Happy Halloween, everyone!

Yes, it might only be mid-August, but Disney World is ready to celebrate spooky season. We’ve seen themed decorations and merchandise already, but now it’s time for the MAIN EVENT: Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party! Follow along with us as we check out OPENING NIGHT of Disney World’s after-hours Halloween event!

First, a little background — Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party is a separately ticketed event that happens on select nights in Magic Kingdom from now through November 1st. It takes place after the park closes to regular guests for the day (the park closes early on party days, at 6PM) and requires you to buy a separate ticket to attend.

You don’t have to have a regular Magic Kingdom ticket for the day — your ticket to the party will get you into the park — or a Park Pass Reservation, and you can get into the park three hours before the party starts! The parties officially start at 7PM, but you can get in at 4PM.

Tickets start at $109 and go up to $199, depending on the date you choose to buy tickets for. You can take a look at all of the dates and pricing right here! There are a lot of things returning to the party this year and some new stuff, so let’s get into it.

Click here to see all of the DATES and PRICING for the Halloween Party

Getting Started

Like we said before, if you have a ticket to Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party, you can get into Magic Kingdom starting at 4PM on the day of the party without having any other kind of park ticket or a Park Pass Reservation.

Once you scan into the park, you will be given a wristband by a Cast Member.

The Cast Members have on their special Halloween attire!

You need this wristband so Cast Members know you’re there for the party and can stay in the park once it closes to regular guests.

The park is OPEN to party guests! You can also pick up wristbands if you’re already in the park, but be careful, you may run into pirates! pic.twitter.com/PuMNLYa88b

— Disney Food Blog (@DisneyFoodBlog) August 11, 2023

If you’re already in Magic Kingdom for the day (as in, you had a separate park ticket for the day), you can pick up your wristband at different spots around the park, like this one in Adventureland.

Make sure you keep your wristband on throughout the night!

Crowds

When we arrived right before 4PM, there were already a LOT of people waiting to get inside the park!

Here come the crowds!

The first guests of Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween party are arriving! pic.twitter.com/WjBqUoww1o

— Disney Food Blog (@DisneyFoodBlog) August 11, 2023

However, on Main Street, U.S.A., crowds didn’t feel too bad at all. Once they got inside, they seemed to disperse quite a bit.

The night is still VERY young, so we’ll update this post with more information about how crowds are feeling later on.

The Map

When you get inside the park for the party, you can find party maps with a TON of important info for the night!

This map will show you a map of the park (duh) along with which attractions are open, entertainment info, treat spots, and more.

The other side of the map has useful info as well, like the specialty treats available.

Get a closer look at the party map here.

Now, let’s go check out what else is happening!

Trick-or-Treating

What’s Halloween without some trick-or-treating?! People of all ages get to go around and grab candy during the party at the various treat spots. When you get into the party, you’ll be given a reusable treat bag to collect all of your candy!

There is also a treat bag for an allergy-friendly experience that you can get.

There are several different treat spots around the park during the party where you can get some candy.

Look out for the giant inflatables to know where to trick or treat tonight! pic.twitter.com/bRXagGu7U4

— Disney Food Blog (@DisneyFoodBlog) August 11, 2023

You can find them all on this list.

Check out ALL of the trick-or-treat locations here!

Merchandise

We’ve already seen a bunch of Halloween merchandise in the parks and online! But, there is also some party-exclusive merchandise that you can only get during the event, so we’re going to focus on those items.

Party merch is on the shelves! Remember, some of these are party-exclusive and won’t be on the shelves during normal park hours! pic.twitter.com/Z2YD5gf4lV

— Disney Food Blog (@DisneyFoodBlog) August 11, 2023

There’s a party-exclusive hat, Spirit Jersey, pumpkin ornament, mug, and Corkcicle water bottle.

We also spotted exclusive t-shirts…

…and pins!

You can find these items at Star Traders and the Emporium.

Costumes

The fun thing about this Halloween party? Everyone is allowed to wear costumes! There are some costume guidelines in place that you should be aware of, though. Here’s a look at the costume guidelines provided by Disney:

For visitors ages 13 and under:

• Costumes and some costume masks may be worn; masks must provide unobstructed peripheral vision at all times with openings that allow the eyes to be fully seen.

For Guests 14 Years of Age or Older:

• Costumes may be worn according to these guidelines. Guests who do not adhere to these guidelines may be refused entry into, and/or removed from Disney parks, unless his or her costume can be modified to meet the above standards:
• All Guests may dress as their favorite character, but may not pose for pictures or sign autographs for other Guests.
• Costumes must be family-friendly and may not be obstructive, offensive, objectionable or violent.
• Costumes may not contain any props or accessories that resemble or could easily be mistaken for an actual weapon.
• Costumes may not contain sharp objects, pointed objects or materials that may accidentally strike another Guest.
• Layered costumes or costume props that surround the entire body are strongly discouraged and may be subject to additional security screening.
• Costumes may not reach or drag on the ground. (for example, full-length Princess dresses)
• Capes may be worn if the length does not go below the waist.
• Themed T-shirts, blouses, sweatshirts and hats are acceptable.
• Acceptable accessories include: transparent wings, plastic light sabers, toy swords and tutus. Costume headwear may be worn as long as it does not cover the face.
• Costume masks of any kind may not be worn.

We’ll be on the lookout for some fun costumes at this year’s event!

33 Costume Ideas for Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party in Disney World

Entertainment

Fireworks

Disney’s Not-So-Spooky Spectacular is BACK at this year’s party! It’s a Halloween-themed fireworks display that includes projections, special effects, special lighting, fireworks, and Disney characters. The fireworks display is actually hosted by Jack Skellington from Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas. The fireworks happen at 10:15PM each night.

We’ll update this section once we’ve seen the fireworks!

Now, on to the parade!

Parade

Mickey’s Boo-To-You Halloween Parade is also making a return this year! The parade will be offered twice nightly, first at 9:15 and again at 11:15 (we’ve found that the second parade is usually less crowded than the first).

We’ll update this section once we’ve seen the parade!

Stage Show

Get ready to have a spell put on you, because the Sanderson Sisters are returning to the spotlight for the Hocus Pocus Villain Spelltacular! The trio of witches will call upon their fellow villains to create the ultimate Hocus Pocus Party Potion.

The show happens three times each night, at 8:35PM, 10:45PM, and 12AM.

We’ll update this section as the night continues!

Dance Parties

There will be several dance parties during the party! Over in Tomorrowland, you will find the Monstrous Scream-O-Ween Dance Ball with Mike and Sulley! It goes on from 7PM to midnight — which is the length of the whole party.

There is also the Disney Junior Jam happening over in Storybook Circus. When we went by, there weren’t many people dancing. There characters were also missing!

Over at Cosmic Ray’s Starlight Café is the ZOM-BEATZ BASH Dance Party, and we think we found where everyone is!

There are some characters from Disney Channel’s Z-O-M-B-I-E-S movies in here too!

Other Entertainment

The Cadaver Dans Barbershop Quartet is also at the party again. The Dapper Dans put on their spooky best to become the Cadaver Dans and sing up some spooktacular tunes. You can find them over in Frontierland.

There is much more entertainment to come!

Attractions

There are special ride overlays at some of the attractions during the party. These special overlays are ONLY available during the party, so make sure to check them out!

But other rides are open, too! Here’s the list of rides available during the party:

Adventureland

• Jungle Cruise
• The Magic Carpets of Aladdin
• Pirates of the Caribbean
• Swiss Family Treehouse

Frontierland

• Big Thunder Mountain Railroad

Liberty Square

• Haunted Mansion

Fantasyland

• Prince Charming Regal Carrousel
• “It’s a small world”
• Peter Pan’s Flight
• The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
• Mad Tea Party
• Under the Sea ~ Journey of the Little Mermaid
• Seven Dwarfs Mine Train

Storybook Circus

• Dumbo the Flying Elephant
• The Barnstormer

Tomorrowland

• Astro Orbiter
• Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin
• Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor
• Space Mountain
• Tomorrowland Speedway
• Tomorrowland Transit Authority People Mover
• TRON Lightcycle / Run presented by Enterprise – Virtual Queue Access Only

Disney notes that “an opportunity to request to join the virtual queue will be available at 6:00 PM for Guests attending Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party. Guests will need to use the My Disney Experience app to enter this attraction. A standby queue for this attraction will not be available during the event. Each Guest can request to enter this virtual queue no more than once per event.”

Don’t forget to reserve your spot in that virtual queue if you’re hoping to ride TRON during the party.

There is SO much Halloween fun to be had at this year’s party. We’ll continue to update this post as the night goes on!

Stay tuned for more Halloween news!

This simple list will make Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party 10X easier!

Will you be going to Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party this year? Tell us in the comments!

The post We’re LIVE at the FIRST Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party in 2023 — Come With Us! first appeared on the disney food blog.