Halloween party worth it with young kids?

[TinkB278]

We are visiting in September with our one and four year olds. I’d love to take my four year old to the Halloween party but it’s quite a hefty price tag (our one year old would stay at the hotel with my parents). Is the Halloween party really worth the cost, especially for small children?

 

[dreamer17555]

Depends on your child and how well they do with late nights, crowds, and “semi” spooky (to a 4 yo) stuff.

Character lines will be long. They will get tons of candy at the trick or treat stations. You will need to grab a spot for the castle show, parade, and fireworks.

Can I ask what part of it you think they will enjoy most?

 

[TinkB278]

Depends on your child and how well they do with late nights, crowds, and “semi” spooky (to a 4 yo) stuff.

Character lines will be long. They will get tons of candy at the trick or treat stations. You will need to grab a spot for the castle show, parade, and fireworks.

Can I ask what part of it you think they will enjoy most?

Thanks for the info! Because he was born right before Covid he never really got to experience Halloween until last year and he loved it! He loved trick or treating (we don’t really let him eat the candy though..), loved the pumpkin patch, and loved all the general typical Halloween things like ghosts, pumpkins, etc. I think he would like seeing all the decorations and “spooky” stuff, but I don’t know if just seeing that stuff is really worth $100/person? I guess he’s only 4 once and you can’t put a price on memories.

 

[dreamer17555]

Thanks for the info! Because he was born right before Covid he never really got to experience Halloween until last year and he loved it! He loved trick or treating (we don’t really let him eat the candy though..), loved the pumpkin patch, and loved all the general typical Halloween things like ghosts, pumpkins, etc. I think he would like seeing all the decorations and “spooky” stuff, but I don’t know if just seeing that stuff is really worth $100/person? I guess he’s only 4 once and you can’t put a price on memories.

Honestly, based on your answer, it sounds like he would enjoy trick-or-treating in your neighborhood at home just as much. I think it’s so easy to get into the mindset that we have to do all of these things to create great memories, but I promise he will have an amazing Halloween with or without the Halloween party at Disney. Disney really isn’t pumpkin patch sort of event. It’s crowded and busy and can be easily overwhelming. I would honestly consider going to Magic Kingdom on a party day as the crowds are normally lower- you can see some of the decorations that’ll be up, but he can skip waiting for the nighttime Parade and special fireworks to get a good nights sleep and enjoy the next day at one of the parks.

The party is great and it does have trick-or-treating but it’s not like your typical trick-or-treating. However, they give tons of candy, but if you’re not gonna let him eat it… there are fall and pumpkin decorations up on Main Street in Magic Kingdom, starting in August all the time, but no pumpkin patch exactly. I’m more wondering how he’s gonna do with things like the headless horseman that starts off the parade or the gravediggers… if he was a super night owl, or obsessed with hocus-pocus or nightmare before Christmas I would say, go for it otherwise skip it.

 

[Her Dotness]

I agree with dreamer above, particularly this: I would honestly consider going to Magic Kingdom on a party day as the crowds are normally lower- you can see some of the decorations that’ll be up, but he can skip waiting for the nighttime Parade and special fireworks to get a good nights sleep and enjoy the next day at one of the parks.

We did the party pre-pandemic. The trick or treat was just a line that moved pretty speedily up to some CMs tossing a fun-size candy bag or bar into your bag. That's it. We went through one line and had enough, not being big candy eaters. Not much of the thrill of having relatives, friends or neighbors exclaiming how terrific kids' costumes are and giving treats.

No way I'd spend that much money for the party for a kid that young unless you're pretty sure he'll handle the scary stuff okay and will be eager to stay up until 10:00 or later without being Grumpy the next day.

 

[Wendysofftoneverland]

My kids loved the short lines, dressing up/seeing others' costumes, and trick or treating. It was worth it to me, just for shorter lines, but my kids stayed up til 10 so we got a lot of time in. The first year we went, they fell asleep in their strollers around 10 and my husband and I got to see the Hocus Pocus show with them snoozing beside us the whole time. The year of the Boo Bash, they stayed up til midnight (age 3 and 5). Not sure how old my son was when he became obsessed with the "no noggin" (Headless Horseman), but it was during the pandemic when there weren't parades. By the time my son (age 6 then) got to see the Horseman ride down Main Street, it was one of the highlights of his night.

 

[Aimeedyan]

If your child can hang late, it might be worth it. If they turn into a pumpkin at 9pm, it wouldn't be. The trick or treating is lame compared to the neighborhood trick or treating they will get to do at home. It's a massive, slow moving line where you get a few pieces of candy tossed in your bag. It gets better late at night, though. Shorter lines, more candy. Still not as fun as knocking on doors in the neighborhood.

Rare characters are cool, if you don't mind long lines. Fireworks are fantastic. Parade is fantastic. Shows are fun. Lines can be short at the rides, but they are just as short (if not shorter) during the day on party days. My very favorite MK days are party days!

We did the Christmas party last year with our young 3 year old only because he can hang with the best of them. He stayed up until the very end (midnight) dancing in the snow on Main St. We tend to skip Halloween parties, now, because of the weather.

 

[MamaMermaid]

My son has been going to Disney since he was 3 months old. He's 5.5 now -- we've never bitten the bullet for an evening party because he just cannot stay up late. 8:30/9 is really his limit, especially if we've been active during the day. This really boils down to "can your kid hang?"; if not, I'd skip it.

 

[kmckenzie]

We got tickets for the Halloween Party. We are huge Halloween people and this will be our first time going. My son will be 5!

 

[DVCSince99]

Are you staying on property? If so, I would look into the activities and fun there are is at the Boardwalk and Beach Club locations going around the lake on Halloween.

 

[Jack Kerouac]

Lines can be short at the rides, but they are just as short (if not shorter) during the day on party days. My very favorite MK days are party days!

Our last MK day in August is the first party day. Hoping for some super short lines. Can't wait!

 

[TinkB278]

Are you staying on property? If so, I would look into the activities and fun there are is at the Boardwalk and Beach Club locations going around the lake on Halloween.

Yes! Staying at riviera! What activities do they do by the boardwalk!?

 

[Moreanna]

If your child can hang late, it might be worth it. If they turn into a pumpkin at 9pm, it wouldn't be. The trick or treating is lame compared to the neighborhood trick or treating they will get to do at home. It's a massive, slow moving line where you get a few pieces of candy tossed in your bag. It gets better late at night, though. Shorter lines, more candy. Still not as fun as knocking on doors in the neighborhood.

Rare characters are cool, if you don't mind long lines. Fireworks are fantastic. Parade is fantastic. Shows are fun. Lines can be short at the rides, but they are just as short (if not shorter) during the day on party days. My very favorite MK days are party days!

We did the Christmas party last year with our young 3 year old only because he can hang with the best of them. He stayed up until the very end (midnight) dancing in the snow on Main St. We tend to skip Halloween parties, now, because of the weather.

I just want to be clear about this. We'll also be there in August, but DD does not want to do the Halloween night. Was trying to find other threads that mentioned parks crowds on days before evening events and this is the first I've seen about it. Was thinking that we'd do a different park that day since we'd have to leave MK early for the event. But now it sounds like it's actually the perfect day to go because of shorter lines (probably everyone thinking the way I was). If that's so, then we'll head to MK to take advantage of that. Just wondering if anyone else has noticed this phenomenon.

 

[Rory607]

I just want to be clear about this. We'll also be there in August, but DD does not want to do the Halloween night. Was trying to find other threads that mentioned parks crowds on days before evening events and this is the first I've seen about it. Was thinking that we'd do a different park that day since we'd have to leave MK early for the event. But now it sounds like it's actually the perfect day to go because of shorter lines (probably everyone thinking the way I was). If that's so, then we'll head to MK to take advantage of that. Just wondering if anyone else has noticed this phenomenon.

This was true for us on the day of one of the Christmas parties this past December. Lines were definitely shorter during the day and we got so much done. It was also a little rainy, which probably helped, but I think it was mostly due to the party that evening. A lot of people avoid MK on party days because they might have only one day for it and don’t want to have to leave early and miss fireworks.

 

[Moreanna]

This was true for us on the day of one of the Christmas parties this past December. Lines were definitely shorter during the day and we got so much done. It was also a little rainy, which probably helped, but I think it was mostly due to the party that evening. A lot of people avoid MK on party days because they might have only one day for it and don’t want to have to leave early and miss fireworks.

Sounds like a perfect strategy for a second day in the park after already seeing the fireworks the first night. Thanks for the tip!

 

[jtopp]

As fun as it is portrayed, it really is not worth the extra cost and effort for the party. To be able to stay out later, you would lose a day, and you don't know how long he can go until fatigue takes over. My kids enjoyed disney, but preferred halloween at home.