Halloween has kicked off in Disney World.
Halloween in Magic Kingdom
Magic Kingdom is full of Mickey pumpkin wreaths, scarecrows, and festive holiday decorations. The first Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party has happened with many parties to follow this Halloween season. If you are not going to the party on your visit, here’s why you should STILL go to Magic Kingdom that day.
Throughout August until November 1st, Magic Kingdom will host the Halloween party on select nights. On days when the Halloween parties take place in this park, Magic Kingdom closes EARLY, at 6PM, for guests without a party ticket. Guests who aren’t attending the party may think it’s a BAD decision to go to Magic Kingdom on a party day because it closes early, but we’re here to argue the opposite.
Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party
There’s a party happening tonight, August 15th, and when we got to Magic Kingdom this morning, we noticed that the crowds were VERY light. This is what the castle hub looked like at 10AM. Where’d all the people go?!
Crowds were sparse this morning
Here you can see there was hardly anyone around. Think of all the great photos you could grab with such few people there!
No one around
As far as wait times go, those were looking great as well. Around 12PM we saw multiple attractions’ wait times as low as 5 minutes including Dumbo and Prince Charming Regal Carrousel. Even the highest wait times weren’t nearly as bad as they usually are. For example, we saw Seven Dwarfs Mine Train at only a 60-minute wait — that is LOW for that ride, especially in the middle of the day.
Seven Dwarfs Mine Train
The Festival of Fantasy is a popular parade in this park and usually draws a large crowd. However, this was what the crowd situation was like in Frontierland at 12PM, right before the start of that parade. We don’t think you would have a hard time finding a great spot to watch the parade.
Plenty of room
You can get some Halloween treats in Magic Kingdom during the day as well. Of course, there are exclusive treats during the Halloween party. However, there are plenty of delicious snacks you can grab during the day, like the Apple Fritter Milkshake from Auntie Gravity’s Galactic Goodies.
Apple Fritter Milkshake
There is a lot you could get done on days like these in Magic Kingdom. Just make sure you have a plan for what you’d like to do once Magic Kingdom closes at 6PM — You could either hop to another park (if you have a Park Hopper ticket), do a Disney World hotel crawl to check out some of the nearby resorts (and get lots of tasty snacks at the restaurants there), or head over to Disney Springs! Or, if you have little ones who are tired after a long day, 6PM might be the perfect time to head back to your own hotel, maybe hang out at the pool for a bit, grab dinner, and hit the hay.
Disney Springs
Of course, this hack is pretty controversial, mainly because it means you get LESS time in Magic Kingdom and you can’t see the Happily Ever After fireworks show. That fireworks problem might be a deal-breaker for some guests, and we totally get that.
Happily Ever After
But if fireworks aren’t a priority to you, we think you can accomplish a lot in the park before 6PM, maybe even more than you could on a normal day when it’s open a few extra hours.
If you’re going to try out this hack, plan on getting to Magic Kingdom as soon as possible (right when it opens) so you have maximum time before the party. For more Disney tips and tricks, make sure you’re following Disney Food Blog.
IT'S SPOOK-TACULAR!
Get ready for the spookiest season of the year at Disney World with our guide -- Halloween at Disney World: DFB's Spook-tacular Guide!
From the thrills of Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party to the enchanting resort decorations that'll send shivers down your spine, our guide is packed with tips and tricks to help you squeeze every ounce of ghoulish fun out of your visit. Plus, we've got the inside scoop on all the limited-time-only bone-chilling activities happening across the parks!
Get the Halloween at Disney World: DFB's Spook-tacular Guide to make your frightfully delightful adventure even more magical!
Halloween at Walt Disney World
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Photos AND Reviews: ALL the Fall and Halloween Treats in Disney World!
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Are you going to Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party this year? Let us know in the comments.
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Do you think this would be a good tip for a holiday date too, like September 4 which is a holiday with an event in the evening?
Hi Meagan! Typically, no. The difference is that if it’s a holiday, the park will stay open as normal. The reason it’s less crowded on party days is because the park closes to non-party guests at 6pm and since people feel like they won’t get as much out of their day if they have to leave early, they tend to skip Magic Kingdom that day.
Hi there! I’m doing exactly this on October 3 – going to MK but not the party. We fly in that morning, so the plan is to be at MK by 2 and to check out Fantasyland before the party starts. Do you know what time the park typically gets busy pre-party? Thanks so much!
Hi Amy! Party guests are let in at 4pm so that’s when it starts to get busy. You’d have a couple of hours before the crowds got there.
Thank you!
I agree with this strategy 100% IF you can get there first thing in the morning and be out of the park around 4, when the party crowd begins to arrive.
If we have a dining reservation at 6:10 in MK on a party day, but do not have ticket to the party, will we be able to eat at the restaurant then leave? Our plan would be to arrive at the restaurant by 5:55, but we don’t want to risk being turned away since we don’t have the party tickets. Thank you!
I’m curious about how they turn out the regular non party guests before the party starts. I work at a big events venue, can’t imagine how we’d move hundreds of folks out whilst hundreds of folks are able to stay in! That’s some magic right there.
Hi Lou! There are many CMs out on party nights checking everyone’s wrist for wristbands at multiple check points.
Hi Wendy! Yes, you should be able to make it to your reservation. You may need to show CMs that you have a reservation on the way there so keep your phone out so you can pull it up quickly to get past the checkpoints.
Just to specify for my question, September 4 is a holiday, but there is also a ticketed event that night at 7pm. So will it be busy like a holiday or quiet because of the evening event?
Hi Meagan. That’s actually difficult to call because they don’t usually fall on holidays, but if you’re worried about it, you might want to make your reservation for a different park that day just to play it safe. 🙂