Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party at Magic Kingdom

Every year, on select nights in August, September and October the Magic Kingdom closes early (6pm) and transforms into a little not so scary Halloween town. Mickey shaped pumpkins are everywhere and a chill fills the air. You will even find many different villain’s roaming the park. 

It is a fun little event where you can see a nighttime parade (Boo-to-You) led by the Headless Horseman. A one of a kind firework show called Disney’s Not-So-Spooky Spectacular. Oh, how can we forget about the Sanderson Sisters from Hocus Pocus Villain Spelltacular stage show. 

Let’s not take up anymore time and jump into the graveyard and take a look at Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party.

One of a kind events

Once the park closes to regular guests for the day the fun really begins. The first thing that kicks off are the dance parties from 7 to midnight. You can find them in Tomorrowland and Storybook Circus. This is a great place to take younger kids while their older siblings go on some of the “bigger” rides.

The Boo to You Parade goes off twice each night. Once at 09:15 pm and 11:15 pm. The parade starts off with the Headless Horseman in Adventureland and he makes his way to the front of the park. The parade is a lot of fun and is full of music, dancing, and characters. Most you should recognize but some you may not (some wear a mask). 

Perhaps my favorite part of the parade is the entire Haunted Mansion section. Between the grave diggers, hitchhiking ghost, and of course, The Black Widow Bride. The costumes and makeup really do make them look like ghosts. 

My mother thinks the Boo-to-You parade alone is worth the price of the ticket. Maybe you will agree with her. 

You can watch the Hocus Pocus Villain Spelltacular three different times in August and September and a fourth show is added in October. This castle stage show has been going on since 2015 and has been updated since 2022. 

You won’t just see the Sanderson sisters. Other Disney villains join them on stage including Lady Tremaine, Jafar, Maleficent, Oogie Boogie, and many more. If you are a fan of stage shows, this is a must see at least once in the night. 

Once a night the sky lights up for Disney’s Not So Spooky Spectacular. This firework show is hosted by Jack Skellington and has some amazing fireworks displays along with some catchy songs. You will hear This is Halloween (Nightmare Before Christmas), Poor Unfortunate Souls (Little Mermaid), Oogie Boogie Song (Nightmare Before Christmas) and many others. If you want a spot in front of the castle, you better come early and not expect to do many other things at the party.

Rides

A big draw to the parties other than the stage show, fireworks, and parade are the rides. Most of the rides are open and offer a shorter wait than during the day. Some of the rides even have special halloween overlays to them and Space Mountain is completely dark. Like not a single light is on, kind of dark. 

Adventureland

• Jungle Cruise
• The Magic Carpets of Aladdin
• Pirates of the Caribbean
• Swiss Family Treehouse

Frontierland

• Big Thunder Mountain Railroad

Liberty Square

• Haunted Mansion

Fantasyland

• Prince Charming Regal Carrousel
• “It’s a small world”
• Peter Pan’s Flight
• The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
• Mad Tea Party
• Under the Sea ~ Journey of the Little Mermaid
• Seven Dwarfs Mine Train

Storybook Circus

• Dumbo the Flying Elephant
• The Barnstormer

Tomorrowland

• Astro Orbiter
• Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin
• Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor
• Space Mountain
• Tomorrowland Speedway
• Tomorrowland Transit Authority People Mover
• TRON Lightcycle / Run (virtual queue)

Characters

Another huge draw to MNSSHP are the unique characters you will only find at the party. Jack Skellington and Sally can be found in the Town Square Theater. The line for them starts to form at 4. Throughout the night the wait can be two hours or longer. 

Another popular character with a super long wait is the Seven Dwarfs back at Pete’s Silly Sideshow. They two have had waits over two hours long. 

Elvis Stitch is another popular character meet and greet. He can be found right in Tomorrowland near his old ride. Now his lines are not as long and you will find them to be under 45 minutes most of the night. 

Other characters you will see at different meet and greets throughout the night are The Queen of Hearts, Tweedle Dee, and Tweedle Dum from Alice in Wonderland. Winnie the Pooh, Piglet, Tigger, and Eeyore can be seen wearing their own costumes outside of the Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. Jafar and the Genie can be found in Adventureland.

Trick or Treat

When you enter the party you are given a bag that you can go around to different treat stations throughout the Magic Kingdom and get handfuls and handfuls of candy. Lines for the candy can look super long but they do move quickly. 

You do get a nice selection of candy like skittles, M&M’s, Milky Way, Snickers, and more. Just remember you are in Florida and the chocolate candy will probably melt a little bit. You might want to hold off on trick or treating till the sun goes down. 

Things to Know

Below you will find a couple of tips and things to know before you visit Mickey’s Not so Scary Halloween Party. 

• You can enter the Halloween Party as early as 4pm and do not need a reservation. The party officially starts at 7pm and ends at Midnight.
• If you are already in the Magic Kingdom you just need to find a cast member at one of the locations below that is verifying tickets.
  • Magic Kingdom Entrance turnstiles
  • Fantasy Faire
  • Monster Inc. Laugh Floor
  • Tortuga Tavern
• Costumes can be worn by any guest during the party. However, you cannot wear any masks, have any weapons, and they must be in good taste and family friendly. 
• Different areas of the park have special magic shots done by photopass photographers. You will know which photographers have them judging by their lines. 
• You will find special food and snacks that are only available at the Halloween Party. 
• There is also special merchandise that can only be found at the party. You won’t be able to get it at Disney Springs or inside Magic Kingdom outside of Party hours.
• There is special Halloween merchandise that is available for anyone to buy. 

Should you go

This is a hard question to answer. I love MNSSHP and have a great time each time I have gone. However, I am starting to wonder (just like with WDW itself) if it is worth the price. The price of a ticket for my daughter and I could go towards a really nice dinner one night or a nice souvenir. 

There have been a lot of sold out parties so far this year. As I write this all the parties from now until September 17th are sold out. Judging from this and when I attended the party on August 15th, it doesn’t appear that Disney is allowing as many people to go. This is a good thing but stinks if your party date sells out. 

The longest wait time for a ride that I can remember was under an hour for Seven Dwarfs Mine Train. Peter Pan had a 30 minute wait or less. Haunted Mansion even had a wait of under 45 minutes. 

Wait times were pretty hefty for Jack and Sally and the Seven Dwarfs but most other character waits weren’t too bad. Even the long lines for candy moved pretty quickly.  

If you can get a ticket for $150 or less I would say it isn’t a bad deal. You can enter the party at 4pm and stay till midnight so that gives you 8 hours in the Magic Kingdom with 6 hours of that time with a lower guests count in the park. You can ride many rides and see some unique shows and parades you don’t see everyday.

If the tickets are more than $150 per person I would personally skip it and add another day to your vacation with a park hopper ticket. But that’s just me.

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Have you ever gone to Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party? Did you go this year or in years past? What did you like and not like about it? Let us know in the comments below.