After shifting over to Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios for a lot of the summer time and all of Birthday party Season, Prolonged Night time Hours is in any case returning to Magic Kingdom in 2026. Listed below are the main points, plus Walt Disney Global crowds statement, anticipated leisure schedules & park hours, and why this could be a mistake.
Prolonged Night time Theme Park Hours is midnight counterpart to Early Theme Park Access. There are a number of variations, maximum particularly that visitors staying at Price or Average Lodges don’t seem to be eligible for Prolonged Night time Hours. But it surely’s now not simply the costliest inns–you’ll lower your expenses through renting DVC issues or staying on the Swolphin–the ones are each nice techniques to hack ExEH and benefit from the perk and a nicer lodge for a lower cost.
Prolonged Night time Theme Park Hours has two tiers of lodge eligibility, happens two nights a week, is at two parks, and runs for 2 hours. It’s typically Monday at EPCOT and Wednesday at Magic Kingdom. See our Technique Information Information for Prolonged Night time Hours at Walt Disney Global for extra fine details of the midnight Deluxe receive advantages.
As at all times, Magic Kingdom stops website hosting Prolonged Night time Hours when Mickey’s No longer So Horrifying Halloween Birthday party and Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Birthday party kick into prime tools. That’s why there are not any ExEH dates at Magic Kingdom for the rest of 2025, and haven’t been for some time.
Disney’s Hollywood Studios has been website hosting Prolonged Night time Hours on Wednesdays throughout the finish of October, with Animal Kingdom taking up beginning on November 5, 2025. That is because of the Jollywood Nights Christmas Birthday party. From then till early 2026, Animal Kingdom will host the second one Prolonged Night time Hours of the week.
This has kind of been the cadence of earlier years, with ExEH switching from MK to DHS as soon as MNSSHP kicked into prime tools, after which from DHS to DAK as soon as Jollywood Nights began. Despite the fact that Prolonged Night time Hours isn’t as fascinating at DAK, a minimum of it happens completely at night time in November and December because of the sooner sundown time.
The entire above is how the Prolonged Night time Hours scheduling performs out in a regular 12 months. So in the event you’re making plans forward for Fall 2026, you’ll be expecting Disney’s Hollywood Studios to once more take over Prolonged Night time Hours website hosting tasks from Magic Kingdom once more then. The date isn’t but sure, however our very best bet is that it’ll occur on September 16, 2026.
This 12 months, that changeover took place a lot previous. For many who haven’t been following this saga, it all started with Walt Disney Global making a number of calendar adjustments to put the groundwork for the debut of Disney Starlight Evening Parade long ago in July.
For the needs of this publish, probably the most notable of which was once shifting ExEH over to Animal Kingdom beginning in the second one part of summer time. There in truth would possibly be a repeat of that during Summer season 2026; all of it is dependent upon Disney Starlight Evening Parade scheduling and whether or not Walt Disney Global is happy with just one efficiency on Wednesdays. Our bet is that they’re going to be–however we’re getting forward of ourselves.
Nowadays’s large information is that Prolonged Night time Hours returns to Magic Kingdom beginning Wednesday, January 7, 2026 from 9 pm till 11 pm. (It’s imaginable park hours extensions push that again to ten pm to middle of the night.) That is as a ways out because the calendar recently is going, so we don’t know whether or not this pattern continues on next Wednesdays this wintry weather.
It typically does. It’s our expectation that Magic Kingdom continues to host Prolonged Night time Hours each and every Wednesday thru a minimum of early March, and maximum weeks throughout the first part of 2026. Then again, we do be expecting extra scheduling adjustments in 2026 than this 12 months because of Disney Starlight Evening Parade, particularly as soon as Sunlight Saving Time begins. That occurs forward of Spring Destroy season, and it’ll be difficult to run the night time parade two times because of sundown occasions. On slower dates, that’s most probably now not a topic–however all over the height season, it could be.
In consequence, don’t be stunned if Prolonged Night time Hours strikes over to Animal Kingdom on Wednesdays for numerous top season dates right through 2026. It most probably gained’t transfer over to Disney’s Hollywood Studios as a result of that park hosts After Hours maximum Wednesdays thru early September 2026.
Once more, not anything after January 7, 2026 is at the authentic calendar. The remainder is solely speculative on our section, so don’t plan round any of this till Walt Disney Global formally provides it to the calendar.
It’s completely imaginable that Walt Disney Global gained’t be too concerned with two nightly performances of Starlight each and every unmarried night time of the week in 2026. The parade gained’t be brand-new then, or even at the moment when it is new, there are a number of days right through the following 3 months when Starlight isn’t proven, duration.
We’re simply bringing this for your consideration early so that you don’t get stuck off-guard if/when Walt Disney Global switches issues up and provides Prolonged Night time Hours to the Wednesday agenda. A large number of fanatics have been very disenchanted about this sudden trade over the summer time and early fall this 12 months. And understandably so–we left Animal Kingdom on the finish of Prolonged “Night time” Hours in July…and it was once nonetheless wide sunlight out!
We’re massive fanatics of Prolonged Night time Hours, in particular at Magic Kingdom and particularly within the wintry weather. When there’s less warm climate, the crowds have a tendency to filter out, making ExEH much more tremendous. That is doubly true with wintry weather getting busier with every passing 12 months. Prolonged Night time Hours has been the only dependable manner (knock on picket) to knock out a ton of sights with rather quick waits.
Prolonged Night time Hours is particularly much less busy all over the wintry weather months than it’s all over the summer time, regardless of decrease total crowd ranges in the summertime months. As with decrease call for in wintry weather because of climate, the similar is right in summer time; prime warmth and humidity leads to extra visitors searching for out Prolonged Night time Hours for extra delightful stipulations. Simply one thing to remember in the event you’ve up to now achieved ExEH in the summertime, idea it was once too crowded, and are considering of skipping the additional hours in wintry weather.
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YOUR THOUGHTS
Will you be profiting from Prolonged Night time Theme Park Hours at Magic Kingdom in 2026? Hope that MK continues to host ExEH in March 2026 and past? Or do you view this from the ‘higher excellent’ viewpoint, now not in need of a discount in Starlight showtimes? Do you compromise or disagree with our overview? Any questions we will allow you to resolution? Listening to your comments–even whilst you disagree with us–is each fascinating to us and useful to different readers, so please percentage your ideas under within the feedback!
