Is Villains After Hours Worth the Cost?

Villains After Hours is a new hard-ticketed event at Magic Kingdom Park they offered last summer. Disney is now offering 2020 Villains After Hours Dates as early as February 2020!  Priced at $145 a ticket this year, is Villains After Hours worth the cost? Here’s what you can expect with your ticket and what I wish they would add to Villains After Hours. 

Thank you, Disney, for providing me a complimentary ticket to attend Villains After Hours in 2019. All evil opinions are my own.

Is Villains After Hours Worth the Cost?

Value is subjective. Different things, foods, rides, activities, shows, etc. are important to different people. For comparison, Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party is my favorite party ever at Walt Disney World, and I can justify the price. Others aren’t as big of Halloween fans as I am and prefer Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party.

What You Can Expect With Your Villains After Hours Ticket

You can expect admission into Magic Kingdom Park beginning at 7 pm. However, the Villains After Hours event doesn’t begin until 10 pm. On a few dates in 2020, it begins at 9 p.m. and ends at midnight.

Special Ride Overlays

At Pirates of the Caribbean and Space Mountain, there are special “overlays.” At Pirates, I would call it more of special guest surprises in the ride queue and on the attraction. They were fun additions, but we’re not talking Nightmare Before Christmas overlay at Haunted Mansion at Disneyland.

I missed Space Mountain, but I wish I had ridden it. All my friends raved that it was pitch black, had a spooky soundtrack,and it was so much fun! They said that made Villains After Hours worth the price alone!

Complimentary Snacks and Drinks at Villains After Hours

During event hours, you can enjoy popcorn, ice cream bars, and bottles of soft drinks and water. At $3.50 a pop, you could get your money’s worth on snacks. Ok, maybe not, but I had two waters, a bottle of Coke, two ice cream bars, and popcorn during my 3 hours.

Villains Unite the Night Show

In this villainy stage show on the Castle Forecourt Stage, Hades and Meg from “Hercules” appear with some other friends like Jafar, The Queen, Dr. Facilier, and Maleficent. Anytime there are villains on the stage, I enjoy it. Add in some fireworks, even better. It’s a really cute show that’s worth a watch, especially if you’re a villains fan. 

You can catch Villains Unite the Night at 11:00 p.m., 12:00 a.m., and 1:00 a.m. I suggest leaving this to the end of the night so you can ride more during the event hours. 

Maleficent at Night

I’m so happy Maleficent is breathing fire again! Seeing her at night in dragon form is extra spooky and awesome!

At 10:40 p.m. and 11:45 p.m. you can see Maleficent breathe her fire for the first time at night. She starts and ends in Frontierland. At 1:20 a.m. she begins in Frontierland and ends on Main Street, U.S.A.

This is pretty dang cool and is exclusive only at Villains After Hours thus far.

Reports from the first 2020 Villains After Hours party is that Maleficent is out at night, but they didn’t see fire. So we’ll have to wait for more reports from more party dates.

Magic Shots with Disney Characters

Also included with your admission are different photo opportunities including Magic Shots like Scar, Maleficent, Hades and Oogie Boogie. For 2020, Scar is in Adventureland and Hades is at the hub.

I even got a surprise Baymax when I took a photo by Space Mountain. These photos are so fun and some are unique to Villains After Hours.

Villains in the Park

There are villains at the train station that interact with you from above. The Stepsisters pointed out my costume and made a comment about puppies. They change throughout the night, and we also saw Cruella de Vil, Queen of Hearts, Gaston, Captain Hook, and the Bowler Hat Guy from Meet the Robinsons.

If there was one thing I could ask for, it would be character meet and greets with the villains. They’re so rare in the parks, or even if they walked around, and you could grab a quick selfie, that would add so much value for someone like me who loves character photos.

Special Villains After Hours Exclusives For Purchase

While these aren’t included with admission, you can still purchase some pretty cool things during Villains After Hours like specialty foods and drinks, merchandise, and face painting! Some items are only sold at the Villains after Hours event.

I attended a reception for media before the first Villains After Hours, and they had face painters there. I really think it completed my Cruella de Vil look. Here are some other options for face paint at Villains After Hours. Cost ranges from $18 to $25.

Villains After Hours Snacks and Drinks 

Give me a specialty snack and call me happy. I’m a huge fan of the Maleficent Cone and it’s back at Storybook Treats in Fantasyland. This picture was taken last fall, because of the light, but it’s the same lime ice cream cone. Don’t mistake it for mint ice cream like some of my friends did.

I tried a Hades Temptation drink at Tortuga Tavern, and it didn’t quite turn out like the picture.

I don’t know if they’ll receive the tall glasses in the future. The taste itself was like a frozen pink lemonade, and it was tasty, but the presentation was lacking. My gummy worm sunk to the bottom.

There are new food and snacks for the 2020 Villains After Hours Party like Hades Hot Dog, Five Dozen Egg Slushy, Poor Unfortunate Soul, and more.

Villains After Hours 2020 Dates

Disney announced their new Villains After Hours 2020 dates starting earlier in the year than last year!

Disney Villains After Hours takes place from 10:00 PM to 1:00 AM on the following dates in 2020:

• Friday, February 14, 2020
• Friday, February 28, 2020
• Wednesday, March 11, 2020
• Wednesday, March 18, 2020
• Friday, March 27, 2020
• Friday, April 3, 2020
• Friday, April 10, 2020
• Friday, April 17, 2020
• Friday, April 24, 2020
• Friday, May 1, 2020
• Friday, May 8, 2020
• Thursday, May 14, 2020
• Friday, May 22, 2020
• Friday, May 29, 2020
• Friday, June 5, 2020
• Friday, June 12, 2020
• Friday, June 19, 2020
• Friday, June 26, 2020
• Monday, June 29, 2020
• Monday, July 6, 2020
• Friday, July 10, 2020

The following 3 Disney Villain After Hours events will take place from 9:00 p.m. until 12:00 a.m.

• Friday, February 7, 2020
• Friday, February 21, 2020
• Friday, March 6, 2020

There are discounted tickets available for Annual Passholders and Disney Vacation Club Members for $109 plus tax. It’s $139 plus tax if you don’t have discounts and you purchase tickets in advance. Tickets are $144 plus tax at the door.

Villains After Hours Review

Here’s the bottom line: Is Villains After Hours expensive? Yup. Is Villains After Hours worth the price? That depends on what you want. If I’m going with a bunch of girlfriends to have fun, ride a lot of rides, dress up, and take pictures, then I’ll absolutely buy a ticket with my Annual Passholder discount.

If I’m coming with my family of 7 for a week-long vacation, and we already have 7-day park tickets, then I’m skipping it. But if I’m on a short trip and want something special to celebrate a birthday or just to add extra magic then I’ll also spend the money. I’m a Halloween freak, so any sort of dressing up event with Disney Villains makes me happy, I just wish there was a little more that was offered – like character meet and greets. But I get the complexity of that.

Here’s a real conversation I had with my husband. 

Him: It’s $139 for just the 3 hours???

Me: Yes. You can get into the park at 7:00 p.m.

Him: Oh wait. You get popcorn and ice cream for free?

Me: Yes.

Him: Then it’s worth it. 

See? Different strokes.

Him: <EXCITED> You get to see Maleficent breathe fire in the dark?

So yes, it’s worth it to many people. 

I get that it’s summer, and prices are high, and it’s a valuable commodity to ride as much as you can during those 3 hours. Honestly, I rode the same amount of rides in those 3 hours as my family was able to ride in a full day at the theme parks. So if time equals money, then Villains After Hours is for you.

There are special experiences you won’t receive at other parties or during the day at the theme parks, so add that in to your calculations. Decide what you value and if Villains After Hours fits for you and your family.