Guide to Disney After Hours Boo Bash Halloween Party at Magic Kingdom: Dates, Prices & Info
Disney After Hours Boo Bash is the Halloween party at Magic Kingdom in August, September & October. This info guide covers Walt Disney World’s new fall event, with dates, hours, ticket prices & discounts, entertainment. Plus, comparisons to Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party and Villains After Hours.
Whether Disney After Hours Boo Bash returns for 2022 remains to be seen. At this point, it’s possible that Walt Disney World will restore the full Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party–along with its higher attendance cap and earlier start time–or keep Boo Bash for 2022. If Disney opts to do the latter, it’s highly likely that Boo to You Parade and Hocus Pocus Villains Spelltacular will be added to the lineup. Here’s more speculation about MNSSHP v. Boo Bash for Halloween 2022 at Walt Disney World.
If Disney After Hours Boo Bash is held in 2022, it’ll be a limited-capacity separately ticketed event at Magic Kingdom. This means the main benefit of Disney After Hours Boo Bash is significantly lower crowds and wait times at popular attractions than a normal day in the park. Walt Disney World hasn’t announced the attendance limit, but it’s a small fraction of normal attendance.
In addition to lower wait times, there will be some entertainment. Halloween-themed cavalcades will pop up throughout the night featuring Mickey Mouse and friends, Disney Villains, Nightmare Before Christmas characters, and a fire-breathing Maleficent dragon. There will also be character greetings, atmospheric enhancements, decor, and special entertainment.
We’ve attended the Halloween event last year, and share thoughts and more photos in our Review & Photo Report of Disney After Hours Boo Bash!
In terms of other basics, Disney After Hours Boo Bash tickets will grant event ticket holders admission to Magic Kingdom as early as 7 pm, giving you time to enjoy some of your favorite Magic Kingdom Park rides before the event begins. These dated event tickets do not require an additional day theme park ticket or Disney Park Pass theme park reservation.
For those already inside Magic Kingdom, wristband distribution will be available at Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor in Tomorrowland and Tortuga Tavern in Adventureland starting at 7 pm. For guests arriving after 7 pm, wristbands will be available at the main entrance of Magic Kingdom.
Select snacks like ice cream novelties and popcorn, along with select sodas and other beverages, are included in the cost of the event. In addition to those, A variety of specialty food and drinks will be available for purchase, including an Apple Ginger Dale frozen drink and a Foolish Mortal Funnel Cake.
Disney PhotoPass will also be available to take your magical and spooky shots throughout the night. Your photos will be adorned with Halloween special effects and you can also take special Magic Shots, which add characters to your Disney PhotoPass photos after they’ve been taken. PhotoPass is not included in the cost of the event.
All guests can dress in costume for Disney After Hours Boo Bash, and you can get your fill of Halloween candy while trick-or-treating around the park. Costume masks are not permitted for adults; they can only be worn by children under 14. Please note that Walt Disney World’s face mask rules apply during Disney After Hours Boo Bash.
Now let’s turn to the other specifics of the Disney After Hours Boo Bash Halloween Party!
Disney After Hours Boo Bash Dates, Tickets & Pricing
Tickets for Disney After Hours Boo Bash are now on sale for all guests and can be purchased online or by calling 407-939-4240. Note that almost every date is now sold out online. However, there are same-day sales of tickets at Magic Kingdom. This is due to cancellations, which are currently on the rise. (It’s our expectation that day-of tickets will be available on a walk-up basis for most–if not all–Boo Bash nights.)
Tickets start at $129 to $139, plus tax for August and September party nights and $159 to $169, plus tax for October nights. Attending on Halloween night will set you back a cool $199 plus tax! Annual Passholders and Disney Vacation Club Members can take advantage of a $10 discount for Boo Bash in August and September.
Disney After Hours Boo Bash Map
If you want to get an idea of where everything is in Magic Kingdom during Disney After Hours Boo Bash, check out the map above. This shows the locations of snack carts and trick or treating, where you can pick up free refreshments and candy.
It also shows character greeting locations, merchandise spots, paid food & beverage, attractions, and entertainment. Those last two things will be covered in greater detail below.
Disney After Hours Boo Bash Attractions
Once Magic Kingdom closes to day guests, Disney After Hours Boo Bash attendees will enjoy less time waiting in line for more than 20 of Magic Kingdom’s most popular attractions including the following:
- Astro Orbiter
- Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
- Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin
- Country Bear Jamboree
- Dumbo the Flying Elephant
- Haunted Mansion
- “it’s a small world”
- Jungle Cruise
- Mad Tea Party
- Peter Pan’s Flight
- Pirates of the Caribbean
- Prince Charming Regal Carrousel
- Seven Dwarfs Mine Train
- Space Mountain
- Splash Mountain
- Swiss Family Treehouse
- Goofy’s Barnstormer
- The Magic Carpets of Aladdin
- The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
- Tomorrowland Speedway
- Tomorrowland Transit Authority PeopleMover
- Under the Sea ~ Journey of the Little Mermaid
Disney After Hours Boo Bash Entertainment
Mickey’s Happy Halloween Cavalcade (9:55 pm, 11:25 pm): Delight as Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Pluto and pals dress in hauntingly boo-tiful Halloween costumes and parade through the park in this musical procession.
Disney Villain Halloween Cavalcade (10:30 pm, 11:45 pm): Behold a legion of villains unleashed to revel in this sinister season. Look out for fiends like Dr. Facilier, Queen of Hearts, and Jafar as they celebrate just how wonderful it is to be wicked.
Jack’s Nightmare Cavalcade (10:40 pm, 11:55 pm): Prepare for a procession worthy of the Pumpkin King! Jack Skellington–along with Sally and Oogie Boogie from Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas–take to the streets to share thrilling, chilling tricks and treats!
Maleficent’s Fiery Prowl (10:50 pm, 12:05 am): Maleficent will make an appearance in the form of a fire-breathing dragon!
Cadaver Dans in Frontierland (9:40 pm, 10:20 pm, 11:05 pm, 12:10 am): The Cadaver Dans perform haunting melodies from beyond the grave.
Tomorrowland DJ Dance Party (9:30 pm to 12:30 am): Dance the night away at the Rockettower Plaza Stage.
Note: these times apply to the 9:30 pm to 12:30 am Disney After Hours Boo Bash nights. We’ll update with the schedule for the 9 pm to midnight parties once those start.
On the atmospheric entertainment front, you can stop and listen to Miss Carlotta, who will be appearing throughout the night outside Haunted Mansion to greet guests.
Additionally, favorite character friends will appear throughout Magic Kingdom, including Goofy and Chip ‘n’ Dale in their Halloween costumes. Other surprise characters will pop up across the park, too.
Boo Bash v. Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party
In terms of our commentary, the biggest point of contention is Disney After Hours Boo Bash v. Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party. While both are technically “Halloween events” and Boo Bash is the indirect replacement for MNSSHP, they are fundamentally different in nature.
Many Walt Disney World fans are understandably upset by the significantly higher price points for Boo Bash and less entertainment as compared with Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party. That makes sense given that this is the indirect replacement for that. However, this is a Disney After Hours event (hence the name), so its price structure unsurprisingly follows that.
As compared to Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party, a lot of entertainment is “missing” from Disney After Hours Boo Bash. The characters and cavalcades at Boo Bash are fine diversions, but they’re nowhere on par with Hocus Pocus Villain Spelltacular, Mickey’s Boo to You parade, or the many meet & greets at MNSSHP.
There are also no fireworks during Disney After Hours Boo Bash, but those who purchase tickets can arrive early and watch the pre-party fireworks at Magic Kingdom, which are available to all guests.
Prices are also significantly higher for Disney After Hours Boo Bash than Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party. In the last year MNSSHP was held, its prices started at $74 per person and most dates were under $100. Halloween week and night were outliers, with prices up to $149.
Some nights, Disney After Hours Boo Bash are nearly double the cost of Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party tickets. Others are “only” a $20 to $30 premium. However, as compared to last year’s Villains After Hours, which was strikingly similar to Disney After Hours Boo Bash, ticket prices are about the same. The biggest difference is a significantly smaller discount for Annual Passholders and Disney Vacation Club Members.
I’m not going to do contortions to defend Walt Disney World’s pricing for Disney After Hours Boo Bash. It’s astronomical. That’s true even when compared to Villains After Hours, but doubly so if you’re using the last year Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party was held as your benchmark.
I can barely comprehend dropping a few hundred dollars for the two of us to do this–let alone the price for a family with small children who may not last the whole night. It would be difficult to justify unless money were no object.
However, Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party is the wrong comparison. This is a fundamentally different event. Again, as we discussed at length in the above announcement post, the heart of the After Hours events is low crowds and short lines at attractions, with the entertainment being the icing on the cake.
By contrast, the heart of Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party is the entertainment, and short lines for rides are the icing. In recent years, Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party has been anything but a “low crowds” event. (The last year both were held, the attendance cap was significantly lower for After Hours than Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party–probably less than half…which might explain why it’s almost double the price.)
Ultimately, it’s difficult to assess whether Disney After Hours Boo Bash is worth the money. In large part, that depends upon your personal expectations. Are you considering it because you’ve enjoyed the entertainment at Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party in the past, and are expecting something on par with that? If so, Boo Bash almost certainly will not be worth it for you.
Are you considering Disney After Hours Boo Bash because you want a low crowds opportunity to enjoy Magic Kingdom with a Halloween twist? Then this event might be for you. Even then, this is a lot of money to spend. It’s also occurring over the course of two months–August and September–that typically have low crowds during normal operating hours. Between that historic precedent and a potential lull in the lead-up to Walt Disney World’s 50th Anniversary (see our updated Best & Worst Months to Visit Walt Disney World in 2022-2023), Disney After Hours Boo Bash may not be a tremendous ‘value-add’ for its first couple months for those wanting to avoid crowds. October is another story entirely, though.
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YOUR THOUGHTS
What are your thoughts on these ticket prices? Will your family be buying or sitting this Halloween event out? Are you excited for Disney After Hours Boo Bash? Do you agree or disagree with our perspective on this? Are you disappointed that Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party won’t be happening, or is Boo Bash a superior (or at least sufficient) alternative for you? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
We booked our early December Florida trip at Universal this year vs. Disney as a result of perceived value for money. I was still hoping Disney would host some sort of hard ticket event for Christmas that we could do the day we fly in. So, when you posted about this Halloween event I was cautiously optimistic. Now seeing the pricing for this (which you warned about) I am a little more pessimistic.
Based on prior after hours events any thoughts on whether they increase capacity for Friday night events vs. Tuesday night events? Friday works best with our scheduled trip but it’s also 10/29 so if there is a chance they are going to sell more tickets vs Tuesday 10/26 I’d make the Tuesday work.
My phone’s memories section just showed me a picture of us on Main Street at 1:15 AM 4 years ago. Now you get to pay $130+ extra dollars to be int he park that late. That’s disappointing.
Agreed.
From our Villains After Hours Review: https://www.disneytouristblog.com/villains-after-hours-magic-kingdom-review/
I’d be remiss if I didn’t point out that not too long ago, Magic Kingdom closed at midnight in the summer and those same nights the park had Extra Magic Hours until 3 a.m. (Evening Extra Magic Hours used to be 3 hours long).
This was during the Great Recession when attendance was lower than it is now, so daytime crowds were comparatively light. Now, attendance is significantly higher (by several millions of guests per year), and regular park hours have been reduced by several hours per day. More people crammed into fewer hours, which does not compute.
These upcharge events would disappear if guests said, ‘enough is enough‘ and didn’t attend. That’s exactly what happened with the Pirates and Princess Parties a decade ago. More recently, we’ve seen Walt Disney World drop other upcharges when sales didn’t meet expectations.
The obvious problem with this is that you or I can’t dictate the change on an individual level. You’re voting with your wallet one way or the other. I’d love for Walt Disney World to deliver an exceptional, free-of-charge evening Extra Magic Hours experience to all on-site guests as was the case in the recent past; I’d certainly prefer it to dropping $100+ on this.
However, as long as consumer confidence is strong and guests are spending freely, your options are basically to partake and have an fun experience or hold out and miss out on what’s become the best way to experience Magic Kingdom. Try explaining the concept of ‘principled nonviolent theme park resistance’ to your kids as the reason they can’t have fun.
I know it might be still early for the Very Merry Christmas Party, but with the announcement of the BOO Bash and the dates announced what might the earliest we hear for the Christmas party?
If there is even gonna be one this year. I’m going December 4-11 and was hoping they would have the Christmas party during my stay, but i haven’t heard anything yet and im honestly starting to get nervous trying to plan around reserving park days and the possibility of the Party.
on AP/DVC discounts..
I suspect they are just expecting big pent-up demand, and therefore they don’t feel the need to offer discounts.
And as you said, nothing stops them from increasing discounts later on, IF sales are weak.
Looks like I’ll be attending the second event.. August 17th… Hopefully I can get an early California Grill reservation for around 5:30 pm
The way it reads it sounds like fall decorations on Main Street would be up for the October events. But not earlier? … am I just misreading this? I mean I am going either way but wanted to see how anyone else interpreted this.
2 comments:
— Only $10 discount for DVC and AP???!?! After-Hours had a $30 discount. Guess they aren’t too worried about ultimately selling these tickets.
–9:30 start time in August….. It really sounds like they are setting up the time so there can be fireworks before regular park close. August 10th( first day of Boo Bash) sunset is 8:09 pm, which means you can’t really have fireworks before 9pm…. thus the 9:30 boo bash start time. Maybe.
I was also surprised by that first point. One thing to keep in mind is that these tickets will go on sale before Annual Passes return, so the goal may be to see some ticket sales among former APs (who don’t realize they will have the option of buying a pass down the road). For years, Disneyland’s Halloween parties have done solid numbers among the “former AP crowd.”
Also, nothing to say Disney can’t offer a “SURPRISE BONUS!” deal to DVC and APs come late July if ticket sales are weak.
After having enjoyed the after hours event at Animal Kingdom last year, it’s a little easier to handle the pricing – although that event gave you a meal as well as the snacks. I’m frustrated that DVC discounts aren’t offered into October – I can understand not offering them on the weekends, but I was hoping the mid-week events might have gotten a bit of help. Still not sure I can swallow the price tag, though…
What time do tickets typically go on sale for events like this?
I agree that this is similar to Villains After Hours which we thought was worth the price given we don’t get to the parks as often as we’d like. I’m hoping they do something similar for Christmas. We will be there the week of Thanksgiving and we are hoping for an after hours event the Sunday before Thanksgiving (since recently they did have MVMCP the Sunday before), but given the Tuesday/Friday dates and the blackout of the 50th anniversary week, I am now thinking we may be out of luck that week. Fingers crossed!
I wouldn’t be surprised if Walt Disney World opts for an After Hours event at Christmas this year, too.
If so, it would have nothing to do with “current circumstances” and everything to do with projected crowds. It’s hard to imagine Disney being able to close Magic Kingdom at 6 or 7 pm several nights per week during the first few months of the 50th Anniversary, as would be necessary with MVMCP. That would present some nightmare crowd scenarios on non-party nights. Since After Hours starts and runs later, it’d be easier to accommodate.
@Lynne – PhotoPass is NOT included in the ticket:
“Memory Maker is not included with event admission and must be purchased separately. If you purchase Memory Maker, don’t forget to link your attraction photos to your account, so you can download them later.”
https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/events-tours/magic-kingdom/disney-after-hours-boo-bash/#drawer-card-PurchaseMemoryMaker
“Disney PhotoPass will also be available to take your magical and spooky shots throughout the night.”
So is photo pass included in the price of this event or do you have to purchase that separately ?
The event times are interesting – staring at 9pm on most of the nights and 9:30 on the earlier nights in August. When thinking of fireworks, I’m not sure on the surface how this works. When Magic Kingdom had HEA playing in August and September nights, it started around 9:15pm and of course ran for about 18 minutes. We also know that for any of the After Hour events at MK, HEA still ran prior to that 3 hour time window starting i.e. HEA at 9:15 – park closed to the public at 9pm and the After Hours started at 10pm and ran until 1am. If it was earlier in the year, fireworks at 8pm and after hours started at 9pm and went until 12am.
I think we all assume HEA will return sometime in June or July at this point. So I just find it odd that the timing of these events are starting at least at 9:30 for all of them, so that HEA could run every night at 9pm. This just makes waiting for the return of the fireworks announcement even more interesting!
I keep hearing these Happily Ever After rumors indirectly, but have yet to hear them from anyone I know who would be directly knowledgeable.
The only thing I’ve heard–directly and persistently–concerns Epcot Forever. Personally, I wouldn’t be surprised if 10/1 marks the return of fireworks in Magic Kingdom.
Kelly: It’s in the post. Ticket holders get in at 7PM and the event starts at 9PM.
Why do you think there are no parties the week the 50th Celebration starts? I expected there to be nothing later in the week but am surprised there’s not a party earlier in the week. Are they just gearing up for the 50th or are they expecting major crowds that whole week? We’re going that week and expected the end of the week to be crazy but when looking at room availability both on-site and off there was more availability the week of (Sep 25th to Oct 3rd) than the week before or after. Just curious. We wouldn’t be going at those prices anyway because with 3 kids under the age of 7 it’s just not worth it for us and after our 2019 experience with the crowds and little kids we’ll wait until they’re older to try again.
It’s almost certainly because they’re expecting heavy crowds that week and will need to extend park hours beyond 9 pm.
Same reason Magic Kingdom doesn’t host Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party the week of Christmas.
What is your best guess for fall hotel discounts release date?
Do you think they’ll wait until they have done the boo bash a couple times to decide on the Christmas party final details and info?
I think prices are a little crazy and now fear what the Christmas party will cost.
On and unrelated note, hotel availability has increased based on recent searches. For out vacations dates there used to be nothing available and now all hotels have most category rooms open. Same for dates close by to our next November stay.
Historically, fall hotel discounts would be released in mid-July.
I would not expect that this year. I suspect Disney will wait a bit longer until reopening plans and capacity for the remaining hotels solidify. That’s a *good* thing. If discounts were released on the normal schedule, they’d almost certainly be weak and have limited room inventory.
There will b 2 parties while we r there in September.
We plan to may b go. We enjoyed the Halloween party in 2017. Waited 10mins for Mine train.
I love the Villains so this is for me!! Have to remember to bring Costume or Dress
Do you know if ticket holders will be able to get in early, at 4pm like in years past?
I think you nailed it, its hard to not compare Mickeys Not So Scary to this “replacement”. I think with that price point my family will be skipping it this year. We went in 2019, the crowds were very busy but we were let into the park at 3:30 and got to do a few fastpass rides which was great. Comparing Mickeys Not so Scary to this which costs more and lets in you 3.5 hours later, just not worth it.
Any news on the narrators for Candlelight at Epcot this year?