You can spend weeks planning the perfect night at Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party. You can decide which characters you want to meet, which Halloween treats you want to try, and where to watch the Mickey’s Boo-To-You Halloween Parade. Then, Florida weather can show up and change everything.
That is exactly what happened when the MouseHouseNews.net team recently attended Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party at Magic Kingdom. Rain dampened the beginning of our night and forced us to change some of our plans on the fly.
Instead of letting the weather ruin the party, we adjusted our strategy. Our experience also gave us a firsthand look at something every Disney Adult should consider before attending a Halloween party: Your carefully planned itinerary might need a backup plan.
Our Halloween Party Started With Rain
Rain at Walt Disney World is nothing unusual, particularly during Florida’s warmer months. Rain during a separately ticketed sold out Halloween party feels a little different, though.
Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party gives you a limited number of hours to experience entertainment, characters, attractions, specialty food, trick-or-treating, and other party-exclusive offerings. Every minute suddenly feels valuable. That made the rain at the beginning of our night a little frustrating.
We arrived with ideas about how we wanted the evening to unfold. This includes recording certain content for the MouseHouseNewsNet YouTube channel. However, the weather quickly reminded us that Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party sometimes requires flexibility.
Rather than going down our list to complete each item, we had to pay attention to the rain, arrive at certain locations only to learn the events changed and/or got canceled, consider which experiences made sense at that moment, and adjust our plans accordingly.
Just one example of the rain-induced changes: Upon arriving, the rain had the Disney PhotoPass photographers taking cover and certain characters along the route were not out. This meant we missed some opportunities to get photos with some of the characters.
The Rain Changed Our Strategy
Our biggest adjustment involved accepting that our original plan for the beginning of the party simply was not going to happen exactly as we envisioned it. That might sound obvious, but it can be difficult when you have paid for a limited-time event and already know what you want to accomplish, which is the smart thing to do ahead of time.
We shifted our attention toward experiences that made more sense under the conditions. Instead of spending the entire beginning of the night worrying about everything we were missing, we looked for opportunities to make productive use of our party time.
That mindset made a major difference. A rainy start does not necessarily mean you have lost the night. It means the order of your night may need to change. Also, be sure to opt for those crystal clear ponchos so everyone can still see the costume you meticulously packed in your luggage so you could wear on this one night!
Disney Adults Should Have A Plan B
Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party has enough going on that it can be tempting to create a detailed itinerary. Our experience reinforced why we would not recommend making that itinerary too rigid.
Instead, have priorities. Pick the experiences that matter most to you, then give yourself some flexibility regarding when you experience them.
Rain can affect outdoor entertainment. Knowing this, our team decided to watch the first Mickey’s Boo-To-You Halloween Parade instead of the second showing. Our original plan was actually to skip the first parade, but we didn’t want to risk the second parade being rained out and missing our opportunity to see it. Even with this decision, we did notice that the Headless Horseman did not ride in advance of the parade (likely due to the wet streets).
It just goes to show that even when an event you plan to see remains available, it may be slightly modified due to the rain. Also, you may decide that crossing the park in the rain simply is not worth it at that moment.
A flexible list of priorities gives you room to pivot without feeling like the entire evening has fallen apart.
Pack For The Party You Might Get
Our rainy experience also reinforced the importance of checking the forecast and arriving prepared.
A poncho or rain jacket in your park bag can make a huge difference. A small umbrella can help when conditions allow it, while water-resistant shoes can save you from spending several hours walking around Magic Kingdom with soaked feet.
Protect your electronics, too. Phones, cameras, batteries, and other equipment deserve extra protection when rain is possible. That becomes especially important for us at MouseHouseNews.net because documenting our experiences for you is part of the reason we are there.
Preparation cannot stop the rain from coming. However, it can stop the rain from becoming a much bigger problem.
The Beginning Of The Night Does Not Define The Entire Party
This was probably the biggest lesson from our experience.
When rain interferes with the beginning of Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party, it is easy to start calculating how much party time you are losing. That can quickly become the focus of the evening.
We chose not to let that happen.
Our plans changed. Some things needed to happen later than expected, while other decisions had to be made as the evening unfolded. We kept adapting instead of spending the night comparing reality with the itinerary we had created beforehand.
That helped us continue enjoying the party once conditions improved.
Would We Attend Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party In The Rain Again?
Absolutely… not that we would have the advantage of a weather forecast anyway since tickets sell out well in advance. We would simply go into the night knowing that flexibility matters just as much as preparation.
Weather can disrupt even the best Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party plan. A rainy beginning does not automatically mean a ruined party, though. Disney Adults who arrive prepared, establish their priorities, and remain willing to change the order of their evening can still get plenty out of the event.
Our MouseHouseNews.net team did not experience the night exactly the way we originally planned. That became part of the experience. Sometimes the best Disney World strategy is knowing when to throw your original strategy out the window, pull out the poncho, and figure out what comes next.
