Note from Mommy Frog: Disney After Hours Boo Bash will not be returning in 2022. Instead, Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party returns on select nights Aug. 12 to Oct. 31, 2022! This special ticketed event at Magic Kingdom Park offers unique characters, attraction overlays, treat stops, photo opportunities and specialty food and drink. Enjoy exclusive entertainment like the return of Mickey’s Boo-To-You parade, Hocus Pocus Villain Spelltacular stage show and Disney’s Not-So-Spooky Spectacular fireworks. Tickets go on sale beginning May 18, and your favorite frogs will be offering discounted tickets, so stay tuned! For more information, head over to our full Not-So-Scary guide.
Boo to you! That's right — Halloween has arrived at Walt Disney World. If you’re like us frogs, it’s never too early to start thinking about giant Mickey-shaped jack-o'-lanterns, spooky-special character appearances and TREATS! That's why we were very excited to attend the all-new Disney After Hours Boo Bash event. We ate up the Mickey bars, delighted in the absolutely spooktacular costumes from both guests and our favorite characters and walked on the majority of the open attractions. We had a boo blast!
This Halloween-themed version of the popular After Hours events takes place select nights from Aug. 10 to Oct. 31, 2021, at Magic Kingdom Park. Foolish mortals of all ages can enjoy after-hours access to the park, as well as special entertainment, candy stops, character sightings and more! Tickets are selling out quickly for the majority of event nights, so book those tickets soon (don't worry, your favorite frogs can save you some green when you purchase through Undercover Tourist!). What a treat! Read on for everything you need to know about Boo Bash.
Disney After Hours Boo Bash
Disney After Hours events de-booed in 2016 as a limited, separately ticketed event taking place three hours after the park closed for regular hours, with access to select attractions — which means short wait times for all of your favorite rides! While we've gotten to enjoy a special villains theme in the past, this is the very first Halloween-themed After Hours event.
At Disney's Boo Bash, Magic Kingdom Park scares up some special surprises. The park itself has lighting, music and decor just for the occasion! It wouldn’t be Halloween without dressing up in frogtastic outfits. Guests of all ages can wear costumes, so everyone from tadpoles to grown frogs can join in the Halloween festivities. (Just remember to abide by health and safety guidelines — costume masks are not permitted for adults; they can only be worn by children younger than 14. In addition, face mask policies still apply at the event.) Even better? You'll spy some of your favorite characters in their Halloween costumes too! Make sure to pick up an event guide when you enter Magic Kingdom for a map and other details.
Disney After Hours Boo Bash Dates
Boo Bash takes place on select dates from Aug. 10 to Oct. 31, 2021. The event hoppens from 9 p.m. to midnight (with some nights taking place from 9:30 p.m. to 12:30 a.m.). While the event itself takes place after the park has closed (y'know, after hours), Boo Bash guests can enter Magic Kingdom as early as 7 p.m. without needing a day ticket or Disney Park Pass reservation!
The event takes place from 9:30 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. on the following dates:
- Tuesday, Aug. 10, 2021
- Tuesday, Aug. 17, 2021
- Friday, Aug. 20, 2021
- Tuesday, Aug. 24, 2021
- Friday, Aug. 27, 2021
- Tuesday, Aug. 31, 2021
- Friday, Sept. 3, 2021
The event takes place from 9 p.m. to midnight on the following dates:
- Sunday, Sept. 5, 2021
- Tuesday, Sept. 7, 2021
- Friday, Sept. 10, 2021
- Sunday, Sept. 12, 2021
- Tuesday, Sept. 14, 2021
- Friday, Sept. 17, 2021
- Sunday, Sept. 19, 2021
- Tuesday, Sept. 21, 2021
- Friday, Sept. 24, 2021
- Tuesday, Oct. 5, 2021
- Sunday, Oct. 10, 2021
- Friday, Oct. 8, 2021
- Tuesday, Oct. 12, 2021
- Friday, Oct. 15, 2021
- Sunday, Oct. 17, 2021
- Tuesday, Oct. 19, 2021
- Friday, Oct. 22, 2021
- Sunday, Oct. 24, 2021
- Tuesday, Oct. 26, 2021
- Friday, Oct. 29, 2021
- Sunday, Oct. 31, 2021
Disney After Hours Boo Bash Tickets
Our Frog Fam can’t believe Boo Bash is already here! Tickets for Disney After Hours Boo Bash are selling out quickly. Annual passholders and Disney Vacation Club members can receive a $10 discount on select dates in August and September. Generally, tickets will be more expensive in October, and Tuesdays will be cheaper than Fridays or Sundays. But guess what? Your favorite froggies have discount tickets available for Boo Bash (that means more towards your Halloween merchandise budget, right?)!
Disney After Hours Boo Bash Entertainment and Activities
Boo Bash features four themed cavalcades that rotate twice throughout the evening. They happen one after the other, so we suggest watching all four of them in a row. Stake out a spot with those treats and enjoy! We noticed it was less crowded on the second rotation. (The times listed below are for the events taking place from 9:30 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. We expect times may slightly differ on the 9 p.m. to 12 a.m. event nights, so be sure to refer back to your event guide.) At Boo Bash, you can catch the following cavalcades:
- Mickey’s Happy Halloween Cavalcade: Dressed for the spooky season, Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Pluto and pals show off their best Halloween costumes as they parade through the park. (9:55 p.m. with a shortened route, 11:25 p.m.)
- Disney Villain Halloween Cavalcade: It's not just sweets and treats — your favorite Disney villains, including Gaston, Dr. Facilier, the Queen, Jafar and more, star in their own sinister cavalcade and celebrate their wicked ways. (10:30 p.m., 11:45 p.m.)
- Jack’s Nightmare Cavalcade: Keep an eye out for the Pumpkin King! Jack Skellington, along with Sally and Oogie Boogie from Tim Burton's "The Nightmare Before Christmas," share a nightmarish procession. (10:40 p.m., 11:55 p.m.)
- Maleficent will also make a special appearance in the form of a fire-breathing dragon! (10:50 p.m., 12:05 a.m.)
The cavalcades follow the typical parade route, starting in Frontierland and ending in Main Street, U.S.A., except for the first Mickey's Happy Halloween Cavalcade, which starts and ends in Frontierland. If photos are important to you, we suggest staying along Main Street, as the lighting is much brighter and better for photography. If you're more into the overall atmosphere, the hub area in front of Cinderella Castle has spooky blue and orange lighting. We'd avoid the Liberty Square area because it has very low lighting.
Other character sightings throughout Magic Kingdom include:
- Winnie the Pooh, Tigger, Eeyore, Piglet (Crystal Palace in Main Street, U.S.A.)
- Goofy (across from Pirates of the Caribbean in Adventureland)
- Chip 'n' Dale (balcony by Country Bear Jamboree in Frontierland)
- Madame Carlotta, Madame Renatta and Broome the Butler (Haunted Mansion in Liberty Square)
- Foulfellow and Gideon (balcony of Pinocchio Village Haus in Fantasyland)
The character sightings do not follow a specific schedule, so they will pop up randomly to surprise you. As much as we loved seeing all of the characters (Tigger especially was very animated!), our favorite character sighting was Madame Carlotta, who was outside of the Haunted Mansion when we passed by. The ghoulish twins take turns telling stories and interacting with guests.
And don't froget to catch special performances from the Cadaver Dans! You can see this barbershop quartet sing classic Halloween tunes in Frontierland (on the balcony by Country Bear Jamboree) at 9:40 p.m., 10:20 p.m., 11:05 p.m. and 12:10 a.m. for parties that start at 9:30 p.m.
Special decor, lighting and music keep guests in the spooky spirit. You'll find many Disney characters in full costumes, and Cinderella Castle will glow with themed lighting. Since Cinderella Castle is decorated for Walt Disney World's 50th Anniversary Celebration, Imagineers blend the season and the castle by creating special pumpkin coach decorations. Bibbidi, bobbidi, boo! The festive decorations are a perfect backdrop for photos. PhotoPass photographers are there to capture your spooktacular memories with Halloween-themed Magic Shots. In fact, the PhotoPass spots had some of the longest lines that we saw!
Disney After Hours Boo Bash Food and Beverage
It wouldn't be Halloween without some sweet treats. Trick or treat spots are available throughout the park (with an allergy-friendly center in Liberty Square, as well). You can find the treat trails at the following locations:
- Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor
- Cosmic Ray's Starlight Cafe
- Pete's Silly Sideshow
- Ariel's Grotto
- Pinocchio Village Haus
- Splash Mountain
- Pecos Bill Tall Tale Inn & Cafe
- Enchanted Tiki Room
At some of the trick-or-treat locations, you will need to go inside, so keep your mask handy! Our personal favorite was Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor because one of the monsters interacted with the guests (and there were two treat stations to go through in one location!).
As with previous Disney After Hours events, unlimited complimentary ice cream treats, popcorn and select bottled beverages are available — all included in your ticket price! Select themed items are also available for purchase, including the Apple Ginger Dale Frozen Drink (frozen apple cider mixed with ginger ale and topped with whipped cream) and the Foolish Mortal Funnel Cake. Yum! It took all four frogs to finish the funnel cake so we recommend sharing, especially with so many sweet options to enjoy.
Disney After Hours Boo Bash Rides
Thanks to the limited attendance, enjoy scary-short wait times throughout the night. Some of the many attractions that are open include:
- Dumbo the Flying Elephant
- Jungle Cruise
- Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
- Haunted Mansion
- Peter Pan's Flight
- Seven Dwarfs Mine Train
- Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin
- Space Mountain
Wait times remained low throughout the night. Some were complete walk-ons, while the maximum wait time that we saw was 25 minutes at Seven Dwarfs Mine Train.
Disney After Hours Boo Bash Tips and Tricks
- In order to maximize your ticket, we highly recommend getting there at 7 p.m. for early entry. Typically they will even start letting in event guests 10 to 15 minutes beforehand so plan to arrive a little ahead of time. If you're driving, arrive with plenty of time to park at the Transportation and Ticket Center and take the monorail or ferry boat to the park entrance.
- If you will already be at Magic Kingdom prior to early entry, there's no need to exit and re-enter the park! Stop by a wristband station in Adventureland across from Pirates of the Caribbean or in Tomorrowland near former Stitch's Great Escape and present your ticket to a cast member. They'll provide you with an event wristband there.
- With no traditional character meet-and-greets, there aren't any lines you need to hop in prior to the event start, as was typical at Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party. Use this time to take photos of your fabulous costumes (you'll thank us later when it gets dark) and ride some rides or grab some dinner.
- Wait times dropped significantly once the party officially started, but we noticed crowds thinning even further around 11 p.m.
- Dress up! The best part of this event is adults can be in full costume so make the most of it. Get a whole group together for a themed look. We saw some toadally amazing costumes as we strolled about.
- If you're a fan of treats, there are lots of options. There are themed treats available for purchase, as well as the trick-or-treat spots and complimentary bottled beverages, popcorn and ice cream bars. We saved our candy for later since we had so much to enjoy at the event!
- If you compare this event to Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party, know that the two are toadally different events. As a themed After Hours event, we had plenty to do in our three hours. If you like shorter wait times, extra treats and dressing up for Halloween, we recommend attending!
Do you plan on attending Disney After Hours Boo Bash? Let us know in the comments below! And don't froget that you can save some green on your Boo Bash tickets when you purchase through Undercover Tourist!
Related: How to Make the Most Out of Disney After Hours Events
Hoppy planning!
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