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.
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.
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.
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!
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.
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.
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.
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.
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?
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
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.