Planning for a trip around Halloween to WDW

[Blaze12]

We would love to take the kids to WDW around halloween. What type of activities can we expect or have to do or see during that time period?? When is the best time to go?? Do they do trick or treating or anything??? I have never been before, so I have no idea what to expect. Do kids dress up in costumes???

 

[beattyfamily]

Well, I've heard that individual resorts do trick or treating on Halloween day.

Also Magic Kingdom has Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween party that you can buy tickets to. It's from 7:00p to Midnight. They have it throughout October on certain nights (Sun, Tues, Thurs, Fri) and of course on Halloween night. You can dress up in costumes, there's trick or treating, a free souvenir photo and a special halloween parade, and fireworks too. It's great fun.

I've also heard that the Boardwalk Resort does some Halloween stuff on Halloween night.

That's all I know.

We went Halloween in 2002 and had a great time at the party and we're going again this year!!

 

[Blaze12]

How are the crowds this time a year?? Are tickets hard to get for the party?? Do you call like priority seating?? How early??

 

[beattyfamily]

Originally posted by Blaze12
How are the crowds this time a year?? Are tickets hard to get for the party?? Do you call like priority seating?? How early??

I went the last week of October in 2002 and the crowds were non-existant. It was great.

The party will be the most crowded on halloween night and that night will sell out. You could go a different night if you are there the last week of October or even earlier in the month. Even with the crowds, I enjoy going to MK Halloween night!

The tickets and dates of the party were released the end of April last year. You will have time to buy them but like I said, Halloween night, and sometimes Fridays, sell out.

You would call the main number or you can buy them online as well.

A good tip if you do go to the party, have dinner in MK before the party begins and you'll already be in the park when it starts at 7:00p! Make a PS around 5:15p!

 

[joats]

We went last year to Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party for the first time. What a blast!! DH & I had a great time. One of our very best nights we have had in all our times at Disney.

We bought our tickets in advance and went on a Tuesday hoping for less crowds than a weekend. It wasn't bad at all! We only waited for 2 rides: Indy Speedway and Peter Pan. Everything else had no wait.

The decorations are fabulous and I'd say the majority of people are in costume. Definitely worth the price of the tickets!!

 

[HappyGramma]

My DD and I did Mickey's Not So Scary Holloween Party a few years ago on a Tuesday and it wasn't crowded at all. There were hardly any lines to the rides; we did SP three times in row with almost no wait. It was really a great night, with the parade and lots of kids dressed up in costumes. A real fun time.

 

[Fantasmic303]

I'm going to paste below the response I gave a couple days ago to someone who had a similar question. As far as your question about special events, my sister and I were in WDW this past Halloween week and had a terrific time. We are, however, full-grown adults, so there may be activities for the kiddies that we overlooked.

Some fun things to do, besides MNSSHP (a must!), are, indeed at the hotels. We visited several on Halloween, and all of the ones we visited had pumpkin carving contests for the staff set up in the lobby. We were staying at POR, and in the morning as we left for the day, we saw the different pumpkins on displayed. Later that evening, there were ribbons placed on the best ones, leading me to believe that they had some sort of official ceremony at some point during the day. It's fun to go explore the other hotels anyway, and this is just an added something to look for - some of them were truly exquisite and amazingly impressive.

Yes, at the Boardwalk they have a trick-or-treating party that, from what I saw of it, I'd definitely take my children to (if I had any). It ends fairly early (I believe around 8:30 or so), but they set up a lovely festival with music and a costume contest on the green in the center of the boardwalk. There was trick-or-treating and other fun things set up for the party that made for great picture ops...they were just about over by the time we arrived, but we got a kick out of it none the less. Best part? It doesn't cost anything extra!!

You can read below for my take on MNSSHP and crowds, but just as an added note: if you have children, I'd suggest going on a non-sold out night. I'd actually encourage two parties, but if you have to choose, you'll get more out of a night that isn't sold out. Like others have said, the crowds aren't unbearable, but compared to sold out nights, non-sold out nights are empty, with enough candy and rides and fun for everyone to enjoy without getting cranky about waiting or crowds. While I agree with a previous poster that the atmosphere of being in the MK on Halloween is terrific, it may be just as enjoyable for your family to low-key it for an evening and try the resorts instead.

I've also heard (but didn't experience first hand) that there is trick-or-treating at Downtown Disney, and also a Haunted Hayride at Fort Wilderness....or maybe a different hotel? Like I said, though, I didn't partake in either of these. Hope this helps!!
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We were in WDW this past Halloween week and had an absolutely amazing time. We did two MNSSHPs - the first on the day we arrived (Sunday, October 26th) and then the one on Thursday, October 30 (which sold out). Both were a lot of fun, but we definitely got more rides and things done on Sunday night. By the time Thursday came, we pretty much enjoyed watching other people and taking our time to take in the atmosphere. It wasn't unbearable, but compared to the Sunday party, it was packed.

In general, the park crowds were terrific!! We got everything done that we wanted to, without going crazy or waiting in lines that were really long. Between Fast Pass and smart park strategy, we never waited more than, I'd say, 15 minutes. It actually became a rule for us! Especially at MNSSHP, we were able to ride the E-tickets several times. We did Space Mountain more times this trip - without waiting in line - than probably all of our other trips combined....and that's a lot of trips!!!

Incidentally, we also did two days at Universal during the week, and found it to be even less crowded than Disney. We could've easily done all the attractions in both Universal Studios and IOA in one day.

I'd definitely visit WDW during that week again. If I had to choose between MNSSHP dates, I'd probably suggest the earlier the better, but if you don't have that option, going on a sold out night is worth it too.

If you have any other questions about the week or just want more info, please don't hesitate to ask!!

 

[lillygator]

We are going this Halloween as well. I think we won't go on Halloween night as that is Samantha's actual birthday and I don't want to fight crowds that night. But probably the week before.
Let me know if you'll be there then!!
I can't wait!