Walt Disney World opened ticket gross sales for the 2025 Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Social gathering to all visitors, and considered one of two nights at a brand new record-high value bought out on the primary day of normal public gross sales for the primary time ever. This covers the most recent, together with what you may count on with different dates promoting out and commentary about learn how to reconcile this with WDW allegedly pricing out the center class.
The large information is that Halloween evening–October 31, 2025–turned the primary date of this yr’s Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Social gathering to formally promote out. At current, it’s the one night of the particular occasion to achieve capability–but it surely actually received’t be the final. (See our 2025 Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Social gathering Information for all the things else it’s worthwhile to know in regards to the occasion.)
The All Hallow’s Eve date of MNSSHP bought out someday round noon on Could 22, 2025. That’s lower than one full day after normal public gross sales started, which is the primary time ever that any date has bought out on the day normal public gross sales opened. On-site visitors of Walt Disney World resorts and choose third celebration inns had an early-access window to buy tickets one week earlier, beginning Could 15, 2025.
This comes as a modest shock, however not an enormous one. Final yr, October 31 bought out on Could 21–the earliest ever promote out! Technically, I suppose that’s nonetheless true by at some point, however the distinction is that ticket gross sales began on Could 8 for on-site visitors and Could 15 for most of the people, so the window between the beginning and promote out was longer.
Even so, final yr’s promote out occurred so quick that we questioned whether or not it was initially a listing or IT glitch, and awaited additional affirmation earlier than sharing the information. Even with the promote out occurring sooner and at the next value level, we didn’t query October 31 promoting out of tickets for the 2025 Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Social gathering.
After we first addressed Ticket Costs for the 2025 Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Social gathering Breaking the $200 Barrier, we predicted that October 31 would promote out in document time largely as a result of it’s a Friday evening in 2025:
It wouldn’t shock me if, even on the $30 larger value level, this nonetheless sells out in document time and is unavailable earlier than Could is over. (Not so daring prediction: no different dates promote out till at the very least mid-July 2025.)
Truthfully, Walt Disney World may’ve most likely priced October 31, 2025 at $250 or $275 and nonetheless had no points promoting out. The larger drawback would’ve been notion by way of articles like this one, social media complaints, and so forth. (That’s arguably why Walt Disney World hasn’t been extra aggressive with MNSSHP and MVMCP value will increase, regardless of demand very clearly supporting larger ticket prices.)
In some unspecified time in the future, I wouldn’t be stunned to see Walt Disney World make Halloween evening its personal separate factor, charging $300 or no matter, but in addition making that occasion distinctive not directly in order to be excluded from the pricing chart. However that isn’t what’s taking place this yr, so it’s a bit irrelevant.
October 31 promoting out inside hours of happening sale to most of the people actually makes me ponder whether Walt Disney World will make Halloween evening its personal occasion with separate branding. Overlook $300 per individual–they could be capable of promote it out at $399. Add some particular villains to the parade and uncommon characters, change the identify of that one-night occasion, and “cut back” the value vary of the remaining MNSSHP dates. Looks like a win-win.
The above prediction was written earlier than the Disneyland seventieth Anniversary kicked off final weekend. Clearly, that’s an unrelated occasion on the opposite coast, however its begin nonetheless caught my consideration for one motive: Disney followers and locals spending cash with abandon.
There’s a bunch of recent meals & drinks, merchandise, interactive & novelty gadgets for Disneyland’s seventieth Anniversary. Costs for a lot of of these items (if not most of them) are fairly eye-popping. And but, souvenirs are flying off the cabinets, there have been lengthy traces for each interactive portal, and Cellular Order time slots for the eating places with the most well-liked dishes have stuffed up quick.
For the document, I’m not casting aspersions. Whereas I rant about pricing right here–and as we stood in line for a “Celebration Matterhorn Macaroon” costing $8.29, a dessert that used to value below $2 not that way back–we additionally did purchase it. So we is perhaps complaining about excessive costs, however we’re additionally voting with our wallets and are a part of the issue. (Significantly although, is that easy coconut dessert now ready with actual gold flakes inside?!?)
Disney pricing out the center class has been a scorching subject of dialog on this weblog, and it’s an vital one that’s completely taking place. This a lot is obvious within the aggressive discounting and advertising and marketing marketing campaign geared toward younger households over the summer season. These efforts aren’t taking place for no motive; Disney doesn’t do offers out of generosity, it’s as a result of they’re wanted to fill the resorts and inns.
It’s additionally pretty plain that there’s one other subset of visitors, and a not-insignificant one, that’s doing simply high quality and spending greater than ever. And it’s not as if these visitors are richie-riches rolling up of their Bentleys and decked out head-to-toe in LV. I do know you may’t choose a e-book by its cowl (see The Millionaire Subsequent Door), however the overwhelming majority of those folks appear to be common ole visitors.
There are undoubtedly some demographic variations. Many most likely skew higher center class versus decrease. Some are a part of large multi-generational households, which makes them stand out far more, but in addition typically means they’ve child boomer grandparents who’ve performed properly over their lifetimes and are actually treating the grandkids.
On the different finish of the spectrum, there are so much of Disney Grownup DINKs. That is such an enormous demographic on each coasts that it’s actually deserving of extra consideration, and never simply in a derogatory or superficial sense, as a result of it’s completely rising. We’ve touched on it a bit with the brand new bars being constructed, however the actuality is that Disney Grownup DINKs are the largest development engine for the parks, and we absolutely count on extra choices–not fewer–to be made with them in thoughts.
In different phrases, there’s a divide in Disney visitors. Some are struggling simply to get within the gate, whereas others are extra free-spending than ever. In a considerably capacity-constrained situation just like the October 31 MNSSHP, Disney solely wants the latter. However larger image and bigger scale, the corporate wants each–to fill these tens of hundreds of lodge rooms on a nightly foundation and the considerably higher-capacity ranges of all 4 parks (plus different stuff) each single day for three hundred and sixty five days per yr.
Circling again to Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Social gathering, there’s additionally the rising chance that ticket gross sales to this (and different) onerous ticket particular occasions are utterly divorced from crowd ranges from August by October. That is one other factor we’ve mentioned at size elsewhere, particularly in our posts about Large Magic Kingdom Combine-In Crowds.
The core thesis is that an rising variety of visitors are buying Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween as an alternative of different tickets, quite than along with them. Which means that MNSSHP (and MVMCP) promote outs at ever-increasing costs are being pushed partly by the aforementioned free-spending demographics on one finish, but in addition frugal visitors on the opposite.
On the frugal facet of the ledger, that is probably enjoying out in a methods large and small, from vacationers shopping for shorter period tickets (3 days as an alternative of 4) to locals skipping out on Annual Passes and getting their “Disney repair” throughout Social gathering Season.
This would possibly sound like far-fetched theories or greedy at straws to elucidate why every day crowd ranges have been decrease within the fall, but it surely’s based mostly on a mix of firsthand expertise and intensive suggestions from readers and journey brokers.
When Disneyland actually began rising costs on Annual Passes a number of years in the past and decreased choices for locals, many Californians began skipping APs and as an alternative doing Mickey’s Halloween Social gathering (now Oogie Boogie Bash). This skipped the recognition of those events, which now promote out in a short time even on dates that aren’t significantly busy.
Priced-out locals desirous to get their Disney repair would additionally clarify why MNSSHP and MVMCP are promoting sooner than ever, regardless of pent-up demand in any other case slowing. This may clarify how bought out events are taking place within the face of falling crowds, which have been the bottom final August by October that they’ve been since 2021. Low common attendance and excessive demand for onerous ticket occasions isn’t even contradictory–it makes excellent sense.
As for predictions about extra dates of the 2025 Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Social gathering promoting out, we’re not anticipating something within the instant future. Final yr, the following promote out after October 31 didn’t happen for practically 2 full months–on July 19, which is when the second evening of the occasion in August bought out (it was considerably cheaper than evening 1, simply as it’s in 2025).
After that, 3 extra August dates bought out in July–the primary 4 nights have been passed by July 31, 2024. The entire most cost-effective celebration dates have been among the many first to promote out, which isn’t an enormous shock since these are additionally the occasions that happen earliest. If something, the final 2 dates in August underperformed, solely promoting out ~2 weeks prematurely of these dates.
Arguably the worst-performing dates have been the events that have been the weekend earlier than Halloween, together with the one non-school evening, all of which have been priced at $199 and none of which bought out till late September. In equity, these bought out additional prematurely than the late August and early September dates, however they have been additionally the final to promote out–which means that procrastinating locals with an absence of decisions would’ve had the choice of those dates or nothing.
Finally, it’ll be fascinating to see whether or not all dates of the 2025 Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Social gathering promote out once more, as has been the case in every of the previous few years because the occasion returned. Whereas we want to see fewer bought out dates to pressure Walt Disney World to reevaluate the leisure slate or pump the brakes on pricing, that’s most likely wishful pondering.
The truth is that Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Social gathering is extra in style than ever. As with Lightning Lanes, some visitors are making sacrifices elsewhere of their trip (or different) budgets to splurge on MNSSHP and different extra free-spending visitors don’t want to chop any corners. It is a recipe for one more absolutely bought out yr of MNSSHP.
One of the best we are able to realistically hope for might be that tickets promote out slower than final yr. I’d be ecstatic to be unsuitable, and have a number of nights not promote out in any respect. Clearly, that might be good for visitors, but in addition for the long-term well being of the occasion, because it’s gotten fairly stale and Walt Disney World has no incentive to do something about that. October 31 promoting out inside hours is seemingly an indication that nothing goes to alter, but it surely may very well be a one-off as a consequence of Halloween taking place on a Friday. We’re not holding our breath. Though sticker shock is widespread with all issues Walt Disney World, this shouldn’t be shocking.
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YOUR THOUGHTS
Have you ever purchased tickets to the 2025 Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Social gathering? Would you like to go to in August when the tradeoff is triple-digit seems like temperatures for ~$100 cheaper MNSSHP tickets? Or will your loved ones be sitting this Halloween occasion out? Suppose MNSSHP is getting stale? What are your ideas on ticket costs, demand, crowd ranges, or the chance of the 2025 MNSSHP promoting out to the identical extent as final yr? Do you agree or disagree with our perspective on this? Any questions we can assist you reply? Listening to your suggestions–even if you disagree with us–is each fascinating to us and useful to different readers, so please share your ideas under within the feedback!
