Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party

My boyfriend's sister, ASHLEY, and my sister, SAMANTHA, walking down Main Street.

Though I have been to WDW a countless amount of times since I was only a few months old, and now being 20-years-old, I had never attended Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party. I love the holiday of Halloween but had never found a way to celebrate it in a way that I will always remember, it being an amazing time with family and friends. This party was exactly what I had been looking for.

JON and I on Big Thunder Mountain before the Party

The group included myself, my boyfriend and his younger sister, Ashley, my younger sister Samantha, and brother Ryan. This trip was the first of us spending time together since our boyfriend and I have been together and also, without parents. But we were all excited and curious for this amazing event I have heard about for so many years through my Disney podcasts, i.e. Inside the Magic and the unforgettable Mousetunes(with Lou Mongello of WDWRadio and Nathan Rose of MagicalMountain.net)

With the MNSSHP ticket, you are able to enter MK as early as 4:00 pm, and since our vacation only consisted of one night and leaving the next day, we took full advantage of this bonus. I have NEVER, in my years of going to WDW, seen the park so empty! We were able to breathe, see and take in all of the gorgeous decorations, interact with cast members more than usual, and go on rides as many times as we wanted to without fast passes or waiting more than 20 minutes. We finally got to ride my boyfriend's favorite ride, Peter Pan's Flight, which as we all know is usually the same wait time as Soarin over California, which in my opinion is ridiculous. Once we got out of PPF, the party had officially started at 7, cast members checking that we had on the wristbands, which I found great. Once the party started, the music changed from the normal park loops to Disney and non-Disney Halloween music, getting everyone in the mood. It got a crowded, obviously, with Halloween night being the only night that the event was sold out. But it was nowhere near the monstrosity of people that attend MK on a normal day.

Going around the parks, riding the rides, experiencing attractions, AND trick-or-treating is a genius idea and I wish I could shake the hand of the person who came up with it. I wouldn't expect any less from Disney. Nevertheless, the Boo-to-You Parade is, as my boyfriend and I agreed, the best parade in the park. Our favorite float/dancing was the Haunted Mansion floats. As a dancer and performer, I thought the choreography and movement for the gravediggers and the waltzing was amazing, very well put-together, and clever. Unfortunately, because of my late Chef Mickey's reservations, I was not able to see the Hallowishes fireworks. But I, as well as everyone else, enjoyed this event so much it is definitely not the last time I will be attending. The entire experience is very family-friendly and I think is something that kids would get the most kick out of. Seeing all of their favorite characters in costumes and being able to interact with them more than you can anywhere else is a huge plus. I wasn't able to participate, but the two dances going on in Tomorrowland and Fantasyland looked like a ton of fun for people of all ages.

Eeyore and Pooh all dressed up meeting Guests.

Now to some of the cons: the trick-or-treats spots, in my opinion, could be better managed. The lines were TOO long for something as simple as giving out a handful of candy. For the other parties that were, I'm sure, a lot less crowded, how they had the spots set up was extremely successful. But with the crowd as big as it was, I think it might have been a little wiser to maybe have more than 2 CMs at each spot to give out the candy, not to mention a CM to be able to MONITOR what happened in the lines. There were families cutting in line, children running a muck(yes, I made a Hocus Pocus reference on purpose), and strollers that were out of control. I expected Disney to also be giving out some better quality candy. Some of it looked like candy I could get out of a dollar store. We weren't expecting it to all be brand names, just candy that was recognizable to the general public instead of weird candy people are going to automatically throw away like we did later the next day. The trick-or-treating spots were the only con.

Seeing all the guests and CMs alike enjoying the night, having fun was such a great thing to see amongst the park. That's what Disney is all about--no matter how old you are or what holiday you're spending or where you're from, it's all about having a great time at the Happiest Place on Earth!

Tips for anyone planning or pondering about going next year:

*BE CREATIVE with your costume; I can't tell you how many people I saw wearing my exact same costume. It was disturbing and I'm the kind of person that likes to be different from the norm. There's obviously no costume contest, but if you're anything like me, you'll want to stand out in a good way for your own creative juices. Like the people in this picture: three lovely ladies dressed up as the three good fairies from Sleeping Beauty

Look closely for the Three Good Fairies! :)

*BE PREPARED You're going to want to take a plethora of pictures and videos at this event,

so make sure that you have all the digital memory on your cameras in order to capture all of

those special moments that if you're like me, you're sure to forget a week later.

*KEEP A LOOKOUT There's tons of merch everywhere for this event. For example, at the HM

kiosk, there was a Limited Edition pin of Constance's portrait. If I didn't take a closer look to this

kiosk, I would have missed out on a great pin! Whatever you find at MK at this event, never

assume that like other items, they will be at World of Disney. Trust me on this one.

*BE COMFORTABLE This was a big personal problem with my group. I thought that my

Tinkerbell costume would be comfortable enough to deal with being at MK for hours, but I soon

realized that it was itchy and my wings hurt my arms. Not to mention my shoes started giving me

blisters. My sister had some costume problems too. Make sure that you and/or your child have

purchased or made costumes that you will be able to be comfortable in riding rides, eating, and

walking around in a crowded and humid environment.

I highly recommend this event to anyone who loves Halloween and Disney. It's definitely something any

WDW Twourist shouldn't miss out on in their lifetime! :)

From L to R: My little brother, RYAN my boyfriend, JON, me, ASHLEY, and SAMANTHA

P.S. If you are my friend on Facebook, there are a ton more pictures you can check out from my entire trip! :)