Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party at Walt Disney World

Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party- Walt Disney World

Halloween is my FAVORITE holiday! However, I’m not a huge fan of the gory side of Halloween like zombies and blood and gore. If you’re like me and just like the fun times, dressing up in costumes and having a good time with friends and family, then Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween party is the ticket for you! On select nights starting the beginning of September through Halloween night, Walt Disney World in Florida and Disney Land in California, put on a “Not So Scary” Halloween party from 7 p.m. to 12 a.m. for Disney fans of ALL ages. So everyone in your family from infants to Grandparents will find something to enjoy!

If you are planning on going to the Walt Disney World resort during one of the party dates, you will need to purchase a separate ticket as this is what’s called a “hard ticket” event. Your regular Disney base ticket or park hopper will not let you in. With your ticket to MNSSHP you may enter the Magic Kingdom as early as 4 p.m. The party starts promptly at 7 p.m. by an announcement from your “ghost host” gravely informing all guests who do not possess a ticket to kindly exit so the party may begin. Once the party starts the Magic Kingdom transforms into a Halloween wonderland. Lights dim, spooky sounds are heard and the castle takes on a new, ghoulish look.

When you present your ticket you receive a wristband for the party and a special trick or treat bag to

use on the candy trails. (Side note, you’ll probably want to bring a larger bag or purchase one at Magic Kingdom because candy portions are very generous!) All you have to do is look on your map and find the yellow jack o lantern symbols to see where a trick or treat spot is located. You’ll know it when you get there because you will see a giant inflatable light with jack o lantern Mickey on it that guides you to the treat trail! This year there are 13 trick or treat spots throughout Magic Kingdom!

In addition to Trick or treating, all kinds of special things are happening so you will never have a dull moment! There are two dance parties for all ages to participate in! The “Monstrous Scream-O-Ween” Ball in Tomorrowland with your favorite characters from Monster’s Inc. and “Club Villain” at the Diamond Horseshoe. There are also Special Character appearances with characters you can pretty much only meet at the party! Like Jack Skellington & Sally, Snow white and all of the 7 Dwarfs, The old hag/evil queen from snow white, Halloween Mickey and Minnie and more! In addition to all of the special characters, you can still meet your favorites in their regular appearances too! Like Buzz Lightyear, Magician Mickey and TinkerBell at Town Square Theater, Cinderella and Rapunzel, and one of the best ways to meet Anna and Elsa is during the party! Waits are sometimes as low as 15 minutes on nights the party isn’t sold out!

All of this excitement and the party has only just begun! There are two “Boo to You!” Parades (oneof my personal favorites) one at 8:15 p.m. and one at 10:30 p.m.

The Mysterious Headless Horseman

The Haunted Mansion Gravediggers

Then at 9:00 p.m. everyone’s favorite fireworks “Wishes!” gets taken over by the villains for a special party exclusive “HalloWishes” Fireworks Spectacular! 

Hallowishes

Before the fireworks the Villains take over the castle during the “Villains Mix and Mingle LIVE on stage” so the fireworks have a special Villain twist!

After you’ve watched the parade and fireworks our motto is MORE CANDY! J However, almost all of the rides stay open during the party and it’s a good way to ride some of the attractions that generally have a longer wait like Space Mountain and Jungle Cruise. Otherwise just keep making the rounds on the trick or treat trails! Just two of us ended up with 15 pounds of candy combined this year! Or if you’re not into the candy take advantage of the other special treats offered only during the party, like candy corn soft serve ice cream, spiced pumpkin waffle sundaes, and candy corn cotton candy! Yum!! For pin collectors there are special MNSSHP pins for all guests and some exclusively for annual passholders. Plus commemorative  t-shirts and new this year limited edition Magic Bands!

So if you’re planning a trip during the Halloween season don’t forget about Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween party for you and your family! It truly is for ALL ages, this year just my Mom and I went together! No little kids or anything! J It’s just as much for couples and adults as it is for Families with children. EVERYONE can dress up as little or as much as they want! If you would are traveling during October and would like to add this to your package myself and the rest of our travel planners at Travel Time are more than happy to help you! And if you are wanting to book a Halloween Disney vacation, let any of our Disney expert travel planners plan your trip today!

By Travel Time Agent Miriam
miriam@traveltimetravel.com

Disneyland in the Fall

Disneyland in the Fall

One of the most popular seasons to visit Disneyland Resort is in the fall, when all of the resort is decked out in Halloween decor. 

From before you step foot in Disneyland Park, you can already see some of the decorations.

Just above the turnstiles entering the park, you can see the Fab 5 as pumpkins, welcoming you to the Halloween festivities. As you walk down Main Street, you will see hundreds of hand-carved pumpkins, and none of them are alike.

There is a giant Mickey pumpkin head, right in the center, where photopass photographers are eager to take your Halloween pictures.

And if you need more pictures, characters will be placed in their meet n greet areas, many of whom are also dressed in Halloween costumes. For example, Minnie is often a witch, and Goofy is often a skeleton.

If you step into Candy Palace, you can enjoy some Halloween exclusive treats, too! Such as caramel apples that look like pumpkins, various pumpkin flavored treats, decorated rice krispy treats, and more!

But decorations and treats aren't all you get at Disneyland during Halloween time, if you head over to Tomorrowland, Space Mountain becomes Space Mountain Ghost Galaxy. "Escape the clutches of freaky phantasms as you are launched to a haunted section of the universe on Space Mountain Ghost Galaxy."

After you have finished riding Space Mountain Ghost Galaxy, its time to head on over to Frontierland, where you can take the family to create Halloween crafts and enjoy some not-so-spooky activities for kids at Halloween Carnival at Big Thunder Ranch. Plus, watch pumpkin carvers and meet some of your favorite Disney Characters in their Halloween costumes. There may even be some villains hanging around!

When the family has finished their crafts, it is time to check out Haunted Mansion Holiday, brought to you by Jack Skellington from Nightmare Before Christmas, along with other not-so-spooky residents from Halloweentown. (This attraction remains in its overlay through the Christmas season). No other Haunted Mansion at any other Disney theme park offers this classic holiday overlay.

Every bit of the classic Haunted Mansion attraction is re-done, making this a not to be missed attraction on your visit.

And if this wasn't enough Halloween festivities for you, on select nights beginning late September through Halloween, Disneyland Park is host to Mickey's Halloween Party. This event requires a separate ticket (known as a hard ticket event). Once Mickey's Halloween Party begins, Disneyland Park will be closed to guests without the event ticket. Attractions are still open during the Party, as well as many trick or treat stations, a special Halloween parade, special Halloween fireworks, additional character meet n greets, dance parties, and more.

Costumes are encouraged, but not required. Even adults can dress up for the event (costume guidelines do apply). Tickets for this event is limited, and do sell out!

Disney's Haunted Mansion Attraction

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January 25, 2014

                                                                             

If you have never climbed in a Doombuggy, you are missing out, plain and simple.  I’ve even seen a website devoted to the Doombuggy, www.doombuggies.com! The Haunted Mansion is iconic and beloved, and has so many fun facts and interesting details that you could ride them over and over, daily for a year, and still spot new and fun things.

You start off in the Stretch room…my favorite character is the girl walking the tightrope.  Hint…if you’ve never experienced the attraction, when you hear thunder, look up!

I love the ballroom.  Ghosts intermittently appear and disappear…hanging on chandeliers, dancing, sitting at a nicely set dining room table where you might spot a Hidden Mickey. 

Then of course there is the graveyard, where popping ghost heads will make you jump and the singing heads will make you smile. The opera singer holding a head is cute.  I have been fortunate to ride the Haunted Mansion at Disney World with an imagineer speaking to me through a headpiece throughout the ride during a tour, and the details he pointed out during the ride were fascinating.  Did you know that the framed drawings of spooktacular creatures that line some of the hallways are actually drawings done by cast members before the last update, when they were trying to come up with some new creatures?  They had a brainstorm…why not put them up!

About  Madame Leota…what isn’t mesmerizing about a floating head in a crystal ball?  “Serpents and Spiders, tail of a rat…”  When Disney revamped the ride, they also revamped Leota…and used one of her actual descendents to make sure the bone structure was correct for the new globe.  Disney is nothing if not dedicated to getting the details correct! 

The ride music is catchy…in fact, my favorite part of the Boo To You Parade, which is a feature in the Not So Scary Halloween Party, is the Haunted Mansion section with the grave diggers, the real dog, and the deadly dancers.  Perhaps because Disney is NOT scary most of the time is one of the reasons why the Haunted Mansion is such a treat.

At the end, you get to see a ghost practically sitting in your lap…and then hear the extra creepy voice of the bride as you leave…”Hurry baaaaack…be sure to bring your death certificate”.

Unfortunately, several years ago they had to get politically correct (which is unlike Disney, a company that is steadfast in calling Christmas CHRISTMAS and not “the holiday season”) the cast members at the Haunted Mansion no longer tell us to “drag your dead bodies to the center of the room” or say any of the other spooky cool things they used to say.  Disney gave in to the bunch of whiners that thought it was too scary, and despite their new “script” and acting classes for the cast members (who used to ad-lib), the cast members might look spooky but they are now boring.

Just remember…there are 999 happy haunts in residence, but there is always room for one more!

Have a Haunted Day!

Lucy

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