Within my family, it is quite well-known this is my favorite time of year. It all starts with fall, leading into Halloween. Who doesn’t love Halloween, right? With littles, it’s Halloween AND Disney! With a trip planned to Disney for the kiddos and never having been to the Not So Scary Halloween; What better way to research than to team up with other Disney experts to share their insights? These are their best of Disney Halloween party tips, tricks, and hacks to save you time and/or money?
‘Budget Mouse’ Tips
Leah, from The Budget Mouse Is just back home after an extended stay in Disney World. They decided to take shelter there from the recent hurricane (they live in NC).
While there, they attended Mickey’s Not-So-Scary… so she’s fresh with Halloween party tips in mind:
– Here’s a rundown of the hours: you can enter the park as early as 4 pm with your party ticket; the park closes to day guests without a party ticket at 6 pm; the party officially begins at 7 pm. This means the best time to ride attractions with little wait is between 6 and 7 pm! We rode Big Thunder Mountain Railroad three times in a row and rode Splash Mountain in this hour.
– The Hocus Pocus Villain Spelltacular stage show is not-to-be-missed – even with little kids! It occurs three times nightly at parties until September 28th (8:30, 10:45, and 12:00). At parties, after that, there are four nightly performances (7:40, 8:35, 10:45, and 12:00). My five-year-old daughter loved seeing all the villains dance! We arrived at the first nightly showing only a few minutes before the show began. We were able to find a viewing spot fairly close to the stage on the right side of the castle.
‘Points With A Crew’ Tips
Dan, from Points With a Crew, another Disney expert, has a tip that is excellent any time of year, but felt it important for my 
readers: If you’re planning on being in the parks at night for the fireworks shows or anything else, you’ll see tons of Disney glow sticks for sale.
Instead of shelling out $10 or $15 a kid for one of those light up toys, we just bought a 4 pack of glow sticks from the dollar store before we left. Yes, they’re not nearly as “cool” looking, but my kids at least had just as much fun with them at 5% of the cost!
Plus you know your kids are going to totally break/lose their $15 Disney glow sticks within 2 seconds, right? And besides, Disney glow sticks are one of those things like huge stuffed animals that look totally cool when you’re IN the park, but make you look like a loser the second you get out into the parking lot.
Real Mom Recs Tips
Caitlin from Real Mom Recs has a great tip to share with you:
Not everyone knows that your Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party ticket can actually get you into the park at 4 pm, even though the party doesn’t start until 7. This is a huge bonus for two reasons. In addition to getting three more hours of park time in, it also gets you three fastpasses that you can pre-book! There is no fastpass during the party, and lines tend to
be short but the most popular rides like Seven Dwarfs Mine Train will still have a decent wait. Book those for your 4-7pm fastpasses, and use the party time for special Halloween events and rides with no lines. For more fastpass tips, check it out here.
Build A Better Mouse Trip: 13 Halloween Tips
Annette from Build a Better Mouse Trip has a lot of tips for your Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party tips:
Use The Right Entrance
- You can enter the Magic Kingdom as early as 4:00 PM using your Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party ticket but you must use the specially marked party entrance at the front of the park. Going through a regular entrance could result in one of your regular theme park admission tickets accidentally getting used in addition to your party ticket. This is especially important information if you are not planning to visit any other theme parks on the day of the party.
Fastpass+
- Set up a free MyDisneyExperience.com account and you’ll be able to link your Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party ticket to
your account, allowing you to make a couple of FastPass+ reservations for times between 4 PM and 6 PM. FastPass+ is not offered during the party itself. You’ll also find information about character meet-and-greet opportunities during the party through the My Disney Experience app.
Special Character
- Madame Carlotta is a ghostly character you’ll find near the Haunted Mansion ride and she is a fan favorite at the parties.
Rest Up
- This is a premium event so try to be rested and ready before you go in; it is a shame to purchase tickets and then not enjoy yourself because you’re worn out. Make this a day to sleep in, spend a leisurely day at your resort, or enjoy a more relaxed pace – it is a vacation so kicking back a bit is allowed.
Allergy Friendly
- There are teal “allergy aware” treat bags available at any treat center and there are official allergy-friendly locations at the Town Square Theater on Main Street USA and at the Liberty Square ticket office.
Exclusives
- Be sure to pick up the free Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom card that is exclusively offered during MNSSHP. It is a cute souvenir, even if you don’t play and you can always pass it along to your favorite Disney fan – it’ll make their day. This year’s card features the Orange Bird.
Mobile Order
- Save time and skip the ordering line by using Mobile Ordering through your My Disney Experience account at Casey’s Corner, Pecos Bill Tall Tale Inn and Café, Columbia Harbour House, and The Lunching Pad. You’ll order and pay through the app – a good use of line time at one of the attractions; once you arrive at the restaurant, you go back into the app and click the “I’m here” button and you’ll be notified through the app when your food is ready for pick up at the mobile ordering pick-up counter.
Popular Characters
- The Jack and Sally Meet and Greet (Nightmare Before Christmas) are insanely popular and lines tend to stay long until late in the evening. Snow White and the Seven Dwarves is another popular meet-and-greet that gets long lines. If you’re up to staying late, you may want to put off meeting some of these characters until later in the evening as families with young children head back to their resorts.
Themed Attractions
- New for 2018: They’ve added specialty lighting effects at the Mad Tea Party. Space Mountain has a new soundtrack and the entire ride is in the dark for the party. Another fun new thing for 2018 is The Search for Gunpowder Pete at the Pirates of the Caribbean.
Magic Photos
- The party has some really fun, exclusive photo opportunities that are included in Memory Maker. There are Magic Shots, Animated Magic Shots, and some photographers have handheld props themed to Hocus Pocus Villain Spelltacular, Mickey’s Boo to You Parade, Happy Hallowishes Fireworks, etc. click here for more information.
Dance Parties
- You can dance the night away with the Monsters, Inc. crew (Mike, Sully & Needleman) at the Monstrous Scream-O-Ween Ball at the stage in Tomorrowland. Young children are loving the new Storybook Circus Disney Junior Jam in Fantasyland. It features Disney characters like Doc McStuffins and Timon. These are not a “meet-and-greet” experience so characters do not sign autographs or pose for photos but it is a great chance to get some fun candid photos of your loved ones at their Oogie Boogie-ing best.
Dessert Parties
- In my opinion, the Happy HalloWishes Dessert Party is too expensive and takes too much time from the party itself. It does offer a convenient spot to watch the Happy HalloWishes Nighttime Spectacular fireworks which can be nice if you have people with mobility issues or who will have a hard time waiting patiently along Main Street, but know that the view of the castle is from Tomorrowland Terrace which is a bit off-side and not a front-and-center view.
Parade Time
- Mickey’s “Boo-to-You” parade is offered twice nightly (weather permitting) at 9:15 pm and 11:15 pm. The second parade is almost always less crowded than the first because many families with sleepy young children will leave after the fireworks at 10:15 pm.
This tip is not specific to the party but most people don’t realize that there is a murder mystery to solve using the riddles on the Dread Family busts near the entrance to the Haunted Mansion. For more information, go here.
Smart Mouse Travel Tips
Allergy-Friendly Trick-Or-Treating Options
Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween party is one of our favorite things to do all year at Disney World. We love the Boo To You parade, the chance to meet special characters, and reduced lines for rides, but because of my daughter’s food allergy for years we were unable to participate in the MNSSHP trick-or-treating.
In 2017 Disney World introduced allergy-friendly trick-or-treat options at MNSSHP. Elizabeth was so excited to finally get to participate in this fun aspect of the party. For the first time ever she was able to snack on delicious and safe treats like other kids at the party.
If you or someone in your group has a food allergy, request a teal pumpkin trick-or-treat bag instead of the traditional bag when getting your MNSSHP wristband. Go to any of the official trick-or-treat stations throughout Magic Kingdom. Those with a teal pumpkin bag will be given special tokens that can be exchanged for allergy friendly treats or used towards small Halloween trinkets at either the Liberty Square Ticket Office or Town Square Theater on Main Street, U.S.A.
Find out more about allergy-friendly trick-or-treating here.
What are your favorite tips for Not So Scary Halloween that I haven’t mentioned? I know that I’ve only scratched the surface by sharing these tips for Disney.
