Thank you to Disney for providing tickets for Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party. As always, all opinions are my own and true.

Taking a Toddler to Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party

Why Visiting Disney During Halloween is the BEST time to take Toddlers!

Last week we took a little trip to Orlando and attended Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party (MNSSHP)……and it was a BLAST! Little Man will be 3 at the end of the month so he was still free which made this the PERFECT age to attend MNSSHP! He’s at that age where everything is magical and he’s completely mesmerized by everything he’s experiencing….from the lights, to the characters, to the smells, and the exciting rides….it was quite the sensory experience that he’s still talking about!

There’s multitudes of reasons to not miss taking a toddler to Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party but here’s my TOP reasons:

Loading

The Magic Kingdom is all festive!! I love Fall!!!

View on Instagram

1. Ticket Prices Attending one of the Magic Kingdom parties will save you a TON on ticket prices….almost 40%! The ticket prices for MNSSHP start at just $62 compared to $99 for regular park admission….plus toddlers up to age 3 are free! Event times are limited BUT you can enter as early as 4pm….trust me, after 5 or 6 hours in the park with a toddler you’ve spent more than enough time!

2. Lower Crowds=Shorter Lines Taking a toddler to Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party is perfect because the crowd levels are MUCH lower than on regular park days….at least that has been our experience when attending the Halloween Party and Christmas Party. Disney limits the number of tickets sold to these special events so the crowds are lower….thus giving you the ability to ride all the rides with a minimum wait time….something VERY important when visiting Disney with young children! I think the longest wait time we had was 15 minutes and that was for the Haunted Mansion….the MOST popular ride of the night!

3. Dressing Up! Okay, so kids are always encouraged to dress up when visiting Disney World….BUT, during the Halloween Party adults are encouraged to dress up too! The costumes at every turn were amazing! Little Man felt like he was in a whirlwind of Elsas! Yeah, he LOVES Frozen…I mean what kid doesn’t….right?! Seriously though, I saw so many amazing costumes ranging from the Toy Story family, a husband and wife dressed as Cinderella and Prince Charming, a very talented Maleficient (I swear I thought I saw Angelina Jolie…she was that good!), and so many more! I even came up with a cute little maternity outfit :

Loading

Ahhhh….the pirate is attacking baby Jellybean!! #MNSSHP View on Instagram

Although, I do have to say….it’s FLORIDA….please dress your child appropriately for the weather! It was still 80 degrees at night when we went on October 2nd and luckily, knowing Florida weather I put together Little Man’s costume to consist of shorts and a t-shirt that I could easily add a pair of sweatpants to if needed. There were so many miserable children in full heavy costumes that I think it took a lot of the fun away. Simple is best when trying to decide on a toddler costume for MNSSHP!

4. Talking Mickey!

Need I say more?! Yes, you read that right! When you go to visit Mickey in his dressing room on Main Street he not only interacts and takes pictures with your child BUT he TALKS! I think this was the MOST exciting aspect for me! Plushy characters are always mute at Disney World….but the magic of the Magic Kingdom mixed with the magic of Halloween brings out Mickey’s talkative side and he’ll chat up a storm with your little one!

5. The Boo To You Halloween Parade

Little Man was COMPLETELY mesmerized by the Boo to You Halloween Parade! The key to this parade is finding a good position on Main Street (hint: I suggest down near the entrance before the Theater…that way you can go visit Mickey right after the parade with practically NO wait time). We found that the further toward the entrance you went on Main Street the thinner the crowd got and the more interactive the characters were with the kids. So many characters danced up to Little Man and gave high fives to him…I wish I had gotten better pictures!

I must say that out of all of the parades I’ve seen at Disney World (and I’ve seen a LOT) this was one of my favorites! There are so many characters that you don’t normally see. And, most of the characters were down on the crowd level so they could easily interact with you. Also, I must admit that when Wreck It Ralph and Goofy drove by in their cotton candy smelling mobiles I did start to drool a little! 😉

6. The Fireworks

Again, the MNSSHP fireworks are some of the BEST fireworks I’ve seen at Disney! The castle is completely transformed and the fireworks go off in all directions….not just above the castle!

7. Time it right for the perfect experience!

We found the BEST thing to do was watch the first parade on Main Street in front of the Main Street Confectionary, then head inside the Town Square Theater to visit Mickey and Tinkerbell, then get a family photo taken with the BIG pumpkins in the center of Main Street with the Castle in the background, and finally sit right in front of those BIG pumpkins for the fireworks show. The timing worked out perfectly, we weren’t squeezed into a small area like a pack of sardines, we were able to sit down, stretch out, munch on popcorn, and had the PERFECT seat in the house for the fireworks display!

Once the fireworks were over we fought the traffic that was leaving the park and headed straight to Fantasyland. See, while everyone was leaving the park once the fireworks ended we were headed back into the park to ride all of the rides….this is where a late nap at the hotel before coming to the party has it’s advantages! Once we got back to Fantasyland the crowd levels were pretty much non-existent and we were able to get on rides with almost no wait at all! In just one hour we were able to ride about 6-7 rides….completely unheard of during normal operating hours!

8. Trick or Treating

So how cool is it that you can go trick or treating at Disney World?! And let me tell you…..Disney does NOT skimp on the treats! The cast members give out candy by the handfuls and it’s GOOD candy! We only did a few trick or treat stations because we were more interested in the shows and rides but even after only doing a few we still had a bag full of yummy candy like Milky Ways, Crunch Bars, Starbursts, Tootsie Rolls, etc. I will say, we attended another theme park’s Halloween event during our trip and they were quite stingy with the candy- only allowing ONE piece per person but Disney is just awesome and doesn’t even compare to other theme parks!!

9. So Many Character Meet & Greets

During Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party there are characters ALL over the place! We met Captain Jack Sparrow walking to his picture post and he stopped to talk with Little Man for a minute even though there were already dozens of people waiting to take pictures with him. It was just a few seconds but Little Man was beside himself excited that he got to meet a REAL pirate!

There are photo ops at just about every turn and many are of characters that you don’t normally see in the parks! The villains are out in full force and ready for picture snapping too! And the dance parties are a blast with all the character interactions! If you’re in to meeting characters then Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party is the PERFECT event for meeting more characters than you could wish for!

I would like to thank Disney World for giving us the opportunity to attend Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party…it was the perfect Disney experience for a toddler!

Have you been to Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party? Share some tips/tricks in the comments below!