We Went to 2025 Disneyland Star Wars Nite—Is it Worth It? Review and Tips

The Disneyland After Dark Star Wars Nite parties have kicked off for select nights in April and May. This special after-hours event features rare characters, special Star Wars entertainment, themed foods, rides with lower wait times, and more.

We attended this year's Star Wars Nite, and will share all of the highlights and our thoughts on whether or not the event is worth your time. Keep reading for our review of 2025 Star Wars Nite at Disneyland! You can also check out our full guide to Disneyland Star Wars Nite for an overview of the event offerings.

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Star Wars Nite Entrance Lines

Before we dive into our review, I wanted to share a reminder that entry lines for the event get super long, and you'll want to arrive as early as possible. This was taken at 5:35 pm looking back at the rest of the line, and there was already a pretty substantial line in front of us. If you want to make the most of the mix-in hours, make sure you line up at the gates early.

If you have a Magic Key pass, you can pick up your wristband inside the park to avoid the line if you have a park reservation, but for everyone else, this is the entrance queue.

Star Wars Nite Atmosphere

The energy at the event is quite fun, with music playing throughout the different areas of the park and projections on the castle, Matterhorn, and Main Street U.S.A. See the really cool projections on the Matterhorn above!

It's also always great to see the impressive costumes that guests have put together for the event. This is one of the rare times when adults can wear costumes at Disneyland, and many go all out!

Star Wars Nite Entertainment Overview

There are a few event-exclusive Star Wars entertainment offerings available during the event, including a lightsaber meetup with Rey, costume calvacade down Main Street, lightsaber instructional at Fantasyland Theatre, and an appearance from the Cantina band “Figirin Dan and the Modal Nodes” on the Rivers of America. The new Galaxy's Edge projection show “Shadows of Memory: A Skywalker Saga” also plays during the event.

Throughout the night, there is also a Galactic DJ Party Zone happening. We liked all of the retro songs playing!

Lightsaber Meetup with Rey

The highlight of these is by far the lightsaber meetup with Rey that takes place at Galaxy's Edge a few times throughout the night. We went to the first lightsaber meetup that took place right after the projection show, which was very heavily attended.

Warning: even though the “Shadows of Memory: A Skywalker Saga” show is not an event-exclusive offering, the first showing was packed with crowds. 10 minutes before the show, Cast Members were letting guests know that there was absolutely no viewing left for the show. Get there early if you want to see the show, and even earlier if you want the best viewing (up to an hour or more). That being said, I hate to suggest spending a lot of time saving a spot for a show during a special event, and even more so for something that is available during regular park hours. I do love how high the demand is for this show, even during a special event, and it's a good indication that Disney should keep it around after Season of the Force!

If you see the first showing of “Shadows of Memory: A Skywalker Saga” at 9, you can just hang tight for A Gathering of the Resistance with Rey, as it happens in the same spot. It's always a truly spectacular sight to see everyone light up their lightsabers! So much love for Star Wars here.

Figirin D'an and the Modal Nodes

Another entertainment highlight is the iconic Cantina band “Figirin D'an and the Modal Nodes,” who first appeared in the original Star Wars film Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope, on the Rivers of America. They make only a very quick appearance, but it's so much fun to see them absolutely jamming out to the music!

The Lightsaber Instructional and Fans of the Force Cavalcade are some fun interactive entertainment offerings centered around guest participation. That being said, as we discussed in our recent Disneyland This Week update, the overall event-exclusive entertainment offerings aren't quite flashy enough to warrant the event selling out this year. It was clear that the projection show was the big highlight of the night, and this is a regular offering in Galaxy's Edge for Season of the Force.

Star Wars Nite Rare Characters

There are some rare characters who are out for Star Wars Nite! The most popular by far is the Ewok character appearance in Bayou Country, with huge demand for this experience. When we passed through this area about 40 minutes after the event started, the line was massive.

There was also particularly high demand to see Darth Vader during the night. When we went around 11:20 pm to Star Wars Launch Bay, the Cast Member told us it was a 45-minute wait. Another rare character set meeting here was Leia and Luke (as portrayed in Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope) and Leia and Han. I was actually kind of surprised to see that they have a different timeline of Luke portrayed here than the one they introduced in Galaxy's Edge for Season of the Force.

Queen Amidala Star Wars Nite

Queen Amidala appears in Fantasyland at the Royal Theatre. She is always fantastic interacting with the guests and will take the time to personally engage with everyone who comes to see her.

Anakin Skywalker

You'll find Anakin Skywalker roaming nearby, keeping a watchful eye. When we came to the area around 10:45 pm, there was a huge crowd waiting for him. He's a very rare character, so his popularity is not surprising.

Emperor Palpatine

Emperor Palpatine makes appearances throughout the night with his Royal Guard looking out at the crowds from Star Wars Launch Bay in Tomorrowland.

Darth Maul

Darth Maul also appears in this same spot, showing off his lightsaber skills. He's quite funny interacting with the guests and is easily set off.

Droids in Tomorrowland

The “Droids of the Galaxy”  (R2-D2, BB-8, and R5-D4) appear in Tomorrowland Terrace.

Sabine, Hera, and Chopper

Near Star Tours, you'll find Chopper, Sabine Wren, and Hera Syndulla making appearances. These characters all had limited-time appearances in Galaxy's Edge last year and are now returning for Star Wars Nite.

Unfortunately, Hera was not present the night we went, but Chopper was always out and Sabine rotated in periodically. Chopper in general is such a fun interaction and photo op! Make sure to give him lots of compliments.

Overall, the rare character appearances are a highlight of the event, but Disneyland hasn't made any particularly bold moves in the last couple of years with the characters featured here. These characters are mostly a mix of ones who have appeared at the event in the past and those who have recently had limited-time appearances in Galaxy's Edge.

Star Wars Nite Ride Lines

A big perk of the after-hours events at Disneyland (especially nights that are not sold out) is that lines are much shorter for attractions. You can see a screenshot of the Fantasyland wait times from around 11:45 pm. The only time you'll ever see Peter Pan's Flight with a 15-minute wait!

Hyperspace Mountain hovered around a 25-35 minute wait time, which is not bad considering the fact that another major thrill ride, Indiana Jones Adventure, is closed for refurbishment. We expect the Hyperspace Mountain wait times will go down at future parties when Indiana Jones Adventure is open again. It's always good to take these wait times with a grain of salt, as we heard feedback last year that some were slightly shorter or longer than predicted.

While we generally don't recommend using the time at after-hours events to go on rides at the cost of enjoying the event-exclusive offerings, this particular event feels light enough in its offerings that you can still get to most of the highlights and enjoy a lot of rides, especially towards the end of the night.

Star Wars Nite Foods

At Star Wars Nite, there are lots of special event-exclusive foods to enjoy. You can read about all of these in our Star Wars Nite food guide.

We tried the Scarif Lemon Cookie from Harbour Galley, which is a lemon, coconut, and white chocolate cookie topped with lemon cream, toasted coconut, and shaved white chocolate. This was pretty delicious, and we liked that it was a single cookie rather than a pack. I'm personally not inclined to gravitate towards any heavy foods so late in the night, so this was a nice treat that didn't feel too overwhelming. We like how Harbour Galley has been playing around with different cookie formats for events and seasonal celebrations based on the success of its famous chocolate chip cookies.

Star Wars Nite Grogu Drink

On our list of things we really wanted to try was this Sorgan Cooler, which, as you can see by the toppings, is inspired by Grogu (note the frogs and “eggs”)! This is available at both Harbour Galley and Hungry Bear Barbecue Jamboree and comes with a Skywalker Lightsaber swizzle stick or Darth Vader Lightsaber swizzle stick.

It includes raspberry POWERADE lemonade with mango popping spheres and a gummy frog. This was quite sweet but very refreshing, and it was gone quickly!

Nevarro Lava Canyon Bread

Another unique item we tried was the Nevarro Lava Canyon Bread with Coleslaw (available at Edelweiss Snacks or Maurice's Treats). Disneyland has been experimenting with different versions of the famous Cheesy Pretzel Bread from these locations. This version features BBQ Smoked Burnt Ends in the cheesy bread. This was pretty good but rather heavy! I would definitely recommend eating it earlier in the night or sharing it.

Star Wars Nite – Worth It?

It is super heartwarming to see the love for Star Wars at this event, from the costumes you see just walking around the park to bigger organized moments like the lightsaber meetup. That, combined with the opportunity to see rare Star Wars characters, is a huge draw for the event. I'm personally a big Star Wars: Rebels fan, and just getting the opportunity to meet these characters in real life is always so special.

That being said, I do wish that there had been a little more thought put into this year's entertainment and characters. I would have liked to have seen a new entertainment offering rather than ones recycled from years' past and the projection show that is already included with regular admission. The event would benefit from some more organized entertainment that would make it really feel special. The fireworks were a big highlight for guests in the past, but this year's offerings felt a bit lackluster without any big “wow” moment that brings the entire event together and drives the value of the ticket.

As always at these events, there is more to do than time to do it (which is a good thing), but I feel like this event would be selling out if Disney had made an effort to do something a little bolder with the offerings this year and differentiate it from the Season of the Force offerings available.

After I had already bought my own tickets to attend this event, Disney also provided us with tickets. Opinions always remain our own.

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