2023 Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party Dates and Ticket Info

If you’re visiting Disney World during Halloween season, you’ll be happy to hear that Disney has announced dates, prices, and details for Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party. When is Halloween season at Disney World? Well, this year the parties run from August 11 to November 1. Read on for more details.

What Is Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party?

Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party is a “hard-ticket” event that’s held at the Magic Kingdom several nights a week. On these nights, the park closes early to regular guests. Party attendees can enter the park a few hours prior to closing without needing to use regular admission, and the party itself features special entertainment, food, and decor.

2023 Event Dates, Ticket Prices, and Times

Tickets for Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party will go on sale April 27, 2023 to guests of Disney World resort hotels, Disney World Swan, Dolphin, and Swan Reserve, as well as Shades of Green. Halloween Party ticket sales to the general public begin on May 2.

If you’re thinking about a trip to Disney World for MNSSHP, our Destination Specialists can hook you up in time to take advantage of early purchasing, and if you have a trip booked with us agents can purchase your party tickets too. To buy tickets yourself, book online or call 407-939-4240. If you’re purchasing during the early access period, make sure you’re logged in and your resort reservation has been linked to your My Disney Experience account.

Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party 2023 Dates

The party will be held on a total of 38 dates this year, with the first on August 11 and the last on November 1

• August: 11, 15, 18, 22, 25, 29
• September: 1, 4, 8, 10, 12, 15, 17, 19, 22, 24, 26, 28, 29
• October: 1, 3, 5, 6, 9, 10, 12, 13, 15, 17, 19, 20, 22, 24, 26, 27, 29, 31
• November: 1

Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party 2023 Prices

Ticket prices range from $109 to $199, ($10 less for children ages 3-9), with a $10 discount available to Annual Passholders and Disney Vacation Club members on select nights. DVC members must be eligible for Membership Extras to receive the MNSSHP discount. See below for the complete list of prices and dates, also available at Disney’s MNSSHP page.

Event Times

On event nights, Mickey’s Not-So-Scary-Halloween Party begins at 7 p.m. and lasts until midnight. Ticket holders may enter the park on their party ticket as early as 4 p.m., and entry at the tapstiles will close to those without party tickets at 6 p.m.

Party Entertainment

One of the big draws of MNSSHP is the special entertainment offerings and opportunities. In addition to lower-profile entertainment such as

• performances by the Cadaver Dans (usually the Dapper Dans)
• dance parties
• Hocus Pocus Villain Spelltacular featuring the Sanderson Sisters
• A spirited pirate band that will roam through Adventureland sharing sea shanties and stories of their sojourns on the sea

these offerings include:

Boo to You Parade

Disney hasn’t had a regular nighttime parade since 2016, but on party nights the Boo to You Parade runs twice. Disney villains, heroes, Haunted Mansion graveyard diggers, and more provide a spooky spectacle that’s excellently themed. In 2023, Disney has announced that Ursula, Cruella de Vil, the Queen of Hearts, and others will be joining the finale. Max Goof and his Powerline party pack will front pop-up parties throughout Magic Kingdom, and then dance onto Main Street U.S.A. ahead of the parade.

Special Halloween Fireworks

Happily Ever After will not show on nights when Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party is held. Instead, guests are treated to Disney’s Not-So-Spooky Spectacular. Jack Skellington hosts this show full of Disney characters and music featuring fireworks, projections, and other special effects.

Trick-or-Treating

Several Trick-or-Treat stops are set up throughout the park for guests to take away candy. Allergy-friendly options are also available. See our Guide to Allergy Friendly Trick-or-Treating at Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party

Special Characters

Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party features Meet & Greet opportunities with characters who don’t regularly appear in the parks. The list (which varies from year to year) includes Jack Sparrow, Jack Skellington, and Sally, in addition to other characters who may be available at other locations and events such as the Seven Dwarfs (confirmed for 2023) and the Tremaines. Mickey and Minnie are there, of course, in special attire for the event; other M&G “regulars” may also be meeting in special Halloween Party dress.

Costumes

Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party is one of the few occasions where adult guests can enter the parks in an actual costume, not just a DisneyBounding outfit that is “reminiscent of” a particular character. There are still rules of course, but many adults enjoy the opportunity to get creative with a costume. And if you’re not one of them, it can be just as much fun checking out how others have chosen to do it. Whether or not you’ve chosen to dress up, PhotoPass photographers offer a variety of party-specific Magic Shots.

Shorter Lines

Disney advertises shorter lines as a selling point of Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party, and has announced that TRON Lightcycle/Run will operate during the party using a Virtual Queue. Here at TouringPlans, we feel this benefit should come with an asterisk: party-goers will typically have to choose between focusing on rides or focusing on entertainment. Days on which the party is held also tend to have noticeably lower crowds (and therefore shorter lines) than days in the same week without a party.

Should You Go?

Some people have already made up their minds one way or the other. But for those who are waffling, let’s discuss. The sticky point is, usually, price. The median ticket price for 2023’s Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party is $149; for a family of 4, including tax, that brings your bill to $633.25. That’s a lot of dough.

It’s pretty common to see the talking point that the party ticket isn’t that much different in price than a one-day ticket and you’ll get a total of 8 hours in the Magic Kingdom if you arrive at 4 p.m. during regular hours. There’s an implicit assumption there that you’re trading off a party ticket against a day of regular admission. But we feel that might not be a great argument, and here’s why.

First, our Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party Touring Strategy will give you a good idea of what you get can for that money, because you can’t do everything. And that’s the problem really, you can’t do everything. It’s true that party days tend to have lighter crowds, and you’ll likely get more done in the 3 hours between 4 and 7 p.m. on a party day than you would on a non-party day. But if your goal is to do a lot of the regular attractions in the Magic Kingdom, you won’t be able to accomplish that unless you’re skipping many of the party-specific attractions.

Second, if you’re skipping many of the party-specific attractions, now we need to revisit that price calculation. It’s more pleasant to tour the Magic Kingdom in the late afternoon and evening during August and September, but your admission might not be a dollar-for-dollar trade. For regular admission tickets of four days or less, the price may be comparable to a party ticket. But after four days, the per-day cost for additional days drops like a rock. If you’re comparing the price of a party ticket at $149 to adding a 5th day for an extra $40, that doesn’t look so favorable for the party ticket.

Where this argument begins to make a lot more sense is when you know you’ll need more than one day in the Magic Kingdom, but you don’t want to buy a Park Hopper. Now you can do a full day in the Magic Kingdom on a regular ticket, including taking in Happily Ever After if you choose. Then you can come back and mop up anything you missed by entering at 4 p.m. on your party day. You’ll need some stamina if you’re going to a different park in the morning, but the math mostly adds up on the financial front.

Taking that all in hand, a party ticket is most likely to be right for you if:

• You’re really interested in the party-specific activities, plus maybe a few regular attractions
• You’re visiting for only a few days (4 or fewer) and want to get part of a second day in the Magic Kingdom by combining a party ticket with a shorter-length regular ticket
• You’re visiting for any length of time and would like to get part of a second day in the Magic Kingdom without buying a Park Hopper.

Are you excited about Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party? Let us know in the comments!