2026 Oogie Boogie Bash Halloween Party Guide

Oogie Boogie Bash is a Disney Halloween Party in California Adventure (DCA) theme park at Disneyland Resort. This guide offers everything you need to know about the event: 2026 dates & prices, time-saving tips & tricks, character changes, parade info, and whether it’s worth doing.

In terms of basics, Oogie Boogie Bash – A Disney Halloween Party is a limited-capacity, separately ticketed event that adds family-friendly fun to DCA and is held in August, September and October 2026. This Halloween Party offers an opportunity to enjoy the park’s attractions, unique entertainment, villainous treat trails, the Frightfully Fun Parade, and more.

The first thing you need to know is that Oogie Boogie Bash – A Disney Halloween Party is incredibly popular. Tickets usually sell out fast once they go on sale, which fortunately for you, has not happened yet in 2026. If you want to be notified ASAP when 2026 Oogie Boogie Bash ticket sales dates are announced, subscribe to our FREE email newsletter for updates. Here’s everything you need to know about the event, updated based on our experiences attending Oogie Boogie Bash…

The good news is that Disneyland has started to release details about what this year’s Halloween season will entail (see our full Guide to Halloween at Disneyland Resort for everything beyond Oogie Boogie Bash). The seasonal event kicks off earlier than ever, on August 21, 2026. That’s only a day before it began last year, but way early as compared to the historical norm, which was the Friday after Labor Day.

Disney has also announced that the 2026 Oogie Boogie Bash (OBB) will once again begin before the rest of the Halloween Time festivities and fun. This trend started last year, and was a great move from our perspective. It’s a change we had implored Disneyland to make for years, due to the popularity of the party. Some fans who bemoan the early start of spook season, but with how quickly tickets have sold out for the last few years, more OBB dates were needed.

Oogie Boogie Bash – A Disney Halloween Party is starting in mid-August for the second consecutive year, with the first special event on August 18, 2026. The event will then be held 2-4 nights per week, starting slower at first since there’s less demand for Halloween in August before escalating in October 2026.

All told, the 2026 Oogie Boogie Bash will be held on a record 33 nights, which is 2 more dates than last year year. For those keeping score at home, that was also a record. The previous year, OBB was held 27 times, which was also a record at the time. Similar story the year before that.

The first Oogie Boogie Bash was back in 2019, and it started on September 17th and ran 20 nights. The 2026 Oogie Boogie Bash starts a full month earlier, adds 13 nights, and–spoiler alert–will still sell out every single date. Since the party began, it has sold out every single date. (In fact, I can’t recall the last time its predecessor, Mickey’s Halloween Party at Disneyland, didn’t sell out, either.)

Here’s a full list of dates for each night of the Oogie Boogie Bash – A Disney Halloween Party in August 2026:

  • August 18, 2026
  • August 20, 2026
  • August 23, 2026
  • August 25, 2026
  • August 27, 2026
  • August 30, 2026

Here’s a full list of dates for each night of the Oogie Boogie Bash – A Disney Halloween Party in September 2026:

  • September 1, 2026
  • September 3, 2026
  • September 6, 2026
  • September 8, 2026
  • September 10, 2026
  • September 13, 2026
  • September 15, 2026
  • September 17, 2026
  • September 20, 2026
  • September 22, 2026
  • September 24, 2026
  • September 27, 2026
  • September 29, 2026

September 2026 is the “big” month for Oogie Boogie Bash, with an additional 2 dates as compared to last year. Both of these are squeezed into the first week of the month, which is likely recognition on Disneyland’s part that the lead-up to Labor Day just isn’t that busy.

Oogie Boogie Bash – A Disney Halloween Party – October 2026 dates:

  • October 1, 2026
  • October 4, 2026
  • October 6, 2026
  • October 8, 2026
  • October 11, 2026
  • October 13, 2026
  • October 15, 2026
  • October 18, 2026
  • October 20, 2026
  • October 22, 2026
  • October 25, 2026
  • October 27, 2026
  • October 29, 2026
  • October 31, 2026

One additional date has been added in October 2026, with an extra party right before Halloween.

Disneyland has not released 2026 Oogie Boogie Bash ticket prices.

Last year, the price range for Oogie Boogie Bash tickets was $139 to $199, which was an increase of $5-10 as compared to the previous year. The recent cadence of price increases on the hard ticket events has been $5-10 one year, unchanged the next.

We’ve attended at least one Oogie Boogie Bash every year since the party began. If you want our recap of the experience, check out our Photo Report: How We Did Everything at Oogie Boogie Bash Halloween Party in One Night from last year’s event. That’s also a good secondary resource for first-time party planners; as the title suggests, it’s a step-by-step rundown of how we knocked out all of the entertainment in a single evening!

If want to plan for the 2026 Oogie Boogie Bash, here’s everything you need to know to attend and make the most of the Halloween party…

What’s New for 2026 Oogie Boogie Bash?

The biggest change from year to year of Oogie Boogie Bash is two new characters joining the Villains Treats Trails, replacing older or less popular ones, each year. We expect a repeat of that in 2026, but are hoping for a bit more.

Last year’s event was starting to feel a tad tired, sentiment we heard from fellow fans and felt ourselves. That’s problematic because Oogie Boogie Bash is a Halloween party aimed primarily at locals and repeat visitors.

Nevertheless, there’s a pretty good chance that all of the changes are on the character front. New meet & greets and perhaps parade performers are also logical candidates. It would be nice to finally have a new World of Color or an expanded parade.

Last year, the newcomers were Syndrome from The Incredibles, making his first-ever park appearance; Maleficent from Sleeping Beauty also returned after a few years’ absence. The year before that, it was Dr. Doofenshmirtz from Phineas & Ferb and Hades from Hercules.

One threshold question before delving into details is whether Oogie Boogie Bash is worth your money and vacation time. In Why You Should Skip the Oogie Boogie Bash Disney Halloween Party, we make the case against attending the event. Although that’s mostly aimed at locals and repeat visitors, some of the points apply to first-timers, too.

Suffice to say, you can have a lot of fun for “free” during Halloween Time at Disneyland. Honestly, the additions for last year’s Oogie Boogie Bash are the weakest we’ve ever seen since OBB debuted. The event really needs a shot in the arm for 2026 if Disney wants to keep attracting repeat visitors. And maybe they don’t! Oogie Boogie Bash is still fantastic if you’re a first-timer! It’s just lacking in freshness to keep fans coming back annually.

Oogie Boogie Bash Dates & Prices

For reference, below is a full list of last year’s date-by-date pricing. At most, prices will increase by $5 to $15 per night in August and September 2026.

  • August 17 – $139
  • August 19 – $139
  • August 21 – $154
  • August 24 – $154
  • August 26 – $139
  • August 28 – $154
  • August 31 – $154
  • September 2 – $139
  • September 9 – $139
  • September 11 – $154
  • September 14 – $169
  • September 16 – $139
  • September 18 – $154
  • September 21 – $169
  • September 23 – $154
  • September 25 – $169
  • September 28 – $169
  • September 30 – $154
  • October 2 – $169
  • October 5 – $179
  • October 7 – $169
  • October 9 – $179
  • October 12 – $179
  • October 14 – $169
  • October 16 – $179
  • October 19 – $179
  • October 21 – $169
  • October 23 – $179
  • October 26 – $189
  • October 28 – $189
  • October 31 – $199

We wouldn’t be surprised if Disneyland completely reset the price ceiling for dates in late October 2026. It’s possible the last few parties cost well over $200 per night, with October 31, 2026 potentially costing as much as $249. When Disney does opt to break the $200 psychological barrier, they’re going to blow through it.

As noted above, Oogie Boogie Bash sells out fast once tickets go on sale. If you’re reading this after that happens, you might still have some options. It’s possible that Disneyland might end up with more Oogie Boogie Bash tickets to sell as a result of a reseller crackdown or just ordinary cancellations. If this happens, the tickets will not be put back for sale on Disneyland.com.

If you’re reading this after the Oogie Boogie Bash Halloween Party is sold out online, note that it is sometimes possible to score last-minute or same-day tickets even when the party is sold out online by calling Disneyland at (714) 781-4636.

Guest Services at the three official Disneyland hotels occasionally have same-day tickets for guests staying at those resorts. Your luck may vary with this method, but it doesn’t hurt to try. (If you need regular park tickets, check out our Guide to Buying Discount Disneyland Tickets to save money.)

This is very hit or miss, so don’t bank on either working. In the past, we’ve had good luck and bad luck with both methods. Once, I bought a last-minute ticket on Craigslist, which I would never recommend to anyone else. I didn’t get scammed, but your mileage may vary with that. In the last couple of years, we haven’t heard of anyone successfully buying same-day tickets, so maybe those days are over.

If you’re dead-set on doing Oogie Boogie Bash and money is no issue, see the section on VIP Tours below. That is one pricey alternative that will usually get you access to the Halloween party, even long after regular event tickets have sold out. The likelihood of success is far higher with that than anything else covered here.

Oogie Boogie Bash Party Planning Basics

Purchasing special event admission to Oogie Boogie Bash allows you to enjoy Disney California Adventure for up to 3 hours before Oogie Boogie Bash — A Disney Halloween Party begins. The party itself runs for 5 hours, with special Halloween-themed entertainment, attractions, character greetings, and more.

Admission to the after-hours event also includes unlimited Disney PhotoPass digital photo downloads from the party. Oogie Boogie Bash tickets no longer include parking, which can be purchased in advance or upon arrival.

We recommend budgeting about 90 minutes for the time it’ll take to get parked, over to DCA, and through the turnstiles. There are lines for literally everything, from the parking garages to park trams to getting wristbands for the event. All of this waiting adds up and takes time–arrive early to ensure that doesn’t cut into the event time.

If you’re unable to attend Oogie Boogie Bash or are simply wondering how this special event compares with standard Disneyland and DCA park admission during the fall months, consult our Ultimate Guide to Halloween Time at Disneyland.

The good news is that there’s a ton of Halloween fun in both parks that is included with regular admission. In fact, if it comes down to visiting Disneyland during the day or doing Oogie Boogie Bash, we’d probably recommend the former. That way you’ll experience Haunted Mansion Holiday, Halloween Screams Fireworks, decorations, and characters throughout the park. In an ideal world, we’d recommend doing both Disneyland and Oogie Boogie Bash during the Halloween Time season.

Before we move on to the entertainment overview and recommendations, it’s worth mentioning that we have a step-by-step 1-Night Oogie Boogie Bash Halloween Party Plan. This covers our ideal efficient plan of attack–and it’s field tested, meaning that we did this ourselves when attending Oogie Boogie Bash most recently!

Oogie Boogie Bash Character Meets & Villain Treats

High profile meet & greets include Clarabelle, Daisy, and Minnie as the Sanderson Sisters from Hocus Pocus; Bruno from Encanto; King Mickey, Goofy and Donald Duck from Kingdom Hearts; Lotso from Toy Story 3; and Hercules.

For character strategy, see Villains Treat Trail Tips & Character Meet & Greet Spots at Oogie Boogie Bash Halloween Party. If you’re big on meet & greets, doing them in the “right” order (as discussed in that) can help save you a ton of time.

Below are the need to know locations throughout DCA during Oogie Boogie Bash – A Disney Halloween Party…

Here’s the Oogie Boogie Bash Treat Trail villain lineup and locations:

  • Agatha Harkness from WandaVision – Avengers Campus
  • Hades from Hercules – Hollywood Land
  • Dr. Doofenshmirtz from Phineas and Ferb – Hollywood Land Inside Disney Jr. Building
  • Oogie Boogie from Nightmare Before Christmas – Hollywood Land Inside Animation Building
  • Judge Doom from Who Framed Roger Rabbit – Grizzly Peak Near Soarin’
  • Ernesto de la Cruz from Coco – Avengers Campus Between Hyperion Theater and Mission Breakout
  • Syndrome from Incredibles – Pixar Pier
  • Maleficent from Sleeping Beauty – Grizzly Peak Bypass
  • Yokai from Big Hero 6 – San Fransokyo Square

Here’s the Oogie Boogie Bash character meet & greet lineup and locations (in order of popularity):

  • Daisy, Clarabelle & Minnie Mouse as the Sanderson Sisters from Hocus Pocus – Paradise Gardens Park (World of Color Viewing Area)
  • Megara, Pain and Panic from Hercules – Grizzly Peak
  • King Mickey, Goofy, and Donald Duck from Kingdom Hearts – Bountiful Valley Hideaway (behind Carthay Circle Theater)
  • Rare Characters – Carthay Circle
  • Marvel Super Heroes – Avengers Campus
  • Pixar Pals – Pixar Pier
  • Radiator Springs Residents – Cars Land

Oogie Boogie Bash Entertainment Info & Tips

The flagship entertainment during Oogie Boogie Bash is the Frightfully Fun Parade. This debuted during Mickey’s Halloween Party at Disneyland, and we really enjoy it. Frightfully Fun Parade is similar to Boo to You Parade at Walt Disney World, albeit it shorter and a tad darker.

Despite the shorter duration, Frightfully Fun Parade is very strong, and it does a ton with an economy of parade units and floats. What’s featured here is really good and has direct ties to Halloween. There are also some notable differences in the characters featured.

Frightfully Fun Parade begins with the Headless Horseman of Sleepy Hollow carrying his flickering jack-o-lantern. He heralds the arrival of Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse who lead the cavalcade of characters.

After that, the highlight of the parade appears: Jack Skellington, the Pumpkin King, who brings greetings from Halloweentown, as characters from “Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas” appear. Following that, Grim grinning ghosts come out to socialize and bring Disney’s iconic Haunted Mansion attraction to life.

From there, Dr. Facilier uses his mystical powers to summon the Shadow Men from the bayou to loom large over his strange and twisted Voodoo parlor in one of the parade’s spookier units. Finally, the mischievous Disney Villains appear out of the darkness, with a dungeon-like lair and a wicked gathering of villainy including Hades, Evil Queen, Jafar, Cruella, and more.

We recommend watching Frightfully Fun Parade from either in front of the Little Mermaid ride or directly across from that. This is the least-crowded section of the parade route and also the best-lit.

The advantage of watching from in front of Little Mermaid is leaving immediately after the parade passes and heading for Grizzly Peak, where you can either meet Bruno from Encanto with minimal wait, or head to Villains Grove (also with minimal wait).

The advantage of watching from the other side of that walkway is leaving immediately after the parade passes to line up for the Kingdom Hearts meet & greet. In both cases, you’ll beat the post-parade rush of people heading to these same destinations. Other spots along the parade route aren’t as convenient for moving along to your next destination.

Another interesting offering during OBB is Villains Grove, which is a transformation of Redwood Creek Challenge Trail. This is a wondrous and ethereal world of Disney villains, completely transformed with lighting, projections, sounds, and special effects, creating a haunting, dreamlike (or does that make it nightmare-like?) environment.

Villains Grove is one aspect of Oogie Boogie Bash that Disney is really hyping, and it’s basically Disney’s twist on a standard Halloween walk-through maze you might find at other theme parks in Southern California. The primary difference here is that the environments are accomplished entirely via ‘flip of a switch’ technology that creates a dramatic day/night difference at Redwood Creek Challenge Trail.

Treat Trails are one of the highlights of Oogie Boogie Bash. Each trail lures Guests deeper into the immersive worlds of the mischievous villains that everyone loves to hate. Along the way, you can trick-or-treat through a trail of candy (hence the name), including M&M’S, SKITTLES, SNICKERS, and other Halloween favorites.

Treat Trails offer oversized cauldrons full of candy, healthy snacks, and more. We are not particularly keen on candy, so we grabbed the apple sauce, carrots, cranberries, and other options each time we passed through the trails. If we wanted candy, we could absolutely clean up, as each trail offers multiple distribution points.

For us, the highlight is the villains. These characters interact with the crowd, with the talented performers heckling guests or putting on a show for the crowd. In our opinion, these are better than meet & greets, and offer a chance for fun and meaningful interactions rather than quickly posing with characters almost as if they’re background props for photos.

Oh, and the lines are much shorter and faster-moving than meet & greets. Seeing Oogie Boogie (the man of the evening!) takes about ~10 minutes via the Treat Trail, but would easily command an hour-plus wait time as a meet & greet.

There are also character meet & greets with Disney characters, including villains. Expect to encounter some rare characters and seldom-seen costumes for fan favorites; in case you missed it, the list for last year is above.

A lot of people don’t seem to understand how these special event ticket parties work, so to be crystal clear: a regular park ticket will not grant you admission to Oogie Boogie Bash – A Disney Halloween Party.

You must purchase the special event tickets to stay in Disney California Adventure once Oogie Boogie Bash begins. Yes, this means potentially buying two tickets for the same day if you want to stay from park opening until closing.

On the other hand, a party ticket alone does grant you admission to Disney California Adventure a few hours before the event officially begins. It’s also cheaper than a 1-day park ticket for several dates.

This is a big reason why the Halloween Party is so popular with locals in Los Angeles and Orange County–it’s a less expensive way to see the Halloween offerings with lower crowds and at a cheaper price. Even though it’s not the whole day, it’s a good value if you’re a local who doesn’t want a full day at DCA.

The downside to this all is that the event is in DCA instead of Disneyland, and early entry is only in DCA. This means you cannot experience Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge with just an Oogie Boogie Bash Halloween Party ticket, or any of the other Disneyland classics, including Haunted Mansion Holiday or Space Mountain Ghost Galaxy.

This is a big loss, and one that causes some locals to balk at party tickets. But we’re getting ahead of ourselves–more on this in the “Is Oogie Boogie Bash Worth It?” section below.

Oogie Boogie Bash VIP Upcharges

If you want to experience the aforementioned entertainment without waiting, the Oogie Boogie Bash Dessert Party package offers preferred seating at the Frightfully Fun Parade in front of the Little Mermaid dark ride (and all along the performance corridor). Each person in your party must purchase an Oogie Boogie Bash Dessert Party package in order to enter the viewing area, and this is on top of tickets to Oogie Boogie Bash. We call things like this “upchargeception” (like the movie Inception–upcharges within upcharges).

The Oogie Boogie Bash Dessert Party costs $89 per person (kids 2 and under are free). In our view, it is absolutely not worth it. Disneyland dessert parties are notoriously low-quality and low-effort, so if you do opt to do this, you’re basically paying for the seat. Do not expect the dessert spread and drinks to be worth more than like $15. (See our World of Color Dessert Party Review for a thorough rundown–this is the exact same idea, except with Halloween party parade viewing.)

Another option is the World of Color Dining Package at Wine Country Trattoria. This also offers reserved seating along the performance corridor, and costs $69 per adult (additional $10 for Rib-Eye Steak) or $41 per kid (ages 3 to 9). If you must have parade seats, we’d opt for this over the dessert party. The other upside to this is that you can do a meal before the event starts, so you’re not wasting valuable party time. But honestly, we’d do neither. Getting a good spot for the second parade is not that difficult.

If you want special seating and access for everything, the best option is the Oogie Boogie Bash VIP Tour. This is a “popular” option for guests who miss the regular ticket sales window, as the VIP Tour is usually available long after tickets sell out.

Oogie Boogie Bash VIP Tour Details:

  • Tour Duration: 8 hours
  • Party Size: Up to 8 Guests
  • Event admission with access to both parks starting as early as 2:30 PM
  • $30 food and beverage credit per Guest
  • Priority access to Villains Grove Trail and fan-favorite attractions
  • Exclusive VIP Character Meet & Greet
  • Reserved VIP viewing of Frightfully Fun Parade with sweet treats
  • Exclusive VIP Tour Oogie Boogie Bash Pin
  • Exclusive Jack-o’-Lantern Candy Holder
  • Valet parking

To learn more about pricing and book this tour, call (714) 300-7710 or email DisneylandVIPTours. We’ve never done the Oogie Boogie Bash VIP Tour, so I cannot speak to its quality, but everyone raves about Disneyland VIP tours. If you have a large party, going this route might make sense–especially if you’d purchase the dessert or dining package, anyway.

Oogie Boogie Bash Odds & Ends

One of the cool components of Disney’s Halloween Party for many guests is the opportunity to dress in costume. There are limits to the costumes you can wear, but it’s basically common sense stuff like ‘no weapons or sharp objects’ and nothing offensive. If you need further guidance, I’d recommend reading Disneyland’s costume rules.

You also should keep in mind that unlike Florida, Southern California can get cool at night this time of year. We’ve worn heavier costumes to Disney’s Halloween Party–the kind that would be unbearable in Florida–and were perfectly comfortable thanks to evening breezes. We have a Tips for Disney Parks Halloween Costumes post that covers some ideas for what to wear…and what not to wear.

Oogie Boogie Bash Halloween Party Strategy

One thing you’ll want to keep in mind is that it’s unlikely that you’ll be able to do everything there is during Oogie Boogie Bash Halloween Party. We’re talking just the special entertainment and character greetings, let alone the regular Halloween attraction overlays like Guardians of the Galaxy — Monsters After Dark or Luigi’s Honkin’ Haul-O-ween or Mater’s Graveyard JamBOOree.

This is especially true if you plan on doing multiple meet and greets, as characters can consume several hours of your party time. If you don’t plan on meeting any characters–or plan on doing the less popular ones–you’ll have far more flexibility.

Now, a few notes about that strategy for Oogie Boogie Bash Halloween Party…

Frightfully Fun Parade is now performed twice nightly during Oogie Boogie Bash Halloween Party. As with all parades at DCA, viewing areas are significantly busier at the front of the park in Carthay Circle and Hollywood Land.

Viewing from near where the parade steps off is ideal for seeing it. This also gives you the opportunity to bounce to your next stop while most guests at Oogie Boogie Bash are still waiting for Frightfully Fun Parade to get to them. The lighting is also better here than near Carthay Circle Theater, making this our easy recommendation.

Meet and greet wait times are fairly consistent throughout the party, with less popular characters seeing shorter lines at the end of the night. Rare characters will have consistently long lines throughout, which is why we’d recommend arriving early for Minnie Mouse, Daisy Duck and Clarabelle Cow dressed up as the Sanderson Sisters from the movie Hocus Pocus.

Attractions will have short waits throughout the party. Once regular day guests cycle through, you can expect peak wait times to be around 30 minutes, and that’s for popular rides like Guardians of the Galaxy – Monsters After Dark and Radiator Springs Racers.

Here are the attractions open at DCA during Oogie Boogie Bash:

  • Guardians of the Galaxy — Monsters After Dark
  • WEB SLINGERS: A Spider-Man Adventure
  • Mickey’s PhilharMagic
  • Monster’s Inc. Mike & Sulley to the Rescue
  • Radiator Springs Racers
  • Luigi’s Honkin’ Haul-O-Ween
  • Mater’s Graveyard JamBOOree
  • Incredicoaster
  • Toy Story Midway Mania!
  • Jessie’s Critter Carousel
  • Pixar Pal-A-Round
  • Inside Out Emotional Whirlwind
  • Silly Symphony Swings
  • Jumpin’ Jellyfish
  • Goofy’s Sky School
  • Golden Zephyr
  • The Little Mermaid ~ Ariel’s Undersea Adventure
  • Grizzly River Run
  • Soarin’ Around the World

Now, if you’re still wondering whether you should you do the party, we’ll try to help you answer that question…

Is Oogie Boogie Bash Worth It?

Value is all a matter of perspective. If you have financial means and won’t feel the sting of the ticket cost, or just really love Halloween and want to splurge on Oogie Boogie Bash, go for it. If the party is not a splurge for you, it’s unlikely that you’ll regret it.

We’ve done Oogie Boogie Bash every single year since it started, and have had a blast every single time. We really liked Disneyland’s other Halloween Parties before this and have never regretted attending, but we think Disneyland Resort takes it to the next level with Oogie Boogie Bash. Each year there are new characters, treat trails, and other entertainment–the team never phones it in, despite the Halloween parties all selling out with ease.

In terms of Oogie Boogie Bash itself, there’s plenty of entertainment, atmospheric enhancements to Disney California Adventure, characters, and a few minor entertainment offerings. You’re probably looking at around 3-4 hours of Halloween-centric offerings that are unique to this event.

Additionally, there are the core attraction offerings of Disney California Adventure that you can experience before Oogie Boogie Bash begins. If you want to break it down, we’d assign the following values to each component of the event: $25 for the Treat Trails and character meet & greets, $25 for Frightfully Fun Parade, $25 for ambiance, and another $25-50 (depending upon the night you attend) for early access to DCA. That’s assuming you can do around 6-8 attractions in those 3 hours–or about $5-8 per ride.

As a total sucker for Halloween, I can justify at least some of those costs. You might ascribe different values to each component of the event, or elect not to break the cost down on a ‘per unit’ basis.

There’s also trick or treating, which a lot of people really seem to value as it presents a safe and “Disney” environment for their kids to trick or treat. It’s tough to dispute this from a fun perspective; the interactive treat trails with characters like Oogie Boogie are way more fun than the normal ones.

Seeing these characters has value to us, whereas Halloween candy itself doesn’t have a particularly high value. A bag of candy from the CVS on Harbor Boulevard is ~$5 and you can bring it to the park if you wanted. Nevertheless, the overall experience of these is fun, and you’ll get value out of them one way or another.

There are a lot of other scenarios where the Halloween Party might be appealing. I already mentioned the locals from Los Angeles and Orange County. Oogie Boogie makes complete sense for this demographic, especially those who love Halloween. It’s a great way to experience a mix of special and regular offerings in DCA without buying a 1-day ticket.

Beyond that, tourists who only have a single day to spend at Disneyland Resort get a lot accomplished during the 8 hours that the Oogie Boogie Bash ticket provides access to Disney California Adventure. You won’t be able to do everything, but those 8 hours are going to have lower than normal crowds, allowing you to accomplish more attractions (if that’s your priority) than you could do in a normal full day in the parks. Plus, this is cheaper than a 1-day ticket.

Again, the downside in both of the above scenarios is that Oogie Boogie Bash only grants access to the second gate. Not being able to experience iconic attractions in Disneyland, or step foot in Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, is a tremendous downside. We love DCA, but if we only had ~8 hours to spend at Disneyland Resort one day per year, we’d want to spend literally every single hour of that time in Disneyland, not DCA.

If you’re visiting Disneyland and Disney California Adventure for multiple days, you might be able to justify Oogie Boogie Bash – A Disney Halloween Party from the perspective of one less day on a multi-day ticket, doing something else in the morning (Downtown Disney or the beach, perhaps) and then heading to DCA for the event. In this scenario, you’re paying a premium for the party ticket, but it’s almost like it’s discounted.

In an ideal world, we’d recommend getting a 3-day Park Hopper ticket and spending at least 4 days at Disneyland Resort, with the morning of Oogie Boogie Bash – A Disney Halloween Party spent doing the Goofy’s Kitchen character breakfast at Disneyland Hotel followed by lunch in Downtown Disney (or heading down to Newport or Huntington Beach for the entire morning).

After that, head into DCA that afternoon and using only your Oogie Boogie Bash party ticket that day. It’s a good way to stretch your vacation dollars and make the cost of the event a little more palatable.

With all of that said, we have to admit that all of the above is a look at whether Oogie Boogie Bash – A Disney Halloween Party is worth it on paper. A big draw is the atmosphere and different vibe Disney California Adventure takes on. There’s special background music, unique lighting & effects, and other guests dressed in costumes give the Halloween Party a palpable energy. This is a true X factor.

Of course, this doesn’t mean you’ll likewise be able to find a way to justify the cost of Oogie Boogie Bash – A Disney Halloween Party. With every single event date costing $139 or more, the price is certainly steep. Moreover, there are a lot of Halloween offerings at Disneyland Resort that are included in the standard price of admission. If you already have APs or regular park tickets, there’s less of a “need” to do this.

For us, special events like Oogie Boogie Bash – A Disney Halloween Party are a fun splurge. While we found the first two Oogie Boogie Bashes that we’ve attended to be imperfect, they are still “worth it” to us. Even if we would have a hard time breaking down the cost to justify it, the bottom line for us is that the parties are just plain fun, and we really love doing them. Your mileage may vary, but that makes the Halloween Party at Disneyland Resort worth the high cost to us.

Planning a Southern California vacation? For park admission deals, read Tips for Saving Money on Disneyland Tickets. Learn about on-site and off-site hotels in our Anaheim Hotel Reviews & Rankings. For where to eat, check out our Disneyland Restaurant Reviews. For unique ideas of things that’ll improve your trip, check out What to Pack for Disney. For comprehensive advice, consult our Disneyland Vacation Planning Guide. Finally, for guides beyond Disney, check out our Southern California Itineraries for day trips to Los Angeles, Laguna Beach, and tons of other places!

YOUR THOUGHTS

Have you attended Oogie Boogie Bash? Do you disagree with my assessment of the Halloween Party? Already planning ahead for the 2026 Oogie Boogie Bash – A Disney Halloween Party? Favorite characters you hope are featured at the event? Already have your costume made for it? 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!

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233 Comments

  1. I think that this is totally unfair for wdw to have all the things at the Halloween bash that are not going to happen but can be held at Disneyland. I,m
    glad I decided not to purchase tickets. How can they justify this when Disneyland just opened and wdw has been opened for 1 year.

  2. Do you think with Disney announcing parades and character meet and greets at the Oogie Boogie Bash that they may update the Boo Bash at WDW? I understand that they are very different events, but do you think it may be possible for the Boo Bash to have a parade instead of the cavalcades and to change the socially distanced meet and greets to traditional meet and greets?

  3. We have a trip planned this year between Sept 7th-10th and we did purchase park hoppers already. So if I am able to get a Oogie Boogie Bash ticket, I should just switch the park hopper for the 9th to a single-park ticket for Disneyland? I wouldn’t be able to go to DCA until after 1 pm anyway. So if I am understanding things correctly, I’d only lose out on 2 hours of DCA time?

  4. A variation on the “is it worth it” question…we are FL residents and have been planning to be at WDW for the 50th, but my college reunion is in LA and we could probably swing an extra evening in Anaheim for this. But we can only afford to do one or the other. Considering it’s Halloween weekend when the Bash tickets cost more but that we’ll be back at WDW for Christmas so will get to see some of the 50th events then (but without the sentimentality of 10/1 specifically), which one would you recommend?

    1. That’s a tough question for me to answer for you. We absolutely love Halloween at Disneyland…but I can’t imagine skipping 10/1 as a WDW fan.

      If you’ve never experienced Halloween Time at Disneyland, it’s definitely worthwhile. Very different from what Walt Disney World does. (We’d also recommend actually doing Disneyland–Haunted Mansion Holiday, character costumes, decorations, etc. are great.)

  5. We’ve been yearly attendees at Mickey’s Halloween Party at Disneyland for at least 10 years and were extremely disappointed that is was moved to California Adventure in 2019. However, we have a family tradition and went anyway, wanting to make the best of it. It was extremely disappointing and very poorly planned! Way too many people, very long candy lines and ride lines, very few ride choices open, and absolutely not worth it. We loved Mickey’s Halloween Party, being able to ride major attractions several times over, leaving with loaded bags of candy in fun, quick lines, and the general atmosphere of Disneyland. Oogie Boogie Bash was underwhelming, to say the least. They oversold tickets, underplanned for the crowds, and it had none of the special treatment of guests or the vibes of Mickey’s Halloween Party. Disneyland needs to to better, especially for the price, and move it back to the iconic park, rides, Halloween shows, stellar guest treatment, and limited tickets to really enjoy the park for the price (which has notably gone up every year). Do it right, Disneyland, or don’t do it at all.

  6. I was happy to hear that tickets were made available by phone, because my trip with a friend was fairly last minute and I had missed the window to buy online w/ AP discount or otherwise. I paid $120 each for 10/23 and we had a great time! It was reasonably quick and easy to pick up our event tickets at Will Call since there wasn’t time to ship them. I’ve attended the Disneyland version and thought DCA did a descent job. The World of Color show was a first for my friend and we both really liked the Redwood Creek Challenge Trail. I had never walked it before and was really impressed. It was especially enjoyable walking behind zombies! And, we enjoyed chatting with others in line with us just before the attraction opened. I missed the Haunted Mansion though, obviously. But, it was fun seeing rare characters around the park. And ESPECIALLY fun going on Luigi’s ride with everyone in costume. OMGosh, I went on that ride over and over. It felt like being at the drive in in the Thriller video. 😉

    I was kind of disappointed in the AP magnet freebie. #EyeRoll But, on the rare treat trail I strolled through, they were generous with the treats and it wasn’t bags and bags of Craisins this time. YAY! As usual, Cast Members mostly had no idea where the AP corner was located and signage was literally only at the entrance to the venue. I really wish lanyards were included in the Halloween Events. they are for Star Wars and the Festival of Holidays and I really feel like that adds value to this after also paying fore Park entry.

    Lines to the rides seemed really short like normal for an After Dark event and that’s always worth it for me. None of the food excited me this year, so I didn’t bother. It was also 95F, so food sounded terrible anyway. However, it was AWESOME to grab an icy, blended adult margarita this year.
    All in all, it was fun, but I would just attend the party and skip paying park admission for DCA. Just do Disneyland during the day if you feel like it, and then pop over to DCA at 3pm or 4pm when you are granted access with your event ticket.

    Definitely more fun for adults than kiddos, in my opinion.

  7. We were very disappointed they sold too many tickets the ride lines were long and the food lines were an hour long just for a hot dog . Luckily we went to Disneyworlds Halloween night in September and it was only 75.00 a person and were able to do everything at Disneyland we paid 145.00 and we did not get to do much since they purposely over sold there tickets , we felt we were ripped off and will never do Halloween night at Disneyland again they use to care about there quests and now they only care about there bottom line they were very single on the candy at Disneyland also where in Florida we were given handfuls of candy very unhappy with Disneyland !

  8. I was disappointed in the Oogie Boogie Bash. They shut down a bunch of rides at 6pm when they cutover to the Halloween party so we ate dinner at that time. There were hardly any trick-or-treat stations and overall there was a whole lot less magic compared to Mickey’s Halloween party. They didn’t have that many cool decorations or things that made it feel special for Halloween. It is always fun to see people dressed up in costumes and I did like the World of Color show but that’s about it. I will not attend another Oogie Boogie Bash because it really wasn’t worth the ticket price. I really hope they move the Halloween party back to Disneyland because that was well worth the ticket price and such a fun, magical experience.

  9. We are excited to attend the party. My 9 year old has this awesome Marshmallow DJ costume that he was excited to wear but now I’m reading he can’t have a full face mask. How strict are they with this rule? It’s not scary and his eyes are visible.

    1. Headed to Disney next weekend. Planned on one day at DCA, no Oogie Boogie. Are morning/ day crowds generally lighter on party days or the same?

      Thanks–have used your site so much for this trip!

    2. Thank you for the response. Hopefully they’ve won’t have an issue with his marshmellow head mask 🙂

  10. Went to the Oogie Boogie Bash last night and discovering that Disneyland was NOT included came as a big surprise at the gate. My niece has purchased the tickets online for the past 6 years and didn’t read the switch to DCA. Disappointed does not even begin to cover it. After spending $25 for parking and another $8.50 for a single, no frills hotdog (all the main restaurants were closed for the event! What?), there was no way we were going to spend another $129 each for park tickets. We had made reservations for dinner at Carnation Cafe and the guest relations person offered to cancel them so we weren’t charged an additional $10 a head for not showing up! Gee, thanks. I like DCA but not enough to justify spending our entire night there. Only upside is it’s easier to get around because the crowds are lighter. Candy was skimpy. One piece at each station. Ended the night sharing an $11 plastic flute of champagne with my niece. Pretty much summed up the night. There were 5 of us. It’s been our tradition for 6 years. We plan and talk about it weeks in advance. We won’t be going back.

    1. We attended the first night last night, it was terrible to say the least. Less trick-or-treat stations with them only handing you one or two pieces of candy versus the past years and their two big rides , Radiator Springs and Incredicoaster were both broken down from about 8:00pm to closing. I can’t tell you how cheated we felt, I will not be buying another ticket for this event unless they move it back to Disneyland. What’s Halloween without the Haunted Mansion and Jack Skellington? Is this because stars wars land opened this summer? It was boring and cheap at California Adventure, especially with the two bigger rides closed for most of the evening. Ridiculous. At least if we were in Disneyland, if one big ride broke down you could walk to another. But hey if you’re there for all the kiddie rides for the little ones you would be fine. Entertainment was also weak compared to Disneyland parades. They need to move it back. Period. Not the same magical Halloween experience at all.

    2. I think you guys had it right when you said in your article, “on paper” it is worth the price. Sadly to say, in practice, it falls very very short. For one thing, there is only one viewing of the parade this year. So if you do not make it for the first showing, you’re not making it at all. The villainess World of Color show is okay in my personal opinion. It is not as good as the Halloween fireworks display that they have over in Disneyland. Then comes the trick-or-treating trails. While I do admit, it is great to see very rare characters such as the Tim Burton’s Mad Hatter and Oogie Boogie himself, the lines for them tend to move very slow and they don’t hand out that much candy. Then there’s the villains Grove. To get into that place was a line that was almost an hour wait. I personally did not go into it because of how long the wait was. The great thing for me was seeing all the different characters. But the amount of time that I waited to meet all these different characters added up to almost three hours. Especially if you want to see all of them. I really did like that they had Goofy and Donald from Kingdom Hearts, but I had to wait 45 minutes per character to even see both of them. And that kind of comes to the main problem of this event. You are not giving a lot of time to do everything that’s there. That probably has to do with them trying to sell more tickets to the event as a way of saying, you didn’t get to experience everything there is come back and see everything next time. You are only given five hours in the park with everything Halloween going on. They do allow you into the park early which is fine. But in order to experience everything that the Halloween Oogie bash is supposed to give you, you don’t have the time. You have to sacrifice certain things. I didn’t do villains Grove and I didn’t look at the Mickey and Minnie party. I didn’t even see the descendants thing that they offered, which apparently they invite the actors from the movie to come and be a part of. So for me, I don’t think the price is worth it. If you are looking at this event and you see that there are things that you’d most definitely want to do and some things you’re willing to skip out on, that’s great, you’ll be able to manage your time around that. But if you’re dead-set on trying to get everything done, there is no feasible way to get it all done in the short amount of time you have. For me, I would say to skip out on this one. And I would realistically give the rating a three out of five stars.

  11. We plannned our disney trip a long time ago and will be going to dca on oct 1. But now we will be kicked out early? That does not seem fair.

  12. We are heading there in October and the event is already sold out for the day we will be there :(. Is there any chance they hold back tickets to sell to resort guests the day is the event? We are staying at GCH. We called today and they said no but I seem to remember from previous years they may be able to sell a few tickets the day of the event.

    1. I got tickets today at our hotel. It was made clear that there is a very limited supply and you must be a guest if the hotel.

  13. Very disappointed it’s not at Disneyland. What’s the Halloween party without the Haunted Mansion? Having said that though, I get tickets every year for my small office’s employees and +1s, so we will do it again this year, though I’m not as excited about it. I hope they go back to Disneyland, especially for the price of these tickets!!

  14. My mom and I live in different states and we try to get together once a year to go to Disney. This will be the first time we are able to go to the Halloween Bash and I’m so excited. We already have our costumes picked out (Cheshire cat and Tigger!) and this blog post was so helpful on me figuring out the itinerary. I am hoping once the first night of the event happens, we can get an update on what the times for everything will be like. Thanks again!

  15. Thanks for the hints. We are going in October and look forward to reports on the earlier days of the party.
    Also, looks like a cut and paste typo in the tentative Itinerary:
    “Grab parade spot in Hub facing Sleeping Beauty Castle, roughly an hour before first parade”

  16. I’ve heard/ read that Disneyland isn’t doing the Ghost Galaxy overlay for space mountain this year. Seems a bit odd to me that they would exclude that since it takes like 1-2 days to put the overlay together.

    1. It’s because they’re keeping Hyperspace Mountain going through the Halloween season.

      Personally I think the Hyperspace overlay is superior to Ghost Galaxy, so I’m okay with this 😉

    2. If you have the tickets on the app, they probably have names. However, if you can find the original email they sent you it should have a link to download the tickets which can then be printed. The printed tickets don’t have names on them and can be used by anyone. I know this because the week we were supposed to go our children were sick, so we were unable to attend, but we printed the tickets and gave them to friends who were able to go and had no problem using them.

  17. While we’re sad it’s not at Disneyland this year, we are super excited to experience the new entertainment at DCA. And seeing this post just realized there’s only 50 days to get our costumes together before we go! Our little one is looking forward to the decenDance party and Redwood Creek villains.
    p.s. in your tentative Oogie Boogie Bash Halloween Party Itinerary, grabbing a spot in the Hub facing Sleeping Beauty’s Castle for the parade might be a little to far away to see it

    1. Does anyone know what the policy is for giving a ticket away? I bought two tickets months ago, however the person that was originally going can’t make it anymore. I can’t remember if I had to include each guests name when I purchased the tickets originally and the last thing I want is to bring a friend only to find out at the gate that they can’t get in

    2. You can allow someone else to use the ticket. You cannot RESELL the ticket. This info was provided and confirmed by multiple cast members at the ticket booths and the customer service members.

    3. If you have the tickets on the app, they probably have names. However, if you can find the original email they sent you it should have a link to download the tickets which can then be printed. The printed tickets don’t have names on them and can be used by anyone. I know this because the week we were supposed to go our children were sick, so we were unable to attend, but we printed the tickets and gave them to friends who were able to go and had no problem using them.

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