Disney World Celebrating “Halfway to Halloween”
It’s once again “Halfway to Halloween.” Walt Disney World and Disneyland will be celebrating spook season’s answer to Christmas in July with another week of announcements, hauntingly helpful planning advice, and other fun things. This post covers what to expect, plus our predictions about what’ll be announced (Boo to You v. Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party, pricing, entertainment, etc).
This is the second year Disney Parks is doing the #HalfwaytoHalloween thing, and the notion of it being ‘halfway’ to Halloween makes us chuckle just a little bit. Don’t get me wrong–I love Halloween and love any excuse to celebrate holidays prematurely. But being a Walt Disney World regular sorta means having a warped sense of seasons.
For normal Americans, Halloween presumably starts when the air gets crisp, the leaves begin changing, and summer is firmly in the rearview mirror. Maybe around mid-September or even early October. For us, Halloween starts the first week of August. This is still very much summer–the hottest, most humid month and heart of storm season. We’re usually “over” Halloween by the time it starts for most normal people, ready to move on to Christmas.
Nevertheless, I’m excited to find out what the Halloween 2022 season is going to entail at Walt Disney World, and am looking forward to the Halfway to Halloween announcements. I know a lot of you are, too, as we’ve been getting a lot of questions about the Halloween parties and more.
On that note, the #HalfwaytoHalloween festivities kick into high gear on Wednesday (April 27, 2022), with a Disney+ and @DisneyParks Twitter Watch Party featuring a favorite film of the Halloween season, Hocus Pocus. Bring your favorite snacks and join live on Twitter on April 27 beginning at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT.
Then there’s the big, daylong #HalfwaytoHalloween celebration on Thursday. This is “nothing but treats” as Walt Disney World and Disneyland will share several frightfully fantastic Halloween and other spooky announcements that you won’t want to miss.
After that, there will be a @DisneyParks TikTok Live beginning on Thursday at 10 p.m. ET (7 p.m. PT). It’ll be live from multiple locations, including Disney Cruise Line, and will feature some “fa-boo-lous” surprises (Disney’s pun, not mine). Guess I need to hire a 13 year old to teach me how to TikTok between now and then…
During the #HalfwaytoHalloween celebration on Thursday (April 28, 2022), Disney is inviting guests at Walt Disney World and Disneyland to wear outfits inspired by their favorite Disney Halloween character, film, attraction or theme. Note that costumes are not allowed and you’ll need to follow the attire guidelines and rules at each park.
If you’re confused, the idea is to incorporate accessories, color schemes, patterns that highlight your Halloween favorites or evoke certain characters. Regular ‘street’ clothing that looks like Halloween stuff, not costumes. (So my totally rad Big Bad Wolf look above would not be acceptable as pictured, but would be if I removed the wolf head hat and wore sunglasses instead.)
While you’re dressed for the spirit of the season, you can order some Halloween-inspired foods at select Walt Disney World and Disneyland locations. Here’s a rundown:
Magic Kingdom
Sleepy Hollow (available April 28 through August 13)
- Lady on the Gravestone 50th Chilling Chamber Pop: Citrus cake crumbs, raspberry buttercream, and blue crisp pearls (New)
Liberty Square Popcorn Cart and Various Outdoor Vending Carts (available April 28 through May 1)
- Jack Skellington Popcorn Bucket (Limit two per, person per transaction while supplies last)
Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa (available April 28 through May 1)
- Hocus Pocus “Amuck” Cakes: Rich devil’s food cake with “peanut boo-tter” filling decorated to resemble all three Sanderson Sisters
Disney Springs
The Ganachery (available April 28 through May 1)
- Sister’s Elixir Hot Cocoa Bomb: Dark chocolate cauldron filled with hot cocoa mix and marshmallows topped with an edible image of the Sanderson Sisters and a chocolate broom stirrer
Gideon’s Bakehouse (available April 28 through May 1)
Get an exclusive trading card during Halfway to Halloween. Each four and six cookie box will feature one of the sixteen cards, plus be on the lookout for a bonus card for those waiting in line featuring Barnabas Mephistophelittle! (Limit of one per person while supplies last)
- Pumpkin Spice Shadow Cakes: Chocolate-dipped spice cakes with a pumpkin buttercream filling (New)
- Frankenstein Cake Slices: A three-layer chocolate cake covered in cookies and cream buttercream and loaded with M&M’s
- Valentina Cake: Classic red velvet cake covered in a light and fluffy cookies and cream marshmallow buttercream
Available at Various Outdoor Vending Carts in West Side (available April 28 through May 1)
- Mickey Mummy Popcorn Bucket (Limit two per, person per transaction while supplies last)
Disneyland Resort
Downtown Disney
Blue Ribbon Corn Dogs (available April 28 through May 1)
- Cheddar Pickle Dog: The pickle dog sprinkled with cheddar cheese for a pop of orange to celebrate Halloween
California Churro (available April 27 through May 4)
- Spooky Churro: A churro rolled in cinnamon sugar cut in half, drizzled with peanut butter and chocolate sauce, and topped with yummy peanut butter candy pieces in seasonal colors
Okay, commentary time. The whole reason this post exists in the first place, as I want to make a few predictions…
Hocus Pocus Villain Spelltacular Returns – Given its prominence in the teaser, it’s clear that Hocus Pocus 2 is going to be a big focus of the Halloween season. This one is just a no-brainer. The original is a cult classic, the sequel is going to be big deal for Disney+, and that streaming service is incredibly important to the company. On top of that, stage shows are returning to normal, paving the way for Hocus Pocus Villain Spelltacular to return.
Part of me wants to be bold, predicting that marketing budget given by Disney+ for Hocus Pocus 2 could result in fun meet & greets or a ‘reimagined’ stage show with new elements from the sequel. Given the way Walt Disney World often declines those budgets, that’s not a safe bet. Maybe Disneyland will get something fun like that.
Boo to You Parade Comes Back – Again, not at all a bold prediction. Last year’s event was conceived of and occurred during a time of transition at Walt Disney World. Even Disney Very Merriest After Hours featured a full parade last year.
The bigger question is probably what gets cut from Boo to You and whether anything is added. It wouldn’t surprise me in the least if the entire Halloween Hoedown (Frontierland) unit is cut. The Tomorrowland addition from 2019 also wasn’t particularly strong, so I could see that being cut or condensed.
Not-So-Spooky Spectacular is Shown – Same scenario here. Although there were no fireworks during last year’s Halloween hard ticket event, there were at Christmas. Not-So-Spooky Spectacular didn’t exactly garner rave reviews, but it had its moments.
A bolder prediction here would be the return of HalloWishes to draw out the longtime fans, but I don’t see that happening this year. It’s more likely will save the nostalgia card up its sleeve for when sales are slow.
Disney After Hours Boo Bash v. Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party – Given the above three predictions, you might be wondering what difference does the name make? That’s fair, as the return of a full parade, fireworks, and Hocus Pocus stage show essentially makes this Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party in substance and spirit, even if not in name.
With that said, my prediction is that they stick with the After Hours naming convention for the Halloween event. It’ll probably be called Boo Bash, but an entirely new After Hours name to differentiate it from last year’s scaled back offering wouldn’t surprise me. I don’t expect it to be called Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party. I still think we haven’t seen the last of that name–it’ll be used down the road for a nostalgia play.
The big difference, and why an After Hours name will likely be used, is because of the timing (after normal park closing), duration (shorter than MNSSHP), and focus (lower crowds) of this year’s Halloween event. As we’ve pointed out countless times, the hard ticket Halloween and Christmas parties cause logistical headaches with crowd dynamics, which is a big reason for the change. This matters less from August through October, but it’s hard to see Magic Kingdom hosting Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party, but then reverting to Disney Very Merriest After Hours for the Christmas season.
I’m not super confident in this prediction, and I really hope it’s wrong. I think Mickey’s Halloween/Christmas Parties are superior to their After Hours counterparts, and are worth the problems they cause with crowds from August through December.
$149 to $249 Ticket Price Range – Last year, Disney After Hours Boo Bash tickets ranged in price from $119 to $169 for most nights, with Halloween costing $199. Disney Very Merriest After Hours tickets were $159 to $199 for most nights, with the final two events costing a cool $249. There was a lot of outrage about these price points, but if I recall correctly, every single night for both events sold out.
We ‘tracked’ Very Merriest After Hours ticket availability, hoping their slower sales were a sign that Walt Disney World had been too aggressive with pricing. Sadly, we were wrong. Those tickets moved slower than their Halloween counterpart, but ended up selling out, as well. (It’s likely the capacity cap was higher for Christmas, given that there was more to do.)
Honestly, I can’t even wrap my head around Disney pricing at this point. For years, people have been proclaiming that Disney is pricing out the middle class or has exceeded the tipping point for most guests. And yet, things sell out faster than ever. I was perusing the Emporium at Disneyland over the weekend, and absolutely could not comprehend some of the price points. In particular, there was a pink spirit jersey for $120. After seeing that, I started counting how many of those I saw in the park (in my defense, we had a lot of time to kill waiting for the nighttime spectaculars) and literally lost track–there were that many guests wearing them. Meanwhile, almost everyone had at least one $35 Elliott the Dragon popcorn.
The point is not to critique the ways people spend their money. I’m the last person who should be judging others on that. Rather, it’s to underscore the reality that prices are up dramatically in the last few years, and people are paying them! Some fans claim this is simply Disney targeting the 1%, but you’ll never convince me of that.
I’ve seen Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous and MTV Cribs (very relevant references, I know). Wealthy people aren’t wearing spirit jerseys, staying at Value/Moderate Resorts, or waiting in line hours to buy popcorn buckets that look like dragons they’ve never heard of. (I mean this as no disrespect to those who are fans of the aforementioned products or resorts–I like 2 of the 3. I’m just saying you can’t account for the popularity of these things by saying, “they’re for the rich.”)
Whether it’s pent-up demand, accumulated household savings, residual stimulus money, wage increases, or something else, a lot of regular Americans are having no issue paying higher prices for all things travel and leisure. This is evident in everything from Disney’s recent increases to the staggering cost of airfare right now.
Despite all of this, crowds are increasing and tourism is booming. Complain as we might, there’s absolutely no reason to believe that Walt Disney World will alter course with pricing until demand dies down. Who knows when that’ll happen, but my guess is “not by Thursday.” (Assuming tickets or prices for Boo Bash/MNSSHP are released alongside the announcement, which may not happen.)
Ultimately, those are some of my predictions for the Halloween season at Walt Disney World, not necessarily what’ll be announced during Halfway to Halloween. Disney could start with vague details, like the name of the event, date range, and a line indicating it’ll feature “spooky festivities including entertainment, characters, special performances, décor, lighting, music, treat stops, and so much more!”
It’s also likely we’ll get more details about Disney Cruise Line’s Halloween on the High Seas and Disneyland’s plans for Halloween. Even though California is usually more laid back about announcing hard ticket event details, it seems inevitable that Oogie Boogie Bash will return, so hopefully we’ll hear a bit about that.
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YOUR THOUGHTS
Now that I’ve made my Halfway to Halloween predictions…what are yours? Think Walt Disney World will announce the return of the Hocus Pocus stage show, fireworks, and/or Boo to You parade? What about Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party v. Disney After Hours Boo Bash? Think any of this will NOT be announced? Expecting other Hocus Pocus 2 news? What are your thoughts on ticket prices? Will your family be buying or sitting the Halloween hard ticket events out? Are you excited for Halloween 2022 at WDW, DLR, or DCL? Do you agree or disagree with our perspective on this? 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!
August? For me, Halloween time starts on November 1st and DOES. NOT. STOP.
I can respect that.
For me, Halloween is also any day Sarah isn’t home and I can watch horror movies.
Will guests from the UK be able to purchase tickets for the Halloween events at the same time as the US? After over 10 years of plotting and a lot of saving I’m finally visiting Disney World for the first time, for my 30th and simply don’t want to miss out on a thing!
These blog updates have been immensely helpful, so thank you!
And I can guarantee that I’ll not only have the dragon popcorn but also will be noticeably the biggest British kid there!
Whichever type of Halloween experience they offer this year, I predict they will sell out quickly. Disney has wisely offered a resort discount through the end of September for Disney+ members worldwide. Therefore, since people are “saving” on their resort stay, they likely will pay higher prices for the special event tickets early in the event season. Plus they still pay for their Disney+ membership! Despite the high pricing, I think Disney marketing is on target with people’s spending habits.
Halfway to Halloween Celebration – Hello, Come on, What, Why
We’re going in September and I’ve seen a lot of resort availability changes since we first started planning months ago, which makes me really happy. We’ve been able to get resorts (we always do split stays) that weren’t available for months…and at prices we can actually afford.
I could be wrong, but I think pent up will be dying down. Time will tell, but it has let me FINALLY be able to book a room at the Polynesian (happy dance)
I hope you’re right!
I wonder if airfare/gas prices might also be getting to people. Entirely anecdotal, but we’re about to pull the plug on a previously-planned (non-Disney) trip because I can’t justify the obscene cost of airfare. Literally 4x what we paid last year for a similar itinerary.
I had no idea that Disney did this! Halloween is personally one of my favorite holidays, so the fact that Disney will be doing this, makes me so happy. Halloween is my favorite time of the year at the park with all the decorations and fun theming. The Hocus Pocus show is by far one of my favorite shows that is put on in the park. The prices for these parties have definitely gone up since I went back in 2018. I know that it turns a lot of people away from wanting to go, which is a bummer because it truly is a wonderful experience. Thank you for sharing your halfway to Halloween knowledge!
I prefer the after hours events as someone who doesn’t want to spend the additional $ on these events. With the new park reservation system, my kids would be quite upset if we got kicked out from MK at 6pm on the day we selected up front without a schedule released.
We are headed to WDW again in September. Last year I relented and bought Boo Bash Tickets. Small crowds, short lines, plenty of entertainment, and no sun. It was by far our best day all week. Perfect for our three year old. (Swim/Lunch/Nap works wonders for staying up late.)
I too was surprised by the spending, but then I remembered a lot of our friends got windfalls of inheritance (COVID). Also, the huge retirement numbers (COVID) have impacted the desire for a Disney with grandkids. The population is massive and yet the parks are roughly the same size. I personally feel WDW can do very little wrong because the pool of people and desire are so strong. Now how many repeat visits they receive is a different story. For their sake I hope the pool never shrinks because the complaints are very real.
The ‘pool’ you mention is undoubtedly a huge part of it. Not only are baby boomers retiring in large numbers, but that generation has also enjoyed tremendous asset appreciation. Their children now have kids of their own, making a multi-generation trip to Walt Disney World a great way to spend some of that money.
That’s just the favorable demographics of the domestic leisure market. International tourism is more accessible than ever and we’ve barely scratched the surface of pent-up demand there. Business and convention travel also still has not yet recovered.
I believe that Disney’s own greed will eventually kill the magic, and then there will be no one interested in taking their children and grandchildren to the parks or doing repeat visits. There are 50 years of nostalgia here, but Disney is making its own product disposable. I’ll be very curious to see where things are in a generation.
I’m right there with you; the rate at which some are spending is downright flummoxing. I know that many say Disney is targeting the upper crust, but this absolutely doesn’t seem to be the case. As you state, the 1% certainly aren’t staying in the value – or even moderate resorts. I think some is revenge spending and leftover stimulus, but the whole thing is puzzling. On one hand, we have people screaming about $4/g gas then forking out $120 for a spirit jersey. I hear folks chastising grocery cashiers because milk is $3/gallon, but saw people at a Disney pool bar last weekend forking over $30+ for a soda, sangria and a non alcoholic frozen drink, all three put together were probably 32 oz, yet three times the price of the gallon of milk. I was just as shocked by the number of families building lightsabers. One family has six children – that’s a whole lot of cash for a decorative souvenir. But what surprises me the most, in this post-pandemic era wrought with inflation is the sheer number of plaids you see. Where I’d see a few here and there doing private tours, they are now everywhere – and those tours are anything but cheap. I am not judging either. I just cant seem to reconcile it in my brain. How is it that people complain about Disney pricing out the middle class and then drop that kind of cash. Its basic economics. The prices will continue to soar so long as the demand is there.
Our family trip this year is during the Halloween season. I was really looking forward to the Halloween party, but I will have a difficult time justifying that kind of cost to myself. If anything, I may choose to do a tour instead.
I need the hours for whatever it’s called to go back to MNSSHP hours. I have small children so last year was a no go it’s too late.
You are absolutely not alone with that sentiment. After pricing, the second biggest complaint we heard about last year’s Halloween and Christmas events was that the hours didn’t work for families with small children.
Given that this audience is Disney’s bread and butter, it wouldn’t surprise me if they go back to MNSSHP. Even if it’s more of a hassle for park ops, WDW has gotta keep its core demo happy.
When do you expect the Halloween party dates will be announced? When are tickets usually sold?
It really varies from year to year.
Last year, the announcement occurred on May 7, ticket info was released June 2, went on sale for on-site resort guests June 8 and the general public June 15.
I’d expect a more condensed timeline this year–a lot was changing quickly last year, so that likely slowed down the process. Then again, they might need to hammer out more entertainment details before releasing tickets.
“Wealthy people aren’t wearing spirit jerseys, staying at Value/Moderate Resorts, or waiting in line hours to buy popcorn buckets that look like dragons they’ve never heard of.”
-lolololololol
Sarah says this might be offensive to fans of spirit jerseys, those resorts, and Figment/Elliott. I’m not sure how, but to be clear, that’s absolutely not the intent.
As much as I’d love to believe that being a fan of Figment is the path to untold fortune and all earthly riches, something tells me that’s not the case. 😉
This is exciting news. Looking forward to taking one of my children, their wife and their three grandchildren to any Halloween happening. My wife and I will reprieve our Mousketeer costumes. There are very few of us who wear them so if you see someone in that costume ask are you Mickey1928 and you’ll win a prize. As tpo the price, Disney without question will take advantage of a very real inflation to raise prices 10%. It will all go onto my Disney Visa and eventually rolled into my 2023’s bankruptcy.
I’m probably one of the rare few who like the switchup of the prices for the after hours events–provided that the value is there. If I’m paying that much more, I expect to be able to wander the park without being sandwiched in at bottlenecks, get on rides without much of a wait, and view parades and shows without having to stake out a spot hours in advance. I really enjoyed the Christmas Party last year because all of that was true. But…I’ve also heard others not having similar experiences, and I also acknowledge that this prices out a lot of families as well. I kind of wish they’d have *both* offerings, with two days of packed-but-cheap MNSSHP (or similar) and one day of exclusive-but-expensive After Hours. It’s a dream, but…I’d still love it.
That’s a fair perspective. Disney has probably heard (via survey results) enough people say “I’d pay double this price if it meant half the crowds” to have gotten the message.
FWIW, the solution you’re describing is what Disneyland does for Christmas (or what WDW does the week of Christmas): entertainment included with regular admission, but a special event with ‘bonus’ offerings, atmosphere, lower crowds, etc. on select nights.
This has nothing to do with Halloween, but I must vent due to $$$
I was scheduled to visit Disney 4/24 thru 5/5 and had to r/s to October,
due to health reasons. I had 8 day park hopper tickets purchased thru Disney,
and they charged me $98 to move the tickets from April to October……
Grrrrrrr….. more charges more money as if the tickets aren’t expensive enough.
Sadly, we’ve heard a lot of stories like this. People who rescheduled from 2020/2021 to later this year have been hit with some wild price increases.
Our trip this year is Sept 25-Oct 1. I was hoping for MNSSHP but will take anything close at this point, as long as we have shows and parades. I also hope the dining plan returns, so I’m watching your updates enthusiastically. Thanks, as always.
Tom, I began ringing these alarms you are now back in 2008, when the days of empty parks and $45 MNSSHP were a distant memory. I expected the 07 recession, and then the pandemic, to finally turn down the volume on Disney’s party and each time they bounced back busier and more expensive than ever. WDW has long ago exceeded my tolerance for crowds and money and I’ve hardly been since 2017 despite living next door. My last trip to Disneyland was a one day commando trip where I stayed at Desert Inn. Disney no longer caters to my interests and expectations and I’ve made peace with that and moved on. I’m just as baffled as you are by what people will spend money on but my advice to you as someone who’s been there is: expect this to continue.
It has been a while, Foxx! (Quick plug for your exceptional Boundless Realm: Deep Explorations Inside Disney’s Haunted Mansion book and Passport2Dreams blog to anyone else reading this comment). I miss your regular posts but understand your absence or disillusionment–nor is it surprising. That’s becoming increasingly common sentiment with the ‘old guard.’
We started attending as adults during the Great Recession, first riding the wave of great deals during that and then seeing the sharp spike in prices afterwards. For a long time, I assumed a “reality check” or whatever you want to call it was right around the corner. I assumed the same again with the pandemic, and was spectacularly wrong on that.
Eventually, there will be another recession that will cause another (temporary) downturn. In the meantime, it feels increasingly pointless to even opine on pricing, because it’s very clear that more than enough people have no problem paying. It also doesn’t hurt that Disney has demographics on its side. A generation of nostalgic Millennials now have kids that are the right age for Disney, and unlike in the early aughts that brought us Brother Bear and Chicken Little, the company has a solid slate of new IP.
We arrive at Disney World on August 13th, a three year in the making, 17 night trip. Originally we planned on MNSSHP, had Star Wars themed costumes planned but with the cost last year we decided to remove the party from our plans. It took 3 years to save for this trip there is no way we can pay for the increase. We camp at Fort Wilderness, looking forward to being back at Disney. The Disney movie line references have gotten out of control in our house. Thank you for all your reviews and details, I read as much as I can to plan this trip.
I agree they are out of control with no free fast passes now to lighting something.I feel bad for families who save to go now you need more money for services that we’re free before and hikes.The Magical Express which families loved as a perk for staying at a Disney resort is gone unless you pay family 4 $150-200 round trip.
When can we reserve / purchase tickets for Not So Scary Halloween Party, ( we will be there October 5 – 9) ,
Thanks
I’m a DVC member and love it in the beginning things change but it’s getting ridiculous.The cost does go up understandably but lately Disney been out of control with there hikes and reduced services to all there loyal customers.