The Perfect Plan for Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party
It’s the Halloween season in Disney World! Decorations started going up at the end of July, and the first Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party just took place on August 11th.
Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party is a pretty popular event, with a lot of dates already sold out! This is a separately-ticketed event, and the prices range from $109 to $199 for adult tickets.
For those prices, you probably want to make sure you get your money’s worth at the party, right? Well, we’re here to help — we’ve come up with a plan to help you do as much as possible at Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party!
Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party
First, let’s talk a little bit more about the party. It takes place in Magic Kingdom on select nights from now through November 1st.
Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party
The party has a limited capacity, so you will usually see a lot shorter lines for rides during the event. But, there still can be some crowds for popular things like entertainment!
Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party
Speaking of entertainment, there is a bunch of exclusive entertainment that you can ONLY see at the party! There are special fireworks, a parade, characters, and more.
The party lasts from 7PM to 12AM, so you have 5 hours to enjoy the festivities. This might seem like a lot of time, but it can go by pretty fast! You also are allowed to enter Magic Kingdom starting at 4PM if you have a ticket for the party.
So, let’s break down our plan to help you do as much as possible during the party!
Plan at a Glance
- 3:30PM: Latest time to arrive at Magic Kingdom front gates
- 4PM: Enter Magic Kingdom for party
- 4PM — 7PM: Explore merchandise at The Emporium, see any characters who start meeting early, go on desired rides, etc.
- 6PM (OPTIONAL): Try to get a virtual queue boarding pass for TRON
- 7PM: Market Street Treat Trail on Main Street, U.S.A.
- 7:15PM: Rusty Cutlass Pirate Band in Caribbean Plaza
- 7:25pm: Enchanted Tiki Room Treat Trail
- 7:30PM: Tortuga Tavern Treat Trail
- 7:45PM: The Cadaver Dans Barbershop Quartet in Frontierland
- 8PM — 9:45PM: Free time to go on rides (including those with Halloween overlays), meet characters, get snacks, visit Treat Trails in Frontierland, Fantasyland, & Tomorrowland, attend dance parties, take PhotoPass pictures, etc.
- 9:45PM: Get viewing spot in front of Cinderella Castle
- 10:15PM: Disney’s Not-So-Spooky Spectacular
- 10:45PM: Hocus Pocus Villain Spelltacular at Cinderella Castle Stage
- 11:15PM: Mickey’s “Boo-to-You” Halloween Parade
- 11:30PM-12AM: Free time until end of party
Detailed Plan
Okay, let’s break down this plan step-by-step! First up, know that if you have a ticket to the party, you can get into Magic Kingdom as early as 4PM. But, a lot of people will be waiting before then to get into the park, so we would suggest getting there by 3:30PM at the very latest.
Remember that if you’re not staying on property, you’ll have to go to the Transportation and Ticket Center before you can get to Magic Kingdom, so it takes extra time. We would say that ideally, you should try to get to the front of Magic Kingdom around 3PM if you want to be in the park as long as possible with your ticket.
Now, the party won’t start until 7PM, which is when all of the regular day guests will be out of the park. So, in that time, we would suggest checking out the special Halloween merchandise around the park (The Emporium has the most).
You can also spend this time going on any rides that you wish to. But, remember the lines will be much shorter during the party, so keep that in mind when looking at wait times.
Halloween Merch Display
This could also be a good time to get on some rides you just want to get out of the way so you don’t have to worry about going on them during the party. Keep in mind that the Halloween overlays will not be up during this time.
Party guests are also able to try and get a virtual queue for TRON at 6PM. If you want to go on TRON during the party, remember to get on My Disney Experience to try and get a boarding pass right at 6PM (have the app open and ready to click for the boarding pass BEFORE 6, though!).
At the parties we’ve been to, we noticed that some exclusive characters will start meeting and greeting before the party officially starts. This is also a good time to try and meet them! Both the Seven Dwarfs and Jack Skellington & Sally will be pretty popular, so prepare to wait in decently long lines.
But, if you are able to get in line for these characters right when they start greeting, it could be a good way to avoid spending any actual party time in line waiting for them.
There are several Treat Trails at the party for you to go trick-or-treating! At 7PM, we suggest visiting the Market Street Treat Trail on Main Street, U.S.A. as it will close at 8PM for the night.
After that, head on over to Adventureland to see the new Rusty Cutlass Pirate Band in Caribbean Plaza at 7:15PM! These guys were super fun to watch, so you don’t want to miss them.
Since you’re in Adventureland at this point, you should go ahead and visit the Treat Trails at the Enchanted Tiki Room and Tortuga Tavern.
Then, a little before 7:45PM, go on over to Frontierland to see the Cadaver Dans Barbershop Quartet. These are the Dapper Dans in their Halloween costumes singing spooky songs!
After watching the Cadaver Dans, you have free time until around 9:45PM. This is the time when you should go on more rides, including the ones with Halloween overlays if you want to — they include Mad Tea Party, Space Mountain, and Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor.
This is also the time that you can meet more characters, get the exclusive food items around the park, and check out the dance parties in Tomorrowland. We would also suggest using this time to visit the Treat Trails in Frontierland, Fantasyland, and Tomorrowland.
If I were personally following this plan at the next party, I would go to the Frontierland Treat Trails right after watching the Cadaver Dans. Then I would make my way through Liberty Square, Fantasyland, and Tomorrowland going on rides, seeing characters, eating snacks, and visiting more Treat Trails.
And, don’t forget that there are a lot of PhotoPass opportunities around the park if you want to participate in any of those during this time.
Around 9:45PM, you should move over to find a good spot on Main Street, U.S.A. in front of Cinderella Castle. Ideally, I’d say to get a spot in the Hub area right in front of the castle.
People will be waiting to see the fireworks, so it’s important to get a good spot early!
Then, at 10:15PM, Disney’s Not-So-Spooky Spectacular will take place. This is the special Halloween fireworks show for the party and there will be fireworks over the castle as well as projections on the castle, so you’ll want to be able to see it clearly.
The fireworks show is 12 minutes long, so once it’s over, you should stay in the area and get ready to watch the show that will be up on the stage soon. The Hocus Pocus Villain Spelltacular will happen at 10:45PM on Cinderella Castle Stage!
If you’re already near the stage, keep your spot. But, if you were further down on Main Street for the fireworks, we’d suggest moving toward the stage so that you have a good view of the show.
Since you have a little under 20 minutes between the fireworks and the stage show, this could also be a good time to grab snacks available on Main Street, U.S.A., go to the bathroom, take pictures, etc. You can always have someone stay back to hold onto your spot if others in your group want to go do any of these things.
After the stage show (which is about 22 minutes long) you should remain on Main Street, U.S.A. in order to watch Mickey’s Boo-to-You Halloween Parade at 11:15PM. The parade travels through the Hub in front of the castle and then all the way down Main Street.
After the parade ends, you have some more free time before the party ends at 12AM. During this time you should do anything left on your list that you haven’t been able to do yet like meet more characters, get more snacks, ride more rides, etc.
You can also use this time to grab some merchandise. But, just keep in mind that buying merch at the end of the party is a little risky since that’s usually when most people shop and items could be picked over.
And, know that you can get in line for a ride as late as 11:59PM in order to get on it!
Changes to the Plan
This plan is obviously just a suggestion, so you can change it any way you want! You can skip over something you don’t really care about or add in something we didn’t include.
It’s also important to keep in mind that even with this plan, it’s still going to be difficult to do every. single. thing. at the party. We have all the entertainment included, but you probably won’t be able to get a picture with every character or ride all the rides.
Just prioritize what you want to do the most! You should make a list before the party of your absolute must-do meet and greets, rides, photos, and snacks that you want.
And, we can help you plan! You can check out all of the party-exclusive food right here, see a lot of the characters that are at the party right here, see all of the PhotoPass opportunities here, and see all of the rides that are open during the party right here.
Also, note that you will be able to see all of these things on your party map, which you get once you’ve entered the party.
On another note, if you get a boarding pass for TRON during the party, it’s unpredictable when you will be called to go on the ride. Depending on when your group is called, it could throw a wrench into these plans — but hopefully, the plans can be adjusted around this!
However, if you have other opportunities to go on TRON outside of the Halloween party, I would suggest not bothering with getting a boarding pass and going on the ride. But, I totally understand if the party is your only opportunity to check it out!
Finally, let’s talk about the weather. As you probably know, the weather can be a bit temperamental in Disney World with storms popping up unannounced at times.
We would definitely advise you to keep an eye on the weather forecast and radar leading up to the party. If storms are expected during the times we suggest you see major entertainment, you might want to actually switch things around so that you don’t take the chance of them being cancelled.
If it’s storming hard enough, the parade, stage show, fireworks, and more will be either postponed or canceled for the night. Outdoor rides will also shut down for storms.
Just stay aware of the radar and be prepared to change plans if you need to. It’s all about managing your expectations for the evening and remaining flexible so that if you do need to change your plan, it won’t cause any disappointment.
There you have it! Hopefully this plan can help you do as much as possible during your time at Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party. Stay tuned for more Halloween fun from MickeyBlog!
