MNSSHP Party Tips and Tricks

Spooky Season is almost here at Walt Disney World!  The Magic Kingdom is already decked out in its best fall style and Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party is here!  Running on select nights from August 9 through October 31 at the Magic Kingdom. This is earlier than the party has ever started before and excitement is high with many nights already sold out. You can read our review of MNSSHP in 2023 here.  Here are our best tips to get the most out of your MNSSHP experience.

• Decide what your goals are

  • Just like almost every other park day - even with lower crowds you can not do everything.  What are you most excited about?  The special fireworks?  The stage shows and parades? Those character meet and greets that are only available at the party?  Rides with the holiday overlays? Pick must dos and then plan the rest of your night around those.

• To costume or not to costume?

  • The restrictions Disney has on adults wearing costumes does not apply during the party. The limitations are that you cannot wear a mask and any capes or long skirts/dresses cannot drag on the ground.

  • Many people enjoy dressing up for the party. We love to dress up, and the party gives us an excuse to get our best Disney Villain bound on.Things to keep in mind.  This is Florida.  Hot is a thing here way into the fall.  Rain is a thing here year round.  We strongly suggest not wearing anything too heavy or anything that rain would ruin no matter how much fun the costume is.  

• Get to the park early

  • You can get into the park as early as 4pm and have 3 extra hours of park time prior to the official party start time at 7pm.

  • If you plan to enter at 4pm then know there is a large mass of people also planning that and you will be part of a giant crowd. Cast members are good at managing the crowd, but there are still a lot of people so be prepared.

  • Make sure you get your wristband, this will let cast members know you are a party guest and can enter special queues before the party starts and not get kicked out after the party starts. As you are entering the park with your party ticket you will have a chance to get your wristband there.

  • If you enter the park with your party ticket you will be directed to enter through specific turnstyles, typically the ones to the right as you are facing the park. If you are already in the park as a day guest, and have a party ticket too, you can pick up your wristband in Tomorrowland in front of Monster’s Inc. Laugh Floor, in Fantasyland at Fantasy Faire near Mickey’s PhilharMagic, or in Adventureland at Tortuga Tavern across from Pirates of the Caribbean. 

  • You will be directed down a side street to the right after you enter the park. Here you will get your trick or treat bag and your first bag of candy.

• Special Party Characters

  • Characters are a big draw, with special character meet and greets available like Jack and Sally, Mickey and friends dressed up in their Halloween costumes. While these are super fun, the lines for these characters get quite long and you can end up spending a lot of your party time waiting to see them. If those are important to you it can totally be worth it, but be aware before you line up.

  • You can line up for and even meet some of the characters prior to the official party start time. Including Jack and Sally, who will start seeing guests as early as 4:30pm and Winnie the Pooh and friends, who will start seeing guests at 6:15pm. The rest of the character meet and greets do not start until the official party starts but you can get in line before then.

  • Mickey Mouse: Meet the main Mouse himself over at Town Square Theater dressed in his Halloween best. The party meet and greet does not start until 7pm.

  • Daisy and Donald, and then Minnie all in their Halloween costumes: You can meet all these fabulous characters from a single line starting at the official party start. They meet guests over in Dumbo’s queue.

  • Goofy: Check out Goofy bedecked in his Halloween costume over near is Barnstormer ride. He begins meeting guests at the start of the party.

  • Jack and Sally: Meet the Pumpkin King himself along with Sally as they meet guests together during the party. They will begin meeting guests around 4:10pm, well before the start of the party. They meet guests in the Town Square theater. This is another hugely popular meet and greet so you will need to plan to devote some time to waiting to see them. We recommend either lining up as close to 4pm as you can or trying to see them toward the end of the night.

  • Winnie the Pooh, Piglet, Tigger, and Eeyore in their Halloween costumes: Another unique meet and greet lets you meet all these cuddly guys at once. They will start meeting guests around 6:15pm. They meet guests next to The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh at the Thotful Spot. They can be quite popular so we recommend seeing them early or over the first parade. 

  • Mirabel and Bruno: We may not talk about Bruno from Encanto, but he will be joining Mirabel at the Casita in Fairytale Garden during the party.

  • Belle: Belle greets guests next to her father’s cottage by Enchanted Tales with Belle.

  • Eric and Ariel: Meet Ariel and her prince near her ride, Under the Sea, The Journey of the Little Mermaid.

  • The Queen of Hearts: Head over to the Mad Tea Party to pay your respect to The Queen of Hearts.

  • Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum OR Alice and Mad Hatter: The Tweedles alternate with Alice and the Mad Hatter near the Queen of Hearts.

  • Jafar: Meet this villain over in Adventureland across from Aloha Isle. 

  • Genie and Jasmine OR Aladdin and Abu: Next to Jafar’s meet and greet the Genie and Jasmine alternate meeting guests with Aladdin and Abu.

  • Jack Sparrow: Next to Pirates of the Caribbean you can meet your favorite pirate Captain Jack Sparrow.

  • Stitch: Elvis Stitch meets his adoring fans over in Tomorrowland.

  • In addition to these characters you can find pirates roaming around and interact with guests in front of Pirates of the Caribbean, which can be a great character interaction.

  • Haunted Mansion also boasts unique character interactions as Madam Carlotta interacts with guests waiting in the attraction queue.

  • For this year Disney has announced that “There will be even more spooktacular Villains roaming the parks, ready to fill party goers with ghoulish delight”. 

  • If characters are a must see, we recommend getting in line for them either during the first parade (note some of them are not available at this time) or right before the end of the party. For the most popular (i.e. Jack and Sally) cast members will stop letting people get in line before the end of the party. 

• Parades and Shows

  • Mickey’s Boo-To-You Halloween Parade: There are two viewings of the parade, if you can manage to stay up late enough the second viewing is far less crowded.

    • 8:15 p.m. and 11:15 p.m.

  • Hocus Pocus Villain Spectacular: The Hocus Pocus stage show is fantastic and shown multiple times throughout the night. The later showings will be much less crowded and so easier to get a prime spot near the front of the castle.

• August 9 through September 28: 9:05 p.m., 10:40 p.m., 12 a.m. (confirmed for 2024)

• September 29 through October 31: 7:40 p.m., 9:05 p.m., 10:40 p.m., 12 a.m

• Cadaver Dans Barbershop Quartet: If you love the Dapper Dans then checking out their spooky side is a must. You can find them over in Frontierland. 

  • 7 p.m., 7:45 p.m., 8:30 p.m., 9:45 p.m., and 10:30 p.m.

• Rusty Cut Glass Pirate Band: Another fun musical group to check are are these swashbuckling pirates in Adventureland.

  • Intermittently from 7pm - Midnight

• Disney’s Not-So-Spooky Spectacular: The fireworks show only happens once a night. If crowds are not your thing we recommend viewing the fireworks from behind the castle. If you can manage crowds, it has a fun storyline about Mickey and friends following Zero (Nightmare Before Christmas) into a haunted house. The Jack Skellington puppet that narrates the story at the beginning and the end is super cool.

• Not-So-Spooky Spectacular Dessert Party: This is a great way to get into a reserved viewing area for the fireworks and get to enjoy some spooktacular treats. This event occurs during the party - including fireworks viewing from Plaza Garden or Tomorrowland Terrace. Tickets to this must be purchased separately and sell out early.

• Lots of people will be on Main Street and in the hub during the first parade through the fireworks. This can be a great time to meet characters with a shorter wait (note they are not all available during the parade) or ride some of the more popular rides with a lower wait.

• Attractions

  • Attractions open during the party:

    • Swiss Family Treehouse

    • The Magic Carpets of Aladdin

    • Jungle Cruise

    • Pirates of the Caribbean

    • Big Thunder Mountain Railroad

    • Tiana’s Bayou Adventure

    • Haunted Mansion

    • Prince Charming Regal Carrousel

    • Peter Pan’s Flight

    • Under the Sea ~Journey of the Little Mermaid

    • The Barnstormer

    • Dumbo the Flying Elephant

    • Mad Tea Party

    • The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh

    • Seven Dwarfs Mine Train

    • Princess Fairytale Hall

    • Tomorrowland Speedway

    • TRON Lightcycle/Run

    • Space Mountain

    • Astro Orbiter

    • Tomorrowland Transit Authority PeopleMover

    • Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin

  • There are three attractions that have a Halloween overlay: 

    • Space Mountain - where it is completely in the dark and has a rockin soundtrack 

    • Monsters’ Inc Laugh Floor - where the monsters are dressed up and telling themed jokes

    • Mad Tea Party - where there is a fun light overlay and themed music.

  • While many of the attractions will have relatively low wait times, Haunted Mansion is very popular during the party and will often have a wait time of 45 minutes or more during the peak party hours. 

  • Tiana’s Bayou Adventure will have a standby queue available during the party. This is a great opportunity to get these newer extremely popular rides in without having to worry about a virtual queue or buying a Lightning Lane Pass.  But your party time is precious, and these lines can still be long, so keep that in mind if you are choosing these as a must do for your group.

• Trick-or-Treating

  • An extra perk for the party is the free trick-or-treating, and consequently free candy, located all around the park. There is no limit to the amount of candy you can walk away with, just remember you have to get it all home (or eat it) afterwards.

  • There are lots of trick or treating locations throughout the park, if you see one that has a long line we recommend skipping it because odds are you will be able to find another before too long with virtually no line.

• Dance parties

  • Plus there will be a new DescenDANCE Party at the Rockettower Plaza Stage: new this year inspired by Descendants: The Rise of Red.

    • 7PM- MIDNIGHT in Tomorrowland

  • Disney Junior Jam Dance Party at Cosmic Ray’s Starlight Café, rock out with some of your favorite Disney Junior characters at this groovin party.

    • 7PM - MIDNIGHT in Tomorrowland

• Party Extras

  • There are special photopass opportunities throughout the park.  We will update the locations and magic shots after the parties have started.

There are lots of fun foods and beverages available only during the party. Note most quick service and snack locations will only serve the exclusive party food. See our article about MNSSHP food here.

Planning a Walt Disney World Vacation?  Click here for our planning guide. Need tips for planning a Walt Disney World Vacation with someone with a disability?  Check out the disability section of our blog here.  Need help navigating the parks using DAS?  Click here. No longer qualify for DAS and need help figuring out now to approach a day at the parks? Click here for our ideas on how to flip your thinking and still have a good expeience at Disney.