Our First Experience With Disney’s Not So Scary Halloween Party

Where do we begin. It was an interesting night to say the least. Some highlights and some low lights. Kind of the day you would expect from Disney Magic Kingdom.

We didn’t know what to expect as it was our first time ever experiencing the special event. I’m happy that Disney is celebrating Halloween already, while I’m a little disappointed that Universal is not. Another story for another day.

We are in the last weeks of August so the fact we get to experience anything of this nature is fantastic. However we did not do any prior research to attending this event, so we were completely blind to what was to come on our night at Disney.

Disney Not So Scary Halloween Party Requires Another Ticket.

The first thing we learned is that in order to attend this event you had to purchase a separate ticket from your normal day tickets. We have 5 day park to park at this time, which doesn’t include the event.

So we logged onto Disney and purchased the Not So Scary tickets at around $79 + Tax each. I was fine with it, but expecting there to be some benefit to this.

The party itself did not start till 7 PM, but we were allowed into the park after 4 pm. We actually got into the ticket line at around 4:45 PM. They had separate gates set up to be able to use the not so scary Halloween party tickets.

The que was slow moving at this time, mainly because they gave you a band to help verify you purchased the event tickets as the regular park closed at 6:00 pm and those guests had to exit the parks, which, I’m not sure if I agree with especially if they had to use a full day pass.

Granted when we were paying for parking the attendant warned us of the party, but not sure if they did that in the morning for guests or not.

Once we received our bands, we then went to a location the park characters pointed us too. We each got a bag from them and the first candy location was just past the Halloween sign. They gave us a nice size bag of goodies.

Early Entry, Find A Place To Eat Before It’s Too Late…

Once we went past the first section. I purchased an additional bag for around $8. The little bags they gave us were not very big and judging by the first station, we’d need additional storage.

For the first few hours there was not much going on. Not all the candy stations were set up as they were not going to open until 7 PM. A good friend warned us about the food shortage when the party starts as most places close, so we decided to find something for dinner.

Most of the restaurants had reservations and were filled, but there were were a few quick grab destinations that provided us with the ability to grab a quick dinner.

We ate at the Columbia Harbour House. The menu featured chicken, fish, and shrimp. I got the Sea and Shore platter that consisted of Chicken nuggets, Shrimp, and Fish with a side of fries and hush puppies.

It was typical theme park food, kind of bland, a little over cooked, but okay. Not something I would actually look to eat outside the parks. I haven’t been so impressed with much of the food at Disney so far, other than the Italian we had at Epcot, but that alone ran us a $100 for 3 people, which is a little insane.

7 PM The Candy Stations Opened up…

At 7 PM we started getting into lines for the treats. Each location had a inflatable balloon that identified the location was offering treats. The first thing that shocked me was the amount of people in the park, it seemed like it was spring break all over again. It was packed. I thought with a special event they would cap tickets to make the events more worth wild for the guests and less hectic, but seems Disney hasn’t thought much about that.

Although Packed, the candy lines did move pretty fast. They did accommodate those in wheelchairs and ECV’s. Although the people themselves seem to ignore you and will walk directly in-front of you and even block you from going anywhere.

I had an interaction with one of Disney’s security guards, he was a special person and created a path for me. I felt like a rock star as he yelled “get over to the right please”, created a wide open path for me. I did not catch your name but thank you good sir, you are an asset to Disney.

It was surprising at the amount of candy we did get, for the three of us we filled up two large bags. It was a lot. I guess of the $80 + per ticket you better get that much.

We only got to ride a few rides, the Haunted Mansion and the Pirates of Caribbean, twice, once before the party and the family rode it when the real actors were interacting with the ride. I wanted to watch the show at the castle, so we separated for a bit.

We met back up and tried to find a location for the parade, the park was really packed so we went to the front of the park and found a spot right before the parade ends.

After the parade we went toward the castle and found a spot right on main street to watch the fireworks. The fireworks were exceptional.

We finished the night riding another ride, and I had to charge my ECV. It was great that Disney does have recharge stations through out the park. We found one near the bathrooms where the lanterns in the sky were just before Peter Pan’s Flight.

What We Liked About The Event

There were many things that we liked about the event. The Parade was awesome, the fireworks were exceptional, and the candy you received was pretty shocking.

The people dressed up in costumes was a pretty cool site. There were some amazing ones, so that was an extra bonus. We did get to get on a couple of rides, but still the lines were a little long.

What We Did Not Like About The Event.

The first thing was the amount of people. And it was pretty tight in some spots, and a little annoying. People seem to lose their respect for others when they are in the park. They will run you over if given the chance.

This is especially true for those in wheelchairs and ECV vehicles. They seem to ignore that you are right there and completely stop you from moving, will cut in front of you, and ignore that you are there. I don’t understand the need to go as fast as you can through the line. Be patient like the rest of us. And please pay attention to your surroundings.

You could see the frustration on people’s faces. They were pushing, and cutting in front of people left and right. I don’t know if this is because the park attracts many different cultures and people from different countries.

But simply saying sorry and accommodating other people,especially those with disabilities was nonexistent. They were like a bunch of animals, which spoiled the parks magic. I actually wouldn’t care less if I step in that park again due to the type of people you run into. It’s bad, people need to be more mindful of their surroundings and be courtesy to your fellow man. It makes the experience not so great.

So far this is the only park that I experience this in or have experienced in. I don’t feel this in many other parks as I think things are designed a little better to handle the crowd, the small paths of Disney really does make the Magic Kingdom a little uncomfortable and when they oversell capacity, it’s really not an enjoyable experience. They need to redevelop the crowd flow and expand paths on the outside of the current park to take guests from one part of the park to out of the park, especially during parades and the fireworks.

Will We Ever Go To This Event Again?

Not sure, chances are probably not. We are looking to purchase a vacation home down in Orlando, but that is still a year or two away. Maybe when we reside parts of the year near the park, we may do it again. But the crowd levels really make it horrible sometimes, people are just monsters.

For now, probably not, but we will see.

For those with small kids who like trick or treating, this is a perfect event though.