Fans Are Furious Over Disney World Latest After-Hours 'Cash Grab'

For those of a certain generation, they can remember a time when the parks at Walt Disney World stayed open past nine nearly every night. In fact, the parks regularly stayed open until midnight, not just for special occasions. 

Magic Kingdom would routinely stay open until midnight, not just on holidays and at crowded times of the year. But Dinsey quickly realized that it could monetize after-hours events at its parks, ending those midnight hours.

In 1983, Magic Kingdom introduced Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party, and in 1995 created Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party. For decades, those were the only two ticketed after-hours events.

However, as Disney began to close the parks earlier in the 2010s, Disney World began introducing after-hours events at the Magic Kingdom to monetize guests’ desires to be at the parks after dark. Disney World now has after-hours events at Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, and Hollywood Studios, ranging in price from $155 to $185 per person.

Disney advertises these events as having “lower wait times” for most rides and attractions. However, guests have taken Disney to task on social media for selling too many tickets for these events and failing to create the “lower crowds” that these fans paid for.

Instead, Disney fans look back on when the late nights at Disney World were free and call these after-hours events another Dinsey money grab. 

One wrote on X (formerly Twitter):

These late night “events” is really just surge pricing for late hours that are in lower demand. Where they used to stay open (at a much lower rate of return), they can now keep the rate of return in line with the core operating hours by simply charging a separate fee for them.

Exactly. These late night “events” is really just surge pricing for late hours that are in lower demand. Where they used to stay open (at a much lower rate of return), they can now keep the rate of return in line with the core operating hours by simply charging a separate fee for… https://t.co/58xztFTmw8

— Disney Glimpses (@disneyglimpses) January 14, 2025

Many fans see this as symbolic of what Disney World has done in recent years: forcing guests to pay extra for things that used to be free. The list of complaints includes Fast Pass/Lightning Lane, Magic Bands, Magical Express, and more.

While Disney advertises these events as having “lower crowds,” guests come to these events with the expectation that they will be able to walk on every ride for the price they’re paying. However, this is just not a realistic expectation.

With Disney making so much money on these events, don’t expect the parks to stay open late for free again. These events have become money grabs for Disney, and the more people they can shove into the parks, the more money they’ll make.

Either way, Disney will keep selling these tickets as long as guests buy them. And guests will complain that they’re no longer getting what they thought they were getting from Disney. It’s the new way of things.