There is nothing quite like Disney World at Halloween. The decor is amazing and the weather can’t be beat! Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party takes place every few nights in September and October at the Magic Kingdom. This special event is not inexpensive, with adult tickets costing over $60 per person. So, is it worth the extra cost? For me, it’s a big MAYBE and it depends on who is attending the party with your group.
First, let’s take a look at some of the special activities that take place at the party. Halloween party activities include:
- Trick or Treating stations throughout the Magic Kingdom as well as Trick or Treat trails where you can hit multpile treat stations.
- Special character greetings, like all Seven Dwarfs, Jack and Sally from Nightmare Before Christmas, and others.
- HalloWishes – a special Halloween fireworks show
- Mickey’s “Boo-to-You” Parade – one of Disney’s best parades
- Villains’ Dance Mix and Mingle – a show and a chance to meet villains.
A few years ago, my family went to the Halloween party when my boys were both young. They had a great time at the party. We spent most of the evening enjoying short to non-existent waits on the attractions. We stopped at one Trick or Treat station and managed to find a decent spot for the parade. As we went in September, the event was not sold out and the crowds were manageable. Since the kids were little, we left before fireworks. It was a fun night, but hardly worth the costs since we didn’t take advantage of any of the “extras”.
This year we decided to try the party again and I was determined to take advantage of as many Halloween theme events as possible. Here was the plan:
- Arrive before the party begins to beat some of the crowds. (Activities do not begin until 7 p.m.)
- Go through a Trick or Treat trail at 7 p.m.
- Attend the 7:45 Villains’ Dance Mix and Mingle
- Immediately go to Liberty Square/Frontierland to watch the 8:15 p.m. parade
- Immediately after the parade, get in line to meet the Seven Dwarfs (lines may be shorter as some people will still be watching the parade)
- Head back to watch Celebrate the Magic and HalloWishes beginning at 9:15
- Head home for bed time
It was ambitious, but I thought we could make most of it work. We arrived to signs letting us know that the evening’s event was sold out. That should have served as a warning that this was not going to be the evening I had planned.
We arrived before 7 and saw people already lining Main Street waiting for the parade. Well, my kids are young and we were not planning on staying late at the party, so I wasn’t about to wait over an hour for a parade when we had other things we wanted to get accomplished. So, we headed to a trick or treat trail with 200 of our closest friends. By the time we finished it was after 7:30, so we made our way to find a spot for the parade. On the way, we looked out for the characters meet and greets. The lines were all about an hour long so we gave up that idea. No luck finding a parade viewing spot either. We ended up watching from behind about 50 people.
After the parade we attempted to attend the Villains’ Dance Mix and Mingle. We were able to see (sort of) from behind about 2000 people, but had no shot at meeting any of them. We were able to watch fireworks, which the kids enjoyed and we headed out before 10, after meeting no characters, barely seeing the parade and essentially spending $400 on candy.
As I look back on the evening, I know it would have be possible to get to more of the activities if we were able to stay at the party until it closed. The later parade would have been far less hectic and with the extra few hours, we may have been able to meet a character or two.
If you’re able to attend the entire event, then I do think it is worth the extra cost. The activities they have are great, but all require waits. If you are with younger kids (with short attention spans) and are not planning on staying for the entire party, then I would skip the party. It’s a lot of money to stand in line or to simple go on attractions.
~Amy
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