Oogie Boogie Bash is the new Halloween party at the Disneyland Resort. Replacing Mickey’s Halloween Party, the party is now set at California Adventure, instead of Disneyland.
My mom and I attended the second ever Oogi Boogie Bash in September 2019 during a stay at the Disneyland Hotel. At $110/person and $100/person for annual passholders, the party isn’t cheap. We enjoyed the party and if things ever go back to normal, we would happily pay for it again.
Our review will go over the basics of what is included with admission, our party experience and the party’s strengths and weaknesses.
The Basics
Oogie Boogie Bash includes the traditional components of a Disney park Halloween party. Trick-or-treating, rare character meet-and-greets and Disneyland’s Frightfully Fun Parade all made the journey across the esplanade to California Adventure.
New additions to Oogie Boogie Bash include a Halloween inspired walk through, Villain’s Grove, within the Redwood Creek Challenge Trail (not scary). Instead of fireworks, the party includes a Halloween inspired World of Color show exclusive to Oogie Boogie Bash. Lastly, trick-or-treating is now Treat Trails and includes a Disney villain interacting with guests as they collect candy.
The traditional Halloween fireworks show is still at Disneyland. Now it can be viewed by all guests, rather than just party guests.
Another big draw of the Disney Halloween parties is the ability to enter the park early. With a start time of 6PM, guests are allowed entry as early as 3PM. The party ends at 11PM, giving guests eight hours of access to California Adventure for $110/person.
As passholders, we didn’t enter the park until 6:15PM after spending the morning in California Adventure the day of the party. Although adults can wear costumes, we opted to wear just civilian clothes. As I already dressed up for Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party at Walt Disney World in August, I was done dressing up for the year.
The Party
We entered the park via the Grand Californian entrance. As the entrance to Villain’s Grove is adjacent to the Grand California Entrance, we decided to line up to knock off this experience first.
However, after five minutes, a castmember walked down the line explaining the walk through would not open until 7:30PM. With that announcement, we left the line to walk towards Pixar Pier.
However, I saw a line for characters by Grizzly River Run. I noticed three EXTREMELY RARE characters interacting with guests. They were Governor Radcliff, Frollo and Shan Yu. I told my mom I’ve waited my whole life to meet these villains and she agreed to wait in line with me. It was a dream come true and worth the $100 I spent for my ticket.
BUT the characters change out every 30 minutes. With two parties in front of us, the characters left. I was heartbroken but the castmembers ensured me they would be back in 30 minutes. They were replaced by the Sherriff of Nottingham, Prince John and the Big Bad Wolf. We quickly took our pictures with these three villains and jumped back in line, waiting for them to be replaced with my heroes.
As we made it to the front of the line again, Governor Radcliff, Frollo and Shan Yu returned. This was it. It was time to meet the best Disney villains. And was it glorious? Absolutely.
All three were awesome and allowed me to take plenty of pictures and of course, sign my autograph book. Frollo is my favorite Disney character and meeting him was a once in a lifetime experience. Plus, Governor Radcliff and Shan Yu are some of Disney’s best villains.
Once we finished our pictures, we headed to our first Treat Trail, located behind Grizzly River Run. We walked through the trail and passed three areas to collect candy. After the third collection point, we saw the Evil Queen, perched high above with a cauldron. She was interacting with guests and of course, talking about apples.
From there, we headed to Buena Vista Street to watch the Frightfully Fun Parade. We found an excellent spot in front of Carthay Circle. Before the parade, we would first see the Headless Horseman, looking for his head.
After he passed, it wasn’t too long before the parade found its way to us. The parade was fun and featured a variety of decorative themed floats. My favorite was based on the Haunted Mansion. It included the hitchhiking ghosts and the caretaker. The parade is worth it and shouldn’t be missed. But unlike Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party at Disney World, it is only shown once per night.
After the parade, we decided to go back to Villain’s Grove. On our way, we saw no wait to meet Pinocchio and the Blue Fairy and grabbed a quick photo. As we left, they were replaced with Snow White and Dopey.
As we approached the maze, it had a massive line. With only so much time left, we decided to skip it. Instead, we visited one more Treat Trail involving Oogie Boogie himself and purchased some souvenirs. We also headed to Pixar Pier and grabbed some photos with Carl.
After visiting Carl, we played a quick round at Toy Story Midway Mania and grabbed a quick snack. By now, it was time for the final performance of World of Color, or as it’s called during the Halloween Party, Villainous! at Oogie Boogie Bash. We found the waterfront area empty and with just 15 minutes before the show start time, found a perfect place right in front.
We found the show to be just…okay. It was kind of weird. The story revolves around a girl named Shelley Marie. Shelley is unsure of which Disney character she should be for Halloween. Oogie Boogie then appears and she meets a variety of Disney villains before deciding at the end, with help from her mother.
The water effects and projections were great. But I found the story lacking in depth and didn’t care for it. To be honest, I found myself looking at my watch a lot. I’d venture to say not a lot of people enjoyed it either as it was empty for the second showing. Pixar Pier was a ghost town for this performance and we were able to leave easily once it ended.
Rather than World of Color, I would have preferred a Halloween fireworks show or something along the lines of the Hocus Pocus show at Disney World (which was outstanding this year). Once the show ended, we quickly departed and walked back to the Disneyland Hotel. Overall, a successful and fun night.
Strengths
- Characters: The party was filled with rare characters. For those who enjoy meeting characters other than the Fab Five, it was awesome. My mom and I were able to take a ton of pictures with some of the coolest Disney characters for very minimal wait times.
- Parade: I enjoyed the Frightfully Fun Parade. Watching the parade on Buena Vista Street reminded me of watching it on Main Street. I preferred it on Buena Vista Street due to the wider spaces and more viewing spots.
- Immersive Treat Trails: I thought this was an excellent addition to the party. Rather than just lining up to get some candy, Disney villains were now part of the experience. It made the process more fun and offered some great laughs as guests interacted with the characters.
- Atmosphere: Overall, the party did an excellent job of presenting a Halloween atmosphere around California Adventure. It looked better than Disneyland and ushered in a Halloween type feel.
Weaknesses
World of Color Villainous: I did not enjoy the World of Color show. From a technical perspective, it was great. But it featured a weak story and it was not engaging or entertaining. Based on my observations, it didn’t look too popular. Hopefully Disney will fix the show for next year.
- Magic Shots: Over at Disney World, they have a massive army of PhotoPass photographers during the Halloween party for some awesome magic shots. Back in August, we experienced tons of them. However, at California Adventure, they did not have any magic shot photographers. I wish they would include this during the Halloween party as it is an excellent addition and leads to some great photographs.
Conclusion
I enjoyed the party and I am glad we went. For me, the highlight was meeting so many rare characters with ease. Even with a sold-out party, we spent no more than thirty minutes in line.
But for $100 – $110/person, it is a steep price on top of paying for a trip to Disneyland. Would I recommend this party? I do. Overall, it does include something for everyone. The characters were great, the Treat Tails were interactive and the parade was enjoyable. World of Color was the low point but it didn’t affect our experience. We had a lot of fun and built a great memory.
Thoughts?
Thanks for reading! Please read our Disneyland One-Day Itinerary HERE and our California Adventure One-Day Itinerary HERE to maximize your time at the Disneyland Resort!
Have you been to the party? What did you think? Meet any cool characters? Let us know in the comments below!
