When Will Disney World Start Selling 2024 Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party Tickets?

“When will Walt Disney World release 2024 dates for Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party?” and “will tickets for MNSSHP go on sale soon?” are common reader questions. We’ll try to answer based on what we know based on historical announcement dates, past demand, and more.

As with all of these speculative posts, we’ll start by underscoring the fact that Madame Leota is not employed by this blog, which is to say that we don’t have a crystal ball. No one can give you a definitive answer about when Walt Disney World will announce 2024 Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party dates or tickets. The same holds true for pretty much anything that hasn’t been officially announced, released internally, or leaked.

So if you’re the kind of person who, in the past, has complained that this type of prognostication post is a “waste of time,” then there’s nothing for you here. Consider instead subscribing to our free email newsletter for instant alerts, which will provide you an update when 2024 MNSSHP dates are officially announced by Walt Disney World. This post is most certainly not that, but rather, our long-winded attempt to offer insight in response the above reader questions…

With that out of the way, we have some good news: what’s past is prologue. 

Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party is hardly a new event, and there’s a ton of precedent regarding announcement and ticket sales dates over the years. In fact, one of big motivators for this post is compiling historical info. I always end up digging through past press releases to answer these questions, so rather than repeating that process over and over again, it makes sense to compile the last several years here.

In 2017, ticket sales for Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party started on May 10. That year, prices started at $74 for adults and $69 for children. The event started earlier than ever (at the time) in 2017, with parties running on August 25 & 29; September 1, 7, 10, 12, 15, 17, 19, 22, 24, 26 & 29; October 1, 3, 5, 6, 9, 10, 12, 13, 15, 17, 19, 20, 22, 24, 26, 27, 29 & 31; and November 1.

That moved forward in 2018, with March 19 being the date that Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party tickets went on sale. MNSSHP ticket prices started at $75. The 2018 event was held for a then-record 34 nights, with dates on August 17, 24, 28, 31; September 3, 7, 9, 11, 14, 16, 18, 21, 23, 25, 28, 30; and October 2, 4, 5, 8, 9, 11, 12, 14, 16, 18, 19, 21, 23, 25, 26, 28, 30, 31.

Both of those years, Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party tickets also went on sale the same day that MNSSHP tickets were released. This was a pretty standard practice for a while.

The following year was even earlier, with tickets for Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party being released on January 15, 2019. Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party tickets started at $79 in 2019. That year set another record, with 36 nights and an earlier start and later end. Here were the MNSSHP dates for 2019: August 16, 20, 23, 27, 30; September 2, 6, 8, 10, 13, 15, 17, 20, 22, 24, 27, 29; October 1, 3, 4, 6, 8, 10, 11, 14, 15, 17, 18, 20, 21, 24, 25, 27, 29, 31; and November 1.

For what it’s worth, 2019 was almost certainly an anomaly. That was the opening year of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, and there was a lull in bookings before that, causing Disney to scramble and try to get people to book trips before the opening date announcement occurred. Back in 2019, Walt Disney World also offered the Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party Pass–an Annual or Seasonal Pass for the Halloween Party. We don’t expect to ever see that again–certainly not in 2024!

More anomalies occurred the next two years. Special events were cancelled in 2020 and when they resumed in 2021, Disney After Hours Boo Bash was announced as a replacement for Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party. That new event was unveiled as part of the “Halfway to Halloween” festivities on May 7, 2021. Tickets went on sale beginning June 8 for on-site resort guests and June 15 for the general public.

Disney After Hours Boo Bash was held on 23 select nights, starting August 10 and continuing through October 31 from 9 p.m. to midnight most nights (9:30 pm to 12:30 am on other evenings). This capacity-constrained event was fundamentally different from MNSSHP, and prices reflected that. Tickets ranged from $129 to $199–many dates were nearly double the price they had cost in 2019.

One way that 2021 was not an anomaly was with the debut of the Halfway to Halloween hype-cycle event. In 2022, Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party made its triumphant return, which was again announced during Walt Disney World’s Halfway to Halloween. Interestingly, the halfway point moved forward to April 28. Tickets went on sale beginning May 12 for on-site resort guests and May 18 for the general public.

Taking place on 37 select nights, Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party set a new record for earliest start date and most event nights. It also returned to its standard schedule of hours from 7 p.m. to midnight, and was no longer capacity-constrained in the same was as After Hours Boo Bash.

As a result, ticket prices decreased on the low end as compared to Boo Bash, but were still a record high (by a wide margin) relative to MNSSHP in previous years. Ticket prices ranged from $109 to $199 in 2022, with Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party event dates August 12, 16, 19, 23, 26, 30; September: 2, 5, 9, 11, 13, 16, 18, 20, 23, 25, 27, 29, 30; and October: 2, 4, 6, 7, 10, 11, 13, 14, 16, 18, 20, 21, 23, 25, 27, 28, 30, 31.

Last year, the weeklong Halfway to Halloween event started on Monday, April 17 and Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party dates and details were announced on Thursday, April 20.

Guests of all Walt Disney World resorts and other select hotels could purchasing tickets as early as April 27, 2023. Tickets for Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party could be bought by the general public beginning May 2, 2023.

Ticket prices once again ranged from $109 to $199, but there was a greater distribution of dates at the higher end of the spectrum–meaning the average ticket price increased by nearly $10. MNSSHP dates last year were August 11, 15, 18, 22, 25, 29; September 1, 4, 8, 10, 12, 15, 17, 19, 22, 24, 26, 28, 29; October 1, 3, 5, 6, 9, 10, 12, 13, 15, 17, 19, 20, 22, 24, 26, 27, 29, 31; and November 1.

If you look at all of the release dates above, it appears that there’s very little consistency to when Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party tickets go on sale each year. It has been as early as January and as late as May in the last 5 years. Walt Disney World planners may bemoan this, as it makes planning difficult.

However, I think that overstates the current reality. For one thing, 2019 and 2021 were both anomalies. We know that 2024 Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party tickets won’t be released in January because, well, that month has already passed. But we would’ve written this post back in December if we thought there was even a slight chance of a January release. We didn’t because there wasn’t.

May 2024 is more plausible, but we also view that as highly unlikely. The only reason the release was pushed so late in 2021 was because the environment was changing rapidly, and it probably wasn’t clear up until that point that Magic Kingdom would be in a position to host a Halloween event. So I think we can safely rule out an announcement coming as late as May.

Anticipated demand goes a long way in explaining the release dates over the years, with a couple of notable exceptions. Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party starts during the off-season, usually right as schools go back into session and crowd levels plummet. This has happened consistently and predictably at Walt Disney World in mid-August and September, which is consistently the slowest stretch of the entire year.

Consequently, Walt Disney World has often had a difficult time selling tickets to the event in August and September. Historically, it has been rare for those party nights to sell out. This is precisely why August and September always have significantly lower prices on average than October. It thus made sense for Walt Disney World to release tickets earlier, providing more runway for slower dates during August and September to sell out.

All of that is past tense for a reason. While sellouts were infrequent before 2019, that has ceased to be the case in the last few years. Both 2022 and 2023 sold out the entire season, with about half of all Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party nights selling out by the morning after the first night the event was held each year. Before the end of September, all dates of MNSSHP had sold out in both of the last two years.

With that said, it is worth noting that dates were slower to sell out last year than in 2022. We predicted precisely this, albeit to a far greater degree. Our belief before ticket sales even started was that pent-up demand was a big driver of ticket sales in 2021-2022, both for special events and for Walt Disney World in general.

There was also stimulus money, higher household savings, and a renewed emphasis on traveling or making up for lost time. Another underappreciated factor is the lack of new Annual Pass sales at the time, which means some locals likely purchased MNSSHP to get their Walt Disney World fix. (That’s a big contributor to Oogie Boogie Bash’s popularity at Disneyland Resort.)

In a nutshell, the absence of all of that led us to believe that the 2023 Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party would sell out slower and less often than the 2022 event. In fairness, we did also say that it would be “foolish to forecast significantly lower sales” since there are many factors driving the popularity of MNSSHP, and at least some of those would once again be present in 2023. (Honestly, with all of that said, I underestimated how well MNSSHP tickets would sell last year.)

Well, the same idea applies for 2024. If anything, Walt Disney World is seeing a bounceback thus far in 2024 after revenge travel burned out last year. It’s entirely possible that this year could be busier as a whole at Walt Disney World. It’s also possible that this is a winter phenomenon as people flock to more favorable weather, which will in turn mean even lower demand for August and September–especially after the brutal weather last year. It’s impossible to say at this point.

The bottom line is that Walt Disney World probably won’t feel a huge sense of urgency to release 2024 Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party dates and tickets as a result of demand in the last two years. Even if internal attendance forecasts are soft for late this summer and fall (and they probably are given discounting), the event should maintain its popularity. Does it really matter that much if all dates sold out in late September last year as opposed to mid-September in the year-prior? Unless projections are really bad, probably not. Selling out is selling out.

On the plus side, if you’re anxiously awaiting Walt Disney World to release 2024 Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party dates and tickets because you’re worried about it selling out, don’t. Even with last two years setting the record for sold out dates, nothing has been gone until June 30 at the earliest. That’s when Halloween night sold out in 2022. Last year, Halloween night sold out on July 3. In both of the last two years, no other dates sold out until the end of July.

That’s a grand total of 2 parties each year selling out before the start of August. With that said, there is usually a “run” on dates selling out between the beginning of August and the first event. By then, as many as half of all nights have been selling out. Last year, the dates that sold fastest (aside from Halloween) were the cheapest nights.

In other words, the 2024 Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party is not going to sell out within days of tickets going on sale. That applies to both the presale window and the general public window. Whether 2024 tickets sell slower or faster than last year largely depends on whether any new entertainment is added. Even then, we’re looking at dates selling out in July and August, not immediately.

That is, unless Muppet Haunted Mansion or Big Al’s Bloody Bear Jamboree overlays are announced for the 2024 Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party. In which case, tickets will sell out within minutes and will surpass Taylor Swift concert prices on the secondary market.

Ultimately, my expectation is that Walt Disney World does another “Halfway to Halloween” event and announces dates for the 2024 Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party at that time. In keeping with tradition, I suspect the “halfway” point could once again moved forward, as Disney wants to provide more time to sell out tickets. I’d also expect the event itself to creep up, with the first Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party being held August 9, 2024. (I’d also bet on a November 1, 2024 end date.)

I’d probably put the timing of Halfway to Halloween once again in the month of April. That’s when it has occurred during the last two years, so it’s safe to predict a repeat of that in 2024. It’s difficult to get more specific than that for the date, but one thing that is worth noting is that Halfway to Halloween has occurred shortly after Easter in the past. This makes sense, as the end of Easter is the peak of Spring Break season and that concluding signals an unofficial shift into shoulder season and Walt Disney World turning its focus to the second half of the year.

With that in mind, here’s my specific prediction: Walt Disney World does Halfway to Halloween the week of April 8, 2024 and announces dates, prices, and when tickets will go on sale for Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party on April 11, 2024. The following week is about equally likely, especially as Spring Break season continues (albeit to a lesser degree) then. I’d be very surprised if Halloween to Halloween is much later than that, especially as Walt Disney World might have concerns about slowing ticket sales and demand.

No matter how or when the announcement is made, I’d further predict that tickets will go on sale a couple weeks after the announcement and once again be staggered for on-site and off-site guests to create a sense of urgency and perhaps demand for on-site accommodations. This is all hardly a bold prognostication, as it’s more or less what has happened in the last two years. This is all just my guess, though–we’ll keep you posted when something is actually, officially announced. Until then, see our Ultimate Guide to Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party for everything else you might want to know about the event!

Planning a Walt Disney World trip? If you’re interested in learning more about hotels, our Walt Disney World Hotels Reviews page is a good place to start. For where to eat, try out our Walt Disney World Restaurant Reviews page. If you want to save money on tickets or determine which type you should get, read our Tips for Saving Money on Walt Disney World Tickets post. Our What to Pack for Disney Trips post takes a unique look at unconventional things you should take on your trip. Once you arrive at the parks, our Walt Disney World “Ride Guides” are great for determining what to do and when to do it. For overviews of all of these topics and so much more, the best place to start is our comprehensive Walt Disney World Trip Planning Guide to make the most of your experience!

YOUR THOUGHTS

When do you think 2024 Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party dates will be announced? Did you attend MNSSHP at Walt Disney World last year? Planning on attending again this year? What did you think of the ‘sold out’ crowds? Think it was worth the high ticket price? Agree or disagree with our predictions? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!