Spooky season has arrived in Disney World! Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party has officially started and you can join in on the festivities on select nights through October 31st, 2024. We are bringing you the complete guide to enjoying the party and all the must-dos!
Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party is a separately ticketed event that is taking place from August 9th through October 31st at Magic Kingdom. With an event ticket, you can get in as early as 4pm, but the party doesn’t officially start until 7pm. However, planning on arriving as close to 4pm as possible will make sure you take full advantage of your ticket.
The event lasts from 7pm until 12am, and if you are able to make it all the way to the end, definitely plan to stay until 12am. There is so much to see and do during the party and you only have 5 hours to fit it all in even if you stay until the very end. When you first get to Magic Kingdom, you will head through the bypass entrance where you can see some special decorations, jam out with a DJ, pick up your treat bag, and grab your first piece of candy!
Take a bit of time while you are walking through this area, as there is so much to see! Don’t miss out on the sculptures lining the walkway, and you also may run into some villainous characters.
Trick-or-Treating
There are a variety of trick-or-treating locations throughout the park where you can collect scoops full of candy. The candy is included in the cost of your ticket, so you may as well stop by a couple to gather some candy. You can even snack on it throughout the night at the party. One of our favorite trick-or-treating spots was inside of Mickey’s Philharmagic because as you walk through you pass TWO trick-or-treating stations. That means double the candy at just one stop! Although you do walk a bit, but still, candy is candy!
You can find all the trick-or-treating stations on the Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party map, or just meander your way through Magic Kingdom and stop as you find one. They are marked pretty clearly with a big, inflatable “Treats!” sign. Usually the signs also feature a M&Ms character. There will also be Cast Members by each of the treat stations to guide you in the right direction.
Mickey’s Boo-To-You Parade
I think the Boo-To-You Parade is a must-see while you are at the Halloween Party. There are two showtimes per night: 8:15pm and 11:15pm. Definitely make sure you plan to attend one because I really think this parade is one of Disney’s best parades. You will see LOTS of characters that you don’t normally see including the Headless Horseman, Hitchhiking Ghosts, the Grave Diggers, Disney villains, and so much more. The Headless Horseman rides through a bit before the parade even starts. When we attended the 8:15pm parade, the Headless Horseman rode in front of Cinderella Castle at 8:12pm.
Definitely make sure you show up a bit ahead of time, so you can catch him. He is one of my favorite parts of the parade! The parade follows the normal route of the Festival of Fantasy Parade starting next to Tiana’s Bayou Adventure and heading towards Liberty Square. Then taking a right towards Cinderella Castle. The parade loops around in front of the Castle and then heads down Main Street U.S.A.
If you are hoping to get a really great spot or have kids that need to be towards the front, you will likely need to show up pretty early. I would recommend finding a spot at least 30 minutes before the start of the parade.
Disney’s Not-So-Spooky Spectacular
Who doesn’t love a special Halloween fireworks show? This show happens once a night at 10pm, so if you are a fan of fireworks make sure you plan your schedule so you can see them. I am also a huge fan of these fireworks and I highly recommend finding a spot where you can see Cinderella Castle. There are some amazing projections on the Castle and they really add to the show. It can still be fun to watch the fireworks from elsewhere in the park, but I do feel like it is so much better with a view of Cinderella Castle.
Since there is only one showing of the fireworks per night, you will definitely want to plan to be in the area ahead of time. You likely won’t be able to waltz in at 10pm and find the perfect spot. However, since the Halloween Party does have limited capacity, you will find that it is not quite as crazy as a normal night of fireworks. I would also suggest arriving at least 30 minutes early to find your favorite spot for the fireworks.
Hocus Pocus Villain Spelltacular
If you are a fan of the Hocus Pocus series, or just of fun stage shows in general, you will also want to check out the Hocus Pocus Villain Spelltacular. The stage show happens at least three times each evening, so you will have multiple times to choose from. Through September 28th, you can see the show at 9:05pm, 10:35pm, and 12am. Then beginning September 29th, an additional showtime is added at 7:35pm. If you are alright with staying until the very end of the party, I highly recommend checking out the 12am showing. It is a great way to end the night and then you have time to explore everything else during the party.
Attraction Overlays
You can visit three attractions that have special overlays. The first one is Space Mountain, which includes a ride in complete darkness with special spooky music playing. The Mad Tea Party has special lighting and a Halloween-inspired playlist.
Finally, you can visit Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor for special Halloween bits throughout the evening. Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor is also a trick-or-treating stop, so you can grab some candy and then take a seat for some monsterly entertainment. The entertainment rotates between the various monsters and there are intermissions in between each segment where they point out people in the audience.
Specialty Sips & Bites
There are lots and lots of options for specialty sips and bites during the party. Candy is the only free offering during the party, so you will need to purchase the other themed food and drinks. You can check out the full list of all the special food available right here.
Depending on the location, trying the special food and drinks can take a bit of time. You definitely have time to try a few of the offerings, but I would recommend narrowing down your favorites ahead of time so you don’t waste any valuable time. We got a quick snack at Pecos Bill that included the Grilled Masa Flatbread and Guava Lemonade Slushy. The Grilled Masa Flatbread was really delicious! A part of me really hopes that they will bring that as a normal offering at Pecos Bill, but I am sure that is not very likely. I am definitely going to be trying to make a dupe of that dish!
Other Special Entertainment
We are not huge fans of meeting characters so we did not do that, but there are SO many unique characters you can meet during the Halloween Party. You can meet Tweedledee and Tweedledum, Alice and the Mad Hatter, Elvis Stitch, Jack and Sally, Winnie the Pooh characters in Halloween costumes, Mirabel and Bruno, Jack Sparrow, and more. In addition to lots of special character meet and greets, there are also some fun character appearances throughout the night. You can spot the Hitchhiking Ghosts and Cadaver Dans on top of Country Bear Musical Jamboree.
You can also enjoy a Pirates band over by Pirates of the Caribbean.
Exclusive Merchandise
You can also shop exclusive merchandise that is only available during the event. We found that Star Traders and the Emporium had the largest selection of merchandise, but there was also merchandise available at other locations. Of course, most stores are open and selling their normal merchandise so you can also shop that while you are there.
There is a lot of souvenirs available including spirit jerseys, mugs, ears, shirts, sweatshirts, ornaments, pins, and much more. If you are looking for something to commemorate your time at the party, there is no shortage of options! I would recommend shopping close to the end of the night so you don’t have to carry things with you all night long. Although if you spot something you love, you may pick it up then so you don’t run out of time.
Our Schedule
Our schedule will probably look a bit different than yours will as we are all Annual Passholders, and we were also working the day we went to the party so we weren’t able to show up right at 4pm. If you are headed to Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party, I would say to aim to be at Magic Kingdom around 4pm to maximize your time. It will be a bit crazy around 4pm to get into the park, so be prepared for that. If you want to avoid a bit of the initial chaos, you can plan on showing up closer to 4:30pm to miss the initial rush.
6:45pm: Arrived at Magic Kingdom, walked through the bypass gates to get our bag and first piece of candy!
7pm: Got in line for TRON Lightcycle / Run (operates with a normal standby line during the party)
7:45pm: A bit of trick-or-treating
8pm: Boo-to-You Parade
9pm: Snack at Peco’s Bill (Grilled Masa Flatbread and Guava Lemonade Slushy)
9:30pm: Rode Pirates of the Caribbean and did some more trick-or-treating
10pm: Disney’s Not-So-Spooky Fireworks Show
10:20pm: Hitchhiking Ghosts on top of Country Bear Musical Jamboree, walked around, and did some more trick-or-treating
11pm: Rode Tiana’s Bayou Adventure (operates with a standby line during the party)
12am: Hocus Pocus Villain Spelltacular
Walked through the Emporium on the way out and then headed home!
Overall Thoughts
Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party (MNSSHP) is not a cheap ticket and I don’t always recommend that people purchase a ticket. In theory, if you showed up to Magic Kingdom right at 4pm, you would get 8 hours in the park, including about 5-6 hours during a party which means less people than during normal operating hours. There are so unique entertainment options and I think the ambiance during a Halloween Party is just so fun.
My biggest recommendation if you are thinking of going to Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party (MNSSHP) is to kind of treat it like your day at Magic Kingdom. Use the time from 4pm-7pm to get in your favorite rides, explore the party festivities beginning at 7pm, and also get on rides that usually have longer waits during the party.
There is some great exclusive offerings during the party, but if you are only going for the special offerings, I am not sure the ticket price is worth it. However, there is no right or wrong answer, and it is really such a fun event!
Have you been to Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party (MNSSHP) before? Let me know about your experience in the comments! Until next time, happy travels! ~Colette
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