2018 Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party Tips
Halloween Party Plan of Attack
We have refined this strategy guide based on our experiences of attending the party every year before for the past several years, and has been updated following our experience at last year’s Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party.
The tips here are pretty consistent from year to year and we’ve honed our strategy over several years, so don’t expect many changes. This is nothing scientific, just some “real world” tips from frequent visitors to Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party.
Also, this guide does not include every character at Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party. You’re going to have to make some “difficult” decisions when it comes meet & greets, because you can’t do them all. As such, we skip anyone who can be met during a normal day in Magic Kingdom.
Ready? Make sure to be in Magic Kingdom with your costume on and grab a quick pic in front of Cinderella Castle before it gets dark, and be ready to head to the first spot on our Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party touring plan pretty early…
Line Up For First Characters – The party officially starts at 7 pm, and invariably, lines start forming before the party starts. Additionally, 2 sets of characters start meeting prior to the official start time: the Seven Dwarfs and Jack & Sally. The Seven Dwarfs now meet in the tent at Storybook Circus during Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party (without Snow White). Their line is going to be long for the entire party.
Jack Skellington and Sally meet in Liberty Square starting at 5 p.m., so line up for them by 4:30 p.m. for them (you’ll need a party wristband). The Seven Dwarfs typically start meeting prior to 6:30 p.m., so you could feasibly do the Jack & Sally meet & greet and immediately line up for the dwarfs. This is the most sound strategy unless you want to wait until the end of the party.
If this sounds like a lot of time to spend in line and you only want to do one of the two, we’d recommend the Dwarfs. Not only are they a ‘bigger’ meet & greet, but their location also makes it easy to jump to other popular/semi-popular meet & greets afterward. Plus, while in line for the Seven Dwarfs, you may see other characters roaming the area.
The Tweedles/Queen of Hearts – Replacing The Witch as the third most popular character of the Halloween Parties is the Tweedles and Queen of Hearts. This crew can have a line that exceeds an hour, so doing it early is not a bad strategy.
Other villains (Gaston, Jafar, Tremaines, etc.) can all be found during daytime hours, so don’t bother with them. The big problem is that this group may already have a prohibitively long line by the time you’re done with Seven Dwarfs, in which case you should wait until after 11 pm to meet here.
Pooh Characters – If you start with the Dwarfs, it’s easy to then bounce over to the Pooh line by the Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh in Fantasyland. This is one of the most popular meet & greets at Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party.
All four meet together, and they only take one photo per guest. It felt less like a meet & greet and more like a “photo assembly line.” On the plus side, the wait wasn’t nearly as long as it has been in the past.
Boo To You Parade – By now, it’s probably about time for getting a Boo To You Parade spot. There are two showings of this parade, and the second is always far less crowded. Get spots at least 30 minutes early for the first parade (much earlier if it’s a busy night). If you do elect to just go with the second parade, you may end up kicking yourself, because this is one of the best parades Disney does. We always watch the early parade AND the late parade.
You obviously can’t do this if you skip the early parade, so plan wisely. If you’re really into meeting characters, it’s difficult to meet all of the characters, watch the fireworks, do Hocus Pocus Villain Spelltacular, AND watch both parades. If character meet and greets aren’t that important to you, we recommend watching the early parade so you at least have the ability to watch it again if you really enjoy it.
Given the excellent lighting and ambiance on Main Street, we consider this the best place to view the parade (which steps off in Frontierland). It’s also the most crowded spot. The Headless Horseman comes first, followed by the rest of the Parade much later (especially to Main Street).
Following the horse, the parade takes a long time to come–almost twenty minutes later. The Boo To You Parade is awesome. The performers in this parade are amazing: the caretaker “shovel band,” the Haunted Mansion dancers, the Headless Horseman, the Haunted Mansion caretaker—I’m probably forgetting someone—all were excellent. They absolutely made the parade.
I now think the key to any successful parade is: headless people, scrapping shovels on the ground, proclamations of it being “good to be bad,” chickens ‘bawking’ to the beat, and the Country Bears rocking out. Any parade organizers out there reading this, you can thank me later for my solid advice.
HalloWishes – HalloWishes is the fireworks spectacular shown only during Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Parties (click here for photos of the fireworks). It runs only once per night, and is not to be missed. If you view the first Boo to You parade from Main Street, about the time it’s over you can go watch the Hocus Pocus Villains Spelltacular and then, it would be a good time for you to pick a viewing location for HalloWishes.
This show does have perimeter bursts, and Castle projections, so a location on Main Street USA or near Casey’s and the Ice Cream parlor are good options. Don’t get too close to the Castle, or you won’t be able to see all of the bursts!
While the Boo to You parade exceeds the Christmas parade, HalloWishes does not trump Holiday Wishes! Not even close. Maybe from a pure pyrotechnics perspective, but the show elements of Holiday Wishes are far superior. Can’t beat that “Oh Christmas Tree” portion, the wonderful score in general, and the neat juxtaposition of the bursts with various dialogue, sound effects, and the score.
Catch Hocus Pocus Villain Spelltacular After HalloWishes – Hocus Pocus Villain Spelltacular is absolutely not to be missed. The third showing of Hocus Pocus Villain Spelltacular is shortly after HalloWishes on the Castle forecourt stage, which is just before the second Boo to You Parade. By hitting HalloWishes-Hocus Pocus Villain Spelltacular-Boo to You like this, you don’t run all over the park wasting time.
It will show hosted by the mischievous Sanderson Sisters from Disney’s “Hocus Pocus” who return to the mortal world for one night during the Halloween season. The three sisters decide to use their magic to throw the best, evil Halloween party this side of the graveyard, featuring Dr. Facilier, Oogie Boogie, Maleficent and other Disney villains, plus dancers, projections, and special effects. Unfortunately, the villains will not do meet & greets after the show (which is fine by us since this was so chaotic), so you’ll want to find them throughout the park instead.
Our strategy for Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party is going to be devoting the middle chunk to entertainment in the following manner:
- Boo to You Parade (9:15 pm)
- HalloWishes (10:15 pm)
- Hocus Pocus Villains Spectacular (10:45 pm)
- Boo to You Parade (11:15 pm)
- Hocus Pocus Villains Spectacular (midnight)
*Note that this schedule is based on earlier party dates and can change for later ones as sunset occurs earlier.
By following this plan, we double up on both the parade and the stage show, but the parade is awesome and I always see it twice. As for Hocus Pocus, you’ll have a pretty poor view of the first show (since you’ll be arriving late with this plan), so you might just want to stick to the later showing. You can arrive to the second Hocus Pocus right as the party ends, effectively extending your night by a bit.
This basically leaves time for character meet & greets at the beginning and near the end of the party. I don’t recommend this strategy for everyone, but as we have already met most characters, it will work well for us. With that said, this should demonstrate why we don’t recommend doing regular attractions during the Halloween Party. You won’t have the time to do it all!
The following advice is going to assume that you do Boo to You (1st), then the 10:45 p.m. Hocus Pocus show, and then watch HalloWishes…
Donald & Daisy and Minnie – Meeting back by New Fantasyland’s Storybook Circus, Donald & Daisy, and Minnie Mouse wear special Halloween costumes for Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party. That, plus their relatively short waits later in the evening make them an absolute must-do.
Characters at Dance Parties – This tip used to include free-roaming characters (such as the Country Bears), but we didn’t see them last year, and we haven’t heard of them being out this year. If you do see free-roaming characters, go interact with them! They typically don’t get very long waits no matter when you go and they are, and can be tons of fun. As for dance parties, there’s the Monstrous Scream-O-Ween Ball dance party on the Rockettower Plaza Stage in Tomorrowland; expect to be able to dance (and scream) with Monsters, Inc. characters there. In Frontierland, there’s also a dance party.
Now is also a good time for the characters over in Adventureland. You should have plenty of time to play around with King Louie and Tarzan over here, as there shouldn’t be any lines–this makes for great interactions.
On our recent visit, whomever was friends with King Louie that evening had some rhythm. I’ve never seen a primate moonwalk quite like that. I guess those big ape-feet are good for something! Tarzan and Terk are just as much fun and should have just as short of a wait. In our experiences, Tarzan is “unintentionally” hilarious. He’s a lot of fun, so definitely take the time to interact with him, and not just pose with him for photos. If you need ideas for interacting, read our Disney Character Meet & Greet Tips.
If meeting with characters and having some fun are more important than just getting cool pictures of them, then these locations in Adventureland and Frontierland are the hidden gems of the parties. At both Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party and Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party, we’ve had a blast having extended interactions with the characters. This is the case because later in the evening, these characters typically have shorter lines. You won’t get that kind of interaction from the “big” characters who have huge lines!
Jack Sparrow – Captain Jack Sparrow isn’t lumped in with the above because he’s not “less popular.” He usually meets outside Pirates of the Caribbean, and his waits can be fairly long. At this point in the night, they shouldn’t be too bad, though. Since you’re in the area, check his line. If the wait is long, check back after the second Boo To You Parade.
Second Boo To You Parade – If you’ve already seen the first parade from Main Street, watch the second parade from wherever, if you watch it at all. If you find yourself with free time 15 minutes before the parade steps off, head to Frontierland. Main Street is our favorite place for viewing the parade, but unless you didn’t get all of the photos you wanted during the first parade, you definitely don’t want to head to Main Street and wait for it to come all the way to you again.
Main Street Theater Mickey Mouse Meet & Greet – After 11 pm is the best time to visit Mickey Mouse. I’m not sure when his line gets cut, but it’s not early. If you can’t do this at the very end of the party, do it as early or as late as possible, but not immediately after a parade. Your mileage may vary on this one, but we still recommend going towards the end of the Halloween Party.
Princess Fairytale Hall – Depending upon how busy the party is, you might not have time for this. We’re not sure when this line will be cut, but we expect it to see long lines throughout the party, especially as 75% of children go to the party dressed as Frozen characters and want photos with the characters in-costume.
Our tip: to avoid this problem, dress your kids in Frozen costumes on a normal day visit to the Magic Kingdom and meet Anna and Elsa then, and do different costumes during the Halloween party. You really can’t go wrong with a Big Bad Wolf costume! 😉
Miscellaneous Halloween Party ‘Things’
In addition to things that we think are best accomplished on a set schedule, there are other offerings during the Halloween Party of which you might want to take advantage…
Haunted Mansion – This is the only attraction we recommend doing during the Halloween Party, and the big reason is Madame Carlotta and Madame Rinata who sit on the lawn of the Haunted Mansion entertaining guests in line. Also, there is a special PhotoPass opportunity here with the Hitchhiking Ghosts. (Pro tip: go through the exit and watch the performers for a bit and skip the ride.)
Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom Card – This is not something about which we care, but if you want the exclusive Halloween Party Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom card, go as late as possible to the Fire Station.
The line is pretty long for this throughout the entire night, but dies down as the evening wears on. Another alternative would be to go while one person holds spots for the parade if you view it from Main Street.
Merchandise – In addition to the normal Halloween merchandise available, there is special Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party merchandise that can only be purchased during the party.
This year, that includes LE pins, LE MagicBands, shirts, and more.
Food – We advised eating before, not during, the party, but that applies to full meals. The only thing you might want to eat again once the party starts is some of the Special Magic Kingdom Halloween Snacks, some of which are exclusive to the party.
While we also manage to spot an above-average number of “free roaming” characters during Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party, that number seems to be decreasing with each year.
My biggest complaint, and this is entirely personal to me, is that the Country Bears are not out like they are for Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party. Then again, I think the Country Bears should always be out. Those bears rock. I think they should actually make of subset of Frontierland and coin it “Bearland.”
Review & Conclusion
Overall, Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party is a great event that every guest should experience at least once if money allows. It’s especially great for character meetings, the Boo To You Parade, and the HalloWishes Fireworks.
There is enough on the schedule that you need to have a good strategy to accomplish everything, and there is plenty to do during the Halloween Party to keep you entertained–enough that you might want to forgo doing any attractions and finding another day in the Magic Kingdom for those. Realistically, the above plan is a little overly-ambitious unless you race from character to character.
Just remember to use this as a rough guide, and if you encounter a line that is super long, go against our advice. Additionally, meet & greet start times are subject to change, and may not start on time (particularly those that start before the party officially starts). Improvise on the fly! You wouldn’t drive your car into a lake at your GPS’s insistence, would you?!
When we do Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party, we always leave plenty of things undone. You simply cannot do it all. This is especially true if you have youngsters who may want to trick or treat, which does take some time.
We skip trick or treating entirely–if we liked candy, we could buy it at home far cheaper than the $70+ our tickets cost. It’s not just the unique parade, fireworks, and rare character meet and greets that make this party special. There is an excitement in the air (maybe it’s all that sugar) and the guest costumes really liven things up.
On top of that, the Magic Kingdom gets decked out for the party, with cool decorations, an excellent lighting package, and even different background music. It’s these little details that make the party worth the money for us. If these photos have whetted your appetite, visit our Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party Photo Page!
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Your Thoughts…
Have you attended Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party? Do you think it’s worth the money? What’s your own “can’t miss” thing to do during Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party? Share your thoughts on these questions, or anything else, in the comments!
As someone that has visited WDW multiple times over multiple years, I’ve never been to the Party. We opted to go as part of our big fall family trip and we actually went on Halloween, so I think I saw the crowds at their possible peak in the past??? Maybe not as it was a school night, so many of the locals may not have attended???
Here is my review, very quick.
Four out of Five Stars.
I’d do it again next year, but would opt for an “off” night, not the night of Halloween itself, we sort of fell into that based on our plans and travel schedule.
Here is what I have to say and we had 12 total family members, including an awesomely well behaved and well rested 2 year old and a trooper of a 75 year old.
Early, Early, Early. We planned for this, but did not accomplish this based on unforeseen events with a check in issue (Dolphin Resort). Thanks Marriott…
Expectations, expectations, expectations… I set the bar at about a 5 out of 10 for this night and we exceeded them. Road many of the Fantasy Land Rides with little or limited wait, got photo with Halloween Mickey at 7pm and saw parade. I (we) even got to eat a Smash Burger, which is actually worth the hype, IMO. Watched the Fireworks from Cosmic Rays and although the audio was low, visual was great, which we wanted with a little one. Great service, very clean, perfect sit down without crowds. It’s about expectations.
The parade was great! Caught the 2nd one. Waited on Main Street for about 20 min prior, well worth it.
We made it into Tomorrow Land, Fantasy Land and obviously Main Street that night.
We DID NOT attempt to traverse to the other side of the park. Only negative was I did not get to do Haunted Mansion on Halloween, but its all about your own expectations and how reasonable they are.
Didn’t see the Hocus show, but caught glimpses of it as we walked around, looked (sounded) awesome. Our party was not too interested in that… more on rides and any characters we could catch.
Our young one loved the dance party in Tomorrow Land. Great opp for us to trade off watching while others used restroom and some did Space Mountain. Its a good event to use a a food or bathroom break. No real “true” photo ops, but well worth the 30 min we spent there.
Crowds were what I expected as I’d compare them to about a 7.5 on a 10 scale, but with most seeking photo ops and other extras, our goals were met, even though we arrived “late” to the party, missing the 4pm entrance for guests and getting in at about 7;00pm.
I found this site to be very helpful in my prep, which started months ago, so I’ll look here for Xmas info too.
We would like to know how Disney distinguished between the people that bought tickets to Mickeys Halloween Party and the people already in the park??? We paid $232 for 2 tickets AFTER paying for our regular park tickets and could have not paid for the party and still participated. Definetly got ripped off and didn’t do anything different or get anything for our money.
The party and your reg park tix are two different things.
We had both on the same night and did NOT use a park tix to enter the Party.
We had a hard tix to enter the party, which we presented upon arrival.
You need to check your purchases for tix and see what was used.
The party admin and the park admin are two different things. I had a four day hopper and a party tix and I arrived at 7:00pm and only used the party tix.
IF your reg admin tix was “charged”, you’ll need to identify the time it was and if it was prior to 4:00pm EST, you may have an issue.
Also, with the party and the WDW Marathon, computer systems are running like crazy so you may want to give it a few days before attempting to make confirmation.
Super dumb question but how do you tell Madame Carlotta and Madam Renata apart? I got to listen to stories up close during a little rain shower and I could have sworn she said she was Renata but all of the photo evidence points to Carlotta. Ha. It was the exact same ‘friend’ that is in your photo.
Thank you!
I want to make sure I am understanding this correctly . If I buy a regular park ticket can I use that at Epcot during the day and then go to Magic Kingdom at 4 PM with my party ticket?
Hi,
I have tickets to the Halloween party for Friday, October 26. I also have a 6:25 dinner reservation at Be Our Guest. Do you think I should cancel my dinner reservation?
My fiance and I spent 230 dollars for our tickets. Given this high amount, I wonder whether spending 90 minutes at a restaurant is the best use of our time, even if it is at Be Our Guest.
Thanks!
This comes down to a personal choice but I would if you are interested in seeing the park and rides. Why not eat somewhere nice outside of the party hours on another day? You only have 8 hours (assuming you enter right at 4pm).
Thanks for the advice. I am leaning towards agreeing with you.
We will actually have well over eight hours at the park since our day will also be spent at Magic Kingdom. I realize this isn’t ideal, but it was our only option.
Still, we want to try to experience as much as the party as we can since it is our first time.
If you are at the park already earlier in the day…try booking breakfast or lunch at Be Our Guest restaurant for those meal times …then for dinner do one of the quick restaurants – we ate at Cosmic Rays on our Halloween night 6:30pm – right between park closing for regular park guests and official start time to Halloween Party – believe me there is so much fun to be had at the Party!!! Have fun!!!
i would cancel you will miss so much and its dinner what i did was eat a lunch 2;30-3;00 remember you can get into the park as early as 4 and there are so many treats that are only offered on halloween party times.
Question…is the parade during day before the Halloween party starts similar to the special Halloween one?
We are going on a day that is not offering the Halloween party. We are undecided if it would be worth going a different day to see the parade. I hate to spend an additional $500 just to see the Halloween parade if it’s similar to the normal one in October.
My kids are older and could really careless for the trick or treating and dance.
“Question…is the parade during day before the Halloween party starts similar to the special Halloween one?”
No, they are totally different. There is no daytime Halloween parade.
We went August 28th – with intentions of no trick or treating for our older kids either…but one stop changed all that and became the highlight of the night …a friendly competition as to who received the most M & M Caramels – a flavor we don’t see here in Canada LOL….The two parades ARE very different and Halloween Boo to you Parade is a must see! Keep in mind – fireworks AND the Hocus Pocus show too are for those older kids..Add in Pirates of Caribbean with real characters and Haunted Mansion – a perfect fit to the occasion worth the money? YES!
I heard upon leaving there are buckets of candy by the exit. Is this true? If so, it may prevent us from trick or treating if we just get candy at the end anyways?
Taking my daughter for her 10th birthday, wondering if the Halloween party is worth it in terms of less crowds? We will only be there for 2 quick days and don’t really want to leave the park at 6pm. In people’s experiences, is the crowd a lot less for those staying for the Halloween party? She will mostly just want to ride the rides…hoping for short waits on the fun rides! thanks for the info
If you go once school is back in (across the country) and on a Sunday or week night it will be worth it.
We went to the August 28th (Tues) party and it was ungodly hot, and poured the first two hours of the party. I thought it would be less crowded because local schools had already gone back but I was wrong. It was crowded. I think now that school is back nationwide the crowds will be much smaller (as long as you don’t go the week of Halloween).
I have an 11 and 5 year old and they loved it, despite the crowds, heat and rain.
If the weather has cooled off it’s a must do. They crowds will definitely disappear by 7pm and you will not have to wait very long for anything.
Is the food included in the piece of the ticket, or do you have to pay for food when your there?
LOL, this is Disney, so no food is not included. The only thing included are Trick or Treat candy stations which open at 7pm the night of the party until closing (12am).
New for 2018 – DVC members and their guests can enter the Magic Kingdom at 2:00 pm for the Halloween party. I saw this announcement on the Disney Vacation Club site.
Hi! So just to clarify buying the premium dessert party ticket will give you no special seating for the Halloween parade? I only want to do the dessert party if it helps with the parade. My children are 1 and 3 and I will be with no other adults. So sitting down an hour before the parade starts is not an option for me. Any advice?
Going for 1st time to MNSSHP. Are there any restrictions regarding wearing face make up if you choose to dress up in a costume? Disney’s website just says no masks.
I don’t think so because there are pictures with adults and face paint. But I would always call (or bring something to wipe it off if you have to).
Totally confused. For either the Halloween or Christmas night do you need a park ticket or just the event night ticket?
You need a ticket to get into the party which officially starts at 7pm (but you can enter the park as early as 4pm with the party ticket).
If you want to get into the park before 4pm then you will need to buy a regular day time park ticket but if you do not have a party ticket you will be asked to leave the park by 6pm. They will give you a wristband for the party and the Cast members are setup at various pathways to start checking for the wristbands starting around 5-5:30ish. If do not have one you will be asked to leave the park. If you buy both the day and night ticket you will still have to go back to the park entrance and get your wristband (again you can pick it up as early as 4pm).
To be clear if you only plan on going to the party then that’s the only ticket you need to buy (for both Halloween or Christmas) to get into the Magic Kingdom. Again you can get into the Magic Kingdom after 4pm with just the party ticket.
But if you plan on going to the park when it opens on the day of the party (8am or 9am) you will need to buy a park ticket which will cover from opening until 6pm.
The party’s run from 7pm to midnight (but again you can get in as early as 4pm with just your party ticket). So essentially you can get 8 hours in the park with just the party ticket (4pm to midnight). If you feel 8 hours isn’t enough time then I suggest buying the day ticket (at regular price). Personally 8 hours is more than enough for me in the Magic Kingdom considering after the party starts the crowds are almost nonexistent especially if you pick a party night on a weekday far away from the actual holiday. I’ve gone to the last three Christmas parties on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving and by 7pm the wait time on all rides (outside of the Dwarfs) was never more than 15 minutes. By the end of the night Space Mountain is a 5 minute wait time. We always skipped the early parade and hit the rides we wanted to get on as soon as the early parade starts.
Also remember if you enter at 4pm you can use FastPass (with your Magic Band) up until 6pm.
We love this party so much that its become a yearly tradition. We love the character greets with the characters wearing the costumes. The parade is fantastic and I love the cameos during the parade of rare characters such as the Country Bears and Brers. The character greets, fireworks, and multiple showing of the parade are enough where I would skip any rides that do not have special Halloween overlays plus I would minimize time spent trick or treating.
Can you get fast passes during party hours?
No not during party hours. There are literally no lines for the rides during the party because the crowds are much lower.
THat was not my experience at all. We had thirty five minute waits. Couldn’t get near the shows. Long food lines. Long Trick or treat lines. Everything was ridiculously crowded. Disney obviously oversells. It was a Tuesday night… incredibly disappointed. We had far less people in the morning.
This might have already been asked, but if we get in line around 5:30 for the dwarfs, is it feasible to see them by 6:30? I don’t really want to wait over an hour to see characters. Our other option is to hop over and get in line around 11:40 as the 2nd parade is finishing up. Do you know when they cut the line for the dwarfs?
We are going to the Sunday night party on September 9th.
My experiences from late October visit: 5:30 was too late to see the Dwarfs by 6:30 but if the early Sept party doesnt sell out, you could get lucky.
Bring a Halloween bag to the party for trick or treating. The bag Disney provides is small and by the end of the night you will have a lot of candy.
Agreed. We filled a very large backpack with all the candy we got. My kids just kept emptying their small bags into my backpack. By the end of the night it weighed more than my 5 year old! 🙂
Hi Kelli, where can I also find this info? We’re going too for the first time and I’m feeling overwhelmed! lol
https://www.undercovertourist.com/blog/tips-mickeys-not-so-scary-halloween-party-with-kids/
This website posts a guide plus 2018 map
HI! Going for the first time this year. I have a BIG question though, before getting our tickets we want to also see the rest of the Magical Kingdom the day we’re going to the Mickey’s not so scary party. Is it worth buying the 2 separate tickets for?? I assume they actually restrict part of the park for the Mickey’s not so scary party? A reply asap would be so appreciated as I’d like to get our tickets today!!
Thank you!
Hey Wendy,
I’ve done both, and my view i that buying two separate tickets is not a waste. At the end of the day, it’s merely a matter of personal preference. No matter what you decide, I am sure you will have a blast.
Good luck!
Thanks, Zachary!
Also, to answer your second question about access to the park, your normal park ticket will give you complete access to the entire park. If you don’t have a ticket to the Halloween party, you’ll have to leave the park early (I think by 6:00 pm).
Hope this helps!
I’ve done the Christmas Party the last three years on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving and here’s what I observed…
First off, I guess if you want to relax and not rush through the Magic Kingdom it’s okay to pay extra for the “day” time hours but to me personally it’s a waste of money.
If you are diligent and make sure you enter the park at 4pm on the day of the party it stays open until midnight, which means you get 8 hours in the park. You can use FastPass the first two hours until 6pm and after that the park really does empty out which makes waiting in lines almost non existent. Also, if you’re going to the Halloween party remember it usually sells less tickets than the Christmas party which means the park will be even less crowded. If your party day is a weekday then it will be even LESS crowded!
The past 3 years we have made it on every ride we wanted to with no problem. We start in Frontierland and work our way around to Tomorrowland. By time we get to Space Mountain late in the evening the wait time is less than 10 minutes. My son and I rode Space Mountain back to back to back last year with no wait time!
Now if you plan on eating, stopping for parades/fireworks/shows then buying the day pass may be something you’ll want to consider but to me it’s a lot of money for one day in ONE park.
FYI they must’ve changed the normal times for this year. I just checked for when we go (Oct 28th 2018) and the hocus pocus spelltacular show is at 7:40pm, 8:35pm, 10:45pm, and 12:00am. Boo-to-you parade is at 9:15pm and 11:15pm. Lastly Hallowishes fireworks are at 10:15pm. I’m surprised at how late everything is starting this year. But I figured I would let you know as you mention wrong times for the shows and gave a basic plan of attack based on the old times, which wouldn’t work with the new times.
Hi Kelli, where can I also find this info? We’re going too for the first time and I’m feeling overwhelmed! lol
Hi just wondering if that’s the date you usually go ? My bday is the 27th so I’m thinking about going the 26th but I’m hearing Friday’s are to busy. What’s your experience ?