Top 5 Reasons why you may NOT want to arrive early to Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party

Usually, arriving early to any event at Walt Disney World is to your advantage, but sometimes you might want to consider coming later. See why you might want to do this for Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party.

Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party

Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party is in full swing at the Magic Kingdom and runs from now through October 31st. This party boasts parades, stage shows, special fireworks, character meets, trick-or-treating, and SO much more.

You can see the dates and pricing for 2022 HERE and what new updates will take place HERE. Be sure to check out the full foodie guide and the dessert party for Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party. If you are looking for something to eat other than the regular party snacks, guests have the option to dine at either one of these locations that can be found in this post HERE.

Is Getting to MNSSHP Early Worth It?

Do not get me wrong. I (Maggie) am a very strong believer in being early to almost everything at Walt Disney World. In fact, I wrote about reasons to use Early Entry on your trip. Arriving early gives you a lot of advantages. It puts you ahead of the crowds and being ahead of the crowds allows you to enjoy more attractions, shows and have more park time overall.

Party guests can enter as early as 4 p.m., but the actual party does not begin until 7 p.m.

Knowing this, I figured it would be best to arrive early to Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party. Arriving early does have some advantages, but depending on your priorities for the party, you may want to reconsider.

Here are five reasons you may NOT want to arrive early to Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party.

1. Crowds

I had good intentions to arrive around 3 p.m. to avoid the crowds, but our party date happened to also be our arrival date. We decided to take it easy and enjoy the resort pool for a little bit before heading to the party.

We had park reservations for Magic Kingdom as well that day, so because of this we were still able to avoid these heavy crowds. However, if you are simply arriving for the Halloween party, guests must get in the lines that are specifically open for party guests. Be aware that the whole process of arriving can seem like chaos if you are not aware of what is happening.

Party guests are directed to lines on the far right side of the main entrance while regular guests can walk in all the way down towards the left. There are Cast Members outside directing guests, but because of all of the crowds coming in they might be hard to see. Several guests came up to us asking where to get in line because they could not tell which line was for what.

2. Attractions

So, let’s say you did arrive early by 4 p.m. and got through the entrance just fine. Now, you want to go on some attractions and have fun! Keep in mind that the park has already been open to regular guests all day and many guests are still there enjoying the park. Arriving at 4 p.m. puts you in the park at a time when many guests are already standing in lines or have been waiting to go on attractions for a long time already.

If you do arrive early, use the time to take pictures, shop, meet characters or grab something to eat.

After we entered, many attractions had waits of well over 40 minutes with the highest wait times being more than an hour. If you happen to already have been there for much of the day and purchased Genie+, then you can definitely use that to your advantage. However, if you just purchased tickets for the party, this is probably not in your plans.

3. Attraction Overlays do not begin until 7 p.m.

If you are looking forward to the ride overlays that take place during the Halloween Party, keep in mind that all of those do not begin until 7:00 p.m., the official time the party begins.

Cast Members do enforce this. You might be able to meet a couple of characters, (for example, Jack & Sally) and get on a few attractions a little ahead of 7 p.m., but for the most part, expect the party to begin promptly at 7:00 p.m.

It also rained on the day of our party. Whether or not it was due to the rain or the timing that we were there, I noticed many attractions were not even running at the time the park “closed” to regular guests. We had a good hour or so of just searching for something to do while we waited for the party to begin.

4. Party Entertainment begins at 7 p.m.

This also goes for the majority of all of the other party events, such as parades, fireworks, stage shows, characters, treat locations and some of the snacks. Exclusive party Magic Shots also begin at 7:00 p.m. If you arrive specifically for the party entertainment and expect to get a head start on some treat locations, you will probably be disappointed.

5. Party goes on until midnight

Another reason to consider arriving later or at the time the party actually does begin is to save your energy. Official party hours run from 7 p.m. to midnight. If you have children, you may want to consider making the party day a rest day. Spend the day at the resort before the party starts, so you have plenty of energy to enjoy the party.

The party we happened to go to was also our arrival day, which meant we were up pretty early that morning due to our flight. By around 7 p.m., my son who is 11 years old, was already telling me that he was pretty tired, despite us resting for a little bit before coming to the park.

I hope these few tips help you when making plans for your Halloween Party. My first instinct for anything at Disney is to always arrive early, but keep in mind that is not always necessary and hopefully these tips will help make your decision to come early or later a little easier.

Do you have plans to attend Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party? Do you plan to arrive early or late? Did arriving early help you or do you think it would have been better to come later? Tell us your thoughts in the comments below or on our Facebook page.