Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party is one of my favorite special events at the Walt Disney World Resort, and I’m thrilled to share a recap of this year’s event! If you’ve never been to Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party before, you may want to start with our post about Everything You Need to Know About Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party. Hopefully this review also gives you a feel for what attending the party is like, and as always let us know in the comments what you think about the party or if you have any questions!
We always arrive early to the Halloween Party–your party ticket will start getting you into the parks beginning at 4:00 pm even though the event doesn’t technically start until 7:00 pm. We have annual passes now, so this doesn’t matter in terms of value for the party ticket to us but it may to you which is why I point it out.
Although we arrived three hours early, there were plenty of other guests like us already heading into the park in costume. Many of the PhotoPass spots for the party were also already set up, and we loved that we were able to get some of these photos early. There really is so much to do during the party that you can’t do it all in one night, so being able to sneak some of these photos in before the event started helps us save some time.
After picking up our treat bags and taking some photos, we wandered over to Liberty Square to ride the Haunted Mansion. We really don’t focus on rides at the party but going to a Halloween party and not riding the Haunted Mansion just seems silly! We also used the couple of hours before the party to experience our first (and last since it was the last day!) Incredibles Expo in Tomorrowland.
We stayed for the full set of the Incredibles dance party, and went off to meet Stitch once it was over. In hindsight we probably should have met Stitch during the party (we were dressed as Lilo and Stitch after all!). Once the party starts Stitch puts his Elvis costume on–which would have made for some cool photos, but since this was definitely a popular meet and greet at the party we figured he’d be back for next year and we’d be able to prioritize meeting him in his costume then.
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Our Lilo and Stitch costumes came together only days before the trip. If you end up procrastinating on costumes like we did, I highly recommend checking out Hot Topic. They have a ton of Disney “costume” dresses that could easily work as a comfortable costume for the party and they’d also work just for visiting the parks in. Chaz’s Stitch headband (that is a little hard to see because of his hair) was also from Hot Topic, and with the sale going on at the time we only spent about $35 total on the “costumes” for both of us.
Right when the party officially started, we hopped over to Big Top Souvenirs to check out some of the party-specific merchandise. Even though this party wasn’t crowded, I’m always careful to buy whatever party merchandise I have my eye on at the beginning of the party. We both decided on the Hocus Pocus spirit jersey (because how could we not?!)
With our jersey in hand, we spent some time trick-or-treating! I know trick-or-treating (especially as an adult) is a huge draw of these parties for a lot of guests, but it’s not usually something we focus on. This particular party just turned out to be really laid back for us, and since we never found ourselves having to rush around the park we really took our time stocking up on candy.
Our trick-or-treating brought us through Fantasyland, Liberty Square, and Frontierland to Adventureland, where we got in line for Pirates of the Caribbean that only had a 10-minute wait. This was one of the attractions that had an overlay for the party, and while we don’t usually do rides at the parties since these overlays were new for this year we just had to check them out! Pirates of the Caribbean featured a couple of live actors in the queue, and one on the ride itself.
It was a cute addition to the attraction, and while it isn’t something I’d rush to at our next party I would definitely recommend it since it’s something you can only see at the party. Considering the other attractions with overlays were Mad Tea Party and Space Mountain, this is also the best attraction during the party if you aren’t into spinning rides or rollercoasters.
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The overlay for Space Mountain was that the entire ride was in complete darkness with an ‘energetic soundtrack.’ I don’t even remember the soundtrack, because being on that ride in total darkness was terrifying! If you like Space Mountain and are curious about what it’s like in pitch darkness, don’t skip this one at the party. It was really cool to experience a ride I’m so familiar with an a completely new way. But if the thought of that ride being any darker than it already is gives you nightmares then skip this one–there is so much to do at the party that if this isn’t your thing you’ll find plenty of other things you’ll love instead.
We arrived back in Frontierland about 45 minutes early for the first parade, and we managed to find a spot on the wall right outside of Pecos Bill’s Tall Tale Inn and Cafe. (If you really want this spot though I would suggest getting there earlier than we did–this party was definitely not sold out so I don’t think this is the norm). Since we were right outside Pecos Bill’s, we decided to try some of the party-specific food items while we waited for the parade.
To start we ordered the Hades Nachos, which tasted much better than they look in this picture! These are buffalo chicken nachos with bright red hot sauce and nacho cheese, (we added the lettuce ourselves from the toppings bar). It’s made with black bean tortilla chips, and we actually though the chips made the dish! Something about the texture of the chips really helped them to stay crisp despite being covered in toppings. Give these a try if you’re looking for a spicy snack during the party (and Disney if you’re reading this add those black bean chips to other nachos in the parks, please!)
For ‘dessert’ we tried the worms and dirt, which as we expected is really just fun to get because of how it looks with the Haunted Mansion tombstone. It was a sweet way to start the parade, but not all that different than worms and dirt you could make at home. Still, I’m a sucker for chocolate pudding and gummy worms and would have no issues having this one again.
Mickey’s Boo-To-You Halloween Parade is my favorite parade in Disney. In fact, we’ve gone to parties in the past where we’ve seen it twice. I love this parade because it features villains, classic characters dressed up in Halloween costumes, and sequences from the Haunted Mansion, including the Hitchhiking Ghosts, Ballroom Dancers, and Grave Diggers, plus the soundtrack is just too catchy!
Since we were watching from the beginning of the parade route, we followed the parade down towards Main Street when it ended. (This is our ‘method’ to getting an ideal spot to watch both the parade and the fireworks that take place shortly after.) Much to our surprise, we managed to find a spot on the hub grass (again, I don’t think this is the norm, I think this was a particularly slow party night). The hub grass did not even fill up while we were waiting for the fireworks to start, and the guests who were there didn’t even stand when the fireworks started, so following how the rest of the night was going we had quite a relaxing time watching HalloWishes.
HalloWishes had been my favorite fireworks show for years, though I think Happily Ever After is giving it a run for its money now! If you’re like me, and you love the theming of all things Halloween, this is the fireworks show for you. The villainous soundtrack, Nightmare Before Christmas references, and the Ghost Host acting as a narrator are just a few things I love about this show. HalloWishes also comes with perimeter fireworks, which is something Disney typically saves for party nights, and seeing all of the fireworks around the park from the hub grass was one of our favorite experiences of this entire trip.
With the fireworks and parade behind us, we decided to focus on meeting some characters we hadn’t met before at past parties. First up–the Seven Dwarfs! We usually hop in line for one of the more popular character meet and greets before the party starts. We’ve done this in the past with Jack and Sally, and Moana, but for this party we started off a little sidetracked from the dance party in Tomorrowland. Fortunately, the Seven Dwarfs only had about a 10-minute wait (which again–totally unheard of, this was a very quiet party!), so we were able to finally meet them pretty quickly.
Donald and Daisy were also meeting guests in Storybook Circus, so we made our way to their meet and greet next–how adorable is Donald in his pumpkin costume!? This turned out to be one of the best character interactions I think we’ve ever had, so I’m thrilled that were able to make our way over there during this party.
Cosmic Ray’s Starlight Cafe was our next stop to split the Muenster Smash Burger that was new for the party this year. WOW. It doesn’t look like much, but if this was on the regular menu we’d order it all the time. The burger came topped with muenster cheese, sriracha mayo, and tater tots, with a black bun for Halloween of course, but the crunch from the tots and the combination of the cheese and sauce made this burger delicious! We split it because we had been snacking on candy all night, but if we ever have this again I’m totally getting my own.
While walking back through Fantasyland to hit up some more treat trails before the show, we got sidetracked by Seven Dwarf’s Mine Train having a 10-minute wait. At this point we were cutting it close for the beginning of the last Hocus Pocus Villain Spelltacular show but we decided to get in line since it’s been a while since we’ve ridden Mine Train. We got off the ride with just enough time to catch the Sanderson Sisters’ rendition of “I Put a Spell on You,” which made for the perfect end to a memorable evening at Not So Scary.
All in all, this was one relaxed Halloween party. We’re usually constantly strategizing on how to meet the most characters, see both parades, get a spot for the fireworks, etc… but due to the low crowds (during Labor Day week), we spent the entire party strolling around the park and taking our time doing everything we wanted to do. We had the best spot for the parade, and we got to relax on the hub grass for the fireworks. Plus we rode four rides, had three Halloween snacks, met three characters, got some special PhotoPass photos, a Hocus Pocus spirit jersey, and loads of Halloween candy. The night was oddly productive while also feeling low-key and relaxed, and while we didn’t have the go hard or go home mentality we usually have this was certainly my favorite party experience to date.
Share your party experiences in the comments, and let me know which characters we should meet next! And if you’re on the fence about getting party tickets or if you have any questions, feel free to leave them below, we’re happy to help!
