New Oogie Boogie Bash Halloween Party Coming to Disney California Adventure!
Disneyland Resort has announced a new event coming this September and October: Oogie Boogie Bash Halloween Party at Disney California Adventure park. This separate-ticket party will feature the new World of Color – ÂVillainous!, Frightfully Fun Parade, a Descendants dance party, Mickey Mouse stage show, mysterious walk-through, and more!
Oogie Boogie Bash — A Disney Halloween Party will take place on the evenings of September 17, 19, 22, 24, 26, 29, and October 1, 3, 6, 8, 10, 13, 15, 17, 20, 22, 24, 27, 29, and October 31, 2019. Tickets will go on sale April 23, 2019 for Disneyland Resort Annual Passholders, Disney Vacation Club members, and Disney Visa card holders, and on April 30, 2019 for the general public.
Tickets range in price from $100 to $145 depending upon date, and party tickets allow you to access Disney California Adventure Park for up to 4 hours before Oogie Boogie Bash — A Disney Halloween Party begins. Once the party starts, the event lasts for up to 5 hours, and includes a variety of Halloween-themed entertainment, attraction overlays, meet & greets, and other offerings, including the following highlights…
Here are some of the main entertainment offerings that Disney has announced thus far that will occur during Oogie Boogie Bash at Disney California Adventure:
- World of Color: Villainous! — The new version of World of Color that was rumored to debut last year (but couldn’t due to damage to the show) finally is being unveiled. World of Color: Villainous weaves a Halloween tale about a young girl named Shelley Marie. This twisted tale carries Shelley on an unforgettable journey, exploring the villainous side of Disney characters through fountains, lights, lasers, projections and special effects.
- Redwood Creek Challenge Trail — Transformed into a spooky and ethereal world of Disney villains, Redwood Creek will be tricked out in a dreamlike environment. This new experience unfolds in a series of scenes, each creating a hauntingly beautiful dream-space of color, sound, light and shadows, as stories emerge from the darkest night to create an enchanting world.
- Immersive Treat Trails — Enjoy trick-or-treating at the new treat trails throughout Disney California Adventure. Characters such as Mad Hatter from Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland and Oogie Boogie himself will surprise and delight. Additional treat trails will feature oversized cauldrons full of treats to enjoy.
- DescenDance — A new dance party in the Backlot of Hollywood Land that’s inspired by the Disney Channel “Descendants” franchise. DescenDance will feature a dance crew from the Isle of the Lost to throw down and lead everyone in moves that are set to hit songs from the “Descendants” films.
- Frightfully Fun Parade — The popular parade is coming to Disney California Adventure. Highlights include the Headless Horseman of Sleepy Hollow, Jack Skellington the Pumpkin King brings greetings from Halloweentown, Dr. Facilier, Grim grinning ghosts from the iconic Haunted Mansion attraction, and Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse plus a cavalcade of characters.
- Mickey’s Trick and Treat show — This new, interactive stage show invites kids of all ages to join Mickey Mouse and friends as they throw a one-of-a-kind Halloween party. Enjoy dancing, not-so-frightening scary-tales, and candy at the Disney Theater in Hollywood Land.
- Character Meet & Greets — Meet beloved Disney characters and villains in various Halloween-themed encounters.
What’s unclear at this point is whether all of the aforementioned highlights are exclusive to Oogie Boogie Bash — A Disney Halloween Party. If everything above is party exclusive, that’s a modestly impressive event lineup.
When rumored last year, it was assumed that World of Color: Villainous would run in lieu of the standard World of Color throughout the Halloween season, as has been the case with the Christmas versions of the show in the past.
However, that was before the Halloween Party moved over to DCA. If we’re going off of past Mickey’s Halloween Party precedent, the fireworks and parade have been party exclusives, with their regular counterparts running on non-party nights.
On the other hand, Mickey’s Halloween Party marketing materials regularly touted attraction overlays like Space Mountain Ghost Galaxy and Haunted Mansion Holiday as draws of the event, even though they operated during normal park hours.
If World of Color: Villainous is exclusive to Oogie Boogie Bash — A Disney Halloween Party, that alone will be all the motivation many locals need to purchase event tickets. In the last few years, Disneyland has had zero difficulties selling out Mickey’s Halloween Party at ever-increasing price points, and a special edition of World of Color would prove ample draw for the event at DCA.
Speaking of Mickey’s Halloween Party, while not specifically stated in the announcement, Oogie Boogie Bash — A Disney Halloween Party is almost certainly a replacement for that hard ticket event at Disneyland. In the commentary to our Ultimate Guide to Halloween at Disneyland, we’ve indicated that the goal for the last couple of years has been to beef up DCA’s Halloween offerings to make that the “Halloween park.”
The rationale for this has been to take some of the burden off of Disneyland, which has already struggled with crowds in October for the last two years. With Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge debuting this summer, Disneyland simply is not equipped to also host Mickey’s Halloween Party. At least, not without incredibly unpleasant results.
We know a lot of Disneyland fans are probably going to be disappointed by Oogie Boogie Bash replacing Mickey’s Halloween Party and the event moving to DCA. Many people were probably viewing the Halloween Party as a way to experience Star Wars Land with low crowds. Trust us–that wouldn’t have happened, and the event being relocated to Disney California Adventure is the best case scenario (aside from not doing it at all this year). Of course, many fans would’ve been even more disappointed by no Halloween event at all, and we’re among those who are eager to experience Oogie Boogie Bash — A Disney Halloween Party!
If you’re preparing for a Disneyland trip, check out our other planning posts, including how to save money on Disneyland tickets, our Disney packing tips, tips for booking a hotel (off-site or on-site), where to dine, and a number of other things, check out our comprehensive Disneyland Vacation Planning Guide!
Your Thoughts
What do you think about Oogie Boogie Bash — A Disney Halloween Party? Will you be attending? Think it’s a good or bad idea to move the Halloween Party over to DCA irrespective of whether you’re attending? Do you agree or disagree with our assessment? Any questions? 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!
Was surprised to hear about this! We love going to the Halloween party! Although this also sounds fun, it’s so much more expensive than Mickey’s Halloween Party!!!
Thank you for this post. It is very helpful in planning our upcoming trip. We are visiting DL for the first time ever with kids aged 7 and 5. We don’t have park hopper tickets and plan to do one park a day from Sept 23 to Sept 26th. We don’t have tickets to the Halloween party, hence would you recommend going to DCA the day of the party due to lower crowds during the day or should we stick with DL that day? Thanks for your insight and response.
I would say go to Disneyland. If you do not have tickets to Oogie Boogie, DCA closes to the public at some point prior to the start of the Bash. Because you do not have Park Hopper tickets you will not be getting your monies worth as you will have to leave the park by 5pm or 6pm.
I’m a little disappointed this moved over to DCA, but I kind of saw the writing on the wall with the rumors last year and with Star Wars opening this year. I do hope down the road as crowds level out they’ll be able to bring it back to Disneyland, or switch between years (to make sure we come back EVERY year, lol).
I think the World of Color show will be fantastic and I’m excited for that, but I’ll miss the fireworks, I also think Disneyland feel’s a little more “old” and classic and works well with a Halloween overlay. Hopefully they’ll still be adding some Halloween themes to Disneyland (I would love all the large pumpkins coming back, etc). I’m curious if Space Mountain will have the Halloween overlay still….
Is there any word yet on dining packages during the Halloween event? I know World of Color usually has a dessert party, have you heard of any promo material for a Halloween themed dessert party with reserved table seating for the Halloween show? What about for the parade, a dinner with reserved seating or standing location? I enjoyed the Blue Bayou dinner package with reserved parade viewing last year… even though the food menu wasn’t that much different (except for a Halloween themed dessert!) the location already feels perfect for Halloween time, I hope they’re able to do something over at DCA with dining and theme it a little toward Halloween.
Either way I’ve got my Disneyland hotel booked for Oct 19th to the 24th already, so two days to explore the Halloween event… unless you think I can get the parade and World of Color and any dining packages all in on one event, then I’ll spend the other day over at Star Wars with hopefully slightly reduced crowds.
It absolutely makes sense to move the party to DCA (no way were they going to have a crowd-limited event a few months after GE opens), but I’m still disappointed it happened. :p For me, spending up to 5 hours in DCA with reduced crowds doesn’t have the same appeal as doing the same in DL–I’m there for the atmospherics and shorter lines, more than the treat trails and character photo ops. Plus, no Cadaver Dans on the fog-enshrouded Rivers is a huge blow!
If you are a family with kids, the new venue and lineup should be fine–heck, I’m kind of curious about the retooled Redwood Creek Trail (and a villain’s WoC show sounds pretty cool)! But as an out-of-towner who’s flown down to do “theme park Halloween” the last few years, I’m going to give this one a pass. And I’m curious to see if tickets sell out as fast with the prices going up again, despite being held in a venue with fewer attractions, and the tickets not being park-hoppers this time.
I think we will try it, if we can get tickets. But I am also one of those weirdos who liked overlays.
I’m stoked for world of color’s return, too.
I am not really a Star Wars fan and wish they would have made the new land in a 3rd gate instead of ruining the rest of Disneyland park.
As much as we loved Mickey’s Halloween Party over at Disneyland we understand why the move was necessary and look forward to some new experiences! Can’t wait for October!!
The biggest draw for MHP for me and my mom was always the option to park hop with the party tickets-I see that they are giving party goer’s an additional 4 hours in DCA, but do you think that’ll also include DL? That might make it still “worth it” for the rest of the family (since I’m the only one with AP), since we can spend a few hours (even if they are crazy packed with Star Wars: GE and the Halloween overlays) in Disneyland. Even last year when our date was sold out for the party, the main park was so much emptier than the normal days, so being able to experience the lower crowd volume is a huge draw, no matter the park.
I am totally on board with this. I’ve really enjoyed them ramping up the Halloween offerings on DCA side over the past couple years, and I’m super excited to see what else they do with it.
We were planning on a Magic Kingdom trip the week of the 16th and will not be attending the Boogie Bash. Will Disneyland keep their regular hours now
that the party is at California Adventure?
So waaaaaay back in the day, DCA was the one that hosted the Halloween party. I LOVED it over there! The dance parties were held where Carthage’s circle is now and there were treat trails everywhere. This was before World of Color but I met much better rare characters. I have photos with Robin Hood and Prince John! There was a giant candy corn patch and it felt relaxed. Tickets were also just $39. I definitely got more than $39 worth of candy out of my evening. There were the photo ops with Princesses in front of Ariel’s Grotto, 2×2 and they swapped out every 30 minutes, so who was there when you joined e line might not be who you ended up with. It was just a ton of fun! I am excited about wider path ways and people turned off by the idea of it NOT being at Disneyland staying home. While yes, the party will likely sell out, the distribution of land at DCA will have it feel less crowded.
The Cadaver Dans still better make an appearance!
I would miss the Cadaver Dans if they did not make the transition. But if we got Mariachi Diablas (Mariachi Divas) instead, I would find that perfectly acceptable.
Well Mickey’s Halloween Party was the annual trip to Disneyland for my wife and I and our niece. DCA is not the same. This is really sad, that was our DLand experience for years, and now it’s no longer possible.
Won’t be paying for these prices to visit DCA, we go to ride the DLand rides and be in the main park in costume. It’s fun and it’s a shame they are ending this.
And you can’t blame SW land for this either – expanding the park’s internal space doesn’t make hosting an event impossible.
Gosh this is just terrible.
I think the blaming of SW land is more in regard to the 4 hours before. Disney is expecting the parks to be at capacity for some time after the opening of SW. With this being the case an event like the Halloween party will be negatively effected by the inability to enter the park before the party begins, as that is one of the selling points for the price.
THe article states you CAN get in to DCA 4 hours before the party starts…
What days are considered low attendance for the Oogie Boogie Bash — A Disney Halloween Party?
Every date is likely to sell out.
We’re planning on being at the parks on Sep 16-18, and had planned on DCA on the 17th. I’m assuming I should change that plan now since I likely won’t be attending the party? At WDW, I had hoppers, so I went to Magic Kingdom on a party day in the morning, and then hopped to another park in the afternoon. Would it be worth updating to a hopper here to do the same thing? Or should I just avoid DCA on a party day?
If I do decide to go to the party, what do you expect crowds to be like on the first party night?
“Would it be worth updating to a hopper here to do the same thing?”
Yes. In general, I’m a big fan of Park Hopper tickets at Disneyland since the parks are so close together. It’s much easier than at WDW, and you can strategically park hop.
“If I do decide to go to the party, what do you expect crowds to be like on the first party night?”
I’d expect it to be busy. Disneyland is rooted in SoCal culture, and a lot of locals will be itching to be among the first to see World of Color: Villainous. Ultimately, every single night will probably end up selling out, so it probably won’t matter much which night you were to go, but the first night will definitely be busy.
Does this mean no NBC overlay to Haunted Mansion?
No reason to suspect that the Mansion Holiday overlay will be discontinued. It runs for a nearly a third of the year, and was around long before the Halloween parties.
It’s notable that the DPB post doesn’t mention the pre-existing Halloween overlays of Mission Breakout and the Cars Land flat rides. I take that to suggest that everything listed in the post (most notably WoC Villainous) will be party-exclusive.
I think you’re probably right.
So, they are going to hard ticket DL to death like they have WDW. And the bloggers are all going to be onboard with it (of course all getting one or two nights of freebies to help sell the product).
Hey, Tom, remember how a Halloween event started at DCA in 2007 and was $19.99 a person? I do.
The Halloween party at Disney Paris is every night in October and there’s no extra cost, except on October 31st, which is a hard ticket event and cost 79$ US, entry starts 5pm to 2am.
Paris is the go!
For a real scare they should change Monsters Inc back to SuperStar Limo for the event
Well played–gave me a nice laugh. Although, as someone who “unfortunately” never got to experience Superstar Limo, I’d totally do it if I could. Just to see whether it’s really as terrible as everyone says.
Hi Tom,
Are you likely to check out the party this year? I have an October 1 ticket, but since it’s new (and I’ve never been to DL for Halloween season), I have no idea what to expect. Your blog has amazingly helpful for me and my family on our WDW visits!
I’m one of the, “sad it’s not on DL but understand why,” crowd. As a die hard Haunted Mansion fan it’s so strange to me not to have a Halloween party in the same park. I’ll be doing DL during the day, and CA that night, since the party tickets aren’t park hoppers.