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We are a Disney family. There is no denying that. My husband and I honeymooned at Disney World, and we have been back almost every year since. Our daughters are 3 and 5 and will be going to Disney World for the 3rd time this coming fall. Last year, after several years of attempting to find the time, we were able to attend Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party (MNSSHP). We immediately started to research and plan our visit. Here are 5 tips that will help you plan your MNSSHP experience to the fullest!
Arrive Early & Use Those Fastpasses
MNSSHP officially starts at 7pm, however, party guests can enter the park at 4pm – but that’s not all. If you have not been to another park that day (and used fast passes), you can schedule 3 fastpasses (for times between 4pm and 6pm)! The same holds true for Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas. This is a great way to get a popular meet and greet in or get on some popular rides. Keep in mind that the lines for rides will be much shorter during party hours because of two reasons. 1) There will be less people in the park and 2) many people will be attending party events. If you are staying at Disney World for several days, I recommend planning your party night for a day off from the parks or the first night – and get a bonus day in the parks (because you will not need a regular park ticket to attend.)
Jack & Sally OR The Seven Dwarfs
Jack Skellington and Sally (from The Nightmare Before Christmas) are one of the most popular meet and greets at MNSSHP. The Seven Dwarfs are right up there with them. These characters are not normally in the park and so everyone at the special event will try to get to meet them. We had our heart set on getting to see both and it didn’t work out. I suggest planning to go to one of the lines right at 4:30 since the characters usually arrive around 5 (the party starts at 7, however the characters often come out early – no worries, only those with event wristbands will be allowed to line up). If you are able to meet both sets of characters, great, just try not to get your hopes up.
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Shake Your Stuff at the Dance Party
At MNSSHP there is a Monsters U dance party – and it worth spending at least 15 minutes there. Here guests can dance around with their favorite characters in between trick or treating stops. It is so much fun and we got some great photos with Boo, Sully, and Mike! It is a great experience for the kids – and fans of the movie series alike!

See the Second Parade & Show
There really is so much to do at MNSSHP – from Trick or Treating to special meet and greets. The parade and the show happen twice each party night and I highly recommend seeing the second one of each. There will be less people there and this way you can utilize your time early in the night for other party exclusives (you will be able to meet a lot of villains like Lotso and Jafar). Both the parade and show are worth seeing – don’t get me wrong – just opt for the second showing of each.
Dress Up
The best part about attending MNSSHP is getting the chance to dress up. During normal hours, adults cannot dress up in the park at all and even children’s costumes are limited. From the second we knew we were going, my family started planning a group costume. Tangled is one of our favorite Disney movies so we settled on Rapunzel, Pascal, Mother Gothel, and Flynn Ryder. There is something truly magical about walking around Disney World in costume and trick or treating. We bought most of our stuff on Amazon for fairly cheap! Here are some fun family costume ideas to get the ball rolling on your planning.
- Jasmine, Aladdin, Genie, Abu
- Dory, Hank, Nemo, Marlin
- Anger, Fear, Joy, Sadness, Disgust, Bing Bong
- Ariel, Prince Eric, Ursula, Flounder, Sebastian
- Woody, Buzz, Jessie, Rex
- The Incredibles
If you are a Disney Vacation Club Member, you can save $5 per ticket on special events!
Have you ever been to Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party at Walt Disney World? If so, do you have any tips to share? Please do so in the comments!

Tessa Smith is a Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer-approved Film and TV Critic. On Camera personality and TV / Film Critic with 10+ years of experience in video editing, writing, editing, moderating, and hosting.
28 Comments
That looks like such a wonderful time! I can’t wait to go back to Disney world next summer after reading this, I’ve only been once!
Only once! Wow! I love Disney – we always have a great time!
This looks like so much fun! I am one of those folks that love to look at others Disney folks but there are so many other places I would rather visit despite being a Disney fan since I was a kid.
Disney is definitely not for everyone – I could go there every day!
Awww I love your photos. A day at Disney is always a blast. I can’t wait to go back. I am glad you had a great time.
Thanks – it really was so much fun! Cannot wait to go back next month!
These are all great tips for those attending Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party. I have never been to any event like this at Disney World but it looks like so much fun. The dressing up part would be awesome to do. I will have to share this with my sister and nieces who have little ones. Thanks for sharing the tips.
You are so welcome!
These sounds like a good Halloween party! My kids would love to go in this kind of event
What a fun Halloween party!!! I know my kids love everything Disney, as does the whole family, this would be so much fun to go to!
We have never been to Disney around Halloween time but it looks like fun. We went time in the middle of the Summer and it was fun.
This sounds like so much fun. I haven’t been to Disney near Halloween but I bet it is awesome. I know that the 6 Flags in our Area does something similar.
OMG these pics are just the greatest. I am loving all these Disney posts! I wanna go!!!
We used to attend this event when Jacob was little. These are very helpful tips!
Omg I just love Mickeys Not So Scary!!!! That and food and wine are my all time favorite things to do at Disney!
I’ve been to Disney many times but have never gone to the Mickey Halloween Party. One important tip when going to Disney is to have patience.
I love your Tangled costumes! So Cute! I have always wanted to go to Disney, but haven’t made it yet!
Looks like a lot of fun. Good way to get the kids into halloween slow and easy!
You sound like us we have been going every year for the past 5. Son is looking forward to another around of partying with Mickey this year. It is the best party on the block.
I love that they make it “Not So Scary” for the Halloween Party – perfect for even the littlest ones!
I’ve always heard great things about this! I hope I get to go one day – LOVE Disney!
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