Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party

 

 

Is it weird to go to Disney World by yourself?

 

If you think it is…I totally didn’t do that and stop reading now.

 

I found myself in Orlando last week for a week-long training and decided to check out Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party while I was there.  I told myself it was a recognizance mission for the next time we take the girls.  Yeah.  That’s what it was.  That was totally it.

 

If you’re not familiar with Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party, it’s a special event at the park where they close early for regular visitors and you have to buy a special ticket to get it.  The party starts at 7pm but they let you in for the party as early as 4pm (depending on the volume of people already in the park).  I got there around 5pm and had no trouble.  They give you a special wristband to wear and after 7pm you have to have a wristband to ride the rides or trick or treat.  They also have spots set up throughout the park where kids can trick or treat with characters (or staff) and get candy.  I’ve heard they’re pretty generous with the candy.

 

As soon as I came into the park I caught the end of the Peter Pan Show in front of the castle and then headed to check out the new Fantasyland.  I wanted to make sure I got plenty of pictures of it before the sun set.  Why?  For y’all, of course!

 

This section of the new Fantasyland resembles an old-fashioned circus or carnival.

 

Dumbo got a facelift and was moved over into the new area of Fantasyland.

 

They’ve added The Barnstormer, a Goofy-themed roller coaster.  I didn’t ride it but it looked like fun!

 

 

The new Ariel ride is behind this section.   As always, their attention to detail is second to none.  This area also has Ariel’s Grotto where you can meet and greet Ariel.

 

I love Rapunzel’s tower. 

Then I made my way around to Frontierland (by way of the Haunted Mansion).

I rode Big Thunder Mountain Railroad to see if my girls could handle it.  Yeah.  That’s totally why I rode it.  It was super fun and I think even McKenna could handle it.

 



View of the castle from Big Thunder Mountain Railroad



 As the sun went down the Castle alternated between multiple moody colors

 

Finally, at 8:15 it was time for the Boo To You parade.  I made my way back around to Frontierland thinking it would be less crowded.  Wrong!  It was so crowded by the time I got there I was hardly able to see anything.  Apparently people are serious about the parades.

 I thought the parade started on Main Street and wrapped around but apparently it started in Frontierland and ends on Main Street.  I’m not sure if the 10:30pm starts the same way or goes in reverse.

 

The pictures were not the greatest as I didn’t take my big camera.

 

 

Some observations on my night…(I hesitate to call them tips since it was my first time.)

 1.  It was kind of awesome.  I know it sounds weird to go to WDW by yourself but I had the best time.  I saw what I wanted to see, rode what I wanted to ride and there was no whining.  I ate when and what I wanted to eat.  See below.  For dinner I ate a cupcake and a Salted Caramel Frappacino.

 

2.  You have to be choosy about your time.  I didn’t wait more than 20 minutes to ride anything.  If the wait was more than 20 minutes I just kept on going.  Once I’d been around the park once, I made my way back around again.  By this time it was around 7:15 and people were already lining up for the Parade so I took advantage of the short lines at the places I skipped earlier.  I only waited 10 minutes to ride Space Mountain.  The wait was over 30 minutes when I first arrived at the park.  Same story with Enchanted Tales with Belle.  I waited exactly 0 minutes and literally walked right in.  The wait was much longer earlier.  If your children are well rested enough to make it all the way to midnight, then I would recommend hitting the second parade which (hopefully) would be less crowded and taking advantage of the shorter ride times during the first parade.  Again, this was my observation on the night that I went (a week before Halloween).

 

3.  I don’t know if the Trick or Treating is worth it.  A lot of the lines I saw were long.  My kids get too much candy on Halloween anyway and I end up eating it all.  So even though they are generous with the candy, I don’t know that it’s worth spending your precious park time waiting for candy unless it’s being doled out by a character your children really wanted to meet anyway.

 

4.  Wear a costume!  Almost all of the kids were decked out in some sort of costume and a lot of the adults were too.  I saw entire families of Pirates, a lot of Princesses (children and adults), and a guy that was at least 7 foot tall dressed as Will Ferrell from ELF.  Almost anything goes and its the only time that adults can wear costumes in the park.

 

5.  Know the settings on your camera.  This goes for pretty much any visit.  You can take photographs during the Enchanted Tales with Belle attraction as long as there is no flash.  Since I didn’t have my normal camera with me I could not figure out how to turn off the flash.  Memo for next time.  But I loved the attraction and I can’t wait to take the girls.  I know they will absolutely love it.

 

On my way out the train station was covered in an eerie (man-made) fog. 

“See ya real soon!” was carved into pumpkins overhead on the way out of the park.  I sure hope so Mickey!  I can’t wait to go back.  And next time, I’ll let my family come too.  Maybe.

 p.s. I’m linking up to Home Stories A to Z, My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia, By Stephanie Lynn, I heart Naptime, Serenity Now, Serendipity and Spice and It’s Overflowing.