The Earliest Halloween Party Yet: 38 Not-So-Scary Nights Have Magic Kingdom Fans Buzzing

By entgrove · August 1, 2026

Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party opens August 7 at Magic Kingdom, the earliest start in the event's history, and runs 38 select nights through October 31. A new Stitch dance party at Rockettower Plaza joins the returning Boo-to-You parade, Hocus Pocus Villain Spelltacular and Not So Spooky Spectacular fireworks, with tickets priced from $119 to $229 by date.

Magic Kingdom starts its Halloween season on August 7 this year, the earliest Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party has ever opened. The separately ticketed after-hours event runs 38 nights through Halloween itself, with a new Stitch dance party joining the Boo-to-You parade, the Hocus Pocus Villain Spelltacular and the Not So Spooky Spectacular fireworks.

An August opening night, the earliest the party has ever started

The August 7 start is the headline number. Not-So-Scary has crept earlier for years, but an opening night in the first full week of August is new territory, and it lands while Central Florida is still deep in summer heat and afternoon storms. The party began in 1995 as a single night at Magic Kingdom. Thirty-one years later it fills 38 dates and stretches across three months of the calendar.

The practical effect is that a large slice of Magic Kingdom's summer evenings are now party nights. On a party date the park closes early to day guests, typically at 6 p.m., and only ticket holders stay on. Anyone planning an August or September trip who has no interest in Halloween needs to read the calendar before picking park days, because a regular ticket buys a much shorter evening on those dates.

Stitch takes over Rockettower Plaza with a new dance party

The one genuinely new addition Disney has detailed is a Stitch-hosted dance party on the Rockettower Plaza Stage in Tomorrowland, with Lilo and Angel joining him for music and costumes. That stage sits just inside the Tomorrowland entrance, near Astro Orbiter, and it has hosted party-night dance sets before under different themes.

Giving the slot to Stitch is a straightforward read of where guest interest sits right now. Angel in particular has become one of the harder characters to find in the parks, and putting her on a stage on 38 nights makes her far more accessible than a rope-drop meet-and-greet line would.

Boo-to-You, Hocus Pocus and the fireworks all return

The three pieces of entertainment that define the party are all back. Mickey's Boo-to-You Parade runs twice most nights, led down Main Street U.S.A. by the Headless Horseman, and remains the reason many guests buy the ticket at all. The Hocus Pocus Villain Spelltacular takes the Cinderella Castle forecourt stage with the Sanderson sisters, and Disney's Not So Spooky Spectacular handles fireworks over the castle.

On the character side, Jack Skellington and Sally will be out for meet-and-greets alongside Mickey and Minnie in their Halloween costumes. Disney is also teasing roaming villains around the park, which is the sort of detail the company usually leaves vague until opening night. Trick-or-treating stations run throughout Magic Kingdom, and party tickets include as much candy as guests are willing to carry.

Every party night, August through October

The 38 dates break down like this:

• August: 7, 11, 14, 18, 21, 23, 25, 28, 30
• September: 1, 4, 8, 11, 13, 15, 18, 20, 22, 24, 25, 27, 29
• October: 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 9, 13, 15, 16, 18, 22, 23, 25, 27, 29, 31

October carries the most dates at 16, including Halloween night. September is close behind at 13. August, with 9, is the thinnest month and the one most likely to still have availability.

What the tickets cost

Prices run from $119 to $229 before tax, priced per night rather than as a single flat rate. The bottom of that range belongs to the early nights and the top to the most in-demand October dates, with Halloween itself always the hardest ticket of the run. Tickets went on sale to the general public on May 12, after an early window on May 5 for guests booked at select Walt Disney World resort hotels. Annual passholders and Disney Vacation Club members get a discount on select nights.

What this means for guests

The first party lands within the week, so anyone already booked for early August has a decision to make fast. Two things make the ticket worth more than the sum of its shows. Costumes are allowed for guests of every age on party nights, which is the one time all year adults can walk into Magic Kingdom in costume. And in past years the party ran 7 p.m. to midnight with ticket holders admitted from 4 p.m., which turns a $119 ticket into most of an evening in the park.

August and early September nights are the cheaper, thinner ones, and the trade is heat and a real chance of a storm rolling through the parade. October nights cost more and fill faster. Party dates and pricing are listed at DisneyWorld.com.