It’s Halloween season at Disney World — or is it?
Mummy Mickey Popcorn Bucket
Have you noticed that it just doesn’t FEEL the same in Disney World this year?? The “most spookiest time of the year” seems to have been pushed aside in favor of that other big thing that happened in October — the 50th Anniversary. Not to mention Christmas decorations (!!!) are already showing up on the scene! Honestly, it doesn’t feel like the Halloween we have come to look forward to at Disney World in past years. It got us wondering…did Disney World get cheated out of Halloween this year?
Just think about it — if you go to the parks on any given day right now, you might not feel like the spooky spirit is around at all. So what gives??
The Traditional Mickey Pumpkin Wreaths Were Replaced
The most iconic Halloween decorations at Magic Kingdom (possibly all of Disney World!) are the Mickey pumpkin wreaths and we look forward to seeing them every year — they’re one of the first indications of the spooky season. And this year, we DID get Mickey pumpkin wreaths…
Mickey Pumpkins Galore!
…for a while. But then they were replaced by Cinderella Pumpkin Wreaths in honor of the 50th Anniversary (because, apparently, Cinderella is more 50th than MICKEY 😂). Sure, the new wreaths are a bit “classier” for the big anniversary event than cartoonish Mickey pumpkin heads flickering down the street, but it’s just not the same for those Halloween stans.
Does this wreath say Halloween to you?
And we’re #sorrynotsorry but these new wreaths are WAY less Halloweeny. The Cindy pumpkins feel like if your family was WAY into Halloween but this year your mom is like, “we’re not putting plastic skeletons and spiders and fake cobwebs all over the yard like we have EVERY year. This year, we’re going with a much classier rustic Autumn Harvest theme!” Sure it’s still “festive” but it’s also a lot less whimsical. Well, at least they have fall-like colors, right?
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The Lack Of Halloween Snacks
Usually around this time of the year, we are inundated with orange icing, fall flavors, and pumpkin treats. We’re not kidding when we say it feels like Disney opens the black and orange sprinkle floodgates and we find ourselves drowning in a sea of pumpkin spice EVERYTHING. And although we’ve had a few Halloween treats (most of the new ones were at Boo Bash, but we’ll get to THAT in a second!), they really haven’t been around much this year. Why? Because the 50th Anniversary started on October 1st and brought in over 150 new food and drink items.
This should’ve been a Halloween cupcake
So our normally spoopy orange and black e-ver-y-thing was replaced this year by blue food coloring, edible glitter, and enough chocolate “50” medallions to fill all the treasure chests in Pirates of the Caribbean. And with all those new snacks arriving, the Halloween snacks just sort of got…forgotten this year.
One of the best spots for classically fun Halloween treats, the Main Street Confectionery, has even been a bit of a bummer this year. When the Halloween treats arrived on the scene (in the shadow of all the “EARidescent” 50th treats), this is what we found…
Are Those M&M’s OK??
…hmm. These were kind of an afterthought, right? (That’s not even getting into how there’s something suspect going on with those M&M’s there that we’re not quite sure about!) Yes, there has been a good bit more over at Big Top Treats, but it is repeats of stuff we’ve seen in past years, nothing new or exciting really. And this seems to be one of the bigger spots to find seasonal treats. Other parks and resorts have followed the suit for the most part — limited repeat Halloween snacks from past years (if any) tucked in around all the 50th goodies.
Where’s all the new stuff at?
Yes, we loved the Haunted Mansion Muppet Eclairs at PizzeRizzo, but where are all the other Halloween treats, Disney World?
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No Halloween Cavalcades
Okay, so we knew there wouldn’t be any Halloween parades this year even at Boo Bash (again, we’ll get into the Halloween Parties, or lack thereof, in a bit!), but at least last year, we got Halloween cavalcades with the characters in costume, the villains, and the Nightmare Before Christmas gang. This year? Forget about it. There are NO Halloween Cavalcades.
Villain cavalcade from 2020
Instead, the only NEW cavalcade we’re getting is the — you guessed it — 50th anniversary cavalcade.
The Lack of Costumed Guests
Lest we forget last year was also a big deal for costume-lovers — Disney allowed guests of all ages to wear Halloween costumes in Magic Kingdom for most of the Halloween season in 2020. This was previously reserved for guests at the Halloween Parties (and of course children have always been allowed to wear costumes as long as they fit Disney’s guidelines).
AMUCK!
It was a…different year for Disney World, and the decision to allow everyone to wear costumes was likely the result of canceling the Halloween parties entirely in 2020. But for guests that got to experience it last year, it’s still a loss this year (especially considering the lack of offerings and cost of Boo Bash might make that a skippable event for some guests).
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Boo Bash Isn’t Comparable to Mickey’s Not-So Scary Halloween Party
We’re just going to say it — this year’s After Hours Boo Bash technically costs more than the last Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party in 2019, but it isn’t even close to being comparable to offering the same amount of value. Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Party had a LOT more entertainment (and we get that we are still living in the age of socially-distanced entertainment, but still…). And it was a longer party!
Boo Bash Cavalcade
But now that Disney World is looking towards the holidays and the Mickey’s Very Merriest After Hours Party, we’re starting to see just how much the Halloween parties got short-changed — the Christmas events will have an actual parade and a special fireworks and stage show. Boo Bash didn’t get that, AT ALL. They got largely the same cavalcades that were running all day long free with general admission last year. That was it!
You could see Oogie Boogie and pals all day long last year — no separate ticket required!
And those event-exclusive treats we typically get SO pumped to check out? Yeah, it was a funnel cake and 2 drinks this year. Dat’s it!
The selection at the event was SLIM
So even the one place you’d expect to REALLY have Halloween vibes thrown at you — the Halloween-centric parties — you really…didn’t.
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No Fireworks at Boo Bash
Like we said, there aren’t any special fireworks at the Boo Bash. We covered this above but it’s also getting its own section because we’re still wondering WHY. When Boo Bash was first announced back in May, fireworks still hadn’t returned to Disney World, so it made sense to announce no fireworks show at the party. Problem was that since then, Disney has brought BACK nightly fireworks to Magic Kingdom. Once fireworks returned, we waited to see if a late-coming fireworks show would appear for Boo Bash but, alas, it did not. Guests can still check out Enchantment most nights but a Halloween show? Nope.
Enchantment
It would be a lot more understandable if Disney World hadn’t announced a separate fireworks show for Mickey’s Very Merriest After Hours Party. Boo Bash is about as bare-bones of an event as it could be, but to see the Christmas events get essentially most of what guests got at past Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Parties stings a bit. So guests who attend the Very Merriest After Hours Party now get opportunities to see Enchantment PLUS a Christmas-themed fireworks show during their stay. Poor Boo Bash.
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The Characters Aren’t Wearing Halloween Costumes
Even last year, when Disney World didn’t have a Halloween party offering, we still got to see the characters in their Halloween costumes during the day. Well, this year, just about the only place you’re going to get to see that outside of Boo Bash is if you book a reservation at Hollywood and Vine’s Halloween Dine at Disney’s Hollywood Studios.
Halloween Dine is the only place you’ll get to see Vampire Mickey this year.
This year, the characters in the parks are all sporting their EARidescent 50th anniversary outfits. It seems largely the result of bad timing once again. Disney World having its birthday the SAME month as all things spooky is really putting a dampener on the holiday, huh?
Where the Buckets at?!
Similar to Halloween treats arriving on the scene, we’ve come to expect that with the changing of the seasons comes the changing of the buckets. Popcorn buckets, that is. Christmas and Halloweentime are basically the Superbowl for Disney World popcorn buckets and sippers. We usually find a handful of different styles of buckets around the parks and possibly a sipper or two.
Mummy Mickey Popcorn Bucket
So here’s the thing — this year we DID get a couple buckets. But they’re largely exiled to Disney Springs where they can live their spooky lives and not interfere with the much more EARidescent other options around the parks. (Yep, once again, the 50th Anniversary edged out Halloween a bit!) As far as the buckets we HAVE seen, most are repeats from past years or from other parks to boot.
“Is it Halloween? Oh SRY, didn’t notice!” says Mickey
The 50th Anniversary Mickey Balloon Popcorn Buckets and Minnie Mouse Anniversary Sippers might be selling out in Magic Kingdom and getting all the love, but in quiet pockets of Disney World, the spooky buckets are patiently waiting for their forever homes.
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We love Halloween around here including all the treats, decor, and merchandise that comes with it, but this year definitely seems to have a lot less spooky energy in the air. Disney World’s anniversary was bound to take the spotlight since a 50th birthday just comes once but Halloween happens EVERY year. We totally get it, but we do still miss eating our way through all the new black and orange foods Disney could throw at us. There’s always next year (plus we did still have a nice Halloween season at Disney World, even if it has been greatly diminished).
But, hey, at least it looks like the holidays will get some representation in the parks, but we have to wonder if it’s still going to feel more like the 50th anniversary than the holidays? Time will tell. We guess we’ll know for sure if Cinderella carriage Christmas wreaths start showing up! 😉
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I was there for Halloween in 2018 and was hugely disappointed. The only obvious sign of it was the staff displays in the resort.
The parks were busy putting up the holiday decorations.
I couldn’t even find a T-shirt to buy, and hardly anyone was wearing anything Halloweeny anyway. (I actually stopped a family wearing some and asked where they got them … Amazon, weeks beforehand. They were similarly disappointed with Disney’s offering.)
My assumption is that Halloween is just not a ‘thing’ in Florida. Boo!
We have gone with family to a lot mickeys not so scary Halloween and they were the best who n the world made that decision we k ow who it was that jerk bob chapek so we r happy we did t go this year the headless horseman riding and all the fun stuff has been ruined and then want to charge that money to go to it there is no way we will ever pay that Disney world is being ruined we always had a great time there but the magic is gone and the money grab took its place they have disgraced the memory of Walt Disney and his brother Roy our heart breaks for them for they were so magical with those dreams for us God bless them and we always love them ❤️❤️
We just got back from ten days at the Polynesian and I hate to say it but it may be awhile before we venture back. Boo Bash was crowded and we didn’t want to wait in lines so we ended up not riding very much. We tried many snacks at MK, HS and AK but most were disappointing and seemed like leftovers from years past. Genie + was not very helpful but we paid for it just to be able to get quickly on a few popular rides. There were so many obviously sick people everywhere and our daughter ended up testing positive for Covid at the end of our trip. We definitely did not feel the magic this year.
Not only did we get cheated out of Halloween, the much touted 50th was LAME – just like the new CEO!
I have a bet with my wife that this post will not be moderated in, because it doesn’t agree with the author’s bias on this issue.
Halloween comes every year, but a 50th Anniversary happens once. Only once. And considering the crowds on October 1, it seems others recognized the importance of the moment.
Since the 50th Anniversary celebration lasts through January 2023, I expect the author will simply recycle the complaints again.
When the DFB does their stated job correctly, we get useful information and ideas about things to try. This article is simply someone with assumed privilege claiming they didn’t get what they deserved by simple right of their existence.
You can do better, DFB.0
Kudo’s. to U Marcia !!! Exactly my feeling. This guy needs to go ! He is running Disney in the ground ! He is awful We spoke to numerous Disney employees while we were there for the 50th Anniversary and “off the record” we were told
That their feelings about The CEO were the same as ours He Needs To Go !!!
It’s particularly disappointing when you see all that Anaheim got this year, including lots and lots of rare characters. Yes, the 50th had lots of splash and “investment” and promotion, but that will last for 18 months. They couldn’t share some of the Disneyland merch and treats?
Disney knew these points, and downplayed all Halloween prep and promotion because:
1) 50th anniversary stole the energy, including Ratatouille.
2) Genie and everyone obsessed with trying to figure it out.
Don
I’ve been to several Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Parties and I loved them. 2019 was my last one. This year I made it to my 1st Boo Bash & I have to admit it felt shrunken. They did have 4 Halloween mini floats with some of the main characters from Mickey’s Not So Scary & some fireworks, though I’m not sure how good the fireworks were since I was in the back of the park at the time. I was in my costume, which I enjoy wearing in the Magic Kingdom, but it’s so true that for the price, the time was too short and things were missing. I’m hoping after all the 50th is gone, Disney will get back to what they used to have.
It’s a lot like Galaxy Edge where they built it but forgot people who so much liked Star Wars Weekends with all the characters, yet decided to go a different route. From what I hear is that Disneyland and other parks around the world have better things than WDW has. My question is why? WDW is bigger than everybody else, I think & it should have better things going on in it. The Cast members are great. Those in charge of WDW need to wake up to what the public likes and wants & quit increasing prices, get us back to what we used to have with fast passes & normal annual passes.
I completely agree about BooBash. I felt completely cheated. In addition, they charged way more than Not so Scary. We looked all over for the mummy Mickey buckets and no one had them on October 24. We were told to go to Disney Springs, but they had none left there either. The parade was a joke and the fireworks were so crowded we couldn’t even see them because the daily visitors were still allowed inside. No special fireworks. This would’ve been our sixth Halloween time at Walt Disney World, but we will probably not go back at least for a long time. And as far as social distancing, it was nothing better than a mob scene.
The new CEO definitely orchestrated a big boo boo for guests.
I was there Oct 15 through the 22nd and was so disappointed with the Boo Bash. There was barely any Halloween magic The few calvacades we waited for were like three seconds long. The snacks were minimal. It was so crowded we didn’t do any trick or treating. I feel like I need a “redo trip”. So disappointing.
We went on Friday. It was soo watered-down. Never again unless the old party returns. Buckets were gone. we were told they ran out middle of the week. New fireworks were lame. Snacks were bad ..we knew it would not be the same but this was really bad. We did get all the rides in but mine train. We missed out of some character tho.
We spent nine days in beginning of oct just not the same it has lost the magic right down to the workers very dissatisfied way over priced and now charging for things they never did before no maid service! But not reflectied in their price!! Will never go back it’s sad
On a happier note, I now owe my wife dinner at her choice of restaurants at WDW.
Thanks, DFB.
Donald S., who won the bet?