Welcome back to planDisney, Nicola. We love repeat customers!
October is a wonderful time to visit the
Walt Disney World Resort. Not only is the Halloween season in full swing, but my favorite of the
EPCOT festivals, the
EPCOT International Food & Wine Festival, is running until November 23rd, 2024. So be sure to check it out! And while
Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party is the signature event to celebrate the spooky (or not-so-spooky) season,
Magic Kingdom Park will still be decorated for the holiday and have some specialty treats available for purchase outside of the party as well (different from any party-exclusive treats, of course). And there's usually plenty of
merchandise and some fall decor to be found at the other parks and
Disney Springs as well!
If you visit Magic Kingdom Park with a standard theme park ticket on a date for which Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party is taking place, you will typically need to exit the park by 6 p.m. Guests attending the Party will be able to enter the park at 4 p.m. and you will see separate lines for them to queue up beforehand. Last year, these lines were toward the right of the entrance gates. Since you're planning on just spending a few hours in the park before the party starts, you'll simply enter through one of the other gates. There will be signs and likely Cast Members directing Guests where to go. Not only that, you'll see that when you're arriving, the line for Guests with standard
theme park tickets will be active and allowing Guests into the park, whereas the lines for party Guests won't start to move until about 4 p.m.
You'll likely want to
take a peek at the Foodie Guide that Disney Eats just released. But don't let the title of the guide fool you. While there are plenty of treats listed that are exclusive to Guests attending the Halloween party, there are also treats detailed here that are available during regular park hours as well. I mean, Nicola, I don't know you that well, but I think that Minnie-shaped Cinnamon Roll from the
Main Street Bakery is calling your name! Don't you hear it? It's saying, "Nicola, I'm very cute...but I'm also delicious and available during regular park hours!"
Enjoy your October visit to the resort. And be sure to stop by the
Haunted Mansion in Magic Kingdom Park and
The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror in
Disney's Hollywood Studios. These attractions always make me feel like it's Halloween, no matter when I'm visiting!
If you have any other questions,
Halloween or otherwise,
I'm all ears!
There's no turning back now,
Matt