Least Crowded Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party 2014 Dates
Last year I wrote about what we expected to be the least crowded Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Parties. It proved to be a very popular topic, so here I am again to review the information from last year and give you an even better projection for 2014. Make sure you check out our dedicated page for a complete list of dates as well as a thorough description of what the Halloween party is.
In short, if you’re looking for the best 2014 Halloween Party to attend, we recommend Tuesday, September 16, 2014. Last year we recommended the equivalent party, Tuesday, September 17, 2013, and it turned out to be the party with the lowest wait times by our calculation.
If that date isn’t in your plans, any of the non-Sunday September dates will be good choices, followed by any Tuesday in October. As you may guess from the above, Tuesday is the best day to attend a party. Last year Sunday ended up being the day with the highest in-party attraction wait times, although even then our adjusted average was 11.6 minutes per attraction, so not too shabby.
As it was in 2012, Halloween night was deceivingly high in our ‘best day’ rankings in 2013. October 31 is a very popular party day and often reaches party capacity (which is still much lower than full park capacity). We suspect the low wait times are a result of many guests spending their time meeting characters, trick-or-treating, and securing the best spots for the parades rather than riding rides.
In 2014 Halloween falls on a Friday night. For the past two years parties were held on the Friday after Halloween, November 2, 2012 and November 1, 2013, both of which were among the highest wait times. All that is just a long-winded way of saying that you should avoid the October 31, 2014 party if you want to avoid the crowds.
Before we get to the 2014 party rankings, let’s revisit our predictions from last year to see how accurate we were. Here were our top 5 recommended party days and how they turned out:
| 2013 Party Date | Projected Wait Time Rank | Actual Measured Wait Time Rank |
| Tuesday, September 17, 2013 | Lowest Wait Times | 1 |
| Tuesday, October 22, 2013 | 2 | 6 |
| Tuesday, September 10, 2013 | 3 | 2 |
| Thursday, October 31, 2013 | 4 | 7 |
| Friday, September 13, 2013 | 5 | 3 |
As you can see, we didn’t do too shabby. On average, we were off by 3 places, which is a little worse than we were hoping for, but if had chosen a party based on our recommendations it would have been very close to what we thought it would.
Most of our miscalculations came with the parties at the end of September and the beginning of October. The Halloween parties on September 24 and 29 and October 3 and 4 we had ranked 11 through 14, but the measured wait time rank was actually 8, 4, 9, and 5 respectively. You will notice the adjustment to parties in that time period in this year’s rankings.
Speaking of this year’s rankings, here are our predicted rankings of attraction wait times at each of the 2014 Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Parties.
[Please note that the military discount ends following the September 28 party. The Advance Annual Pass and Disney Vacation Club discounts end following the October 21 party, but are also not available for the parties on October 10 or 17.]
| 2014 Party Date | Attraction Wait Times Rank | Advance Purchase Price for an Adult Ticket | Notes |
| Tuesday, September 16, 2014 | Lowest Wait Times | $66.03 | |
| Tuesday, September 9, 2014 | 2 | $66.03 | |
| Friday , September 12, 2014 | 3 | $66.03 | |
| Sunday, September 28, 2014 | 4 | $66.03 | |
| Monday, September 1, 2014 | 5 (Estimated) | $66.03 | “Estimated” because we do not have any previous data. Disney has never held a Halloween party this early. |
| Friday, October 3, 2014 | 6 | $71.36 | |
| Tuesday, September 23, 2014 | 7 | $66.03 | |
| Thursday, October 30, 2014 | 8 | $75.62 | Crowds will be heavy for character meets and parades. |
| Tuesday, October 28, 2014 | 9 | $71.36 | Sold out 1 day in advance in 2013. Crowds will be heavy for character meets and parades. |
| Thursday, October 2, 2014 | 10 | $71.36 | |
| Tuesday, October 21, 2014 | 11 | $71.36 | |
| Friday, September 26, 2014 | 12 | $66.03 | Sold out 1 day in advance in 2013. |
| Monday, October 13, 2014 | 13 | $71.36 | Sold out 1 day in advance in 2013. |
| Friday, September 19, 2014 | 14 | $66.03 | |
| Sunday, September 14, 2014 | 15 (Estimated) | $66.03 | “Estimated” because there is no equivalent 2013 or 2012 date |
| Thursday, October 16, 2014 | 16 | $71.36 | Sold out 2 days in advance in 2013. |
| Friday, October 31, 2014 | 17 | $82.01 | Sold out 27 days in advance in 2013. Crowds will be heavy for character meets and parades. |
| Sunday, October 26, 2014 | 18 | $71.36 | |
| Firday, October 17, 2014 | 19 | $71.36 | |
| Sunday, September 21, 2014 | 20 | $66.03 | |
| Sunday, October 5, 2014 | 21 | $71.36 | |
| Thursday, October 9, 2014 | 22 | $71.36 | Sold out 1 day in advance in 2013. |
| Friday, October 24, 2014 | 23 | $75.62 | |
| Sunday, October 19, 2014 | 24 | $71.36 | |
| Thursday, October 23, 2014 | 25 | $71.36 | |
| Friday, October 10, 2014 | Highest Wait Times | $75.62 | Sold out 1 day in advance in 2013. |
To determine all of the above, we looked at posted wait times from key attractions including Pirates of the Caribbean, Haunted Mansion, it’s a small world, and The Barnstormer. We narrowed it down to times between 7pm and midnight, which is when the park is limited to party guests. Some quick notes about our research:
- Our wait times only include attractions−not character meet and greets, special shows, or parades. The characters, in particular, often have long lines, especially for rare characters like the Seven Dwarfs. Regardless of which party you attend, some of the character lines will be long. If those are a must do, do them as early in the evening as possible.
- In general the wait times during the Halloween parties are quite low, averaging only about 10 minutes. If there are any attractions that you have really been wanting to do, experiencing them during the Halloween party might just be the time.
Looking for more information? Erin Foster wrote an amazing overview of Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party that will help you whether this is your first trip or your 100th (and if it’s your 100th, you might have a problem…being too awesome). There is also a wonderful recap of 2013’s Halloween Party available for even more Halloweenieness (that made up word is even a stretch for me).
If you consider yourself handy with the camera, or if you simply want better pictures, you can’t go wrong with Tom Bricker’s tips on photographing the Halloween party.
Now that you are armed with the most powerful weapon…knowledge, you can plan your 2014 trip to Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party. This blog post will help you find all of the party dates and prices.
Hopefully this analysis will help you choose the best Halloween Party to attend. Make sure to check back here later, where we’ll soon be breaking down Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party, as well.
You May Also Like...
-
This year, during Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party, Guests will be able to participate in the brand new Cruella’s Halloween Hide-a-Way dining experience.…
-
While initially we reported that Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party seemed to be returning, Disney has officially shared that the popular event…
-
Well, we have officially seen our last Happy Hallowishes fireworks spectacular for Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party. This year, a brand new…
-
This year, during Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party, there will be more than 30 Disney PhotoPass opportunities for Guests to be able…
Love this! Hope you do it next year as well as I will be attending in Oct of ’15
We sure will!
There are two listings for Thursday, October 16 and none for Friday, October 17.
Thanks for the catch! You are correct, the second October 16th should have been the 17th. It has been fixed.
How much of a difference in waits are we talking from the top few to the bottom few? My plans were:
Go to MNSSHP Sunday 10/5 – ranked 21
I could easily switch to Friday 10/3 – ranked 6
My plan was to skip most of the trick or treating with my kids (and most of the villain characters aren’t of interest) and see the shows and let my kids ride a bunch of the rides over and over that they normally don’t get to because of waits. Your thoughts on whether I should switch?
For 10/3, the projected average wait for the attractions we picked is 9.3 minutes. For 10/5 it is 11.3 minutes. Two minutes is not much of a difference although that is a 23% increase.
For the most part, the waits are not too high at the parties no matter when you go as many people choose to focus on the characters, parade, shows, and candy. You probably won’t notice too much of a difference between those two days, but we think Sunday will be a little busier.
Hi Brian, could you please tell me the difference in average wait times between 10/30 and 10/31??? Thank you 🙂
Is it true that MK crowds are typically lower on the days of the party? We won’t be attending the party, but curious how crowded the park will be on 10/31 during the day. Or any other party day that week leading up to Halloween for that matter.
Yes, the days of hard ticket parties are some of the best days to be at the Magic Kingdom. Many people see the shortened hours (usually 9am-7pm), no electrical parade, and no fireworks, and choose to use their ticket on another park.
Prior to 4pm we have noticed substantially lower crowds at MK on party days. Starting at 4 is when you get party goers arriving and the crowds build from then until 7.
Other days during the week actually can be a little busier. If you are there during a week with 3 or 4 parties, the days without parties can be quite busy, especially around electrical parade and fireworks times.
So glad you posted this. We originally planned to go to the party on the day ranked #15. Looks like going the day ranked #3 will work in our plans even better. So glad I saw this before purchasing our tickets.
I think you meant $66.03 for advance purchase on Sept. 16. I might go that night and would rather pay less than more.
You’re right…thanks!
Is this list only for WDW or does it include data for DLR also?
This is only for WDW. We tried to do a DLR post last year but had insufficient amounts of wait times during the parties. I will look into retrying this year.
Great article – are you going to do an update for MVMCP as well?
Sure am! Hopefully next week.
Do you know if Fastpass+ are available during the party? If you enter at 16:00 without using a park day can you use some fast pass? The non-halloween meet and greets end at 7?
Last year we could schedule a 4, 5, and 6 pm FPP with just or MNSSHP. Hoping it’ll work the same this year. And from my memory, most of the regularly scheduled M&Gs were still available last year during the party (talking Mickey, Princess but including Princes, the circus area M&Gs, etc.)
Sarah – that’s great news about being able to make fpp during the hours of 4-7pm. With the new mine train open, that will make a big difference in wait times. Last year when you did this, how far in advance were you able to make these fpp in the past?
What about September 20th? I don’t see this date on your list.
As far as I know there is no Halloween Party scheduled on September 20, just on the 19th and 21st.
So Sunday, Sept 28 would be a good night to go even though you mentioned in the article that “If that date isn’t in your plans, any of the non-Sunday September dates will be good choices,”. Thank you for the help!!
Yes, that particular Sunday we expect to be the best of the available Sundays. The other comment you mention was meant more of a general statement that Tuesdays are better than Sundays. Sorry for the confusion.
We are attending the party on Thursday, October 9, which is ranked 22. Can you give us an idea of how crowded the park will feel? If you were to rate it on a scale from 1-10. The only other option we have during our trip is Friday, October 10…the highest wait time date projected. Thanks in advance!
There are a limited number of tickets sold for parties. We don’t know exactly how many, but it is much less than the Magic Kingdom’s capacity. Even the busiest parties don’t have a long wait for attractions (around 14 minutes on average), but you might notice more of a crowd lining up for the parade or character meets. If you know in advance what you want to do and bring a little bit of patience that will go a long way.
We book ADRs tomorrow morning and am deciding between a Sunday, 11/16 or a Thursday, 11/20 MVMCP. Any chance there is Christmas party data coming soon? Thanks!!!
The Very Merry Christmas post gets published tomorrow morning, but since you’re looking for something now here’s a preview:
11/16 ranks 4th
11/20 ranks 3rd
So it looks like either is a fine choice 🙂
Fantastic!! Thank you for the information preview and the hard work compiling the data!!
I just put together a copy of your TP for MNSSHP for 10/3. It shows wait times of 26 min for Space Mtn and Peter Pan after 9pm? Do you think this is accurate? Or are waits usually shorter, like in the 10 min range?