Harvey’s Boo Bash Is Brand New

Harvey’s Boo Bash is Dollywood’s first-ever separately ticketed after-hours special event. It takes place on October 16th, 23rd, and 30th, 2026, after Dollywood’s regular Harvest Festival day ends. The exclusive party runs from 9 PM until midnight, although Boo Bash tickets currently allow guests to enter Dollywood beginning at 4 PM.

©Dollywood

That means you can spend the afternoon enjoying Dollywood’s Harvest Festival and Great Pumpkin LumiNights before the park shifts into its exclusive Boo Bash festivities later that night. Only a limited number of tickets are being sold for each event, too, so you’ll want to grab them while you can!

Think Candy and Characters, Not Chainsaws

The biggest thing to know about Harvey’s Boo Bash is the tone. Dollywood is very clearly selling this as a family-friendly Halloween party. Guests will find candy-collecting stations, special character meet-and-greets, dance parties, exclusive snacks and merchandise, and access to select Dollywood rides after dark. Harvey and other Dollywood characters will also be dressed for the occasion. That makes this feel much closer to Disney World’s Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party, where the emphasis is on trick-or-treating, characters, costumes, themed entertainment, and riding Magic Kingdom attractions after dark.

©Dollywood

Universal Orlando’s Halloween Horror Nights lives at the other end of the Halloween spectrum. HHN currently features 10 haunted houses, scare zones, horror characters, and deliberately intense scares, and Universal warns that the event may be too intense for younger children and does not recommend it for kids under 13. Harvey’s Boo Bash? You get a candy bag; that’s a very different evening.

You CAN Wear a Costume

Here’s another major clue about the kind of Halloween party Dollywood is building. Guests can wear costumes during Harvey’s Boo Bash, but Dollywood has released a full set of costume guidelines guests must follow. That again puts the event closer to Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party territory than Halloween Horror Nights. Universal generally does not permit costumes or costume masks during regular Halloween Horror Nights event nights.

@Marisharuthie

So, if your ideal Halloween evening involves dressing up, collecting candy, and riding roller coasters after dark instead of wondering what is hiding behind the next wall, Dollywood appears to know exactly who it is talking to.

There’s A LOT Included With Your Ticket

Harvey’s Boo Bash tickets cost $129.99 plus tax for guests ages 4 and older, with a $5 discount available to eligible Gold and Diamond Passholders. Your admission includes more than just access to the event. Guests receive a complimentary candy bag for the treat trails, an exclusive commemorative cup with free soda refills, and complimentary themed kettle korn. There will also be special character experiences, dance parties, event-exclusive food and merchandise, and select rides operating during the party. Sign us up!

NightFlight Expedition

Dollywood has specifically confirmed that NightFlight Expedition, the park’s huge new 2026 attraction, will be available during Harvey’s Boo Bash. Limited attendance could also mean shorter waits for some of those attractions, although we’ll need to see how the first event actually operates before we know what the crowds look like.

Great Pumpkin LumiNights Is Part of the Fun

Harvey’s Boo Bash isn’t replacing Dollywood’s existing fall celebration. Dollywood’s Harvest Festival continues through October 31st, and after dark, Great Pumpkin LumiNights fills the park with more than 12,000 pumpkins, illuminated displays, and seasonal entertainment. During Boo Bash nights, guests attending the party will be able to keep enjoying that nighttime atmosphere after regular park guests leave. And this may be one of the event’s biggest strengths.

The Wildwood Tree is all lit up!

Dollywood already knows how to do cozy fall very well. Instead of turning the entire park into something aggressively scary after dark, Harvey’s Boo Bash seems designed to take the existing glowing-pumpkin atmosphere and add candy, characters, exclusive entertainment, and later ride time.

Dollywood Is Entering a VERY Competitive Halloween Market

Theme park Halloween events are BIG business. Disney has Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party. Universal has Halloween Horror Nights. Dollywood has already built a popular fall season around Harvest Festival and Great Pumpkin LumiNights, but Harvey’s Boo Bash is the first time the park has turned that season into its own limited-capacity, separately ticketed nighttime party.

Wildwood Grove

The park is leaning into something that makes much more sense for the Dollywood audience: Characters, treats, fall decorations, music, nighttime rides, and Halloween fun that doesn’t require checking behind you every six seconds.

Dollywood!

Basically, if Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party and a Tennessee fall festival had a pumpkin-covered cousin, we may have just met it. Harvey’s Boo Bash officially kicks off October 16th, with additional events happening October 23rd and October 30th.

Magic Kingdom in September

We’ll be watching closely to see what Dollywood’s first-ever Halloween after-hours party actually looks like once guests get inside, so stay tuned to Disney Food Blog for more theme park news, updates, and everything you need to know before your next trip.

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