Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party is an annual event at Walt Disney World in Florida. From August to October, the park closes early to throw the spookiest party of the year! At Mickey’s Not So Scary, you can trick or treat, ride some of your favorite Magic Kingdom rides, see special performances, and visit with characters dressed in their Halloween best (some of which normally don’t appear in the park – but more on that leader). Mickey’s Not So Scary gets you in the Halloween mood without terrifying haunts (head to Halloween Horror Nights at Universal for those!). At Disney, you’re able to get in your treats with limited tricks, which I consider a major win!

What is Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party?

Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party is a special, ticketed event at Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom. The party happens on select nights each year from August to October (here’s the 2018 schedule!). Magic Kingdom closes early on these nights, only allowing folks with Halloween Party tickets to remain in the park past a certain time (this means reduced crowds… YAY!). The park stays open late (until midnight) and guests are able to enjoy as many spooky event features as they want! Tickets start around $75, but get more expensive as it gets closer to Halloween.

Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party is the one event where park guests over the age of 14 can dress up, and BOY do people dress up! Disney has an official costume policy for the event, but the gist is no costumes that touch the ground, no masks that cover your face, no signing autographs or posing for pictures with other guests, nothing offensive, and no props that can be mistaken or used as actual weapons. This year, I dressed as Boo from Monsters, Inc. and it was perfect (I mean, I basically got to wear pajamas in public).

Pro Tip: While the Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party officially starts at 7 PM, ticketed guests can enter the park beginning at 4 PM!

Characters

Costumed

Like guests, many classic Disney characters greet visitors dressed in their Halloween costumes. Mickey dresses up as a Vampire, Minnie as a Witch, Donald and Daisy are together and dressed as a Pumpkin and a Princess, and Goofy is a Pirate. In Fantasyland, you can find the Hundred Acre Wood friends gathered together! Winnie the Pooh is a Bee, Piglet a Butterfly, Eeyore a Clown, and Tigger a Pirate. Finally, everyone’s favorite alien experiment, Stitch, is dressed in his Elvis best in Tomorrowland.

Special

Other special, “rare” characters come out for the party. Jack and Sally hang out in the gazebo in Liberty Square. Villains like Lotso (the evil bear from Toy Story), Cruella de Vil, Jafar, and the Queen of Hearts (with Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum) come out for the party. The Seven Dwarfs hang out in the tent near the Dumbo ride. Prince Eric comes to greet guests with Ariel and Abu and Genie accompany Aladdin and Jasmine. Tarzan, Jane, and Turk hang around the entrance to Adventureland. Finally, Captain Jack Sparrow greets guests on the stage where his show typically takes place.

Favorites

Some favorite characters are around to meet visitors in their usual areas. Cinderella, Tiana, Elena of Avalor, and Rapunzel are in Princess Fairytale Hall. Gaston and Belle hang around Fantasyland. Moana is in the Enchanted Tiki Room. Wicked step sisters Anastasia and Drizella wander around Fantasyland. Finally, Alice and the Mad Hatter meet guests by the Mad Tea Party ride!

Pro Tip: If you’re wanting to meet Jack and Sally, head there as soon as you enter the park! Their line gets really long really quick. When we went to check out the line at 4:30 PM, it was already insane! I’ve yet to find a time where the line isn’t crazy; if you have, please let me know when it was in the comments at the end of this post!

Food

Disney is so into Halloween that they have even created some specialty treats for Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party and for the season! Villains get the spotlight with many foods. The Oogie Boogie treat is a meringue decorated like the Halloween villain, with gummy worms crawling out of him. Try the Hades Nachos if you’re wanting something more savory – spicy, black nachos that would satisfy the devil himself. If the Evil Queen is more your speed, a Poison Apple Cupcake has been made for the party. My favorite dessert was the Maleficent Ice Cream, a lime ice cream topped with purple sprinkles, chocolate horns, and served in a black cone.

Other Halloween favorites are honored with treats. Jack Skellington inspired a push-up cake pop. Next is a creepy Worms and Dirt dessert that resembles a grave plot, complete with a tomb stone topping and gummy worms. Waffle sundae’s are a Disney staple; for Halloween, they are shaped like Zero, the ghost pup, and pumpkin flavored. Madame Leota inspired a dessert, which is a tart topped with a chocolate decorated with her likeness. Finally, there’s the Hitchhiking Ghost dessert, which is essentially a brownie topped with a chocolate bearing the likeness of the hitchhiking ghosts from the Haunted Mansion.

In addition to all of the above mentioned treats, the party has complementary trick-or-treat stations all over the park! Cast members pass out huge scoops of candy at these stations. An allergy-friendly station is even set up near the park entrance.

Pro Tip: Bring a secondary bag for trick-or-treating, as the one they will give you will fill up quick! The stops each give out ridiculous amounts of candy!

Rides

To make room for the trick-or-treating stations, only certain rides are open for Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party. Luckily, there are no Fastpass+ during the party, so lines move quickly. Open rides in Adventureland include Pirates of the Caribbean, the Magic Carpets of Aladdin, and the Swiss Family Treehouse. Splash Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad both remain open in Frontierland. In Tomorrowland, the Tomorrowland Speedway, Space Mountain, Astro Orbiter, Peoplemover, and Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin are open. Fantasyland has “it’s a small world”, Peter Pan’s Flight, The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, Barnstormer, Dumbo the Flying Elephant, Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, Mad Tea Party, Under the Sea, and Prince Charming Regal Carrousel open. Finally, it wouldn’t be Halloween without the Haunted Mansion, which is always looking for a final spirit to fill the house.

Special Ride Experiences

This year, Disney began transforming certain rides for Not So Scary. At 7 PM, Pirates of the Caribbean, Space Mountain, and the Mad Tea Party change to offer guests a new experience. Pirates of the Caribbean introduces riders to a new character, Gunpowder Pete, who riders can spot during the ride. The Mad Tea Party plays special Halloween music and has changing, spooky colored lighting for the duration of the ride. Finally, Space Mountain turns off all the lights so riders can have experience the ride in pitch-black darkness.

Pro Tip: If you’re wanting to ride a ride that isn’t open for Not So Scary, enter the park before the event (you can enter as early as 4 PM, remember!) and ride it before 7 PM!

Shows and Experiences

Several spooky-fun events top off Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party! There are two dance parties: The Storybook Circus Disney Junior Jam and the Monstrous Scream-O-Ween Ball. Disney Junior stars like Doc McStuffins and Vampirina host the party at Storybook Circus. It’s a small-child haven, so I didn’t really go near it. The Monsters, Inc crew throws the Monstrous Scream-O-Ween Ball! Dance your tail off with Mike, Sully, and Boo (in disguise, of course)!

Show

Villains take the main stage at Cinderella’s Castle with the Hocus Pocus Villain Spelltacular. The Sanderson Sisters are conjuring up a very special Halloween potion and invite several haunted friends to help out. The show lasts around 20 minutes and is incredibly fun!

Parade

Twice at every event, the Boo to You Parade shuts down main street. This is my favorite parade Disney does! The music is fun (and will get stuck in your head for days), the dancing and theatrics are awesome, and you’re able to see basically every Disney character you can think of.

Fireworks

Finally, the nightly fireworks show changes from Happily Ever After to Happy Hallowishes. The Ghost Host from the Haunted Mansion narrates the show and sinister music rounds it out. Special ghoulish projections light up the castle to give it a haunted feel. It’s awesome! The best fireworks view is from in front of the castle.

Pro Tip: Watch the later parade and show, as the crowds tend to thin out around 11!

After reading all this info about Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party, I’m sure you’re itching to visit yourself! This year’s party is, unfortunately, coming to an end soon. Thankfully, Mickey’s Not So Scary is an annual event, so you can visit next year if you can’t make it this season (yay!).

xoxo,

KB

PS: Planning a trip to Walt Disney World? Check out my guides to Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, Hollywood Studios, and Epcot! Want to check out the other Orlando area parks? I also have guides on Universal Studios and a mega-guide to the Wizarding World!