The Walt Disney World Resort knows how to celebrate a holiday and Halloween-time is no exception. One special event only available during the Halloween season is Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party at the Magic Kingdom. Celebrate the frightfully fun season in your favorite costume with a special Halloween-time fireworks show, parade, stage shows, dance parties, trick-or-treating throughout the Magic Kingdom and more! This special event takes place on select nights from mid-August until November 1st.
Know Before You Go
In 2023, Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party will take place on 38 select nights from August 11th through November 1st, and ticket prices vary by date. In 2023, prices ranged from $109-$199 per guest ages 10 and up and $99-$189 for guests ages 3-9, excluding tax. If you're an Annual Passholder or Disney Vacation Club Member, you can save $10 per ticket on select event nights.
It's very important to know before arriving at the Magic Kingdom that this is a separately ticketed event which means that your general admission ticket does not include admission to this party. Each party night the Magic Kingdom will close at 6pm to day guests and the party officially takes place from 7pm to midnight. However, party ticket holders will be admitted to Magic Kingdom park as early as 4pm. That means party ticket holders get even more time to enjoy the park before the official party begins. It's also important to know that your MNSSHP ticket does not require an additional theme park ticket or park pass reservation to attend.
If you are planning to attend Mickey's No-So-Scary Halloween Party in future years, you'll want to remember that tickets typically go on sale in July and party dates will sell out as you get closer to Halloween. In 2023, all MNSSHP dates were sold out by August 10th.
Although you are allowed to wear a costume to Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party, both kids and adults will need to adhere to the costume policy. Make sure your costume is family friendly and won't cause any safety issues (think long capes, sharp objects, prop weapons, etc.)
Now, let's review what you can expect at the event.
Trick-or-Treating Throughout the Park
When you enter the Magic Kingdom, you'll be given a wristband to distinguish yourself from day guests. There will be a few check-points when Cast Members will verify that you are there for the party so be prepared to display your wristband at various points of the night before the party officially begins at 7pm. After you get your wristband, you can go pick up your trick-or-treat bag and start gathering complimentary candy like M&M's, Snickers and Skittles. If you or someone in your party has a food allergy, you can pick up a teal-colored treat bag from a Cast Member and then get tokens at each trick-or-treat location to redeem at the Allergy-Friendly Centers for special treats. How cool is it to get to say that you went trick-or-treating in the Magic Kingdom?! It's such a neat experience.
Specialty Food & Beverage
In addition to trick-or-treating, there is also specialty food and beverages that are available throughout the park for purchase. The treats at this year's party include items like the Bowl of Bones from Pecos Bill Tall Tale Inn & Café and Zombie Fingers from Cosmic Ray's Starlight Café. We tried a few of the specialty items this year with mixed results. The Bowl of Bones were very tasty! They had great flavor, with just a little heat. The Candy Corn Milkshake tasted like fall in a glass. It was good but a little thick to drink through the paper straw. We ended up using a spoon and that worked much better.| Bowl of Bones Bone-in piggy wings fried with fresh jalapeños tossed in Coca-Cola Cherry barbecue sauce |
| Candy Corn Milkshake Sweet corn soft-serve topped with whipped cream and sweet potato corn bread nugget (Non-alcoholic) |
The Hades Cone from Storybook Treats was DOLE Whip mango and habanero soft-serve topped with blue raspberry shell and chili-lime seasoning. It's kind of weird eating a spicy soft-serve and the heat really lingered. I didn't hate this but I also didn't love it either. It was also a huge mess! The blue raspberry was dripping down the side of the cone so my hand was blue and sticky as soon as it was handed to me. Not ideal.
| Hades Cone DOLE Whip mango and habanero soft-serve topped with blue raspberry shell and chili-lime seasoning |
The Not-So-Poison Apple Churro found at the Churro Cart near Cinderella Castle was a win for the specialty food. It wasn't as good as a Disneyland churro (but let's face it, the bar is set really high there!) but it was enjoyable. The churro was rolled in green apple sugar topped with a ton of Snickers candy bar pieces and drizzled with caramel sauce. Each serving came with two churros so you really could split this treat with a friend if you want to save some room for other snacks.
| Not-So-Poison Apple Churro Churro rolled in green apple sugar, topped with SNICKERS bar pieces and drizzled with caramel sauce |
Character Greetings
Characters also get into the spirit dressed in their Halloween costumes for meet and greets! You'll find character greetings throughout the park during the party including some rare characters like Jack Skellington and Sally, and the Seven Dwarfs. The lines for characters can get pretty long so don't be surprised if you see a two hour wait for some of the more popular characters, like Jack and Sally. Either line up before the party starts or get in line during one of the parades or fireworks if you want a potentially shorter wait. (The Parade and fireworks are must-see entertainment so I wouldn't recommend skipping those if you're a first time party goer.) I love seeing the characters in their Halloween costumes! It makes for a super cute and unique photo opportunity.
| Vampire Mickey Mouse in Town Square Theater |
| Jack Skellington and Sally in Town Square Theater |
| Pirate Goofy in Storybook Circus |
Boo-tiful Photos
Disney PhotoPass photographers have special Halloween props and Magic Shots. You can also step into spooky scenes from classic not-so-scary Disney Halloween stories with frightfully fun interactive photo frames. The PhotoPass photographers and photo frames can be found throughout the park.
| Sleepy Hollow interactive photo frame |
| Candy Corn Magic Shot |
| Hocus Pocus Villain Spelltacular Prop |
Not-So-Scary Entertainment
Entertainment is where MNSSHP really shines! There is a stage show, parade, fireworks, two dance parties and two bands/singing sensations. The Hocus Pocus Villain Spelltacular stage show has several viewings throughout the night so you can decide which time works best for your schedule or see the show twice if you really feel inclined! The show features the Sanderson Sisters from Hocus Pocus, with special appearances from some other Disney villains, and is located on the Castle Forecourt Stage. If you're a night owl, you may want to consider seeing the midnight show as that will give you the most time to enjoy the rest of the party before seeing the final performance of the evening.
| Hocus Pocus Villain Spectacular |
Mickey's "Boo-To-You" Parade offers two viewings, one at 9:15pm and one at 11:15pm. The parade is my favorite parade in all of Walt Disney World and is a major must-see! It's so good that I like to watch both showings of the parade. There are a ton of great floats, costumed characters, and my absolute favorite, the gravediggers from the Haunted Mansion. The music is also super catchy. You'll find yourself singing "Boo-To-You" for days afterwards!
Before the start of the parades, the Headless Horseman rides down the parade route for a spooktacular appearance. It's so neat to see him ride down Main Street and sets the stage for a truly awesome parade. Right before the parade starts is perhaps my favorite, new-ish addition to MNSSHP. It's Max Goof dressed as Powerline! He does a little pre-show dance party on the parade route to the song "Stand Out" from A Goofy Movie and it is the most amazing thing I've ever seen! He has a full cast of dancers with him who perform the "perfect cast" dance move (if you know, you know!) and they also encourage the crowd to get up and dance with them. It was so much fun! I absolutely love Powerline and his songs so this was a highlight of the party for me. I hope this stays a constant at the party in years to come as it's a huge hit in my book!| Powerline Max and dancers |
Another must-see event entertainment is Disney's Not-So-Spooky Spectacular. The spectacular includes fireworks, projections and lasers on Cinderella Castle. Although I prefer viewing the fireworks from Main Street, viewing locations are available throughout the park and are often less crowded in the park's other lands.
| Disney's Not-So-Spooky Spectacular |
You'll find the Cadaver Dans Barbershop Quartet in Frontierland. They're a spookier version of the Dapper Dans that are a must-see. Over in Adventureland, you'll find the Rusty Cutlass pirate band playing swashbuckling songs. The two dance parties are the Disney Junior Jam in Cosmic Ray's Starlight Café and the Zom-Beatz Bash over on Rockettower Plaza Stage.
| The Cadaver Dans in Frontierland |
Halloween Twists on Attractions
The characters aren't the only ones to get into the spooky spirit. Several attractions have a Halloween-twist during the party. Space Mountain and Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor in Tomorrowland, and the Mad Tea Party in Fantasyland are all given bewitching surprises to celebrate Halloween.
Tips & Tricks
There is so much to do at the party that it's impossible to see and do everything in one night. Here are some tips and tricks to help you in your planning:
- Plan out your night before you arrive and prioritize what is the most important to you.
- If meeting characters is a priority for you, make sure to line up early for Jack Skellington and Sally or the Seven Dwarfs as their lines can get really long. Just like prioritizing the most important activities during the party, you'll want to prioritize which characters you want to meet as there just won't be enough time to visit them all.
- Wait until the end of the night to do your trick-or-treating. The lines are much shorter and the Cast Members give out much larger scoopfuls of candy.
- The second parade is usually less crowded so if you only want to see the parade once, try waiting until the 11:15pm parade. If you are worried about not making it to the second parade, then make sure you grab a spot early for the first viewing as spots along the curb around the castle and Main Street will fill up early.
- If you're looking for a less crowded spot for the parade, go to Frontierland. The parade starts there so you won't have to wait as long as those people watching from Main Street U.S.A.
- Try to arrive a little before 4pm as the turnstiles can be busy when party ticket holders are allowed in.
Have you attended Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party before? And if not, is attending this special event on your must-do list? Let us know in the comments.
Ashley Lehman
Ashley has been a Disney Parks fan from an early age and loves anything vintage Disney. You can email Ashley at [email protected].
