SO THIS IS LOVE...

Last night was nothing short of amazing! If you are a hopeless romantic like myself you will want to continue reading.

Last year, while scouting for romantic things to do at Disneyland around Valentine’s day I came across their Disney After Dark Sweetheart’s Nite event and I immediately got exited for it only to find out tickets had been sold out. I loved the idea of celebrating Valentines day at the happiest place on earth, so I set my calendar early this year in January to make sure I got some tickets as soon as they became available.

What You Need to Know:

This family friendly event comes in February. Tickets are sold starting at $114 per person (guest 3 and up). Event hours are from 8pm-12am but guest may enter the parks at early as 5pm.

Guests are encouraged to dress up. We decided to dress as one of our favorite Disney Couples, Ariel and Prince Eric. If you do decide to dress up for the night, be sure to follow Disney’s Costume Guidelines.

Upon entering the park you will be given a wristband, event map, and a lanyard with a badge. The map will have everything you will need for the night, from finding photo ops locations to all Valentine’s Day inspired foods.

We debated going to the parks at an earlier time because we wanted to get a chance to take some pictures while the sun was still out but it worked out great that we didn’t because technically everything started from 8-9pm. If you happen to already be at the park before the event starts here's a Quick tip: There's no need to exit the park for re-entry. The park will have a check-in station at Star Wars Launch Bay for you to get your wristband and Lanyard.

Entertainment

We made our way to Fantasyland for the Royal Ball. We danced the night away and enjoyed a live orchestra playing our favorite Disney love songs. Attending the Royal Ball were: Aurora and Prince Phillip, Jasmine and Aladdin, Snow White and The Prince, and even Maleficent made a quick appearance. This was the perfect opportunity to take pictures with some of the characters to avoid standing in long lines. We chose not to interrupt the couples, after all they were also enjoying the night and celebrating their love.

Characters

You can encounter some of your favorite Disney character friends throughout the park. In Fantasyland we saw Anastasia and Drizella, Anna and Kristoff, Ariel and Prince Eric, Belle and Gaston, and Rapunzel and Flynn. In Frontierland, Mulan and Shang. On Main Street you had Mickey and Minnie and in New Orleans Square, Princess Tiana and Naveen made an appearance.

SweetEats

There was a huge variety of different foods to try. I left wanting to experience so much more but time was of the essence. We decided to make our way to Red Rose Taverne to try the Toast for two, Mickey's Sweetheart Flatbread for two “Be Mine” Heart Shaped Crispy Treat which was absolutely delicious. We then made our way for some dessert and headed to the Mint Julep Bar to try their Chocolate Strawberry Beignets, also very tasty. We definitely considered getting the dining package at the Plaza Inn which consisted of a prix fixe 3-course meal starting with a Cesar salad, breadsticks, spaghetti and meatballs, drink and a cannoli to give you a Lady and the Tramp vibe, but we opted not to because again, time was limited. If this is something you'd be interested in doing be sure to make reservations ahead of time. We made our way to Oga’s Cantina for a quick nightcap where I tried the Fussy Tauntaun drink ( which made my mouth tingle a bit due to its foam) and my husband enjoyed a beer on tap. This was our first visit to the Cantina and it fit perfectly with our date night.

Photo Ops

There were so many great photo opportunities throughout the park. We made our way to Star Wars Launch Bay where they had three backdrops with Mickey and Minnie along with some props. There were so many to choose from but we ended up going with the Little Mermaid, Aladdin, and Lady and the Tramp. The castle was illuminated with beautiful shades of pink and red hearts which also made for perfect pictures. The event also comes with a photo pass so be sure to take advantage and use the professional cameras provided for outstanding hight quality pictures.

Merchandise

We made our way to the Star Wars: Launch Bay to check out the exclusive event merchandise. A lot of people were already in line to purchase the limited edition Minnie and Mickey pin set around 7:00pm but because the pin was limit 2 per person until supplies last people didn’t want to risk the chance of not being able to score one. We started making line around 8pm and they opened the doors at 8:30pm so we didn't wait long. Once inside the shop I was able to purchase the pin along with the exclusive long Sweethearts’ Nite T-shirt. There was also a Jewelry Crislu trunk show at the Emporium, with a meet and greet of the designer.

Oh! and I almost forgot, the night couldn't have been complete without an amazing Sweethearts' Nite inspired firework show. It was one of my favorites so far this year. Our favorite Disney Love songs were playing in the background while the fireworks were blasting in the air. The ambiance was just perfect! almost felt like I was living my own little fairytale.

We had the best time and I really enjoyed how organized the event was. I liked the idea of having the park be less crowded which made it perfect for a special date night. I want to say I loved it so much I would consider going next year but there are so many other Disney After Dark events that I'm sure will be just as good if not better that this one. We'll see what we choose to do next year, I think 80's night would be a blast!

Here are some upcoming Disney After Dark events this year:

Pixar Nite (March 5)

Villains Nite (April 30)

Star Wars Nite (August 27)

Hope you consider attending at least once just for the experience. Until then, hope you have a sweet day!

#disneyafterdark #sweetheartsnite