by Our Disneyland After Dark review covers the excitement of the nights and whether this extra-paid ticket is worth the price!
A couple of years after Disneyland opened in 1955, the theme park launched its first Date Nite series. This popular event took place after park hours on the weekend. Guests rode the famous attractions, saw dazzling fireworks, and danced the night away with their sweetheart. This event was eventually fizzled out in the 1960’s, but guest still desired its return for years to come. Strangely enough, it took until 2017, sixty years after Disneyland first launched this event to bring it back. Thus, Disneyland After Dark was a born. In fact, the original theme was “Throwback Nite” which included songs and characters from Disneyland’s first decade.
Is Disneyland After Dark Worth the Ticket Price?
So far, all of the After Dark Nites have been met with stellar reviews. Tickets for 2020 are $109 each and come with a variety of exclusive items. Last year, on 90’s Nite (March 7, 2019), every attending guest received a commemorative fanny pack, a retro decoder card from the Indiana Jones Adventure, and an exclusive park map for the night. Throwback, Star Wars, Sweethearts, and 90’s Nite all had fantastic fireworks displays set to music themes after the event. Unlike Disneyland’s normal fireworks shows, guests only had to show up a few minutes before start time because there was plenty of standing room in front of the castle.
During the After Dark series, Disney does its best to transform the park. Special photo booths are installed, effects lighting project down Main Street, U.S.A., and themed music bumps throughout the park’s many lands. Ticket sales are very limited, so most rides have a wait time of 5-10 minutes (though Indiana Jones was about 15-20 minutes during 90’s Nite).
If you love to meet rare characters, these nights are for you! 90’s Nite was filled with nostalgic characters like Chip N Dale from Rescue Rangers, Baloo from TailSpin, and Goofy and Max in their Powerline costumes from A Goofy Movie. Indiana Jones walked around the temple containing his ride and there were even the original glow-in-the-dark monkeys from Fantasmic! in front of Rivers of America.
If you’re a foodie, Disneyland concocts some fun creations for these nights. There was Pepper Jack Mac at Stage Door Cafe during Throwback Nite and 90’s Nite had crazy latchkey kid-inspired food like “jolly rancher” flavored beignets, pizza twists, and a Grey Stuff shake that tasted like Oreo Cookie shakes from back in the day. These are food items that you can only get during the event (though we think the Grey Stuff Shake should be a mainstay at Red Rose Taverne).
We loved the pace of these nights. They are always full of energy, friendly guests, and tons of new stuff to experience. It’s very much an adult affair, as we only saw a handful of kids (they nights go until 1am and are on weekdays). If you don’t go to Disneyland much, your ticket grants you early entry before the event, giving you from 6pm to 1am to visit (the park closed at 8pm and the party officially started at 9pm).
Best of all: nearly everyone dressed up! These events are for people who want to party, even if it’s a Wednesday night! So, if you’re planning to attend a future Disneyland After Dark even, at least wear a t-shirt that matches the occasion.
Some Reasons to Skip the Events
Disneyland After Dark does come with some issues. First off, you will pay $100+ for a ticket and everything else costs extra, too. For example, the limited food costs $5-$15 a piece and the t-shirts were $20+. There’s also a lot of waiting in lines for everything that isn’t a ride. If you want to meet a rare character, expect an hour or more wait. Even if you show up at the end of the night, the lines might still be long. Some guests waited until 1:30AM, a half hour after the event closed, to meet Goofy and Max in their Powerline Costumes. Even people buying pins and t-shirts had to wait several hours in a line—and the pins sold out in just a few minutes leaving a long line of disappointed guests.
Disneyland After Dark 90s Nite 
Disneyland After Dark 90s Nite 
Disneyland After Dark 90s Nite 
Disneyland After Dark 90s Nite 
Disneyland After Dark 90s Nite
The most reluctant, yet excited group for After Dark appears to be Disneyland Annual Passholders. While Walt Disney World’s guest receive free similar after dark events at the Magic Kingdom, Disneyland doesn’t. The only perk is usually early access to tickets and a free button. Perhaps if Disneyland offered passholder-only events or a significant discount, the would make the night a lot more special for this group. However, seeing that Disneyland is rumored to have around 1 million annual passholders, there wouldn’t be a way for everyone to experience it all for free. Still, we’d take a 25% off discount like Walt Disney World gives their members for After Hours events.
Lastly, some of the “exclusive” food items eventually make it into the parks. For example, we saw the Oreo Cookie Shake offered at Schmoozies in Disney California Adventure. We’re almost betting that the “Reece’s Pieces” style churro that’s exclusive to 80s Nite will also find its way back in the summer.
Overall, Disneyland After Dark is set up for two types of people: those who want to visit Disneyland with few crowds and those who are nostalgic fans. If you don’t care about the characters, but want to visit during light crowds, these parties are for you. Those who visit frequently and love the idea of seeing the park rethemed will also dig the After Dark series. These events are loads of fun and filled with unforgettable Disney magic—as long as you’re not bothered by the price.
2020’s After Dark series includes 80s Nite, Sweethearts Nites, Pixar Nite, and Villains Nite. Tickets are $109 and on sale here!
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