Most of us have probably heard the expression “A bad day at Disney is better than a good day at work”. Or is it “a bad day of fishing is better than a good day at work”? Regardless of the origin, it still applies. There are times I prefer to be at the parks over others. There are certain times of year that I enjoy going to Walt Disney World over other times of year and, yes, there are even times of day that I prefer to go to certain parks. Specifically, Magic Kingdom has its own unique appeal that varies depending on the time of day you visit. My favorite time of the day to visit Magic Kingdom happens to be at night, and there are several reasons why.

Being that Walt Disney World is located in The Sunshine State, the average temperature during the day can range anywhere from the 70’s to the high 90’s. At times, during the summer, the heat can even peak at triple digits with humidity levels that can easily add 10 degrees to the “feels like” temperature. Granted, there will be weeks during the winter, and sporadically during the fall and early spring, that can get to be chilly in the evening. The majority of the year, though, the climate ranges from warm to down-right brutally hot. For this reason, I’ve come to enjoy spending the daylight hours either at the resort in the pool or doing something else on property indoors. I’ve found that, many days, I can have a much more pleasurable experience on an evening Magic Kingdom is open late, especially if I get a nap in the late afternoon before heading over to the park. During the summer, the night-time humidity can still be enough to have you dripping sweat, but at least you’re not dealing with the blazing sun and the possibility of sun burns.

All 4 of the Walt Disney World theme parks are filled with entertainment in addition to the rides and attractions. One of the things I love about Magic Kingdom park is the amount of entertainment offerings available during the day from musical performances and parades on Main Street U.S.A. to stage shows in front of Cinderella Castle. Once the sun goes down, though, Magic Kingdom puts on 2 spectacular shows that are not to be missed.

The “Once Upon A Time” castle projection show is a spectacular show that takes place ON Cinderella Castle. Using high-definition projection technology, images and animation are projected onto the castle, which give the appearance of an actual transformation of the iconic castle. The projections are combined with legendary Disney music as Mrs. Potts from “Beauty and the Beast” tells her son Chip bedtime stories featuring other Disney characters like Aladdin, Peter Pan, Pinocchio, Ariel, Elsa, and even Winnie the Pooh.

An evening at Magic Kingdom wouldn’t be complete without some fireworks, though. On most nights, you can catch “Happily Ever After”, an amazing fireworks show that combines the same high-definition projection technology seen in “Once Upon A Time” with a fantastic fireworks display. This new fireworks show replaced “Wishes”, which is the show that was playing in Magic Kingdom from 2003 – 2017. “Happily Ever After” introduces an all new original soundtrack created just for the show mixed with songs from more recent Disney films like “Moana”, “Frozen”, and “Brave”.

Magic Kingdom certainly has its share of fun shows that take place on the stage in front of Cinderella Castle, but those shows pale in comparison to the nighttime spectaculars.

A lot of people would be filled with anxiety at the thought of trading in all of the time you could be spending in the park during the day for a few hours in the park at night, but I’m here to tell you that you would be surprised at how much you can get done in 5 or 6 hours on a night when Magic Kingdom is open late. If the park is offering Extra Magic Hours, where the park is open up to 3 hours later for guests staying on property, that’s a plus, but it’s not necessary. In fact, on busier days during the year, Magic Kingdom is typically open late for all guests. For example, on nights when Magic Kingdom is open until midnight, I’ve routinely gotten to the park around 6:00 pm and have been able to catch both of the nighttime shows and experience nearly a dozen different rides and attractions before the park closes.

The key is to use the right combination of Fastpass and waiting out the crowds until the end of the night. Since Disney doesn’t let you book additional Fastpasses until you have used up all 3 of your original Fastpasses, I like to reserve the first 3 as close together as possible so I can start booking more Fastpasses as early in the evening as possible. There are also attractions like the People Mover, Mad Hatters Tea Party, Prince Charming Regal Carousel, It’s A Small World, and even Pirates of the Caribbean and Under the Sea – Journey of the Little Mermaid that frequently have shorter wait times even without a Fastpass. These are great attractions to experience while you’re waiting for your next Fastpass window to arrive.

Your most productive hours of the evening will be after the castle projection show and the fireworks show, because there is usually a mass exodus of guests leaving the park after these shows. You can make the most of these final hours of the park being open by hitting up attractions that typically have had a longer wait time earlier in the evening. We make use of this strategy routinely and always come out feeling great about the amount of attractions we were able to fit in during such a short amount of time compared to the time it would take to do the same number of attractions during the day.

I’ve yet to come across a Disney theme park that I didn’t think was beautiful during the day and at night, but there’s something exceptionally different about the way Magic Kingdom looks at night versus the way it looks during the day. It’s not that I prefer the atmosphere at night over the day. It’s just an entirely different experience that is magical in and of itself.

For one, the park seems to be filled with more vibrant color. Tomorrowland, especially, boasts a vivid color scheme during the day, but the exterior lighting at night just makes the colors pop and stand out.

Main Street U.S.A. is dazzling at night with white and yellow lights lining the streets and lighting up every storefront window. Conversely, Adventureland is lit dimly and minimally. I always get the feeling that I’m truly walking through an unexplored village in the jungle when I walk through Aventureland at night.

Some attractions and rides are even significantly different at night than they are during the day. The Jungle Cruise seems more adventurous floating down the river at night. The Haunted Mansion is much creepier, especially when walking through the queue line and approaching the building at night. Splash Mountain offers stunning views of the park all lit up at various points of the ride as you make your way up to (and down) the main drop. If you really want to get up high and see the park, and even some of the resort hotels around the park, you can take a ride on the Astro Orbiter, a spinning ride located on top of Rocket Tower Plaza in Tomorrowland.

I like to be in the parks from open to close as much as the next Disney enthusiast, and there are certainly a handful of attractions that are only open during the daylight hours. However, during those busier and more sweltering times of the year, when the average person needs a lot more patience, water, and energy to brave the heat and crowds in the parks, I prefer to relax and save my energy during the day. Sometimes I’ll go to another park for a couple of hours in the morning and then head back to the hotel for a relaxing lunch and a nap. By taking it easy during the day, I have no problem sticking around until the very end of the night when the park closes. If you’ve never tried this approach, this summer is the perfect time to try it out. If you do, stop by the All About the Mouse Disney Podcast Facebook group and let us know how it worked out for you.