Pirates and Princess Parties a decade ago. More recently, we’ve seen Walt Disney World drop other upcharges when sales didn’t meet expectations.
The obvious problem with this is that you or I can’t dictate the change on an individual level. You’re voting with your wallet one way or the other. I’d love for Walt Disney World to deliver an exceptional, free-of-charge evening Extra Magic Hours experience to all on-site guests as was the case in the recent past; I’d certainly prefer it to dropping $100+ on this.
However, as long as consumer confidence is strong and guests are spending freely, your options are basically to partake and have an fun experience or hold out and miss out on what’s become the best way to experience Magic Kingdom. Try explaining the concept of ‘principled nonviolent theme park resistance’ to your kids as the reason they can’t have fun. 😉
Ultimately, that’s my basis for recommending Villains After Hours to first-timers to Walt Disney World with limited vacation time. This is the best experience you’re going to have at Magic Kingdom. It’s undoubtedly expensive, but this is a quasi-VIP experience without having to be accompanied by a tour guide or having to pay even more money.
On top of that, Villains After Hours occurs at night, so the “best experience” line here is true in terms of weather, crowds, wait times and (as a result of all three) just general pleasantness. You’re likely to enjoy Villains After Hours a great deal, especially as compared to a normal day in the park.
If you’re an Annual Passholder, are a repeat visitor, taking a longer vacation, or fit into some category other than the above, Villains After Hours is a much tougher sell in terms of value for money. That’s mostly because you’re looking at paying the full/discounted price (or close to it) of this ticket on top of your existing admission. I think it’s fairly undeniable that you’d likewise have a better time at this event than by trying to contort your schedule to make your time in Magic Kingdom this pleasant (or close to it), but the tickets aren’t cheap.
Overall, if you arbitrarily set aside the cost or just want to splurge, it’s hard to argue with Villains After Hours. So long as Walt Disney World doesn’t get greedy and increase the attendance cap (as we’ve seen with Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party), it should continue to be an excellent event. Even then, demand for these is way lower than for the Halloween and Christmas Parties, so that’s unlikely to be a problem (most dates didn’t sell out last year, anyway).
In fact, Villains After Hours is now the most enjoyable way to experience Magic Kingdom, and there’s certainly something to be said for nighttime in Walt Disney World’s flagship park while it’s pretty much devoid of people. I personally prefer the Halloween and Christmas parties for their entertainment and atmosphere, but I don’t care about doing attractions as much. Villains After Hours takes a dash of those events and provides a pure ‘value add’ above the normal Magic Kingdom After Hours.
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Your Thoughts
Have you attended Villains After Hours? What did you think of the event? Would you attend, or is it too pricey? Do you agree or disagree with our assessment? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
We were there last night too! SDMT was having technical difficulties, it was stopped 3 times while we were on it around midnight. Loved the event though!
Pretty soon, to see the Disney Parks after the sun goes down, commoners are going to have to pony up another $150 a ticket or forgo going during the day.
Its one money grab after another. Pay to park at hotels. Pay to sit in good spots for parades. Cutting park hours so those with the means can enjoy special events. Do I need to list them all………………………………..
huge miss on disney’s part with this event to not have villain meet and greets. really not understanding that call. with all the available spaces for regular meets, they could just rotate villains into them.
I think it’s probably due to the disaster of Villains Unleashed a few years ago.
Events that advertise rare characters, as that one did, bring out a lot of character fans and invariably fail to keep up with demand…which leads to complaints.
in that case i wish there weren’t some characters that are considered “rare”. i wish they’d offer more variety in the parks normally. i’m unfamiliar with the “villains unleashed” you mention.
I may be going on an impromptu trip to WDW in a couple of weeks with my daughter and am considering this. So, I can buy this ticket and get into the park at 7 p.m. if I’m staying at a WDW resort? Or will I need to have a regular day ticket as well to get in at 7?
“So, I can buy this ticket and get into the park at 7 p.m.?”
Correct.
“That’s mostly because you’re looking at paying the full/discounted price (or close to it) of this ticket on top of your existing admission.”
I think this is a little confusing. DAH tickets do not require a separate admission ticket. Several friends reduced their standard ticket purchases by a day, spent the day relaxing and swimming, and then entered the park at 7pm with only their DAH ticket.
Additionally, I hear what you are saying about the upcharges. We did the Early Morning Magic on our recent trip to both Fantasyland and TSL. I didn’t love spending the money, but it was the only way I could figure to get multiple rides on critical attractions (I would have preferred the DAH, but kid isn’t old enough for that yet). I don’t like the upcharges, but we only go once every 4 or so years. This was our opportunity to get everything in before the grade-schooler is a solid tween. Disney had us a bit over a barrel on that.
I love the Halloween and Christmas parties but Villains event doesnt sound worthwhile to me since there is no rare character greets or a night parade. I will stick with rope drop or FP+ to get my ride fix on a multiday WDW trip.
Lovin’ the idea of a Josh/Tom Bromance!!!
Questions – How many tickets do they sell? How do they get non-payers out of the park?
We’re there in August (not attending the £10000 i’m paying is more than enough) and at MK that day. Just wondering how busy the park may be and how they would clear us out?
At the official start of the event, anyone without a wristband cannot enter any ride lines. They check at every attraction.
As a person who uses a wheelchair, my question is, does Disney run the busses for this or is this more “find your own way back to the hotel?”
Plenty of buses. I’ve never attended an After Hours event that didn’t have buses back to the Disney resorts.
Ahh!! I totally saw you last night! I remember distinctively thinking “that guy looks familiar”. Now I wish I had said Hi! â€â™€ï¸ Villains was totally fun and worth it!
This sounds amazing!
…for adults.
Now, I’m an adult and I would be totally up for this.
But my 4-year-old? Nope, nope, nope. No matter how hard I try, I would not be able to get her to take a long enough nap to stay up til 10 p.m., much less 1 a.m.
I think it is good for Disney to offer things for adults (and teenagers, of course). That’s a good demographic and my family won’t have young ones forever!
But I just wanted to point out that the times for this are NOT intended for what people might think of as Disney’s “core” group.
On the other hand, Tom, I would love it if you went to MK during the day and then stayed for this event. Would MK be dead during the day? If so, this would be great for those of us with kids who wake up at 6 a.m. We could hit MK on a Villains day, leave early and get to bed. Then the older fans could pour in, and everyone would be happy. Dare I hope this is the case?
My husband and I do one every year and my mom keeps the kiddos at the cabin so we can have an adult night. It’s totally worth the money!!! We did so many rides! And we got unlimited popcorn, ice cream, and bottled beverages…we even took a few home for the kids lol. We plan our trips around these limited events now because we find it to make the trip even more worth it and it’s nice that we get to roam Disney at our own pace!
I would love to attend Villains After Dark however since I have already purchased my park tickets with my vacation package, paying an additional $139+ dollars for 3 extra hours (that I have already paid for) seems a bit greedy on Disney’s part. I feel I am being taken advantage of already because I am being forced to leave the park early so they can have this event. At the very least there should be something done for the people who purchased their park tickets through Disney as part of a Disney package. If someone buys a day ticket to the park they have a right to expect to be allowed in the park during operating hours not kicked out in favor of this event. I much preferred the extra magic hours the old fashioned way. where every one holding a ticket could partake. Love Disney and they take very good care of their patrons and have never been disappointed in my many, many vacations there. Seems that profit is becoming more important these day then it used to.
i agree with a lot of this. they already do tiered admission pricing based on dates- they could alter prices again when there is an event so someone isn’t paying the same for 14 hours versus 9 hours in the same given week.
“Even though I love/prefer them, Villains After Hours was an objectively better experience than the (over-crowded) Halloween and Christmas parties we attended last year.”
Not to be *this* person, but what is stopping this Villains’ After Hours experience from not getting just as crowded as all the other paid extra hours experiences? Especially as reviews start to come out of favorable crowds for this first night? Disney has certainly had low crowd openings of past paid events (likely on purpose) only for crowds to rise or for capacity to be extended. I guess I am still skeptical.
Hm I guess the difference is an official start time of 10 pm vs. 6 pm at MNSSHP, but also less overall hours. Maybe too late for kids but not for locals or visiting adults which are a significant crowd.
Good point. There isn’t anything stopping them.
I feel like I am getting duped when we do it, but in our trips in the fall we’ve been rope dropping the park on a party day (either Christmas or Halloween), and then staying through the party. It pains me to double pay, but by the time the party is starting we have done everything the family wants in Magic Kingdom and then some (this is touring with two kids and grandparents, could probably be even more efficient if we didn’t have the slow movers :-)). We stop with the attractions during the start of the party, and then towards the end repeat anything the kids want. It’s stupid expensive for a day, but I feel like we get 2.5 days worth of stuff done.
We were so bummed to miss this, as it started the day after we returned home this year! Additional costs and all, I am still hoping they keep this event on, at least thru our next trip in February. Even though it’s a splurge, it’s the only time you can see some of these characters, and in such a glorious way too! Thanks for your review!
Wow, beautiful photos! Off topic but Tom, I was wondering if you happened to attend the Villains’ Sinister Soiree: A Wicked Takeover of Cinderella Castle with VIP Parade Viewing, Fireworks and Delicious Sweets at Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party in 2014? No after hours unfortunately but this was by far the best special event I’ve ever attended at Disney! Villains take over Cinderella’s Castle?! Count me in forever. I think they only did it the one year though 🙁
I’ve tossed around the idea of adding this onto our trip, but I think we’re going to skip because we got Early Morning Magic tickets. With Early Morning Magic, we don’t get as much time in the park, but the cost is 1/3 cheaper and includes breakfast. More importantly, we’re generally up early and in bed early, so the morning hours make more sense for us.
Glad you had such a good time at Villains After Hours!
We are taking a surprise trip in July for our 10yr old’s b-day. It’s a quick 2 day deal. We are staying at Animal Kingdom Lodge( our 1st Deluxe). We are doing pool during day and After Hours both nights…Villains and the HS. We are super excited! It’s not a cheap trip, especially with flights added, but we can’t wait to make memories. We just spent a week during Spring Break for my b-day.
That sounds great! Maximize your time at resort that’s incredible, while also getting a lot done in the parks without paying much more than you would for a normal 2-day ticket.
It sounds wonderful but I am already paying enough money for park admission. This also does encourage you to get a park hopper for yet another additional charge .It could easily be a 250.00 dollar day just for a park add hotel and food and whoowho. Maybe if you forego park admissions and just buy extra tickets!
I think there will come a point–if we’re not there already–where guests are arguably better off buying tickets to these hard ticket events, forgoing regular park tickets, and spending the middle of their day at the resort pool or Disney Springs.
Hey Tom- I am confused after reading your reply. Is it necessary to buy a regular park ticket in order to purchase the night event ticket?
Thank you in advance
tom, if my kids were older, i would seriously consider doing just that. with preschoolers and their schedule needs (and parental sanity) it’s not feasible right now, but if these events continue to hang around (likely) i might get a room only package in the future, and stick with after hour events if it comes out to less money.
So typically I don’t buy park hopper tickets when I am at Disney world. I also usually avoid the parks that have extra magic hours because I have been told they are usually busier those days. So by that logic is it a good idea to avoid going to the parks on the nights they are running these after hours event?
Actually, the exact opposite.
Because many guests do NOT have Park Hopper tickets, Magic Kingdom is almost always less busy on days when there is a hard ticket event in the evening. This is more pronounced for the Halloween and Christmas Parties when the park closes at 6 or 7, but it’s true to a lesser degree here, too.
Darn, I was at the event last night too, but missed seeing my favourite Disney blogger? Where was the Tom Bricker meet and greet? 😛
I actually liked regular Magic Kingdom After Hours better than the Villains theming – the park was a little more “regular, but at night” during the standard Magic Kingdom After Hours. I found the Villains theming a little unnecessary – for instance, they were playing some ominous music for guests at Mad Tea Party, some strange loud sounds in Space Mountain (I read that they were supposed to be villains voices, but they just sounded like loud noises), then playing Akon, Pit Bull, and Ariana Grande at the castle party. Quite random, not very villainous. It is not the best way to take someone to Magic Kingdom for the first time, but certainly for repeat guests, it’s fine and overall enjoyable.
That’s a good point about the DJ in front of Cinderella Castle, and one I didn’t consider.
We mostly avoided the hub, save for the stage show, but I did see that once and it was…interesting. On the plus side, the DJ doesn’t resume after the final Villains Unite the Night, so you get your “normal” MK atmosphere for about 30 minutes before they sweep you towards the exit.
So there are no special meet and greets with any Villains at this event?
Thanks for the warning about Akon, Pit Bull, and Ariana Grande music at MK. Hearing non-Disney pop music at Disney parks irritates me a ton and thats why I hated the original Move It Shake It Street Party or dance parties.