If you love Halloween and Disney then Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party was made just for you. This seasonal event has an exclusive parade and fireworks show, lots of villainous character meet-and-greets, trick-or-treating around Magic Kingdom, and more.

We’ve been to a couple of Not-So-Scary Halloween parties this year at Disney World, so we’ve got all the information you need to make it the best night ever. We have reviews of all the snacks, a solution for if bad weather threatens your night, and answers to ALL of your questions. Now, we’re back to tell you how you can MAXIMIZE your time at Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party!

The Halloween party is a LOT of fun, but it’s not cheap. In fact, this year is the most expensive year yet for party tickets, with tickets costing between $109 and $199 per person.

That cost is just for the party — even if you have a Magic Kingdom park ticket, you’ll still have to buy the party ticket to get into Not-So-Scary. If you’re going to pay that much to get in, you’ll want to really make the most of every minute.

We have 8 tips to help you do just that!

Arrive EARLY

Before we can talk about making the most of the time you have, let’s talk about getting the most time possible! Although Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party is technically from 7PM to 12AM, anyone with a party ticket can get into Magic Kingdom starting at 4PM on the day of the party.

So if you aren’t already in Magic Kingdom that day (i.e., you don’t have a park ticket or park pass reservation — just the Halloween party ticket), we recommend getting to Magic Kingdom’s entrance well before 4PM to beat the crowds. If you’re there about 45 minutes early, you should be near the front of the line to enter the park for the party.

Of course, if you’re in Magic Kingdom that day anyways (i.e., you have a park ticket and reservation), you can just stay inside the park once the party starts. Note that non-party-goers will leave around 6PM. (Cast Members hand out wristbands to party-goers so that they know who does and doesn’t have party tickets.)

Click here to learn more about when you should get to Magic Kingdom for the party.

Prioritize the Rides, but Don’t Be TOO Early

This Halloween party can be a great way to get on Magic Kingdom rides without too much of a wait. Even when the party was completely sold out, we saw very low wait times on many rides. When we passed Splash Mountain at one point, there was NO line at all!

If you love rides, make sure you take advantage of these low waits as much as possible. Head to your favorite rides and don’t hesitate to go multiple times! But don’t start right when you enter the park at 4PM, because the day guests will still be in the park at that time, which means crowds will still be big and lines will still be long.

Instead, wait until after 6PM, once those day guests have exited Magic Kingdom. Then there will only be party-goers left, and the crowds should die down quite a bit. Keep an eye on the wait times using the My Disney Experience app to see when they start to drop. You shouldn’t waste an hour in line anywhere — the wait times will almost definitely drop to under 30 minutes for even the most popular rides.

Click here to check out the Halloween ride overlays at the party!

Ride the MOST Popular Rides Later On

The most popular attractions (like Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, Space Mountain, and Jungle Cruise) might still have higher wait times at the start of the party. For these rides, we recommend waiting even longer for those wait times to shorten.

When we were at the party, the wait times pretty much only got shorter as the night went on. Many guests didn’t even stay the whole time, so by 11PM there were even fewer people in the park, and wait times were at an all-time low.

As we mentioned before, keep an eye on that My Disney Experience app! If the wait is still long for the more popular attractions, head to some other rides with shorter waits first and come back to those bigger attractions later.

Find out what the crowds look like when Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party is SOLD OUT.

Make a Merchandise Plan

A big draw of Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party is the exclusive merchandise you can find there. We spotted t-shirts, a Spirit Jersey, Minnie ears, and more that you can ONLY buy if you go to one of the parties. But if you want to buy some souvenirs from the party, you’ll need to be strategic about it.

The exclusive items are in HIGH demand, and we’ve seen some very big crowds of people waiting for the merchandise to come out on party days. Seriously, you should’ve seen the Emporium at 7PM on the second day of the party — it was PACKED.

There are 2 options here for getting merchandise: The first option is to get to the Emporium early and try to beat the crowds. This one can be a little bit uncomfortable as you’ll likely have to be squished in with a lot of other people who also want the merchandise. But you’re more likely to find what you’re looking for if you’re there right when the merchandise comes out.

Your other option is to wait it out and let the crowds disappear before you go shopping. There’s usually enough merchandise to last the entire party, but keep in mind that the most popular items — like those Minnie ears — will likely sell out, so that’s a risk you’d have to take. If you’re not hoping for anything in particular and just want to find a souvenir from your trip, it might be best to shop later on in the evening once things have settled down.

Check out those big merchandise CROWDS here.

Avoid Crowds — Watch the Second Set of Entertainment

Although there’s only one fireworks show (at 10:15PM most nights), there are multiple Boo-to-You Parades and Hocus Pocus Villain Spelltacular shows. If you want to avoid the crowds, try going to the SECOND set of entertainment instead of the first. That way, you can not waste time reserving a spot before the entertainment because there will likely be lower crowds at those later showings.

Many people will prioritize the entertainment and try to be at the earlier showings, so you could get a better view by waiting for later showings. And while everyone’s watching those earlier shows, you can use the time to get on popular rides with even lower wait times.

However, keep in mind that you’ll run the risk of later shows or parades being canceled due to weather — keep an eye on your weather app to see if a storm or rain is expected later on in the evening. If bad weather could be coming your way, you may want to go to the earlier showings just in case.

Here’s a list of the entertainment times at Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party:

• The Boo-to-You Parade runs twice — once at 9:15PM and again at 11:15PM each night (weather permitting)
• Mickey’s Not-So-Spooky Spectacular fireworks show happens at 10:15PM at the Cinderella Castle
• The Hocus Pocus Villain Spelltacular show takes place at the Cinderella Castle at 8:35PM, 10:45PM, and midnight. (Those times will change to 7:40PM, 8:35PM, 10:45PM, and midnight for parties in October.)
• The Cadaver Dans can be found in Frontierland at 7PM, 7:45PM, 8:30PM, 9:50PM, and 10:30PM.

Learn how a rain check can SAVE your night.

Check Out the Character Locations Before You Go

There are lots of characters to meet at Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party. Sometimes they pop up in unexpected locations, though. So that you don’t waste time wandering around the park just hoping to run into a character, make sure to learn who’s going to be there and where they’ll be.

Here’s a list of some rare characters that we met on the first night of the party:

• Stitch dressed as Elvis (in Tomorrowland)
• Madam Renatta (in front of the Haunted Mansion)
• Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum (in Fantasyland)
• Alice and the Mad Hatter (in Fantasyland)
• Jafar, Abu, and Genie (in Adventureland)
• the Country Bears (in Frontierland)
• Jack and Sally (at the Main Street Theater)
• George Sanderson (from Monsters, Inc.)

Many characters can be seen during the Boo-to-You parade, like the Bride from the Haunted Mansion, Max Goof dressed as Powerline, and the Headless Horseman. Don’t miss that parade if characters are a priority for you!

Learn more about the Halloween party characters here!

Make a Snack Plan

Snacks are very important to us, and we know they are to a lot of you as well. And do you know what could absolutely RUIN your night at the party? Filling up on mediocre snacks only to find an AMAZING treat later on when you’ve already spent your snack budget!

That sounds like a travesty, and we don’t want it to happen to anyone. Make sure you take a look at all the available snacks ahead of time and decide which ones you want to prioritize. That way, you’ll also save time because you won’t have to make decisions about snacks while you’re at the party.

Need some help? A few of our favorites were the Sweet Almond Corn Cake, Worms and Dirt Funnel Cake, and the  Coco Brownie. But there were a lot of good options this year — click the link below to see all of our reviews and photos!

See 0ur reviews of ALL the Not-So-Scary snacks here.

Get FREE Treats

OK, so this treat is less about saving time and more about saving money. If you don’t want to pay for extra treats, you can get FREE treats by trick-or-treating around the park! Every party guest gets a reusable treat bag to use for trick-or-treating, and you’ll find stations throughout the park with Cast Members handing out candy.

The candy at these stations is usually fun-sized Mars candy, like Twix, Snickers, and M&Ms. The Cast Members are usually pretty generous, so you can easily get all the sugar you need without paying a dime.

Yes, you CAN find full-sized candy at the party. Here’s how.

Looking for more info to help you plan the perfect Halloween party night? Check out these posts:

• 17 Costume Ideas for Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party
• The BEST Halloween Costumes for Couples and Duos
• Photos and Reviews: All the Fall and Halloween Treats in Disney World in 2022
• Should You Pay an Extra $100 for a Dessert Party at Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party?
• Is Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party Worth the Cost?
• We’re Answering ALL Your Questions About Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party

Keep following DFB for more tips as you plan your upcoming Disney World vacation.

Click here for our FULL GUIDE to Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party!

 

Are you going to Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party this year? Let us know in the comments.