Oogie Boogie Bash 2025 Strategy & Itinerary – Follow this Plan for Treat Trails, Entertainment, Characters

Oogie Boogie Bash is the ticketed Disneyland Halloween party that takes place each year at Disney California Adventure Park as part of the Disneyland Halloween season. This is an extremely popular event with so much to do, which is why having an Oogie Boogie Bash strategy is essential.

Oogie Boogie Bash sells out each year, so that means that every party night you attend will be at full capacity. So this leads us to this question: What is the best Oogie Boogie Bash strategy? What character meet and greets are most important? What order should you hit the treat trails?

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Entering Oogie Boogie Bash at California Adventure

Each Oogie Boogie Bash ticket provides admission to Disney California Adventure Park beginning at 3 p.m.

To best take advantage of your time at Oogie Boogie Bash, I recommend lining up for the party at least 30 minutes before park access starts at 3 p.m. We have seen cast members let guests in early. During our most recent party night, we entered at 2:40 p.m.

Entering early means you can get a head start on any popular character or Treat Trail lines before the party begins. If you have your heart set on a popular character meet and greet, you will be allowed to line up for some of these before the start of the party, which means that a long wait can be spent before the party officially starts, saving you crucial party time.

You can also use this time to enjoy the other experiences and attractions in California Adventure, like the other Halloween entertainment, like The Storytellers of Plaza de la Familia and Guardians of the Galaxy – Monsters After Dark, before the party starts. This is the approach I recommend if you are not prioritizing rare characters!

You will be given a wristband, and you will be asked to show this often when the party starts to make sure you have a ticket for the event. This wristband has your code for your PhotoPass downloads. PhotoPass downloads during the event are included in your ticket price, and photos can be downloaded from your Disney account up to 45 days after the event.

Oogie Boogie Bash Experiences and Entertainment

Oogie Boogie Bash allows guests to wear their Halloween costumes in California Adventure, including adults, as they trick or treat in the park at themed Treat Trails featuring famous Disney villains.

Oogie Boogie Bash also includes a special Halloween parade, a walk-through Disney Villains experience, plus many other exclusive character meet and greet locations.

Each year, the character lineup and Treat Trails change, which makes this event entertaining for repeat guests. You can read through the 2025 lineup of Oogie Boogie Bash characters to see who is attending this year.

So when planning your strategy, consider the full list of activities to enjoy:

• Treat Trails- trick or treating with iconic villains
• Character meet and greets- rare characters come out each year for the event
• Villains Grove- walk-through light show, villains experience in Redwood Creek Challenge Trail, no characters present
• Frightfully Fun Parade- a parade featuring iconic villains, Nightmare Before Christmas, and Haunted Mansion characters
• Themed photo ops throughout the park

If you've attended a ticketed Disney event before, you know you need to prioritize your time carefully so you don't miss anything! Let's get into the 2025 Oogie Boogie Bash strategy.

Oogie Boogie Bash Strategy

Our 2025 Oogie Boogie Bash strategy includes entering California Adventure right at 3 p.m. so you can take that extra time to see the other Halloween entertainment in the park.

• Enter California Adventure at 3 p.m.
• Grab something to eat from the list of seasonal Halloween items.
• Watch the Storytellers of Plaza de la Familia, check the Disneyland app for showtimes, which will end before the party officially starts.
• Ride Guardians of the Galaxy – Monsters After Dark.

Once the party starts at 6 p.m., follow this order for the most efficient way to experience the Treat Trails and entertainment options! You can start lining up for experiences before the party begins. I recommend starting the Treat Trails that are inside and not impacted by the sun outside. One of the trickiest parts of Oogie Boogie Bash is that it begins before it is dark, and some of the experiences are better saved for the evening. With that in mind, this is the order I recommend you go through each 2025 Oogie Boogie Bash experience, which first prioritizes the Treat Trails.

• Disney Theater- Dr. Doofenshmirtz
• Animation Academy- Oogie Boogie
• Hollywood Backlot near Stage 12- Judge Doom
• Hollywood Backlot Stage- Hades

All of these Treat Trails are right next to each other, which makes it especially convenient to get them all done within the first hour of the party! It also helps guarantee you see four villains right away, as throughout the night, some villains may take short breaks from their Treat Trails, which can be disappointing. After you finish these, the route will essentially take you in a circle around the park instead of zig zagging around.

• Hyperion Theatre Courtyard- Ernesto de la Cruz
• Ancient Sanctum Avengers Campus- Agatha
• San Fransokyo Square- Yokai
• Villains Grove
  • The line to enter will always be shortest during the Frightfully Fun Parade, but actually, the line moves so quickly, so you can fit it in after the Treat Trails, which are easy to achieve this year since they are located so close to each other.
  • Even if the line is down to Soarin' Around the World, you will likely only wait 20-30 minutes.
• Grizzly Peak- Maleficent
• Watch the Frightfully Fun Parade at 10:05 p.m. The walkway to Pixar Pier (towards Lamplight Lounge) is blocked off about 15 minutes or so before the parade begins, which opens up plenty of front-row parade viewing with minimal wait.
• Pixar Pier Band Shell- Syndrome
• When finished meeting Syndrome, you can ride Incredicoaster and Toy Story Midway Mania to end your night, which will be walk-ons during this time.

Save your shopping for the end of the night, the shops on Buena Vista Street will remain open for an hour after the party closes!

How to Skip Villains Grove Lines at Oogie Boogie Bash

Villains Grove is the one experience, outside of character meet and greets, that creates long lines during Oogie Boogie Bash. If you are concerned about this line, especially if your kids may not want to wait when there are piles of candy scattered across the park, you can avoid it if you go at certain times.

The lines for Villains Grove will dip considerably during the first Frightfully Fun Parade showing at 7:50 p.m., as many guests will turn out to see the first showing of the parade, which will drastically reduce the line for Villains Grove. There are also benefits to this tactic, as the second showing of the parade will be far less crowded and will make getting a spot to sit much easier, so it's a win/win all around.

Villains Grove is a fun, creative experience as Redwood Creek Challenge Trail is transformed into a visually stunning tribute to Disney villains through fog, lighting effects, and more. But there are no actual characters present in Villains Grove, which may be disappointing for some kids. I personally love Villains Grove, and I find it a must-see experience, but my son is not impressed, as he wants to see actual characters. It's best to prepare kids that this experience does not include meeting villains or seeing them like at the Treat Trails.

Villains Grove is stunning, but it can be a time commitment during an already limited party experience.

Do Not Skip the Halloween Parade

One of the biggest challenges of Oogie Boogie Bash is trying to see everything in the short amount of time you have! Between balancing the Treat Trails, character meet and greets, and Villains Grove, guests should still also prioritize the Frightfully Fun Parade.

The Frightfully Fun Parade takes place at 7:50 p.m. and 10:05 p.m., so you have two opportunities to see the parade. The parade route begins in Paradise Garden Park at the Pixar Pier large brown gate for both performances. This is also the easiest area to find seating!

The parade is one of the best parts of the event! Do not miss it.