Tips for Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party

Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party is one of the most popular of the special events offered at Walt Disney World. See my tips below for how to make great use of your time at the party to ensure you see and do everything you can!

It’s a Halloween themed party that allows guests to dress up in costume and experience specialized shows, food, merchandise, events and character meet and greets specific to the party.

Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party (MNSSHP) requires a separate ticket and separate entrance into the Magic Kingdom, so it is typically less crowded than it is during the day. (Hooray!) Tickets are $69 in advance or $74 day-of.

The party is on select dates in September and October, which are generally released sometime mid-summer.

The 2015 MNSSHP dates are :

September 15, 18, 20, 22, 25, 27

October 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 9, 12, 13, 15, 16, 18, 20, 22, 23, 25,   27, 29, 31                        

November 1

While I admit I’ve only been to this party about three times, it was super awesome every time.

For those who have never been, let me first explain what each of the specialty events are:

• Specialty Character Meet and Greets
  • It’s best to line up for these as early as possible since they are so popular. You don’t want to be waiting in lines during the entire party!
  • Sally and Jack Skellington
  • All Seven Dwarfs
  • Disney Villains
• Trick-or-Treating
  • There are Trick-or-Treating stations and trails
  • Trails are the best way to optimize your candy amount
• NEW Hocus Pocus Villain Spectacular
  • 8:50 at the Castle
• Dance Parties
  • Club Villain outside Diamond Horseshoe Saloon (Frontierland)
  • Monstrous Scream-O-Ween Ball (Tomorrowland)
    

    Hallowishes

• Boo to You Parade
  • 8:30 and 10:30
  • This parade totally rocks. Don’t miss it!
• Hallowishes Fireworks
  • 9:30 at the Castle
  • Also totally amaze. MUST SEE.
• Shorter lines, time for more RIDES!

Since I’ve been a few times, it’s not a huge priority to me to see absolutely everything. I’ve mainly excluded trick-or-treating and some character meets. The big character priorities for me are those that you can only meet during the party. These include Sally and Jack Skellington from Nightmare Before Christmas, all Seven Dwarfs, and a variety of Disney Villains.

With this in mind, and with the help of some other awesome experts, I’ve laid out a tentative schedule for the night.

Keep in mind that the party starts at 7:00 p.m., but cast members allow entrance into the parks as early as 4:00, so you can easily get in a full 8 hours if you go from 4:00 to midnight.

4:00 Arrive and ride some rides, preferably those that won’t be open during the party

5:00 Grab a quick dinner

-My fave for something to eat on-the-go is a waffle sandwich from Sleepy Hollow

5:30-6:00 Get in line for high priority character meet and greets

7:00-8:30 More rides, walk-around, shopping

-This is the prime time to ride Haunted Mansion. Cast Members dress up like “ghouls” and there are certain “happy haunts” waiting around the queue for storytelling and photo ops.

8:15 See the first Boo to You Parade if possible, but no rush since I’ll go to the second, less crowded showing

8:30 Line up for Hocus Pocus Villain Spectacular

8:50 Hocus Pocus Villain Spectacular at the Castle and meet Villains afterward

9:30 Hallowishes

10:00 Line up either on Mainstreet or in Frontier land for the Boo to You Parade

11:00 to midnight Trick-or-treating, more rides, shopping

            HINT: trick-or-treating is best to leave for the end of the night as more families with little ones will have already made their way out of the park

 

Things to Know:

• There is specialty merchandise (Emporium, Frontier Trading Post, Mickey’s Star Traders)
• Specialty Food (Sleepy Hollow, Gaston’s Tavern, Storybook Treats, Mainstreet Bakery, Various Outdoor Carts)
• Trick-or-Treat trails locations are marked with pumpkins
• Not all rides and attractions are open during the party, though most are
• Monorails most likely will not run until midnight

P.S. The Hocus Pocus Villain Spectacular is brand new, so I haven’t yet seen it, though if it’s anything like the movie, I’m sure it will be tons of fun!

As always, I want to stress that it’s more important to enjoy yourself than it is to hit every single aspect of the party. Don’t stress yourself out trying to run all over the park to meet every character and see every show. Unless you know the layout of the park down pat, and absolutely everything goes your way (or you’re just that good), it’s not going to happen.

I have to say, the Magic Kingdom has never looked more spooktacularly magical than it did during the party, and it was a total blast just to walk around and experience it in a way I never had before.

MNSSHP is definitely worth it, at least once, but I think to really get a grip on the event, it’s fun to go two or three times. If you have little ones, it can be fun to go multiple years in a row so you can see them grow with it and experience different aspects of the party.

Let me know what you think of MNSSHP! What are your favorite things to do? What do you think you can skip next time?

 

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