Ah, fall is my favorite time of year. The variety of colors, chill in the air, smell of warm fires from neighborhood chimneys, and one of my favorite holidays; Halloween. Now, those of you who know me know that I’m a big ol’ chicken and don’t like scary movies or being grossed out with gory stuff. However, I LOVE the cheesy “spooky” stuff (think Scooby-Doo)! This makes perfect sense when you consider my passion for anything Disney. So, combining one of my favorite holidays with a trip to Walt Disney World is nearly at the top of my yearly travel list.
There are many great reasons for visiting Disney in the fall. First, you have less crowds because most kids are back in school and less families are vacationing. Second, the Fall always brings the Epcot Food and Wine Festival, an absolute must for adults and foodies out there. But late September through October also brings Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party (MNSSHP) at the Magic Kingdom park.
Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party is an absolute blast, especially for families (although not limited to families). This is a separate “hard-ticket” event that must be purchased separately from the regular day tickets. In the past, my family will just buy a ticket for the Halloween Party alone and not come to the park that day.
Usually the park will close for day-guests at 7 pm, the official start time of the party, and they will clear anyone out who doesn’t have a wristband for the party. However, Party guests can actually begin to enter the park at 5 pm in order to avoid the 7 pm collision of head-on traffic (thousands of day-guests leaving the park and party guests entering at the same time…not fun!) So try to avoid this by arriving early.
The Party lasts until midnight, so if you are in the park by 5 pm you will get 7 hours of spooky-fun for a fraction of the price of a day ticket. Plus, they only sell a limited number of tickets for each Party…meaning that you will have far less crowds and shorter wait lines – a huge bonus that makes the party that much more enjoyable! However, this also means that you should buy your tickets in advance.
Included with your ticket is unlimited trick-or-treating throughout the park along with free bags to collect your bounty (yes, adults are encouraged to participate too!), as well as special shows, parades, and an amazing Halloween fireworks show. The park is also decked out in Halloween décor, spooky music, and mood-lighting.
Another fun aspect about Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party is that dressing up is encouraged! Rather than seeing the kids all dressed up and ready to go trick-or-treating and see Mickey, I actually enjoy seeing all the adults dressed up! Even better, I love seeing entire families who come to the park dressed in matching characters from a movie. The creativity is unbelievable, and some families become mini-celebrities for the night with other guests wanting to take pictures with them. I’ll never forget the family the dressed up as giant Fastpasses.
Over the years I have had so much fun at this Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party. I mean, how often do we as adults get to dress up and actually go trick-or-treating without being looked at funny? How many times do we get to binge on candy, dance in the streets with Goofy (and the kids), and then go ride Splash Mountain or listen to spooky stories at the Haunted Mansion? You really do feel like a kid again for the night, and that is what a trip to Disney is all about. It all amounts to some great memories for years to come.
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