Moonlight Magic, the special Disney Vacation Club nighttime event, is back for 2023. Here’s why it is better at Disneyland than Disney World.
Disney Vacation Club Moonlight Magic events – a favorite Membership Magic benefit – are back! Experience a night full of excitement at these complimentary events offering exclusive after-hours access. Enjoy select new and classic attractions, shorter-than-usual wait times, Character greetings, entertainment and delectable delights!
Why Moonlight Magic At Disneyland Is Better
Moonlight Magic is extremely special — no matter where you attend. In all honesty, all of the location s are amazing and offer and incredible experience that every Disney Vacation Club member should take advantage of.
That being said, there is one major difference for those attending the special nighttime event at Disneyland or California Adventure. In the past at Walt Disney World Moonlight Magic events, guests were given a voucher for a meal. There were only one or two places they could purchase said meal, and the lines would be at least an hour long. On top of that, the options were limited. Good, but limited.
At the California Adventure Moonlight Magic 2023 event, this changed. Disneyland guests were each given three $10 vouchers to spend wherever, and however, they wanted — INCLUDING the brand new Lunar New Year food carts. No cash back is given, so if you are spending just one or two dollars over a multiple of ten, we recommend adding something else to your order or spending a few dollars of cash.
Of course, this was the first Moonlight Magic of 2023, and we can’t say for sure if this new practice will carry over to the Walt Disney World nights or not. We hope they do, as they make for a lot more freedom in the night. Allowing guests to choose what they want to eat, as well as not being stuck in a line all night at one or two locations for food.
However, it should be noted that we waited a full thirty minutes in line at a churro cart towards the end of the night. It seemed many DVC members were trying to use up what was left of their vouchers on bottled drinks to take home and delicious churros. We admit, we were doing the same.
Disneyland also provided us with physical tickets — something we have never seen for Disney World before — that arrived in the mail, along with a free parking voucher.
California Adventure is also the only Disney Park where you will be able to meet Marvel characters during the event, and while there we saw some Captain America, Loki, Gamora, and Star-Lord taking photos with fans.
Other rare characters throughout the park included Buzz Lightyear, Dopey, Aristocats Marie and Berlioz, Mr. Incredible, Donald, Mickey, Minnie, and Daisy in their sleepwear.
2023 Moonlight Magic
In the past there has been a fair amount of special merchandise, however this year there is a small selection. An T-shirt in both adult and children’s sizes, and a sweatshirt. They are not at the parks and can only be purchased online.
There are carts with free frozen treats and bottled drinks in several places throughout the park. However, it should be noted that you can only get one item per guest per time in line. That means you are not allowed to get an ice cream and then a beverage. We found this to be unfair and, quite frankly, annoying, as these lines can be a few minutes long.
The rides had decent wait times and we walked on the Incredicoaster and Radiator Springs Racers. The Avengers Campus rides, Mission Breakout and W.E.B. Slingers, each had a thirty to forty minute wait consistently throughout the night.
Included in your passes for the evening is PhotoPass, which means you get to view and download all your event photos without that pesky watermark.
2023 Moonlight Magic Dates
The 2023 Moonlight Magic dates for the rest of the year are:
- February 8th – EPCOT
- February 15th – EPCOT
- May 11th – Disney’s Hollywood Studios
- May 23rd – Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon Water Park
- July 11 – Disney’s Animal Kingdom
- August 2 – Disney’s Animal Kingdom
- August 23rd – Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon Water Park
- September 13th – Disney’s Hollywood Studios