Last week my friend Mel came to visit to celebrate her 40th birthday. A big Star Wars fan, her birthday fell close to one of the special Star Wars Nites at Disneyland. Some of you might recall that Patrick and I attended Sweethearts’ Nite in February, and Star Wars Nite is another one of the various themes offered for these “after hours” events.

Like the other events, and the Halloween parties offered in the fall, Star Wars Nite allows for Guests to dress up in costume for a journey to a galaxy far, far away. And while I saw many fabulous costumes, I just wasn’t up for one myself, and instead went for a 70s/80s vibe and took a rarely worn jacket out for a spin, as well as yet another pressed coin bracelet! Midway through the night I got a little chilly and added a vintage Star Tours sweatshirt that my dad bought back in the 80s.

Star Wars fans of all ages could participate in lightsaber training, enjoy the sounds of the cantina band, join other lightsaber wielding Guests for the meet-up in Galaxy’s Edge, witness Captain Phasma and Stormtroopers march through Tomorrowland, meet various characters, take photos with a variety of backdrops, and bite into loads of themed dishes.

The world of Star Wars is so big, and it was a delight to see the range of characters both to meet in the park, as well as who Guests dressed up as. We had a delightful time meeting characters, eating food, riding attractions, and dancing along Main Street as there was a DJ spinning intergalactic tunes.

So what is the scoop on these themed nights at Disneyland? Beginning in late winter and lasting through early June, Disneyland offers “Disneyland After Dark” an “after hours” separate ticketed event with various themes, for example this year included Sweethearts’ Nite, Disney Channel Nite, Star Wars Nite, and Pride Nite. The nights last 9 pm to 1 am and included special photo opportunities, rare character interactions, unique entertainment, and specialty food.

While the event sounds like it’s a long time, it really isn’t, depending on what you want to do. Character and photo opt lines can sometimes be over an hour! 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, usually on a weekday night. The themes can change year to year, but it seems that Sweethearts’ Nite, Star Wars Nite, and Pride Nite have stuck around each year.

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 55 minutes for Hyperspace Mountain, with most other attractions being five to 20 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, is 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. You can also see special menu items at the various restaurants.

Scour social media, including Instagram. Many people will use hashtags showcasing their experience. So I looked at “#StarWarsNite” 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 special entertainment was going to be like, and get ideas on what food was worth checking out. Make sure you’re looking at this year’s event! I ran into a few cases where I saw information and images from the previous year.

For Star Wars Nite some of the characters were “walk through” meet and greets, and I’ll admit, some of the Cast Members were a little pushy, even when there was virtually no wait. We saw Darth Maul and Darth Vader with no wait, and we were still instructed to do the “Dark Side Shuffle” while we attempted to briefly pause for photos with the characters. The most popular characters, that therefore had the longest wait times, were the Jawas and Ewok. We wanted roughly 30 minutes to meet the Jawas, and sadly couldn’t squeeze in time to see the Ewok, as their wait time was over an hour, sometimes pushing an hour and 45 minutes.

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. If you do that, or purchase a day ticket, you are 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. Check-in typically starts at 2:30, but sometimes starts earlier.

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. For those without a reservation or day ticket, you can begin lining up at 4:30 at the main gates. By 5:00 the line was reaching the middle of the esplanade.

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? 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 placed our mobile ordering right at 6 pm for time slots later on in the night and were able to get all of the food we wanted. Some food lines were long, while others were short.

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.

Sadly, Star Wars Nite tickets are sold out, but as of today there are still tickets for Pride Nite! Sound like you want to attend one of these events? Visit Disneyland’s website for more information!

Outfit
Headband: I don’t remember!
Necklace: Gift
Jacket & Tee: Disneyland
Vintage Star Tours Sweatshirt: Originally bought by my dad at Disneyland.
Bracelet: Made by Pat
Corduroys: Lee
Shoes: Nike Cortez via Buffalo Exchange

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 Star Wars Nite on May 2, 2024, and yours may differ. All offerings are subject to change.