Category — 4. Halloween at Disney World

The prices for the 2016 Mickey’s Not-So Scary Halloween Party and Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party came out last week, and these parties are now available for booking.

While new 2016 complexity makes price comparisons to 2015 a little complicated (the link also includes exact prices by date), especially for the Halloween Party, by comparing like months (e.g all parties in September 2016 vs. all parties in September 2015), I get the following:

• September MNSSHP: up around 10%
• October MNSSHP except Halloween night: up around 10%
• Halloween night MNSSHP: up around 20%
• November MVMCP: up around 20%
• December MVMCP: up around 25%

(All these are calculated by comparing the weighted average prices for all parties during the period in 2016 vs all parties in the same period in 2015. I did the math for both adult and child tickets, and for each of advance purchase and day of event tickets.  The price increases by month across all four of these categories were about the same.)

These Halloween and Christmas party price increases continue the trend of very aggressive price increases that  began with the release of 2016 resort prices last summer.

In my itineraries, I’ve viewed the Halloween party as optional and the Christmas party as essential.

The price increase reinforces my Halloween take, and makes me a little skeptical about the Christmas party.  I’ll be rebuilding my basic December itineraries in the next few weeks (after Disney publishes its operating schedule for then).

I will be testing the practicality of sending people to the cheapest dates, and also have an idea or two about reducing other costs (no lighty hats for you!) to help with affordability.  I’ll go through all that and will make the final call in a couple of weeks. …

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OVERVIEW: SEPTEMBER 2016 AT DISNEY WORLD

This page reviews September 2016 Walt Disney World crowds, prices, deals and discounts, weather, and operating hours; adds a few other notes; and ends with week by week summaries.

September combines low crowds with low prices, and typically also has a great room rate and free dining deals as well.

This makes it a great month for returning visitors.

But it has lousy weather, combining continuing summer heat and humidity with the peak of the hurricane season, making me not so keen on the month for first time visitors who may never return.

[Read more →]

DISNEY WORLD’S SPECIAL HALLOWEEN PARTY

While Halloween itself is October 31st of course, Walt Disney World provides a special Halloween celebration at the Magic Kingdom many evenings in September and October 2016.

This celebration is called “Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party,” or “MNSSHP” for short.

At the party, many of the Magic Kingdom’s rides are open, and trick or treating, special events, and different parades and fireworks are offered.

The official Disney World page and prices for this event can be found here.

Click the images below for the 2016 offerings (from early September).

And you can find a review of the 2016 MNSSHP party here.

MORE ON MICKEY’S NOT-SO-SCARY HALLOWEEN PARTY IN 2016

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MICKEY’S NOT-SO-SCARY HALLOWEEN PARTY

Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party (“MNSSHP”) is a special, separately ticketed party that happens on certain nights every September, October and some years even early November at the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World.

At the party you will find un-crowded rides, a special parade (shown twice, at 8.35 and 11.15p), special fireworks at 10p, a Hocus Pocus show, trick-or-treating, a dance party…and a ton of guests in costumes!

I had a chance to see it again in mid-September 2015, and the scoop follows!

(See this for more on logistics–Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party dates, ticket prices, etc.)

WHAT’S NEW FOR 2015 AT MICKEY’S NOT-SO-SCARY HALLOWEEN PARTY

The most important change for 2015 is that the parades and fireworks are more spread out, and later.

Last year the first parade was at 8.15, the fireworks at 9.30, and the second parade at 10.30p. This year, the first parade is 20 minutes later at 8.35, the fireworks are half an hour later at 10p, and the second parade is 45 minutes later, at 11.15p.

So far as I could tell, though, this isn’t really thinning crowds in front of the Castle, mainly because the new Hocus Pocus Villain Spelltacular (photo above, and also at the top of the page), with its showtimes of 8p, 9.20p, 10.40p and midnight, is packing them in.

The best approach to the Party remains the same–see rides until the Fireworks and watch the second parade rather than the first–but, because of the 9.20 Hocus Pocus, it will be hard to get to the hub after riding rides to see the 9.45p Celebrate the Magic and 10p HalloWishes from there.

Frankly, much as it pains me to suggest this, the hub congestion is not worth seeing Celebrate the Magic. And while HalloWishes, like all Magic Kingdom fireworks shows, is best seen from between the Castle and the Main Street railroad station, it does work really well from elsewhere in the park, because of things that happen in the finale that I’m not gonna spoil here.

So do rides until a little before ten, watch the fireworks from wherever you are, then continue with rides (or see the characters and go trick or treating), see the 11.15p parade, and see the midnight Hocus Pocus show. A late night, but one that avoids the congestion around the Castle hub and Main Street.

Also new for 2015 is that the dance parties we used to see in Cosmic Ray’s and the Diamond Horseshoe are gone.  There’s still a dance party in Tomorrowland.

COSTUMES AT MICKEY’S NOT-SO-SCARY HALLOWEEN PARTY

Costumes are not required, and not everyone wear them.

The most common costumes I saw in my September 2015 visit to MNSSHP were, as usual, princess costumes and pirate costumes, and after that Star Wars costumes. Lots of Princess Leia hair!

And this group in Tomorrowland proved a Disney princess theme was not required!

THE PARADE, FIREWORKS, DANCE PARTIES AND TRICK-OR-TREATS AT MICKEY’S NOT-SO-SCARY HALLOWEEN PARTY

MNSSHP has a special set of Halloween-themed activities (see above–click it to enlarge it).

For example, the parade–Mickey’s Boo-to-You Parade–is seen only at MNSSHP.

It starts with ducks and mice…

…but then shortly shifts to my favorite part, Haunted-Mansion themed dancing gravediggers and ghouls.

More ghouls.

These are followed by Disney villains, but the parade returns to “not-so-scary” at the end, with candy!

There’s two showings of the parade, at 8.35p and 11p, with spectacular Halloween-themed fireworks between at 10p.

While the fireworks are best seen from in front of the Castle with the Main Street train station behind you, this will lead you into a wildly crowded section of the park.

Because of their spectacular finale the fireworks can be seen from elsewhere in the park–you’ll miss a little but gain a lot of comfort from avoiding the mobs in front of the Castle.

This year I watched them from a new spot, near Big Thunder Mountain. As usual my photos don’t communicate it, but this was a cool spot, and I particularly liked the reflections on the water.

The Liberty Square and Cosmic Rays dance parties are gone, but there’s still an outdoor dance party at the thingy between Astro-Orbiter and Space Mountain.

Character meet-n-greets are all over the place–with both common and unusual characters–and there’s also a ton of trick or treat locations…both of which raise an issue.

STRATEGY AND RIDES AT MICKEY’S NOT-SO-SCARY HALLOWEEN PARTY

All the major rides are open, and many minor rides as well. Most have very short waits–e.g. 10 minutes for Space Mountain. In our visit, only Peter Pan and Seven Dwarfs Mine Train had annoying waits.  Josh has wait times for the party here.

The trick-or-treat spots and character greetings, on the other hand, have pretty long lines.

So the best approach is to skip the character greetings and trick-or-treats–or delay them until after the fireworks–and spend the first part of the evening on rides.

Do rides until just before the 10p fireworks show and watch it.

Some families will be worn out by now.  If yours has energy left, keep going with with more rides, or trick-or-treating or character meets! Then see the second (11.15p) parade and the midnight Hocus Pocus show.

I struggle with whether or not this party is worth the money for first-time family visitors who may never return.

It’s quite expensive–more than $200, and even over $300 on some dates (prices vary by date and whether or not you buy in advance–see this) for a family of four.  And it’s just a five hour show (7p to midnight)–though Disney unofficially lets you in starting at 4p.

Yet the fireworks are the best Disney World offers, the parade is a hoot, the rides have short lines…and the costumes are fun!

My overall take is that for first-timers this time and money is better spent elsewhere, but that’s a really close call, and for sure I’d recommend it to returning visitors!

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OVERVIEW: OCTOBER 2015 AT DISNEY WORLD

This page reviews October 2015 Walt Disney World crowds, prices, deals and discounts, weather, and operating hours; adds a few other notes; and ends with week by week summaries.

Later October has some of the best times of the year to visit Disney World, with nice weather, low crowds, low prices, and fun special events.

The first half of the month is OK, but not so good, as the first week is still in the peak of the hurricane season, and the second week sees extra crowds and higher prices from Columbus Day.

OCTOBER 2015 CROWDS AT WALT DISNEY WORLD

October is one of the least crowded months at Walt Disney World–though it gets more crowded every year with kids on fall breaks, especially the week of Columbus Day.

On a crowd scale of 1-11, the week beginning 9/26 has a crowd rating of 4/low-plus, the week beginning 10/3 5/moderate-minus, the week beginning 10/10 6/moderate, the week beginning 10/17 3/low and the week beginning 10/24 3/low.

However, because of the Halloween Party and the Food and Wine Festival, you can face higher much waits if you go to the parks on the wrong days.  See this for how to avoid these crowds.

See this for more on 2015 crowds at Disney World.

OCTOBER 2015 PRICES AT WALT DISNEY WORLD

October 2015 prices begin 10% higher than the lowest of the year at the values, 8% higher at the moderates, and 12% higher at the deluxes.

Other than a bump over Columbus Day weekend, value and moderate prices stay this level all month. Deluxe prices see the same Columbus Day weekend bump, then drop a bit on 10/18 to 10% higher than the lowest of the year.

See this for more on 2015 resort hotel prices at Walt Disney World.

OCTOBER 2015 DEALS AND DISCOUNTS AT WALT DISNEY WORLD

Deals are available for October 2015. Details are here.

OCTOBER 2015 WEATHER AT WALT DISNEY WORLD

Early October sees the end of the peak of the hurricane season. The second half of the month sees weather  about as good as Orlando gets.

Click the image, or go to Weather and When to Go to Disney World, for more on temperatures.

OCTOBER 2015 SPECIAL EVENTS

Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party continues on selected dates throughout October.

The Epcot International Food and Wine Festival continues through the month.

OCTOBER 2015 OPERATING HOURS AT WALT DISNEY WORLD

Park operating hours vary by the day, and sometimes change without notice. It is rare for hours to be shorter than Disney has publicized, but Disney may lengthen them in response to unanticipated crowds.

The best way to keep up with operating hours is to check Disney’s official calendars, usually available six months in advance.

These calendars can be found by clicking the following links:

• Magic Kingdom Calendar
• Hollywood Studios Calendar
• Animal Kingdom Calendar
• Epcot Calendar

WEEK BY WEEK COMMENTS FOR OCTOBER 2015 AT WALT DISNEY WORLD BY ARRIVAL DATE

The week rankings that follow below are from 2015 weeks to visit, ranked in order, and are designed for first-time visitors who do not know whether or not they will return.

Click the image for a calendar view of 2015 weeks (when open, keep clicking to enlarge.)

• 9/26/2015 Low prices at values, moderate prices at deluxes and moderates. Low-plus crowds. Crowd ranking=4. Week ranking=25. Use the FastPass+ Lower Crowd Itinerary
• 10/3/2015  Low prices at values, moderate prices at deluxes and moderates.   Moderate-minus crowds. Crowd ranking=5. Week ranking=26.  Use the FastPass+ Lower Crowd Itinerary, but swap First Sunday and Wednesday in both the itinerary and its To-Do List
• 10/10/2015  Moderate prices.  Moderate crowds. Crowd ranking=6. Week ranking=17. Use the FastPass+ Lower Crowd Itinerary, but swap First Sunday and Wednesday in both the itinerary and its To-Do List
• 10/17/2015  Low prices in values and deluxes, moderate prices in moderates.  Low  crowds. Crowd ranking=3. Week ranking=5. Recommended week. Use the FastPass+ Lower Crowd Itinerary,but swap First Sunday and Wednesday in both the itinerary and its To-Do List
• 10/24/2015  Low prices in values and deluxes, moderate prices in moderates.  Low crowds. Crowd ranking=3. Recommended week. Week ranking=6. Use the FastPass+ Lower Crowd Itinerary, but swap a. First Sunday and Wednesday, and b. Friday and Second Saturday, in both the itinerary and its To-Do List

MORE ON WHEN TO GO TO WALT DISNEY WORLD

• For when to go to Walt Disney World, see this
• For the best and worst times to visit, see this
  • For 2015 weeks to visit, ranked in order, see this
  • For the 2015 Week Picker, see this
  • For 2016 weeks to visit, ranked in order, see this
• For forecasting crowds at Walt Disney World, see this
  • For the 2015 Crowd Calendar, click here
  • For the 2016 Crowd Calendar, click here
• For seasonal pricing at Walt Disney World, see this
  • For 2015 price seasons, see this
  • For projected 2016 price seasons, see this
• For weather at Walt Disney World, see this

Want a second opinion?  Then check out my book lol.

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DISNEY WORLD’S SPECIAL HALLOWEEN PARTY

While Halloween itself is October 31st of course, Walt Disney World provides a special Halloween celebration at the Magic Kingdom many evenings in September, October, and likely even November in 2015.

This celebration is called “Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party,” or “MNSSHP” for short.

At the party, many of the Magic Kingdom’s rides are open, and trick or treating, special events, and different parades and fireworks are offered.

The official Disney World page and prcies for this event can be found here.

Click the image below for the 2015 offerings.

And you can find a review of the 2015 MNSSHP party here.

MORE ON MICKEY’S NOT-SO-SCARY HALLOWEEN PARTY IN 2015

[Read more →]