Details Released for Disneyland’s 2024 Star Wars Nite Event
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A few months ago, Disneyland officials announced the park’s 2024 After Dark lineup and to the surprise of absolutely no one, Star Wars Nite would once again headline the series.
Second only to Oogie Boogie Bash (maybe), the Star Wars brand has been anchoring Disney’s After Dark events since 2018 and has been growing in popularity ever since.
In 2024, there will be twice as many Star Wars Nites as there were in 2023! A total of eight, to be exact, spread out over the months of April and May.
Recently, Disney finally announced the specifics about the event, including a few changes that you may or may not be thrilled about.
In the post below, I’ll discuss what you can expect from Star Wars Nite in 2024, ticket prices, dates, on sale dates, Magic Key pre sales and more!
2024 Star Wars Nite Dates and Ticket Prices
In 2024, Disneyland will be hosting eight Star Wars Nite events on April 16, 18, 23, 25, 30 and May 2, 7, and 9. This is twice as many as they held in 2023, proving the Star Wars brand is just as strong as it’s ever been.
As predicted, the ticket prices for Star Wars Nite jumped a bit this year, but not by much. In 2024, prices for tickets range between $159 and $169. Specific date pricing is as follows:
April 16: $159
April 18: $169
April 23: $159
April 25: $169
April 30: $159
May 2: $169
May 7: $159
May 9: $169
As per usual, there are no Magic Key discounts (or any at all, for that matter), and there is no distinction between adults and kids as both pay the same rate.
There reason why Disney doesn’t offer a lower rate for kids for After Dark tickets is because the main draw at these events are the special offerings, instead of the usual, everyday attractions.
Many of the attractions have height requirements that some kids don’t meet and thus, won’t be able to experience the attraction. So on a normal park ticket, they’re priced less to compensate.
The offerings during After Dark events, which usually consists of rare character meet and greets, dance parties, photo opps and the like, do not require a height requirement. So both adults and kids can experience them the same. Hence, why they’re priced accordingly.
One of the benefits of your ticket is being able to access Disneyland three hours prior to the event’s start time. With Star Wars Nite kicking off at 9pm, that means you can get in starting at 6pm.
2024 Star Wars Nite Offerings
Unless a specific attraction is closed for refurbishment or a closure of some other kind, most Disneyland Park attractions will be open during the event.
This is great because compared to a normal park day, the crowds at After Dark events are generally lighter. Additionally, most attendees are focusing on the special offerings.
This usually means you’ll experience minimum wait times. I’m not saying they’ll all be walk-ons, though. The Star Wars themed attractions, such as Rise of the Resistance, will likely still have a decent wait. Though not as high as it normally is.
Conversely, Star Tours and Smuggler’s Run will likely experience decent wait times, but nothing like they do during normal park hours.
Low wait times aside, the real draw here are the numerous Star Wars themed offerings. In 2024, some of these include special character opportunities, themed photo opportunities, Star Wars themed food and more.
Some of these include:
An encounter with Captain Phasma and her elite unit of Stormtroopers in Tomorrowland
The ‘Resistance Show of Unity’ in front of the Millennium Falcon in Galaxy’s Edge
Numerous Star Wars themed treats available for purchase, including a Street-Style Elote Burger at Hungry Bear and Pork Belly Sisig-inspired Loaded Fries at Red Rose Taverne
A Galactic Dance Party with a DJ on Main Street U.S.A
Rare character meet and greets scattered throughout the park
A special cavalcade led by Mickey and Minnie Mouse down Main Street U.S.A with guests wearing Star Wars costumes
and much more
If you’ll be wearing a Star Wars-themed costume to the event, taking part in the cavalcade down Main Street is sure to be one of the biggest highlights of the event.
You’ll begin near the train station and be led up Main Street U.S.A by none other than Mickey and Minnie Mouse. The cavalcade will culminate at Sleeping Beaty Castle, where a group photo of the participants will be taken.
Many of the treat options can be mobile ordered, but I implore you to do so ahead of time. Remember, you’re permitted entry into the park three hours prior to the event’s start time.
I recommend booking your pick up windows during this time, if possible, as these treats have been known to sell out fast. It is not yet known if Magic Key holder discounts will apply.
When Do 2024 Star Wars Nite Tickets Go On Sale?
Star Wars Nite tickets are sold exclusively on the Disneyland website (NOT the app), and there are multiple sale dates to be aware of this year. Magic Key holders, you need to pay attention.
For the first time, Inspire Key (the highest key tier) holders, will get first crack at Star Wars Nite tickets prior to everyone else - on February 20, to be exact. Reminder - unless you have an activated Inspire Key, you will NOT be able to purchase tickets on this date.
By activated, I mean you’ve either already used your key to access one of the parks or you’ve used your parking entitlement. If you recently purchased an Inspire Key on January 10 and HAVEN’T yet used it, then it is NOT activated.
For Believe, Enchant and Imagine Key holders, you’ll have your exclusive purchase days on February 21 AND February 22. Note that Inspire Key holders will NOT be able to purchase tickets on these two dates.
Finally, the general public sale will be held on February 23. If you’re not a Magic Key holder, don’t fret. Disney holds a certain amount of tickets aside for each sale date. Exactly how many is unknown, but there will still be tickets available for each sales date on February 23.
No matter the sale date you’re eligible for, tickets go on sale no sooner than 9am through the Disneyland website and you’ll be placed in a virtual queue. New for this year will be the “Notify Me” option while in the virtual queue.
With this feature, you can opt to provide Disney with an email address to notify you when it’s your turn to purchase tickets. This way, you’re not staring at the computer screen for hours on end. When you receive notification, you’ll have ten minutes to make your selections.
Why Disney went with an email option and not a text message one is a bit of a head scratcher to me, but I digress. As someone who can testify to how stressful the virtual queue can be, this is certainly better than nothing.
Much like Oogie Boogie Bash and Sweetheart’s Nite, this event will sell out quickly. Just because sales begin no sooner than 9am, doesn’t mean there isn’t anything you can do to give yourself an advantage.
Disney doesn’t announce this, and it doesn’t happen every time, but you’re often able to enter a “virtual waiting room” starting at 8:45am. Doing this could mean the difference between getting to purchase your tickets in under an hour or having to wait multiple hours.
Additionally, instead of going directly to the Disneyland website at 8:45am, go to Google and search “2024 Star Wars Nite tickets”. Click the first Disneyland website link in the search results and that’ll take you directly to the virtual queue.
Refreshing the Disneyland website sometimes doesn’t work and there are occasional delays that could derail your chances. It nearly happened to me during the Magic Key sale in January. That five minutes I missed while constantly hitting refresh caused to wait over six hours to purchase my keys.
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