21 Tips to Enjoy Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party at the Magic Kingdom in 2019
Hi everyone!
We attended the first and second Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party nights for 2019 and I’m back with my 9th year of tips to enjoy the event! I’ve been going to the parties for over 20 years now, and there is something different every year. But 2019 is even more, with the new fireworks show Disney’s Not So Spooky Spectacular and some changes to Mickey’s Boo-to-You Halloween Parade – plus a new $299 season party pass! It seemed busier than usual on the first night this year, but crowds do thin out after fireworks.
This year was different for us in that we bought tickets for the first party, and Jeff attended as normal but I went to a dual media event that began with learning about the upcoming Epcot International Food & Wine Festival (I arrived to the Magic Kingdom at 8:00pm). We then went back on Tuesday. Here are our 21 tips!
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Before the tips, this is our Mousesteps Weekly Show #320 where we talk all about the first Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party for 2019.
Tip 1 – Plan ahead and prioritize what is important – There is a lot to see and do during Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party! You could stay on Main Street U.S.A. much of the evening watching Mickey’s Boo-to-You Halloween Parade, viewing the Hocus Pocus Villain Spelltacular and experiencing the new Disney’s Not So Spooky Spectacular fireworks show and not spend much time in the rest of the park. Or you could go meet characters and hit some of the big highlights and not experience other aspects of the party. You cannot see and do everything in one night. So I often suggest two parties for guests who want to experience it all. But either way, definitely decide ahead what your priorities are.
Mickey Mouse in his new parade costume.
Tip 2 – Dress as your favorite Disney character – While I personally don’t follow this tip, a lot of guests – adults and kids – love wearing Disney costumes and cosplay. Rules on what costumes are and aren’t allowed can be found here.
Tip 3 – Make the most of your ticket and arrive at 4:00 pm – guests can enter at 4:00 pm on the Party ticket. There is a special area behind Main Street (to the right) where guests can pick up a small pack of treats, purchase merchandise and enjoy photo opportunities. It closes around 8:00 pm. Arriving at 4:00 pm allows for 8+ full hours of fun!
This area behind Main Street is open for Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party guests at 4:00 pm.
Mars Wrigley treat bag – it includes a number of items!
Tip 4 – Pick up your souvenir Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom card – You can pick up the card at the Main Street Firehouse when you arrive! This year it commemorates Disney’s Not So Spooky Spooktacular.
Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Daisy and Goofy on the Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom party card.
Tip 5 – Meet some characters meet before the party starts – Jack and Sally are probably the most popular characters at Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party. They began meeting around 5:30 pm on the first evening. I recommend getting in line at around 4:00 pm and not using up valuable party time waiting later. There are quite a few characters who meet during the event once 7:00 pm rolls around.
Tip 7 – Adults can Trick or Treat too – Take a bag for everyone, since all guests are welcome to collect candy. And while I am talking candy, I recommend collecting it later in the evening in August and September – much of it is chocolate and it can melt quickly in the heat. Plus lines are shorter at the end of the evening.
Tip 8 – Allergy friendly offerings are available – Guests can pick up a teal treat bag and trick-or-treat around the park. Cast Members will give out teal tokens, which can be redeemed at an Allergy-Friendly Center in the Magic Kingdom.
Town Square Theater is an Allergy-Friendly Center.
Tip 9 – View the second parade – As long as the weather promises to hold out, the second parade should always be less busy than the first. A lot of guests leave after fireworks, leaving a less busy Main Street audience for the second parade. If it rains for the first parade, the second one will be extra busy.
Tip 10 – Watch Mickey’s Boo-to-You Halloween Parade in Frontierland. Or not. – While Mickey’s Boo-to-You Halloween Parade looks better on Main Street for photos, Frontierland is much faster. It takes 15 – 20 minutes for the parade to go from Frontierland to Town Square (which is where we usually watch from). If we aren’t looking to take photos, we head to Frontierland so we can go back to the rest of the Party quicker. However…
Tip 11 – Nick & Judy from Zootopia entertain crowd on Main Street before parade – Nick Wilde and Judy Hopps entertain guests on Main Street and Town Square with the Party Patrol but not in Frontierland or Liberty Square.
12 – Watch for changes in the parade this year – Mickey, Minnie, Donald and Daisy have new costumes; Constance from the Haunted Mansion (the “spectral bride”) now is in the parade; and there is a Toy Story and Incredibles section. It’s a lot of change for 2019. And don’t miss the Headless Horseman, who rides before the parade.
The bride now appears in the parade.
Tip 13 – Don’t miss Disney’s Not So Spooky Spectacular – Unlike Happy HalloWishes, you’ll really want to be on Main Street or at the hub for this show – if you want to see the large Jack Skellington puppet hosting, you need to be pretty close (we were front row on the second night, that was a great spot). I was behind the Casey’s Corner area at the first party and didn’t see Jack nor much of the Disney characters on the castle. I did see the fireworks really well though and the upper projections on Cinderella Castle.
Tip 14 – Treat yourself – Besides the candy that is included with the party, guests can purchase a variety of different specialty treat items around the park.
Amuck, Amuck, Amuck Cupcake is at the Main Street Bakery.
Tip 15 – Stop at Photopass locations through the park – There are 30 special Photopass opportunities this year!
Tip16 – Ride Space Mountain in the dark – There are actually several unique attraction experiences in the park – at Pirates of the Caribbean, the Mad Tea Party, and Space Mountain. Pirates of the Caribbean has live actors, Mad Tea Party has special lighting, and Space Mountain is in the dark with new music. There is also a “Halloween Twist” at Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor, and it includes two treat stops inside.
Tip 17 – Enjoy entertainment offerings around the park – The Cadaver Dans, Butler Broome and Madame Carlotta along with three different dance parties are part of the entertainment at Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party this year. The dance parties are the Storybook Circus Disney Junior Jam; Monstrous Scream-O-Ween Ball and the new Disney Descendance Party.
Madame Carlotta interacts with guests outside the Haunted Mansion.
2019 “Lets Boo This” shirt.
Tip 19 – Trick or Treat during the final hour of the party – Take a nap in the afternoon if you need to, but it is definitely worth pushing through the party until at least midnight if you possibly can (I know it isn’t always possible). Trick or Treat stations can be really busy early on, but that isn’t usually the case during the final hour. The first wave of guests leave after the first Mickey’s Boo-to-You Parade, but the big exit is after fireworks and treat stations empty out for the most part.
Tip 20 – Enjoy the party rain or shine – The main thing we found over our three Party nights one year was that Disney will make every effort to run components of the Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party in and around inclement weather. While everything was pushed ahead an hour or so on our big rain night (with some lightning), there were still two Mickey’s Boo-to-You Parades along with HalloWishes and I think just one full Hocus Pocus Villain Spelltacular (the castle show can’t be run in the rain like the others can). Most rides will be open in the rain, trick-or-treat locations are open and I believe characters are brought inside for meet and greets. There is still a lot of fun to be had, though it will be different than a clear night.
Tip 21 – Stay through midnight (or later) – Hocus Pocus Villain Spelltacular offers three shows per night currently, the last one is at midnight. This allows guests to enjoy all of the elements of Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party until midnight and then the show after the lands and attractions close – again, weather permitting. If there is any chance of rain, see it earlier (or if it is very important to you). But you can always catch a second show at that time if you want. The midnight show is usually fairly busy because nothing else is going on in the Magic Kingdom at that time.
Because Hocus Pocus Villain Spelltacular runs so late, my former tip to enjoy an empty Main Street at the end of the evening doesn’t work as well anymore. We were at the park until about 1:30am on the first night and it was still very busy on Main Street! On Tuesday, August 20th we stayed until about the same time but guests left earlier and we could get some tripod photos.
The end of the night, around 1:30 a.m. after Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party ended.
August 16, 20, 23, 27, 30
September 2, 6, 8, 10, 13, 15, 17, 20, 22, 24, 27, 29
October 1, 3, 4, 6, 8, 10, 11, 14, 15, 17, 18, 20, 21, 24, 25, 27, 29, 31
November 1
Happy Halloween!
Thank you to Disney for inviting me out! We did purchase tickets ahead of time, but I ended up hosted for the media event. All opinions are mine.