I never thought that I would attend any form of a Halloween Party in August but alas, here I am! Last year I attended my first Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party. Needless to say, I got hooked! Disney announced a few new changes for 2019 so I had to check it out. I’ve put together a guide to help you make the most out of your party experience.
The Party Basics
There is so much to offer at the Halloween Party that it is pretty much impossible to do it all in one night. What you need to decide is what is most important to you: rides, characters, shows or food. It can be a combination of a few of these but don’t bank on completing all of them. First, let’s start with some quick facts about your party ticket:
- The ticket is separate from your normal theme park ticket. This can be booked online or in person at Walt Disney World. Tickets are limited and dates can sell out quick. Dates close to Halloween tend to sell out the fastest. You will receive a separate wrist band upon arrival to Magic Kingdom.
- You can enter the park around 4pm on the date of your party. This is a great time to get on a few rides (note that some rides are not open during the party) and grab dinner before the party starts at 7pm.
- Your ticket includes unlimited trick or treating, rides and shows/parades. Specialty food items are separate and most can be used with the Disney Dining Plan.
The Old Favorites and New Highlights
Now that we have some ground rules established, I can start gushing about this year’s party. The new castle show and fireworks (Mickey’s Not So Spooky Spectacular) is next level. It blows last year’s fireworks out of the water. I would highly recommend this and would encourage you to keep in mind that there is only one showing for this currently. The Hocus Pocus Villain Spectacular is back with multiple show options throughout the night for you to enjoy. It is a cute show to catch in between other events. Then to top it off, there are multiple times to watch the “Boo to You” Parade! I’m typically not a parade person but I love this one. The soundtrack is very catchy.
There are plenty of new treats available at this year’s Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party too. I could not get to all the treats that I wanted to try but Disney Food Blog did an excellent job at reviewing all of them. Check out their review article here: https://bit.ly/2Pfn5BT . There is sure to be a Halloween treat that will tickle your fancy.
The ride and character highlights are the same for 2019. You can ride the tea cups with special lighting. Space Mountain is completely dark during this event and Pirates of the Caribbean still has you looking for Gun Powder Pete. Of course the beloved ghosts haunting the outside of the Haunted Mansion are back with their amazing jokes as well. Disney is encouraging you to use the app for the locations of the character Meet N Greets this year.
Best Practice Tips
Now let’s go over some of my tips on how to make the most of your night. Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party is such a special event and you will want to make it memorable.
- Get to the Park at 4pm. My daughter loves to do rides so this let us go on a few rides before the party started at 7pm. I really like to enjoy the special features of the party once it starts.
- Get an early dinner. Getting to the park around 4pm and eating before 7pm allows you to maximize party time too.
- Plan out your Halloween Treats. If you want a specific treat, use the map above to figure out where it is sold and go there towards the beginning of the party. We missed out on the Jack and Sally push pops because the lines were so long and we didn’t want to take away from party time later in the evening.
- Get Good Seats for Mickey’s Not So Spooky Spectacular with Jack Skellington. This is only shown once unlike Hocus Pocus and the Boo to You Parade. If you want to be right up in front of the castle with Jack, I recommend getting into position about 30-45 minutes early. I was able to hold a spot while my husband took Olivia on rides. There is a Hocus Pocus Show that starts at 8:30pm, followed by a Boo to You at 9:15pm which will allow you to get into place for the 10:15pm show. If the kids get hungry, this is a great time to use Mobile Order at Casey’s Corner and send one person to pick up snacks! This show was my absolute favorite of the night.
- Decide Between Rides and Characters. My family typically leans towards rides but there are some high profile characters that only come out during Not So Scary like Jack and Sally. The line for Jack and Sally can easily be a hour or longer. If they are on your list, get to the park early and get in line asap!
I hope that some of these tips will help you enjoy your Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party even more in 2019! I know that this is become a yearly tradition for my family and I hope you want to make it one for yourself as well. What are you most excited about this year?
Check out my video from last year: https://haleewithaflair.com/2018/11/mickeys-not-so-scary-halloween-party/
For Tickets: https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/events/mickeys-not-so-scary-halloween-party/purchase/
