Oogie Boogie Bash Strategy, Best Halloween Party Tips

Oogie Boogie Bash is the ticketed Disneyland Halloween party that takes place each year at 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 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, an interactive Halloween party featuring Mickey, walk walk-through Disney Villains experience plus many other exclusive character meet and greet locations.

Oogie Boogie Bash SOLD OUT for the Halloween season as this event has seen unprecedented demand with tickets selling out quickly through Disney's three separate controlled ticket sales events. This means that every party night you attend will be at full capacity as the event is completely sold out. 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?

Let's talk our BEST Oogie Boogie Bash strategy. We have been getting tons of questions about when Oogie Boogie Bash tickets will go on sale.

What's Included with Oogie Boogie Bash Tickets?

Each Oogie Boogie Bash ticket provides admission to Disney California Adventure Park beginning at 3 p.m. with no theme park reservation required. PhotoPass photos during the event are also included in your ticket price and photos can be downloaded from your Disney account up to 45 days after the event.

To best take advantage of your time at Oogie Boogie Bash, I recommend lining up for the party immediately when your access to the park starts at 3 p.m. Some guests will begin lining up before that but at 3 p.m. every guest will be allowed into the park that has an Oogie Boogie Bash ticket for that night.

What's the benefit of our Oogie Boogie Bash strategy in arriving at 3 p.m.? This means you can get a headstart 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 prior to the start of the party which means that a long wait can be spent before the party officially starts which saves you crucial party time.

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Most Popular Oogie Boogie Bash Characters

Oogie Boogie Bash will offer Minnie Mouse, Daisy Duck, and Clarabelle Cow dressed up as the Sanderson Sisters from Hocus Pocus. This is easily the MOST popular meet and greet. Cast members will start allowing guests to line up prior to the beginning of the party and this line will build quickly. If this character meet and greet is a must-do experience, I recommend beginning to line up before the party starts or coming back during the first parade when the line calms down.

Bruno is another popular character with consistently long lines throughout the party. 

One of the most popular Treat Trails each year is consistently Oogie Boogie which is located in the Animation Building. The line for this Treat Trail can get long so this is another good spot to line up for before the party officially starts.

Ernesto De La Cruz easily stole the show at Oogie Boogie Bash, he was absolutely amazing. The line for this Treat Trail was consistently long throughout the night although it did move quickly.

Oogie Boogie Bash featured two brand-new characters, Judge Doom from Who Framed Roger Rabbit and Yokai from Big Hero 6. 

Oogie Boogie Bash Treat Trails

The Treat Trails include some returning favorites along with two brand new ones like Judge Doom and Yokai. Here's the full list below:

• Avengers Campus- Ancient Sanctum featuring Agatha Harkness
• Cars Land- Bountiful Valley Hideaway featuring Madam Mim
• Hollywood Land- Disney Animation featuring Oogie Boogie
• Hollywood Land- Hollywood Backlot featuring Cruella De Vil
• Hollywood Land- Hyperion Theatre featuring Ernesto de la Cruz
• Pixar Pier – Near The Pixar Pal-Around featuring Sid
• Grizzly Peak Airfield featuring Judge Doom
• Grizzly Pass featuring Mother Gothel
• San Fransokyo Square featuring Yokai

Our strategy for Oogie Boogie Bash will take into account seeing ALL the Treat Trails plus experiencing Villain's Grove and the Frightfully Fun Parade.

Oogie Boogie Bash Strategy

Our strategy includes entering California Adventure right at 3 p.m. to allow more time to line up for popular characters BEFORE the party starts. If you do not plan on doing that, you can skip that first step.

• Enter California Adventure at 3 p.m.
• Grab something to eat from the list of popular Halloween food items or the new items at San Fransokyo.
• Line up for the Sanderson Sisters meet and greet by 4:30 p.m. This is the most popular character meet and greet and yes, the line may really be this long!
• If waiting this long for the Sanderson Sisters doesn't sound appealing, pivot to lining up for Ernesto de la Cruz at the Hyperion Theatre at 5:30 p.m., or earlier depending on the line you see building.

Once the party starts at 6 p.m., follow this order for the most efficient way to experience the Treat Trails and entertainment options!

• Hyperion Theatre- Ernesto de la Cruz
• Disney Animation Building- Oogie Boogie
• Hollywood Backlot- Cruella De Vil
• Grizzly Peak Airfield- Judge Doom
• Grizzly Pass- Mother Gothel
• Villains Grove
  • Time this so you're lining up for Villains Grove by 7:30 p.m. when lines are the lowest as most guests will be congregating to watch the first run of the Frightfully Fun Parade at 7:50 p.m.
• San Fransokyo Square- Yokai
• Cars Land- Madam Mim
• Avengers Campus- Agatha Harkness
• Pixar Pier- Sid
• 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.

The Mickey's Trick and Treat interactive show has numerous showtimes throughout the night which allows this show to easily fit into the touring strategy above depending on how fast you move through the Treat Trails.

How to Skip Villain's Grove Lines at Oogie Boogie Bash

Villain's Grove is easily going to be the longest line to navigate your entire night with the exception of the Sanderson Sisters meet and greet. This is why I recommend going to Villain's Grove 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 Villain's Grove. Or if you want to prioritize a popular character appearance, like meeting Minnie and the gang dressed as the Sanderson Sisters, that is also a good option.

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.

However, regardless of how you look at it, Villain's Grove can easily consume a large chunk of your night. Kids might not be as excited about Villain's Grove as adults since there are no physical characters and this is primarily a lights/projection-based visual experience. It is stunning but it is a big time commitment during an already limited party experience. 

Disneyland DAS users can have their pass linked to their account for Villains Grove and receive a return time so talk to a cast member at the entrance to Villain's Grove if you need accommodations and have already been approved for DAS. This is the only experience you can use DAS for so keep that in mind.

Best Entertainment at Oogie Boogie Bash

One of the biggest challenges of Oogie Boogie Bash is trying to see everything in the short amount of time you have! There are three entertainment options offered aside from Treat Trails and characters: Villain's Grove, Mickey's Trick or Treat, and the Frightfully Fun Parade.

Out of all these three, guests should prioritize the Frightfully Fun Parade. While I do recommend going through Villain's Grove during the first showing of the parade, if you have younger kids that may not last until the second showing of the parade then I do not recommend this. In fact, younger kids will likely enjoy Mickey's Trick and Treat much more than Villain's Grove! If you have younger kids, you may want to skip Villain's Grove and opt for the more interactive Mickey's Trick and Treat instead.

Villain's Grove is a cool 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 Villain's Grove which may be disappointing for some kids. I personally loved Villain's Grove and I find it a must-see experience but my son was not impressed as he wanted to see actual villains, he would have rather spent that time waiting for more candy in the Treat Trails. It's best to prepare kids that this experience does not include meeting villains or seeing them like at the Treat Trails.

If you plan ahead and cross California Adventure with purpose, hitting all the Treat Trails in one are before moving to another part, then you can see everything you want to at Oogie Boogie Bash.

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