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Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party Guide with Tips

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It’s hard to believe but Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party is back in the Magic Kingdom beginning Friday, August 9th! So, I thought I would do a little guide to the event as well as a few tips from my own experiences.

Mickey's Not So Scary

Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party

For those who don’t know, Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party is a separately ticketed event held on select nights at the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World. Unlike at other parks, this party is pretty much the only way to experience Halloween at Walt Disney World. There’s fall decor up all day in the park, but the special entertainment and characters are party exclusives. It’s similar to Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party but for Halloween and with candy instead of cookies!

Trick or Treat

This party is the only way you can trick or treat in the Magic Kingdom! In fact, the young and young at heart are given a bag upon entry to get your fill of candy! It’s so fun to walk down Main Street with a bag of candy while being dressed up. Additionally, this is the only time adults can wear costumes at Disney. Many adults go all out with their costumes. Some people don’t. It’s up to you!

Not So Spooky Spectacular

This is the party exclusive fireworks show! Personally, I consider this is a must-see experience of the party. Usually, you can even book a fireworks dessert party to beat the crowds. I booked a dessert party at the Tomorrowland Terrace back in 2019 on a solo trip. I really enjoyed having a place to sit and desserts to nibble on. However, I will caution people that the view from the Terrace isn’t good for viewing the projections or any extra stage characters. 😉

Mickey’s Boo-to-You Parade

This party exclusive parade is my other can’t miss event at the party. My husband and I really like seeing the gravediggers since they drag their shovels across the ground and emit sparks. It’s a really cute parade that everyone should see at least once. They haven’t made many changes to it over the years, but they do sometimes rotate in different characters. Plus, the music is so darn catchy! The good news is that this parade happens twice a night. So, you have two chances to catch it.

Hocus Pocus Villain Spelltacular!

This is a party exclusive castle stage show. I’ve seen it a few times and it’s cute. However, the show hasn’t changed since it was first introduced. So, I tend to prioritize getting candy, seeing special characters, or riding rides. If it’s your first time attending or you are a huge Hocus Pocus fan, then you should make time to see it. It’s usually shown several times during the party and I recommend looking over the times guide if this is important to you.

See Special Characters

Around the park, you will be able to see special party exclusive characters as well as more regular characters in their Halloween costumes! I loved meeting Winnie the Pooh and Friends in their costumes back in 2019. I also met Donald and Daisy in their costumes in 2016. I enjoyed meeting Elvis Stitch in 2019 since I was wearing a Lilo dress. There’s even a very popular Jack and Sally meet and greet during this party! However, the wait for them is typically pretty long.

Mickey’s Not So Scary Tips

  • Purchase tickets in advance – The parties tend to sell out weeks in advance. If you wait until the day of the party, you will probably be out of luck. So, buy tickets as soon as you know when you are going.
  • Eat early – You can enter the park as early as 4 PM even though the party doesn’t begin until 7. Typically, I use this time to eat dinner. Although, in the future I may delay heading over to the crowded park and grab dinner at a monorail resort prior to the party.
  • Stake out a spot for the parade early – Unfortunately, there’s not a seated option for the parade unlike at the Oogie Boogie Bash Dessert Party. So, you will have to stake out a spot for the parade in advance. I recommend at least half an hour in advance, if not an hour. Lots of people have advised that the second parade is less crowded, but I’m not sure that’s true anymore. Either way, you will need to stake out a spot in advance.
  • Enjoy some treats – There’s plenty of free candy to be had. However, they also sell party exclusive foods too. So, be sure to save some room for those!
  • Have a rough plan – Consult the park’s schedule and party map ahead of time. Have a list of must-do’s and tackle those first. Then, do the nice to-do’s.
  • Trick or treat later in the night – Maybe get some early in the party to snack on while waiting for the parade, but save the rest for later in the night. This way, you won’t get tired carrying around a bag full of candy.
  • Be prepared for the heat – It’s probably going to be hot. So, drink lots of water and wear a light costume. I say skip the heavy face makeup and wigs/hats.

It’s really not so scary…

Have you ever attended this party? What are your must-do’s or tips?

Walt Disney World vs Disneyland

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Many people assume that the US Disney parks are the same, but there are many differences between Walt Disney World vs Disneyland. So, I thought I would do a post to help anyone starting to plan a trip to one of these destinations with experience visiting the other location.

Disney World vs Disneyland

Disney World vs Disneyland

While both are theme parks owned by Disney, they operate very differently. In fact, I sometimes struggle with planning for Land because I’m so used to visiting World. So, let’s jump into some basics.

Walt Disney World is located in Orlando, Florida. It consists of four theme parks and two water parks. There are 25+ resorts on property to choose from. This is a sprawling resort covering lots of land and there are several different free modes of transportation to travel across the property including: bus, boats, and Skyliner. It’s important to understand that the vast majority of people visiting WDW are traveling from somewhere else and not locals. So, the policies here tend to favor people staying on-site.

Disneyland is located in Anaheim, California. It’s the original Disney theme park and its construction was overseen by Walt Disney himself! It’s much more compact than World. In fact, there’s just two theme parks and they are across from each other. You can simply walk across the esplanade to visit the other park! There’s also three on-site resorts, but lots of off property ones nearby (as in walking distance). An important difference to know is that unlike in Florida, there are far more locals attending this park than people traveling to visit. So, their policies tend to favor passholders instead of hotel guests.

Advance Dining Reservation Differences

Disney World has an overwhelming number of dining options. However, one perk of staying on-site here is the ability to book advance dining reservations for the length of your trip 60 days out from the first day of your stay! Clearly, this policy favors people staying on-site instead of locals.

Disneyland, on the other hand, allows everyone to book dining reservations one day at a time, 60 days in advance. So, you will have to get up early multiple days in a row to get in demand restaurants. However, it also levels the playing field since everyone can make reservations beginning at the same time. This is the reverse of Disney World and allows the locals to grab in-demand reservations just as easily as people traveling to the resort.

Word of advice for both locations: keep checking for reservations to open up. Just because you don’t get a desired reservation 60 days out doesn’t mean you won’t get it. You can set up a reservation finder to notify you when something pops up and you can continue to check yourself up until the day of.

Hotel Differences

Walt Disney World has so many different resorts on property that they have different tiers: Value Resorts, Moderate Resorts, Deluxe Resorts and DVC (Disney’s timeshare or Disney Vacation Club). There are also off site properties, but those won’t come with free park transportation and you will need to account for that in your budget. However, the resort is so spread out that very few of the resorts are walking distance to a park. Also, you will have to get familiar with the various forms of transportation available at your specific resort.

Disneyland is much smaller. There’s only three official resorts: Pixar Place Hotel, Disneyland Hotel, and Grand Californian Hotel. All three are considered Deluxe or DVC Resorts. Additionally, all three are walking distance to the parks, but so are lots of other off-site hotels. The Grand Californian and Pixar Place have their own entrances to Disney’s California Adventure. Most people stay off-site when visiting Disneyland due to the high prices and compact layout.

Skip the Line Differences

Disney has struggled with their skip the line program since the pandemic. In fact, it just recently underwent some new changes in policies and naming, again. Suffice it to say, I encourage you to look up the most up to date policies when you plan your next trip. Currently, Walt Disney World allows you to book 3 experiences a week out but Disneyland does not.

Disney World vs Disneyland Special Events

Walt Disney World has a regular rotation of special events. There’s the festivals at Epcot, Halloween and Christmas parties at Magic Kingdom, and Jollywood Nights at Hollywood Studios. There’s also the After Hours events. Besides Jollywood Nights, there hasn’t been a new ticketed event in several years at Disney World.

However, due to Disneyland’s reliance on locals, they tend to have new events pretty regularly. Their Disneyland After Dark events are massively popular and seem to have new themes every year. Disneyland also gets new seasonal costumes for the characters, unlike Disney World. Basically, you can expect new stuff at Disneyland pretty often.

Special Event Ticket Differences

Once again, their individual special event ticket policies favor different groups. Walt Disney World typically puts special event tickets on sale to resort guests first. Disneyland on the other hand often has passholder pre-sales that allows passholders to purchase tickets before the general public. Although, Disney World will often give a minimal (~$10) passholder discount on the special event tickets.

Disneyland vs Walt Disney World

Shew. This is a long post. I debated splitting it up into multiple posts, but I wanted an overall guide. So, what do you think? Is this helpful?

Break Day at Disney World Guide

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When you are planning a trip to Disney parks, you may be wondering should I build in a break day at Disney World? Also, what activities are available for a non-park day? If that’s you, this post is for you.

Break Day at Disney World

Should you have a non-park day?

A theme park trip can be pricey. So, the idea of taking a break day may sound weird. So, I thought I would start this post with a list of pros and cons of taking a break day.

Pros

  • Time to relax – Most theme park days at Disney are go, go, go! So, it can be nice to sleep in and not worry about rope dropping the park or an early restaurant reservation.
  • Can enjoy non-park activities – There’s so much to do at Disney World and in Orlando that a non-park day doesn’t have to be boring.
  • Feel better – Taking a rest day can help you feel better when you return to the parks the next day or when you return home.
  • Can save money – This sounds counter-intuitive, but you are paying for one less day in the parks. Note, this wouldn’t mean anything for passholders.

Cons

  • Added expense – You will have to pay for another night at a hotel and a whole day’s worth of food and possibly entertainment.
  • Longer trip – I know how difficult it can be to schedule time off of work or to leave things at home. So, another day may be too much.
  • Some people may get bored – If you prefer to constantly be moving, then maybe you don’t need a break day.

What to do on a break day at Disney World

Here are some ideas for things to do outside the parks!

  • Go swimming – Most resorts have nice pools and a break day is a wonderful day to take full advantage of them! I’ve heard good things about the pools at Disney’s Art of Animation Resort and the main one at Coronado Springs is pretty.
  • Go shopping – My mom loves to hit up the local outlet malls. We prefer the one near Universal but they are both good.
  • Watch tv – I know it doesn’t sound exciting, but it can feel refreshing to just catch up on a favorite show or watch an old Disney cartoon on tv.
  • Enjoy the resort – Lots of resorts have fantastic restaurants to enjoy. Plus, some deluxe resorts have great entertainment options. For instance, Fort Wilderness has the Tri-Circle-D Ranch that anyone can visit. I keep thinking I will visit someday, but never have time. You can even book a carriage ride at certain resorts!
  • Go fishing – Yes, there are several resorts on property where you can go fishing!
  • Play golf – There are two mini golf courses as well as three full golf courses on property!
  • Visit Disney Springs – There’s lots to see and eat at Disney Springs!
  • Visit a water park – There are two water parks on property, with one being open at a time.
  • Visit Orlando – You could visit Kennedy Space Center or another theme park! There’s lots to do in Orlando besides Disney or other theme parks. There’s even a Medieval Times in Orlando!

What do you do on a break day at Disney?

Do you take break days at Disney? If so, what do you do on those non-park days?

Busch Gardens Williamsburg Tips

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Since I always like to do a guide for every theme park I visit, here’s my Busch Gardens Williamsburg tips post.

Busch Gardens Williamsburg

Busch Gardens Williamsburg

For those who don’t know, Busch Gardens Williamsburg is a SeaWorld, now known as United Parks & Resorts theme park in Virginia. SeaWorld acquired both this park and Busch Gardens Tampa in Florida years ago. Tampa’s park is themed to Africa whereas this one is themed to different European countries.

If you have visited another United Parks & Resorts theme park recently, then you probably know what to expect here since most policies are resort wide. However, there were some updates since the last time I visited one in early 2023. So, here are my tips and suggestions for visiting this particular park.

Tips

  • Arrive early – The earlier you arrive, the closer you get to park to the actual park. In fact, we didn’t even need the upgraded parking on the Sunday in May that we visited to have a close parking space.
  • Have a card – Since my last visit to a United Park, they have all gone cashless. Personally, I find that to be a nuisance. They do have atm’s and machines to convert cash to a Visa gift card. However, the Visa card begins charging a $3.95/month inactivity fee after just 92 days without a transaction! So, I would advise going with a low amount to avoid forgetting and losing money.
  • Know prices are 5% higher than advertised – A few years back, United Parks & Resorts instituted a 5% surcharge on all purchases. Unfortunately, this surcharge remains. So, be prepared to pay an additional 5% over the advertised prices. Also, note that this kind of ruins the passholder discount.
  • Download the app – Similar to the other parks in the family, they did away with paper maps. So, you must use the app to navigate the park. I highly suggest having the app downloaded on your device prior to your arrival.
  • Slow down – This park has received numerous awards for being the most beautiful theme park. It’s a very nice and peaceful park to walk around. Be sure to make time to notice the differences between countries, but wear a hat and sunscreen as there’s not much shade here.
  • Consult the park calendar – The park hosts several limited time events throughout the year. So, you might want to plan a trip around them. Also, the hours vary from day to day. So, be sure to check the hours before heading over.
  • Keep an eye out for deals – Once again, I recommend doing the math on an annual pass or fun card. I purchased an annual pass and used a bring a friend free pass for my husband. I plan on returning later this year and using my second bring a friend pass on my mom. So, it was cheaper to buy this pass and get entry for all four of us than buying four separate one day tickets. In fact, they had a special that made the two park pass cheaper than the single park when we went, so I got that one.

Other Suggestions?

Have you ever visited Busch Gardens Williamsburg? Do you have any tips for visiting?

Liberty Tree Tavern at Magic Kingdom Review

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Seeing as how tomorrow is July 4th, I thought I would finally post a Liberty Tree Tavern review!

Liberty Tree Tavern

Liberty Tree Tavern

I have had the pleasure of eating at this restaurant twice. The first time I went was a solo trip pre-pandemic. Then, I went again last year with my mom. I’ve enjoyed it both times. So, here’s a look at what you can expect at this table service (1 table service credit on the dining plan) restaurant in Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World!

The Theme

For those who don’t know or can’t tell by the name, Liberty Tree Tavern is a colonial themed restaurant. It is located in the Liberty Square area of Magic Kingdom and fits right in with the theme of the area. It feels very similar to Colonial Williamsburg. In fact, each of the six dining rooms are themed after a founding father! This includes: Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, John Paul Jones, Paul Revere, Betsy Ross, and George Washington. It’s fun to look around the room for little nods to each person.

The Food

The menu has been simplified post-pandemic. Now, when you dine here, the only option is the all you care to enjoy Thanksgiving dinner that is served family style. Although, they do have a plant-based version of this meal as well as allergy-friendly versions as well. Thankfully, everything here is good. Granted, it is not anything groundbreaking or fancy. However, it will please lots of different folks.

First, you are served the Declaration Salad along with rolls. The rolls are very basic. I’m not big on salad dressings, but this one is pretty good. I also like the addition of the apples and cranberries in the salad. Next up is the Patriot’s Platter or the main meal. It consists of roasted turkey (it’s Thanksgiving, after all), pot roast, and oven-roasted pork. I really liked the turkey and pork.

The sides include mashed potatoes, seasonal vegetables, herbed stuffing, and macaroni and cheese. Honestly, I really liked all of the sides. We received green beans as the seasonal vegetable and they were ok. The other three sides were delicious though.

Lastly, we have the real star of this meal, the dessert! The Ooey Gooey Toffee Cake is amazing! It’s served warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and chocolate sauce. While the whole meal is all you care to enjoy, you have to save room for this dessert! In fact, it’s so good that I used my picture of it as the image for this blog post seen above!

Should you eat at Liberty Tree Tavern?

While the food here is consistently good (which is saying something for theme parks), it’s not anything truly unique. Also, the price is $42/person. While that is expensive, it’s still not a good use of a table service dining credit. However, the food is good and there’s probably something for everyone to enjoy. It’s also a good place for history buffs to check out. If you are on a tight budget or don’t want much to eat, then you are better off skipping this one.

Have you ever dined at Liberty Tree? What did you think?