Believe it or not, it’s Halloween at Walt Disney World! It seems to arrive earlier and earlier every year. This year’s Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Parties began earlier this week, and the Magic Kingdom is decked out in its finest fall and Halloween decor. This year, Disney’s PhotoPass department has really outdone themselves and there are lots of new special magic shots for Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party.
What is a Magic Photo Shot?
A magic photo shot is a picture taken by a PhotoPass photographer with a little “magic” added to the picture that you won’t see until you look at the photo in your My Disney Experience app. What the magic is depends on which park you are in and where in the park you are. The time of year and any special events also impact what Magic Shots are available.
Here’s an example of a commonly available Magic Shot at Magic Kingdom:
The PhotoPass photographer will ask you to put your hands out in front of you or out to the side. When you see your picture later, you might find a beautiful little fairy with an attitude.
It is important to note, there is no guarantee you will get a Magic Shot. The longer the line for the photographer, the less likely you are to end up with a Magic Shot. If there is one you really want to get, don’t be afraid to ask for it, but be nice. And please, be understanding if the PhotoPass photographer is unable to give you the Magic Shot you are requesting. Depending on the location they are working in, they will only have certain Magic Shots loaded into their software. Also, if the lines are long, or if you’re asking for a shot that is event specific and you are not at the event–the Photopass photographer will not be able to help you.
New Special Magic Photo Shots for Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party
You may discover a few of these shots available during your Disney vacation this fall, even if you don’t attend Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party. However, the vast majority of the new special magic photo shots I’m telling you about in this post will only be available during the ticketed event. If you’d like more information about Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party, please read this.
Here are some of my favorite new and classic special Magic Photo Shots available during this year’s Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Parties festivities. I’m also sharing where you’ll be likely to find these special shots available.
Location: Gardens near Casey’s Corner and The Plaza Restaurant
New this year! I really want to do this one!
Photo: Disney Photo Pass
New this year!
Photo: Disney Parks
Main Street U.S.A.
New this year!
Photo: Disney Parks
Returning this year!
Photo: Disney Parks
Returning this year.
Photo: Disney Parks..
New this year!
Photo: Disney Parks
New this year!
Photo: Disney Parks
New this year!
Photo: Disney Parks
In Front of The Haunted Mansion
Another classic returning this year.
Photo: Disney Parks
This fun lantern shot is also returning this year.
Photo: Disney Parks
Liberty Square Near the Hall of Presidents
Returning this year.
Photo: Disney Parks
Returning this year–one of my FAVORITES!
Photo: Disney Parks
Castle Walls Near Pinocchio Village Haus
Returning this year.
Photo: Disney Parks
Near the Purple Wall by Laugh Floor (Monsters, Inc.)
Returning this year.
Photo: Disney Parks
Select Spots in Front of or Near Cinderella Castle
Classic returning this year. How great are these kids? Really acting their little hearts out!
Photo: Disney Parks
Returning this year.
Photo: Disney Parks
Which New Special Magic Photo Shot Do YOU Want??
There are some really fun new Magic Photo shots this year, aren’t there? Several look like fun. And of course, some favorite Magic Photo Shots from the last few years are coming back this year, too.
Hopefully at least a few of your favorite shots will be available during the regular park days this fall, but remember: most of these are special just for the Halloween parties. If you’ve never been to Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party, it is a special ticketed evening event featuring special Halloween themed shows, treats, special merchandise, trick or treating and a really terrific parade. Click here to learn more. It’s not to late to book your trip for this Halloween season. Email brooke@disneycastledreaming.com for a no obligation quote!
Ready to Plan Your Next Disney Vacation? I’m ready to help! Email brooke@disneycastledreaming.com
I can’t believe I’m saying this, but fall is fast approaching. Halloween candy is suddenly out at all the grocery stores. Those “Spirit of Halloween” temporary shops filled with costumes and decorations for Halloween are starting to pop up around every corner. It’s true. Autumn is coming, and with it, Halloween. Halloween at Disney World has been an extremely popular time for many years. Usually, Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Parties (a separate, ticketed event) start in late August and run through Halloween weekend. This year, Halloween at Disney World will look a bit different.
Disney prepares for Halloween (Photo: Disney Parks)
No MNSSHP Events–Cancelled
All the Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Parties (MNSSHP) originally scheduled for this late summer and fall have been cancelled and refunded. While this is disappointing, it is also extremely easy to understand. With tickets for this event approaching $100 per person, attendee expectations are high. Many of the cornerstones of a MNSSHP would be impossible under the current restrictions due to Covid-19.
Hallowishes fireworks Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party (Photo: Disney Parks)
The Boo-to-You Parade, a staple of the MNSSHP, and my personal FAVORITE Disney parade, can’t happen in this era of social distancing. Nighttime fireworks displays are NOT happening at the moment, again due to the gathering of crowds. The special Halloween themed fireworks extravaganza is another vital component of MNSSHP.
One of the big highlights of the annual MNSSHP is that you can see characters you don’t often see, and most characters are in Halloween costumes of their own. That’s very fun, but again, character greetings are not possible right now due to social distancing needs due to the pandemic. Even the various shows and dance parties that are part of any MNSSHP can’t happen right now due to social distancing requirements. Finally, you can’t trick or treat at the candy sessions in our current climate, because the social distancing lines would be EVERYWHERE, and it would be a mess. So the parties are not happening this year.
Halloween Decorations at Magic Kingdom
There may be no Halloween parties this year, but Halloween is still coming to Disney World. Disney will decorate the Magic Kingdom for the fall season, with lots of pumpkins and grinning jack o’lanterns. Traditionally, most of the Halloween and fall decor is mainly on Main Street. Some years, there’s been a little overflow into Frontierland.
It’s Time for Halloween at Disney World! (Photo: Disney Parks)
Main Street USA will be decked out for Halloween from September 15 through October 31.
Halloween merchandise, however, is another story. That will be (and already is, in many cases!) EVERYWHERE throughout the Magic Kingdom. For more information on what Halloween merchandise has been released this year on ShopDisney.com, please visit this post. Most of the Halloween merchandise featured at ShopDisney.com is also available in the park. Disney has a short window of opportunity to sell their Halloween merchandise, so they will make it very easy for us to find!
Halloween merchandise has arrived! Candy spiral ears—so cute! (Photo: Disney Parks)
Cavalcade of Characters
Since the parks reopened in July, character greetings have been off limits due to social distancing requirements. Disney’s solution has been periodic “character cavalcades” where the characters come out on floats and interact with guests from a distance. These happen a few times each day, and are vaguely reminiscent of the Move it, Shake it “mini parades” that they were doing the last couple of years.
For this Halloween at Disney World, Disney plans to jazz up the character cavalcades. The characters will be dressed in their Halloween costumes! I love this idea, and am happy that guests will be able to see the characters in their Halloween costumes without purchasing a pricey Halloween party ticket.
Characters in Costume Photo: Disney Parks
The really cute thing is that it seemed that each character had at least a couple of different costumes, so if you went every year to the party, the characters would be in different costumes.
Piglet in Costume (Photo: Brooke Hudson)
Keep in mind these pictures are from MNSSHP from a few years ago, so we have no way of know which characters you might see this year in a character cavalcade, or what costume they might be wearing.
Mickey and Daisy in costume. (Photo Brooke Hudson)Mickey and Minnie at Halloween (Photo: Brooke Hudson)
Adult Guests can Dress Up, TOO!
For the first time, Disney is letting adult guests wear costumes into the Magic Kingdom during regular business hours. Previously, the only time adult guests (and children over 14) could wear costumes was to the separate ticketed event, Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party. Costume masks are NOT allowed, however, for adults or kids. Approved face coverings are still required, however.
Maria loves her new Disney Princess themed face mask. (Photo: Brooke Hudson)
All guests may wear their Halloween costumes or favorite Disney themed (or inspired) costumes into the Magic Kingdom this year, during regular park hours. The Halloween season at Disney World this year is from September 15 and October 31. It will be a TON of fun to see what everyone wears.
Just leave the costume weapons at home. Consider the heat, and think about safety. As Edna Mode would say “No Capes!”. They get caught, stepped on, ripped, dirty AND they’re heavy. Capes are technically allowed, but we recommend against them! Do YOU want to argue with Edna?
Edna Mode at Hollywood Studios
ShopDisney.comhas a lot of fun options for all ages (see last week’s blog post for more examples).
Halloween at Disney World: Snacks!
Let’s face it, when we start talking Halloween, most of us immediately start thinking of CANDY. Sweets and treats, right?
Halloween at Disney World means LOTS of sweet treats, all themed to the season.
Halloween goodies at Disney World (Photo: Disney Parks)
There are Halloween themed cupcakes and cookies and candy treats all over the Magic Kingdom during the Halloween season. You’ll find Halloween themed drinks, special Halloween ice cream flavors, even Halloween themed popcorn buckets! If you have the budget (and the sugar tolerance), you could quite happily indulge in different Halloween sweet treats for DAYS.
PhotoPass Halloween Surprises!
If you’ve read many of my other posts, you’ve probably recognized that I am a BIG fan of Disney PhotoPass. I love that there are so many opportunities throughout the parks where you can get pictures of your family or group without one of you having to NOT be in the picture in order to take the picture.
I also tell you all the time to take LOTS of Disney PhotoPass pictures when you are in the parks, because the quality of the photographers vary, as do the lighting conditions and the surrounding crowds. You just don’t know what you’ll get, so play the odds!
One favorite Disney PhotoPass treat are the “Magic Shots”. These are the pictures where the photographer “magically” adds something to your picture that will show up later, when you see the picture.
For example, you might see Tinkerbell sitting on your hand, or you might see a character sitting next to you on a bench.
Minnie Mouse Magic Shot (Photo: Disney PhotoPass)
Halloween Magic Shots
For Halloween, Disney has had a few Magic Shots in their arsenal, but USUALLY those were reserved for MNSSHP guests. This year, some special Halloween themed Magic Shots will be available in some areas of the Magic Kingdom throughout the day between September 15 and October 31. Keep in mind that not all PhotoPass photographers will have access to all Magic Shots. If the line is long, and the photographer is busy, they may not have time to set up a Magic Shot. These are special “extras”, not automatic or to be expected.
Here are a few sample Halloween Magic Shots that have been available in the past. We don’t know yet what Magic Shots will be available this year. I’ll keep you posted as I learn more.
Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party (Photo: Disney Parks)
Are you ready for Halloween?
It still feels a bit early for me, but looking at all this stuff is starting to get me in the Halloween mood. We won’t make it Disney World this year for the Halloween fun; our trip is in November this year. But next year’s big family trip is in October, and I’m really looking forward to seeing the Magic Kingdom all decked out for Halloween. I’m hopeful that at least some of these changes for day guests to the park will stay in place for next year, even if they have the ticketed parties next year.
Costume silliness from a couple years ago. I was a witch (too easy!) and my husband went as Iron Man. (Photo: Linda Harkness)
Are you ready for Halloween at Disney World, or even in your neck of the woods? Do you add any Disney touches to your at home celebrations? Please comment below.
Happy Dreaming!
Brooke
Ready to Plan Your Disney Vacation!
P.S. If you are thinking about a Disney vacation in 2021, now is the time! Vacation packages are available for most of the year. Please email brooke@disneycastledreaming.com for a free, no obligation quote.
Disneyland and Walt Disney World may have cancelled this year’s ticketed Halloween parties, but there is a LOT of fun Disney Halloween merchandise available for 2020!! Earlier this year, Disney made the difficult decision to cancel this year’s scheduled Mickey’s Very Scary Halloween Parties. A fairly large fall revenue source for Disney, these popular Halloween themed special events require a separate ticket for admission, and featured activities, entertainment and merchandise exclusive to the parties. (For more on this annual event, please see our posts here or here.)
Disney’s decision made sense to us. With social distancing requirements already impacting so much Disney entertainment, fireworks and parades, there was just no way to provide guests with the value they expect for the price of the party ticket. The decision was disappointing, but certainly the correct decision on Disney’s part. Guests that had already purchased tickets are being refunded.
Disney may be losing out on party ticket revenue but they are NOT going to let that merchandise revenue slip through their hands. Halloween is an extremely popular holiday in the United States, and Disney Halloween themed merchandise is second only to Disney Christmas/Holiday themed merchandise.
If you are unable to visit either of the Disney parks this year, don’t worry. ShopDisney.com has got you covered. This year’s shopDisney Halloween shop is filled with fun Disney Halloween merchandise. If you are a Disney Halloween merchandise fan, read on with caution. I take no responsibility for your credit card melting. 😉
*The fine print: There are some links provided on our site and in this article. If you follow one of these links and ultimately make a purchase, we receive a small commission. This does not affect the price you pay in anyway. We provide information about Disney related products that we believe you will enjoy. Thank you.
Halloween Costumes
One of my favorite departments in the Halloween Shop at shopDisney.com this year is the Halloween costumes section.
I mean look at some of these…couldn’t you just die from the cute?
When I was little, my mom made our costumes, and they were the BEST. But these days, most parents don’t have time to go the homemade route. If you can’t go do homemade, I think these Disney costumes look like a great alternative. (And if you ARE going the homemade route, I think you can find some terrific inspiration looking at all the Disney costumes!)
The kids costumes have the widest variety of options. If your kid loves Disney or Marvel or Star Wars, you are likely to find something they will love. Looks at some of these adorable options.
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The pricing on the kids costumes covers a wide range. The lowest price I found was $29.99, and the highest was a whopping $500!!!
Disney has even included a couple of costumes for kids that have a wheelchair that also needs a costume. Check these out!
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Finally, we have the “not a costume” costume. I love this idea for the kids in colder climates who always have to put a coat on over their cute costumes. These are hoodies, themed to various characters. Your kid can warm and cozy AND be channeling their inner Monster (or Princess). There are a bunch of these, here are just a couple.
Of course, the adults can’t be left out of the mix, right? A word for my fellow plus size Disney fans—these costumes are not for us. Most adult costumes come in S,M and L. A few offer size XXL, but not many. And based on my experience with Disney sizing, I predict these probably run small. No plus size options at all.
There aren’t a lot of options in the Adult Costume category. And like most Halloween stores, you’ll notice most of the women’s costumes walk the “sexy” line and most of the men’s are “heroes” costumes.
Here are some of the costumes I found:
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The Sanderson Sisters would be fun if you were going to a party in a group, and all loved Hocus Pocus!
I didn’t even think this was a real thing. Over the years, I have seen some animals in costumes, but those were generally pretty simple and handmade. I had no idea that Disney pet costumes were a real thing. But they are!!
These pet costumes are pretty intricate and detailed. Would your pet actually be willing to wear one of these?
My favorite is the Ewok. So darn cute. But what dog would actually wear it and not chew on it? If you dress your pet up for Halloween and they enjoy it, please send me a picture for the blog! I’d love to post your pictures and show off your pet costumes. They do not need to be Disney themed!
Well, it’s pretty hard to beat the costumes, but Disney does try in the home decor section.
If you are a fan of the Haunted Mansion, the Nightmare Before Christmas or Hocus Pocus, Disney has a home decor item for you to help get you home in the Halloween spirit.
Check out this cute collectible featuring the Sanderson sisters from Hocus Pocus. (Did you hear Hocus Pocus is getting a reboot? More on that in a future post!)
Click the photo for more information
The Nightmare Before Christmas stuff is really cute. It also includes some party decorations (balloons, photo booth props,etc.) if you are planning a Nightmare Before Christmas Halloween party!
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There is so much stuff! I love the Minnie themed Halloween kitchen towels. There are several Mickey head pumpkin designs as well. Take a look at just a few of the items below.
And of course, there’s the Haunted Mansion merchandise. Disney’s line of Haunted Mansion themed merchandise is actually available all year round, but it seems particularly popular and appropriate around Halloween, doesn’t it? There are TONS of items in the Haunted Mansion “shop”, but here are a few that could add to your spooky theme for Halloween.
If you want to add a little Halloween into your every day wardrobe, this department is for you. Lots of Disney Halloween themed backpacks, T-shirts, sweatshirts, face masks and socks. There are pins and “ear hats” and even light up pumpkin Mickey head necklaces. Here’s just a sample of all the goodies up for grabs at shopDisney.com.
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Will Your Halloween Be Disney-Themed?
I don’t usually dress up for Halloween. However, I have been known to throw on a pair of Mickey or Minnie ears for the occasion. This year, I’m really thinking the Minnie Witch Hat ears and the light up Mickey head pumpkin necklace might just be my go-to.
What about all of you? Do you decorate for Halloween? Do you take your kids trick or treating? Do you wear a costume or go to any Halloween parties?
Please like this post and share below. I would love to know how you all celebrate Halloween, and whether any of you include Disney in your celebrations!
Photo: Disney Photo Pass
