Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party-Walt Disney World
Every year on select nights from mid August till the beginning of November, guests can join Mickey and friends for a very special Halloween celebration at the Magic Kingdom.
There are special shows, parades, character appearances, trick or treating, and more. Read on to get all the spooky details about the most spirited party of the season!
Party Details
In 2023 Walt Disney World offered the event on select nights from August 11th through November 1st, and tickets went on sale in April (we bought ours April 27th). The cost varied depending on the eventing but we went on October 10th and paid $169 per adult plus tax.
Here are the dates that were available:
Friday, August 11
August 15
Friday, August 18
Tuesday, August 22
Friday, August 25
Tuesday, August 29
Friday, September 1
Monday, September 4
Friday, September 8
Sunday, September 10
Tuesday, September 12
Friday, September 15
Sunday, September 17
Tuesday, September 19
Friday, September 22
Sunday, September 24
Tuesday, September 26
Thursday, September 28
Friday, September 29
Sunday, October 1
Tuesday, October 3
Thursday, October 5
Friday, October 6
Monday, October 9
Tuesday, October 10
Thursday, October 12
Friday, October 13
Sunday, October 15
Tuesday, October 17
Thursday, October 19
Friday, October 20
Sunday, October 22
Tuesday, October 24
Thursday, October 26
Friday, October 27
Sunday, October 29
Tuesday, October 31
Wednesday, November 1
Event Times
Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party takes place from 7:00 PM to midnight.
Ticket holders are allowed entry into the Magic Kingdom Park as early as 4:00 PM on the valid date of their ticket, and because of this we chose not to do a park this day but rather to rest and relax because we knew it would be an action-packed evening!
Discounts
Annual Passholders and Disney Vacation Club Members can save $10 per ticket to Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party, valid for select event nights.
Tickets are limited and may not be available for purchase on the day of the event (or earlier) so if you want to go, make your plans and get your tickets. Our night was sold out!
Getting To The Party/Planning
Waiting for our bus to take us to the park!
Now a lot of people just go in and wing it. That is not our style. We wanted to make sure we got the opportunity to hit everything, so we went in early and with a plan. We got to the bus stop at Port Orleans French Quarter at 2:51pm in costume and ready to go. The bus to Magic Kingdom arrived at 3:07pm.
We arrived at the Magic Kingdom at 3:20pm and things got crazy. There was already at least 200+ people in line waiting to get into the parks. We went through security and followed the cast members with the signs to wait in line. They started to let people into the park at 3:45. They immediately put on our party bracelets and gave us our maps and directed us to Main Street.
Our party map and bracelets.
Once we got onto main street, we saw a huge bus that had a sign directing us to the right of the Confectionery (in between the Confectionery and Tony’s Town Square Restaurant to collect our treat bags and get our first treat- a full sized bag of M&M’s).
We also passed some adorable Halloween statues along the route and came out just outside Tomorrowland Terrace Restaurant. At this point we actually had 3 hours (until 7:00pm) until the party officially started, and guests that had not purchased tickets to the party would start leaving the park at 6:00pm. So we packed up our treat bags and hit the rides!
Attractions/Rides
We took a ride on the people mover at around 4:12pm.
We knew that once the party really started that we would want to focus on the shows, characters, parade, and trick or treating, so between 4pm-7pm we focused on rides!
At 4:12pm we walked on to the people mover!
At 4:30pm we got on the Ariel ride (said 15-minute wait and it only took 5 minutes).
At 4:58pm we rode Small World (waited 7 minutes and in between Small world and Ariel we got photos done by Photo Pass cast member in front of Ariel ride with no wait).
At 6:15pm we rode Jungle Cruise (waited 22 minutes but the sign said 55 minute wait and in between this and Small world we ate dinner at Casey’s Corner).
At 6:41pm we rode Pirates of the Caribbean (waited 11 minutes and the sign said 15 minutes).
At 7:18pm I walked on Tron (had the virtual queue). At this point the party had officially started!
At 10:00 rode Haunted Mansion (waited 22 minutes but sign said 30 minutes and in between did trick or treating, got photos with characters and photo pass cast members, saw the parade and the show in front of the castle and had a snack).
There was also a very special opportunity to request to join the virtual queue at 6:00 PM for guests attending Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party to try to ride Tron. I set an alarm on my phone for 5:57pm and Matt and I logged on to the My Disney Experience app, clicked on the “Join Virtual Queue”, selected our party, and from 5:59pm until 6:00pm we just kept clicking refresh. To my utter delight we actually managed to score a spot!
The following rides were all open during the party:
Adventureland
Frontierland
Liberty Square
Fantasyland
Mad Tea Party* Had a special theme for the party
Storybook Circus
Tomorrowland
Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor *Had a special theme for the party
Space Mountain *Had a special theme for the party
TRON Lightcycle / Run presented by Enterprise – Virtual Queue Access Only
Entertainment
One of the best parts of going to an after-hours event at Disney is getting the opportunity to see the special entertainment! There were several special things to see at Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party, so you really had to be aware of what was going on and plan out you're evening if you wanted to catch it all!
The following shows/entertainment was available during the party:
Set your sights on the Hocus Pocus Villain Spelltacular! Watch 3 sinister sisters bewitch and bedazzle the residents of Magic Kingdom park.
This one took place right in front of the castle and was available:
August & September: 8:35pm, 10:45pm, 12:00am
October & November: 7:40pm, 8:35pm, 10:45pm, 12:00am
We found a spot in front of the castle at 8:20pm and the show started right at 8:35pm. It was one of the highlights for us because we got to see tons of Villains that are not normally around at the parks.
Witness Disney’s Not-So-Spooky Spectacular—a wickedly wild fireworks display featuring some of your favorite Disney Characters and hosted by Jack Skellington from Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas.
This was a firework and castle projection show with only one showtime all evening. It is an absolute MUST DO so make sure you are available for the 10:15pm showtime.
I will say that for this show, there are tons of projections on the actual castle, so if you don’t get a good spot with a good view of the castle, you will kind of just see random fireworks.
Boogie down at the Disney Junior Jam at Cosmic Ray’s Starlight Café—featuring some favorite friends from Disney Junior shows. It’s perfect for young partygoers! We skipped this one as we don’t have any little ones.
The Cadaver Dans Barbershop Quartet can be found singing in Frontierland intermittently between 7:00pm and 10:50pm.
The Rusty Cutlass Pirate band can be found performing in Adventureland intermittently between 7:15pm and 11:50pm.
You can check out the Zom-Beatz Bash at the Rockettower Plaza Stage from 7:00pm until 12:00am and join Zombies, Cheerleaders, Werewolves, and Aliens for a dance party. We also skipped this-so much to do!
Watch beloved Disney Characters—including Minnie Mouse, Daisy Duck and Clarabelle Cow dressed as the Sandersons from Hocus Pocus—during Mickey's Boo-to-You Halloween Parade.
The parade begins in Frontierland and ends at the park entrance on Main Street. We usually find it less crowded in Frontierland as people stake out spots on Main Street and in front of the castle, so that is where we went to watch the parade. There were two different times to catch the parade (9:15pm and 11:15pm).
We watched the first one and then went over to ride Haunted Mansion since we were close by. Get a spot before the parade starts because you DO NOT WANT TO MISS the Headless Horseman who walks the parade route before the actual parade starts.
We went over to find our spot at 9:00pm and got a spot right between The Hall of Presidents and Liberty Square Market.
Before the second parade, after the Headless Horseman, there was a small cavalcade of A Goofy Movie’s Max dressed up as Powerline.
Trick or Treat
While this was not the purpose of our visit, the cast members were so kind and even encouraged the adults to participate in the trick or treating. While most of the kiddos went with the traditional “trick or treat” when approaching the cast members, Matt and I went with “Happy Halloween” and the cast members were delighted and always said it back to us.
The trick or treat stations were marked with large blow-up poles or with cast members with paddles, but to be honest they were not always easy to find. A lot of them were inside restaurants or rides and we found ourselves referencing our map often.
If you have a food allergy, make sure you see a Cast Member to pick up a teal-colored treat bag. When you trick-or-treat with your teal bag, you’ll receive a teal token at our treat stations. Later on, you can redeem these teal tokens at our Allergy-Friendly Centers for your special treats!
Most of the stations gave out scoops of candy (I’m talking they had metal ice scoopers and went into a barrel of candy with the scoop). The first stop gave each guest a full-size bag of M&M’s, and one other stop gave guests a kind bar. Halfway through the night we had to dump our bags into our backpack because they were full! Make sure you bring a backup bag, or you will run out of candy space!
Make sure you hit the bridge under Tron. It was actually 3 stops with heaping scoops!!
Don’t do Ariels grotto the line was super long, and it was only one scoop of candy.
Gaston’s Tavern moved quickly and one big scoop.
Two scoops inside Mickey’s Philharmagic.
Dressing for Halloween Events-taken from Park Dress Guidelines | FAQ | Walt Disney World (go.com)
Please note the specific costume guidelines for these 2 events:
While we encourage creativity, we also value safety and good judgment. If you’re planning to attend these special events, take a moment to read over our latest rules and regulations:
For Guests ages 13 and under:
Costumes and some costume masks may be worn; masks must provide unobstructed peripheral vision at all times with openings that allow the eyes to be fully seen.
For Guests 14 Years of Age or Older:
Costumes may be worn according to these guidelines. Guests who do not adhere to these guidelines may be refused entry into, and/or removed from Disney parks, unless his or her costume can be modified to meet the above standards:
All Guests may dress as their favorite character, but may not pose for pictures or sign autographs for other Guests.
Costumes must be family-friendly and may not be obstructive, offensive, objectionable or violent.
Costumes may not contain any props or accessories that resemble or could easily be mistaken for an actual weapon.
Costumes may not contain sharp objects, pointed objects or materials that may accidentally strike another Guest.
Layered costumes or costume props that surround the entire body are strongly discouraged and may be subject to additional security screening.
Costumes may not reach or drag on the ground. (for example, full-length Princess dresses)
Capes may be worn if the length does not go below the waist.
Themed T-shirts, blouses, sweatshirts and hats are acceptable.
Acceptable accessories include: transparent wings, plastic light sabers, toy swords and tutus. Costume headwear may be worn as long as it does not cover the face.
Costume masks of any kind may not be worn.
Food/Snacks
While you will have candy by the bag loads to snack on as you walk around, sometimes you just need something a little more substantial. We actually decided to eat a meal right before the party so that we would have plenty of energy, but make sure to check out the information on your party map and check out the menus at all the stands/shops that are open because most of them have special treats that are only sold during the spooky season, and some are ONLY sold during the party!!
We ordered our food at Casey’s Corner at 5:15pm and I quickly went to try to find a table while Matt waited for the food. It was aggressively hard to find a table outside, but I finally found one (just in time) as Matt brought out the food at 5:30pm.
Some of the special treats that the map advertises are:
Sally Pop-located at the popcorn cart near City Hall, this is a yellow cake pop with raspberry filling topped with a Sally chocolate piece.
Zombie Fingers-At Cosmic Ray’s Starlight Cafe, these almond cookie fingers are key lime pie white chocolate ganace, salted caramel crisp pearls, and sugar eyes.
Char Siu Chicken Wings-found at Sleepy Hollow, these whole chicken wings are glazed in Char Siu and topped with Chili Threads and Garlic.
Buffalo Chicken Hand Pie-this one is only served during the party and is at The Friar’s Nook over in Fantasyland. We actually stopped by to have one and it was absolutely delicious! It is a buffalo chicken hand pie with spicy ranch drizzle and blue cheese powder. We picked this delicious snack up at 10:35pm and the Friar’s Nook was busy, but the line was moving quickly, and the hand pie came out hot and fresh.
Photos/Magic Shots
Another special draw to these after-hours events are the Magic Shot photos that you can only get during the events! There were Photo Pass cast members everywhere and I was honestly super surprised at how low the lines were for them!!
We got our first photo with a cast member just across the bridge entering Tomorrowland with absolutely no line at 4:06pm. She gave us a special fall magic shot!
We got our second photo with a cast member right when we got off the Ariel ride with again no wait at all! She also gave us a magic shot! This was at about 4:45 so the party had not started yet and therefore no special magic shots.
You can see our photos below. Make sure you look at your map as it shows you where the special Magic Shots are located. The longest line was for the Tangled photo (we did not wait-they let you hold a Tangled lantern that lights up) and for the Haunted Mansion photo (we did not wait for this one either-they let you hold a lantern like the one the gravedigger holds and the photos are right in front of the mansion).
We got photos in front of the castle right before the second parade and there was no wait time at all. We continued walking down main street towards the exit, and there were only 3 parties waiting for their photo at the end of main street with the pumpkins so we waited for that photo and it ended up being our favorite photo of the evening (they let you hold a lit Jack o lantern).
Characters
This was probably the biggest opportunity out of our whole experience. While the map shows you where the characters are going to be, it does not tell you WHO the characters are going to be. This made it difficult for us to decide if this was something we wanted to incorporate into our plans during the party. They also typically had wait times from 30 minutes up to an hour and a half.
While passing by a trick or treat station near Pete’s Silly Sideshow at 7:40pm, we just so happened to see a cast member with a sign for characters, on the little sign it said that it was the Seven Dwarfs and that the wait time was 45 minutes. She encouraged us to go in, telling us that it was more like a 20-minute wait, and we ended up only waiting 14 minutes. They also gave us a cute little post card that had all the Dwarf’s autographs on it as a take home souvenir.
Rather than the typical character interaction that you expect, they were MOVING people through these lines buddy. There were probably 20 parties ahead of us when we walked in and they walked up, took a photo, and moved on. There was a cast member taking your bags ahead of time and storing them off to the side so that when you got up to your turn, all you had to do was take your photo and scan your magic band.
Having now been home and done research, the following characters are available at the following places:
Vampire Mickey Mouse: Town Square Theater
Jack Skellington & Sally: Town Square Theater
Elvis Stitch-Tomorrowland
Disney’s Zombies Characters — ZOM-BEATZ BASH, located on Tomorrowland Stage
Vampirina, Fancy Nancy, Doc McStuffins, and Timon — Disney Junior Jam in Cosmic Ray’s Starlight Cafe
Pirate Goofy — near The Barnstormer in Storybook Circus
Minnie, Donald, and Daisy — near Dumbo the Flying Elephant in Storybook Circus
The Seven Dwarfs — Pete’s Silly Sideshow
Cinderella, Princess Elena, Rapunzel, and Tiana — Princess Fairytale Hall
Ariel and Prince Eric — near the Little Mermaid attraction in Fantasyland
Belle and Gaston — Fantasyland near Bonjour Village Gifts
Pooh, Tigger, Rabbit, Eeyore, and Piglet — The Thotful Spot next to The Many Adventures of Winnie The Pooh
Tweedle-Dee and Tweedle Dum, the Mad Hatter, the Queen of Hearts, and Alice — near Mad Tea Party
Cadaver Dans — Frontierland
Jack Sparrow — near Pirates of the Caribbean in Adventureland
Jasmine, Aladdin, Genie, and Jafar — near The Magic Carpets of Aladdin
Carlotta Renata — Haunted Mansion (outside ride)
Biggest Takeaways/Tips & Tricks
Make a plan-there is so much to see and do-sacrifices will have to be made.
Try to get on the Tron Virtual Queue. Set a timer, get one at least one minute before 6pm, and just keep hitting refresh!!!
Bring something to put your candy in! Your complementary bag will get full!
Rest during the day!
Wear the costume, take the photos, ride the rides. Enjoy yourself.
When choosing other park days be aware of what days are party days. The week we went the Wednesday was the only day that was not having a party, so EVERYONE was at Magic Kingdom and the weight times were insane.
Have you been to Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party? Have you been to any other after-hours event? Share your experience or any tips or tricks in the comments! Happy Halloween everyone!