Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party in the Rain
I’ve finally gotten back to blogging about our trip to Disney last September. One of the reasons for planning our trip in September was so we could attend Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party (known as MNSSHP going forward). As an avid Disney fan I had never attended and I thought it would be such a fun experience with the kids (spoiler alert – it was!!).
I attended the party with my mom and two kids (then ages 4 and almost 3). My mom loves Disney as much as I do while my husband and father could take it or leave it. We decided for this magical event we needed only Disney lovers (hence we left the men home).
To find more information on the party including the current schedule and pricing click below:
Planning Advice
- You can enter the parks at 4pm on the day of your scheduled MNSSHP with your ticket so you can save admission on your multi-day pass if you plan accordingly
- Make reservations early if you have children that would want to visit the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique or the Pirate’s League. These book up quickly during the dates of MNSSHP. I made the reservations roughly 6 months out prior to Disney releasing the “official” party dates (as I was advised on the phone if Magic Kingdom is closing at 7pm – it is most likely a party night)
- Plan extra time for your reservations at Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique and the Pirate’s League – from our experience they ran behind (Pirate’s League wasn’t as bad as Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique)
- Bring your own trick-or-treating bags as the provided bags are small
- Plan for rain – buy ponchos from your local dollar store and bring them with you (if you don’t use them – that’s ok – but better safe than sorry)
- If you have small children take naps later in the day so they can stay up late!
Rain, Rain, Go Away – MNSSHP Take 1
During our visit to Disney last September it rained, and it rained, and it rained…I think you get the idea. My mom and I were watching the weather like hawks hoping that we would catch a break for the night of MNSSHP. We did not get so lucky.
The day of our originally selected party we had we had scheduled a full day of primping and pampering for the kids on the day of our selected party. The latest reservation we could get for Buddy at Pirate’s League was 3:30pm. Since we had to use a day from our multi-day ticket anyways we made the most of it by visiting Magic Kingdom as soon as it opened. We stayed until noon (when a thunderstorm rolled in) and then headed out for naps to be rested up for the party later that night.
When we headed back to the park we went straight to Buddy’s appointment at the Pirate’s League. At the Pirate’s League Buddy was transformed into Captain Hook (read more here).
By the time we exited the Pirate’s League it was already raining, we were discouraged but put on our ponchos and headed out to play for a little bit before Boo Boo’s reservation.
By the time we headed into the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique it was pouring and we were wet – this was not a good omen for the rest of our night. You can read more here about our Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique experience.
After we finished at the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique we headed out the doors and to the waiting (very drenched) stroller. Boo Boo was wearing a rain bonnet that the Boutique provided to protect her hairdo. Wearing ponchos we headed out of the covered space and towards the front of the park. Within minutes we were drenched – we were walking through standing water roughly three inches deep in some points. At this point we were cold and out of spare dry clothes and very unsure of what to do.
I headed to guest relations and sent the family off to the van. After waiting in a long line I got to the front and luckily they changed our tickets to the next scheduled MNSSHP which was on Thursday (thankfully they had another party prior to the end of our vacation). I headed out to the van to find the kids changed into their pajamas (that were dry since we left them in the van) enjoying a Mickey lollipop. We headed back to our rental house and sat down to eat dinner. Next thing we knew both kiddos were asleep on the couches.
Luckily the extra makeup from Boo Boo’s makeover was given to her and we recreated her Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique look for the party when we went!
Rain, Rain, Go Away – MNSSHP Take 2
The day of our rescheduled party we had planned to use as a Magic Kingdom day anyways. We headed into the park shortly after park opening and stayed until early afternoon. We left the park just as a thunderstorm was getting ready to start and headed out for naptime with fingers crossed the rain would move out for the rest of the day.
The kids had naps and when they woke up we got them ready for the party in their costumes. We did our best to replicate their makeovers and they were very excited to head into Magic Kingdom. We entered the park and got our wristbands to indicate that we were MNSSHP guests.
Our main goals for the party were:
- Watch the first Boo to You Parade
- Watch Happy Hallo-Wishes (the special MNSSHP fireworks display)
- Get lots of candy (the kids were big on this!)
- Go on lots of rides
When traveling to Disney with little kids I think its very important to set your expectations low – don’t think you will go on every ride and meet every character. It just isn’t possible. If you think you will you set yourself up for failure and disappointment. For the party we had two items that we had to see – the parade and the special fireworks. Other than that we were flexible to do and see whatever we found. This approach was perfect for us and we had such a blast!
We started out by heading straight to Frontierland to Club Villian (this is not offered at the 2015 parties) in hopes of seeing Captain Hook. We didn’t see him and the party was a bit more crowded with adults than we expected.
Next we headed out to our first of many Trick-or-Treat locations. The trick-or-treat locations were all shown on the special MNSSHP map (click here to visit a blog that posted the map from 2014) and marked in the park by a big illuminated pumpkin After we had some candy in tow we found a spot to watch the Boo to You Parade. We sugared the kids up (juice boxes and candy anyone??) and waited.
See the slideshow below of pictures from the parade – it really was great! My mom loves parades and she was not disappointed.
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After the parade we headed out to find some more candy and to head towards Fantasyland to go on some of the kids favorite rides. Most rides had waits that maxed out around 15-20 minutes so it was perfect! Unfortunately we still didn’t get to ride on the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train as the line was almost an hour and we were pretty sure the kids wouldn’t have done well waiting that long that late at night.
When it got close to 10pm we found a spot in Fantasyland right next to the Carousel to watch the fireworks. Buddy got a little cranky while waiting so we gave him another snack and that pepped him right up! I love fireworks and these were awesome. Buddy didn’t like the loud noise (next time we go to Disney I will make sure I get earplugs for him ahead of time). Check out the slideshow below for some pictures during the fireworks display.
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When the fireworks ended we headed to Tomorrowland to get some more candy! We ended doing multiple rides over there that we just walked right on to. The later it gets during the party the lower the crowds get.
There was a 10 minute wait for the Tomorrowland Speedway so we decided that would be fun. Little did we know that the rain was coming back to get us! We loaded into the cars and off we went – for some reason there was a backup unloading so we were stuck. At that moment the rain let loose – before we were off the ride we were all soaked to the skin.
Since it was after 11pm we decided to call it quits and headed off to a gift shop to pick up a few MNSSHP pieces of merchandise. After we checked out we hit a few more candy spots on the way to the exit (we figured we were already soaked – why not?). Boo Boo fell asleep within minutes of getting in the stroller.
Overall Experience
Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party is a MUST if you love Disney and Halloween! The event was great. It is tough for families with younger kids as it starts at 7pm and runs until midnight (but my kids who usually go to sleep at 7:30pm did great!). I am so glad I had the opportunity to attend MNSSHP and hope that I might make it back again sometime in the future.
The Magic Kingdom cast members went above and beyond to make the experience magical for us by helping to switch our tickets from our original night. All the cast that we experienced throughout the party seemed happy to help and be there (even after it started pouring!).
My kids loved the party and have already asked if they get to go back to trick-or-treat at Disney World this year!
Let me know!
Have you ever attended a MNSSHP? If so how was your experience? Any advice you can offer?
