Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party Recap
We attended the Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party at Walt Disney World on October 6, 2015. This post features photos and thoughts on the party this year, including crowds, characters, new offerings, and random tips. We’ll have a few “reports” from our recent Walt Disney World trip in the coming weeks, with this being the first.
Before we get to our report on this year’s Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party, pictured above are our costumes for this year. These are Disney Yukata, which are casual kimonos often worn in the summer to keep cool (one of our main “rules” in our Disney Halloween Costume Tips post). We purchased ours at Tokyo Disneyland during Tanabata Days, as having kimonos with Mickey & Minnie, Cinderella Castle, Mount Prometheus, and various Disney attractions on them seemed pretty cool.
Unfortunately, my kimono seems to resemble pajamas and/or a dress…or so snarky folks on the internet said. Not our most ambitious costume effort ever for Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party, but fairly unique and practical given the weather. After the mistake of wearing a Beast costume a few years back, I’ve tried to focus more on being comfortable than having a killer costume–so many others do costumes so much better.
Alright, now let’s start with a look at the party itself…
We started back in Storybook Circus at around 6:45 pm, getting in line to meet Minnie, Donald, and Daisy. If you’ve read our Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party Tips post, you know this is not recommended, as these aren’t “high demand” characters. However, we’ve done this party numerous times in the last several years, and there weren’t really many characters we wanted to meet this year.
I have no idea what is going on in this photo, and I think that’s part of the fun. You know you had a good time at a meet & greet when you have a few “what the heck?!” photos. It means the characters weren’t just static photo props.
From there we headed over to Haunted Mansion to get some photos and see the always fun Lady Renata, and briefly enjoying the ambiance of the area, which is heightened for Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party, with fog and various lighting effects. We don’t usually do rides during the Halloween Party, but spending time outside of Haunted Mansion is always a must (enter through the exit if you don’t plan on riding).
At this point, it was decision time. The first parade wasn’t starting for almost 45 minutes, which meant it wasn’t getting to Main Street for much longer than that, but we had been hearing reports of insanely busy Halloween Parties, so we decided to err on the side of caution. We scoped out a few potential spots on Main Street, ultimately opting for a location in Town Square.
Then we waited…and waited…and waited some more. To make matters worse, we could have snatched the same spots we got 30 minutes later than we did. Despite this being an October party, it did not seem exceptionally crowded to us–certainly not even close to as bad as reports from prior parties this year. We always try to do weeknight parties (as those are the best days to go to avoid crowds), but usually in September, so I was a little concerned. Turns out that it was probably one of the less-busy parties we’ve attended in the last 3-4 years.
On the plus side, we picked spots right next to Chris Evans, and he was gracious-enough to take a photo with us and share some of his thoughts on politics, espionage, Donald Trump, the trials & tribulations of being a super soldier, and camera settings for photographing the ballroom dancers in the Boo to You Parade. Turns out Mr. Evans is a big fan of the parade. He seemed to be a good sport about the fact that Walt Disney World hadn’t given him VIP seating and he had to stand among the unwashed masses like us, calling it his “patriotic duty” or something like that.
The Boo to You Parade was awesome as always, and this spot in Town Square was solid for being better lighting while retaining the excellent ambiance of Main Street. This parade remains my white whale for photography, so take my opinion with a grain of salt, but I think I’d go as far as to call this the second best spot for the parade.
When it comes to the Headless Horseman, catching someone else’s flash doesn’t hurt. I ran upstairs in the train station to snap this one, and then ran down…
…for this one. This shot illustrates why this Town Square location is nice for photos. This is a tough parade to shoot, but the lighting here makes it a lot easier.
Boo to You is one of those things that I hope is not outright replaced at any time in the near future. I think the parade has aged incredibly well, and while I’d love to see a new float added here or there, this is Walt Disney World parade-perfection, and I don’t see it having the same problems aging poorly (I’m looking at you, Main Street Electrical Parade) as other parades. We always make sure to see it twice each time we go to Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party, and it was as good as ever, with one minor exception…
Okay, controversial opinion time. This year, there is no graveyard caretaker and his dog in the Haunted Mansion unit of the Boo to You Parade. The internal reason for this that I’ve heard from those in the know is that it’s out of respect to the dog who previously “played” the part, and passed away prior to the start of this year’s parties. I know that here in America we respect canine life more than human life, but this is ridiculous. This is a lame excuse to not hire a performer to play the caretaker, or to find another dog.
Honestly, I can’t believe I had to even preface the previous paragraph with “controversial opinion time.” The only reason I did was because a friend expressed similar sentiment on Twitter, and was criticized for a lack of compassion. How about some “compassion” for the guests paying $60-70/person for the party, 99.99% (probably a low estimate) of whom have no idea that the actor-dog who previously played the part passed away? Should entertainment quality for tens of thousands of paying guests really be sacrificed to pay tribute to a dog?
We all love Walt Disney World, but let’s be reasonable: this is nothing more than a calculated business decision. It’s one less performer to pay that guests may not notice, with a superficially benevolent justification as to why it’s being done. The problem is that it doesn’t hold up to any kind of scrutiny, and is inconsistent with past precedent.
This certainly isn’t how Disney “honored” Michael Jackson (Captain EO was brought back to pay tribute), Robin Williams (the Genie remained prominent in Aladdin the Musical), or that friend of Gaston (continues doing in-park meet & greets) when each of them passed, because that style of honoring them wasn’t the best business move. If this were truly about honoring the dog, why not have the new dog wear a ribbon on its collar to pay tribute?
After the first parade, it was time for the always-enjoyable HalloWishes fireworks. It was crazy to see just how many people left the Halloween Party after the first parade, and there was a ton of empty space back in Town Square where we watched the fireworks (towards the hub was more crowded, I heard). I get that a lot of kids can’t last until midnight, but if I were paying $200+ for a family of 4 to attend the party, I’d want to make darn sure the kids were rested and could last more than 2.5 hours of the party. To each their own, I guess. I also don’t light my cigars with $100 bills (only fifties).
Following the fireworks, we normally would have thought about getting a spot for the second parade, but our good friend Chris Evans swooped in like a true hero, and agreed to save our spot while we got more character photos. Sarah claims this wasn’t actually Chris Evans, but instead our friend Mark Willard, but I watch 3 hours of TMZ per day. I think I know what Chris Evans looks like. (Although that might explain why the autograph on my forehead simply said “Mark,” but I thought it was some sort of getting into character bit, like Tom Jane getting ready for Homeless Dad.)
In any case, we raced back to Fantasyland, where Pooh and Friends were meeting in Halloween costumes. We’ve done this meet and greet a few times, but not for several years, and not since they started meeting together. The line was flying, and we were pretty shocked by this. Then, we got to the front and realized it was because they would only take one photo, of your entire group.
I’m all for speeding up high-demand meet & greets, but we would have gladly waited twice as long if it meant having a bit of an actual experience at the meet & greet. There has to be a happy medium between a 5-minute encounter with multiple cameras and phones, and standing in front of the characters without any interaction as if they are a background prop before quickly being pushed through. I’m hoping this isn’t the norm at this spot, or at least isn’t the norm when there are little kids who start interacting with the characters (the groups in front of us that we observed were all teens and adults). For us, it was fine because all we really wanted was an updated photo.
Following this, we went to Mickey’s Meet & Greet in Town Square. We’ve done this several times in this location, but somehow, not since they started doing it with talking Mickey. The technology for this isn’t totally there, but this still sort of blew my mind. The interactions were sufficiently fluid for it to be believable for kids young-enough to think Mickey is real in the first place, and it was flat out cool.
This is probably old news for most of you (and I’m still not quite sure how we’ve managed to miss it), but we were both very impressed. In watching the reactions of both kids and adults, it seemed to me like this is one of those experiences that alone probably makes the trip worth it for a lot of families. I’m not a parent, so I cannot even fathom the idea of my kid having a conversation with Mickey Mouse, but I’m betting it would be one of those ‘fighting to hold back the tears’ moments. As for us, Mickey greeted us with konnichiwa and told us he had a place out in Toontown when we told him where we lived, both of which were good situational engagements, I thought.
We’ll cover the new Hocus Pocus Villain Spelltacular and my overall feelings about the party on page 2…
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Thank you so much for posting this! I went to the WDW halloween party waaaay back in 2007 with my mom and a friend. We had a blast! Admittedly, we did not do as much as you did, but at the time we had no idea what things there were to do, we just went with it! Maybe next year I can drag them back to the party to show them how much amazing extras we missed!
PS, Haunted mansion haloween cast memebers MADE our trip, they were incredible, I am so glad other people like them too!
That’s too bad about the dog, and while I will miss having that part of the parade, it doesn’t seem that horrible to me that they cut that part. If they had cut the gravediggers….. that would have been a different story! And after our first party not heeding your advice (shame on me!), I now know to always pick a costume that breathes. It might not seem that warm, but once you’re packed in with all those people, it really does get very hot! Do you know if the Hocus Pocus show will continue for future years? This is our first year in many that we’re not going to make it down there for a party, and it looks awesome!
My guess would be that the Hocus Pocus show will run for at least the next 5 years. Disney doesn’t develop a show that good only to replace it so quickly.
In reference to the dog, I wonder how recently he passed away? If it was something that happened suddenly, they may not have had time to train a new dog. This might not seem like such a big deal, but with the loud music, crowds, costume characters, parade floats, etc., it may not have been feasible to have a dog trained well enough not to be some kind of liability. I do (at least like to) think that Disney does have the comfort and safety of their animal cast members as well as the safety of their audience in mind. Though, really, it would have been a good idea to prepare a new dog (an understudy, I guess you could say) in case of a situation like this. Of course, all this is the rambling of someone who really doesn’t know what she’s talking about.
Also, I love your costumes!
That makes MUCH more sense, and is a totally plausible (and valid) justification. However, I know what multiple Boo to You performers were told was that it was “out of respect” to the dog’s memory. Maybe managers or whomever just thought that sounded better than “hey, we can’t train a new dog that quickly”? I’m not really sure.
Love the costumes and the review! We went to the first party – 9 of us dressed as Mousketeers. Not totally original I know but with 9 adults needed to all look cohesive there are only so many options. I felt that the party was insanely crowded…especially after going last year to one of the last parties before Halloween and feeling that we were some of the only people there from about 10pm on. And I agree with the new Castle Show being AMAZING! As a member of the “cult” who watches Hocus Pocus every year I honestly felt that the Sanderson sisters were Bette, Sarah Jessica and Kathy right from the movie! Such a great show!
Side question: do you have any plans to write a post on the changes to the passes? Or opinions? As an annual passholder almost every year since for the last 20 years, I wonder how these changes will affect things – or not.
I probably won’t do a post on the topic of the Annual Pass changes. The “Disney internet” spent the better part of a week complaining about everything already, and I don’t really have a ton to say on this topic.
I saw you two heading back towards the Castle after the second parade, was going to say hello but it was too crowded on Main St. We were the ones in the MagicBand costumes!
Awesome. Well…belated hello! 😉
Great article. I was wondering if there was a location you can recommend that I can save seat for both the first show and boo to you parade, while me son goes with my husband to do some character meet and greets. Thank you
There’s really no single location that is a good spot for both the parade and stage show. I’d just save a spot near Casey’s for the parade, and then rush to the stage after.
Now you’ve got me regretting our decision to skip MNSSHP in lieu of the Christmas Party.. Also, you hit the nail on the head regarding the “magic” of a child meeting Town Square Mickey. Our 4-year old is shy and hesitant around any other characters because they don’t talk – but his first time meeting Mickey he was 100% ecstatic and knew he was real, and loved being able to talk to him and pretend to be pirates with him. And you’re right – it made me tear up then, and even now, to think about it. Having a 4-year old who visits WDW regularly thanks to our APs and being Florida residents, I worry about him becoming jaded at a young age; but he literally jumped with joy and excitement to meet Mickey and that’s where I see that he will always have the “magic.”
I assume 4 years old is about the “sweet spot” for being able to engage Mickey, but not being too old to think it’s all fake. Once you get into 6 year old territory, most kids probably understand it’s a costume…right?
Yep, 6-7 is about when our daughter figured our they were all fake. 🙁 Our motto is “It’s as real as you want it to be” – role playing can be fun, too.
Hocus Pocus is showing on TV this year (ABC, I assume), so set the DVR (we have – I’ve never seen it).
We were at the non-sold-out party 10/12 and it seemed packed. We couldn’t find a decent parade spot anywhere ~30 minutes prior. Although we did do well for the second parade. It did seem to clear out a surprising amount after the parade – we were nearly alone atop the Main Street rise for Celebrate the Magic and Wishes.
I did not notice the dog missing (this was only our second year seeing the parade), but I do remember loving that touch last year. That aside, my only real complaint would be that most of the characters are only out until 10:30-11:00. It would be nice to get to meet a few after the second parade.
I always like reading about your time at the Halloween party and all the new and interesting things going on. Love the costumes! Also, talking Mickey sounds interesting, I’ll have to google to see if I can find video of how he sounds. We were suppose to be going to WDW and the Halloween party in September of next year, but we decided to move to Texas instead (wompwompwomp). We’ll eventually get there though. 🙂
Moving to Texas instead of going to WDW? That sounds like one big mistake! 😉
I’ve just realised that reading this through Feedly means I miss the second page, if you hadn’t put the note on the bottom of the first page I wouldn’t have known it was there.
Mickey talks?!?! When did that happen?? Have you written a blog on it? Does it work ? Mickey ACTUALLY talks??!!???? We were last there in Oct 2013 when children were 7,5 & 1 when he definitely didn’t talk. We are going back in April 2016. My older children have already explained to now my 3 year old that Mickey has to save his voice for the shows so will not speak when we meet him. I’m not sure who will be more blown away – me or them!!! He actually talks??!!??
Not only does Mickey talk, but he has for the last couple of years. Town Square Mickey, that is. We don’t have a dedicated post about it, but might try to incorporate it into something!
And…Mickey will talk in Spanish as well as the guide always asks where the group is from before then tells mickey.
Pretty neat IMO
We are headed down in a few days to do Disney and MNSSHP. I’m SO EXCITED. More so than my children! I am a HUGE Hocus Pocus fan. I’ve watched it every year for years and years and can remember renting it at Blockbuster on VHS when it came out! 🙂 I’m thrilled about the show!
This makes me miss Disney World so much and gets me excited to maybe go during Halloween during out next visit from the West Coast. Love all the photos and your costumes were perfect. When will you be attending the Disneyland, Mickey’s Halloween Party? I am anxious to hear your tips and tricks on that party before we attend on October 25th. Thanks for all your work on the blog.
I was planning on doing Mickey’s Halloween Party, but when I went to purchase tickets the other night, the rest of the year was sold out! I could not believe it. Oh well…next year, I guess.
Oh shoot!! I was relying on some good tips and tricks from you … hahaha. Okay well then I will have to report back with my own input after we attend.
Thanks for the report and the great pics Tom! Looks like you guys are having a ton of fun! (regardless of other Debbie Downers may suggest!)
Fall and Halloween is fast becoming my favorite time to vacation at the Disney Parks and these pictures showcase why.
Love the Headless Horseman distance shot too.
Christmas is still my favorite time, but fall is a close second!
We attended the first party of this year, it was sold out and packed. We first waited in line to meet Alice and the Mad Hatter (and were disappointed to find out that the White Rabbit and Red Queen were not meeting with them as one group this year) for over an hour (Our family costume theme was Alice in Wonderland characters, so this was our must do). Since we had lots of time to observe the line, we determined this long wait was in part due to the 30 minute (!) breaks the characters took between 45 minute sets, and the amount of chatting these two particular face characters like to do. We encountered similarly long lines at Cruella (over an hour according to the CM when I walked up and asked, so we skipped it) and Donald, Daisy, and Minnie (we waited another hour for this one, too). I have to wonder how the Pooh and friends line went that night (we didn’t get to meet them) and if the “rule” you encountered was put in place after the first couple of parties (I don’t think a single picture with little interaction is a solution though!). We spent the large majority of our party night waiting in a line.
Something definitely needs to be done to move the line along, but what we experienced seems like an overreaction to the long lines. With these high-demand characters, Disney really needs a policy for both the performers and character attendants to keep things moving, but not in such a way that guests feel like they are pushed through like it’s a photo assembly-line, of sorts.
I love that picture of you guys in front of the castle with an empty Main Street. The costumes, the decorations, the lights… It just all comes together so nicely. Thanks for the party report. No MNSSHP for us this year, but we’ll be back next year!
Thanks! We really like that photo, too! 🙂
I have to say that I’m glad that you dressed up in kimonos, and not as Japanese people/’geishas’. It’s nice to see people appreciating culture, and not mocking it instead.
It would’ve been nice to do something even more culturally authentic and worn the type of set you might have at a ryokan, but we wanted to at least have a bit of fun with it. Our Japanese followers on Twitter and Instagram seemed to approve! 🙂
FWIW if you’ve got a passing knowledge of Japanese culture you recognize that those aren’t PJs. And they do look comfortable.
Do you ever, just…maybe…have fun?
Literally every comment you’ve left on this blog is in some way disparaging or negative. Reading a blog you clearly don’t enjoy…perhaps the pot calling the kettle black?
One of the things that I like about your site is that you guys always seem to be having fun. I think that is sometimes hard to do with the weather/heat, crowds, getting around etc. Keep up the good work. There’s always haters.
We also attended the Halloween party on October 6. This was our first and we really enjoyed it. We rode the Haunted Mansion while we were there, but the rest of the time was spent trick-or-treating and watching the parade.
So jealous! Did the Halloween party last year and loved it but the addition of the Hocus Pocus Villain Spelltacular this year sounds incredible. I didn’t know you could wear pajamas to the party, that’s a great convenience considering how late it is when you get back to your hotel (sorry. just kidding!).
Makes it even easier to take a nap in Hall of Presidents! 😉
I so enjoyed the photos! We were in Disney last year during Halloween season, but couldn’t justify tickets for the six of us, maybe one day! Anyway, just throwing in my two cents about the Town Square Mickey. We visited with him on my son’s 7th birthday, and “magical” just isn’t a magical enough word to describe it, you know? I definitely had tears and watching it now, I still tear up. It was amazing. However, as soon as we walked away, he piped up, “That talking Mickey robot was weird.” It doesn’t even rank in his Top 10 from the trip. Really?!?!?
I’ve heard that from parents about the talking Mickey. I think it depends upon whether the kids know Mickey is real in the first place. As for adults, we probably envisage how kids ‘ought to’ react to it, and in so doing probably make it more impressive in our heads.