Minnie’s Halloween Dine at Hollywood Studios
Minnie’s Halloween Dine, the spooky themed character dining, begins at Hollywood & Vine usually in late September.
Guests get to interact with characters like Minnie Mouse in her witch costume, Goofy as a spooky cowboy, Mickey Mouse dressed as a vampire, and Pluto wearing his Halloween collar. This character dining option is popular as its one of the only Halloween themed activities outside of Magic Kingdom and reservations go fast!
Read our review of character dining at Hollywood & Vine to prepare for your visit!>
EPCOT International Food & Wine Festival
This event is not strictly for Halloween but the EPCOT International Food & Wine Festival is the ongoing festival at EPCOT during the Halloween season at Walt Disney World. You will notice a good sized selection of Fall seasonal foods at this festival making it line up nicely with the Halloween celebrations at Magic Kingdom.
The 2023 EPCOT International Food & Wine Festival takes place July 27 and continuing through November 18, 2023.
Pluto’s Pumpkin Pursuit
Disneyland’s Downtown Disney also throws this scavenger hunt, you can see the 2022 pumpkin themed prizes above.
The festival does celebrate the Halloween season by throwing a special pumpkin themed scavenger hunt which will take place September 29 to October 31, 2022.
It’s quite easy to take part of the Pluto’s Pumpkin Pursuit scavenger hunt:
- Purchase a special map and stickers at select merchandise locations, including Creations Shop, Port of Entry and World Traveler at International Gateway.
- Have fun hunting for hidden decorative pumpkins based on Disney characters. Once you’ve found a character, place the corresponding stickers on your Pluto’s Pumpkin Pursuit map.
Whether you choose to hunt for pumpkins or not, you may return your map to Disney Traders—located at the entrance to World Showcase or World Traveler at International Gateway––for a prize. Last year the prize was small pumpkins with Disney character faces on them.
Disney Springs
This year Disney Springs will include Halloween-themed live music on the waterside stage. The band Squad Ghoul will play each Friday through Sunday, September 29th through October 29th.
Disney Springs will also feature themed Halloween displays for merchandise in all of its Disney owned stores along with some fall decorations around the shopping and dining district.
Animal Kingdom
Animal Kingdom will feature Disney villains during the Animal Experience at the Conservation Station. Disney animators will teach guests how to draw Bruce from “Finding Nemo;” Kaa and Shere Khan from “The Jungle Book;” Tick-Tock from “Peter Pan;” or Scar from “The Lion King.”
The villain animation line-up runs from October 1st through October 31st. While there’s not much focus on Halloween at Animal Kingdom, it’s great to see this addition to the park especially for guests attending specifically for the festivities.
Walt Disney World Halloween FAQ
For guests visiting Walt Disney World for Halloween 2023, you may have a few questions on what to expect and how to have the best experience in the resort.
What are the dates for Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween party 2023?
The dates for Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween party run from August 11th to November 1st. Yes, Halloween in August! Since the party is so popular, Walt Disney World runs the festivities for some time so everyone can have the chance to go.
What dates is Disney World decorated for Halloween?
The decoration dates usually line up with the Halloween party at Magic Kingdom, Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween party, so you can expect the first decorations to go up in Magic Kingdom in August and last through Halloween. Some guests like to try and visit the week after Halloween to get a chance to see both the Halloween and the Christmas decorations up at the same time!
Which Disney World park is best for Halloween?
Magic Kingdom is the Walt Disney World theme park that is best for Halloween. Since this is where the Halloween party is held you will see the biggest and best decorations in this theme park. You will see the decorations for Halloween at Walt Disney World regulated to mainly Magic Kingdom and Disney Springs. But you can find themed Disney pumpkins around EPCOT for the Pluto’s Pumpkin Pursuit scavenger hunt.
Is Disney decorated for Halloween in September?
Yes! Walt Disney World will have their full Halloween decorations up in September.
How long is Disney decorated for Halloween?
Halloween decorations stay up from mid-August to Halloween on October 31st. The day after Halloween you will start to see the decorations coming down. Technically, the Halloween season is the longest holiday celebration at Walt Disney World even surpassing Christmas since it begins so early.
What Halloween food can you find at Walt Disney World?
Walt Disney World will have a long list of Walt Disney World Halloween food options each year! Most of the options are available in Magic Kingdom, Disney Springs, and the Walt Disney World resort hotels.
Walt Disney World Halloween Rides
Unlike Disneyland’s Halloween celebration, Walt Disney World doesn’t do any themed or overlay attractions at their theme parks. Disneyland does a full overlay on their Haunted Mansion transforming it into a Nightmare Before Christmas theme and also does a Halloween spin on some of their Cars Land attractions.
In Magic Kingdom, you can enjoy the always classic Haunted Mansion to enjoy some spooky vibes during your Halloween visit. While PhotoPass opportunities in front of the Haunted Mansion take place more often during the Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween party, there will still be possible chances to get a photo op with one of the hitch hiking ghosts from the ride.
Another spooky ride at Walt Disney World would be the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror in Hollywood Studios. The twilight zone themed ghost presence in this ride matches up perfectly with a nice Halloween themed day. Combine it with the Minnie’s Halloween character dining at Hollywood & Vine then you have a perfect Halloween afternoon at Hollywood Studios.
Return to Sleepy Hollow- Fort Wilderness Campground
Return to Sleepy Hollow is a fall event that was held at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground. The event would include a viewing of the classic movie The Legend of Sleepy Hollow inside the Tri-Circle-D Ranch stables. During the event, guests would be able to experience a personal encounter with the Headless Horseman. After the movie, the resort would throw a dessert party filled with Halloween-themed treats.
The event typically took place on certain weekends in September and October and the full week of Halloween. The event hasn’t been held in a few years and it’s uncertain if we’ll see it return. So far Disney has made no formal announcement on this event returning to Fort Wilderness Campground. We would love to see this event return but until we hear anything official from Disney then you should assume it will not be a part of this year’s Halloween season.
Walt Disney World Halloween Merchandise
Halloween merchandise is always a big hit with Disney fans as most of it often features popular villains or beloved attractions like the Haunted Mansion!
Some of the merchandise can be found online at Shop Disney along with Disney Springs, and the theme parks. Here’s the sneak peak of some of the merchandise you will be able to find at the parks this year!
