An introvert’s guide to 2023 Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party

Introversion Insight:

Put an introvert in a new, busy, and extroverted environment. How do they fare? It’s natural for them to be quiet, introspective, intimidated, and maybe even a little self-conscious. But with some planning and knowing what to expect (and knowing they’re doing something they’ll enjoy), they can have a pleasant experience.

 

Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party is a separately ticketed event at Magic Kingdom. Your ticket grants you eight hours inside the park (five hours of actual party time), with all kinds of seasonal offerings:

 

This introvert’s guide to 2023 Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party will prepare you for the event so you’ll know what to expect, how to deal with the crowds, and how to get the most out of the event.   

 

How it works

Pick your night

The event takes place on select nights from August 11 through November 1, 2023.

I used to recommend the earlier parties in August and September because they were less crowded; however, it seems like party nights sell out no matter what now. I now recommend picking a night in October. You’ll have less rain and cooler temps, and it will feel more festive the closer you get to Halloween.   

Buy your ticket

Prices range from $109 to $199 for adults (ages 10 and up) and $99 to $189 for children (ages 3 to 9), depending on the night. 

 

Annual Passholders and Disney Vacation Club Members can save $10 per ticket on select nights.

 

Tickets can be purchased online and in the My Disney Experience app. They’ll link with your account so you can use your MagicBand or MagicMobile to get into the park. 

 

(If you don’t want to use a MagicBand or MagicMobile, you’ll need to go to a ticket window where they’ll issue a physical card to you. The purchase confirmation email with barcode can’t be used to get into the park.) 

 

Note: At the time of this writing, all nights are sold out except November 1.

 

On a related note, you don’t need to make a park pass reservation for Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party. 

 

Check in

Event hours go from 7 p.m. until midnight. But your ticket actually gets you into Magic Kingdom at 4 p.m., so you have eight hours in the park. 

 

Check-in takes place at the park’s main entrance on the right side. This area is typically roped off from the left side where guests with regular park tickets may enter until the party officially begins.

mnsshp_park_entrance_check-in

In my experience, guests start to queue up around 3 p.m. So that you can be at the front of this long line of people, I would be at the gate at this time. If you don’t get there early, I’d let the rush subside and be at the gate around 5 p.m.

A Cast Member will place a wristband on you. Throughout the night you may be asked to show your wristband to go on rides or enter lands. You’ll also receive your trick-or-treat bag and event map.  

 

If you’re already in the park because you’re using a regular park ticket or Annual Pass, you can visit a wristband distribution location inside the park to check in and receive your wristband:

  • Tortuga Tavern (Adventureland)
  • Fantasy Faire (Fantasyland)
  • across from Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor (Tomorrowland)
mnsshp_wristband_distribution_inside_park

In my experience, Cast Members at these locations start distributing wristbands at 3:45 p.m. You’ll start to see lines form around 3:15 p.m.–3:30 p.m. Tip: Wait to check in until at least 4:15 p.m. The line should dissipate by then, and you’ll be able to check in right away. 

Have a plan

Introverts are planners, so you’re probably already thinking (and overthinking) about what you want to do during the event. You definitely want to have a plan because five hours of party time is not enough time to do it all. We’ll go over all the party offerings so you can prioritize your list and know what’s best for you as a D•Introvert. 

 

At the very least, I recommend you include these three offerings on your list and in this order:

  • 10:15 p.m. – Disney’s Not-So-Spooky Spectacular (fireworks show)
  • 10:45 p.m. – Hocus Pocus Villain Spelltacular (stage show)
  • 11:15 p.m. – Mickey’s “Boo-to-You” Halloween Parade

I realize all three may be difficult for introverts. They all involve being in the midst of a crowd. But here’s what to do. Get over to this area by 10 p.m. (marked below):

mnsshp_fireworks_viewing_location_screenshot_from_my_disney_experience_app

I like this area because you have a railing (and flower bed) behind you instead of people. This way you’re only surrounded by people in front of you. You may feel more comfortable since you are looking out at the crowd instead of being in the middle of it—and you have the added benefit of leaning against the railing if your feet are tired (which they probably will be). 

mnsshp_fireworks_viewing_location

The other nice thing is you can park yourself here for the fireworks, stage show, and parade. No need to fight the crowds more than once. Grab a snack and settle in!

 

Note: You may catch the tail end of the 9:15 parade, depending on when you make your way to the area. 

 

Generally speaking, you’ll find the park to be a little less crowded between 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. After that point, it really starts to fill in. You’ll find a reprieve again, though, in the last hour from 11 p.m. until midnight, as people filter out after the fireworks.

Do you like to dress up? This is your chance. Also know, though, that if dressing up is not your thing, you won’t be the outsider. Many guests just opt for a Halloween shirt. 

 

Trick-or-Treat Locations

Locations are marked on your map. You can also find them in the My Disney Experience app. You can easily pull up the locations by searching treat (see below). 

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Even without the map, you can easily stumble upon the locations by looking for the lit-up, inflatable markers (see below).

mnsshp_trick-or-treat_location_marker

You’ll find no shortage of candy during the party, but I did notice Cast Members this year are using small scoops instead of their hands to pass out candy. Depending on the scoop, you may receive fewer pieces of candy than when they used to give out handfuls. I also think the trick-or-treat lines are a little slower this year, perhaps because the Cast Member is trying to get a decent scoop of candy. (The candy seems to slide out of the slick scoop. Can you tell I’ve put way too much thought into this?!)

 

Lucky for you, you have lots of locations to visit. 

 

Main Street, U.S.A.

  • Market Street Welcome (only until 8 p.m.)

Adventureland

  • Walt Disney’s Enchanted Tiki Room

You’ll walk through the attraction. It’s not operating during the party.

  • Tortuga Tavern

Frontierland

  • Tom Sawyer Island Dock
  • Country Bear Jamboree

You’ll walk through the attraction. It’s not operating during the party.

Liberty Square

  • Columbia Harbour House

Fantasyland

  • Mickey’s PhilharMagic

Tip: Trick-or-treating goes straight through this attraction. Instead of collecting your candy and leaving out the back, relax and sit down in the air-conditioned theater. It’s the perfect place to recharge. While I was there, they were playing The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad.

mnsshp_mickeys_philharmagic_trick-or-treat_location
  • Pinocchio Village Haus
  • Gaston’s Tavern (tends to be quieter)
  • Ariel’s Grotto

 

Tomorrowland

  • Walt Disney’s Carousel of Progress

You’ll walk through the attraction. It’s not operating during the party.

  • Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor

You’ll walk through the attraction. It is operating during the party with a “Halloween twist.” As you may know, you might receive unwanted attention in this attraction with its audience participation element. Even with the special party version, I’d skip and walk straight through after getting your candy.

mnsshp_monsters_inc_laugh_floor
  • Cosmic Ray’s Starlight Café
  • TRON Lightcycle / Run (tends to be quieter)

 

Note: If you have a food allergy, you can pick up a teal-colored treat bag from a Cast Member at any treat location. When you trick-or-treat, they’ll notice your teal bag and give you a token. When you’re all done, you’ll redeem these tokens at one of the two Allergy-Friendly Centers—Chamber of Commerce or Liberty Square Ticket Center—for your treats.

Entertainment

Hocus Pocus Villain Spelltacular (stage show)

  • Castle Forecourt Stage
  • August/September: 8:35 p.m., 10:45 p.m., and midnight
  • October/November: 7:40 p.m., 8:35 p.m., 10:45 p.m., and midnight

Mickey’s “Boo-to-You” Halloween Parade

  • begins in Frontierland (see map for full route)
  • 9:15 p.m.
  • 11:15 p.m.

Disney’s Not-So-Spooky Spectacular (fireworks show)

  • skies above Cinderella Castle
  • 10:15 p.m.

The Cadaver Dans Barbershop Quartet

  • Frontierland
  • 7 p.m.–10:50 p.m. (intermittently)

Rusty Cutlass (pirate band)

  • Adventureland
  • 7:15 p.m.–11:50 p.m. (intermittently)

Disney Junior Jam (dance party)

  • Tomorrowland – Cosmic Ray’s Starlight Café
  • 7 p.m.–midnight

Zom-Beatz Bash (dance party)

  • Tomorrowland – Rockettower Plaza Stage
  • 7 p.m.–midnight

 

The two dance parties may be intense for your introverted little ones. Disney Junior Jam is in more of a confined indoor space. whereas Zom-Beatz Bash is outside. 

 

Characters

Most character encounters happen in traditional meet-and-greet locations where you seek them out, but a few characters are free roaming (noted below). Make note if you’re concerned about a potential surprise interaction.

Main Street, U.S.A.

  • Sally & Jack Skellington – Town Square Theater
  • Mickey Mouse – Town Square Theater

Adventureland

  • Abu and Aladdin – Agrabah Bazaar
  • Genie and Jasmine – Agrabah Bazaar
  • Jafar – near The Magic Carpets of Aladdin
  • Captain Jack Sparrow – near Pirates of the Caribbean
  • Powerline Max – across from Pirates of the Caribbean (pop-up dance party)

Frontierland

  • Country Bears – near Country Bear Jamboree (roaming)

Liberty Square

  • Madame Carlotta, Madame Renatta, and Broome the Butler – The Haunted Mansion

Fantasyland

  • Ariel and Prince Eric – near Under the Sea ~ Journey of The Little Mermaid
  • Belle – near Enchanted Tales with Belle
  • Tigger, Pooh, Piglet, and Eeyore – near The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
  • Alice and Mad Hatter – Mad Tea Party
  • Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum – Mad Tea Party
  • Queen of Hearts – Mad Tea Party
  • Cinderella – Princess Fairytale Hall
  • Elena – Princess Fairytale Hall
  • Tiana – Princess Fairytale Hall
  • Rapunzel – Princess Fairytale Hall
  • Drizella and Anastasia – throughout land (roaming)

Storybook Circus

  • Seven Dwarfs – Pete’s Silly Sideshow
  • Minnie Mouse, Daisy Duck, and Donald Duck – Dumbo the Flying Elephant
  • Goofy – The Barnstormer

Tomorrowland

  • Stitch – the old Stitch’s Great Escape! (near entrance to land)
  • Timon – Cosmic Ray’s Starlight Café (dance party)
  • Vampirina – Cosmic Ray’s Starlight Café (dance party)
  • Doc McStuffins – Cosmic Ray’s Starlight Café (dance party)
  • Fancy Nancy – Cosmic Ray’s Starlight Café (dance party)
  • Powerline Max – Cosmic Ray’s Starlight Café and Rockettower Plaza Stage (pop-up dance party)

 

Attractions

With everything else going on during the party, you’ll find attraction wait times to be lower than a regular park day. That also means the surrounding areas may be less crowded.   

Below are the attractions open during the event, including three that have a “Halloween twist” (noted as special party version). 

Adventureland

  • Jungle Cruise
  • The Magic Carpets of Aladdin
  • Pirates of the Caribbean
  • Swiss Family Treehouse

Frontierland

  • Big Thunder Mountain Railroad

Liberty Square

  • Haunted Mansion

Note: Because this attraction has characters in its queue during the party, you may find it more crowded with longer wait times.

Fantasyland

  • Prince Charming Regal Carrousel
  • “it’s a small world”
  • Peter Pan’s Flight
  • The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
  • Mad Tea Party (special party version)
  • Under the Sea ~ Journey of the Little Mermaid
  • Seven Dwarfs Mine Train

Storybook Circus

  • Dumbo the Flying Elephant
  • The Barnstormer

Tomorrowland

  • Astro Orbiter
  • Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin
  • Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor (special party version)
  • Space Mountain (special party version)
  • Tomorrowland Speedway
  • Tomorrowland Transit Authority People Mover
  • TRON Lightcycle / Run

TRON Lightcycle / Run

TRON Lightcycle / Run is only available through a virtual queue during Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party. You can request to join the queue at 6 p.m. in the My Disney Experience app, and you do not need to be inside the park to join. 

 

Specialty Food and Beverages

Don’t forget to try some themed food and beverages! Some items below are available throughout the season (August 11 through November 1), while others are only available during the party (noted as party exclusive). 

 

If you’re a foodie, keep this in mind as you’re looking for snacks between 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. (not party exclusive) and then again from 7 p.m. until midnight (party exclusive).

Note: Normally, my top introvert-friendly food tip is to mobile order your food; however, mobile order is not available during Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party. 

Disney's Not-So-Spooky Spectacular Dessert Party 

For a separate price—$114 for adults (ages 10 and up) and $69 for children (ages 3 to 9)—you can attend a dessert party, which includes desserts, drinks (alcoholic and nonalcoholic), and a spot in a reserved fireworks viewing area.  

 

For other separately ticketed events, I might recommend the dessert party. But for Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party, I would skip it. It takes precious time out of your night, and although the reserved fireworks viewing area is nice, I’ve always been able to find a decent spot on my own. 

 

Auntie Gravity’s Galactic Goodies 

  • Apple Fritter Milkshake: Salted caramel milkshake topped with green apple whipped cream and an apple fritter

Cheshire Café

  • MMMummy Treat: Flaky pastry filled with chocolate-hazelnut filling and topped with white icing stripes and sugar eyes
  • Queen of Hearts Slushy: Frozen cherry slushy drizzled with black cherry purée and topped with whipped cream and a crown-shaped chocolate piece
  • Witches’ Cold Brew: French Vanilla Joffrey’s Coffee Cold Brew topped with pumpkin-spiced foam and Halloween sprinkles

Cosmic Ray’s Starlight Café 

  • Terrifyin’ Twice-Spiced Chicken Sandwich: Spicy fried chicken breast dipped in hot honey and topped with pepper jack cheese, jalapeño poppers, and bacon (party exclusive)
  • The Snarling Sub: Meatball sub with spicy marinara, pesto, and pearl mozzarella “teeth” served on a black roll (party exclusive)
  • Zombie Fingers: Almond cookie fingers, Key lime pie white chocolate ganache, salted caramel crisp pearls, and sugar eyes (party exclusive)
  • River Styx Elixir: Kiwi lemonade with luster dust (party exclusive)

The Friar’s Nook 

  • Pain and Panic Brat: Bratwurst, sweet and spicy onion relish, and sriracha mustard (party exclusive)
  • Pain and Panic Loaded Tots: Tots topped with sweet and spicy onion relish, sriracha mustard, and crumbled bratwurst (party exclusive) 
  • Buffalo Chicken Hand Pie: Hand pie with spicy ranch drizzle and blue cheese powder (party exclusive)

Golden Oak Outpost

  • Tombstone Tart: Flaky pastry filled with strawberry-jalapeño jam and topped with sprinkles and sugar spiders
  • Loaded Sweet Potato Fries: Sweet potato fries tossed in cinnamon sugar and topped with marshmallow cream, butterscotch chips, and toffee pieces (party exclusive) 

Main Street Bakery

  • Mickey-shaped Cinnamon Roll: Mickey-shaped cinnamon roll topped with orange frosting and sprinkles
  • Minnie-shaped Pumpkin Cheesecake: Pumpkin cheesecake and pumpkin coffee mousse topped with a white chocolate candy corn bow (party exclusive)

Pecos Bill Tall Tale Inn & Café

  • Cajun Burger: Cajun-spiced all-beef patty topped with fried green tomato, Cajun Andouille dip, and Creole remoulade served on a black bun (party exclusive)
  • Bowl of Bones: Bone-in piggy wings fried with fresh jalapeños tossed in Coca-Cola Cherry barbecue sauce (party exclusive)
  • Candy Corn Milkshake: Sweet corn soft-serve topped with whipped cream and sweet potato corn bread nuggets (party exclusive)

Plaza Ice Cream Parlor

  • Apple Fritter Sundae: Apple fritters topped with choice of ice cream, whipped cream, and sprinkles (party exclusive)
  • Ice Cream Cookie Sandwich: Cookies topped with sprinkles with choice of ice cream

Sleepy Hollow 

  • Char Siu Chicken Wings: Whole chicken wings glazed in char siu and topped with chili threads and garlic (party exclusive)
  • Headless Horseman Cupcake: Spicy cheese-flavored cupcake with lime filling topped with cream cheese buttercream, spicy cheese-flavored snacks, and a chocolate piece (party exclusive)
  • Cinnamon Funnel Cake: Funnel cake topped with pumpkin ice cream, drizzled with pumpkin spiced caramel and topped with butterscotch chips (party exclusive)

Storybook Treats 

  • Hades Cone: DOLE Whip mango and habanero soft-serve topped with blue raspberry shell and chili-lime seasoning (party exclusive)

Sunshine Tree Terrace

  • Tropical Graveyard: Mango mousse and sour tropical gelatin topped with cookie crumbles, gummy worm, sprinkles, and a tombstone chocolate piece (party exclusive)

Churro cart near Cinderella Castle

  • Not-So-Poison Apple Churro: Churro rolled in green apple sugar, topped with SNICKERS bar pieces and drizzled with caramel sauce
  • Jack Pop: Chocolate fudge brownie with marshmallow filling and topped with a Jack chocolate piece (party exclusive)
  • Sally Pop: Yellow pop with raspberry filling topped with a Sally chocolate piece (party exclusive)

Outdoor vending cart near The Haunted Mansion 

  • Skull Brownie: Mexican-spiced chocolate brownie with dulce de leche filling and sugar eyes (party exclusive)

This was a surprise hit for me! If you like cinnamon candy and brownies, you’ll love it. 

 

Merchandise

You can purchase party-specific merchandise from Star Traders in Tomorrowland and Emporium on Main Street, U.S.A.

 

Photo opportunities

PhotoPass

You can get your picture taken by PhotoPass photographers with Magic Shots and Halloween props (see map for locations). Be aware this may require you to make poses or hold props in front of the photographer. Awkward.

Photo frames

You can take your picture inside interactive photo frames that recreate scenes from various Disney stories (see map for locations).

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