Your tickets to Mickey’s Halloween Party at Disneyland get you inside the gates at Disney California Adventure at 3 p.m. or 4 p.m. (depends on party date) but why not make a full day out of it? Here are things to do before Mickey’s Halloween Party starts. Most of these ideas are FREE, since you might not want to spend a lot of money in addition to those Mickey’s Halloween Party. I included a few splurges as well.
I don’t recommend using a day of your multi day ticket on the day you attend Mickey’s Halloween Party. That doubles the price of tickets for that day! Plus, you’ll want to make the most of your Party time and stay until 11 p.m. or 12 p.m., and most kiddos (including mine) can’t put in a full regular Disneyland day on top of doing Mickey’s Halloween Party. You don’t want them to melt down right in the middle of the special Party! (You don’t want your kids to melt down any time, actually.)
10 Disneyland Tips for Mickey’s Halloween Party series (view all):
Go to Tip #1: Is Mickey’s Halloween Party Worth It?
Go to Tip #2: DIY Sally Costume Nightmare Before Christmas
Go to Tip #3: Make the Most of Your Disneyland Day: Stay Close and Nap!
Go to Tip #4: Comfy Shoes for Disneyland!
Go to Tip #5 (You are here): Things to Do Before Mickey’s Halloween Party Starts!
Tips #6–#10: Don’t Miss a Trick—or a Treat!—at Mickey’s Halloween Party!
Read my book Disneyland on a Budget: How Our Family Spends 30 Days a Year at Disneyland without Breaking the Bank! (affiliate link)
If you’re an Annual Passholder and you’re going to Mickey’s Halloween Party, you know what to do before the Party starts: take full advantage of a less-busy day in the Parks!
Fill up your morning and early afternoon with low-key fun before Mickey’s Halloween Party starts to make the most of your day at Disneyland, i.e., don’t try to go to Huntington Beach and Mickey’s Halloween Party on the same day. You don’t want to wear out your kiddos before the Party.
Here are some ideas for things to do before Mickey’s Halloween Party starts. These tips also work if you have a half day open on your Disneyland arrival or departure day and you don’t have tickets for the Parks.
Here are a few FREE ideas for things to do before Mickey’s Halloween Party starts:
1. Swim at your hotel pool.
2. Pack a deck of cards and a board game and play games by the pool or in your hotel room.
3. Window shop at Downtown Disney—of course, that can go from free to expensive quickly! If you just look at the cool Lego Store statues, browse the Downtown Disney shops, and check out the Grand Californian and Disneyland Hotel lobbies, you can visit Downtown Disney for free!
If you’re staying at a hotel within walking distance to Disneyland, you won’t need to park at Downtown Disney so you can stay as long as you like!
You have to spend $20 to get two hours of free parking in Downtown Disney now. If you do need to park at Downtown Disney, you could meet your $20 purchase requirement for free parking by eating breakfast or lunch in Downtown Disney.
The cheapest restaurants in Downtown Disney are:
- Earl of Sandwich: Hot and cold sandwiches and salads, all lunch items are $7.99 or less.
- Taqueria at Tortilla Jo’s: Build your own Mexican lunch, $7.50–$9.50.
- Ralph Brennan’s Jazz Kitchen Express: American/Creole, 5 lunch items under $8.
Each of those restaurants has lots of choices on the lunch menu under $8.
A lot of people go to Earl of Sandwich thinking it’s the cheapest restaurant in Downtown Disney. That may be true overall, because each item on the Earl of Sandwich menu costs less than $8. But, Ralph Brennan’s Jazz Kitchen Express includes a side dish with lunch entrees, and Tortilla Jo’s Taqueria gives you heaps of protein-rich meat and beans and cheese in your build-your-own dishes. If you order the less-expensive items on the menu, Ralph’s Express and Tortilla Jo’s Taqueria lunches should more filling than Earl of Sandwich hoagies, for the same price.
4. Do you have a moviepass subscription? You can use it at the Downtown Disney AMC! If you’re visiting Disneyland from out of state, you may be shocked at California movie ticket prices! Plus, the Downtown Disney AMC is even more expensive than most of the local theaters. Our last visit to a 3D movie at Downtown Disney AMC cost about $65 just for tickets.
But, if you have moviepass, you can get in for free! Obviously, you do pay your monthly subscription fee ($10 per person). If you’re attending Mickey’s Halloween Party and you don’t live close to Disneyland, you’ll spend at least one night in a hotel. For a one night stay, you’ll be near Disneyland for two days, even if you just have tickets for one Mickey’s Halloween Party. With moviepass, you can get into one movie per day. So you could take your family to a movie at Downtown Disney AMC the evening you arrive, then go to a second movie early the next day, all included with your subscription!
Moviepass does not have a contract, so you could buy the subscription before your Disneyland trip, and watch movies at Downtown Disney AMC at a huge discount. If you don’t think you’ll use moviepass at home, simply cancel the subscription after your trip.
5. Visit the Disneyland Hotel and Grand Californian lobbies. Only at Disneyland does hanging out in a hotel lobby count as family fun! You don’t have to be a guest of a Disneyland Resort hotel to check out all of the magical details at the Disneyland Hotel and the Grand Californian.
Here are a few EXPENSIVE things to do before Mickey’s Halloween Party starts:
1. Have brunch at Goofy’s Kitchen, Chip and Dale’s Critter Breakfast, or Surf’s Up! with Mickey.
I have more details about Disneyland Character Dining in this post:
Is Mickey’s Halloween Party Worth It? 10 Disneyland Tips for Mickey’s Halloween Party
A Character Meal is admittedly expensive. Get the most for your money: reserve one of the later time slots for breakfast. You can cover breakfast and lunch for one price, and get tons of character interaction, all before you ever set foot inside the Parks!
Be aware that towards the end of breakfast seating, the characters start thinning out a bit. This is particularly troublesome at the Chip and Dale breakfast, where there are already fewer characters than at most of the other Character Meals.
We’ve found 10:30 a.m. is the sweet spot for Goofy’s Kitchen or Chip & Dale’s Breakfast: It’s a great time for brunch, plus you should get the maximum number of characters coming to your table. Note: Reserve no later than 10:00 a.m. for Surf’s Up! breakfast, because breakfast seating ends at 11 a.m. and your kids will probably want to do the dance party with Stitch over and over and over….
2. See a movie at Downtown Disney AMC. This makes the FREE and the EXPENSIVE list! With moviepass, you can see a movie free! If you walk up and buy tickets, you’ll pay about $51, and $67 for a 3D movie.
Make sure you pick a 12 p.m. show time so you can get out of the movie and into your costumes with plenty of time to spare before Mickey’s Halloween Party starts at 3 p.m. or 4 pm.!
3. Shop at Downtown Disney! Since Mickey’s Halloween Party only lasts 8 hours, it’s a great idea to shop in World of Disney for your Disneyland souvenirs before you can enter Mickey’s Halloween Party! Take your time browsing the huge store and don’t waste time shopping at the Party!
Be aware that there will be Party-exclusive souvenirs inside the Parks so you may want to hold back some of your souvenir budget.
World of Disney is enormous, but no, it does not carry every item you’ll find in stores inside the Parks. If your souvenirs are small enough, you could pack them in your stroller or backpack, hold on to your receipt, and exchange them at any store inside Disneyland or California Adventure, no problem.
If your kids choose giant souvenirs like lightsabers, you’ll want to drop off the souvenirs at your hotel when you go back to change into your costumes. If you won’t be visiting Disneyland again soon, make sure you have a decisive kid who won’t get buyer’s remorse when he spies something better at a store inside Disneyland or California Adventure.
10 Disneyland Tips for Mickey’s Halloween Party series (view all):
Go to Tip #1: Is Mickey’s Halloween Party Worth It?
Go to Tip #2: DIY Sally Costume Nightmare Before Christmas
Go to Tip #3: Make the Most of Your Disneyland Day: Stay Close and Nap!
Go to Tip #4: Comfy Shoes for Disneyland!
Go to Tip #5 (You are here): Things to Do Before Mickey’s Halloween Party Starts!
Tips #6–#10: Don’t Miss a Trick—or a Treat!—at Mickey’s Halloween Party!
Read my book Disneyland on a Budget: How Our Family Spends 30 Days a Year at Disneyland without Breaking the Bank! (affiliate link)
