Disneyland Pass Nights 2023: what happened each night

2023 is the year the Disneyland Pass lineup launched, and it brought along private after-hours parties for its holders (and for annual passholders too).

Three events set the pace of the year, all at Disneyland Park and all priced at €55: Disneyland Park Adventures on March 10, Villainous Night on September 29, and Christmas Night on November 30. Each one came with its own theme, its own show lineup, and its own surprises, in a park closed to day guests and so much calmer than during the day.

I went to most of these nights, and below I walk you through how each one unfolded. If you’d rather know how these parties work (signing up, early entry, the entry wristband), head over to my Disneyland Pass Nights guide. This page sticks to the program of each 2023 edition.

On March 10, 2023, Disneyland Park closed its gates to day guests for the very first Disneyland Pass Night. The common thread was a giant treasure hunt across all five lands: you gathered clues on a virtual map (QR codes, riddles spoken, sung, or written depending on the area) to piece together mystery words. That hunt was the core of the event, not just a backdrop.

1990s nostalgia set the mood for this first edition. Instead of the usual meet and greets with scheduled photos, characters roamed freely around their own areas, so you could run into rarer faces like Meeko or Kenai. The night welcomed about 6,000 annual passholders, under 10% of the park’s capacity, which meant very short lines.

For the second night of the lineup, Disneyland Paris handed Disneyland Park over to the Disney villains for one night, under the name Villainous Night. It was the lineup’s first Halloween-themed edition, and the park had turned dark and eerie. You could arrive from 18:45 to pick up your wristband, before the party got going at 21:45. Back then, each passholder could bring only one guest to this night.

The opening ceremony set the tone right away: the crowd was expecting the familiar "Dream... And Shine Brighter!" tune, but it was cut off abruptly when Maleficent showed up, surrounded by several villains plus Betty Rose and Jimmy Ocean. That show launched the big novelty of this edition: a hunt across the park for 27 hidden artifacts, logged in a sticker book handed out for the occasion.

Another big draw: rare characters who don’t appear on ordinary days. You couldn’t take photos or get autographs with them, but simply crossing paths with them was a real treat:

The atmosphere was carefully crafted right down to the lands. Frontierland looked like a haunted Wild West town with wandering cowboys, while Adventureland had filled up with zombies. Costumed performers jumped out at any moment, and the lighting turned every corner into a horror movie set.

To close out this first year of Disneyland Pass Nights, Disneyland Park opened its gates on November 30, 2023, with a Christmas theme, from 21:15 to 2:00 in the morning, and early entry from 18:00. Members could bring up to 2 guests, on tickets issued in their names. The program was built on 5 shows and more than 50 Disney characters.

What was new this time: the treasure hunt from the earlier nights gave way to a trail of 21 character meeting spots spread around the park, designed to bring out as many appearances as possible, some of them rarer. Projected snow added to the holiday mood all night long.

Guests with reduced mobility got a special rate: tickets at 25% off were sold on the day of the event for the guest concerned and 1 companion, with no advance booking. Any extra companion still paid the €55 price.