Disney's Halloween and Christmas parties compared
Three ticketed evenings, none included in your ticket. Which suits your family and when to book.
Disney runs two separately ticketed evening parties at Magic Kingdom each year and a third at Hollywood Studios. They cost more than a park day and are not included in any UK ticket, so they are worth understanding before you decide.
Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party
Select nights from mid-August to 31 October. Trick-or-treat trails with free sweets, the Boo-to-You parade with the Headless Horseman, a villains show on the castle stage, Halloween fireworks and character meets with rarer characters. Adults can wear costumes. It is aimed at families and is not frightening. It is the cheaper of the two parties.
Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party
Select nights from early November to just before Christmas. Complimentary cookies and hot cocoa, snowfall on Main Street, the Once Upon a Christmastime parade, holiday fireworks and a castle stage show. The decorations and lighting are spectacular. It is pricier and December dates sell out first.
Disney Jollywood Nights
Hollywood Studios' Christmas party: old-Hollywood glamour, live jazz, cocktails, a fireworks show and short queues on Rise of the Resistance and Tower of Terror. Better for adults and older children than the Magic Kingdom party.
What all three share
Entry from 4pm on a 7pm-to-midnight event, so you get a park afternoon plus the party. Low crowds after the day guests leave. Rides open with short waits. They are the best way to ride Magic Kingdom's popular attractions without Lightning Lane.
Which to choose
- Children under ten who like Halloween: the Halloween party, hands down. Free sweets and costumes win.
- A December trip with children: the Christmas party. The parade and fireworks are only shown at the party for most of the season.
- Teenagers or adults in December: Jollywood Nights.
- On a budget: the Halloween party, or skip both and use the money for Lightning Lane on two days.
Booking
Both sellers list all three. The nights nearest Halloween and Christmas sell out weeks ahead; midweek dates in the first half of the season are cheapest and quietest. Both sellers price them the same most of the time, but we show both in case.
