Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party is one of my favorite events to attend. This event is filled with all kinds of spooktacular entertainment and is one of the most anticipated special events of the year. Your family, like mine, will love the special Villainous Fireworks show, “Happy HalloWishes”, Unlimited Trick or Treating, Mickey’s Boo-To-You Halloween Parade, Hocus Pocus Villain Spelitacular and of course all the different character meet and greets. Here you will find some of your favorite Disney Villains, along with Mickey Mouse and his friends, all dressed in their Halloween costumes! Costumes are not required for this event but definitely encouraged. Dressing up for this event for our family really has added to the magic and excitement of the event.

Mickey’s Trick-or-Treat Trails – Treats include apple slices, carrots, raisins, dried fruit, and of course, a variety of chocolates and other candies.  Trust me when I say you will leave the party with several pounds of candy. The Trick-or-Treat trails are all over the park, and cast members hand out handfuls of treats. You can go back to the same locations for treats all you want.

Hocus Pocus Villain Spelitacular – In “Hocus Pocus Villain Spelltacular,” the mischievous Sanderson Sisters from Disney’s “Hocus Pocus” return to the mortal world for one night during the Halloween season. With only a few hours to run amuck, the three sisters decide to use their magic to throw the best, evil Halloween party this side of the graveyard!

With the help of the Disney villains, Winifred, Mary and Sarah gather together sinister shadows, nefarious nightmares and the power of their frightful friends to conjure the ultimate Hocus Pocus Party Potion and cast a spell on everyone in the Magic Kingdom Park. “Hocus Pocus Villain Spelltacular” features appearances by Dr. Facilier, Oogie Boogie, Maleficent and other great Disney villains, along with dancers, projections and special effects that combine to make this new show a not-to-be-missed Halloween treat. This show runs 4 nights during the party with the first one starting at 8:35 p.m., 9:20 p.m., 10:40 p.m. and 12:00 pm.

Mickey’s Boo-To-You Halloween Parade – Each Halloween party has two parades, the first one starting at 8:35 p.m. and the second one starting at 11:15 p.m. I highly recommend going to the second parade because more guests watch the first parade, making it a lot more crowded. Ralph and Venelope from Wreck-it Ralph start the parade off with a pre parade to get things exciting and fun. Soon after the pre parade the Headless Horseman takes off through the streets to get the parade started, which is awesome to see! Shortly afterwards you will see amazing floats decorated in all things Halloween, such as Characters dressed in costumes, grave diggers dragging their shovels, villains being bad, pirates playing with their loot, and many more fun and exciting things.

Celebrate The Magic – Each night Cinderella’s Royal Castle comes to life as Disney Imagineers create a new way of storytelling. They use Cinderella’s beautiful castle as the canvas of telling the stories of some of your favorite Disney movies. Celebrate the Magic is a great preshow to the fireworks. It’s an exciting show the whole family will enjoy and I highly recommend watching it. The show plays nightly right before and after the fireworks spectacular at 9:45 p.m.

Happy HalloWishes – These fireworks start at 10:00 p.m. in front of Cinderella’s castle. None other than your ghost host from the Haunted Mansion hosts this “Happy HalloWishes” Fireworks Spooktacular show. Flames, fireworks and a remix of your favorite Disney villain’s theme music all come together to make this a don’t-miss firework show. These fireworks, which are different than the regular fireworks done during the week, are absolutely amazing and are my favorite to watch!

“Celebrate The Magic” & “Happy HalloWishes” Fireworks Tips – For the best view of Celebrate The Magic, stand between the Refreshment Corner on Main Street and the main hub in front of the castle (the circular area where Walt Disney’s statue is). I would not stand between the hub and the castle because the castle will partially block your view of the fireworks. The closer you get to Casey’s Corner, the better your view will be. Main Street U.S.A. is also a good spot to view the shows.

Face Painting – Disney provides free face painting during the parties. The lines to get your face painted can get long really quick. The face painting is done between Space Mountain and the Dance stage in Tomorrowland.

The Cadaver Dans – Head over to Frontierland and listen to a deadly group of cowboys singing songs in the style of the Dapper Dans.

Specialty Food – Halloween party exclusive treats are sold throughout the park. Goodies available include spiced Pumpkin Waffle Sundae at Sleepy Hallow, Specialty Cupcakes and cookies at the Main Street Bakery, Ghost Cupcakes at Gaston’s Tavern, Candy Corn Soft-serve ice Cream at Storybook Treats, and Candy Corn Cotton Candy at several of the outdoor carts. These treats really are pretty good. You have to try at least one of them if not several of them.

Exclusive Merchandise – Disney sells exclusive merchandise during the parties such as t-shirts, Disney trading pins, new Magic bands and more. The Emporium and Mickey’s Star Traders are the only two places that sell the exclusive merchandise. You can buy other Disney Halloween-themed merchandise during the day as well.

The Monstrous Scream-O-Ween Ball Dance Party – This dance party is a great way to take a load off and dance the night away with some of your favorite Monstrous characters. Select Disney Characters come out and dance with everyone; however, they usually don’t stop and take pictures and don’t sign autographs at the dance parties.

Character Meet and Greets

There are 45 possible characters that do meet and greets, and there are 4 characters at the Dance parties, which totals 49 characters that you will be able to visit in some way. Below is a list of the meet and greet characters for the party.

Costumed Characters – Keep your eyes open, because you never know whom you’ll see–but will you recognize them? Your beloved Disney Characters will be dressed up in their best costumes, and Disney Villains will be out in full force. It was fun to see them all in their different costumes. Just make sure you don’t forget your camera!

Extremely Popular Characters

Jack Skellington & Sally – Located together in Liberty Square behind the Christmas Shop. These two start meeting party guests at 5:00 pm. If you wait until the party starts you could spend up to 2 ½ hours waiting to see them, which will take up half of the party.

Seven Dwarfs – Located in Fantasyland next to Pete’s Silly Sideshow big top tents. The Seven Dwarf’s start meeting guests at 6:15 pm.  The line can extend up to 2 hours so be sure to get into line before the party starts. If you want to see both Jack & Sally and the Seven Dwarfs get in line to see Jack & Sally at 4:00 pm right after you get your wrist band for the party. As soon as you finish seeing Jack and Sally get in line to see the Seven Dwarfs. Doing this will assure you to see them all before the party even starts.

Captain Jack Sparrow – Located in Adventureland across the pathway from Pirates of Caribbean attraction. The line to meet Jack starts about 6:15 p.m. The line will extend up to about 2 hours. Great time to meet Jack is during the parade. I would skip the first parade and meet Jack and go to the second parade, which usually has the smaller crowds.

Moderately Popular Characters

Aladdin, Jasmine, Abu & the Genie – Located in Adventureland across the pathway from the Flying carpets right next to the building. They do not all meet together at the same time but rather meet in twos. Aladdin & Abu meet together and Jasmine & the Genie meet together. They will switch with each throughout the party.

Tarzan, Jane & Terk – Located in Adventureland just past the bridge on the right side on the Verandah. Tarzan & Jane are not always out at the same time. For every hour there is about 15 minutes they are not together. Terk should be out for the entire time.

Winnie the Pooh, Tigger, Piglet & Eeyore – Located next to the Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh attraction. These characters are dressed up in their Halloween costumes.  Only Winnie the Pooh and Tigger meet and greets during the day and they are not dressed up at that time.

Mad Hatter, Alice, Tweetles and the Queen of Hearts – Located in Fantasyland near the planters right behind the Tea cups. Alice & Mad Hatter meet together and the Queen of Hearts and the Tweetles meet together. They will have separate lines from each other.

Jafar – Located in Adventureland across from the Flying Carpets.

Cruella De Vil – Located in Fantasyland just North of the Train Station.

Lotso-Huggin Bear & Buzzlight Year – Located in Tomorrowland between the Carousel of Progress and Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin; Buzz meets during the day, but Lotso only comes out for the party. They do not meet together and have separate lines.

Easier To Meet Characters

Mickey Mouse – Located in Main Street, U.S.A in the Town Square Theatre. Mickey meets here regularly but during the Halloween Party he dresses in his Halloween costume

Minnie Mouse, Donald & Daisy Duck – Located in Fantasyland at the splash zone near the train station. Minnie Mouse meets guests herself, where as Donald and Daisy Duck meet together but they all meet in the same line. The three of them are dressed in their Halloween costume for the party.

Goofy – Located in Fantasyland near Goofy’s Barnstormer. Goofy is dressed in his pilots outfit that he wears during the day.

Gaston & Belle – Located in Fantasyland near Gaston’s Tavern. These two meet guests together during the party. You can also meet them during the day but not together.

Cinderella & Rapunzel – Located in Fantasyland at Princess Fairytale Hall. They meet guests during the regular day here.

Princess Tiana & Aurora – Located in Fantasyland at Princess Fairytale Hall. They meet guests during the regular day here.

Snow White–  Located in Main Street, U.S.A. next to City Hall. She meets guests here during the regular day.

Tinker Bell – Located in Main Street, U.S.A in the Town Square Theatre. She meets guests here during the regular day.

Ariel – Located in Fantasyland next to Ariel’s Grotto. She meets guests here during the regular day.

Merida – Located in Fantasyland at the Fairytale Garden. She meets guests here during the regular day.

Additional Meet and Greet Tips – I would meet the characters that are out during the day before the party starts and get the rare characters during the party. There really isn’t enough time during the party to see all the characters. Your tickets get you into the park starting at 4:00 p.m., which gives you an extra 3 hours in the parks. Remember to get into line early for those really popular characters so you don’t waste your whole party waiting for only a couple of characters.

There you have it one of the best events Walt Disney World puts on each year. This event is worth the extra cost and I highly recommend going. If you want more information on the event or want to plan a trip to Walt Disney World, please contact me.

Cody Woodbrey