October seasonal activities in Disney

[BossLady]

Can anyone who has gone to Disney in October advise please?
We are thinking of going this October half term and this falls around Hallowe'en. Due to our beliefs we don't celebrate Halloween. I notice there's a Mickeys no so scary hallowe'en party on some evenings. is there any thing else that happens during the day or will it be the usual themes except the specific party times?
Potentially we can go to the park on the other days but I don't want to discover it's all Halloween theme everyday, all day.
Help please! Thank you.

[Wobbles]

Mickey's Not so Scary Halloween Party Dates are here. The decorations are nice, and autumnal more than "Halloween" but do feature pumpkins and leaves rather than lots of ghosts

Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party Dates are here. The decorations for this are out of this world

Universal's Halloween Horror nights are every Wed/Thurs/Fri/Sat/Sun in October, it only effects Universal and not IoA and you don't see anything in the day but it closes at 5pm

Howl-O-Scream is similar to Halloween Horror but runs Thurs - Sun and the park also closes at 5pm and you won't see anything

Seaworld does a trick and treat low key Halloweeen event each weekend which is free.

Some of the hotels and Disney Springs have done stuff in the past.

Epcot has "Food and Drink" Festival in the World Showcase area, with lots of small stands with food and soft and alcoholic drinks for sale at very reasonable costs (or the same price as a snack credit on Disney Dining Plan). It runs through the week but can get very busy at the weekend and you may see people a little more merry than ususal due to the amount of alcohol they drink.

Hope this helps

[BossLady]

Thank you very much that is helpful info. I will consider the dates you've mentioned.

[sha9]

During September and October Magic Kingdom is heavily decorated for Halloween with pumpkins and orange bunting everywhere. There is also some Halloween themed items in the shops. The other Disney parks don't really have any decorations. At Universal there are remanents of the Halloween Horror Nights but the whole park isn't decorated.

[BossLady]

Thanks Lisa, I think we will look at December instead.

[sha9]

Originally Posted by BossLady

Thanks Lisa, I think we will look at December instead.

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I think if you really want to avoid Halloween it's probably best.

[Smithy78]

Remember the USA are big on Halloween. The decorations in MK stay up for the duration not just party nights.

[Gill H]

I know Halloween in America is not only spooky dark stuff like it is here, it's much more family oriented and people dress up as superheroes, princesses etc. However, we don't do Halloween either, and although the sight of a Mickey pumpkin isn't going to make me run from MK, we would rather go when that theming is over.

On our last visit we arrived on Saturday 1 November, and our first visit to MK was Sunday 2 November. There was barely a pumpkin in sight, even though the final Not So Scary party had been the night before. By the following Friday the park was in full Christmas finery (apart from the tree which comes a bit later) and we went to the first Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party that night.

If you want to avoid Halloween theming, the beginning of November should be fine for you. It's also in the free dining period, which early December isn't! Also you'll get the tail end of the Epcot Food & Wine Festival which we loved.

Having said that, if you go in early December you will get to do the Candlelight Processional, which is absolutely beautiful - basically a reading of the Christmas story by a 'celebrity' narrator (some of whom are obscure to us Brits, but we got Whoopi Goldberg who was wonderful) and carols sung by massed choirs. You can't imagine a theme park in the UK doing such a thing!

Our trips were in December 2010 and November 2014. Trippies and videos in the link in my signature if you want to have a look.