My 18 Tips to Enjoy Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party at the Magic Kingdom 2023

Hi everyone!

We attended the first three nights of the 2023 Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party at the Magic Kingdom and I have 18 tips to share!  This is my 11th year of posting tips for the party and I’ve been attending the event since the mid-90s. It’s always fun to see what is new or different. Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party is a separately ticketed event and event nights are starting to sell out more quickly.

Some of my tips have changed quite a bit since last year. We do recommend booking Disney vacations with our partner travel agency MEI Travel & Mouse Fan Travel.

First, here is our Mousesteps Weekly #483 with Part 1 of our Not-So-Scary coverage. Part 2 will be this coming week.

Here are my Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party tips!

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 Disney’s Not So Spooky Spectacular fireworks show and not spend as 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 (which is harder to do as the prices go up). But either way, definitely decide ahead what your priorities are.

Mickey in Mickey’s Boo-to-You Halloween Parade (all photos and video from Denise Preskitt and Jeff Lange, Mousesteps)

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. In August, there are fewer regular costumes since it’s early in the season and it’s hot.

Tip 3 – Make the most of your ticket and arrive at 4:00 pm – Guests can enter the Magic Kingdom at 4:00 p.m. on the party ticket. There is a special area behind Main Street (to the right) called the Market Street Welcome, where guests can pick up a reusable Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party bag with a pack of M&M’s. Arriving at 4:00 p.m. allows for 8+ full hours of fun!

Cast Members greet guests at Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party

Note: If you are already in the Magic Kingdom, you do not need to leave to secure your party wristband. We have overheard guests saying they were told otherwise. There are three locations to receive your wristband and party bag inside the park starting at 4:00 p.m.. #1 – Tomorrowland across from Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor. #2 Adventureland at Tortuga Tavern. #3 – Fantasyland at Philharmagic.

Tip 4 – Meet characters before the Party starts (or not this year) – Jack and Sally are the most popular characters at Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party (for good reason) but they have been much harder to meet so far this year than the last 10 or so years. We got in line at 4:10 p.m. expecting a 60-90 minute wait (Jack and Sally started at 4:00 p.m. on that day) and it was instead 3 hours and 40 minutes. So while we have always seen them within the pre-party time previously, we did not this time. I am hoping modifications will be made. Jeff overheard one guest telling a manager last night that their family was told 90 minutes and the wait was over 3 hours. Currently there is just no way to know how long your wait will be due to some modifications made to the meet and greet system.

Our Jack and Sally meet and greet video

The Seven Dwarfs also start meeting early as do the Winnie the Pooh characters in Halloween costumes. We got in line at about 5:40 p.m. yesterday for Pooh and Friends and met them about one hour later (just after they started at 6:30 p.m.) For the Seven Dwarfs, I was quoted 2+ hours at 7: 00 p.m. on our first party night and instead went during fireworks for a one hour wait (originally quoted at 40 minutes).

Our Pooh and Friends meet and greet video

Tip 5 – Pick up your character autograph cards – Jack and Sally have an autograph card this year as do the Winnie the Pooh characters AND also Elvis Stitch and the Seven Dwarfs. These make for very nice souvenirs. Ask for yours if it isn’t offered.

Winnie the Pooh meet and greet autograph card

Elvis Stitch autograph card

Tip 6 – Adults can Trick-or-Treat too – Take a themed reusable 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. The lines are  much shorter and I tend to find the amount given can be more as well. (Don’t wait until near midnight for all of your trick-or-treating though as some locations will have closed). There are some unique locations, my favorite being Philharmagic because they were also playing The Legend of Sleepy Hollow in the theater. 

Reusable candy bag

Tip 7 – 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. I recommend the Liberty Square center. The one in Town Square looked pretty busy at the end of the evenings.

Allergy Friendly Experience sign

Tip 8 – Join the Virtual Queue for the new TRON Lightcycle / Run coaster – At 6:00 p.m., the TRON virtual queue opens. Look for this on your My Disney Experience app! TRON is the newest attraction in the Magic Kingdom and there is no stand-by line for it.

TRON Lightcycle / Run (there is also a TRON treat trail)

 Tip 9 – Choose a spot for Mickey’s Boo-To-You Halloween Parade –  Mickey’s Boo-to-You Parade has quite a few changes this year, including Minnie, Daisy and Clarabelle as the Sanderson sisters. For viewing, watching the parade in Frontierland is faster to get back to other aspects of the party. There is also fun entertainment if you are waiting near the Country Bear Jamboree. On Main Street, Powerline Max and other performers delight guests. But this year, they do not go into Town Square (but they have a couple of pop-up locations in the park prior to the parade).

The Headless Horseman rides the entire parade route ahead of the parade.

Our Mickey’s Boo-to-You Parade video from opening night

The Headless Horseman rides before Mickey’s Boo-to-You Halloween Parade

Tip 10 – Don’t wait until the second Mickey’s Boo-to-You Halloween parade – Traditionally, the second parade has been much less busy than the first. That wasn’t our experience at the first three party nights in 2023. The second parade actually seemed busier each night to us. And fewer guests seem to be leaving the party early.

Tip 11 – Don’t miss Disney’s Not So Spooky Spectacular –Disney’s Not-So-Spooky Spectacular debuted in 2019 and became a quick fan favorite! This is a fantastic fireworks presentation that includes a life-sized Jack Skellington puppet hosting the show, and there are projections on the castle. It’s best seen from close to Cinderella Castle, but you can watch the fireworks from many areas in the Magic Kingdom.

Our Disney’s Not So Spooky Spectacular video

Tip 12 – Ride Space Mountain in the dark and more– There are several unique attraction experiences with “Halloween twists” that have returned for 2023 – the Mad Tea Party, Space Mountain, and Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor. The latter has a treat station inside.

Mad Tea Party with a Halloween Twist

Tip 13 – Check out entertainment offerings and characters around the park – Hocus Pocus Villain Spelltacular at Cinderella Castle is a must-see! The Cadaver Dans, Haunted Mansion characters Butler Broome and Madame Carlotta in the graveyard, as well as two dance parties, the fantastic Rusty Cutlass pirate band and roaming pirates in Adventureland are also a big part of the fun. There are also other Disney characters with (usually) shorter waits than the ones I mentioned earlier. We had almost no wait for Mickey Mouse at Town Square Theater in his Halloween outfit.

Our Hocus Pocus Villain Spelltacular 2023 video

Our video meeting Mickey at Town Square Theater

Tip 14 – Enjoy attractions with shorter wait times – Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party is a good night to ride attractions with much shorter wait times. And some of the busier rides can have shorter lines during Mickey’s Boo-to-You Halloween Parade and Disney’s Not-so-Spooky Spectacular as well as later in the evening.

We have found that the Haunted Mansion line has been longer than we have encountered at previous parties. We had about a 10 minute wait last night during the first Mickey’s Boo-to-You Halloween Parade instead of the 40 minutes often posted.

The Haunted Mansion lit up for Halloween

Madame Carlotta and Butler Broome in the Haunted Mansion graveyard

Tip 15 – Stop at PhotoPass locations through the park – There are many special PhotoPass photo opportunities throughout the park. Some are Magic Shots, and there are are also props at some and Halloween photo frames.

We pose with The Hitchhiking Ghosts in a PhotoPass Magic Shot

Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party ball cap

Tip 19 – Purchase Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party specific treats – While you can enjoy candy from your bag, there are also some fun treats around the Magic Kingdom (and some savory items as well).

The Nightmare Before Christmas pops for sale at the Magic Kingdom

Tip 18 – 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 before seeing the show until nearly 12:30 a.m. (weather permitting). That said, there was an issue with the show on our second party night that stopped it, and they had to play it in a modified way. So keep that in mind.

Guests walk down Main Street U.S.A. after midnight

We also enjoy the decor on Main Street U.S.A. and Halloween music. The park used to clear out more quickly but now many more guests linger on Main Street U.S.A. longer. We did not stay past 1:00 a.m. for any of the parties this year, so I am not sure when the last guests leave.

Dates for 2023 are:

• August: 11, 15, 18, 22, 25, 29

• September: 1, 4, 8, 10, 12, 15, 17, 19, 22, 24, 26, 28, 29

• October: 1, 3, 5, 6, 9, 10, 12, 13, 15, 17, 19, 20, 22, 24, 26, 27, 29, 31

• November: 1

Many of the Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party nights are already sold out.

There will be more additions to this article in the coming week, including more videos. We have a lot of Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party videos going up on our YouTube channel and more articles coming in the next week.

The most important part of Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party – have fun!