By now you’ve probably been seeing everyone’s photos from what appears to be a super fun-for-the-entire-family Halloween party happening at Walt Disney World. It’s filled with villains and princesses, parades and fireworks, spooky eats, tricks and treats, and fun character meet and greets. The only downside? The price to get in.
Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween party can cost you anywhere from about $79-$115 per adult and child age 10+, and $74-$110 per child age 3-10.
That’s a lot for a party that only lasts 5 hours! Not to mention it’s at night, so who knows how long your already-exhausted-from-a-day-at-the-park child will last. Or even you. You might be the one that’s tired from a full day of fun!
So, is this Halloween party REALLY worth the money you spend to get in?
Here’s the tea, sis.
It is.
Maaaaaaybe my view of it is different than yours. Maybe it isn’t actually something you’d enjoy? I don’t know 🤷♀️ But I’m about to break it down for you, so YOU can decide for yourself if it is worth it! (Also stick around until the end- I’m giving YOU my super secret sauce basic schedule of the night to help you get as much done as you possibly can.)
The Costumes
Halloween is always fun for kids, because kids love dressing up. I haven’t met a kid yet that doesn’t think it’s the coolest thing to put on a costume and play pretend. And honestly, even as an adult, I think dressing up is awesome! What’s fun about the MNSSHP is choosing a fun character to dress up as! Many adults and kids go for Disney-themed costumes, but I’ve seen it all at these parties. It is important to note that there are some Official Guidelines that must be followed, especially for adults attending the party. But you better believe that dressing up is MORE than accepted at this party!
Trick-or-Treating
Kids of ALL ages- literally all ages, like if you’re a grandpa, you’re still included in this- can trick-or-treat all around the Magic Kingdom! Disney provides little treat bags, and you can go around to the MANY candy stops, and the Cast Members there will LOAD up your bag! You’ll get more candy than you can even imagine! And if you have allergies or special dietary restrictions of any kind, Disney takes care of you, too! They have teal allergy bags, and you collect tokens at all the stops, then go to one of the special allergy stations and trade in your tokens for treats!
The Characters
Y’all. Not only do you get to meet TONS of characters, like even more so than during the day, many of the characters are IN COSTUME!!! How stinkin’ cute is that?! You have the chance to meet some rare characters (Queen of Hearts, all Seven Dwarfs, Moana, and probably the MOST popular of all, Jack Skellington and Sally). You may find some princes and princesses out on the streets in Fantasyland, some pirates in Adventureland, and even have the opportunity to dance at a dance party with your favorite Disney Junior friends! The character meet and greets during the Halloween party are top-notch, honestly.
The Snacks
Okay, the snacks get me. They are SO cute. SO CUTE. And tasty, too! There are a lot of party-exclusive treats, meaning you can ONLY get them if you attend the Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party. They offer SOME of the cute and adorable treats during regular park hours, but you don’t want to miss out on all the other yummy treats! As soon as you check out the Disney Park Blog’s Foodie Guide, you’re gonna be dropping that $115 in a flash.
Boo To You Parade
You can ONLY view this parade during the Halloween party. Or on YouTube. It’s definitely on YouTube. But, come on. You’d much rather watch it in person. It’s so much fun. The music is great, the characters are fantastic, those Grave Diggers are SO cool, and you get to see lots and lots of villains. There are two parade times- 9:15pm and 11:15pm. Watch it at 11:15. Trust me.
Hocus Pocus Villain Spelltacular
I don’t know if you’re obsessed with Hocus Pocus like I am, but if you are, you’re gonna LOVE this show!! It is SO good!!! Even if you aren’t a huge Hocus Pocus fan, you get to see so many villains, and who doesn’t secretly deep down kinda really like the Disney villains? This show is on the castle stage and can be seen at 8:30pm, 10:45pm, and 12:00am.
Disney’s Not So Spooky Spectacular
This is Disney’s new fireworks show! I really loved Hallowishes, and am sad to see it go, but I’ve heard really great things about the new show. It has fun new music and castle projections, and it is hosted by Jack Skellington! The show is at 10:15pm, and you don’t want to miss it!
The Rides
This year, there are some “overlays” on several of the rides that you don’t want to miss! These are only happening during the party, so you won’t be able to experience them if you just visit the Magic Kingdom during the day. Pirates of the Caribbean has the addition of some “real” pirates. Like actual people are part of the ride, and walk through the line to interact with guests. It’s so much fun! If you go over to Tomorrowland, Space Mountain is completely blacked out, like no stars or anything is visible, and it plays different music. The Mad Tea Party has some funky lighting going on that honestly made me even MORE dizzy than the normal version of the ride. Probably won’t ride it this year, if we are being honest. Besides all the fun overlays, almost all the rides in the park remain operational during the party, and wait times are SIGNIFICANTLY shorter!
Dance Parties
There are three different dance parties that happen at various locations throughout the night. One party is over in Cosmic Rays, where you can dance the night away with your favorite Descendants characters. Your little ones will enjoy dancing with their favorite Disney Junior characters over at the Storybook Circus in Fantasyland. Don’t miss the Monsterous Scream-o-ween ball over in Tomorrowland, where you can dance with your favorite Monster’s Inc characters.
The Merchandise
You can find party-exclusive SUPER CUTE merchandise at various locations all over the park. I’ve got my eye on a Hocus Pocus spirit jersey that’s ONLY available during the party!
The PhotoPass Photo Ops
You will be able to capture SO many great memories with all the fun PhotoPass photo opportunities!! You can get your picture made with the Grave Diggers, get photos holding up the Halloween party sign, and even get an extra magic shot with the Headless Horseman!
There are many, MANY reasons to love and enjoy the Halloween party! Sure it costs a little (a lot) extra, but to me, the exclusive experiences make it worth the money. I’m also a Halloween lover. My anniversary and birthday both fall very close to Halloween. I also view it as the official start to the most WONDERFUL time of the year! Halloween makes me so happy, as does Disney, so I can’t pass up the opportunity to celebrate it in such a FUN way!
Disney… take my money.
So with all that being said, I want to share with you my general plan of attack for this party. It’s just a rough plan, and leaves a lot of room for flexibility. I prefer to have at least a SMALL plan, rather than no plan at all when going to this party, because there is SO MUCH TO DO in a short amount of time. If you don’t have a general idea of what you’re going to do, you’ll waste too much time standing around trying to decide what to do next.
4:00pm-6:00pm: Arrive at the party. Get there as early as possible, but don’t stress if you are there after 4. Though the party starts at 7, the do let guests in as early as 4! I do recommend getting there at least an hour early so you can eat dinner before! OR just eat at your resort before getting there!
IF you are going to be doing a table service dining experience for dinner, book it to be at 5 or before inside the Magic Kingdom! You’re gonna want as much time as possible at this party, and you don’t want dinner to get in the way!
*MY RECOMMENDATION* Dinner at Pecos Bill or Cosmic Rays by 5:30pm! Idk why, I just love both of those restaurants 😊
In any time you have left before 7, make sure you get your treat bag, hit any photo stops that may be available, and SOME characters start meeting early, so find the times of the ones you are wanting to meet, and get in line/start meeting and greeting!
7:00pm-10:00pm: Hit as many treat stops as you can, and choose maybe three rides you want to ride and do them now! Unless characters are SUPER important to you, I don’t recommend waiting in a line that’s going to take longer than 15 minutes to get through. We were lucky the Seven Dwarfs line was only about 10 minutes long, but some of them can have you waiting several hours (here’s looking at you, Jack Skellington). Don’t stress if you can’t get a lot of rides in! You want to experience as much party-exclusive fun as possible.
*MY RECOMMENDATION* Ride Pirates, Space Mountain, and at least one other ride you enjoy. Hit a dance party for a few minutes to say you experienced it, and go to however many candy stops it takes to fill your bag. Don’t forget to buy your party merch! The earlier, the better!
10:00pm: Find your fireworks spot. It might not be the BEST spot, but as long as you can see the castle and the sky, you’re good! Tbh, kids on shoulders will probably be blocking your view anyway, so don’t fret too badly over a spot. We like to stand off to the left when looking at the castle, near the bridge to Liberty Square. You can still see the castle, and there isn’t AS many people crowded around you. But really, you don’t want to waste valuable time sitting in front of the castle for hours so you can have the best view.
10:15pm: Disney’s Not So Spooky Spectacular Fireworks
10:45pm: Hocus Pocus Villain Spelltacular, then move to Liberty Square for the parade. I like to sit in front of the Liberty Square Marketplace, next to Hall of Presidents, because you get a straight-on view of the parade, and they turn to go across the bridge to Main Street as they approach you.
11:15pm: Boo to You parade
11:45pm: end the night with the Haunted Mansion and/or buy your merch! The Emporium usually stays open later, so you can typically get your merch right before close. HOWEVER, there is a possibility of them running out of the stuff you want, so I usually snag mine at the beginning of the night.
So there you go, friends. I hope, if you choose to attend the party this year, that you have the BEST time and are able to do EVERYTHING you want to do! The most important thing to remember is to relax and HAVE FUN! It can get super overwhelming, but just enjoy the atmosphere. It truly is a lot of fun.
If you have any questions about the party, let me know! I’d love to help in any way I can.
Be sure to follow my Intagram @magicallyhollie for more fun tips and tricks!
Be sure and check out my vlog from last year’s party!
Until next time!
xoxo,
Hollie
MagicallyHollie 