Magic Kingdom: Halloween Edition 2017

♫ Boo to you! It's really not so scary ♫

At the entrance to The Magic Kingdom

Every year, The Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World Resort hosts "Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party" to celebrate the popular holiday, Halloween. Per the name, the event is not scary and if you do happen to want to be terrified out of your wits please google Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios. For those wishing to celebrate Halloween in a less traumatizing way, kids and adults of all ages can enjoy this event! The event is ticketed, starting at around 7 p.m. on select days from the end of August to October 31st. In 2017, I had the pleasure of attending my first MNSSHP with my equally Disney loving Aunt Cheryl. (Note: You must purchase a special ticket for the event since your regular park tickets will not work. Furthermore, the event starts around 7 p.m. but anyone with a MNSSHP ticket can enter the park starting at 4 p.m.)

Some activities that are included in the price of your ticket, that we participated in, are as followed:

• Trick or Treating, all you care to grab style
• Rare character meet and greets such as Jack and Sally, Cruella de Vil, Tarzan and Jane and the classics in their Halloween best
• Happy HalloWishes Firework Show
• Hocus Pocus Villain Spelltacular stage show in front of the castle
• Boo-to-You Halloween Parade 

Halloween is a special time of the year for Disney fanatics because this is the one time a year that, regardless of age, you may dress up in costumes. However, there are certain rules and limitations that you must adhere to or risk not being let in. If you want to take a look at the restrictions or read more about the event you can click here. My aunt and I however, opted to not wear costumes and instead wore matching Mickey skeleton shirts we found super cheap at Kohl's.

To make the most of our day, we arrived at 4 p.m. to Magic Kingdom. Both Cheryl and myself love to take pictures, so we like to get there early to take some in the daylight since Florida sunsets are extremely early in the winter months. Cheryl had attended the event in the past so I let her guide us through most of the evening.

After taking pictures of the decorations, we decided to stand in line to meet Jack and Sally at the pavilion Tiana and Naveen from The Princess and the Frog normally meet at. This is located in liberty square right by the Sleepy Hollow quick service restaurant where they sell MNSSHP exclusive treats. 

Jack and Sally

Once we finished with Jack and Sally we decided to head to Fantasyland to visit with Cruella de Vil, Minnie Mouse and Donald and Daisy Duck. 

Cruella de Vil

Donald and Daisy Duck

Minnie Mouse

After so many meet and greets, it was time for the Boo-to-You Halloween Parade that happens twice during the event. This parade is different from the Festival of Fantasy parade that happens at Magic Kingdom every day since you get to see special characters not only themed for Halloween but that normally do not hang out in Magic Kingdom. Personally, the parade was a little scattered and did not seem like it had a smooth transition since it went from Fanatasyland characters, to the Haunted Mansion, to Disney villains, to a hoedown theme but I still enjoyed seeing a change of pace from Festival of Fantasy. After the parade we watched the fireworks that happen only once during the event and then watched the Hocus Pocus Villain Spelltacular show on the castle stage that takes place a few times throughout the night.

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The start of the parade! I'll save the other photos of the parade so everyone can be surprised if they go.

Hocus Pocus sisters on stage during the Hocus Pocus Villain Spectacular

For those who have PhotoPass Memory Maker, there are also opportunities around the park to take special Halloween edition photos. These are some of my favorite photos! Both the top two photos were taken at the Haunted Mansion ride and the bottom one was taken at the Tangled bathrooms just around the corner. This one you are actually able to take all year round but there is always a long line when I go to the parks on normal operating days. There was one person in line during MNSSHP so I jumped at the opportunity and I LOVE LOVE LOVE the way it turned out.

At one point in our evening I did a quick costume change as we headed to the Scream-o-Ween Dance Party in Tomorrowland. Mike and Sulley from Monsters Inc. like to hang out at the party and dance with you to the DJ they have on stage. Sulley saw my costume change and was pretty happy to have a fellow Scarer around!

Waiting for Sulley to see me

Monster hug from Sulley

Overall the event was a success! Lines are usually very short for the rides and slightly longer for the character meet and greets. I would recommend not riding many rides since you only have a limited time to enjoy the party specific events but it is a good time to ride 7 Dwarfs Mine Train since the queue is always a few hours any other time. Also, the earlier in the season you go the cheaper the tickets are. Halloween day is obviously going to be the most expensive and busiest day to go. Similar to MNSSHP, Magic Kingdom also puts on Mickeys Very Merry Christmas Party in November and December. The tickets and pricing work the exact same as Halloween. Both are equally amazing and I highly encourage everyone to check them out if you are in Orlando during the holidays. 

To anyone reading this, all positive and constructive opinions are welcome! Disclaimer: I am by no means a professional at writing or vacation planning so if you read my blogs or take my advice do so with a grain of salt.