Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party 2022 Rainy Review!

We attended the first Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party (MNSSHP) of 2022, and here are our thoughts, and even some tips!

First things first though about what MNSSHP is and when it takes place. MNSSHP takes place at the Magic Kingdom, and on select nights from 7pm – midnight. This is a ticketed event that you purchase separately from a normal park ticket. One advantage of this is you do get to enter Magic Kingdom (MK) at 4pm with your MNSSHP ticket which can actually be a great hack for saving money on a longer trip during this time of year. Instead of wasting a full day on a MK you can simply sub out that day with a MNSSHP ticket and enter at 4pm to enjoy some attractions before the party starts at 7pm.

Tickets for Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party are currently on sale, and may be purchased online or by calling 407-939-4240, range from $109 – $199. There are discounts for APs, and DVCs so be sure to look into those when purchasing.

The event dates are:  (bold dates denote sold out dates as of 08/14/22)

• August: 12, 16, 19, 23, 26, 30 
• September: 2, 5, 9, 11, 13, 16, 18, 20, 23, 25, 27, 29, 30 
• October: 2, 4, 6, 7, 10, 11, 13, 14, 16, 18, 20, 21, 23, 25, 27, 28, 30, 31 

You can read a bit more about the announcement here.

Opening Night 08/12/22

As we arrived at Magic Kingdom we could tell that the daytime would have been a great day to visit the Magic Kingdom. Even though we did not pay for preferred parking, but definitely felt bad when we were following the people who did all the way to their space.

You see there were so little cars in the lot that the Cast Members were guiding all the way to the left side of the Villain’s parking lot right under the Monorail, which as you can imagine is incredibly close to the Transportation and Ticket Center (TTC). Also it would have been a good day to visit MK if you had the budget as it look incredibly slow since the park closes at 6pm on MNSSHP days.

As we pulled into our spot it did start to rain a tiny but, and do you think that sparked thought in either of us to bring our umbrellas, NOPE! Walking towards the TTC there were not too many people arriving at this point for MNSSHP. Here is a tip, go as early as you can to MK on party night if you are attending. You are allowed in at 4PM. You will get on a lot of attractions before the actual party begins.

Strolling through the MK gates at around 5:15pm our mission was to take a quick loop around the main hub to snag picture of the Pumpkin brochachos pictured below. Deciding then to get in a line for the Pumpkin King himself, Jack and Sally, and this was a huge mistake! I don’t know if any of you have taken pictures with Jack and Sally before, but if you have, skip this, and do something better with your time.

Start to finish this ate up 3 hours of our time! By the time we had waited 1 hour, we decided to bite the bullet and stayed in line, not sure we should have! Now the cool thing about this meetup, and also the reason it took so long is they spend about 5 minutes with you talking and greeting you which I admit is very cool. Sally had an awful lot to say to me and I even gave Jack some good advice about the mayor, and Dr Finkelstein. Finally, when we were released from Jack and Sally captivity, we finally started to enjoy the party events which there are a lot of.

MNSSHP has so many things to do you need not worry about going on too many attractions on these nights, you can if you want to, but we feel it is a waste of time. While on main street we grabbed a coffee and sandwich from Starbucks to prepare for the first showing of the Mickey’s Boo-To-You Halloween Parade.

Noticing the already in progress Hocus Pocus Villain Spelltacular we headed that way, and that is when the rain came in. The Hocus Pocus Villain Spelltacular ended early and everyone started to run for cover, here is a hot tip when it rains folks, there is no need to run and lose your mind. Calmly find shelter, and all will be ok.

Taking up shelter by Casey’s Corner, we waited for the inevitable announcement of the Mickey’s Boo-To-You Halloween Parade cancellation, but with hope the second showing would happen later on. We stood at Casey’s Corner for a good 30 minutes waiting for the rain to let up which it sort of did. We opted to go try Space Mountain which has a unique version of the attraction during the party.

As we headed over to Space Mountain, we ran into Disney Tourist Bloggers Tom and Sarah Bricker, and chatted for a bit. We have always loved their blog, and they are super nice people to boot. I have no shame in telling you to go read their stuff as they are awesome!

Next on our list was the candy trail at Monster’s Inc Laugh Floor, and since it was still raining we weren’t in any hurry to get anywhere, if only we had an umbrella! We also grabbed an interesting lighted shot as seen below. We finally got over to Space Mountain where the line was inside the building, so it gave us good cover while we waited.

Here is a review of Space Mountain during MNSSHP, they turn off all the lighting you are used to and play some awful music, and this attraction will realign your spine and you can’t see anything on this attraction. I honestly did not like this at all, but I am sure some of you would love it, and to that I say to each their own.

After Space Mountain when we got out there was no rain to be seen, and we made our way to the back of Fantasyland just as the fireworks started. We walked through a non existent candy trail line, and scored some M&Ms! We had to make a decision though as the Winnie the Pooh and Friends line was super short due to the distraction of the fireworks. We jumped in it and got some amazing photos with them. One call out as we passed the Mad Hatter Tea Party. It has a bunch of smoke and lighting added for the event which looks pretty cool. Not sure my picture does it justice but enjoy!

After Pooh and Friends we decided to go stake out a spot for the Mickey’s Boo-To-You Halloween Parade and ended up at the edge of main street two people back from the front. Since I am tall I could grab some decent photos from my phone. This parade, as always did not disappoint! It is such a wonderful parade, and we would have watched it twice had the rain not gotten in our way earlier. Below you will see a photo dump of some of the highlights, but just watching the parade itself is magical!

Once Mickey’s Boo-To-You Halloween Parade ended we hung around the hub some more to wait for Hocus Pocus Villain Spelltacular in hopes we would see the full show. Spoiler alert, the rain came back and said nope! They performed a lot of the show which was a nice send off for the night. Now it was Midnight which is when the last Hocus Pocus Villain Spelltacular performs. As everyone rushed out of MK we hung back as we always do to grab some pictures.

Some Tips and Tricks

So as you can see we did accomplish a lot given the weather and the 3 hour time sink of Jack and Sally, but there were some things we could improve upon even being Disney World and MNSSHP veterans.

First off if you want to do Jack, and Sally it is imperative you get to MK as close to 4pm as possible, and go right for that line. It is a fun experience, but it ate up 3 hours of our time. It didn’t damage our night as we go to MK all the time, but you will need to make a choice on if they are important to you.

Another tip which we didn’t follow but know from living in Central Florida. Bring your rain gear HAHA!

As for what to do at MNSSHP you have a lot of choices presented to you, and many ways to accomplish them. We do suggest watching Mickey’s Boo-To-You Halloween Parade both times. You will not regret this decision, and you should watch the first one from Main Street so you are setup for the fireworks already. Now due to the weather we were unable to do this, but can’t stress enough for you to do it. Also the Hocus Pocus Villain Spelltacular is a must see which we would suggest the midnight showing which will allow you to hang out while everyone exits the park afterwards.

As for Character meet and greets there are a ton of them. Not only are Jack and Sally who are rare, but the Seven Dwarfs are also out in the Storybook Circus area. Also back there are many other Mickey and friends as well, and all dressed up for Halloween! We didn’t get to Adventureland, but have heard their lines can be rather shorter later on in the evening.

Let’s talk food which there is a lot of options for as well. If you absolutely want to try any of these items we suggest doing them right at 7pm as you will get distracted by all of the headliner events that start hitting you around 9.

On the attractions front we wouldn’t waste a bunch of time doing those, but the Haunted Mansion can always be fun and there is a cool character there named Madame Renatta who is a riot! We want to try out Pirates of the Caribbean next time we go, but can’t suggest it at this time.

Conclusion and Final Thoughts on Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party

I know what you are saying, is the party worth it? In our opinion it is a resounding yes! We had so much fun at Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party, and regret none of it. Yes we waited 3 hours for Jack and Sally, and yes it rained, but there is no place we would rather be than on Main Street USA! So boo to you, and let us know your thoughts!