"Official" 2018 Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party - A Spooktacular Celebration!

[GADisneyDad14]

Pretty bad-(word I can’t use on the DIS) costumes y’all have there @Ellie Badge. Very impressive!

 

[AngiTN]

Cool costumes.

 

[Haley R]

Yep!

Did you buy those? They are awesome!!

 

[DisDreaming4116]

Went on 9/14 and had such a fun time. If you go into the party expecting to get 4 popular meet and greets, all the TOT lines, two parades, fireworks and many rides, you will leave upset. You really do have to have realistic expectations and your night will go much better. TOT lines seemed pretty busy until around 9:30 or 10:00. I found the TOT line in Country Bear Jamboree to move really quickly and is a good spot to go through the line 2x or 3x before getting a spot in Frontierland for the 11:15 parade.
The reason the 9:15 parade started late was a medical situation in Pecos Bill. A lady came out on a stretcher with several EMT's at 9:10 and that pushed everything back a few minutes.
I also agree with it being SOO important to get there around 3:15-3:30 to get inside as soon as you can and to take advantage of FP+ and the low crowd for attractions. I was able to do Peter Pan, Peoplemover, Buzz Lightyear, Splash, Jungle Cruise, Pirates, Muppets History and get two Oogie Boogie Popcorn buckets all before 6:45pm.

Also, the costumes were just incredible and enjoyed sitting on a bench and people watching. My favorite one I saw was a guy dressed up as a Disney bus and he had a friend holding up the back of the bus(probably 4 feet long) as he walked around. I can't imagine doing that for 5-8 hours but it was awesome to see.

 

[Dentam]

Also, the costumes were just incredible and enjoyed sitting on a bench and people watching. My favorite one I saw was a guy dressed up as a Disney bus and he had a friend holding up the back of the bus(probably 4 feet long) as he walked around. I can't imagine doing that for 5-8 hours but it was awesome to see.

That was one of my favorite parts of the party also, seeing all of the great costumes - that one sounds amazing!

 

[sherlockmiles]

Yep!

OMG - AWESOME!!!

 

[FoxC63]

Was only responding to let folks know it was not only available at one location as some reported. Likely why that line was so long. Some posts made it seem you could only get it there, I was saying it was multiple places and where I got mine. Nothing to do with time. Although we did arrive at 6 pm, made our way to hub, and folks were buying them ..... but I am sure you had to have a party wristband on like they have done with party merchandise in the stores before party actually starts.

I specifically posted my friend and someone on #MNSSHP acquired the Oogie Boogie PC buckets at 5:30 at the hub location only. Yes, I realize they are sold throughout MK but the reports have been they were able to pick them up at 7pm and NOT any earlier.

I responded because it sounded like you were telling poster to ask for a refund ....

So what, now you're trying to tell me what I can and cannot say? Really?!

Where were you when I asked you to help cover the Itinerary thread while I was on vacation? You agreed to help out but was a total no show, yet you have all this knowledge and information you're willing to share after the fact. Nice!

 

[FoxC63]

People were hauling them out. We saw many people with handfuls. Not interested but felt bad for the people that are hoping to only pay the Disney$ vs the Ebay$

UGH!

 

[FoxC63]

My fiancé surprised me with a trip to Disney (mainly because graduate school is stressing me out lol) and will be at the party early October!! My friend is in the middle of finishing my costume and I can’t wait.

How exciting, what costume?

 

[FoxC63]

Quick report
Starbucks pumpkin latte .

Do you recommend the Pumpkin Latte? Love pumpkin!

 

[glvsav37]

Question—we are DVC members but my parents who will be with us are not. Can we all get in at the earlier time?

 

[yulilin3]

Do you recommend the Pumpkin Latte? Love pumpkin!

It's one of my seasonal favorites. This time around I ordered it iced since it was so hot but I prefer the hot version

 

[yulilin3]

Question—we are DVC members but my parents who will be with us are not. Can we all get in at the earlier time?

You can bring up to 7 guests with you

 

[Cluelyss]

I apologize in advance for all the rambling. Just got home from our trip! We attended Friday's 9/14 party. Overall we had a great night! It was hot as blue blazes as other's have mentioned but thankfully it didn't rain a drop. I will also concur that it was very crowded but not until 7:30 or so. If at all possible, I strongly encourage being there at 4:00 as there is a lot you can get done. We were allowed in at 3:48 and this is what we were able to accomplish between 3:48 and 7:00.

1. Pictures in the bypass
2. Haunted Mansion (FP)
3. Peter Pan's Flight (FP)
4. 7DMT Posted wait 50 minutes, we were in and out in 37. From watching the wait times on MDE and now from firsthand experience, it looks like the sweet spot to ride 7DMT is somewhere between 5:00 and 6:30 if you don't want to spend party time waiting.
5. Space Mountain (FP)
6. Snack and drinks at Starlight Cafe
7. Lined up for Queen of Hearts/Tweedles at 6:30. We were second in line.

Party begins:

Queen/Tweedles came out at 7:02. We were done at 7:07. On this particular night Queen/Tweedles were closer to the Speedway and Alice and Hatter were closer to the walkway that goes between Cheshire Cafe and Starlight Cafe. We asked 2 CMs where they'd be. One didn't know for sure and other looked like a supervisor and told us exactly where each would be meeting.

We then immediately got in line for Alice/Hatter. The Queen/Tweedles line was about 2x as long as Alice/Hatter so if you are interested in meeting both back to back, I strongly encourage you to start with Queen/Tweedles. We were done with Alice/Hatter at 7:21.

Since we were ahead of schedule we made an impromptu visit to New Fantasyland.

Rode Dumbo - Walk on and bonus ToT location with no line (Side note: Dumbo could use a fresh coat of paint and the brown accordion looking things that attach the elephants to the supports were weathered and cracked.)

Rode Little Mermaid - Close to a walk on, waited maybe 5 minutes

Rode Mad Tea Party - This is where we started noticing the crowds. Line was backed out of the entrance but moved quickly. Posted wait was 10 minutes, actual was around 17. Kids wanted to ride and we knew we wouldn't be coming back to the area. 7DMT was also down so people were probably staying close by hoping to catch it as soon as it came back up. Overheard CM telling some it would be down for 2 more hrs... glad we got to ride it early.

By now it was around 8:30 so we decided to head for Frontierland. Parade crowds were already building and because our kids were starting to get cranky, we went ahead and got a front-row parade spot right across from LTT. It was a good opportunity for the kids to get off their feet and have a snack and drink.

Headless Horsemen didn't come by until 9:17 which seems later than average based on other reports (worth the wait... he's awesome). Parade followed about 5 minutes later. Parade was one of the best I've seen, though I'd prefer if it was 2 or 3 floats longer.

Afterwards we went against the mob until we got to the cut-through by the shooting arcade to Adventure land. We got to our Fireworks spot in the grassy area in front of Casey's, it was probably 75% full when we got there. Our castle view was somewhat obstructed but we could see the fireworks perfectly.

After the fireworks, we rode BTMRR. There was a mob of people also headed there which made us a little nervous but I don't think the line ever stopped moving. Both sides were operating and at that time of night Disney could've easily shut down one of them to save money. This makes me think that they are legitimately interested in keeping lines for rides as short as possible.

Rode Splash Mountain, walk on but we got stuck. The emergency lights actually came on and at that point I thought we were going to be evacuated. We sat there for about 5 minutes and out of nowhere they announced over the speaker that the ride would resume immediately. The emergency lights went off and we were on our way. This ride also had a bonus ToT location and between this and Dumbo and the CM on the street in Frontierland giving away candy by the fist-full we had more candy than we knew what to do with.

Since we were slightly delayed at Splash we had to make a decision to either ride Pirates or get pictures at Haunted Mansion. Since we paid for MM we decided to get the pictures. I was disappointed we didn't get to Pirates because I wanted to see the live actors but the kids wanted to do other things so we let them hijack the itinerary for part of the night. As we walked down the dock by the river I noticed that the second parade looked just as crowded as the first. Perhaps because it was a sold out night?

We made our way back into Fantasyland and rode the carousel before hoofing it to the midnight hocus pocus show. The midnight hocus show had a crowd backed all the way to the partner's statue. The adults could see OK, but not the kids. We just got there too late to get a good view so if you are planning to see the last Hocus Pocus show, don't expect to walk up at midnight and get a good spot if it's a sold out night. We stopped by to get the Headless Horsemen magic shot, but when they showed up in my account, instead of the Headless Horsemen it was a Hitchhiking ghost! Is that happening to anyone else?

I forgot to get my Orange Bird card when we entered the park and there was no one outside the fire station to hand them out at the end of the night. I went in the side door to city hall (the line was backed out the door and past the steps) and simply asked someone where to pick up the orange bird card. He asked how many were in my party and gave me a stack of that number. No questions asked, no marking my band. I'm sure this is a major YMMV.

Do not assume the park will clear out after the fireworks. I did not see a significant difference between the 2 parade crowds in Frontierland. We didn't leave until 12:55 and we still had to wait for 2 ferryboats to get back to the TTC and then had to wait for 2 trams and would've been a 3rd if we didn't squeeze really tight (sorry total strangers that were in our row). We got back to our offsite resort around 2 a.m.

If we go again, we'll do a couple of things differently but nothing could have prevented that other than firsthand experience. Spending countless hours reading the boards can only prepare you so much. I could've come away with some negative critiques about the party, but instead I decided to focus on the 95% of the party that was a superior product. When you're watching the fireworks explode in the sky, watching the awestruck look on your children's face as the Headless Horsemen trots by, or drifting in a log on Splash Mountain singing "How do you do?", it's hard to be mad at Disney. The parade, fireworks, CMs, characters, and most ride lines were all fantastic. Come in with reasonable expectations of what you can accomplish, control only what you can control, don't get stressed out about what you can't (crowds, weather, ride downtime), and I think you'll have a great time. Categorize your must-do's and your want-to-do's and always plan for your must-do's to take longer than expected. If the plan changes that's ok, but have a plan. If you fail to plan, then you are planning to fail.

I wish I could love your post a million times! Great review!

 

[Ellie Badge]

Did you buy those? They are awesome!!

Thank you!! I bought the garment pieces and sewed on attachments for all the lights, mine is just El Wire and my husbands is an El Tape kit I bought from a guy in the UK. Husband actually had a thicker jacket and pants but when we got to Florida we realized it was wayyy too hot for his costume. So the morning of the party we went to Target, I bought a light running jacket and pants, cut off the hood, hand-finished the hem, sewed on all new Velcro for the lights and he was ready to go by 4pm!

Thanks all for the kind words! I’m not a pro by any means but I love making costumes! My profile has a link to my Instagram which I use for costume photos, I put more of our party shots there too.

My fave costume I saw Friday was a girl who did the computer lady from Spaceship Earth, she had the boots, the yellow tights, the white jacket, the hair, everything!!! I may have squealed when I saw her! Saw a great Marion and Indy as well, and a woman in a full furry Sully costume!! She must have been so hot but it looked amazing!

 

[Haley R]

Thank you!! I bought the garment pieces and sewed on attachments for all the lights, mine is just El Wire and my husbands is an El Tape kit I bought from a guy in the UK. Husband actually had a thicker jacket and pants but when we got to Florida we realized it was wayyy too hot for his costume. So the morning of the party we went to Target, I bought a light running jacket and pants, cut off the hood, hand-finished the hem, sewed on all new Velcro for the lights and he was ready to go by 4pm!

Thanks all for the kind words! I’m not a pro by any means but I love making costumes! My profile has a link to my Instagram which I use for costume photos, I put more of our party shots there too.

My fave costume I saw Friday was a girl who did the computer lady from Spaceship Earth, she had the boots, the yellow tights, the white jacket, the hair, everything!!! I may have squealed when I saw her! Saw a great Marion and Indy as well, and a woman in a full furry Sully costume!! She must have been so hot but it looked amazing!

That is so awesome! I wish I could do something like that lol

 

[HopperFan]

Was only responding to let folks know it was not only available at one location as some reported. Likely why that line was so long. Some posts made it seem you could only get it there, I was saying it was multiple places and where I got mine. Nothing to do with time. Although we did arrive at 6 pm, made our way to hub, and folks were buying them ..... but I am sure you had to have a party wristband on like they have done with party merchandise in the stores before party actually starts.

I specifically posted my friend and someone on #MNSSHP acquired the Oogie Boogie PC buckets at 5:30 at the hub location only. Yes, I realize they are sold throughout MK but the reports have been they were able to pick them up at 7pm and NOT any earlier.

Again, I was adding/posting that the Oogie is available throughout the Magic Kingdom for those looking, and that not "as some reported" (not you) only available in the hub. I clarified that in my post above. It was merely an added piece of information to help those looking for the Oogie.

I responded because it sounded like you were telling poster to ask for a refund .... but the problem is they bought tickets for a party but didn't seem interested in the party components - which were happening. Buying tickets just to do rides is likely to backfire because most the "show attractions" if not all were closed, if weather (it is hurricane season) occurs outdoor rides stop and there is always a chance of technical issues. AND they are selling lots of tickets. Literally Wednesday afternoon, beautiful weather ... MK was much less crowded than night before at party.

But if a ride or anything is down ... most of us would have just gone to a parade, met a character, magical shots, entertainment, trick or treat etc because that is what the event is about. Sitting waiting for a ride to open was on the guest not Disney. We went to Pirates, closed, so we u-turned and headed to HM, and enjoyed Lady Renata.

Not saying folks shouldn’t express disappointment, I’m just not sure that in this case it was on Disney. All party components were provided and that is what you pay for. I went to a HEA Dessert Party this summer and felt completely ripped off, but I chose to book it and it was as it had been described on here ... I had hopes for something else ... that was on me.

So what, now you're trying to tell me what I can and cannot say? Really?!

No I did not tell you what you can and can't say, that is not up to me.

What I said is that Disney provided the particular poster all the special offerings that come with a party and I didn't think they had any cause to ask for a refund. You have every right to tell them you think they should ask for a refund, I am just giving an opposing view why in this case I don't think they have cause.

Where were you when I asked you to help cover the Itinerary thread while I was on vacation? You agreed to help out but was a total no show, yet you have all this knowledge and information you're willing to share after the fact. Nice!

To clarify; you asked me and several others in MARCH to cover your thread during your vacation. I responded by telling you what an incredible thread you started AND .... not agreeing but rather to "Put me on the back burner as last resort."

Once the parties started, many attended and were answering the questions ..... I had nothing to add until I actually attended the party last week, could see any changes and how it was working, and then I added my first hand input.


AGAIN, this is a great thread that will help many plan, especially when they get to read the experiences that folks have when they attend. Hope everyone has a fun time!

 

[SquashBanana]

I wish I could love your post a million times! Great review!

This made my day, thank you! One thing I forgot in my review is to give a huge shout out and thank you to everyone who posted, gave their expert opinions and feedback, and answered all my questions. I could not have done this without all of you!

 

[FoxC63]

Again, I was adding/posting that the Oogie is available throughout the Magic Kingdom for those looking, and that not "as some reported" (not you) only available in the hub. I clarified that in my post above. It was merely an added piece of information to help those looking for the Oogie.

The locations of the Oogie Boogie PC buckets were posted since the start of the party.

No I did not tell you what you can and can't say, that is not up to me.

I didn't think they had any cause to ask for a refund.

So you're telling fellow DISer's what they can and cannot do. You didn't attend that party. You didn't experience what they were experiencing. And yet you're telling them they didn't have cause. Got it.

You have more experience than a newbie. They could have used your guidance.

 

[sqpcsqpc]

I thought I read somewhere... across from Country Bears is a good alternate viewing location for Halloween party fireworks (I know if would not work for Happily Ever After, if you care for projections). Can anyone confirm or refute that?