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2023 Oogie Boogie Bash Review and Tips

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After hearing so much about this highly sought after separately ticketed event at Disneyland, I was finally able to attend the 2023 Oogie Boogie Bash! I spent 11 hours in an online queue over the course of two days and we paid hundreds of dollars just for the tickets. So, was it worth it?

2023 Oogie Boogie Bash

2023 Oogie Boogie Bash

I’ve attended Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party at Walt Disney World several times. However, a year or two ago I started hearing people go on and on about Disneyland’s version of a Halloween Party. I am happy I was finally able to attend this party and see what the hype is all about.

Treat Trails

Just like at MNSSHP, there’s trick-or-treating at this party! However, Disneyland kicks it up a notch by having Treat Trails. Basically, they added a popular villain for guests to see at the end of the line for candy! This is more of a drive by experience so the line is continuously moving. This isn’t a character meet and greet. I had ample time to take pictures though. I loved this addition to the candy trails as we didn’t really use the app and just wandered in to be surprised by the characters!

I also think it’s worth mentioning the types and quantity of treats you receive here. It’s not just candy. In fact, we even received some mini bags of a carrots at one stop! We also got a couple bags of Sun Chips, Mickey Goldfish crackers, and giant Cinnamon Goldfish! Then, Mars Wrigley supplied lots of candy! My mom was really impressed with how much we were given with very little effort here.

Parade

I was so excited to see the Frightfully Fun Parade that we even booked the dessert party for reserved seating! You can read my full review of the Oogie Boogie Dessert Party here. This parade is similar to the one at Mickey’s Not So Scary, but shorter. However, it also features The Mayor from “The Nightmare Before Christmas” driving his car! I think the parade is a must-see, regardless of if you book the dessert party.

Villains Grove

The Villains Grove is unlike anything else I’ve ever experienced. They take the Redwood Creek section of the park (which is very much like the redwood forests of California) and make it spooky. Each area is themed to a particular villain, including specific scents (like roses) and other touches. It makes for a fun and unique experience. We hit this up towards the end of the night, during the end of the second parade without too much of a wait. I think it’s worth checking out this experience just because it’s so cool.

Characters

There were several special rare characters with meet and greets around the park. However, the lines to meet them were long! We managed to do the Minnie, Daisy, and Clarabelle as the Sanderson Sisters one during the second parade. The estimated wait was around 45 minutes, but it didn’t feel that long. I highly recommend this strategy if you want to see them since the line was much shorter and we didn’t have to wait in the hot sun.

Mickey’s Trick and Treat Show

My mom wanted to see Mickey’s Trick and Treat Show as it was the only exclusive show at the event. We managed to walk up after the first parade and join the line as they were entering the building. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but this was a cute show. I enjoyed seeing the different costumes on the characters. I wouldn’t wait long for this show personally. However, if you have little kids, they will love it. It’s also a nice place to sit in some air conditioning if it’s hot.

Tips

The party sold out in hours this year. So, if you want to attend next year, I recommend clearing your schedule and packing patience to secure tickets. I also highly suggest hitting up the more popular stuff (characters, Villains Grove) during a parade. Additionally, we ate dinner at Lamplight Lounge at 4:15 PM as I always make sure to eat prior to an after hours party so as not to waste precious party time.

Is it worth it?

Was the 2023 Oogie Boogie Bash worth the 11 hours in queue and the hundreds of dollars we spent? I think so. My mom even said during the party that it was the most fun she’s had with candy since she was a kid! I don’t think you can get a much more glowing review than that.

Oogie Boogie Dessert Party Review

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I just got back from a trip to Disneyland to kick-off the Halloween season with my mom. I was lucky enough to secure tickets to their separately-ticketed seasonal event at Disney’s California Adventure (I intend to publish a review of the event later this week). We also decided to book the Oogie Boogie Dessert Party to give us a seated view of the Frightfully Fun Parade. Here’s my review to help others decide if it’s worth the additional cost.

Oogie Boogie Dessert Party

Oogie Boogie Dessert Party

As I said above, this is an add-on to an already expensive separately ticketed event. However, I really enjoyed the World of Color – One Dessert Party that I attended in May and wanted to try another dessert party at Disneyland. Plus, my mom really liked the idea of having a chair to sit in for the parade. Due to the pricing, it took a little convincing, but my mom finally warmed up to the idea.

The Food

For this dessert party, we each received a plate of goodies and some beverages. The treats included: chocolate mousse cake, pumpkin bundt cake, cookies & cream tart, caramel cheesecake, orange dreamsicle crispy, salted caramel macaron, and some gummy worms. The best treat was the pumpkin bundt cake. It tasted like pumpkin, instead of just cinnamon like some treats do. The caramel cheesecake was our second favorite item. The caramel flavoring made it a less tart/sour cheesecake. The cookies & cream tart was a little hard to cut, but tasted good. The macaron was also good. The gummy worms were fun to look at, but not much to eat. The worst item had to be the orange dreamsicle crispy treat. It was really hard and left my fingers black from just picking it up. I don’t think anyone at our table finished this treat.

There is a specialty mixed drink as well as non-alcoholic beverage. The mixed drink was really strong. I took one sip and was done. The non-alcoholic drink was fruity and sweet. I enjoyed it. We were all served a small bottle of water too, which was nice given the high temperature.

The View

Sitting in chairs gave us an elevated point of view of the parade over sitting on the ground. I’m sure some will argue that you can get a similar view by standing, for free. However, after walking 8.9 miles the previous day and similar mileage this day, sitting in a real chair was a fabulous thing. My mom really appreciated sitting in a chair comfortably instead of on the hard ground. Plus, it was nice to sit and enjoy a few treats while we waited for the parade begin.

Is it worth it?

At $89/each, this is an expensive add-on. However, it was worth it for my mom and I. Standing for long periods of time hurts her back and feet. So, being able to sit down at the end of the night was a great thing. Plus, we enjoyed trying the treats. Overall, it was one of the highlights of the trip. Although, if you are on a budget, you will probably have to skip this experience. Plus, there are loads of places to watch the parade around the park without paying extra. So, I guess it depends on what you value: comfort or time/money.

My Favorite Fall Activities

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Now that Labor Day has come and gone, it’s time to look forward to my favorite fall activities. I thought I would share a list of my must-do’s for the season, just in case someone out there is looking for something new and fun to do!

Favorite Fall Activities

Favorite Fall Activities

I think autumn is probably my favorite season. I love that it starts to cool down without getting cold. I also adore the look of the mountains with colorful leaves. Plus, who doesn’t appreciate a good gourd or two? I realized that I could separate this into three portions, based on the location they take place: home, at local places, and traveling away from home. So, that’s how I’m going to organize this post.

Fall at Home

These are the types of things I enjoy doing at home during this season.

  • Decorate the house. For those who don’t know, we bought our first home in 2021. Since then, we’ve really enjoyed getting into decorating our home for each season/holiday. We also host the holidays and family birthdays now. So, I really like going all out for Halloween and Christmas. We decorate the outside of the house with lights for both holidays as well as put up decor inside.
  • Watch seasonal movies and shows. This usually includes “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown” as well as some other supernatural shows. I also sometimes watch some classic horror movies.
  • Bake. I love to bake anytime of the year. However, baking with pumpkin (like my Pumpkin Fluff Pie Recipe – Easy and Healthier) or sweet potato is particularly fun. I also enjoy decorating any seasonal cookies or houses I find at Target.

Fall at Local Places

We are lucky enough to live in a location that has several fall happenings. We typically:

  • Visit a pumpkin patch. I love attending the pumpkin festival at a local farm and picking out pumpkins for our home.
  • Try fall foods. Truly, I’m a sucker for pumpkin flavored food and coffee drinks. I also like apples and baked goods made from them.
  • Look at leaves. We’ve been known to just drive around and look at the leaves on the mountains.

Autumn Away From Home

I also enjoy traveling away from home to visit other fall events. This includes:

Fall Festivities

So, that’s a good idea of my favorite fall activities. What are some of yours?

You can view a list of my favorite winter, spring, and summer activities here.

Fall in Orlando Theme Parks

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While it may seem a little early for this post, the theme parks are beginning to celebrate the autumn season later this week! So, I thought I would do a fall in Orlando theme parks post to kick-off the fall season. If you are wondering about summer in the theme parks, here is my post on it from two months ago.

Fall in Orlando

Fall in Orlando

Personally, fall is one of my favorite times to visit the theme parks! You can typically expect a bit cooler temperatures, which I consider a huge win. However, I would encourage you to keep an eye on the extended weather forecast if you plan a fall trip as it’s prime hurricane season. I’ve been lucky in that only one trip has been impacted by a hurricane. It is something to keep in mind though. On another note, I love fall and all of the theme parks have some fun/Halloween events to look forward to! So, I think it’s worth planning a trip during the fall months as long as you pay attention to the weather.

Epcot Food and Wine Festival

If you are visiting Walt Disney World in the fall, you can expect to experience the Epcot International Food and Wine Festival! Taking place from August 29th to November 23rd in 2024, it’s a fabulous festival with lots to enjoy for fellow foodies! I don’t drink much, but I love eating! I enjoy walking around this festival and trying different dishes. They also have some cool concerts planned as part of their Eat to the Beat series. If you are visiting during these months, I highly recommend a visit.

Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party

If you are visiting Walt Disney World from August 9th to October 31, 2024, then on select nights you can attend the separately ticketed event Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party at Magic Kingdom. I was supposed to attend last year, but the hurricane cut-off my WDW portion of the trip. Unfortunately, I haven’t attended this party since 2019. However, prior to that I attended it several times. It’s one of my favorite things to do at Walt Disney World! I love the special parade as well as fireworks! I’m hoping to attend this year’s bash. FYI: it’s not a scary event. It’s a family-friendly event including trick-or-treating for kids of all ages!

SeaWorld Orlando Halloween Spooktacular

Last year, I was lucky enough to visit SeaWorld Orlando and enjoy their Halloween Spooktacular event. In fact, you can read my SeaWorld Orlando Spooktacular Halloween post from last year to get a better idea of what to expect at this event, including my review of the Count von Count Spooktacular Breakfast. This seasonal event takes place on weekends from August 31 to November 3rd. This is one of the few Halloween events included with regular park admission. It also takes place during the day, which has its pros and cons. It’s a family friendly event with mermaids and dancing scarecrows. You can also trick-or-treat around the park for an additional cost.

SeaWorld Orlando Howl-O-Scream

Now, we are moving on to the scarier, more adult Halloween events in Orlando. While SeaWorld is child friendly during the day, it takes a turn for the scary on select nights from September 6th to November 2nd with their Howl-O-Scream event. A separately ticketed event meant for adults, it features several haunted houses, scare zones, shows, roaming haunts, and themed bars. It is cheaper than the OG scary event at Universal, but seems to be in the same vain. I haven’t ever attended this one, but I’ve heard good things about it.

Universal Orlando Halloween Horror Nights

Lastly, we have the premiere Halloween theme park event, Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Orlando. This is the top tier scare event. It features 10 highly themed haunted houses, including popular IPs. It will take place on select nights from August 30th to November 3rd.

As of May 2024, Universal hasn’t officially announced any IPs for this year’s event. If you are on the fence, I recommend reading my Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Orlando: Tips for Anxious Folks post. I attended in 2023 by myself and did a post Halloween Horror Nights Solo Tips for anyone considering doing the same. I also booked a 2023 HHN Daytime Houses Tour and reviewed it. Lastly, I posted a separate Halloween 2023 at Universal Orlando Resort Guide to give you an idea of what to expect.

Orlando Theme Parks in Fall

As you can see, there are several fun events taking place in fall in Orlando theme parks. From the haunts to the scary good food, there’s something for everyone! So, which of these events are you planning on visiting this year? Or, which of these is your favorite to visit each year?

You can view my other seasonal theme park guides here:

Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Orlando: Tips for Anxious Folks

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I tend to be what you might call an anxious person or easily spooked. However, I recently had a trip booked to Universal Orlando Resort during their annual Halloween Horror Nights event and decided to brave the event (along with my sixty-something year old mother). So, here are my tips if you are considering attending the event but are skittish and need some support.

Halloween Horror Nights for Anxious Folks

Halloween Horror Nights for Anxious Folks

Halloween Horror Nights, or HHN, is Universal Orlando (and technically Universal Hollywood’s) top tier scary fall event. They have some of the best themed haunted houses each year and really set the standard for what a scary event should look like. However, it’s supposed to be scary and because of that, it scares people (myself included) away. I’m here to say that the event is doable for anxious people and here’s how I did it.

  1. Arrive early. I believe it eased my anxiety knowing the park layout as well as scare zone locations prior to arriving to the park. I also recommend seeing the park in the daylight to acquaint yourself with the scare zones and theming ahead of time.
  2. Ease into it. I started with the front scare zone (Horrors of Halloween) and headed to get some food. The event has really been stepping up its game in the food department, so I knew which foods were must-gets for me and I got them immediately. I mean who doesn’t love starting an event with a pepperoni and cheese pizza skull and red velvet cake pop?! Then, I ate my goodies while taking in the nearest scare zone (Sweet Revenge). It was fun to watch the scare actors attempt to scare people and listen to the special effects being played. This was a nice way to ease into the scares.
  3. Watch a show. Next, after another scare zone or two, we watched a few shows. I will admit that the Halloween Nightmare Fuel Wildfire show has suggestive material and is not for everyone. However, I really enjoyed the music before and during the show. Plus, the show was really entertaining and not scary at all. I also watched Ghoulish, the waterway fountain show, which isn’t scary either. It was neat and kind of relaxing to view.
  4. Brace for darkness. The park takes on a more scary vibe once it gets dark. So, all of the research and prep comes in handy when you are running into massive crowds and thick fog in the park. Just don’t panic and keep walking. If you look scared, I think the actors are more likely to try to scare you. Just keep walking. Looking straight ahead seemed to help me. Meanwhile, they tried to scare my mom several times. Ha!
  5. You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to. The waits for the haunted houses were over an hour the night we went. So, we actually didn’t even attempt to visit any. I don’t regret it necessarily, but just know that the experience is what you make it. If you want to be scared, you certainly can be. If you just want to enjoy an adult evening at a theme park, you can do that as well.

So, there you have my tips for surviving Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Orlando as an anxious person. Do you have any other tips? If you definitely can’t handle a few frights, might I recommend the much calmer and more family friendly SeaWorld Orlando Spooktacular Halloween or even Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party?