Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party - Worth the $?

[ecross23]

Going to Disney the last week in September and saw they have this on day 2 of our trip. There will be 6 of us. My husband, dad, son-11, son-8 and daughter-4. Is this party really worth the money? Does it get super crowded? Hearing that it costs like $80 a person. Not sure my daughter would last more than 3 hours so wondering if it's really worth it.

If so, what is so great about it? What's your favorite part?

Thanks

Eva

 

[tourguide81]

We haven't been, but are doing it for the first time this year. It's not $80pp, more like $55-67 I think. I agree it is pricey but I have heard only good things so we are going to try it. We plan on no park earlier in the day, taking it easy, swimming, etc. Then we will get to MK when our party ticket allows - 4pm. We'll eat dinner soon after and then stay as long as we can. My guess is the 3 year old will fall asleep by 10 but the 6 year old will be up till the end. We'll see.

 

[brandigregory]

Go to www.easywdw.com and read about it. It sounds awesome! We are going on 9/19 and have a BOG ADR for a 4pm dinner!

 

[tigerbelly]

It was worth every penny to us. Our sons 4 and 7 loved it as well. There is something about the spooky vibe and air about the park that just lingers in our memories. The rides were all walk on by the end of the evening (we were probably the last ones out of the park!) and the trick or treating was a blast for the kids. The parade was so fantastic. It is a must do for anyone who lives for the Halloween holiday.

 

[lazer]

My son lasted the whole party when he was both 3 and 4. The vibe is something that's hard to explain, but totally worth it. The parade is my favorite part...my kids' too! We also love that we can basically ride everything twice during the party because we skip the fireworks (saw them once and they were neat, but my youngest isn't a fan of them in general).

It's worth every penny IMO.

 

[ToddyLu]

Many families like yours buy the tickets and then go in the park at 4 p.m. They allow party goers in at 4. So most families save a day of tickets and just swim the first part of the day, nap and then head out for the evening. That is the way I would play if you don't think the little one will last. If you were going to get a 6 day MYW ticket I would get a 5 day and then a party ticket.

There is a speical parade that rolls around twice and a special Hallowishes. There is usually a pin that goes on sale at 7 p.m. exclusive to that year's party. In the past few years, CMs have done a better job of clearing the park of day guests at 7. If you do not have a party ticket you cannot have an ADR after 7 p.m.

Keep in mind that F&W is going on in Epcot. On Friday nights in the fall it will have evening EMH...MK closes at 7 for the party, AK at 5 or 6 and DHS usually by 8. If you don't feel like going back to room for an early evening and don't want to fight the EMH crowd ( combined with Friday night F&W crowd) the MNSSHP is a great option.

There is a dance party and you can usually get on rides with ease. Even on 10/31 when sold out the last two years we have no trouble riding rides, minimal wait even with crowd cause there is so much going on.

Rest the kids and get there at 4....and remember....

The Headless Horseman is worth the price of admission! Mawhahaahaha!

 

[set1208]

Many families like yours buy the tickets and then go in the park at 4 p.m. They allow party goers in at 4. So most families save a day of tickets and just swim the first part of the day, nap and then head out for the evening. That is the way I would play if you don't think the little one will last. If you were going to get a 6 day MYW ticket I would get a 5 day and then a party ticket.

This is exactly what we do and I love it. We will be there on the last weekend of Sept too. Last year my kids were 3,5,7 and 13. My little guys, who are always in bed by 8, made it until 11:30 and we had the best time ever. The stroller was a necessity and the three littles took turns with it.

We do the party more for the money savings and for the fact that the rides and shows are all walk on, especially during parade time. It's a much more efficient way for us to do MK.

 

[Andrea464]

YES, totally worth it!
If you're able shoot for a night during the week when it'll hopefully be less crowded. I recommend dressing up too, even the adults. The interactions with CM are worth it!

 

[DSNY4ever]

We had mixed feelings. We did a break day that day and relaxed and then went at 4.

Favorite parts- Dressing up and seeing everyone else dressed up! So many creative costumes and such a happy vibe from park goers showing off their amazing creativity in the parks! The dance parties were really cute and my DS (2 years old) could have stayed in there the whole time. I got all teary eyed watching him dance with the characters.

Least favorite parts- This was probably the most crowded night (and hottest!) of our whole trip. The character lines were crazy long and ate up a ton of time. The ride lines were just moderate, but I felt like we should be doing "special Halloween stuff". The parade was really great, but we had to do the first parade with our little guy and it was PACKED, like CRAZY-INSANE PACKED. You could barely move (or see). The candy lines were also super long, but we had to do those early before DS pooped out. We only got through 2 candy lines.

I would not do it again with a toddler because I feel like you really need to be able to stay up a little later to get the most out of it and experience what the party had to offer. But we had fun taking family pictures in our costumes.

 

[karaokevixen]

Are there dates released for this yet this year? I would love to take my kids, but we're only at the World for a few days.

 

[wdwgoofydaddy]

I'm interested in hearing more about the logistics of how this party works. If it starts at 4pm and you have to pay extra for the party, what happens to the guest that are already in the park during the day? I cannot see Disney kicking them out and only letting the people that pay extra back in? maybe that's what happens.

We generally stay at MK from open till close with our kids and my youngest (8 years old) loves Halloween. I'm very interested in doing this and would value more information on how it all works.

Thanks in advance all.

 

[LekiaHall]

Have not gone to the Halloween party, but have done the Christmas party. It wasn't worth it for the party itself, but since there are no immediate plans to return to Disney during Christmastime, it was worth it for the experience to have "been there, done that."

Same deal with Halloween. Not sure if we'll ever visit again in October, so would like to do all the Halloween-themed stuff to at least see what it's about.

 

[set1208]

I'm interested in hearing more about the logistics of how this party works. If it starts at 4pm and you have to pay extra for the party, what happens to the guest that are already in the park during the day? I cannot see Disney kicking them out and only letting the people that pay extra back in? maybe that's what happens. We generally stay at MK from open till close with our kids and my youngest (8 years old) loves Halloween. I'm very interested in doing this and would value more information on how it all works. Thanks in advance all.

People with party tix can start coming in at four and they get special party bracelets when they enter and they need to be worn all night. Somehow the CMs are able to spot the non bracelet guests and are able to herd them out by 7. They also make announcements over the PA System that the park is closing to non-party guests.

 

[set1208]

Are there dates released for this yet this year? I would love to take my kids, but we're only at the World for a few days.

If you look on the WDW calendar for sept/October, you'll see that MK closes at 7 on certain nights so you can safely assume that those are party nights. The only exception I know of are sept 6-7 which are for Night of Joy.

 

[khertz]

I wasn't sure it would be worth the money with a small child, but it totally was worth every penny for us! We went on October 27th last year which was a Sunday night. We spent the morning relaxing by the pool at our resort, then took a nice long nap. We got to MK around 5 pm or so and had dinner before the party officially started at 7 pm.

We went into the night with a plan, prioritizing our must-dos, including meeting Mickey, Flynn & Rapunzel at Princess Fairytale Hall, and seeing the Boo to You parade & Hallowishes. We ended up doing all of those things and more! Surprisingly, it wasn't a sold out night despite being so close to Halloween, so I'm sure that helped. We had not planned on doing any Trick or Treating but we all three came home with bags full of candy.

The parade and fireworks are absolutely stunning, and worth the price of admission to the party on their own!

Our son was newly three years old at the party, and I had stressed myself out planning out how we were going to do so much before he presumably fell asleep at 10 pm or so. I was kind of happy to be so wrong about that! He ended up staying awake for the whole party and enjoyed every minute of it! We did call it a night a little early and leave at 11:15, but I think he would have lasted until midnight if we had decided to push it a bit later.

We had a lot of fun dressing up, too! DS was Peter Pan, I went as Tinkerbell, and my DH went as Michael. So needless to say, he got a lot of fun reactions to his costume! I would totally recommend dressing up, it makes the night so much more fun and festive! But be aware that at the end of September it will still be pretty hot, even at night after the sun goes down, so I would plan costumes accordingly.

 

[LekiaHall]

I'm interested in hearing more about the logistics of how this party works. If it starts at 4pm and you have to pay extra for the party, what happens to the guest that are already in the park during the day? I cannot see Disney kicking them out and only letting the people that pay extra back in? maybe that's what happens.

We generally stay at MK from open till close with our kids and my youngest (8 years old) loves Halloween. I'm very interested in doing this and would value more information on how it all works.

Thanks in advance all.

Just to add on to set1208's comment. If you have tickets to the party, but also were already inside off of your regular Disney ticket, you don't have to leave and reenter. They have designated areas where you go and trade your ticket for a bracelet.

 

[jessienatillie]

We are hoping to do a September party when we are there. Just wondering do people dress up in September? My dd (6) will be game any time but the boys (9&12) might not be so keen if they are the only ones. ( also the whole trip is a surprise so I will be packing costume stuff- thinking pirates or something easy)

 

[eeyoreali]

I have been twice before and I love it! We're going next year at the end of September specifically so our two kids can experience it. I know my daughter will have a ton of fun, my son will only be two and a half, but he'll still enjoy it too.

 

[eangel12]

I'm interested in hearing more about the logistics of how this party works. If it starts at 4pm and you have to pay extra for the party, what happens to the guest that are already in the park during the day? I cannot see Disney kicking them out and only letting the people that pay extra back in? maybe that's what happens. We generally stay at MK from open till close with our kids and my youngest (8 years old) loves Halloween. I'm very interested in doing this and would value more information on how it all works. Thanks in advance all.

If you are at Magic Kingdom on a Halloween party night, you can stay in the park using your day pass ticket until 7pm. At that point, if you do not have on a bracelet which means you paid extra for the special party, you will be escorted out by a cast member!

So essentially, yes Disney will kick you out at 7pm if you don't have a MNSSHP ticket.

When people refer to the 4pm entrance, Disney advertises that the party starts at 7pm but Disney allows people to begin entering the gates at 4pm.

 

[ecross23]

Thanks for all the responses. Sounds like a once in a lifetime thing. Now to find costumes before our trip in September!