Review: Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party

My family and I just got back from a trip to Walt Disney World during which we had a chance to check out Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party. It was fantastic! Truly, everything that we had hoped it would be and more! I'd like to share our experiences with you, so that you can feel extra prepared for this magical event.

The Halloween Party at Disney World takes place at Magic Kingdom Park, though it is a hard-ticket event. This means that you do need a specific ticket for the party and cannot simply get in with a Magic Kingdom ticket for the day. The park closes to all non-party Guests at 7pm, when the party begins. The way that the Cast Members at Disney know who has a ticket and who does not is by checking wristbands. Beginning at 4pm on the night of your party, you can stop by several locations around the Magic Kingdom (the front gate, the Rose Garden, or Tortuga Tavern), show your ticket, and get your wristband. Each member of your party (adults included) will also be given a Trick-or-Treat bag and a map, noting the locations of characters, event times, and trick-or-treat stations.

That brings me to my next point - the Halloween Party is definitely for children and adults - so feel free to dress yourself up for the occasion, too. Believe me, you will not be the only grown-up in costume, by far!

One of the coolest things about Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party is the different characters that you can meet - plenty that just aren't out and about during normal park hours. We looked into who was going to be there beforehand, figured out where they were going to be located, and decided who we wanted to meet and what our priorities would be. This year, the most popular meet and greet, by far, was Jack Skellington & Sally from A Nightmare Before Christmas. And that was just fine for us because we wanted to meet the 7 Dwarves from Snow White. With so many people heading off to meet Jack & Sally, there were less on line for the Dwarves. Even so, we got in line to see them about between 6-6:15pm, about 45 minutes before they were set to actually arrive. My wife waited on line with the kids, while I ran off and got dinner for everyone to eat while we waited. The Dwarves arrived at 7pm and, while the line did seem to move relatively quickly, we weren't done meeting them until about 7:45pm. At one point, I did notice that the line to meet them behind us had grown to about 1 1/2 hours, at least.

The parade was set to begin at 8:15pm, so we decided to make our way over to the parade route to see if we could find a good spot - we knew that people had been sitting down to wait for it since 5:30pm or so. On our way, we did stop off at the Trick-or-Treat locations in Fantasyland. They did have lines but moved very quickly and the Cast Members were placing large handfuls of candy into each trick-or-treat bag. When we came out from the location in the Peter Pan queue, it had begun raining and it was just getting steadier. So, we pulled out our ponchos and kept on moving. We found a pretty good spot to watch the parade but, after waiting for about 15 minutes, Disney made an announcement that it was going to be delayed due to weather. We gave the rain another 10 minutes to stop. When it didn't we left our place and set off to find Terk with either Tarzan or Jane in Adventureland. So many of the roads were actually closed off because of the parade, so we did have some trouble making our way over there. We stopped off at a trick-or-treat location along the way, too! As it turns out, as we were trying to find our way to Adventureland, the rain stopped. We hustled back to our original parade spot (we wound up one family farther back than before) and got set because, now, the parade was actually coming!

Mickey's Not-No-Scary Halloween Party Parade, by the way, was awesome - even without the Headless Horseman (who does not ride, headless, down the dark street, on a horse, in the rain) leading the way! It does run twice during the party but, you never know what might happen and, so, we wanted to make sure we saw it the first time. As it turns out, one of my daughters had fallen asleep before the next parade, so it's a good thing we did, or she would have missed it.

After the parade, we made our way over to Adventureland where we did finally catch up with Jane and Terk! When we had first gotten there, Tarzan was with them, but he had to head back to the jungle to find some food for a bit before we made our way up to him. From there, we had planned on heading back to Fantasyland to meet with Rapunzel and Eugene... er, Flynn. Of course, we would stop at trick-or-treat locations along the way. As it happens, the Hallowishes Fireworks show began as we were on our way. We stopped in Liberty Square to watch them. This is a fantastic viewing location for this show as well as the regular Wishes fireworks show, and the soundtrack does get played through the sound system in this area of the park. It was an amazing show! The best fireworks show that I have ever seen, by far!

By the time the fireworks were over, we decided to make our way over to the Cinderella Castle area and see if we could get some good spots for the Villains show at the Castle and then the second showing of the parade. We did get great spots - right on the curb in front of the castle. This way, we would be able to watch the villains and then turn around for front row parade spots. Unfortunately, at 10:05pm, when the show was supposed to begin, it was announced that it was cancelled, but there would be another show later. Disappointing - but we just turned around and got ready for the parade. It was even better with these amazing seats! While we were waiting, my son and I ran off to get even more candy - this time, from Tomorrowland. While we were there, I noticed the super amazing Dance Party going on with Mike and Sulley from Monsters, Inc. and there monster friends/co-workers dancing away with Guests. It looked like so much fun, and my youngest daughter is a big Mike and Sulley fan! We would have to make a point of stopping by there later!

After the parade, the Villains show was scheduled again at the castle. So, we turned around once more to get ready for it. This time, while we were waiting, my daughter and I ran back to Tomorrowland and danced our hearts out with the monsters. Sulley was surprisingly limber and a great dancer for such a large monster! We danced for about 15 minutes and then headed back for the show... which wound up being cancelled again! My guess it that there was lightning in the area and that just isn't safe for the performers. Just when we were feeling pretty disappointed about not getting to see the show, the Villains themselves came out for 20 minutes worth of meet and greets and, who stopped right in front of us -  the Evil Queen from Snow White! I hung back with my sleeping daughter, while the rest of the family jumped in line to see her. She was awesome and definitely unexpected!

It was about 11:30pm, by this point, and time to start wrapping things up. We hit up another trick-or-treat station and then headed to the Emporium on Main Street to find a party souvenir. Then, it was onto the bus at Midnight and back to the hotel. An absolutely amazing night that could have been disappointing what with the wet weather, lack of the Headless Horseman, and no Villains show. But, if you let the Disney Magic wash over you, you will always find a way to have the best time of your life!

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