Grim Grinning Ghosts and More at Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party!

Last night, Aug. 17, was the first Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party of the 2018 season. Yes, it seems a bit early to us, too, but for the hundreds of families who were at the Magic Kingdom starting late yesterday afternoon, it seemed to be right on time!

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Crowds started to gather as early as 4 p.m. at the Magic Kingdom for the event which officially started at 7 p.m. and ran until midnight.

Once inside the park, guests could enjoy the “not-so-scary” Halloween decor, which, despite the blazing temperatures, conjured up a festive fall feeling.

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For many, the first stop of the night was the Firehouse in Town Square, home base of the popular Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom game, to pick up the special event card — featuring the Florida Orange Bird.

orange bird sorcerers card

That mission accomplished, it was time to get down to the business of trick-or-treating.

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The event guide map shows you where the trick-or-treating candy stations are, including two Allergy-friendly locations that will provide goodies for those with food sensitivities. There’s no shortage of candy and you can come away with quite a stash, if you want to.

Along the way, there were characters to greet as well as lots of treats to eat. We were told the characters will be different each event night, so there’s no regular list available. Among the many we spotted last night were Tarzan, Jane and Terk in Adventureland, as well as Ali, Abu and Jafar. There were lines, but cast members were efficient at moving folks through fairly quickly.

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So besides gathering all the sweet treats your treat bag can hold, what else is there to do at the party this year? Well, there’s the special Hallowishes fireworks, which go off at 10:15 p.m. Here’s a look at these not-too-spooky pyrotechnics from a few years ago:

There’s also the ever-popular Hocus Pocus Villain Spelltacular, featuring the Sanderson Sisters from the film Hocus Pocus, and the Boo-to-You Parade, which has some of the best parade music ever (in our not so humble opinion)! Here are our videos from a few years back.

There’s also other live entertainment throughout the park, like the Cadaver Dans (better-known by day as the Dapper Dans barbershop quartet) and the ghostly Carlotta and Renata over by the Haunted Mansion.

The big NEWS is the enhancements that have been added to make the party even more fun than it already is. (Is that even possible?)

Over at the Mad Tea Party in Fantasyland, they’ve added new lighting and special effects that will transform you, depending on the color of your costume. This ride is always fun, if you can stand the spinning insanity, and the added flashing lights and effects were cool.

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Tomorrowland’s Space Mountain features a new soundtrack and special effects, but here’s the best part — the entire ride is completely in the dark! They’ve turned off all the lights, so that you can’t see a thing, which just adds to the suspense as you’re twisting and turning through the blackness.

By far the most fun addition, though, is the search for Gunpowder Pete over at the Pirates of the Caribbean in Adventureland.

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Assorted buccaneers, like Dirty Dan pictured above, greeted guests in the attraction queue, explaining the search for villainous Pete. The interaction really enlivened this old favorite ride!

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Also new this year is the Disney Junior Jam at Storybook Circus. It’s pretty much your typical kid dance party that you’ll find around the parks, but it has some new fun Disney Junior characters, like Doc McStuffins, to dance with and the kids seemed to love it. Timon from The Lion King, was also there, trying his hand at the hula hoop.

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Later in the Halloween season, Vampirina, from the Disney Channel show of the same name, will join the characters here.

This joins the returning dance party over at the Rockettower Plaza Stage, Monstrous Scream-O-Ween Ball, hosted by Mike and Sulley from Monsters Inc. This was another fun place for the kids to burn off all that sugar they were consuming — we even saw Boo, from the Monsters movie, boogie-ing on down.

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To go along with the new additions to the attractions, there is, of course, new themed goodies and merchandise.

Some of the special goodies this year were so imaginative! Like this Madame Leota tart, with a clear “crystal ball” of hard sugar placed over her image.

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You can find her at Liberty Square Market, for $5.99 or a snack credit on the Disney Dining Plan.

We discovered that during the party, the Golden Oak Outpost in Frontierland is converted into “The Cider House” (although there was no signage saying that). This spot was serving up, you guessed it, chilled apple cider ($3.49), as well as a few other treats, like pretzels stuffed with caramel ($4.79) and cinnamon donut holes ($4.99 for a bag).

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Over in Fantasyland we loved the look, if not the taste, of the Maleficent waffle cone with lime soft-serve, found at Storybook Treats. It was $5.29 or a snack credit.

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For a look at ALL the special themed treats available during the party and at Magic Kingdom during the Halloween season, see our overview HERE. We also have a look at all the novelty items, like popcorn buckets and mugs, HERE.

Finally, for the shoppers among you — and we know you’re out there! As usual, there is event-only merchandise, including T-shirts, MagicBands, ornaments, trading pins and more.

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In addition, Disney is celebrating the 25th anniversary of the Sanderson Sisters and the film “Hocus Pocus”, so they have their own line of specialty items.

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For a rundown of the new merchandise, take a look at our earlier blog HERE.

Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party remains one of the most fun special event nights that Disney holds, and even though ticket prices have steadily increased over the years (tickets now start at around $75 plus tax in advance or $85 plus tax at the gate, if available), we think it’s well worth experiencing at least once.

The remaining dates for the 2018 season:

— August 24, 28, 31
— September 3, 7, 9, 11, 14, 16, 18, 21, 23, 25, 28, 30
— October 2, 4, 5, 8, 9, 11, 12, 14, 16, 18, 19, 21, 23, 25, 26, 28, 30, 31

NOTE: Many nights sell out in advance, especially Halloween Night, so order tickets early! You can purchase them online at disneyworld.com.

If you want to get even more in the trick-or-treating season mood, be sure to check out our Halloween video playlist!

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Shop Disney Parks items at shopDisney.





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Debra Martin Koma wrote about food, travel and lifestyle issues for a number of local and national publications before she fell in love with Walt Disney World on her first visit — when she was 34! She's returned to her Laughing Place more times than she can count in the ensuing years, and enthusiastically shares her passion with readers of AllEars.Net and AllEars®. Deb also co-authored (along with Deb Wills) PassPorter's Open Mouse for Walt Disney World and the Disney Cruise Line, a travel guide designed for all travelers to Walt Disney World who may require special attention, from special diets to mobility issues.

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