My Disney World correspondent (a.k.a. my mom) has done it again and brought us a fantastic recap of her experience at Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party at the Magic Kingdom in Walt Disney World. Read on to hear all about the unique experiences you can only have when you attend this event!
My daughter, Mallory, came for a visit last week, and when it was time for her to head back to Denver, she decided to extend her trip by a few days.
So, what do you do when you find yourself with a few extra days in Orlando? Well, you go to Walt Disney World, of course! And, if it’s October, you get tickets for the best Halloween party in town, Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party at the Magic Kingdom!
Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party at Walt Disney World
Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party (MNSSHP) is a special event that takes place on select evenings in August through October in the Magic Kingdom. It’s a very popular event and most of the parties sell out well in advance. So I was surprised when we were able to get tickets the day before our party date! When we arrived, we saw a sign stating that the party for the evening was sold out! We must have bought some of the last available tickets!
Even though MNSSHP officially runs from 7 pm to midnight, party guests are allowed into the park at 4 pm. At that time, guests can pick up their wristbands and trick-or-treat bags and spend an extra three hours in the park. By 7 pm, all Disney guests without tickets to the party are ushered out of the park and the party begins!
We attended the Halloween party last year at Disneyland, but it rained on us the whole time and lots of special performances and character appearances were canceled. Luckily, this year we had beautiful weather and caught all of the unique experiences that only happen at Halloween!
Related: What to do at Disney when it’s raining
Is Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party worth attending?
Many people wonder if the price of a ticket to MNSSHP is worth it. After all, a ticket to MNSSHP, which lasts just five hours, costs about the same as a one-day admission ticket to any of the WDW theme parks. My answer to that is, yes! It is definitely worth it! Not only are the crowds smaller (Disney sells a limited number of tickets for each party) but there are special experiences that you will only find at MNSSHP.
Entertainment
The Hocus Pocus Villain Spectacular Show is performed four times during the party, and Mallory and I enjoyed it so much that we made sure to catch it more than once before the night was over! It is a delightfully fun show featuring the Sanderson Sisters from Disney’s Hocus Pocus. The sisters, along with numerous Disney villains who make appearances throughout the production, thoroughly enchanted us with their singing and dancing.
Mickey’s Boo-To-You Halloween parade takes place twice during the party, and Mallory and I watched the second one which tends to be a little less crowded than the first one.
It was really cute seeing Disney characters in costumes, but our parade favorites were the gravediggers! They performed a mesmerizing dance number with shovels that made sparks fly up from the pavement!
The hit of the night, however, had to be Disney’s Not So Spooky Spectacular fireworks and light show. Beautiful light projections and lasers dance on the front of Cinderella’s castle while dazzling fireworks light up the sky above the Magic Kingdom. The light projections tell a not-so-spooky story that features Mickey and his pals.
Star Wars fan? Here’s what you’ll find at Galaxy’s Edge at Disney’s Hollywood Studios!
As if all that isn’t enough for a wickedly fun evening, there are also special character meet and greets, event-exclusive Photopass Magic Shots, and delicious sweet treats only found at MNSSHP.
Rides
Most of the rides continue to run throughout the party, and a few of them have a surprising twist that can only be found during MNSSHP. Mallory and I especially liked the real live pirates stationed throughout Pirates of the Caribbean!
Another bonus at MNSSHP is that the attractions have little to no lines! Smaller crowds mean shorter wait times!
Trick-or-Treating
Finally, how about a little trick-or-treating in the most magical place on Earth? Every party guest is given a Halloween bag to fill with candy from the many trick-or-treat stations located in each land in the park. Mallory, being vegan, really appreciated the special allergy-friendly treat locations!
Tips for attending Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party
For anyone thinking of attending Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party, here are my top five tips:
- Buy your tickets early! Almost all of the parties will sell out (some way in advance) so book early!
- Get to the Magic Kingdom by 4 pm. Even though MNSSHP officially begins at 7 pm, party guests can enter the park three hours before the party starts. The event-exclusive experiences won’t start until 7 pm, but you can still walk around in all the lands, ride attractions, grab a bite to eat, do some shopping, etc.
- Do most of your trick-or-treating toward the end of the party. That way you’re not carrying around a heavy bag of candy all night. Even though we noticed that cast members tended to toss large handfuls of candy into bags at every station, we never saw an empty candy barrel, even on our way out of the park at the end of the night!
- The longest lines are usually at the character meet and greets, since a lot of the characters are ones that are not seen in the Parks on a regular basis. If there is a particular character you really want to meet (Jack Skellington and Sally from A Nightmare Before Christmas are especially popular at MNSSHP) do it at the beginning of the party, before the lines get too long.
- Do NOT miss the parade, the Hocus Pocus show, or the fireworks and light projection show! All three are event-exclusive experiences and all three are spectacular!
Mallory and I had such a good time at the party! I’m happy that she decided to stay in Florida for a few extra days and glad that we decided to spend a day at the Magic Kingdom and an evening at Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party!
