Review: Disney Villains After Hours 2020 at the Magic Kingdom

We will be adding more videos including our next Mousesteps Weekly show into this article by the weekend!

Hi everyone!

We were invited by Disney to the first Disney Villains After Hours this year. Disney Villains After Hours is a hard-ticket event, meaning guests purchase a separate ticket for admission. The evening includes access to over 20 popular Magic Kingdom attractions with (usually) little wait plus villainous entertainment. Last year there were 10 evenings set aside for Disney Villains After Hours and this year 24, so it was a successful event brought back for a longer run. And this year, there is enough of an upgrade to have me wanting to go back on our own. The event runs three hours officially, but the ticket offers entry into the park as early as 7:00pm. On the day we attended, the official start time of Disney Villains After Hours was 9:00 p.m. – so that is 5 hours of fun in the Magic Kingdom, though the official event itself does not start that early.

The most frequent question I am asked is if there are character meet and greets. There are not, but there is villain-inspired entertainment throughout the evening. I think with only three hours, it would be hard to offer meet and greets (one meet and greet line might take up the length of the entire event). Here is a look at our experience!

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At the Disney resorts, there is a brochure for Disney Villains After Hours and the standard Disney After Hours events. One offers the Villains enhancements, but both the standard Disney After Hours and Disney Villains After Hours include three hours of minimal waits for rides plus unlimited bottled sodas and water, popcorn and ice cream treats. The pricing is $145.00 plus tax per person for Disney Villains After Hours if purchased ahead. Same day purchase is $155.00 per person plus tax. Walt Disney World Annual Passholders or Disney Vacation Club Members cost $115.00 per person plus tax. That is what price we’d fall into as Passholders.

We started the evening at a media event to learn about food, merchandise and more for the 2020 Disney Villains After Hours.

Steven Miller gave us an overview of the merchandise!

MagicBands feature Maleficent and The Evil Queen.

Steven Miller told us that he expects the leggings to be popular.

Next, we took a look at the food items available for purchase at the event. I’m sharing a few of those here but we will have a video posted with more. The Hades Hot Dog is an all-beef hot dog topped with buffalo chicken, diced celery, fiery cheese dust, and spicy ranch drizzle. It can be found at Casey’s Corner.

There are quite a few specialty items you can find at Disney Villains After Hours.

The Body Language treat is maybe the most unique looking item, inspired by Ursula. It features cookies and cream mousse, chocolate cake, glacage, and meringue tentacles garnished with a chocolate shell.

Now it is time to go to Disney Villains After Hours! We arrived from the preview at a few minutes after 9:00 p.m. Remember, you can arrive two hours earlier to enjoy the Magic Kingdom with the regular day guest crowds.

The guidemap is very nice, and includes a look at merchandise, food and beverage, entertainment and photo opportunities.

The entertainment was enhanced this year. Last year, the Maleficent dragon would travel through the park several times per event evening. This year, it is a MUCH better experience with the new Villains’ Cursed Caravan. I will show that later. It is like a mini-parade of villains and it runs twice. And Villains Unite the Night returns with two shows per night instead of three.

Included with Disney Villains After Hours is what all Disney After Hours events include – Disney ice cream treats including the ice cream sandwich, as well as bottled sodas, water and popcorn for three hours.

There are special enhancements to both Pirates of the Caribbean and Space Mountain. We rode Pirates of the Caribbean, which features a live Captain Barbossa again as well as a couple of other live pirates in the ride.

This was about accurate for our wait. I recommend riding later in the evening – generally enhanced attractions have longer lines than other attractions early at any event.

This is our video of Pirates of the Caribbean!

We didn’t ride Space Mountain on this visit, the line was longer than Pirates of the Caribbean but not by much. Space Mountain during Disney Villains After Hours is in total darkness with a special soundtrack.

Seven Dwarfs Mine Train posted a 20 minute wait when I walked by.

We spent at least half of our evening focusing on the entertainment. Villains Unite the Night is almost a 25 minute show and we waited a bit to photograph the show.

There is a DJ at the Castle Forecourt who plays a variety of music.

Villains Unite the Night will likely never have the elevated cult status that Hocus Pocus Villain Spelltactular enjoys at Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party. However, it is an enjoyable show with lineup of popular villains – including Megara and Hades, who we don’t see often at Walt Disney World. The second show of the night should usually be less busy.

Last year the Disney Parks Blog said in describing the show, With Meg by his side, Hades sits atop his dark throne awaiting the alignment of five planets, following a prophecy that states when the five come together he will be able to rule the universe. But this dastardly plan doesn’t go quite as expected, when an assemblage of Disney Villains interrupts his party. Jafar, The Queen, Dr. Facilier and Maleficent arrive with henchmen in tow, prepared to showcase their power with spine-tingling displays of skill.

Here is our video of Villains Unite the Night from this year!

Megara and Hades are in the show throughout.

Other villains show up and the “henchmen” offer their own entertainment.

There is also special lighting during each villain. This is what the castle looks like during the Jafar segment – and there is smoke, fire, and a decent amount of fireworks for a show that isn’t a fireworks show.

The Evil Queen is up next.

Cinderella Castle takes on a new look.

This is my one of my favorite segments of the show, with fire twirlers.

There is fire that shoots up every so often from the stage.

Maleficent arrives, and Dr. Facilier is also part of the show. Each segment allows a different villain to shine.

Fireworks are shot off at the end of the show. While it isn’t my favorite of all Disney productions, it is a solid show and offers value for the event. I’ve seen it twice now and I liked it even better the second time.

I mentioned earlier that there are no meet and greets at Disney Villains After Hours. However, Disney did pump up the villainous offerings this year. The Villains’ Cursed Caravan is a really fun offering, a mini-parade of favorite villains. That includes Gaston on horseback.

Here is our video of Villains’ Cursed Caravan and more photos.

Lady Tremaine rides in a carriage.

Here is a look at the carriage in Town Square. The first Villains’ Cursed Caravan starts in Frontierland, circles the hub and heads back to Frontierland. The second runs the entire parade length into Town Square. Town Square also offers better lighting for photos.

Anastasia and Drizella are in the procession.

This year, the Queen of Hearts is a face character. This is a fantastic change, I hope we see her as a face character at other events now. And the cards are new characters.

Ursula glides down the route. We’ve seen her in this form at Disneyland before, it is nice to see her here!

Bowler Hat Guy, Big Bad Wolf, Oogie Boogie and Captain Hook are on this float. Cruella DeVil also is in a car.

The Big Bad Wolf pointed at me.

And Maleficent follows behind them!

The villainous farewell at the end of the night is shorter than last year. In 2019, Maleficent passed by Disney villains who were on the train station at the end of the night (it made for fun video). The villains stayed for quite some time and swapped out characters. This year, the farewell clocked in at around 10 minutes and honestly, that was just enough.

This is our video of the Farewell, followed by some photos.

Anastasia and Drizella, Lady Tremaine, Cruella, The Red Queen and Gaston finished the second Villains’ Cursed Caravan and then said goodbye to everyone leaving the park. And they interact with guests, just like last year. This starts just a couple of minutes after the procession ends. Head to Town Square to watch the second caravan and then the farewell!

Lady Tremaine with Anastasia and Drizella.

Anastasia and Drizella.

Here is a better look at the Queen of Hearts as a face character as she stands next to Cruella.

Gaston mostly flexes and sometimes offers a sneer.

Here, Gaston shows off his bicep. I definitely recommend staying through the evening and experiencing the villains interacting!

I also took some photos around the park toward the end of the evening. There are some nice projections and lighting.

The special lighting allows for some unique pictures.

Villains After Hours is projected in various areas of the park.

There are some photo ops, which includes the Queen of Hearts near the Mad Tea Party.

Unlike last year, there is no Villains Unite the Night show at the very end of the night. The Villain’s Cursed Caravan was at 11:45pm and then the farewell, and guests were mostly out of the Magic Kingdom by 12:30 a.m.

There is special lighting as you leave.

We did not experience a few of the elements of the party, like special photo ops and food items. But if we have a chance to get back on our own, I would want to make time for those (plus riding Space Mountain in the dark for fun). What I really like about the Disney After Hours events we’ve attended – and we’ve been to four or five now – is being able to ride attractions without much wait. We were at a regular Disney After Hours event in January at the Magic Kingdom and it was a very nice, chill evening. And of course, Disney popcorn and ice cream bars are always a treat.

What is different about Disney Villains After Hours over other Disney After Hours evenings is the entertainment – and the cost is a little higher due to that aspect. Is it worth the money? I can’t answer that for you, but the price point is one where I am definitely considering it at the Walt Disney World Annual Passholder price. It was a good time. Definitely check out the info on Disney Villains After Hours and also Disney After Hours! While these are three-hour events, you may find yourself getting on as many attractions as in a regular full day at the park (and sometimes more).

Disney invited us to this event, all views are our own.