Hello there Michele!
Welcome to planDisney, and thanks for visiting with your question today. Oh, boy! Your magical vacation is just around the corner... how exciting.
I have found that enjoying Magic Kingdom on a day when there is a special ticketed event that evening can often mean lower crowds and shorter wait times. So as long as we come up with a fun evening plan for you... you've got an excellent strategy!
On an evening where Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party (MNSSHP) is scheduled, all guests without a special ticket to this event do need to exit the park at 6:00 PM. At that time, Cast Members will begin sweeping the park, and requesting guests to leave if they won't be staying for MNSSHP. This includes dining at Magic Kingdom restaurant locations. It would be ok if you had an earlier reservation, around 5:00 PM or so, and were just finishing up around 6:00 PM, but not later than that.
I've got a great alternative suggestion though, and it's something we love to do on every Disney World vacation! I highly recommend that you make an advance dinner reservation at one of the nearby monorail resorts, which are very easy to get to from Magic Kingdom. My family's absolute favorites are
Chef Mickey's at the Contemporary and
'Ohana at the Polynesian Village Resort.
I think I'd lean towards eating somewhere at the Polynesian, because it's such a relaxing and enjoyable atmosphere. You can even linger down at the beach after dinner and watch the fireworks across the Seven Seas Lagoon! If you can't get a dining time that works at 'Ohana, which is highly popular... either check back 1-2 days prior to your date, or try
Kona Cafe instead which is also excellent.
If you will be using Disney Bus Transportation to get from your Disney Resort to Magic Kingdom, it's easy to navigate back home. Once your magical evening adventure at a monorail resort is through, just hop on the monorail back to Magic Kingdom, and head to your resort bus.
Michele, I hope this helps. I'll be sending pixie dust your way to have a wonderful time at Walt Disney World! Please feel free to send me any
questions at planDisney if I can assist further.
See ya' real soon!
Tami