BOO to You! Disney Halloween
This past month has been scary to say the least…in the literal sense. We have survived hurricane Ian with very little damage (thank goodness) but going through a Cat 4…almost Cat 5 hurricane was definitely NOT on our to do list! However, in an effort to get back into the swing of things, we agreed to still visit Disney for Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party and we are so glad we did! We had a BLAST!
Top 3 Reasons we LOVE Holiday Parties at Disney
Characters- We love seeing Disney Characters everyday at the park, especially princesses, cuz well…we are a bunch of princesses ourselves. BUT during the holiday parties at Halloween and Christmas there are unique characters that you get to meet and greet. For example, during Halloween you can meet Jack Skellington and Sally (whoa!) and they only come out during the Halloween Party. Sometimes you get to see the 7 Dwarves, Disney Villains, and even Santa!
2. Parades, Shows, and Fireworks- Being avid Disney goers, we have seen the parades and firework shows a million times at the park. The holiday parties have their own special parades and fireworks during the after-hours part of the event. These are AWESOME! Our favorite this time was seeing the Sanderson sisters on the castle stage. This is a unique show based on the hit movie Hocus Pocus and involves multiple Disney villains including Oogie Boogie! And as always, they never disappoint! The parade was great… I love the grave diggers (mainly cuz I think their shovel routine is cool when they make sparks on Main Street). Little tip- attend the 2nd parade later in the evening. Use the first parade to ride as many rides as you can since there are usually shorter lines during parades and fireworks. Speaking of fireworks… the spooky Halloween fireworks are a must do! I always love seeing the castle all lit up reflecting the theme of the evening.
3. Smaller Crowds
As we all know, Disney is VERY busy every day, especially now that we are back into the full swing of things after the pandemic. However, the holiday parties are designed to give you the experience of smaller crowds, shorter lines, and more fun! In addition to rides and entertainment, Disney also has Trick or Treat stations set up throughout the park (Christmas has hot cocoa/cookie stations). My girls loved being able to “trick or treat” at Magic Kingdom! Bonus tip: crowds on party days are typically smaller than usual since the park closes early for the event. Both times we went to the park on a party day, line times were almost half of the normal wait times throughout the day (holy cow! who wouldn’t want to take advantage of that!)
Also, just a word of advise, when you purchase a ticket to a special Disney event, you are allowed into the park beginning at 4pm. The event doesn’t start until 7pm so you may still have a little bit of a crowd to work around BUT you get an extra 3 hours in the park before the event begins. This trip we used that time to have a nice dinner at Liberty Tree Tavern, however in the past we used this time to jump on a few rides that had shorter waits so we had more time to enjoy the entertainment during the party itself.
Happy Halloween!!