2 / 23 / 26 Moonlight Magic DCA Info Updated : 1/16/26

[VGCgroupie]

Could not believe it, but the cards DID work for mobile order alcohol. I hope they keep this going in the future.

I think it’s a fluke. New cards and it wasn’t set up the way it should be. My cards worked places they shouldn’t have. I’m not complaining though.

 

[HyperspaceMountainPilot]

That $20 cards worked great. Pretty good perk on its own for this. We had a great time. Little slow and disorganized outside the gates at 6pm. Really no cast members to get nice lines stretched across the esplanade. Took 30 min but smooth entry.

They sure didn’t check if a member was even present. Just scan ticket and put a face on it. Scan the next..face. Then scan me & face. Wristbands, snack card, & go enjoy! Didn’t even hear a “welcome home” lol.

We didn’t make it to the esplanade until about 6:30 and figured we would at least miss the entry rush but I was wrong…we got to the tapstyles at 6:55 and then it took a couple more minutes for hands and voucher distribution. While SLOWLY crawling forward, I was assuming the slow pace was due to checking member status (in the WDW app, lol) and photo ID…but I just now realized they weren’t even doing that at all!

We had a nice night but were disappointed to learn after leaving that there were two characters my daughter would have loved present and we didn’t even know. There were short lines (except for food!) and so many characters, but having them all on a map (like every other MM) would have helped.

 

[NHLFAN]

It was great to be able to scan in at 2:30pm and enjoy some extra time just chilling out people watching and doing single rider a few times on IncrediCoaster as it was quite busy with long wait times for rides.

At 5pm it only took a few minutes to be scanned again inside the park at Golden Vine to receive our wristbands and promo cards.
We too did enjoy the $20 food promo card this time around as we used them for mobile ordering right ~6pm with little wait times for pick up.

 

[Wedgeout]

Just wild glitch-like that it scanned in before the activation time. Those already with ticket reservations for the day could always be in the park earlier but an event ticket scanning in early is new to me.

Then able to scan it into the system again is even more bizarre.

 

[KPeterso]

I thought it was a fun night too. I guess I got to the gates around 6:15 and then it took awhile to actually get in. The mix-in time was crazy, but once the park closed to regular guests, it was great. And the food card was so much better than the vouchers of the past. I hope they keep those in the future. I got a survey to fill out, but did not have time yesterday but will do so today.

 

[NHLFAN]

Just wild glitch-like that it scanned in before the activation time. Those already with ticket reservations for the day could always be in the park earlier but an event ticket scanning in early is new to me.

Then able to scan it into the system again is even more bizarre.

We happened to shopping at Downtown Disney around noon and decided to see if the tickets scanned at the gate and they told us the tickets were not valid until 2:30 pm so that's when we came back and were allowed in. Maybe these were some type of convention tickets?

 

[VGCgroupie]

We happened to shopping at Downtown Disney around noon and decided to see if the tickets scanned at the gate and they told us the tickets were not valid until 2:30 pm so that's when we came back and were allowed in. Maybe these were some type of convention tickets?

Interesting. Thank you for posting. I was able to tap in a little bit prior to 6pm and then get our stuff at Vine house. It helped us beat the line and eat before 6pm.

 

[VGCgroupie]

Filled out my survey. The event was great with a few hiccups that I notated for the survey. We had a little one with us so we did some little kids rides and Luigis took up 40 min of our 3 hours and we never got to ride. Come back for this ride passes should be given out at MM when you only have 3 hours and you waste 40 min on something that breaks down. My other gripe is the last hour we werent allowed to do rider swap which makes it difficult when you have a baby. A CM took pity on us and said okay at RSR which helped end my night on a good note.

They did not notate the characters on the map. Makes it hard and you may miss someone you want to meet. There could be one upside to not listing them, a very popular character line wont be as long. So I cant decide if I loved or hated them not being listed. All character lines were short. The only rare sighting for us was Mater being at the Carsland sign and Thumper. The rest we easily meet on other occasions.

I may be missing a few.
Olu Mel
Duffy
Shellie May
Maleficent
Luca
Mike
Sully
Thumper
Scarlet Witch
Fairy Godmothers
Mater (in special location)
Lightning Mcqueen (normal locaiton)

Possibly Rescue Rangers. We saw the backdrop but never made it back to see if they were there.
Possibly Wreck it Ralph (I didnt see him, maybe he was just an inflatable.. not sure)

 

[KPeterso]

Filled out my survey. The event was great with a few hiccups that I notated for the survey. We had a little one with us so we did some little kids rides and Luigis took up 40 min of our 3 hours and we never got to ride. Come back for this ride passes should be given out at MM when you only have 3 hours and you waste 40 min on something that breaks down. My other gripe is the last hour we werent allowed to do rider swap which makes it difficult when you have a baby. A CM took pity on us and said okay at RSR which helped end my night on a good note.

They did not notate the characters on the map. Makes it hard and you may miss someone you want to meet. There could be one upside to not listing them, a very popular character line wont be as long. So I cant decide if I loved or hated them not being listed. All character lines were short. The only rare sighting for us was Mater being at the Carsland sign and Thumper. The rest we easily meet on other occasions.

I may be missing a few.
Olu Mel
Duffy
Shellie May
Maleficent
Luca
Mike
Sully
Thumper
Scarlet Witch
Fairy Godmothers
Mater (in special location)
Lightning Mcqueen (normal locaiton)

Possibly Rescue Rangers. We saw the backdrop but never made it back to see if they were there.
Possibly Wreck it Ralph (I didnt see him, maybe he was just an inflatable.. not sure)

As I wandered I saw a couple other characters too. Vanellope from Wreck it Ralph, Remy and Emille from Ratatouille, and a rabbit I did not recognize, but based on google is march hare from Alice in Wonderland. I would have loved seeing Duffy and Shellie May, but did not see them. That is when the map with locations might have been helpful.

 

[VGCgroupie]

As I wandered I saw a couple other characters too. Vanellope from Wreck it Ralph, Remy and Emille from Ratatouille, and a rabbit I did not recognize, but based on google is march hare from Alice in Wonderland. I would have loved seeing Duffy and Shellie May, but did not see them. That is when the map with locations might have been helpful.

Ughhhh we would’ve loved Remy and Emilie.

 

[cruisehopeful]

Overall, do you think it was worth going? Not counting that it's free vs paying for it. I'm just wondering if it was worth it to go if you weren't already planning on being there.

 

[VGCgroupie]

Overall, do you think it was worth going? Not counting that it's free vs paying for it. I'm just wondering if it was worth it to go if you weren't already planning on being there.

Great question! Since I had to fly which isn’t cheap these days and husband had to take time off of work, it being free isn’t always worth it. I had ups and downs throughout the night in my thinking “is this worth it”.

This trip was worth it because we also visited family prior to going to the resort. Them allowing us in prior to 6pm made it much mcuh better. Also getting a free LL for staying at VDH benefited us hugely on this trip. Staying 2 nights over 1 night made it more worth it to be able to use the resort amenities.

Final verdict. If the rules are enter only at 6pm in future, and if we don’t visit family first it would not be worth it. It’s just not enough time. Lines from 6-9 are very long. And tbh we found lines after 9 to be long for many things. As with any park day there were instances when line times would dip but then shoot back up. Guardians ran about 45 min or longer all night. RSR 30-50. Soaring got up to 50 at one point. Mater was 20 minutes most of the night.

Lastly I’m sure you all know if I couldn’t get a room on property I would never go to MM free or not.

 

[Wedgeout]

Overall, do you think it was worth going? Not counting that it's free vs paying for it. I'm just wondering if it was worth it to go if you weren't already planning on being there.

It was! Five of use with $100 snack credits. That in itself great. Free bonus hours. Lots to do. Yes & more yes. If staying in DCV, the early registration is a sure thing out west. They didn’t use to do that. I slipped in on general try lotto day!