I recently returned from a trip to Disneyland, where we were able to participate in the Oogie Boogie Bash! So, I wanted to write a little review on it.
What is the Oogie Boogie Bash?
The Oogie Boogie Bash is what Disney calls the after-hours Halloween party that takes place in California Adventure in the Disneyland resort. This is a separately ticketed event. The price can be a little off-putting, but we found it to be well worth it (but let’s hope they don’t increase the price much more!). The nice thing is that you don’t have to have a regular day ticket to be able to attend. If you only purchase the tickets for the Oogie Boogie Bash, then you are able to get into the park as early as 3 p.m. with the party starting at 6 p.m. The party includes immersive treat trails, unique character experiences, a special parade, “Mickey’s Trick or Treat” show, and more! One of the most popular things to do during this event at Disneyland Resort is “Villains Grove.”
The nice thing about doing these events during a trip to DisneyLAND is that you most likely aren’t spending as many days there as you would on a trip to Disney World. This makes it a little bit easier to splurge for these special events.
Enjoy the beautiful views as dusk sets in. Looking over the water by Pixar Pier can give you some great views.
Don't Be Afraid to Wear a Costume
The vast majority of the people attending the Oogie Boogie Bash were dressed in costumes. That includes adults (even with no kids). A LOT of people who were attending were adults that didn’t have any kids with them, and nobody had any shame in dressing up and having fun. There were some really elaborate costumes, and a lot of creative couple and family costumes.
These are the costumes we wore. Unfortunately, we were scrambling last minute for costumes when we realized we didn’t have anything to wear for the party! So we didn’t match, but I think we still look pretty good.
IMPORTANT TIP: I’m wearing a mask in this photo, but don’t try to take a mask in the park if you are an adult, unless you are okay with possibly having it confiscated (like what happened to me). I did see that the website mentioned that adults can’t wear a mask over their face (kids can’t wear full masks either, but kids can wear small ones around their eyes), but I didn’t see anything about not even being able to bring one in. I was planning on wearing mine as an accessory either around my neck or on my forehead (which is how I was wearing it when I walked in). Nope! Security took it away (unless I wanted to walk all the way back to my hotel to take it back). The security guard that took it away was nice enough. He did end up totally blaming it on the rules he had to follow (and he also gave me a good tip about using black paint on my face in place of a mask next time), but Disney really should make it more clear, beforehand, that you aren’t allowed to bring small masks in the park at all (unless you are a young child). It was a little frustrating seeing other adults inside the park with the same kind of mask on, and nobody was saying anything to them. I also saw a couple guys with huge black goggles on that completely covered their eyes. I do understand the reasoning for no full size masks, but the mask I had was smaller than most people’s sunglasses (which is maybe how people were able to hide theirs to get them past secruity?). Oh well. We have to follow Mickey’s rules. Rant Over.
Back to the fun stuff
6:00 is Party Time!
Like I mentioned earlier, if you don’t already have a day ticket, you can get into the park at 3 p.m. But the party doesn’t officially start until 6 p.m. You are allowed to show up in costume at 3 p.m., but there will still be a lot of day guests there who aren’t attending the party. If you are going to be self-conscious about being in your costume, wait until it’s closer to 6. The mood of the park instantly changes when the exciting announcement is made that the party is starting and they begin to kick the day guests out that don’t have party tickets (sorry people, but this is an exclusive event!).
Immersive Treat Trails
Tick-or-Treating isn’t only for kids at Disneyland. Everyone is welcome to go through the trails (and everyone does!). The lines are long at the beginning of the party, but they begin to die down as the evening progresses. Not only do you get tons of candy, but you get to see a different villain in every trail. We saw Sid from Toy Story, Agatha Harkness from WandaVision, Ernesto de la Cruz from Coco, Mother Gothel from Tangled, and Cruella from… well… Cruella. Oh, and of course Oogie Boogie himself. We did miss a few. Dr. Facillier from Princess and the Frog, Madam Mim from The Sword in the Stone, and Maleficient from Sleeping Beauty also had their own treat trails. These villains were amazing! I would have been happy just seeing them on the trails (the candy was just bonus!)! They were very interactive with all of the guests walking by, while also staying very true to character.
You end up with tons of candy by the end of the night (and even some healthy treats). The only thing they could do a better job with here is give you a better variety of candy. For the most part, they had the same kind of candy at every treat trail with maybe one thing that was different at the end. I ended up with way too many Snickers bars.
Villains Grove
This is one of the most unique and popular activities that takes place during the Oogie Boogie Bash. The line can get very long, but it does die down, so don’t waste half the party waiting in line for this when you can come back later for a shorter line.
Basically, this is Disney’s version of a haunted forest. It’s not scary. Parts of it are spooky, but the spooky feeling is pretty dulled by all of the people around. The cast members in the middle telling people to keep moving don’t help (but I 100% understand why they are there). Still, it is a really cool walk-through experience. There are a lot of cool lighting effects around the trees, shadows on the walls and ground, and interesting places to walk through.
Awesome PhotoPass Opportunities
The Oogie Boogie Bash Party tickets come with Memory Maker for the night (until Disney realizes that they can upcharge for it, anyway). There were some great PhotoPass opportunities with different characters, backgrounds, and Magic Shots. The PhotoPass Cast Members were great! We frequently get Memory Maker when we visit Disney World, but I felt like the photographers here were much more engaging and interactive (except for maybe the ones that were with characters, but that was most likely because the characters were the ones interacting with us).
Of course, I had to meet Mr. Incredible in my costume.
Carthay Circle
Carthay Circle is lit up with “spellbinding effects” all evening. It’s not really an attraction people line up for, but it does definitely add to the atmosphere.
Fightfully Fun Parade
There are two of these most nights, and it is recommended that you attend the 2nd parade when it is usually less busy. So, that’s what we planned on. Unfortunately, after waiting for about 20 minutes, they announced it was canceled due to “unforseen” circumstances. The headless horseman road down a quiet street (like normal), so it looked like the parade was happening. But, then then announcement came on 10-15 minutes later. We still don’t know what happened.
What About Rides?
A lot of the rides are open throughout the party. Some had lower wait times, others didn’t. They do limit the attendance, but these aren’t like the paid “After Hours” events when the parks are virtually empty. There is still a good amount of people in the park. If you can squeeze some rides in, go for it! But, remember that you paid for the party. You really want to focus your energy on things that are unique to the party (unless your main purpose for buying the ticket was to be able to spend extra time in the park to ride rides, which is definitely valid).
We were able to find a time that had a short wait time for Webslingers during the party.
The one ride that you may want to go out of your way to experience during the party is Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission Breakout. This ride turns into Guardians of the Galaxy: Monsters After Dark at 3 pm. So, you can either ride it during the party, or before the party starts. Ultimately, it is the same ride, they just change the storyline a little bit. It gives you a little bit of a different experience. Personally, I don’t think it’s unique enough to go out of your way to do it, but some people might.
Other Entertainment
There was a live show called “Mickey’s Trick and Treat” that took place during the party, but it was something that we didn’t get to see. We also didn’t go out of our way to see the dance party that was going on, but we did catch some o