When I first started thinking about shopping for my wedding dress I knew I wanted to go to California. My dad grew up there and we visited family all the time. I knew that the fashion scene was beyond what I could find in Idaho or Utah. Now what does that have to do with Disney? Well, if I was going to California anyways I was going to go to Disneyland and Disney California Adventures (DCA)! Since my Jr. Bridesmaids wanted to be there for dress shopping we had to plan the trip around their fall break from school. This ended up being the perfect time because none of us had seen Disney decorated for October before! And since we were going to be there anyways, why wouldn’t we buy tickets to the Oogie Boogie Bash?! Trick-Or-Treating, characters, and dressing up? Sign me up!
What is it?
The Oogie Boogie Bash is a halloween party thrown at Disney every year. This year it is in DCA on Sunday and Tuesday nights! It is a separate ticket from park entrance which means during the time of the party only those ticket holders are in the park. This means it is way less crowded and so enjoyable!
Some of the activities are Trick-or-Treating, parade, special character interactions, dance party, and more! Oh, and you also get to dress up because it is basically a huge costume party!
Tips & Suggestions
I’ll be honest, we did everything wrong at this event! However, it was still a blast and we learned so much!
Tip #1 – Schedule this early in your trip! They only do this party on Sunday and Tuesday so I know that isn’t always possible but seriously, we did it on our third day and were all so tired and our feet hurt so bad during the trick-or-treating. If possible, do this day 1!
Tip #2 – Wear comfortable costumes. We actually did really comfortable costumes but we saw so many people struggling with wigs, capes, and pieces of their costume that were not ride or crowd friendly! I suggest something that doesn’t have any extra parts that may fall of or get caught on anything. I promise you’d rather be comfy than look cool at this!
Tip #3 – Trick-Or-Treat first! We thought that we would trick or treat last so that we didn’t have to carry the bags of candy around the whole night. However, I wish we would have done it differently. By the time we started the Trick-Or-Treat lines they were packed because I think a lot of people had the same thought we did. Had we started Trick-Or-Treating at the beginning there were like no lines and we could have gone straight through all of them!
Tip #4 – Ride all the rides after 7:30. Around 7:30 is when is gets dark and there is a lot going on. There is the parade, the dance party, and parents are now taking their kids Trick-Or-Treating. Seriously from a little after 7:30 until we left around 10 there were no lines for any of the rides! We walked straight onto Guardians of the Galaxy and Soarin’ Over The World! We had about a 30 min way for the Cars ride but compared to the 85 minute line it normally is we were happy!
Tip #5 – Get your tickets early! This is a limited ticket event and they sell out fast. We booked our tickets in September and were lucky to get them. There were so many days already sold out and within a week the rest of the dates were sold out! I highly suggest buying them as soon as they go on sale to make sure you get a date that coincides with your trip!
Was it worth it?
YES!! These tickets are SO worth it! I definitely suggest not buying an additional park ticket for the day because this party ticket gets you in from 3pm – 11pm at California Adventure. So I don’t know that it is worth it to buy another park pass to do Disneyland in the morning, but that is totally up to you!
Seriously, your kids will be AMAZED at how much candy you get. And the characters are in full force during this party! Also, being able to skip the lines since it is a limited ticket event is worth it in and of itself.
I 100% recommend the Oogie Boogie Bash if you are planning a trip to Disneyland in October!
Thank you for these tips! My kiddos would love to do this next year!
Yes! I highly recommend it for your kids 🙂
These are some good tips. Disney was hard when we got tired and our feet were killing us.
Oh my goodness, this looks like so much fun! I really hope that we can bring our kiddos to this someday!
I am a TA and sell alot of Disney, but have not been to this party! Good tips- I think these special events are just a fun way to get in the spirit and get to run around Disney with less crowds!
Absolutely! It is such an awesome experience to get into the Halloween spirit 🙂 And shorter lines are a HUGE bonus!
I appreciate these tips so much…especially since we’re planning a trip to LA soon. We’d love to make the rounds at Disneyland. It looks like you had a fun time!
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Yes yes yes! I will be doing a few more posts about where to eat in the area so definitely keep an eye open for that!
Looks like you had such a great time. Good tips about the parking and candy amount. Incredible!
What a fun way to experience Disneyland! If I ever go to Disneyland in October, I’m totally following your advice to attend the Oogie Boogie Bash at the beginning of my trip. Considering you get access to the attractions in addition to all the extra events like trick or treating and the parade from 3 to 11, it definitely sounds worthwhile!
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This boogie bash sure looks like a great time! I love how you broke it down and give tips on how to make it a great experience.
Thank you so much for sharing this review! I have considered going for years now, and this looks so much fun.
Yes yes yes! I highly recommend it. Just to have fewer people at the park is 100% worth it and all the halloween fun is a bonus!
We would’ve waited to trick or treat last, the same as you. I’m not sure I can convince my kiddos to wait to go on the rides, but I am going to do my best.
It is definitely a battle with the kiddos but at the end of it they all agreed that next time we will wait lol
It looks so fun! I like your suggestion about scheduling it earlier in your visit. I can imagine how the experience is affected when you’re tired and achy.