Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party 2024 dates announced! MNSSHP is a separately ticketed Halloween event held on select nights at Magic Kingdom in Walt Disney World. It features a special park-wide party, with rare characters, trick or treating for candy, parties and music, theatrical lighting, lower wait times on rides (in theory) due to smaller crowds (also in theory), and a very popular parade and fireworks show. The party runs from 7:00pm to midnight, and here is what you can expect in those 5 hours! It’s nearly impossible to do everything without just running the entire night, and that’s no way to enjoy yourself! So it’s best to pick your top priorities and let anything else be a bonus!
Parade
Mickey’s Boo To You Parade is a highlight of Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party and it can get very crowded. There are typically two held nightly during the party, and many planners will advise you to wait for the second parade for hopefully lower crowds and a better spot. One tip I will add is that if you watch from anywhere else besides Main Street USA, you have a better chance of securing a nice spot to watch from. Everyone wants to see the parade from Main Street USA with Cinderella Castle as the backdrop, understandably. But that also means that people grab spots early and it can get VERY squished!! Even if you grab your spot early and spend precious party time waiting, you can still get squished at the last minute by people trying to cram in for a spot.
Trick or Treating
Trick or treating is also a highlight and very popular part of the party. Lines for treats can get long, but generally they are manageable and move quickly. You will see large lit up balloons letting you know the trick or treating stations, and they will also be on the map. There are special locations for allergy friendly treats, they will also be indicated on the map or you can ask a cast member.
Rare Characters
This is a huge part of the party for some, and less important for others. It depends how much meeting rare and special characters means to you. You can meet characters like Jack Skellington and Sally, the full Seven Dwarfs, and lots more. This year they will have Mickey and Minnie in brand new Halloween costumes! It can be such a fun experience and wonderful photo memory, but it can also take a big chunk of precious party time. The lines for some characters can get hours long, and in a 5 hour party, that’s something to consider. Some people even start lining up a few hours before the party starts! It’s one of those things you have to decide – is this a priority for you? If so, you need a game plan! Personally, I usually skip the characters or pick only ONE to do!
Here is a photo Disney posted of Mickey and Minnie’s NEW Halloween party outfits for this year – I loooove them:
This is a photo from the Christmas party with Jack Skellington and Sally, just to give you an idea of a special party photo with rare characters:
Fireworks
Disney’s Not So Spooky Spectacular is a dazzling fireworks and castle projection show that is a major highlight. With this show being at 10:00pm, you can usually find a spot more easily as lots of people are off doing other things, and you can watch them from lots of spots around the park. Of course, if you want to see the projections on the castle, you need a view of the castle! They’re really fun, spooky and cool, and family friendly as is the entire party! There is a very cool life-sized Jack Skellington puppet that narrates from the Castle stage too, so if you can get close enough, that’s neat to see!
Here are a couple of my photos from last year’s MNSSHP fireworks:
Costumes
Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party is one of those extremely rare times that adults are allowed to dress in full on costumes to Magic Kingdom! Normally, adults are not permitted to wear costumes, so this is a fun chance to get decked out and let your inner Disney princess or villain or whatever come out to play haha! There are still rules, so make sure you check Disney World’s website and follow the guidelines. You want to keep it family friendly, use common sense and be reasonable. You also want to be comfortable, so keep in mind that this is Florida, and it will most likely be HOT, and it may also rain. I recommend keeping it light, fun, family friendly, and comfortable, but feel free to be spooky and get creative!! Matching family/couple/friend/sibling costumes are always a hit, and make for such precious photos and memories!
Hocus Pocus Villain Spelltacular
There are usually 3 or 4 showings of this per party night, depending on the date. It’s a fun show featuring the Sanderson Sisters from Hocus Pocus and other Disney villains. While I do enjoy this, I usually just watch a bit from the side or from far away and keep on moving. Personally, I find it’s hard to get a good spot, I can hardly see over people’s shoulders, and it’s just not a top priority for me. But, for many people, it is! It just depends, all of this is different for everyone. What may be a MUST DO for some, is a skip for others. I do enjoy the music and it’s a fantastic show, it’s just something I can catch a little of while going from one thing to the next and be happy.
Rides at Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party
Most rides in the park will be open and running during the party, and many will have lower wait times! During big events like the parade and fireworks, wait times will be even lower. Some rides have special overlays that are exclusive to the party. For 2024, they are Space Mountain (pitch black), Mad Tea Party (special lights, music and fog), and Monsters Inc Laugh Floor (all themed out!). It’s really fun and a must-do! They used to do an overlay on Pirates of the Caribbean with real pirates in the queue, but sadly it seems they stopped doing that. Also in the past, they have had special characters in the Haunted Mansion queue, hopefully those will return this year because they are a total highlight of the party!! Enjoying rides with low wait times is a great use of time for the party, especially since the ENTIRE park is lit up with special spooky lighting and music!
Dance Parties
The special dance parties and performances are so fun and not to be missed! There will be one on the Tomorrowland stage, one in Cosmic Rays, and one in front of Country Bears in Frontierland. There may be more, make sure you check out the map when they hand them to you as you walk in!
Special Photo Ops
There are lots of great photo ops at this party! Some are storybook setups for you to stand in, some are special “Magic Shots” where they tell you how to pose, and then superimpose characters or spooky scenery in that you will find later in your app! Here’s one of us with the Hitchhiking Ghosts from Haunted Mansion:
Special Food
For some, this is their main priority, for others, this is just something they can grab on the way to do something else. I usually pick 2 or 3 special things to try and am happy with that. I don’t feel the need to try EVERYTHING in one night, but that’s a personal decision. There are some great and cute options, but the lines can get long for some. So I personally think choosing 2 or 3 things and anything else is a bonus is a smart time saving strategy. I am also flexible with this, if they sell out of something or if a line for something I picked is too long, I’ll just try something else. To me, this saves time, stress and keeps the event more fun and fancy free!
Exclusive Merchandise
During the merchandise, they usually sell party-exclusive MNSSHP merchandise! Shirts, spirit jerseys, pins, hats, and more. I love to take a look at what they’ve got on offer! Usually they have it available in The Emporium and Star Traders in Tomorrowland. I don’t spend TOO much party time on this, but I definitely take a look and see if there’s anything good I want! They ONLY sell some of these items DURING the party, so you can’t come back and purchase them on a regular day. If you see something you like, and you are able to, then grab it!
Be Prepared and Have Fun!
I hope this helps you to make decisions and make the most of your time at Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party! I’ve tried to cover all the key points, but feel free to add your own tips or anything you think I should add in the comments below!
You can head over to the Walt Disney World website to purchase tickets, and I recommend you grab tickets for the night(s) you desire in advance, because they can sell out!
The best way to prepare is by watching some of my vlogs of the event!! This can give you a REAL idea of what it’s like for us in the moment, and give you glimpse of some of the special things to help you decide what your priorities are.
UPDATED: Here is my video of the opening night of Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party 2024:
link to 2024 video: https://youtu.be/gzJuwHWM9J4?si=1Bpr54tEjD30fUhG
And here are some videos of past years to compare & see even MORE:
2023 Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party:
Link to 2023 MNSSHP vlog: https://youtu.be/jOAzWgkRC3s
And here is the 2022 party:
Link to 2022 MNSSHP vlog: https://youtu.be/mPQlUcgGk88
I hope this guide and the vlogs help you to plan and have the best time ever at Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party 2024!!! Let me know if you go and feel free to tag me in your costume pics on insta so I can see how fun you look!!!
Love ya,
Jackie
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