Disneyland is a place where people have memories that last a lifetime, and where you can experience things that you simply can’t anywhere else. This is all the more true when it comes to Disneyland After Dark events. These special hard ticket events make Disneyland and Disney California Adventure even more special by offering unique entertainment and character experiences that cannot be found at any other time.
Disneyland had announced its schedule for Disneyland After Dark in 2026, and it includes a brand-new event, 70 Years of Favorites, which sounds right up my alley, as it will be a celebration of Disneyland history with classic characters and entertainment. It will also see the return of several popular events, including Star Wars Nite, Pride Nite and the return of Disney Channel Nite, and we'll also get the best After Dark event of them all, Sweethearts’ Nite.
Sweethearts’ Nite Is The Best Disneyland After Dark Event. Fight Me
In the last couple of years, I have fallen in love with the Disney Parks After Hours events and have attended several at Disneyland, including Star Wars Nite and the Oogie Boogie Bash, but my favorite without question is Sweethearts’ Nite. Based on the fact that the event will be going on for nine nights in 2026, when other events are getting, at most, four nights, it shows it’s clearly popular among other guests as well.
My particular love for Sweethearts' Nite comes from some of the entertainment on offer that is just unlike anything other events have or that you can get during a normal Disneyland day. This includes the Lou-Ray Jazz Club, which brings a live jazz band onto the Mark Twain Riverboat to perform as you cruise the Rivers of America. However, I’m starting to get nervous, because I’m afraid my other favorite Sweethearts' Nite event, one of my favorite Disneyland experiences that I have ever had in my entire life, may not be back next year.
Once Upon A Dream Sounds Like The Royal Ball, But Might Not Be The Same
Since 2019, one of the marquee attractions of Sweethearts' Nite has been the Royal Ball. The event took place on the plaza outside It’s a Small World until last year, when it moved inside the Fantasyland Theater. It included Several Disney Princes and Princesses who would appear and dance with a live band. Guests were encouraged to dance as well, and the Disney characters would even dance with the guests.
I don’t care how old you are; when Ariel taps you on the shoulder and asks you to dance, you become a child, and I know this from personal experience. My wife said it was ok to say yes.
I also had one of the wildest character experiences of my life during the ball. Drizilla, one of Cinerella's stepsisters, was comically asking people to dance and being repeatedly turned down. I felt bad for her, so I asked her to dance. She lit up like a Christmas tree and we had a great time.
This sort of thing just doesn't happen when your character interactions are limited to standing in line and getting a photo. Getting a hug from a beloved character is nice, but this is so much more.
I already didn’t love it when the Royal Ball moved to the Fantasyland Theater, as it took many characters away from the guests by putting them on stage, though some characters did still dance with the guests. But the Royal Ball isn’t even on the schedule of events for Sweethearts’ Nite next year.
Instead, there’s a brand-new event called Once Upon a Dream, which, according to the description, is a “musical look at love and romance, which features a variety of Disney royalty and culminates in a nighttime ball beneath the stars.”
While the description does promise “a variety of Disney royalty” and a “nighttime ball,” the fact that Disneyland is giving this a different name indicates it will be something different than the Royal Ball of years past. While my understanding is that character interaction will be part of this experience, dancing has not been confirmed.
Of course, just because Once Upon a Dream will be different than the Royal Ball doesn’t guarantee it will be worse. It could be better.
The description says the event will take place “beneath the stars," which indicates it will be outdoors again. Perhaps it's back near It’s a Small World, which would likely bring the characters and guests closer together again. Maybe this will be a return to the old Royal Ball in some ways. I’m hopeful that this new event is everything I want and more, but I’m still a bit worried we've lost something grand.
