In recent years Disneyland has started “after hours” separate ticked parties at the park known as “Disneyland After Dark” with various themes. While some of the themes change year to year, some have stuck around, such as Sweethearts’ Nite, an evening dedicated to love and friendship. Last year Minerva, one of my friends went, and she’s a bit of an autograph hound like me, albeit in a much more creative way, as she sketches characters and then asks the characters to sign by her sketches. She’s so talented and you can check her out on Instagram! I saw she met one of my all-time favorite characters, Clarice from the animated short Two Chips and a Miss. It was the only time I seen Clarice out and signing autographs, so I told Patrick we had to go next year!

All dolled up, Patrick and I ventured to the park, and it was kind of wild to see it filled with mostly couples! I think I only saw five children total! The park was basically stroller free! While most of the attractions are available to Guests, the biggest draw are the rare character sightings, unique photo opportunities (many are recreations of movie scenes, such as Tony’s from Lady and the Tramp and the lantern scene from Tangled), entertainment, including a Royal Ball with princes and princesses, and special food. Clarice was top of my list (stay tuned for the extreme geeky smile in my photo), and we eventually made our way to other characters, one of the photo ops, and grabbed a late dinner at Red Rose Taverne.

While we both had fun, I would be lying if I didn’t admit it was somewhat stressful! Patrick and I spent the evening character hopping, and only got one photo op in. The event only lasts from 9 pm to 1 am, which may seem like a long time, but when you wait somewhere around 45 minutes to meet one character set or do one photo op, it’s really not! So I thought I would take some time to offer up some tips if a Disneyland After Dark event seems like something you might want to do!

What is “Disneyland After Dark”?

Disneyland After Dark Nites are separate ticketed events that occur after normal operating hours end at Disneyland Park, and does not include access to Disney California Adventure Park. The park closes to regular park Guests at 8 pm, with special event offerings starting at 9 pm. Guests with a Disneyland After Dark ticket can enter Disneyland starting at 6 pm.

After Dark events typically run January through June, and each theme runs at least two days, typically on a weekday night. This year the themes are Sweethearts’ Nite (which is already sold out), Disney Channel Nite, Star Wars Nite, and Pride Nite.

During the event, often not all attractions are open, and there is no Lightning Lane (a paid service that replaced the free FastPass service), but wait times were on the shorter side, so make use of that Disneyland app to see wait times if you do want to ride attractions. The longest wait time we saw for the evening was 45 minutes for the Indiana Jones Adventure, with most other attractions being five to ten minutes.

Do Your Research!

If you attend a later event, meaning not the first nite of each theme, be sure you download the Disneyland app. Starting at 8, more detailed character information, such as locations and what time they will be appearing, was available on the app. So, if you are attending one of the later events, check in on the app on one of the earlier events to see where things will be.

Scour social media, including Instagram. Many people will use hashtags showcasing their experience. So I looked at “#SweetheartsNite” to see if I could get any further details. I was able to spy where certain photo ops, characters were going to be, what the Royal Ball was going to be like, and get ideas on what food was worth checking out.

Costumes are allowed! These After Dark events are treated like the Halloween parties, which allow adults to wear costumes. But there are still guidelines, which you can check out here.

Arrive Early

If you’re a Disneyland Magic Key Holder, try to get a reservation for the day of the event. That’s what we did. We were able to check-in early, get our wristband, lanyard, and map at the old Starcade, located between Star Trader and the exit to Space Mountain. With the map we were able to plan before the event started.

If you are not a Magic Key Holder, and do not want to purchase a day ticket for the hours prior to the event, you are able to get into the park at 6 pm, which gives you time to ride attractions, meet other characters, and grab a bite to eat.

Come Up with a Game Plan

As mentioned, the night is short, so it’s important to come up with a game plan. What do you want to focus on? Food? Characters? Photo Ops? For example, characters were my number one priority, and I wrote them down in order of importance, with the one photo opt I really wanted to do. We were able to meet all of the characters I wanted to met, except one couple, do the one photo op I really wanted to do, and eat dinner.

If food is not a priority, I recommend eating in the hours before the event, and/or pack snacks to avoid waiting on food.

Digital Help!

If you really want to sink your teeth into some of the treats, be on top of mobile ordering. We overheard that within a half hour of the event starting, all of the mobile order windows were gone. Some food lines were long, while others were short. Food wasn’t a priority, but we were able to eat in between meeting characters later in the evening with a very short line. We split the French Toast Sandwich at Red Rose Taverne and it was really quite good!

The event includes free digital downloads of photos taken by Disneyland’s PhotoPass photographers! PhotoPass photographers were on hand at each of the photo ops and at some of the Character meet-and-greets. Photos are loaded onto your wristband that you get at the start of the night. You can use the Disneyland app to scan your QR code to see and download photos to your phone, and later download them to your computer and purchase prints.

Sound like you want to attend one of these events? Visit Disneyland’s website for more information!

Outfit
Necklace: Gift
Dress: “Ashley” Free People, via Buffalo Exchange
Brooch & Bracelet: Match Accessories
Shoes: Re-Mix
Dooney & Burke Rescuers Purse: Company D

Disclosure: I do not represent nor am I affiliated the Walt Disney Company. I was not approached by the Walt Disney Company to do this blog post. I did it of my own accord. The above images and text represents my experiences during Sweethearts’ Nite, January 30, 2024, and yours may differ. All offerings are subject to change.