BOO…TO…YOU!!
Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party; the perfect way to celebrate Halloween without getting your pants scared off at a haunted house. Also known as my kind of Halloween. It has everything; trick or treating, an amazing parade, infinite rides with little to no wait times and some awe inspiring fireworks that blew us out of the water this year!
I want to be honest with y’all when I say, I LOVE Halloween. Like, a lot. I always loved getting dressed up as a kid with my brother and sister, wearing forty layers of sweatshirts under my cat costume so we could survive the Wisconsin trick or treating weather. I went as a “fat black cat” numerous years in a row needless to say. That bring said, I hate being scared. It causes something inside of me to start flailing about like one of those strange blow up car lot “wobbly” men and all my limbs start going in awkward directions and it’s just a mess. I also have no “flight or fight” gage. It’s all fight….all the time. There is no running away from whatever is trying to scare me; I am just going to end it. Phillip learned this the hard way once when he decided to jump out of our joint closet last year and I punched him in the throat without hesitation. I have zero control and this is also why I can’t go to Haunted Houses or Halloween Horror Nights. Enter the peaceful fun of Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party!
Comfort is key when visiting the Disney Parks in the autumn season; especially when you’re trying to pretend its fall and not 95 degrees outside. Florida can always be unpredictable with its weather but you can almost always guarantee it being on the toastier side when visiting during the months of September and October for a Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party.
This year we had the opportunity to take my parents for their first MNSSHP ever! Disney and its theme parks have always been a huge part of my life growing up; it’s where my family vacationed and even as an adult I still love the magic of Disney…so much that we based our business off of it!
My parents were overjoyed and by the end of the night (since we partied real hard and stayed out ’til 1 am) they still had the biggest smiles on their faces; a sign of actual real life magic. Before we started, we had given my parents the run down and all our tips and tricks. They have agreed that this was the best way they could have experienced MNSSHP and I’m excited to share them here with you!
Go in with a plan. What are the main things you want to see and do? Rides with no wait times, visit characters in their adorable, seasonal costumes or get all the candy and goodies you can? Making a plan ahead of time helps organize the night! Also, know that the party starts at 7 pm and there is plenty of time to do and see it all without being there right at 7! Right when you walk in, there are special maps with parade times, character locations, trick or treat spots and everything else exclusive to the party.
Go to the later parade. There are two showings of the Boo To You Parade every party and the first one is always packed. The second showing is after the Not-So-Spooky Spectacular fireworks (fireworks only shown once) and many families with little ones who are way past their sugar high and tired from a night of fun, leave the park. The second showing of the parade is much easier to grab curbside seats on Main ST. USA in front of the bakery (our personal fave spot) with room to spare. We do suggest grabbing a seat there right after fireworks since the curbs do fill up fast as the parade time gets closer. Another great spot to watch the parade is at the very end of the route in the hub next to the train station on Main Street USA. If you’re really hungry at this point in the night; grab a basket of Corn Dog Nuggets and a Mint Julep from Casey’s Corner or a special treat from Main Street Bakery. A lot of the food carts have closed by this time of the night as we learned; which was truly unfortunate because I was hankering for a mickey pretzel with that ridiculously unhealthy government cheese they serve with it. I would have done anything for that pretzel and cheese. Now I just want cheese, but what’s new. I digress…a head’s up that the parade route is long and it takes about 20 min for the parade to get from the start point back in Frontierland to the hub at Cinderella’s Castle so you do have some time to go grab some food if you want anything besides trick or treating candy!
Watch the fireworks from Main Street. There are tons of great places to watch but Main Street is nice, open and not as crowded as right next to the castle. You can see all the pyrotechnics and the projections perfectly! Not to mention all the fun projections on the sides of the Main Street USA buildings! The fireworks are new this year and they honestly are in my top five of all Disney shows now; right behind Wishes (RIP) and Fantasmic! We loved how they incorporated very classic Disney animation such as the “Skeleton Dance” with new Disney animation and the Fab Five as stars of the show! With tidbits of Nightmare Before Christmas added in there as well, all halloween Disney fans will for sure love it! Unless you hate fireworks and cool projections…then you’ll hate it and that makes me sad because it’s amazing.
Wear something comfortable! Whether it’s a full on costume or a cute Halloween OOTD, make sure you’re comfy! It still is Florida heat in a theme park and can be pretty crowded at times! This year we opted for comfy and were sooooo happy with our choice! If you want to go full on costume go for it! We love seeing people’s Disney themed costumes…and also count the shockingly large amount of melting face makeup an hour into the party. **pro tip; makeup setting spray is gong to be your friend if you’re going all out!** Whatever you decide to wear, know people definitely get into the holiday spirit during the parties; ears, costumes and all! Go all out or dress up in your spooky best but keep in mind the heat! The last thing you want is to be overheated and not get to enjoy the party to its fullest! Also, HYDRATE or DIEDRATE y’all! You can get free cups of ice water at any quick service restaurant.
Have fun! A duh, but seriously! Remember it’s a theme park where people go to have fun. Treat the Cast Members and other park goers with kindness, keep in mind it’s a happy, safe place for families and friends to make memories and just soak in the magic. Take in the moments and don’t feel like you have to record it all. Memories that are logged in real life rather than through a screen will always be more vivid and magical.
There are our top tips for this year’s MNSSHP! We love going every year and enjoy seeing the changes they’ve made. And just remember…it’s really NOT SO SCARY! You’re welcome for getting that song stuck in your head. If you have no idea what I’m talking about….go watch the parade and you’ll understand. It’s a bop.