Welcome!
Okay so I kinda took that line from the sign, but this is exactly how we were greeted at Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party on our first night in Orlando. We didn't get checked into our room until 3:15pm and the party unofficially starts at 4:00pm so it was quite a rush to change into our costumes (yes! you can dress up!) and make it to Magic Kingdom at the top of the hour. I'll admit we were a little late and missed a couple of our FastPasses but we were there for our 4:40pm dinner reservation and that's what mattered most.
So here's a quick rundown: Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party is held on select nights in September and October (sometimes a few nights in November, as well) and it is a family-friendly event. All ages can dress up although there are restrictions on things such as realistic weapons and face masks for adults. The event has a special ticket price BUT that ticket will get you into Magic Kingdom at 4pm, which means you can probably save a day on your park tickets by using your event ticket instead (that's what we did). Daytime park attendees will be escorted out of the party at 7pm. Be prepared to get lots of candy! There are candy buckets stationed all around the park and all ages are encouraged to participate. There are also specialty snacks and souvenirs available only during the party so if you're a pin collector or a foodie then you won't want to miss this opportunity!
Pumpkin Spice Cupcake from Gaston's Tavern
Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party also offers up a wonderful exclusive parade and fireworks show that rival all other parades and fireworks! And of course, there are a lot of special characters to meet during the party; Jack and Sally are always crowd favorites. Overall, we really enjoyed the party and would probably say it was one of the best nights of our trip. We will definitely be back!
Halloween decorations for the party
Spooky projections on Cinderella's Castle
The next event we attended on our trip was the much-anticipated Epcot Food & Wine Festival. This was pretty much my sole reason for planning this trip in late September (the Halloween party was an added bonus!) although I have to admit that I made a rookie mistake. While my itinerary showed two days for Epcot, I really only devoted one day to the Food & Wine Festival and it's something that has to be experienced across multiple days to gain full appreciation for it.
The purpose of this event is to educate and appreciate global cuisine and wine. It's a very popular offering at Epcot and is almost always packed in the evenings and on the weekends. World Showcase is littered with food kiosks offering small or moderately portioned snacks for about $5 each. You can usually get a full menu in July or August from disneyfoodblog.com and you'll definitely want to give it a good look because stopping at every kiosk is probably going to hurt your tummy and your wallet.
Our Food & Wine Festival day was really hot and muggy. We didn't really feel like stuffing ourselves full of food and drinks but we felt obligated to try a few things because it was a major focal point of our trip. Our favorite was the cheddar soup and pretzel roll from Canada; Patrick absolutely loved this dish and would have returned for seconds if we didn't have other places to go.
I feel like I need to make another trip during Food & Wine Festival season to give it a fair shot. I made a couple of mistakes on this trip (only one dedicated day for the event, eating full meals instead of just the festival food) and I will be better prepared for all of the savory goodness next time!
Universal's Halloween Horror Nights - The Exorcist haunted house entrance
Hold on because we're about to switch gears! As you know, we finished our trip at Universal Studios and snagged a couple of tickets to the Halloween Horror Nights. This event requires separate admission from the parks and it's nothing like Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party. If you like more adult-themed entertainment then this might be your scene but be prepared for the swarm of drunk people that you'll have to fight to get into the haunted houses. Oh, and there will be lines to wait. They had nine houses this year but we only completed six of them because the waits grew to 45 minutes or an hour by the end of the night.
Scare actor for Halloween Horror Nights
Of all the special events we attended on this trip, we were the most disappointed in the money we spent on Halloween Horror Nights. Unlike Disney's Halloween Party, there wasn't any overlap in the park hours and the party hours, which means that someone's day is getting cut short - whether it's the daytime park goers or the nighttime party goers, unless you fork over the money for both a park ticket and a party ticket. Also, the general demeanor of the party crowd is pretty different. Of course the party attendees are mostly adults and many are imbibing so that probably has a lot to do with it, but there seemed to be a lot more lewd and aggressive behavior - especially in the haunted house lines - while we were there.
Entrance to Texas Chainsaw Massacre haunted house
While I won't say that you should avoid Universal's Halloween Horror Nights, I will say that I won't return to this event and I hope that my experience was just an isolated incident. And to end this review on a positive note: the haunted houses are amazingly themed and well-executed! Of course they use some of the same elements in nearly every house (smoke machine, oddly textured objects hanging from ceiling, jump scares) but it was pretty much the only reprieve from the real horror that was happening among the drunken crowds outside.
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