Heading out to a fancy restaurant to enjoy a lovely meal with a loved one has always a popular option for couples on Valentine’s Day. We all imagine a beautiful dinner full of amazing food, romance, and lots of “I love you’s.” However, Valentine’s Day dinner often has a way of over-promising and under-delivering. A Valentine’s Day dinner often requires weeks, if not months of planning to get a reservation, only to find the restaurant’s environment too busy. And finally, after being seated, you are rushed out of the restaurant because of its tight schedule.
Just last year, my boyfriend and I booked a Valentine’s Dinner well in advance and were disappointed when we waited an hour to be seated, were given cold food, and had poor table service. For those who are looking to break from the repetitive and often disappointing Valentine’s Day dinner, there are wonderful alternatives.
This year, my boyfriend surprised me by waiting four hours in an online queue for Disney’s special event: Disneyland’s Sweethearts’ Nite. Sweethearts’ Nite is one of Disneyland’s special after-hours events filled with exclusive entertainment, characters, food, and much more. The event takes place every year on a few nights around Valentine’s Day, where couples get to enjoy a night of romance and love in the most magical place on Earth!
Last year, we saw a promotion of the event on TikTok, and knew we had to be there this year! In the past four years, this special event has sold out in minutes! The tickets are $130 each, only a $30 difference compared to the regular Disneyland prices. This event kicks off at 9 PM and goes until 2 AM, but you can visit early at 6 PM to soak in a full day of Disneyland if you please.
My boyfriend and I went on February 1st at around 7:30 PM, which was the perfect time for us, as the majority of the non-event crowd was leaving and there were only a few Sweethearts who went early! After entering, we received pink wristbands, a cute heart-shaped lanyard, and a pink map with all the special events, entertainment, desserts, and specialty drinks.
When it reached 9 PM, the entire park’s environment transformed! The famous Main Street and Disney castle were lit with massive hearts and the music changed to well-known love songs from everyone’s favorite movies! You could feel the love in the air! There were also many photo backdrops to get professional photos taken for free, using a link on your wristband and the Disney app.
My boyfriend and I got two adorable Valentine-themed photos. One was with Al the bear with a heat backdrop saying “Can’t bear to be without you.” The other photo backdrop was the famous spaghetti dinner setting from Lady and the Tramp! Besides the professional photos, there were many other places to take great photos.
Another special part of the evening was the food, which I loved! Be sure to make a reservation right after you book the ticket for Disneyland’s Dining Package to get your spot in a restaurant! Each restaurant participating in the event had specialty menu items centered around love! There were also many snacks and other items that were heart-themed. Some of the snacks we had was popcorn, chocolate heart-covered churros, and strawberry cheesecake dole whip! We stuffed ourselves with food all night and it was worth every penny!
The Sweethearts’ Nite also had many amazing and fun events with music and Disney characters! They had a jazz club for dancing with Princess Tiana from “Princess and the Frog” and a magical ballroom dance with Cinderella and Prince Charming! What I loved most was all the mariachi bands throughout the park who sang traditional Mexican love songs! So if you love to dance and party with Disney characters, Sweethearts’ Nite is perfect for you! Of course, the night of music and entertainment ended with a beautiful fireworks show and even more love songs.
My favorite part of the night was definitely the small crowds and short lines for the rides. The limited park capacity made the night feel so intimate! The longest we waited for a ride was 15 minutes, and in the time we were there, we went on over 10 rides! The only bummer was that some of the rides weren’t open for the event, but it was still an incredible night!
If you are looking to take a break from the routine of a regular Valentine’s Dinner and want to re-spark the romance of such a special holiday, I promise you that Dinseyland’s Sweethearts’ Nite is worth your time, and money, and will be a guaranteed night of love and romance!