Visiting a Disney park is great any day of the year. But Disney really shines during the holidays, specifically at Halloween and Christmas seasons. Here are some pros and cons for visiting Walt Disney World at Halloween.
Pros of Disney World at Halloween
There are many advantages of visiting Disney World at Halloween.
Halloween Lasts a L-O-N-G Time
Are you the type that starts thinking about your Halloween costume in August? Well, you need to push that timeline up a skootch because August is when Halloween BEGINS at Disney World! Beginning in August and lasting all the way until early November, you have plenty of chances to fit in a trip before the festivities end. If you love Halloween, seeing fall decorations and having a Halloween party to attend while it’s still sweltering outside will get you in the spirit!
Halloween Party
Each year Disney holds some sort of special ticketed after hours event for Halloween. This year, they are offering Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party. There are parties scheduled from August 12 through November 1. Ticket prices range from $109-199. The most expensive party dates are on weekend nights and those closer to Halloween. To get a bargain on Halloween, go in August!
Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party is a ticketed event that provides access to the Magic Kingdom from 7 p.m. to midnight on select dates. Party tickets provide access to special events and activities through the night, along with shorter lines for most attractions. You can enter into Magic Kingdom at 4 p.m. with your party ticket, effectively giving you 8 hours in the park. The event features a special parade, fireworks show, stage show, trick-or-treating, ride overlays, and rare character meet and greets. Plus, most of the rides were open with low wait times.
Perhaps best of all, you can wear a costume to Disney’s Halloween party. Most of the time, adults may not enter the parks in costume. But you are free to dress up for Halloween. Better yet, you can wear your regular clothes and just enjoy others’ costumes. The wonderful and creative costumes some party-goers wear are amazing! Or you can do what my son and I did and simply wear costume t-shirts – we were comfy and got lots of comments about being Mrs. Incredible and Dash.
If you are a Halloween and a Disney fan, you may consider the Halloween party a must-do event, at least once. If you are a true Halloween fanatic, you may prefer to attend Universal Orlando’s Halloween Horror Nights instead. This event is in sharp contrast to Disney offerings with jump scares, haunted houses, special effects, and limitless thrills. You can still spend a regular park day at Magic Kingdom to enjoy the atmosphere and decorations of the friendlier celebration! Read more about Universal in my post Four Reasons for Disney Fans to Love Universal.
Fun Magic Shots
If you purchase Memory Maker, Disney offers some special effects for your photos. Some are only available for the party, such as the Headless Horseman photo above. But a few, including this awesome Hitchhiking Ghost photo, are available to day guests, too!
Halloween Themed Snacks & Merchandise
No one does snacks and merchandise like Disney, and Halloween is no exception. You can expect to see adorable popcorn buckets, spirit jerseys, mugs, Minnie Mouse ears, and just about anything else you can think of for sale! If you prefer edible souvenirs, Disney has you covered. You will see many Halloween themed cupcakes, drinks, and other goodies. Disney Tourist Blog keeps a great list of all treat offerings so you can plan your nibbles in advance!
Cons of Visiting Disney World at Halloween
As fun as Halloween at Disney is, there are some disadvantages.
Crowds
Although there are some sweet spots of low crowds during the three months of Halloween at Disney parks, you may experience heavy crowds. If you go, shoot for September after the Labor Day holiday. There is about a three week period in September after the holiday which should have some of the lowest crowds of the year.
But remember that Disney parks are busy all the time now. So even if you go during a less crowded time, it feels crowded. My son and I attended Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party in late September 2019, and I honestly never saw Magic Kingdom as crowded as it was during the party! We visited all four parks in four days, and it felt as crowded as it did during other trips during different times of year.
It’s Hot . . . & Worse!
Weather in Orlando is terrible during the months of Halloween at Disney! It’s stiflingly hot and humid. While rain plagues Orlando during most of the summer, it can be really bad during the height of hurricane season in September. To top it off, hurricanes can pass right over the parks. The buildings and structures are built to withstand hurricanes, so it’s a safe place to be. But it would interrupt your vacation as the parks tend to close early or completely for a day or more.
Halloween is Limited
If you go to Disney World November-December, you will see Christmas everywhere. In contrast, Halloween only happens in a few places. Main Street is fully decked out in fall decorations and pumpkins. But go deeper into the park and you will see no sign that it’s Halloween. It’s even worse in all of the other parks – there are no Halloween decorations to be found. You can find some Halloween décor at Disney Springs, the shopping and dining district. But overall, your thirst for fall has limited opportunities to be quenched.
Tips for Celebrating Halloween at Disney World
Convinced you need to trick-or-treat with the Mouse? Here are some tips!
Save $$$
Most people will want regular day tickets to the parks as well as to the Halloween party. To save a few bucks, purchase your tickets for both through Undercover Tourist rather than direct from Disney.
An alternative is to use the Target Red Card to purchase Disney gift cards from Target at a 5% discount. Then you can use the Disney gift cards you purchase to buy tickets at 5% off. Even better, buy Disney gift cards for all of your expenses for Disney – lodging if you are staying at a Disney hotel, meals and snacks at the park, and even souvenirs from the shops on property. You can get a 5% discount off everything!
One caveat – don’t get the credit card version of the Target Red Card if you are starting a travel hacking hobby (see my related post Travel for Free in 6 Easy Steps). Apply for the debit card instead so this card doesn’t count against your Chase 5/24 rating. Also, watch for incentives for getting a Target Red Card. There is often a $40 off a $40+ purchase coupon that comes with the card.
Prepare for Weather
You need to prepare for blazing hot temperatures and torrential downpours. Here’s a list of items to take with you:
- Umbrella – both for sun and rain. I’ve carried this one all around the world, and it’s held up great!
- Cooling towel – these are great to drape around your neck when it’s super hot, but not taking up too much space in your bag.
- Rain ponchos – I always like to keep a stash of these in my park bag – they are great for rain and for water rides!
- Neck fan – if you really suffer from the heat, this is a great contraption to keep you hands free.
- Park bag – stash all of this stuff in my favorite park bag!
- Comfortable sandals that dry out quickly (I like Fit Flops), or two pairs of sneakers so you can wear one while the other pair dries (tip: stuff wet shoes with newspaper to dry them quickly).
Create a Plan
If you are attending the Halloween party, create a plan. First, attend the party on a Tuesday night when the crowds should be at their lowest. As a bonus, ticket prices are usually lower on Tuesdays as well! Next, make sure you show up at the park gates by 3:45 p.m. as they often will let you into the park a little early. Eat a substantial meal before you come to the park so that you don’t waste party time eating dinner.
Unfortunately, it’s impossible to do everything offered at the party. There are rare characters you can meet, a terrific fireworks show and parade, a stage show, a dance party, rides with special Halloween overlays, trick-or-treating, and fun photo opportunities. You can read all that is offered and a full plan of attack on Disney Tourist Blog. You have to decide what you most want to do and prioritize them.
If you want to meet rare characters, you will have to dedicate most of your pre-party time to this task. If you want to meet a lot of characters, you will also need to spend the final hour of the party on this task as well. Here’s a great post on WDW Prep School on where to find the various characters during the party.
You should not miss the Disney’s Not-So-Spooky Spectacular fireworks show and Boo to You Parade. The fireworks happen once about 10 p.m., but the parade happens twice, around 9 and 11 p.m. I suggest going to the first parade. I like finding a place in Liberty Square not far from the castle. Then after the parade, you can move over to a place in front of the castle. Shoot for a space between Casey’s Corner and the Partners Statue.
After the parade, you can stay to see Hocus Pocus Villain’s Spectacular in front of the castle. It’s a good show, but I recommend skipping it and spending some time enjoying attractions. There may be some with special Halloween overlays. These are also good to do early in the party if you aren’t interested in meeting characters.
Also swing by the Haunted Mansion. Don’t ride it as it doesn’t change during the party, but there are a lot of fun characters and PhotoPass opportunities out front. You should also try to catch the Cadaver Dan show in Frontierland.
There are a lot of other things that I don’t prioritize at the party, such as special merchandise, snacks, trick-or-treating, dance parties, and regular attractions. Generally, you will only have time to do a small portion of the offerings. For me, that’s the fireworks, parade, rides with overlays, Haunted Mansion characters, and special PhotoPass opportunities. Oh – and a few trick-or-treat stations to get some candy!
Have you been to a Disney park at Halloween?
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