The day had arrived. I was finally able to book my first Disney Vacation Club Moonlight Magic Event. I must say, it was more stressful than trying to get Avatar Flight of Passage at 7am on FastPass+ day.

Moonlight Magic is a free after-hours event offered to members of the Disney Vacation Club. During the event you get access to select attractions, meet and greets, a dance party, and complimentary refreshments. Plus, you even get a Quick-Service meal! The event that opened on recently was for the Disney’s Animal Kingdom Moonlight Magic event on July 18, August 8, and August 22. To register initially, you have to be staying on Disney property the night of the event.

The journey to Moonlight Magic is about to begin! Photo by Kimberly Masimore

The general registration opens on June 12th. Any DVC member, regardless of where they are staying, can book for the event.

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Chronicles of the Morning

I had my computer set up and logged on to the reservation at 8:58 am. It went live at exactly 9 am. At this time, you are assigned a random location in line and you have a message that tells you how many guests are in front of you.

There were 6503 guests in front of me at 9 am.

6503!

Registration opened at 9:00 am – and there were already 6503 people in line! Photo by Kimberly Masimore

I went into panic mode. Will the number even get to zero? How many people are given reservations? Mind you, there were three dates being offered for Disney’s Animal Kingdom Moonlight Magic. All three dates opened at once. I had no idea how long this would last.

On the screen was a reminder NOT to refresh or you would lose your place in line. I researched before the event and heard people have had the screen open on several devices to get the best number, but I didn’t want to risk messing with the system on my first go. I was just going to wait it out.

The first update came at 9:17 am. It said that 70% of Moonlight Magic Tickets were still available. The current number of guests in front of me was 4591. I did some math. Sort of. Based on the number still available and the time that had passed, it was going to be close. I was hopeful. How could I not be? Disney even had a little message to go along with the update which said, “With 70% of Disney’s Animal Kingdom Moonlight Magic registrations still available for today, you’re in great shape.”

The next update came at 9:30 am. There were 3584 guests ahead of me.

At 9:33, my heart sank. “With 50% of Disney’s Animal Kingdom Moonlight Magic registrations still available for today, you’re in great shape.” Thirty minutes in and only 50% of the tickets were left. The number of guests in front of me was 3368.

At 9:38 am there were 2862 guests. Then 2200 at 9:44am. Hurry, hurry! My heart pounded.

The update changed again at 9:50 am with 1327 guests ahead of me. Then the message came. “25% of Disney’s Animal Kingdom Moonlight Magic registrations remain. We invite you to remain close by and stay tuned for further updates.”

Gone were the words of encouragement. “You’re in great shape” was replace with “stay tuned”.

The Countdown

The numbers dropped quickly as I inched towards 10 o’clock.

At 9:54 am there were 1023 guests.

At 9:55 am there were 828 guests.

At 9:56 am there were 770 guests.

At 9:57 am there were 556 guests.

At 9:58 am there were 440 guests.

At 9:59 am there were 245 guests.

At 10:00 am there were 134 guests.

At 10:01 am there were 95 guests. Thirty seconds later there were 28.

Then the screen changed.

A registration screen popped up! I was in! 

I typed my membership number and flew through the next several screens. You had to check off boxes (I have no idea what they said. Luckily the information was sent in an email.) I finished as fast as I could. After all, if someone completed the form quicker, I might not get the tickets.

Confirmation screen! We have a go!

I have never been so relieved in my life! From what I’ve seen in several Disney Vacation Club Facebook groups, the July 18th event sold out around 10:07 am.

Would my vacation have been ruined if I didn’t get the tickets to this free event? Nah. But it’s always fun to do something new when you visit Walt Disney World. I am excited to go to my first Moonlight Magic event and can’t wait to share the adventure with you!

If you are a WDW Magazine Subscriber, I’ll be dropping pictures in the Subscribers group on July 18th! I hope you follow along!

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