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Halloween at Walt Disney World 2020 – What’s Different?

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Disney Halloween 2020This year has been a challenging one for theme parks and the tourism industry in general. The normal Disney holiday offerings and events that we have grown accustomed to and can mark our calendars by have changed drastically. Normally we’d be over a month into Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Parties by now, but as you know, Disney Halloween in 2020 is very different. For all of August, we wondered “When is Disney going to decorate for Halloween?!” However today was a banner day, as the Halloween decorations appeared on Main Street, U.S.A.! (This was after an announcement a few weeks back that they would be adding Disney Fall Decorations them on this day.)

What’s Different For Disney Halloween This Year?

I decided to celebrate by making a Park Pass reservation, and Christian joined me and we roamed around and discovered all the Halloween fun! As you can see in the video, there aren’t the huge pumpkins in the front of the park entrance or the train station, as there used to be. Also missing are the Main Street scarecrows in Town Square. I understand that this decision may be to discourage crowding and queuing up for photo ops, but I do hope they add the scarecrows at some point!

With the elimination of the parties, Disney has added most of the party-specific snacks to regular park hours. We seek out some of them and test them out in our video. The other addition to replace the party entertainment is character cavalcades. Characters have been coming out on trolleys, horses and parade floats during regular park hours.

Now that Disney Halloween is here, these characters are now in costume, and joined by favorite villains and other spooky favorites. There are no schedules for these cavalcades, and not all of them are every day, so if you visit, you may not see all of them. For us, we just did a quick trip, and just missed the Boo to You float with all the Fab 5 characters (but we did catch them on the train station!), and the Villains “Good to Be Bad” float. It will be fun to just happen upon these if you are in the park from now through the end of October!

Roy and Minnie Statue

This was our first visit back to the Magic Kingdom in over 6 months, so we also shared our thoughts on the new Cinderella Castle coloring as well. We wrap it up with some Halloween merchandise overviews in case there’s anything you want to add to your list next time you visit!

Christian and I also checked in with the Sorcerer’s of the Magic Kingdom* game, and find out if there will be a special Halloween or Christmas card this year! *We’re going to have a new video soon with the updated gameplay for this fun game. It’s been a while since we’ve played!

We hope you enjoy our silly vlog, I will admit it was a lot harder to do our silly banter in a mask, but hopefully I’ll get used to it next time!

We’ll have some other Halloween fun coming up here soon at Zannaland, so be sure you are following along everywhere so you don’t miss a thing!

 

 

Watch all the Disney Halloween 2020 fun right here:

 

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Thanks for watching and reading, and joining in the fun!

 

 

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Top 5 Ways to Welcome Fall in Walt Disney World

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I know, I know, it’s still summer – it’s still hot – (over 100 here at Walt Disney World!) but I find myself drifting to thoughts of cool autumn breezes, falling leaves, and pumpkins…Okay, maybe some of those things don’t exactly happen here in Florida, but a girl can dream. Believe it or not, “Orlando Halloween” is right around the corner (that’s what we locals call it when Halloween descends upon the area in early August while we’re all sweating in the sun) and that means lots of fun options to get in the Fall spirit. And while I may still be working on my summer vacation reports, I still wanted to put together a list of my top 5 favorite things about this time of the year at the Walt Disney World Resort.

Magic Kingdom Halloween1. Autumn Decorations

Being from Massachusetts, I miss the leaves turning color, the cold, crisp air blowing in, and visions of pumpkins and hay bales at every turn. Luckily, Disney has you covered and makes Main Street, U.S.A. feel like the Autumn I grew up loving. You just have to find some air conditioning for the crisp air part. The decorations may also be found around the Downtown Disney area. It’ll be interesting to see how things are done this year with all the Disney Springs construction going on. For a fun treat, head over to Fort Wilderness and take a stroll (or rent a golf cart) to see the amazing decorations the guests there do at their campsites. It’s unbelievable how much some of them do!

Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party
Carlotta provides interactive Haunted Mansion fun

2. Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party

One of my absolute favorite special ticketed events at Walt Disney World. You just can’t beat the fun you get to experience here with the twice-nightly “Mickey’s Boo-To-You Halloween Parade” led by the infamous Headless Horseman, at 8:15 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. and “HalloWishes,” a green and orange fireworks spectacle complete with Disney villains, caps the evening festivities at 9:30 p.m. The parade is one of my favorites ever. The grave-diggers are so much fun and the costumes for all the parade sections are wonderful. It really gets you in the Halloween-y mood!

Of course the trick-or-treating is a key selling point of the party, kids and adults alike love getting candy and treats from all the different locations around the park. And don’t forget to get your special Sorcerer’s of the Magic Kingdom card that’s special only for the party – show your party ticket and wrist band to pick up your card at the Main Street Firehouse during party hours.

And, keep reading below for some Halloween treats that you must try! Party dates for 2014 are: September 1, 9, 12, 14, 16, 19, 21, 23, 26 & 28 and October 2, 3, 5, 9, 10, 13, 16, 17, 19, 21, 23, 24, 26, 27, 30 & 31. Advance purchase (prior to event day) savings are available for select dates. Visit Disneyworld.com/Halloween for party dates and prices, or call 407-W-DISNEY.

Sorcerer's of the Magic Kingdom Halloween 2014
Sorcerer’s of the Magic Kingdom Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party card 2014

3. Fall-themed Treats

Last year, we were really treated to some delicious treats during the Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party and later some were offered in the Magic Kingdom too. I hope all of these will be back this year, and maybe more new ones too! My absolute favorite was the pumpkin waffle sundae pictured below, it was the perfect mix of waffle, ice cream, and Fall! You can see more about these treats and more to do at Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party on my Top 5 Must-do’s at Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party post.

Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party
Amazing pumpkin waffle sundae!
Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party
Candy Corn ice cream!

4. Halloween Merchandise

It’s always fun to see the new Halloween merchandise this time of year. Popcorn buckets, t-shirts, Mouse Ears and more! Soon we’ll have a place to purchase Haunted Mansion merchandise year round! Whether you’re looking for something haunted, or your favorite characters in their Halloween gear, there is something for everyone this time of year.

Disney Halloween Merchandise 2012

 

What’s your favorite type of Disney Halloween merchandise to take home? Is your house decorated with a Disney theme?

 

Epcot's 18th Annual Food & Wine Festival

5. Epcot’s International Food & Wine Festival

Another reason to visit Walt Disney World Resort this time of year is without a doubt, the Epcot International Food & Wine Festival. This year marks the 19th year of enjoying unique and delicious foods, wines, beers, desserts and more around the World Showcase at Epcot. This little festival has grown so much since it first began. There are now countless special dining and tasting events, classes, seminars, after hours and VIP parties, and just plain amazing food (and merchandise!). I love being able to walk around World Showcase at night (usually on a weeknight, it’s much less crowded!) and just enjoy things I may not ever normally try. It’s like a mobile date-night with a view. We’ll have more coverage of the items offered this year, so stay tuned and follow along on instagram, twitter  and facebook for the latest photo-finds.

Epcot International Food & Wine Festival: Patagonia Marketplace
New this year: the Patagonia booth will offer Verlasso Salmon

So what are your favorite reasons to visit Walt Disney World this time of year? Have you been before? What are your must-do’s? I’d love to hear about them in the comments below!

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