Prolonged Night Hours returns to Hollywood Studios forward of Labor Day weekend at Walt Disney World, seemingly the beginning of switching away from Animal Kingdom for a number of months Fall 2025. This publish shares date(s), particulars, and technique for making the most of the on-site perk for company staying at higher-end motels.
As fundamental background, Prolonged Night Hours (ExEH) is nighttime counterpart to Early Theme Park Entry. There are a number of variations, most notably that company staying at Worth or Reasonable Resorts should not eligible for Prolonged Night Hours. However it’s not simply the most costly resorts–you possibly can get monetary savings by renting DVC factors or staying on the Swolphin and nonetheless be eligible if you wish to hack ExEH.
Prolonged Night Theme Park Hours has two kinds of resort eligibility, happens two nights per week, is at two parks, and runs for 2 hours. It’s normally Monday at EPCOT and Wednesday at Magic Kingdom. (See our Technique Information Information for Prolonged Night Hours at Walt Disney World for more information & ideas.) Nonetheless, the large change beginning subsequent month is that Prolonged Night Hours is transferring away from Magic Kingdom, for many of the the rest of 2025.
For many who haven’t been following this saga, it started with Walt Disney World making a number of calendar adjustments to put the groundwork for the potential debut date of Disney Starlight Night time Parade.
That occurred through shifting Fortunately Ever After later, blocking out Forged Members from Magic Kingdom, and transferring ExEH over to Animal Kingdom. Even earlier than that, the 3-Day, 3-Park Ticket Deal excluding Magic Kingdom is an efficient instance of this forward-thinking crowd management effort. Ditto the new AP reservation rule.
Because it turned out, Starlight missed its goal date and the entire adjustments from July 6-19 had been for nothing (presumably). A few of these operational adjustments may very well be undone, however not the transferring of ExEH. In any case, Disney Starlight: Dream the Night time Away is formally debuting on July 20, 2025, with even extra operational adjustments hitting on that date.
Probably the most controversial of these adjustments was Animal Kingdom internet hosting Prolonged Night Hours on the next dates:
- Wednesday, July 2, 2025
- Wednesday, July 9, 2025
- Wednesday, July 16, 2025
- Wednesday, July 23, 2025
- Wednesday, July 30, 2025
- Wednesday, August 6, 2025
- Wednesday, August 20, 2025
Prolonged Night Hours are usually extra in style in the course of the summer time months, no matter decrease crowds, because of increased temperatures. Nonetheless, that’s additionally when company get an additional two hours of late nights in Magic Kingdom or EPCOT. Animal Kingdom is presently scheduled to shut at 6 pm all through the summer time, and there’s no purpose to consider park hours can be prolonged. That means that these ‘additional hours’ will finish earlier than sundown.
Between this and Animal Kingdom not being almost as in style as Magic Kingdom, the transfer to DAK has been controversial with company. Our expectation is that Prolonged Night Hours at Animal Kingdom will see low attendance numbers.
Doubtless recognizing this, Walt Disney World added one final Prolonged Night Hours at Magic Kingdom to the calendar on Wednesday, August 13, 2025.
Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Social gathering begins two days later, on Friday, August 15, 2025. Following that, there are three weekly MNSSHPs from the leap in August, which is exactly why Walt Disney World largely has averted any such scheduling throughout previous Social gathering Seasons. That is doubly true this 12 months given the exaggerated impact that the opening of Starlight can have on attendance at Magic Kingdom throughout Social gathering Season.
If you happen to’re questioning why Walt Disney World added one ExEH at MK to the calendar in mid-August at “random,” that’s a part of the reason. The opposite half is that the DAK dates had been added to the calendar earlier than Starlight’s inner delay, whereas this was after. All of it makes zero sense in the event you’re taking a look at all of those dates proper now, however there’s an inner course of and the night time parade’s opening hasn’t gone as anticipated.
In any case, we’d not anticipate the additional hours to return to Magic Kingdom once more till the second week of January 2026. Possibly there’s one other week in early November after they can squeeze in a single final Prolonged Night Hours at Magic Kingdom this 12 months, however we doubt it.
This all brings us to the newest growth, which is that Walt Disney World has added Prolonged Night Hours at Disney’s Hollywood Studios on Friday, August 29, 2025.
That is an odd one. As you possibly can see from the above, the ExEH dates we’ve been discussing are all Wednesdays, the traditional Magic Kingdom night time. However it is a Friday. That occurs occasionally, particularly forward of vacation weekends. Final 12 months, it occurred forward of Columbus Day, which is often an extremely in style weekend because of Fall Break.
Labor Day isn’t almost as busy, however there’s a Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Social gathering scheduled that Friday, so maybe Walt Disney World wished counterprogramming to that. There’s additionally the primary weekend of Meals & Wine at EPCOT. Actually, I don’t suppose that’s the first clarification.
Extra seemingly is that Walt Disney World has obtained adverse visitor suggestions about having Prolonged “Night” Hours from 6-8 pm at Animal Kingdom, and acknowledges this perk ending earlier than sundown on the least-busy park isn’t precisely an enormous promoting level that’ll enhance occupancy at Deluxe Resorts. That is seemingly why there’s the one-off return to Magic Kingdom in mid-August, which is in any other case a bit inexplicable.
The issue is that Disney’s Hollywood Studios can’t host Prolonged Night Hours in July or August because of Disney After Hours, the paid occasion that’s just like Prolonged Night Hours. The final night time of After Hours at DHS for the 12 months is September 3, 2025. Which means, beginning Wednesday, September 10, 2025, Disney’s Hollywood Studios can take over regular internet hosting duties of Prolonged Night Hours. (Whether or not DHS hosts ExEH on Friday, September 5, 2025 is a toss-up; I may see it going both method.)
Disney’s Hollywood Studios can host Prolonged Night Hours from September 10 via November 5, 2025, which is earlier than the anticipated begin of the Jollywood Nights Christmas Social gathering. This has roughly been the cadence of earlier years, with ExEH switching from MK to DHS as soon as MNSSHP kicked into excessive gear, after which from DHS to DAK as soon as Jollywood Nights began. Observe that this isn’t on the official calendar and is only speculative on our half based mostly on previous precedent. Simply because DHS “can” host ExEH doesn’t imply that’s what’s going to occur. Don’t plan round this till Walt Disney World formally provides it to the calendar.
Actually, we wouldn’t be stunned if Disney’s Hollywood Studios continued internet hosting Prolonged Night Hours all through most of November and December 2025. It’s doable that they may change round Jollywood Nights dates, though Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Social gathering complicates that.
It’s lots for WDW’s schedulers to juggle, and we don’t anticipate ExEH at DHS all through the vacation season because the most definitely situation–only a believable chance. Disney’s Hollywood Studios alone doesn’t have any crowd points because of Jollywood Nights–it’s extra about counterprogramming to Magic Kingdom throughout Social gathering Season, which has main points that’ll actually be exacerbated because of Starlight.
In any case, ExEH at DAK turns into extra fascinating in the course of the holidays by advantage of the sooner sundown alone–to not point out Christmas decorations and leisure. So I doubt the backlash could be as fierce as what we’ve seen to Animal Kingdom having internet hosting duties in the course of the hotter and earlier-sunset summer time months. That’s the largest difficulty–that Prolonged Night Hours at Animal Kingdom gained’t really be at night time and won’t provide a reprieve from the warmth in consequence.
Right here’s the eligible attraction roster for Prolonged Night Hours at Disney’s Hollywood Studios:
- Alien Swirling Saucers
- Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway
- Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run
- Rock ‘n’ Curler Coaster Starring Aerosmith
- Slinky Canine Sprint
- Star Excursions – The Adventures Proceed
- Toy Story Mania!
- The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror
The conspicuous omission from that record is Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance, which was a part of Prolonged Night Hours at Disney’s Hollywood Studios a few years in the past. It wasn’t final 12 months, so we presume this to be correct for 2025. (Particularly since MuppetVision 3D has been faraway from the record, indicating it was up to date comparatively just lately.)
If in case you have the possibility to attend Prolonged Night Hours at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, we extremely suggest it. I used to be in a position to attend a kind of evenings two years in the past, and it was nice. We’d anticipate the identical to carry true for Prolonged Night Hours at DHS in Fall 2025, even with out Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance.
In truth, I’m at present debating easy methods to “deal with” Prolonged Night Hours at Disney’s Hollywood Studios on August 29. My present plan is (was?) to attend a second Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Social gathering on that night time for the sake of analysis. However not a lot is altering at this 12 months’s MNSSHP, in order that appears like overkill. Plus, that’ll value cash and that is “free.” Additionally, I haven’t written-up step-by-step technique for ExEH at DHS shortly, in order that feels extra priceless, even when there’s a restricted shelf life.
Tentatively, our advice for ExEH at DHS is beginning with Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance a couple of minutes earlier than official park closing adopted by Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run. After that, head the opposite course in the direction of Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway, adopted by Rock ‘n’ Curler Coaster and Tower of Terror, earlier than doubling again and ending in Toy Story Land with Slinky Canine Sprint proper on the very finish of the night time. That’ll seemingly be the perfect technique and the one I’ll check if I find yourself doing ExEH at DHS.
Finally, we’re huge followers of Prolonged Night Hours at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, and hope that it’s supplied extra from September to November and possibly even December 2025. Frankly, DHS is my second-favorite park for Prolonged Night Hours after Magic Kingdom. It’s undoubtedly higher than Animal Kingdom, particularly if it’s taking place pre-sunset.
Then there’s EPCOT. Though few issues are as nice as a serene stroll via World Showcase after park closing, the ‘nation route’ is usually closed off after a sure time and trip breakdowns could make EPCOT Prolonged Night Hours a lot much less productive. (I’ve had a few ExEHs “ruined” at EPCOT because of downtime.) With its extra compact format and top-heavy trip roster, we predict that Disney’s Hollywood Studios is a lot better suited to host Prolonged Night Hours.
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YOUR THOUGHTS
Will you be making the most of Prolonged Night Theme Park Hours at Disney’s Hollywood Studios in Fall 2025? Did you do that at DHS final 12 months when it was supplied? Hoping Prolonged Night Hours keep at DHS from September via Christmas? Disillusioned in regards to the eligibility guidelines or attraction lineup excluding Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance? Do you agree or disagree with our evaluation? Any questions we might help you reply? Listening to your suggestions–even if you disagree with us–is each attention-grabbing to us and useful to different readers, so please share your ideas beneath within the feedback!