Mickey’s Halloween Party with Little Ones

Our last trip to Disneyland included going to Mickey’s Halloween Party with both of the girls. We were not 100% sure what to expect and we definitely learned a few things from our time at the party. We’ve had some ask us about our experience, so we’ve decided to share with all of you about it!

You do have to buy tickets to attend Mickey’s Halloween Party, these tickets are separate from the park tickets. The tickets go on sale in the Summer, so keep an eye out for them. The prices varied depending on the date of the party. Adult and children cost the same for a ticket.

MICKEY’S HALLOWEEN PARTY TICKETS

Now, this is where we learned one thing sadly after our visit to Disneyland. If you plan to go to Mickey’s Halloween Party DO NOT purchase a Disney park ticket for that day. Why? You get to go into Disneyland 3 hours before the official start of Mickey’s Halloween Party. You can get a lot done during that time before the party, especially if you go to one during the week and not on the weekend. This does help to save money on park tickets when you can get a 3-day park ticket and one party ticket, instead of a 4-day park ticket and a party ticket where you would use a park ticket and a party ticket on one day… it just makes so much more sense to wait til 3 hours before party time to go to Disneyland! Disneyland is expensive enough, every trick to save is a huge help.

COSTUMES

Both of the girls were dressed up. Evie went as Ariel and Addie was Snow White. Jason and I even got in on things by doing simple Disney Bounding outfits. Jason was Flynn Rider and I was Belle. A huge highlight of this party is seeing all of the different costumes. From little kids dressed as their favourite character to groups who have coordinated. I could have just sat and people watched the whole time. Just be sure your costume is weather friendly. The temperature when we went was extremely hot at just under 40C. California was hit with a heat wave when we went. Keep this in mind when picking costumes.

OUR EXPERIENCE DURING MICKEY’S HALLOWEEN PARTY 

The first place that we went to was Toontown for pre-party that happened there. Toontown is open for two hours before the official Mickey’s Halloween Party starts, this little area was where we got a lot of treat collecting done. It was incredibly organized with lines that moved at a decent pace to cast members who were waiting to hand out treats.There was, of course, all sorts of candy but a lot of the treat stations also had other options available that you could ask for. We received snack bars, dried fruit, fruit and veggies, and more. Oddly enough, the first thing the girls asked for was the carrots! There are more candy stations all throughout the park during the party. 

There was, of course, all sorts of candy but a lot of the treat stations also had other options available that you could ask for. We received snack bars, dried fruit, fruit and veggies, and more. Oddly enough, the first thing the girls asked for was the carrots! There are more candy stations all throughout the park during the party.After Toontown our bags were already full, we actually dumped the contents out into the basket of the stroller. We only went to other stations if there was no wait and collected the healthier treat options. Going to the Halloween Party on our first park day provided treats and snacks for the

After Toontown our bags were already full, we actually dumped the contents out into the basket of the stroller. We only went to other stations if there was no wait and collected the healthier treat options. Going to the Halloween Party on our first park day provided treats and snacks for the rest of our visit to Disneyland. 

I do kind of wish that Toontown would be limited to families with young children during this time, perhaps a different ticket option? It got a bit busy in there and overcrowded. The lines to actually see characters were much too long for our preschooler and 11 month old. We didn’t bother attempting to get photos with them. If you are wanting photos, make this your goal very early on during the party. 

We headed back out into the different lands we wanted to visit and going on the different rides we wanted. We spent a lot of time in Fantasyland as this is where a lot of the girl’s favourite rides are. From It’s a Small World to the teacups at the Mad Tea Party. We were visiting Disneyland with my parents too, which was a huge help because they were willing to hang out with the girls and let us go catch a ride on things they weren’t tall enough for like the Matterhorn.  

With it being Halloween themed, Disney had all it’s Fall and Halloween decor up throughout the park. This makes for lots of great photo opportunities. Grab a photo by the Mickey floral arrangement at the entrance and with the giant Mickey pumpkin on Main Street. Later in the evening, there were projections on the castle that also made for a fun photo backdrop.

WHAT WE ATE WHILE AT THE PARTY

Besides the candy… we popped into the Jolly Holiday in the evening to get dinner. My Dad and I went inside to order for everyone while the rest of the group grabbed a table outside. We ordered several things we could share. The portions are very generous we found, even the kids meals. I shared a kids meal with Addie, and Evie ate her own with Jason grabbing a few bites from hers.

Jason also enjoyed the Jolly Holiday salad that had mixed greens, spiced pecans, feta, tomatoes, dried cranberries and raspberry vinaigrette. The girls and I had the macaroni & cheese kids meal, it is served with Dannon® Danimals® smoothie, carrots, and choice of small low-fat milk or small Dasani® bottled water. 

There was one thing Evie had asked for very early on at the party. She really wanted some popcorn. So after dinner, we stopped at a popcorn cart and my Dad got two boxes of popcorn. The popcorn came in a Halloween themed box. Apparently, Disneyland uses three different types of oil blended together for popping its popcorn. This popcorn did not need butter added onto it, it already had a perfect butter and salt flavour. Sadly, we didn’t repeat this snack throughout the rest of our visit… I wish we had.

WATCH THE PARADE AND FIREWORKS

To be honest, we sort of skipped the parade. It started with the Ride of the Headless Horseman. We had actually popped into one of the stores on Main Street to do some shopping and to avoid the crowd gathering outside. We were able to catch a glimpse of the Horseman and the Frightfully fun Parade.

Now, I actually have a bit of an issue with the parade. There’s all the expected Disney villains, wich is fine, it was the music I had a problem with. The song was on a constant loop. Yes, I said song. There was only one song playing throughout the whole parade. It did not give enough variety to it and ended up being a bit annoying to put things bluntly. As with any Disney Parade, if you are wanting to see it grab a seat early. Just remember Disney does have new rules about grabbing seats for parades, you can only do so a maximum of 2 hours before the parade startsThe fireworks show was the big highlight of the night for us. This is the big reason why we got the Halloween Party tickets, we wanted to be sure that we would get to see a Disney fireworks show. The fireworks show we saw was called Halloween Screams Fireworks. Somehow we managed to get from the far end of Main Street near the entrance, down to where the Plaza Inn is. We grabbed a spot beside a bench and had a great view of the castle.

There were projections all over the castle that you would want to be able to see. Zero from The Nightmare Before Christmas takes Tinkerbells place with flying above the castle. There was a moment where we were concerned that the fireworks may not happen due to the wind. Disneyland is very cautious about safety. Thankfully, they did go on as planned. The show lasted over 10 minutes and was spectacular. Somehow, during all the loud and sudden noises from the fireworks, Addie fell asleep in the stroller.

WOULD YOU RECOMMEND GOING?

While we are not huge on Halloween, it seems the people in the States are big on Halloween, it was fun. We definitely would do a few things differently, the most important one being not using a park ticket the same day as the Halloween Party. If we had known this we would have either not bothered getting the park tickets we did or saved it to visit one last time before we had to depart and go to the airport in the evening. If you are planning to go around the time the parties are happening it is a great option to save on how much you have to spend on park tickets.

I would definitely recommend it as an option to do if you have done multiple character meals and are looking for something different to do. It was a lot of fun to do as a family. It would have been amazing to get more photos with characters in their different costumes but the lines were just too long for with little kids. My hesitation of going with younger kids is if they are very sensitive to Halloween and Disney villains. We did manage to avoid things that might have run the risk of worrying our girls.

All around, we had a fun time and made a lot of memories. Riding tea cups and seeing Donald dressed up as a jack-o-lantern. The highlights were definitely trick-or-treating through Toontown, the fireworks, and a smaller crowd since tickets are limited.