Once again it is that spooky season at the parks, and it is time for another Disney Friends Blog Hop! Being October, what is more appropriate theme than Halloween? We will be discussing Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party (if you are looking for a great overview of the party in general make sure to start with our article from last year first: “10 Tips for Adults to Enjoy Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party.”) While every year many people report on what is new at the party, this year we wanted to dig in a little further… We were able to attend the party quite a few times and do some experimenting on different aspects of the party. Curious to learn more on what we discovered? Read on, if you dare… (then check out the end of this article for other fun Disney Halloween articles!)

The 2019 map, bags, and starter candy pack.

A collection of wristbands from this year.

Did the unlimited “Party Pass” affect attendance this year?

Disney did something new this year. On the first night of the Halloween Party (August 16) they announced a new option of an unlimited access “Party Pass” for sale. (We figure this marketing decision was probably due to lower initial tickets sales.) For $299 (plus tax) you could get access to any and all nights of Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party (MNSSHP), with the only exception being Halloween night itself.

So we just happened to be at Epcot on August 16 enjoying a Rose & Crown Fireworks Dinner… which came with unlimited alcohol… which led to us visiting guest services to purchase party passes that night. (See kids, don’t drink and shop!) With the lowest single night ticket we could purchase being $79 we figured our break even point was somewhere between three and four parties. As of now we have attended the party together 6+ times and have definitely got our money’s worth.

But the big concern for everyone else this season is what are all of these extra party pass people going to do to the attendance? It seems that over time there have been more and more rumblings of the parties being too packed. This is certainly the case on the first night of the party as all of the media outlets are out getting the breaking news. But otherwise the rule of thumb was avoid weekends (due to locals), and parties are busier the closer you get to Halloween. So we used to suggest going on a weeknight early in the season. But this year that was NOT the case.

Of the parties we attended we found the busiest night (other than opening night) was a random early Tuesday: September 17th. The quietest we saw the party was when Andrew attended Friday October 4th. (We are talking 20 minutes on Mine train and some non existent character lines.) So as you can see the standard advice doesn’t seem to help this year. If every party was packed, we think you could blame it on the passes, but the truth is, it has been very inconsistent, so there are more factors at play. Now we do know that many cast members are off on Tuesdays, this may be contributing. And perhaps locals are not affecting the numbers on weekends as much as people think. At the end of the day we think “Party Pass” attendees are contributing to the attendance but we don’t think that is the only explanation of why some of the parties have seem packed. We don’t think the party has seemed any more busy than the one we attended last year. (Perhaps everyone reads internet advice to go on Tuesdays and now everyone shows up on Tuesdays?)

How much candy can you REALLY get in one night?

So, one question we (and we assume others) have asked themselves is: how much candy can you actually get in one night if all you do it trick-or-treat? Andrew decided to take on this challenge himself. He showed up promptly to the party to start right at 7pm and quickly realized if he went straight through, he physically wouldn’t be able to carry that amount of candy. Since we had a hunch the amount of candy varied throughout the night he developed a scientific approach for the experiment:

To account for variances in amounts of candy he tested the first (7-8), last (11-12), and middle hour 9-10) of the night. (He did not count the initial bag of market street candy)
He timed each hour exactly and bagged up what was collected for counting/weighing
The same exact candy stop route was utilized to account for walking time in between, he went counter clockwise starting in Tomorrowland, and then turned around and went in reverse until the hour was up.

So here are the candy counts by hour:
7:00-8:00: 156 actual pieces
8:00-9:00: 181 estimated pieces
9:00-10:00: 205 actual pieces
10:00-11:00: 220 estimated pieces
11:00-12:00: 236 actual pieces

As you can see the amount of candy collected increases as the night goes on we think this is two fold: lines are shorter and you can cover more ground and also cast members get a little more generous as the night goes on. So lesson learned here, you get more bang for your buck to trick-or-treat later.

So based on these numbers we conclude that it is possible to acquire 1,000 pieces of candy in one night which equates to 32 pounds. (Sorry to all the dentists out there!) Now we know you are wondering what are you going to do with all this candy? We have been collecting it to give out to the trick-or-treaters in our neighborhood. (Any left after that will be donated.)

Cast members help guide the lines as well.

What overlay rides are worth the wait?

One of our favorite parts of the party is experiencing special entertainment that isn’t available at any other time. During MNSSHP this year there were a few rides with a Halloween “twist”. Being special these can be the rides people want to wait for. We went and tried them all to determine what we think is worth the line:

Space Mountain
The halloween “twist” on this ride is that the lights are completely off! (There is special music too, but we didn’t find this that memorable). This ride seems to have the longest wait of the four. It is quite the experience to do this ride in the dark, since you can’t see what is coming you can’t brace for the drops and they totally sneak up on you. Space Mountain fans will probably see this as a must do, we think our wait time would max out at 20 minutes, anymore than that and that is a lot of party time to eat up.

Pirates of the Caribbean
The Halloween “twist” on this ride is the addition of live actors. We found two actors in the que that are really fun to talk to. Within the ride you will see a couple actors up on bridges and such. It is dark so they are hard to see (and a little hard to hear). We found they don’t really add to the ride that much, but it is kind of cool to see once. POTC is one of our fave rides anyway, and we actually find the wait time usually isn’t bad so we find this can be worth to do. So if the line is short (under 15 mins) go ahead and do it.

Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor
This was one of our favorite additions to the party. This attraction doubles as a candy stop (with two treat stations!) as well as an ongoing show. The show is a bit shorter that the regular version but with Halloween theming. There is a lot of audience interaction. We loved it and found it a must do! It is easy to find a seat, stay as little or as much as you want, and get some lady at the same time. Total winner!

Mad Tea Party
The halloween “twist” on this ride is lighting effects, fog, and special music. We found the ride actually looks cooler from an outside perspective, when spinning we didn’t notice much difference than just being night time. This was a take it or leave it for us. However the line shouldn’t be that long if you do want to try.

Should you buy limited edition snacks?

With the party come a lot of opportunities to buy special themed food. Initially when we knew we would be attending the party a lot, we set a goal to try one special treat each time to review them. But the truth is we didn’t end up doing so. There are so many nights that it was hot and we were running around and something like a cake just didn’t sound that great. (We wish there were more savory items to try). The other thing that detered us was long food lines as well. So our personal opinion is buying fancy sweets isn’t worth it for us when you already receive unlimited candy. But we also understand people really want to try something special once in awhile. (If you can try to use Mobile Order to save some time at places like Cosmic Ray’s.) Our recommendation is to have a good dinner before the party starts and pick just one or two special treats to try so you don’t spend the whole party running around in lines. We did end up trying these items:

Lots-O-Burger: this was a cool spin on a burger. With brie cheese and a strawberry bacon jam, it had a nice luxury burger taste. The bun was cute too (but why Lots-O makes sense for a Halloween burger is beyond us).

Pumpkin Spice Milkshake: we loved the candy corn soft serve last year, and ended up not feeling the same way about this. The milkshake wasn’t so much pumpkin spice as it was marshamallo creme. It had a lighter, frothier, consistency than a true milkshake. The big mallow on the straw was annoying too. Overall this sweet treat wasn’t worth it for us.

Jack Push Pop: a favorite from last year we would recommend for the taste and cuteness. We still want to try the Sally one too!

Where is the best place to watch the Halloween shows?

We ended up in many different places to view the various entertainment offerings. Here is what we think is best for each one:

“Boo-to-You” Parade
We actually have two answers for this. If you are just watching the parade for the atmosphere we really like Frontierland. It is darker and spooky. Because the area isn’t that large the crowds don’t go as deep either so you can end up a little closer to the action. However if you are looking to get pictures of the show it is best to find something closer to Main Street. A good spot is near the hub since you can get some different angles of the floats as they go around.

Not So Spooky Spectacular
We loved this new show. The projections on the castle, music, and story are so awesome! However with projections comes one problem: it means the closer to the castle the better. We find the hub is a good spot, especially if you are already here for the parade. Some spots may be better than others based on obstructions like light posts. One night we saw so much more of the show in a certain position because we could see the projections on the side walls of the castle as well. While you can squeeze in close to show time for other things, if you are only seeing the fireworks once this year, we recommend to wait for a good seat for a good experience.

Hocus Pocus Villian Spectacular
This is still a favorite of ours. If you can wait it out until the midnight show you can practically get front row spots near the stage. (We find it’s nice to do this too to let the mass of people get out after the fireworks.) Otherwise if you can only attend an earlier show you should be able to find a spot to squeeze into, you can still enjoy the show from a distance as well. We don’t find it is necessary to see the actors up close.

We hope you enjoyed our Halloween experiments! Want to read more great Disney Halloween articles? Click the arrow to read the next article in this Disney Friends blog hop. Or check out all participating sites below:

1. www.stressfreemickey.com

2. www.dustlesspixie.com

3. www.mouseandthemagic.com

4. www.coddiwomplerlisa.wordpress.com

5.www.minnieonmain.com

6. www.hdoursliceofhappiness.com