After Hours at Disney’s Hollywood Studios is a difficult price ticket tournament with restricted attendance and brief wait occasions for Walt Disney Global’s hottest points of interest. This publish stocks our enjoy, information concerning the tournament, 2026 dates & main points, guidelines & methods, and whether or not it’s well worth the cash.
After Hours at Disney’s Hollywood Studios takes position make a choice nights from January 14 till September 12, 2026. This tournament takes position from 9:30 PM to twelve:30 AM. Along with that, After Hours attendees can get a head birth at the a laugh via coming into the park at 7:00 PM—a few hours sooner than the development formally starts!
Stories from final yr’s After Hours ‘season’ at Walt Disney Global have been in large part certain from attendees. Crowds have been sparse many nights and, excluding breakdowns, wait occasions have been low. We’re anticipating a repeat of this for the 2026 After Hours, as costs are up, there are fewer dates adjoining to busy weeks, and total crowd ranges had been trending down at DHS year-over-year.
There also are personality meet & greets and wonder encounters all over After Hours. This for sure isn’t a promoting level, and in the past wasn’t even one thing that used to be closely marketed. It’s extra ‘wonder & satisfaction,’ since there are so few characters relative to different particular occasions. Specifics have no longer but been introduced for 2026 After Hours at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, however listed below are unadvertised characters that in the past seemed on the tournament:
- Duffy the Disney Undergo
- Pinocchio & Jiminy Cricket
- Mary Poppins & Penguin
- Pinocchio & Meeko
- Chip ‘n’ Dale Rescue Rangers
- Glam Daisy & Donald Duck
- Glam Goofy
- Minnie & Mickey Mouse
With that during thoughts, right here’s what you wish to have to grasp concerning the 2026 After Hours at Disney’s Hollywood Studios…
The 2026 After Hours at Disney’s Hollywood Studios will happen on:
- January 14, 2026
- January 28, 2026
- February 4, 2026
- February 11, 2026
- February 21, 2026
- February 25, 2026
- April 29, 2026
- Might 6, 2026
- Might 14, 2026
- Might 30, 2026
- June 3, 2026
- June 10, 2026
- June 17, 2026
- June 24, 2026
- July 1, 2026
- July 8, 2026
- July 15, 2026
- July 22, 2026
- July 29, 2026
- August 5, 2026
- August 12, 2026
- August 19, 2026
- August 26, 2026
- September 2, 2026
- September 12, 2026
Deviating from conventional hours, the Might thirtieth tournament will run from 10:30 p.m. to at least one:30 a.m. and the Sept. twelfth tournament will run from 10:00 p.m. to at least one:00 a.m.
Match tickets are $155 to $189 in line with price ticket, plus tax (costs range via date). Tickets at the moment are on sale and can also be bought via all visitors. You’ll be able to purchase tickets on-line right here.
Annual Passholders and Disney Holiday Membership Individuals can save $30 in line with price ticket to Disney After Hours at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Forged Individuals too can save on make a choice nights. Extra main points can also be discovered on Forged Lifestyles Internet or My Disney Lately.
For 2026 After Hours, costs have as soon as once more at the prime finish, however no longer just about up to final yr. Additionally, it’s great to peer AP/DVC/CM reductions, which aren’t presented for After Hours at Magic Kingdom.
Whether or not the development is “value it” is clearly subjective. We’ve been announcing for years that we view this as a quasi-VIP enjoy and suppose it’s some of the few upcharge choices at Walt Disney Global this is well worth the cash. Alternatively, at those new upper value issues, it’s a in point of fact difficult promote. (We’ll be vote casting with our wallets, and no longer doing it.)
With all of that stated, maximum dates of After Hours at Disney’s Hollywood Studios bought out final yr, so it’s simple to peer how they justified such huge value will increase. We won’t accept as true with worth proposition anymore, however obviously, a lot of different visitors do.
Some of the hallmarks of the After Hours occasions at Walt Disney Global is the limitless ice cream novelties, popcorn, and bottled drinks. Those are all incorporated in the price of this ticketed tournament–you merely stroll as much as outside merchandising carts stationed right through DHS and snatch a Top rate Mickey Bar, Coca-Cola, or no matter else.
You’ll be able to additionally acquire meals and drinks at make a choice eating places, however that is normally a horrible use of the restricted tournament time. Consume sooner than you arrive or replenish on ice cream and different treats on-the-go all over After Hours at Disney’s Hollywood Studios.
All the way through After Hours at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, points of interest will come with:
- Alien Swirling Saucers
- Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway
- Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run
- Slinky Canine Sprint
- Big name Excursions – The Adventures Proceed
- Big name Wars: Upward thrust of the Resistance
- Toy Tale Mania!
- The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror
Notice that Rock ‘n’ Curler Coaster Starring Aerosmith isn’t at the listing for 2026, most likely because of its closure and reimagining. It’s unclear whether or not the brand new Rock ‘n’ Curler Coaster Starring the Muppets will sign up for the lineup when it debuts in Summer season 2026. Many different points of interest that experience opened partway in the course of the After Hours season have no longer been added.
The operative query about After Hours at Disney’s Hollywood Studios is what number of rides are you able to accomplish? Narrowing that slightly additional, we think the general public studying this are fascinated with headliners like Slinky Canine Sprint–and what kind of time can also be stored via paying to wait After Hours as opposed to an ordinary day at DHS.
All the way through the final After Hours at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, we did the next:
- Slinky Canine Sprint (x3)
- Rock ‘n’ Curler Coaster (x3)
- Tower of Terror (x2)
- Alien Swirling Saucers (x1)
- Toy Tale Mania (x1)
- Big name Wars: Upward thrust of the Resistance (x1)
That’s a complete of eleven points of interest, and lets’ve simply performed extra if potency have been our lone function and we didn’t crisscross the park as a lot.
We additionally ate a couple of part dozen ice cream novelties and had a couple of Cokes, every of which might be additionally limitless/incorporated in the price of admission all over the development.
As famous above, After Hours at Disney’s Hollywood Studios does no longer require common theme park admission and lets in access as early as 7 p.m. As with the Disney’s Hollywood Studios model of the development, the particular tournament starts half-hour after reputable park ultimate–at 9:30 p.m., and runs for three hours till 12:30 a.m. This implies you’ll be able to see Fantasmic or knock out a couple of less-popular points of interest all over the mix-in that begins sooner than After Hours formally kicks off.
The final time we attended, we did Slinky Canine Sprint once the development formally started. Unusually, the road had already just about or completely cleared of day visitors. Sadly, everybody else who had arrived for After Hours had this identical concept, so the road used to be more or less 10 mins lengthy. Extremely brief via Slinky Canine Sprint requirements, however our longest line of the night time.
We most probably may just’ve performed slightly extra selection and less rides at the curler coasters, however the ones are the issues with the longest daylight waits, in order that they have been our focal point. Simply with the highest two pieces, we conservatively stored 10 hours of time in line (give or take).
In fact, no longer many of us are going to select to attend in line an hour-plus for Slinky Canine Sprint two times in the similar day, a lot much less six occasions, so the period of time “stored” here’s moderately misleading. I imply, we additionally had numerous Mickey Top rate Bars, bottled water, and Coke–the worth of which might’ve exceeded $50 have been we paying out of pocket, however I’d by no means purchase a bottle of water at Walt Disney Global within the first position, a lot much less 6 of them in an afternoon.
All over the night time, the one enchantment with any line used to be Slinky Canine Sprint, which used to be at its longest firstly of the night time. Tower of Terror additionally had a wait within the boiler room, however that’s a results of the way it a lot and no longer a serve as of crowds.
The whole thing else used to be a close to walk-on for everything of the night time. On Rock ‘n’ Curler Coaster, we had our personal teach as soon as, and maximum rides on that have been lower than one-third complete. The excellent news with each RnRC and Tower of Terror is that the pre-shows have been not obligatory. We watched every as soon as (as a result of in contrast to Flight of Passage, they’re superior) after which skipped each on next rides.
Regardless of this, Disney’s Hollywood Studios felt moderately busier than the After Hours at EPCOT tournament. A part of this can be a serve as of park dimension, DHS being way more compact. We’d additionally danger a bet that there have been extra attendees on the Disney’s Hollywood Studios tournament.
Going ahead, we’d watch for that attendance will building up on the After Hours as certain phrase of mouth spreads. Alternatively, although double the selection of tickets are bought, we nonetheless wouldn’t be expecting the development to really feel considerably other. Maximum journey cars (save for Slinky Canine Sprint) have been being dispatched partly empty, so there used to be a lot of capability to spare in the ones ‘walk-on’ wait occasions.
It’s additionally value noting that none of Disney’s Hollywood Studios main leisure choices run completely all over After Hours. This nearly necessitates a go back talk over with to the park a distinct day, until you’ve already ‘been there, performed that’ with all the displays.
All the way through that other day, we’d additionally suggest doing any points of interest which might be in point of fact long from begin to end (Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run) or that don’t be offering super time financial savings all over After Hours (Big name Excursions).
With regards to guidelines, our recommendation can be to begin on the Sundown Side road rides and finish with Toy Tale Land. The latter used to be for sure busiest proper after fireworks, and by the point that crowd cycled thru Slinky Canine Sprint a few occasions, it just about dissipated.
Our recommendation can be to devise your arrival to Toy Tale Land for the second one part of the development. At this level, your moderate cycle time (wait time plus journey plus exiting) for Slinky Canine Sprint or Toy Tale Mania must be at or underneath quarter-hour, and at or underneath 5 mins for Alien Swirling Saucers or the meet & greets.
Some other large piece of recommendation for After Hours at Disney’s Hollywood Studios is to avoid wasting Big name Wars: Upward thrust of the Resistance till close to the top of the night time. That is going to be the explanation why that many or the general public acquire tickets to After Hours at DHS, and a large number of them are going to prioritize it. The road will nearly definitely be worst early-on, and considerably shorter within the final hour of the development.
Our expectation is that a large number of visitors will move in with the expectancy of doing “limitless” rides on Big name Wars: Upward thrust of the Resistance, with grandiose concepts of driving it dozens of occasions all over the development. This is, till fact units in.
In all chance, Big name Wars: Upward thrust of the Resistance will birth out with wait occasions of a minimum of half-hour when the development begins (if no longer longer). Other folks will bear that after or possibly two times, sooner than shifting directly to different points of interest. Others will stay driving, however burnout will inevitably set-in for a few causes.
First, as nice as Big name Wars: Upward thrust of the Resistance is–and we expect it’s the number one enchantment at Walt Disney Global–it’s no longer extremely re-rideable within the back-to-back-to-back (and so forth.) sense. It’s an ideal storytelling enchantment, no longer person who delivers thrills or activates a visceral response.
2nd, Big name Wars: Upward thrust of the Resistance is lengthy. It’s a multi-phase enchantment, and it gained’t be imaginable to skip all or most likely any of the pre-shows all over After Hours at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. We’ve discovered that even with best timing, Big name Wars: Upward thrust of the Resistance takes 18 mins to enjoy from start-to-finish.
That’s the best possible case state of affairs. Much more likely, the ones attendees who line up early are going to sink nearly an hour into one journey on Big name Wars: Upward thrust of the Resistance. Those that do two rides again to again originally of the development are more likely to consume up just about 90 mins in their After Hours time. Few will do 3 consecutive rides because of this.
Even though you probably did Big name Wars: Upward thrust of the Resistance from the instant you have to input DHS till the realization of After Hours, it’s most likely you’d handiest set up about 10 rides at the Galaxy’s Edge headliner. So no longer precisely “limitless” rides regardless of the way you slice it. (Truthfully, that’s high quality via us. We completely adore Upward thrust of the Resistance, however I couldn’t do it 10 consecutive occasions. It might begin to lose its luster and the magic would put on off. For me, two times all over the night time is just about best.)
Accordingly, our sturdy advice is saving Big name Wars: Upward thrust of the Resistance till the very finish. If you happen to handiest need to do the enchantment as soon as, you’ll be able to bounce in line 1 minute sooner than After Hours ends. This may occasionally successfully prolong the development, as you’ll do your ready in line and lots of the long enchantment period after the development has formally ended.
If you wish to do Big name Wars: Upward thrust of the Resistance two times, imagine doing it as soon as round 90 mins sooner than the development concludes, then leap over to Toy Tale Land for slightly, after which go back to Upward thrust of the Resistance once more 1 minute sooner than After Hours ends. It is a higher balanced means, and in addition mitigates the danger of downtime (in case you wait till the very finish, there’s at all times an opportunity that Upward thrust of the Resistance might be down and no longer come again up all over the development–it nonetheless suffers from reliability and downtime woes).
We’d additionally suggest sticking to at least one space, doing that on repeat, and no longer returning. Despite the fact that Disney’s Hollywood Studios isn’t large, the stroll from Toy Tale Land or Big name Wars: Galaxy’s Edge to Sundown Side road is a time eater.
We didn’t apply our personal recommendation right here, as a substitute doing every a few occasions, grabbing one of the vital incorporated refreshments, after which slowly meandering again in opposition to the opposite whilst consuming our Mickey’s Top rate Bars or what have you ever.
After Hours at Disney’s Hollywood Studios bears similarities to the Animal Kingdom tournament. As is the case there, this can be a headliner-heavy tournament. While you’ll be able to opt for selection at Magic Kingdom, the lineup here’s extra restricted. To get probably the most worth from a time-savings standpoint out of After Hours at DHS, you wish to have to be eager about driving Slinky Canine Sprint many times.
We predict that’s in point of fact what the development comes right down to. You definitely don’t wish to journey them each a blended 10 occasions as we did, however you’ll need to do them quite a lot of occasions. If you happen to’re a curler coaster junkie, this can be a nice tournament, and the truth that either one of those headliners are close to walk-ons (and that you’ll be able to skip the RnRC pre-show) method you have to do loops of each and get your journey counts into the double digits over the process the night time.
Conversely, in case you’re handiest eager about experiencing the whole lot as soon as, arriving for Early Access at Disney’s Hollywood Studios and even doing our Part-Day Disney’s Hollywood Studios Itinerary with a powerful Lightning Lane sport must be enough.
Whether or not you must do After Hours at Disney’s Hollywood Studios comes down for your non-public enchantment priorities (are you a curler coaster junkie who desires to loop the 2 main ones right here?), funds, and averseness to crowds. If you happen to hate crowds and are keen to splurge on ~$175 in line with particular person tickets, After Hours at DHS might be a excellent tournament for you.
Particularly, Slinky Canine Sprint is a brilliant enchantment to do all over After Hours at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, because it has no pre-show and in most cases is a best 5 enchantment in all of Walt Disney Global when it comes to the posted wait time! DHS could also be probably the most tough Lightning Lane Multi-Cross park, so doing After Hours as a substitute relieves that drive.
In the long run, there’s no “best” solution to successfully coming near Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Lightning Lane Multi-Cross works smartly, however no longer just about to the level that it does at Magic Kingdom–and it calls for staying the entire day at DHS. Early Access is any other superb possibility, however will handiest let you hit ~3 headliners. Appearing up past due is any other savvy technique, however it additionally gained’t will let you get the whole lot performed, let on my own more than one rides on headliners.
This leaves the After Hours tournament as one of the best ways to successfully “do” DHS in a frustration-free manner. Clearly, this comes with an excessively prime value, so After Hours at Disney’s Hollywood Studios isn’t going to be “value it” for many and even many Walt Disney Global visitors…however that’s more or less the purpose. A restricted capability tournament helps to keep issues manageable, and ends up in a extra delightful enjoy for individuals who can find the money for it.
We gained’t be doing the 2026 After Hours at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, however if in case you have a large funds and don’t thoughts splurging, this tournament is a laugh and a excellent decrease pressure and complications that ceaselessly happen at DHS. Whilst we’d suggest choice methods for beating the crowds to budget-conscious visitors, After Hours is a brilliant possibility for the ones keen and in a position to splurge. We’d definitely suggest it over Lightning Lane Premier Cross for individuals who have more money and need a quasi-VIP enjoy!
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YOUR THOUGHTS
What do you recall to mind Disney’s Hollywood Studios’ After Hours tournament? Planning to do the 2026 After Hours at DHS to peer how again and again you’ll be able to journey Big name Wars: Upward thrust of the Resistance in one night time? Is that this one thing that pursuits you, or is the fee too prime to justify? How again and again would you wish to have to do the 2 coasters in one night time? Do you compromise or disagree with our evaluate of the development? Any questions we will be able to let you resolution? Listening to your comments–even whilst you disagree with us–is each fascinating to us and useful to different readers, so please proportion your ideas beneath within the feedback!
