Fairytales and Fitness: 10 Tips for Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party You Will Want To Know

We just returned from Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party ( MNSSHP) and thought we would share these very helpful tips for anyone who is thinking of going in the future.

* Just a reminder, that MNSSHP is a separate ticketed event. Just because you have a ticket for Magic Kingdom during the day, does not mean you get to stay for the Halloween Party later that night. Guests who have Magic Kingdom Park tickets for the day, will have to exit the park by 6 pm. Be sure to check the times guide to know if Magic Kingdom will be closing early on the day you are there. MNSSHP is not every night, just selected nights and guests are welcomed to purchase MNSSHP tickets in addition to their daytime ticket to Magic Kingdom.

Okay, now lets talk about the Party!

1. Party times are 7pm till Midnight. HOWEVER, you may enter the park at 4pm! This is very important to know. This gives you 3 extra hours in the park and you will definitely need it!

There are only special lines that are for MNSSHP guests so make sure you stand in those lines. I made the mistake of getting out of my line and going to a shorter line only to find out I could not enter that way because it was for guests that were still "day time" guests. TIP: The time we were there the MNSSHP line was to the right of the train station.

Once you enter, you will be given a wrist band and then herded to the right off of Main Street, you are going around the Confectionary.

This is where you will pick up your Trick or Treat bag.

This year we got commemorative reusable totes for our bags. Another perk to entering early is that we did get these cool totes because I heard from another guest that they did not get them. They must have ran out. However, every guest did get a Disney bag, theirs was just different, more of a plastic bag tote type. ( The above picture is the same bag. One side is the front and one side is the back)

If you have an allergy, be sure to pick up a teal bag ( but you may still have a commemorative bag as well).

Note: Even though you are entering at 4pm, the party and all it's festivities do not start till 7pm.

2. Bring an Umbrella and Poncho! Even if the weather forecast is not calling for rain, bring it anyway. I checked the weather app right before we left our resort room and there was only a 1% chance of rain at 9pm. However, the skies opened up and we had torrential downpours shortly before 6pm and it lasted a good while. You only have a limited amount a time at the party and you do not want to get stuck taking cover inside someplace you really don't want to be for very long. If you have a clear poncho, bring that so your costume will still be visible.

3. Eat before you go to Magic Kingdom. Remember, you can enter at 4pm, so go ahead and eat a late lunch or early dinner and make it a substantial one. There are so many things to see and do that sitting down at a table service restaurant probably isn't the best use of your time. Also, some of the quick service locations were not serving food because they turned into trick or treat locations that were giving out candy.

There are certain food and drink items that are only available at the party ( from 7pm -12 am). Those menu items are always shown on the Disney site and social media so you can see them ahead of time. To be honest, nothing on the special menu appealed to us.

For our treats we had the Snow White Cone from Storybook Treats and the Pumpkin Cupcake from the Main Street Bakery. These were not party exclusive treats.

For something more substantial we both had the bacon, mac and cheese tots from the Friar's Nook. During the party, Friar's Nook also had the Un Poco Loco tots with Chorizo sausage, (a party exclusive treat) which again did not look appealing.

4. Purchase Memory Maker-You may think "Why should I pay for pictures when I can take my own for free" and you would be right. Memory maker can be an expense in addition to the already steep ticket price. However, remember that most of the party will take place at night and unless you are a really talented photographer, your pictures will be dark, if they even turn out at all. Also, Disney will have special photo ops and lots of Magic Shots that will be exclusive to the party.

You can purchase Memory Maker on the same day as the party. To get the most out of your Memory Maker, be sure to get some pictures done between 4pm and 7pm to get some day light pictures and Magic Shots that are used during the day. Also, be sure to check out the Photo Pass Studio in Sir Mickey's in Fantasyland, those pictures will be included in your Memory Maker and they have props!

If you have time to head to Disney Springs before going to MNSSHP you can use your Memory Maker at the Photo Pass Studio there as well.

5. Not all of your favorite attractions will be operating during the party. For example, I was sad that I did not get to ride Carousel of Progress because that location was turned into a candy stop. There are a few attractions that have a "Halloween Twist".

Space Mountain is in complete darkness ( darker than usual, you can't even see the stars).

The Mad Tea Party had some colored lights glowing on it and spooky music.

Pirates of the Caribbean had a live Pirate in the ques talking to guests and one live pirate on the ride.

Haunted Mansion did not specify that it had anything special but it did have a live actor outside talking to guests and had some spooky fog as guests exited. Out of all of the attractions, I thought this was the best addition. I also saw there were photo ops in Liberty Square as well.

6. See all the entertainment. This is part of the reason you are paying for the party as these things are exclusive to MNSSHP and are not shown during regular park hours. There are two parade times.

Both parades are the same so you do not need to watch both. If you are not watching one of the parades, be sure to get to where you want to be before the parade starts because once it starts it's difficult to cross the parade route.

Definitely watch the Fireworks! These are different Fireworks than what you see each night. The show of course is Halloween themed. There are no projections on Main Street but it is worth watching from the front of the castle because there are projections on that.

Be sure to catch one of the hocus Pocus stage shows. There will be light fireworks for this too.

There are also a few "Dance Parties" going on throughout the night. In Tomorrowland the dance party is with the Monsters Inc characters, in Storybook circus it is with Disney junior characters, and at Cosmic Ray's you can dance with the Zombies, Cheerleaders, Werewolves, and Aliens.

Be sure to get at least one picture with a Halloween themed character. I wish the characters were listed on the party map, but they aren't. However, the location where characters will be is indicated, just not who will be there. I will share the ones I remember seeing.

These characters are exclusive to MNSSHP .

Halloween Mickey is of course at the Main Street Theater as always ( except he is dressesd in his Halloween Party outfit). Also in the theater ( in a separate line) are Jack and Sally.

Stitch dressed as Elvis was in Tomorrowland.

In Fantasyland, behind the Teacups we saw characters from Alice in Wonderland ( alternating)

We also saw Pooh and friends dressed as pirates.

We were told there were princesses and their villains walking around Fantasyland but we personally did not see any. However, The normal Princesses in their regular dresses were in Fairytale Hall. At this time there was Cinderella, Elena of Avalor, Tiana, and Rapunzel.

Although not listed who they are, there are photo spots near the Little Mermaid area, and near Gaston's Tavern, so we can only assume who would be there.

In Adventureland ( behind the Magic Carpets) Aladdin and Abu ( or sometimes Genie and Jasmine) were out for photo ops and nearby was Jafar.

In addition to characters there are also large photo frames set up that you can take pictures in. Don't miss them. I know we missed a lot of them.

7. Candy lines are longest in the beginning. Cast members don't start giving candy out until 7pm ( with the exception of your first treat when you get your trick or treat bag). Don't spend your time waiting in line for candy. Do other things and throughout the night when you see a candy stop that is not busy, go to that. Believe me, they will not run out of candy. Cast members give you candy by the handfuls and all of them have barrels that have a variety of candy. All the candy stops have the same candy.

If you have a teal allergy bag, you will be collecting the teal coins. Sometimes you can collect coins from a cast member without even having to wait in the candy line.

Tip: It doesn't matter how many teal coins you collect, you will still get the same amount of candy when you redeem them. You can redeem your coins at Guest Relations on Main Street but make sure you do it before Midnight. ( This means if you are waiting till midnight to start exiting the park and decided to redeem your coins on the way out, it may be too late)

8. Dress up! Even if you are not in a full fledge costume, where something festive! Get out your favorite Halloween t-shirt or wear those Mickey pumpkin ears.

If you have a Disney trick or treat bucket or bag of your own that you would like to use, feel free! It might make a great prop for photos too, like ours did! Whether dress up or not, or bring your own bucket, you will still get candy!

9. The Emporium has exclusive MNSSHP items for sale but if you want a free souvenir, be sure to pick up a complimentary Halloween themed 50th anniversary print on your way out.

After you exit under the train station, cast members will be near the turn styles handing them out. This was such a nice treat.

10. My final tip is to PLAN AHEAD and research. I had read a few blog posts ahead of time so I thought I knew what to expect. I knew all the treats that would be available, but I should have wrote down where to find them ahead of time. I also wish I knew which characters to look for ahead of time.

I had a hard time reading the map in the dark ( not to mention making out the tiny print and graphics). I actually wish I had a map to look at ahead of time. For that reason, I will post a picture of one here.