Okay folks, I know Halloween was over months ago, but I really wanted to share my review of Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party, and getting back from a trip right before the holidays has made this my first opportunity to share it.
We attended Mickey's Not So Scary on a Tuesday in October. I had heard that Tuesdays are not as busy as weekend parties, but that crowds increasingly pick up the closer it gets to Halloween itself. I thought the crowds were at a fair level the night we went. You couldn't park up right before the parade and get the best seat in the house, and the characters had some mighty long waits at times, but it was by no means unbearable.
I spent a lot of time deciding what I wanted to dress up as. Initially I decided on Lilo and planned to bring my Duffy bear dressed in his Stitch costume. (I posted about that
here). However, I changed my mind at the last minute because I decided I had a better, more unique idea. I instead went as one of my favorite Disney characters - Figment! I don't regret that change at all.
This was our second MNSSHP, our first being 2 years prior in 2015. I did not plan effectively for our first party, and my husband got sick so we called it a night early without accomplishing anywhere close to everything I wanted to do. This time I planned and planned and planned, and while it felt stressful at the time trying to follow a rigid outline, and I panicked at times wondering if I should seize an opportunity and divert from the plan, it all worked out amazingly in the end.
We were already at the Magic Kingdom that day, something I had initially intended not to do, but it just worked out that way. We rented a locker and kept our party clothes there during the day. At 4pm we changed into our party clothes and got our wristbands in Town Square. We got our trick or treat bags and proceeded to Liberty Square to get in line for Jack and Sally. As we walked through Town Square I got a lot of compliments from Cast Members on my costume. One said, "Figment! So glad you could join us all the way from EPCOT!"
We saw Jack and Sally back in 2015 (and that's something I approached all wrong that year) so I thought about skipping them this time, but decided that with good planning we could meet them and not actually use any party time to do it.
We got in line at 4:40pm and there were already numerous people ahead of us. That didn't deter me, because it wasn't as bad as when we joined the line in 2015 and I figured we would still get done before the party started. Despite Cast Members continuously saying Jack and Sally would not be out until 7pm when the party started, they started greeting right on 5pm just like I suspected. By that time the line was out of Liberty Square and across the bridge into Adventureland.
The line moved at a good pace and even though we saw one cast change, we were done with our meet and greet by 6pm. Sure, we waited almost an hour and a half, but we had crossed something major off our list and still had an hour before the party! Jack and Sally were wonderful as always! They spent time talking to us and were so in character, sounding just like them and improvising marvelously. Sally was intrigued by my costume saying it was frightful that I had something eating my head. She also told me how to make some frog's breath for my husband's Halloween dinner.
Next we went to Fantasyland to see if any other characters were out early. They weren't yet but people were gathering for them and there was already a line for Minnie. We used that time to do our MNSSHP shopping in Big Top Souvenirs. I bought the women's 2017 MNSSHP t-shirt because I loved the fit, the design and the color, and I love collecting souvenirs to remind me of events I attended. At 6:45pm we were done with shopping and a Cast Member started a line for Donald and Daisy so we got in line. I was one of the first 5 people but I don't remember my exact place in line.
Donald and Daisy came out right on 7pm when the party started. Their line moved pretty quickly because at 7:05pm I was done. So again, I waited only 15 minutes but none of that was party time. Donald and Daisy were great and so cute in their Halloween outfits! Next we visited the trick or treat location in Fantasyland, housed in Pete's Silly Sideshow. We walked right through which was awesome but the party had only just started.
I aimed to eat all 4 Haunted Mansion desserts that were exclusive to the party that night, so we got started with the first one in Liberty Square. It was delicious! Then we ventured over to Tomorrowland because I wanted to meet Lotso! We stopped by the dance party for a bit because I didn't get to experience that last time we were at the party. It was really neat to see Mike and Sulley and they looked like they were having fun! We stayed there for a short while before moving on to Lotso's line at 7:50pm. I was impressed that not even an hour into the party we'd met two sets of characters, trick or treated, done our shopping, eaten a dessert, and danced with Mike and Sulley!
Lotso's line wasn't bad and took about 20 minutes to get through. I got there right on time though because the line got a whole lot longer after me! I enjoyed seeing other people's costumes while I was waiting. Behind me there was a group dressed as characters from the new IT movie and in front of me was the most inventive costume I saw the whole night - a girl dressed in a white tank top and khaki shorts, with a snorkeling mask on her head, leaves in her hair, dirt on her face, and a rubber tube around her waist that read "River Country". I wanted to ask if I could take her picture but she was buried in her phone the whole time so I didn't.
Lotso was mischievous and kept trying to take my hat! I've never seen him before and I loved every second of meeting him! I also loved the theming of his meet and greet area, it was perfect and made for an excellent picture. After meeting Lotso we went through the trick or treat location inside Stitch's Great Escape. I don't like that attraction so I don't ride it, but it was fun to walk through so I could see Skippy and SIR again. I guess that will have been for the last time :(
At 8:10pm we got in line for Space Mountain and I don't think we walked on but we didn't wait long. Maybe 10 minutes, which is something I love about MNSSHP! Arguably you should use the time doing things you can't do during the day, but it's great to get a few rides in because they're typically little to no wait during the party. I wanted to see the Cadaver Dans at 8:50pm because that was another thing we missed out on during our first party. We made our way to Frontierland to see them, stopping in Fantasyland on the way for the new Tangled PhotoPass.
The Tangled PhotoPass was something that I really wanted to do this trip. It was not necessary to do it during the party because it is available at night during regular park hours, however, we only had 1 night planned in the Magic Kingdom outside of the party so I wanted to make sure we didn't miss out. There was a line but I joined it because I really, really wanted to take this picture! We waited in line for about 25 minutes and during that the photographers changed once. Our photographer took great pictures but also took her time with us. She allowed us to take a picture of me and hubby, and also just me, each in a couple of different poses. The pictures were SO worth it!!! They came out beautifully and I'm obsessed!
The PhotoPass took longer than I thought so we had to hightail it over to Frontierland to see the Cadaver Dans. We asked a CM where they would start and he said in front of the Frontierland Trading Post so we hung out there. Sure enough they came out right in that spot moments later. They sang a Halloween themed song (that I wasn't familiar with) and then moved down the line of parade watchers singing more songs. At that point hubby and I split. He wanted something to eat and I wanted to get a good spot for the 9:15pm Boo To You parade, so he went to Pecos Bill's and I went in search of a good spot.
I found a decent spot to the right of the Liberty Bell. There were a couple of kids in front of me but that was fair, I was taller and could easily stand and get a great view of the parade with just 2 young boys in front of me. The Headless Horseman came out right on time and I'm pretty sure he had an accident somewhere along the way because immediately after he rode by I saw what looked like a clean up crew pass by with brooms and a trash can. The parade didn't start for another 10 minutes or so after the horseman rode, which adds to me feeling like there was an accident. No big deal. Boo To You started and it was fantastic as always! Hands down my favorite parade!
The parade ended at 9:40pm and hubby found me. We stopped for more candy at the trick or treat location inside The Enchanted Tiki Room. That is one of my favorite trick or treat locations! It is beautiful in there during the party! It has cool lighting and all of the animatronics move but don't make sounds. I've also never seen a line for that particular trick or treat location. We then got a second Haunted Mansion dessert from Aloha Isle. Each of the 4 desserts were sold at a different location which was challenging.
We figured it would be smart at that point to stake out a spot for HalloWishes. The hub was already packed but we found a decent spot on the edge of the hub closest to Adventureland. There was a little obstruction in my view from some trees, but it was decent. HalloWishes is fun and I'm glad we got to see it again. After HalloWishes I realized there was just not enough time left to do everything I wanted to. We had an hour and a half left so I had to start being picky. We didn't get to ride the Haunted Mansion at the first party and it was on my list for this party so that's the next thing we chose to do.
It was fun to ride the Haunted Mansion during the party and the Cast Members had extra makeup and cobwebs which was awesome, but I wouldn't say this is a party must-do. Glad we did it though since we hadn't before. We waited only 10-15 minutes for it but at other times during the night I saw a posted wait of 30 minutes. I really wanted to meet Pooh and the gang in their Halloween outfits so after The Haunted Mansion we went back to Fantasyland. We got there at 10:50pm and the line looked bad. The Cast Members said the wait was an hour but I really wanted to cross this off my list so I joined the line, fully preparing myself to miss the second parade and have this be the last thing I did for the night.
Thankfully, I waited only 30 minutes which was really not bad at all. The characters were super fun, so adorable, and I got hugs from all of them! Earlier in the night I had seen the Haunted Mansion PhotoPass, which was exclusive to the party, and I really wanted to take a picture there. The line was always long so I opted to do other things instead. Figuring that it was too late at this point to catch Boo To You again (it was 11:20pm) we ran back over to Liberty Square for the Haunted Mansion PhotoPass to make that last on the agenda for the night, stopping by the trick or treat location inside Mickey's PhilharMagic on the way. There was 1 person getting their picture taken at the time we arrived, and no line, so we jumped right in and got some fun pictures!
Once again luck was on my side and since the PhotoPass only took 5 minutes when I thought we'd be in line the rest of the night, I had the idea that we should hightail it down to Main Street to catch the second parade. That's what we did and we made it to Main Street at 11:40pm and got a spot right on the curb! Although the second showing of Boo To You started at 11:15pm (in Frontierland), we were so far down Main Street that we saw the whole thing from the start! I was beyond thrilled that just when I thought I wasn't going to get to see my favorite parade again, I did!
Hubby told me to tell him when the parade was about half way through so he could grab everything from the locker and not fight the crowds leaving after the parade, so that's what he did. We regrouped at the exit right after Vanellope Von Schweetz came by. We left the Magic Kingdom after a wonderful Halloween Party that exceeded my expectations, and stopped for one last PhotoPass so we could get the Headless Horseman magic shot.
There is never enough time to do everything you want to do in one party. If I could I would totally go for 2 nights on Halloween season! I'm still thankful for everything we did accomplish in one night. Here's a list of the other things I wanted to do but didn't have time for:
- Big Thunder Mountain Railroad - it's so much fun in the dark and back in 2015 they had creepy projections on the mountain which was cool.
- The other 2 Haunted Mansion desserts - they were sold at Storybook Treats and Auntie Gravity's respectively. We just didn't have the time to keep going back and forth in different directions to get all 4 desserts. I don't know why they didn't sell them all in once place, if they did we would have been able to get them all.
- A couple more trick or treat stations - the Jungle Cruise location looks like fun but we didn't make it over there. I would like to see it in person and not just in pictures on blog posts
- Mickey in his Halloween costume - I thought I would have time for this right before the second parade but I didn't.
- Lady Carlotta - This is a character that sits on the lawn outside the Haunted Mansion. I don't know why but in all the times we walked by I never saw her out there.
- Pictures with the MNSSHP pumpkins - we ran out of time for this too.
I had an incredible time at Mickey's Not So Scary last year and would go over and over again! I am thrilled that we had some good luck, dry weather, and that I accomplished many of my must-do's thanks to good planning ahead of time. If you want to make the most of your party time when you attend, planning is key! And to avoid disappointment, definitely accept that you can't do everything ad prioritize what you do want to do.
