Disney’s Hollywood Studios:  Moonlight Magic 2018

Moonlight Magic

Moonlight Magic is an after hours event exclusively for Disney Vacation Club Members and their guests.  This next Moonlight Magic event is at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. You can read all about our first Moonlight Magic HERE.

To book one of the Moonlight Magic events a Disney Vacation Club Member will need to go to the Disney Vacation Club WEBSITE to register.  Throughout the year there are certain dates that registration will open for a specific Moonlight Magic event.

I do have to say that when we register for our first Moonlight Magic event we did not receive an email reminding us about the event.  This time I did receive an email about a week prior to remind me about when to register for Moonlight Magic with a countdown timer!  Registration does fill up quickly so that was nice to receive an email reminder.  You also cannot register for more then 1 Moonlight Magic event at the same Disney Park.  Priority is given to Disney Vacation Club Members with reservations at a Disney Resort booked during the time of a Moonlight Magic event.

Read HERE how we decided to become Disney Vacation Club Members.

How long have you been a Disney Vacation Club Member?

Pre-Expectations Of Moonlight Magic at Disney’s Hollywood Studios

Prior to the Moonlight Magic Event at Disney’s Hollywood Studios you will get an email reminder with a brief overview of what to expect and IT GETS YOU EXCITED!

Here is the email we received:

Because you registered for Disney Vacation Club® Moonlight Magic at Disney’s Hollywood Studios®, we have some important information to share with you before you get ready to party. We’ve got an exciting night ready for you – featuring favorite Disney Characters, a DJ dance party, shorter-than-usual attraction wait times and more!

Here’s everything you need to know: 

Event Date: Wednesday, September 26, 2018 

Event Time: 9:00 PM – 12:00 AM Members and Special Guests may enter the Park as early as 7:00 PM to get a head start on the fun.

Check-In: Members are strongly encouraged to check-in at Disney Vacation Club Resort Lobbies, beginning at 5:30 PM. (Valid Disney Vacation Club Membership Card and photo ID are required):

•From 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM, you may check in at the Main Entrance Ticket Booth located just past bag check on the far right side. Valid Theme Park admission will be required to enter Disney’s Hollywood Studios® prior to 7:00 PM.

•If you are already inside Disney’s Hollywood Studios®, you may also check in at the FastPass+ Kiosk on Sunset Boulevard (near The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror) or the FastPass+ Kiosk by Muppet*Vision 3D, beginning at 7:00 PM

•You may also check in at the Disney’s Hollywood Studios® Main Entrance beginning at 7:00 PM.

•The entire party must be present to receive wristbands and meal vouchers.

Don’t forget to pick up the Moonlight Magic edition of the park map for important event information.

Food & Beverage:

•Be sure to pick up your complimentary meal voucher at your Disney Vacation Club Resort, Disney’s Hollywood Studios® Main Entrance or at the in-park check-in locations.

•Vouchers may be redeemed at Dockside Diner or KRNR the Rock Station until 8:00 PM; Backlot Express or Sunset Ranch Market until 12:00 AM.

•Please reference the voucher for other important details.

Merchandise:

•Don’t miss out on the all-new Disney Vacation Club merchandise collection! Stop by Mickey’s of Hollywood and view the new line of magical Member accessories, apparel and more – as well as our Moonlight Magic event merchandise.

•Please reference your park map for exact location.

Transportation & Parking:

•If you are traveling to Moonlight Magic in your personal vehicle, we encourage you to enter using the main South Studio Drive entrance via World Drive.

•Complimentary parking is available at Disney Hollywood Studios® for Members and Special Guests on the event date beginning at 6:00 PM.

•Members must show their Disney Vacation Club Card and photo ID at the auto plaza to receive complimentary parking.

•Complimentary bus transportation is available before, during and after the event between Disney’s Hollywood Studios® and Resort hotels until 1:30 AM.

•Parking trams will run until 10:00 PM.

•FriendShip Boats will run until 12:45 AM.

As this would be our second Moonlight Magic event our pre-expectations were set pretty high!

Planning For Moonlight Magic at Disney’s Hollywood Studios

With what I knew from our previous experience and the information provided I tried to come up with a plan of things we wanted to do and see at Disney’s Hollywood Studios.

Hollywood Studios My Game Plan Timeline:

6 PM:  

• Check in for Moonlight Magic at our DVC Resort 

• Head over to Disney’s Hollywood Studios 

7 PM:  

• Redeem our food voucher at either Dockside Diner or Backlot Express

8:30 PM:  

• Head over to Mickey’s of Hollywood to get in line for Moonlight Magic merchandise 

9 PM:  

• Head over to Toy Story Land

10 PM – 12 AM:  

• Enjoy the evening

This plan was kept simple because the night before we would be doing Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party and I didn’t want to plan too much in case everyone was tired.

Disney’s Hollywood Studios Moonlight Magic Check In

The day finally arrived!  Once we got a notification on the My Disney Experience App that our room was ready we head over to Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa.  After dropping our stuff in our room we head over to the front desk.  It was about 7:00 pm and there was a very small line for the Moonlight Magic event check in.

I love checking in for Moonlight Magic at a Disney Resort!  There is something so relaxing and simple about it that it’s just a pleasure to do.  It is well organized, with no confusion or problems.  Just smooth.

During check in for the Moonlight Magic event you provide the name you registered for the event with, your Disney Vacation Club membership card and a photo I.D.  Once confirmed we are given the Moonlight Magic bands and your meal vouchers.  

Arriving At Disney’s Hollywood Studios For Moonlight Magic

We arrived at Disney’s Hollywood Studios around 7:30 pm.  Even though the Moonlight Magic event starts at 9 pm guests attending the event can have access to Disney’s Hollywood Studios starting at 7 pm.  Walking in through the main entrance we pick up a Disney’s Hollywood Studios Moonlight Magic edition park map.  Now we are in and ready to enjoy!

At this time there is nothing at all going on for the Moonlight Magic event at Disney’s Hollywood Studios.  We decided to take this opportunity to get some food.

My plan was to stay as close to Mickey’s of Hollywood as possible.  The purpose was to be in that area so as soon as the Moonlight Magic event started, this way we could jump right into the party and get in line for exclusive merchandise.  With that in mind we decided to eat at the Dockside Diner.

We had never eaten here before and it wasn’t terrible.  We had the Carolina Foot-long All-Beef Hot Dog, Barbecued Pulled Pork Sandwich, Loaded Chili-Cheese Nachos and the Chili-Cheese Foot-long All-Beef Hot Dog.

Those hot dogs are huge and was really too much.  I understand that Foot-Long is in the title and should have known that it would be too much for the boys and me to finish, but if I had a ruler in my purse I could have proved that those hot dogs were closer to 2 feet!

We should have ordered just the Loaded Chili-Cheese Nachos and Carolina Foot-long All-Beef Hot Dog to share among the four of us.  Then later in the evening ate at the Backlot Express.  Overall, the food was very good.

What quick-service restaurant at Disney’s Hollywood Studios would you recommend?

Disney’s Hollywood Studios Moonlight Magic Merchandise

As soon as we finished eating we headed over to Mickey’s of Hollywood to get in line for Disney’s Hollywood Studios Moonlight Magic merchandise. At this time it was about 8:30 pm.  I went over to the register to inquire where the line would be forming and what was available for purchase.  The Cast Member told me there was no line yet, but if I wanted to purchase something for Moonlight Magic I could.  That was exciting!

As I got the Moonlight Magic ornament from the Epcot event and collect ornaments I asked to see the ornament they had for this event.  To my disappointment they were all sold out of Disney’s Hollywood Studios Moonlight Magic ornament!  Apparently it was sold out at the last event.

I opted for Disney’s Hollywood Studios Moonlight Magic pin instead.

One of the special things you could have purchased for Disney’s Hollywood Studios Moonlight Magic event was the Game Of Life.

Disney’s Hollywood Studios Moonlight Magic Starts and On To The Rides

As soon as we finished getting our souvenir Disney’s Hollywood Studios Moonlight Magic event pin we headed straight for Toy Story Land.   Rides were only a 20 minutes wait!

My youngest son is still too small for Slinky Dog Dash so we moved on to Toy Story Mania!  We haven’t been here since it reopened being part of Toy Story Land.  Love the new line queue, especially since it’s indoors and air conditioned!

Unfortunately, my youngest son was too small for all the rides that were open at Hollywood Studios for this event.  We are looking forward to the day when we can get back on Star Tours- The Adventures Continue, Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Staring Aerosmith and The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror.

What are your favorite rides at Disney’s Hollywood Studios?

Other Disney’s Hollywood Studios Moonlight Magic Extras

The one thing that I thought was a really great idea were the free water stations that were throughout the park!  It was a nice evening but still HOT and it was wonderful to just grab a drink as we walked around Disney’s Hollywood Studios.

Mickey Ice Cream Bars were complimentary for this Moonlight Magic event at Disney’s Hollywood Studios as well.

There were also a number of characters that were out for guests to meet.  The characters that were listed for Meet and Greets at Disney’s Hollywood Studios were Seventh Sister, Bolt, Sweetums, Buzz Lightyear, Jessie, Chewbacca, Rey, Darth Vader, Captain Phasma and BB-8.

There were a few characters that were EXTRA and not listed on Disney’s Hollywood Studios Moonlight Magic map.  The two character were came across were Oswald and the Ewoks.

I was so HAPPY to learn that the Ewoks were at this event!  I made everyone sweat on a line just to take a picture with them.  I told my husband I had waited my whole life to see them and he laughed and said that I was still very young to make a comment like that!

Well, we finally made it to see them.  I felt like Leia in Return of the Jedi!  Meeting them was everything I thought it would be.  After my boys took a picture, we took a picture as a family, and finally it was my turn to take a picture by myself.

Yeah! I was so excited and could not wait for PhotoPass to send me that picture on the My Experience App.

What Disney character have you been waiting your whole life to see?

The Batty Bash Dance Party was going on inside the Epic Stunt Theater.  That was cool because you were on stage dancing!

The shows at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, Disney Movie Magic and Fantasmic!, could also be seen during the Moonlight Magic event.

Final Thoughts

After we passed by the Batty Bash Dance Party we left Disney’s Hollywood Studios.  Overall, this was a very nice event.  Our food choice was better here then at Epcot.  It was relaxing and we could have rode the rides in Toy Story Land all night if we really wanted to.

In comparison check in to Moonlight Magic at Disney’s Hollywood Studios at Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa was just as easy.

There were two things that were disappointing during Moonlight Magic at Disney’s Hollywood Studios.  The first was the Disney’s Hollywood Studios Moonlight Magic ornament being sold out.  The second is just heart breaking!

Remember how excited I was for the Ewoks?  Well, when we got back to Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa I got a notification that the pictures taken with the Ewoks were ready.  When I opened the app to check ALL 10 PHOTOS WERE BLACK!  Not one picture of our epic meeting with the Ewoks was visible.  I cried a little to myself when I saw it.  When I told my husband about it he was a good sport about it but did bring up that I did make them sweat in line for nothing, but that I at least I did take pictures and video of my own when the boys met them.

I went to bed that night hoping that in the morning some Disney magic would make those Ewok pictures appear.  Sad to say they did not.  I did call PhotoPass and that is a story for another day!

If you are a Disney Vacation Club Member and have the opportunity to attend these Moonlight Magic Event I would definitely recommend it!

Have you been to a Moonlight Magic Event?  Which Disney Park has the best Moonlight Magic experience?  Did you attend this Moonlight Magic Event at Hollywood Studios?  What was your experience?

You know what this reminds me of?  A great game that I’ll be talking about it:  Lost Cities!  Stay tuned!

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