Disneyland After Dark
Disneyland After Dark is a series of separately ticketed, themed after-hours events held at Disneyland Park in the Disneyland Resort, California. Each event, styled a "Nite", takes over the park for four hours after regular closing with entertainment, character appearances, food and merchandise created for that theme, alongside access to the park's attractions at reduced capacity. The series began on January 18, 2018, with Throwback Nite.
Format
The established pattern is a four-hour party, typically from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. Ticket holders may enter Disneyland from 6 p.m., giving a three-hour overlap with regular guests before the park clears. No separate park reservation is required, and the ticket includes unlimited downloads of Disney PhotoPass photographs taken during the event. Themes change from year to year, and each Nite is usually offered on several dates rather than a single night, with popular editions selling out shortly after tickets go on sale — Magic Key annual pass holders generally receive a brief presale window before general release.
Earlier Disneyland history contains a distant ancestor: in the late 1950s and 1960s the park ran after-hours Date Nites aimed at couples. The modern series makes no direct claim on that lineage, but its first theme was deliberately nostalgic.
History
The series opened on January 18, 2018, with Throwback Nite, a celebration of Disneyland's first decades featuring period music, the Fantasy in the Sky fireworks first presented in the 1950s, and characters in vintage dress. A second event, Star Wars Nite, followed on May 3, 2018, timed to May the Fourth; demand led to an additional date, and the programme included the March of the First Order, a first meeting opportunity with Rey, and the return of Hyperspace Mountain.
The calendar widened in 2019 with 90s Nite and the first Sweethearts' Nite, a Valentine's-season event that has since become the series' most durable theme. The 2020 season began with 80s Nite and included Pixar Nite — unusually staged at Disney California Adventure — and Villains Nite, before the resort's pandemic closure ended the run.
After Dark returned in 2023 following the pandemic hiatus, with Sweethearts' Nite joined by two new themes: Princess Nite and Pride Nite, the resort's first official after-hours celebration of the LGBTQIA+ community. Disney Channel Nite, drawing on Disney Channel programmes of the 1990s and 2000s, was added in 2024. Star Wars Nite settled into an annual slot around May the Fourth, expanding to multiple nights. For 2026 the resort announced five themes, including a new 70 Years of Favorites Nite marking Disneyland's 70th anniversary.
Themes
Recurring and notable themes have included:
- Sweethearts' Nite (2019– ) — romance-themed décor, Disney couples, dance parties and a cavalcade, held on select nights in January and February.
- Star Wars Nite (2018– ) — character encounters from the Star Wars films, themed fireworks and the Hyperspace Mountain overlay of Space Mountain.
- Pride Nite (2023– ) — a celebration of the LGBTQIA+ community and its allies, with a cavalcade, dance parties and themed photo locations.
- Throwback Nite (2018, 2023) — Disneyland of the 1950s and 1960s, with vintage entertainment and Fantasy in the Sky fireworks.
- Disney Channel Nite (2024– ) — characters and music from Disney Channel series and films.
- Princess Nite (2023) — held on two nights only, built around Disney princesses, and not repeated in subsequent seasons.
Relationship to other events
Disneyland After Dark is distinct from the resort's seasonal hard-ticket parties. Oogie Boogie Bash at California Adventure is a Halloween event rather than an After Dark Nite, and runs for five hours on a much larger number of dates. The After Dark format has a counterpart at Walt Disney World in Disney After Hours, though that programme is largely unthemed and sells reduced waits rather than exclusive entertainment.