Skip to main content

A Guide to Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party


The Walt Disney World Resort knows how to celebrate a holiday and Halloween-time is no exception. One special event only available during the Halloween season is Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party at the Magic Kingdom. Celebrate the frightfully fun season in your favorite costume with a special Halloween-time fireworks show, parade, stage shows, dance parties, trick-or-treating throughout the Magic Kingdom and more! This special event takes place on select nights from mid-August until November 1st.

Know Before You Go

In 2023, Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party will take place on 38 select nights from August 11th through November 1st, and ticket prices vary by date. In 2023, prices ranged from $109-$199 per guest ages 10 and up and $99-$189 for guests ages 3-9, excluding tax. If you're an Annual Passholder or Disney Vacation Club Member, you can save $10 per ticket on select event nights.

It's very important to know before arriving at the Magic Kingdom that this is a separately ticketed event which means that your general admission ticket does not include admission to this party. Each party night the Magic Kingdom will close at 6pm to day guests and the party officially takes place from 7pm to midnight. However, party ticket holders will be admitted to Magic Kingdom park as early as 4pm. That means party ticket holders get even more time to enjoy the park before the official party begins. It's also important to know that your MNSSHP ticket does not require an additional theme park ticket or park pass reservation to attend. 
If you are planning to attend Mickey's No-So-Scary Halloween Party in future years, you'll want to remember that tickets typically go on sale in July and party dates will sell out as you get closer to Halloween. In 2023, all MNSSHP dates were sold out by August 10th. 

Although you are allowed to wear a costume to Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party, both kids and adults will need to adhere to the costume policy. Make sure your costume is family friendly and won't cause any safety issues (think long capes, sharp objects, prop weapons, etc.) 
Now, let's review what you can expect at the event.

Trick-or-Treating Throughout the Park

When you enter the Magic Kingdom, you'll be given a wristband to distinguish yourself from day guests. There will be a few check-points when Cast Members will verify that you are there for the party so be prepared to display your wristband at various points of the night before the party officially begins at 7pm. After you get your wristband, you can go pick up your trick-or-treat bag and start gathering complimentary candy like M&M's, Snickers and Skittles. If you or someone in your party has a food allergy, you can pick up a teal-colored treat bag from a Cast Member and then get tokens at each trick-or-treat location to redeem at the Allergy-Friendly Centers for special treats. How cool is it to get to say that you went trick-or-treating in the Magic Kingdom?! It's such a neat experience. 

Specialty Food & Beverage

In addition to trick-or-treating, there is also specialty food and beverages that are available throughout the park for purchase. The treats at this year's party include items like the Bowl of Bones from Pecos Bill Tall Tale Inn & Café and Zombie Fingers from Cosmic Ray's Starlight Café. We tried a few of the specialty items this year with mixed results. The Bowl of Bones were very tasty! They had great flavor, with just a little heat. The Candy Corn Milkshake tasted like fall in a glass. It was good but a little thick to drink through the paper straw. We ended up using a spoon and that worked much better. 
Bowl of Bones
Bone-in piggy wings fried with fresh jalapeños
 tossed in Coca-Cola Cherry barbecue sauce
Candy Corn Milkshake
Sweet corn soft-serve topped with whipped cream and 
sweet potato corn bread nugget (Non-alcoholic)
The Hades Cone from Storybook Treats was DOLE Whip mango and habanero soft-serve topped with blue raspberry shell and chili-lime seasoning. It's kind of weird eating a spicy soft-serve and the heat really lingered. I didn't hate this but I also didn't love it either. It was also a huge mess! The blue raspberry was dripping down the side of the cone so my hand was blue and sticky as soon as it was handed to me. Not ideal.
Hades Cone
DOLE Whip mango and habanero soft-serve topped with
blue raspberry shell and chili-lime seasoning
The Not-So-Poison Apple Churro found at the Churro Cart near Cinderella Castle was a win for the specialty food. It wasn't as good as a Disneyland churro (but let's face it, the bar is set really high there!) but it was enjoyable. The churro was rolled in green apple sugar topped with a ton of Snickers candy bar pieces and drizzled with caramel sauce. Each serving came with two churros so you really could split this treat with a friend if you want to save some room for other snacks. 
Not-So-Poison Apple Churro
Churro rolled in green apple sugar, topped with
SNICKERS bar pieces and drizzled with caramel sauce

Character Greetings

Characters also get into the spirit dressed in their Halloween costumes for meet and greets! You'll find character greetings throughout the park during the party including some rare characters like Jack Skellington and Sally, and the Seven Dwarfs. The lines for characters can get pretty long so don't be surprised if you see a two hour wait for some of the more popular characters, like Jack and Sally. Either line up before the party starts or get in line during one of the parades or fireworks if you want a potentially shorter wait. (The parade and fireworks are must-see entertainment so I wouldn't recommend skipping those if you're a first time party goer.) I love seeing the characters in their Halloween costumes! It makes for a super cute and unique photo opportunity. 
Vampire Mickey Mouse in Town Square Theater
Jack Skellington and Sally in Town Square Theater
Pirate Goofy in Storybook Circus

Boo-tiful Photos

Disney PhotoPass photographers have special Halloween props and Magic Shots. You can also step into spooky scenes from classic not-so-scary Disney Halloween stories with frightfully fun interactive photo frames. The PhotoPass photographers and photo frames can be found throughout the park. 
Sleepy Hollow interactive photo frame
Candy Corn Magic Shot
Hocus Pocus Villain Spelltacular Prop

Not-So-Scary Entertainment

Entertainment is where MNSSHP really shines! There is a stage show, parade, fireworks, two dance parties and two bands/singing sensations. The Hocus Pocus Villain Spelltacular stage show has several viewings throughout the night so you can decide which time works best for your schedule or see the show twice if you really feel inclined! The show features the Sanderson Sisters from Hocus Pocus, with special appearances from some other Disney villains, and is located on the Castle Forecourt Stage. If you're a night owl, you may want to consider seeing the midnight show as that will give you the most time to enjoy the rest of the party before seeing the final performance of the evening. 
Hocus Pocus Villain Spectacular
Mickey's "Boo-To-You" Parade offers two viewings, one at 9:15pm and one at 11:15pm. The parade is my favorite parade in all of Walt Disney World and is a major must-see! It's so good that I like to watch both showings of the parade. There are a ton of great floats, costumed characters, and my absolute favorite, the gravediggers from the Haunted Mansion. The music is also super catchy. You'll find yourself singing "Boo-To-You" for days afterwards!
Before the start of the parades, the Headless Horseman rides down the parade route for a spooktacular appearance. It's so neat to see him ride down Main Street and sets the stage for a truly awesome parade. Right before the parade starts is perhaps my favorite, new-ish addition to MNSSHP. It's Max Goof dressed as Powerline! He does a little pre-show dance party on the parade route to the song "Stand Out" from A Goofy Movie and it is the most amazing thing I've ever seen! He has a full cast of dancers with him who perform the "perfect cast" dance move (if you know, you know!) and they also encourage the crowd to get up and dance with them. It was so much fun! I absolutely love Powerline and his songs so this was a highlight of the party for me. I hope this stays a constant at the party in years to come as it's a huge hit in my book!
Powerline Max and dancers
Another must-see event entertainment is Disney's Not-So-Spooky Spectacular. The spectacular includes fireworks, projections and lasers on Cinderella Castle. Although I prefer viewing the fireworks from Main Street, viewing locations are available throughout the park and are often less crowded in the park's other lands. 
Disney's Not-So-Spooky Spectacular
You'll find the Cadaver Dans Barbershop Quartet in Frontierland. They're a spookier version of the Dapper Dans that are a must-see. Over in Adventureland, you'll find the Rusty Cutlass pirate band playing swashbuckling songs. The two dance parties are the Disney Junior Jam in Cosmic Ray's Starlight Café and the Zom-Beatz Bash over on Rockettower Plaza Stage. 
The Cadaver Dans in Frontierland

Halloween Twists on Attractions

The characters aren't the only ones to get into the spooky spirit. Several attractions have a Halloween-twist during the party. Space Mountain and Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor in Tomorrowland, and the Mad Tea Party in Fantasyland are all given bewitching surprises to celebrate Halloween. 

Tips & Tricks

There is so much to do at the party that it's impossible to see and do everything in one night. Here are some tips and tricks to help you in your planning:
  • Plan out your night before you arrive and prioritize what is the most important to you. 
  • If meeting characters is a priority for you, make sure to line up early for Jack Skellington and Sally or the Seven Dwarfs as their lines can get really long. Just like prioritizing the most important activities during the party, you'll want to prioritize which characters you want to meet as there just won't be enough time to visit them all. 
  • Wait until the end of the night to do your trick-or-treating. The lines are much shorter and the Cast Members give out much larger scoopfuls of candy. 
  • The second parade is usually less crowded so if you only want to see the parade once, try waiting until the 11:15pm parade. If you are worried about not making it to the second parade, then make sure you grab a spot early for the first viewing as spots along the curb around the castle and Main Street will fill up early. 
  • If you're looking for a less crowded spot for the parade, go to Frontierland. The parade starts there so you won't have to wait as long as those people watching from Main Street U.S.A. 
  • Try to arrive a little before 4pm as the turnstiles can be busy when party ticket holders are allowed in.
Have you attended Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party before? And if not, is attending this special event on your must-do list? Let us know in the comments. 

Ashley has been a Disney Parks fan from an early age and loves anything vintage Disney. You can email Ashley at ashley@kingdomkonsultant.com.

Comments

  1. It is on my bucket list to attend MNSSHP! Can't wait!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I have been going since the first year that it started. It has changed dramatically since that first year. I love the fireworks with the pumpkin shapes in the sky!!

    ReplyDelete
  3. We LOVE going to MNSSHP! Last time we went I dressed up as Kevin the Bird and my husband was a "grown-up" Russell from UP. We had so much fun! One of my favorite memories is rushing down Main Street to beat the first parade, finally getting to Pirates of the Caribbean and on our boat and when I finally look around I realize every single person on our boat was in costume. And only two of them were kids!!! Only in WDW, right? It was awesome.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. My husband and I are going this year as the young Carl & Ellie Fredricksen :)

      Delete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Chronos Club Review at Disney's Coronado Springs Resort

I recently stayed at the Chronos Club at Disney's Coronado Springs Resort. I've been a fan of Disney's Coronado Springs Resort since my first visit as it reminds me of my hometown, San Antonio. I've stayed in rooms ranging from preferred, Casita Suite, Tower King, and now Club Level access. The Chronos Club is located on the 15th floor of the Gran Destino Tower and can only be accessed with a key card or MagicBand to a corresponding Club Level reservation. I've previously stayed Club Level at Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge, Disney's Polynesian Village Resort, Disney's Grand Floridian Resort, Disney's BoardWalk Inn, and Disney's Grand Californian Resort. These are all considered Deluxe Resorts. Something that makes the Chronos Club stand out is that it is located in what Disney considers a Moderate Resort. I was really excited to check out the difference in experience, since there can be a notable difference in price tag for Moderate vs. Deluxe Res

Universal's Volcano Bay Private Cabana Review

On a recent training in Universal Orlando Resort, agents Maci, Ashley, Aubrey and Yaritza and I rented a private cabana for the day at Universal's Volcano Bay. There are multiple locations around the park along with the option to have an upper or lower level, all of which reflect in various pricing. Agent Ashley received an email the day before informing her of where to check-in the next morning. While we were personally escorted to the cabana shortly after check in, the line at the check in location is the same as those getting towels, meaning it was not short. As expressed by an additional guest checking into a different cabana, we would have greatly appreciated a separate line, since this caused our group about a half hour wait. We're all adults and made great use of our time getting some fun pictures before the park was filled with guests, but this is important to be aware of if you are traveling with children.  We had an upper level Cabana which came with a splendid view!

Black Tap Craft Burgers & Shakes

Black Tap Burgers & Shakes is located at the Downtown Disney District at the Disneyland Resort.  It is a fast-casual restaurant, meaning you order your items at the counter, but then they bring it to the table for you.  They have a selection of burgers, wings, salads and chicken and a fun milkshake menu.  If you just want a shake, there's also a walkup window outside, but some special creations can only be ordered for dine-in. We placed our order at the counter and noticed all the tables inside were full. We found a table outside and hung out while we waited for our food to come. They have a full bar and craft beers on tap, but I was surprised to get wine in a can. Strawberry Shortcake Shake We had hoped to have this Crazy Shake for dessert, but it actually came before any of our food. The Strawberry Shortcake is described as a vanilla frosted rim with crumbled cake topped with a strawberry shortcake ice cream bar, pink & white twisty pop, whipped cream, strawberry drizzle