Not So Scary Halloween Party

[Retro Magic]

It's the best!!!
However, unfortunately it's not quite the "hidden gem" it used to be as compared to the first year we attended. It can get pretty packed. Even in September. It's still great fun though and I cannot recommend it enough

 

[Figment_Fan]

Went for the first time this year - in October. Going to go again next October. I love DVC (makes more trips possible for us). I got to trick-or-treat for the first time in 40 years!!
Halloween is my favorite holiday.
Also, don't forget the Food and Wine Fest over at EPCOT.
Make your costumes. Go and have a LOT of fun.
AMAZING!

 

[Davey Jones II]

If you have tickets to the party, you can enter the park at 4 p.m., or three hours before it officially starts. So you could stay late at a park the night before, sleep in and use the day of the party as a rest day, until 4.

I do agree with the rest, the party is well worth it, mostly because of the terrific Boo to You parade, which is worth watching both times. Also, I was there on Oct. 30, and there was little waiting for most rides. Only the HM had a bit of a wait. And speaking of the Mansion, I stood in front for a half hour taking videos of the awesomely creepy lighting effects.

 

[Spanky]

Also I think the Friday night parties are more crowded as locals attend them as compared to a mid-week date. Think how long it has been since you got to Trick or Treat? The cast members treat the adults just like the kids. You will see some amazing costumes.

 

[jess1662]

Trying to convince my wife that we should pull the kids out of school for it this year. No other way for us to see it without taking the kids out of school. Also thinking that September will be great with low crowds and cooler temps than August but still warm enough to hit the water rides and such.

We love September, but it is definitely not cooler than August. It is HOT!

 

[OasterP]

We've never been before but are definitely going this year!

We are going on one of our "rest days" because we figure we'll still get quite a few hours in MK without using one of our day passes! I can't wait!

 

[Frozen2014]

Well, sounds like it's a must...but we don't really have much choice if we want to hit MK 2 days as the same week last year, it was on most nights that are our options. It just messes us up with our planned ADRs.

 

[wendybeth75]

If you like parades, don't miss the Halloween parade - there are usually two, the second one is less crowded...I am not a parade fan, but this one was great! Hallowishes is awesom, and if you want to ride rides, outside of Fantasyland, they are walk on's - I think we rode BTMRR back to back about 6 or 7 times!

I agree with this completely. We even like it more than the Christmas party!. The rides are almost walk on. My DS and DD rode Splash Mountain over and over. We also enjoy dressing up. Be sure to check it out. Before we had AP we would often not buy regular park tickets on party day because even though it starts at 7 you can enter the park at 4. This makes it a perfect first day activity or mid week when you are ready to relax and have some pool time.

 

[mickey1968]

I have been there for Halloween week the last two years and totally love MNSSHP! Both years I have done two parties. I travel solo so the budget and touring are more flexible. I don't dress up but I do trick-or-treat and will get some character autographs.

One thing nobody has mentioned is the Villains Mix & Mingle show in front of the castle. All the great ones are in the show then they come down and sign autographs for about 10-15 minutes immediately after each show.

The fireworks and the parade are my favorites. The music from both is more villain centric, but not really scary either. The music for the fireworks always has me practically jumping up and down.

Here is a link to my photos on Flickr: http://flic.kr/s/aHsjMSDyer. There are tons of pics of the party, parade and pics with Jack Skellington and Sally from Nightmare Before Christmas. Last year was their first time at MNSSHP.

You will love the party!

 

[jaz0308]

I have been there for Halloween week the last two years and totally love MNSSHP! Both years I have done two parties. I travel solo so the budget and touring are more flexible. I don't dress up but I do trick-or-treat and will get some character autographs.

One thing nobody has mentioned is the Villains Mix & Mingle show in front of the castle. All the great ones are in the show then they come down and sign autographs for about 10-15 minutes immediately after each show.

The fireworks and the parade are my favorites. The music from both is more villain centric, but not really scary either. The music for the fireworks always has me practically jumping up and down.

Here is a link to my photos on Flickr: http://flic.kr/s/aHsjMSDyer. There are tons of pics of the party, parade and pics with Jack Skellington and Sally from Nightmare Before Christmas. Last year was their first time at MNSSHP.

You will love the party!

ummm...those are the most beautiful pics I have ever seen! I only wish I could take photos like that! Thanks for sharing!

 

[mickey1968]

Aww, thanks, jaz0308. I have been working on my photography the last year or so, and finally broke down and bought a DSLR camera. But you can tell from how many pics I took that I pretty much keep shooting and hope I get something good especially on the parades. I never seem to get around to deleting the bad ones though.

 

[Frozen2014]

Thanks for the great feedback. We will definitely attend. I think we are going to on our last night at Disney...and spend most of the day at another park and then head over sometime between 4pm and 7pm with a quick service that night. Good to know that rides will be running that night too, as I was under the impression that rides stopped.

 

[herb102211]

We've been to MNSSHP several times and we think it's worth the money. It's a really fun event; the lines for the rides have a shorter wait time, the characters are dressed up in their Halloween costumes, the parade is awesome, and they hand out candy, too. In October, Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays are usually non-party days. When the October hours are released, you can tell when there isn't a party because MK will close later than 7pm.

 

[baler31]

I highly advise avoiding MK on non party days in Oct. It is much busier than usual because people like yourself want to go to MK on a day with MSEP. Party days in the daytime are usually golden hours for low crowds. If you have hoppers I would highly advise just to hop to MK on an evening to see MSEP.

 

[sharonabe]

Thanks for the great feedback. We will definitely attend. I think we are going to on our last night at Disney...and spend most of the day at another park and then head over sometime between 4pm and 7pm with a quick service that night. Good to know that rides will be running that night too, as I was under the impression that rides stopped.

Just want to make sure you realize this is a SEPARATE ticketed event. I'm including a link that gives you an overview along with last year's prices for the MNSSHP:

http://www.wdwinfo.com/holidays/halloween.htm

 

[omurice]

I love this party, and recommend anyone check this out at least once. Some use the party just to ride the rides, the wait times are relatively short for most of the 5 hours. However, beyond rides, there are several events during this time -- the Boo to You parade and HalloWishes fireworks are things you cannot see at any other time. Some love the Meet & Greets (Jack Skellington and Sally, or the Seven Dwarfs).
I am not a fan of any castle stage show in recent memory, but for me the Villains Mix and Mingle show is a lot of fun!
If you are at the World for multiple days, you can shave one day off your Magic Your Way tickets, and make this party one of your days. You can enter MK at 4PM on the party admission, which is 8 hours for about $60.

 

[Missyrose]

Thanks for the great feedback. We will definitely attend. I think we are going to on our last night at Disney...and spend most of the day at another park and then head over sometime between 4pm and 7pm with a quick service that night. Good to know that rides will be running that night too, as I was under the impression that rides stopped.

Here's a little advice on your plan. I would bag spending the day at another park. Sleep in, hit up the pool, eat a good lunch. Then plan to be at MK for the party before 4. When you're spending $60 per person for the party ticket, you're going to want to maximize the amount of time you're spending at the party. Having an easy morning will let you stay a bit later at the party.

 

[lovegrumpy]

Hubby and I plan on going when we go down in Sept. Not sure what I dress up as yet.

 

[Frozen2014]

Here's a little advice on your plan. I would bag spending the day at another park. Sleep in, hit up the pool, eat a good lunch. Then plan to be at MK for the party before 4. When you're spending $60 per person for the party ticket, you're going to want to maximize the amount of time you're spending at the party. Having an easy morning will let you stay a bit later at the party.

Thanks for the suggestion. But if we skip the park day and just attend the Halloween Party, then we'd have only 3 park days available. So I'd rather start the day at Epcot, and stay there for the bulk of the day....and then head over to MK for the Halloween event sometime between 4pm and 7pm. Either that...or mix MK day with the Halloween day so we don't need to switch parks. Also, we're not big swimmers.
Having said that, I'm sure we'd head over closer to 4pm as opposed to 7pm to maximize our time at the Halloween event. It's our last night too so can see us staying out a bit later than we would (depending on how our little one does)

 

[DINKsAtDisney]

Are the restaurants open as normal during the Halloween party?