Going to Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party has been a dream of mine for the past two years. I came so close to buying a plane ticket both years to go and visit, but never ended up making it happen. You can guess then, how excited I was to be working at Disney during my favorite spooky time of year.
Halloween parties started extra early this year (as in we’ve already had like 5) because you know Disney will jump at any chance they can to make magic… and also some money. The first party took place on August 25th. I knew I wanted to go, but I wasn’t sure about finding anyone to go with me. Then, by a stroke of luck, about two weeks before the party, Heather (my phenomenal co-worker and honorary fifth member of Allergy Pride) called me and told me she would be in town August 25th. It immediately became our plan to attend the first Not So Scary party. Who cares if it’s only August??
I picked her up from the airport the evening of August 24th and we spent the night exploring Disney Springs, and eating Dole Whip and watching the fireworks. The next day we got an early start so we could explore Magic Kingdom before the party. We rode Haunted Mansion and Pirates of the Caribbean to get ourselves in the spooky mood for the night then, after a quick trip around the world at Epcot, we changed into our pirate costumes (I was the redhead from the bride auction scene in the ride) and entered the park with our special party tickets.
They start letting party-goers in around 4 PM, about three hours before the party actually starts. Heather and I got in, got our bags of treats (no tricks), and headed over to Pirates of the Caribbean to take as many in-costume pictures as we could.
By then it was nearing the time for the actual beginning of the party, so Heather and I 
headed over to our first character meet-and-greet stop: Ariel and Prince Eric!! Remember in my last post when I said Eric was never at any of the Halloween Parties? Update: they changed that this year!! Now, he’s a very busy man so he, like most of the characters, may not be able to make it to every single Halloween party. But I thank my lucky stars that Heather and I got to meet the two of them together. There’s no better was to possibly kick of a party.
After the most epic meet-and-greet of my lifetime, Heather and I meandered around to see which other characters were out. Since not every character could make it to every party, we wanted to take stock of who was there that night before deciding who to go and meet. We saw Mickey’s pals hanging around Storybook Circus, Gaston and Belle near the Tavern, and Moana, Aladdin, and Captain Jack Sparrow all hanging out in Adventureland! After passing so many options we knew we would need food in our systems to make the important decision of who to meet next. We consulted our party map to find the allergy-friendly trick-or-treating stations (yes, they had those!!) and went to the nearest one in Liberty Square.
After snacking on some EnjoyLife cookies and candy, we decided the next characters to meet would be Belle and Gaston. Who doesn’t want to see some exciting banter between two characters with such big personalities! After a long but well worth it wait, we got to see two of our favorites. Belle was sweet, and Gaston of course was assuming the entire world was revolving around him (seriously, he thought I was dressed up as him). Despite this I decided to go ahead and ask the burning question that had been on my mind all day:
“Gaston, how do you take your five dozen eggs?”
“Well, I like to change it up,” he responded. “Some days I do it raw, but other times, I put them in pancakes!”
That’s right, you heard it here first folks. Gastons eats five dozen eggs worth of pancakes in the morning.
Next Heather and I felt like, as pirates, we owed it to ourselves to go and meet Captain Jack Sparrow. So, we crossed the kingdom, went to Adventureland, and hopped in the longest line of our night. Time crept closer and closer to the fireworks, and we began to worry that we wouldn’t be able to see them, but at that point we were committed. We needed to meet Jack. Five minutes before the fireworks began we made it to the front of the line. Heather went first and had a long interaction with Jack. I’m pretty sure they’re in love now and going to run away to Tortuga together, because when I got up to meet Jack all he could talk about was keeping Heather safe next time she was in Tortuga.
After fulfilling the most pirate-y dreams we had, Heather and I booked it over to Main Street for the fireworks. We might have missed the beginning, but guys. Hallowishes. Is. Great. If you love anything related to Disney and Halloween, it might become your favorite Disney firework show. I mean, it’s hosted by Master Gracey of the Haunted Mansion, what’s not to love.
When the fireworks ended it started to drizzle, so unfortunately I didn’t get to see the Hocus Pocus stage show, but good news! The Boo to You parade was still scheduled to perform! Heather and I made sure to get a good spot, and I think I have a new favorite Disney parade. Because the ground was wet, the characters couldn’t do their usual choreography, but that just means they got to interact with the crowd that much more. Literally, a Haunted Mansion ghost walked up to me and screamed in my face. I didn’t know how to react so I just screamed back then laugh-cried. Overall, it was one of the greatest nights of my life.
So there you have it. Next time you plan a Disney vacation, make sure it’s a time of year when you can go to a Halloween party. You get free candy, meet-and-greets with super special characters, and three AMAZING shows that really aren’t so very scary. Also, make sure to bring one of your best friends who you haven’t seen in two years. That makes it extra fun too.
Now go, and a hitchhiking ghost will follow you home!
Apostellomai 