It’s Halloween season at Disney World — or is it?

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…

…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.

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.

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…

…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. 

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. 

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).

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!

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!

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!

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.

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.

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.

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.

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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What do you think? Did Disney World get cheated out on Halloween this year? Let us know in the comments!

The post How Disney World Got 🎃 CHEATED 🎃 Out Of Halloween This Year first appeared on the disney food blog.