Oogie Boogie Bash is a Disney Halloween Party at Disneyland Resort’s California Adventure (DCA) theme park in September and October. This strategy guide offers 2022 dates, info & tips, how to save time during the event, and whether it’s worth the money. (Updated July 4, 2022.)
The after hours event will be held on 23 select nights beginning September 6, 2022 and running through October 31, 2022. Oogie Boogie Bash – A Disney Halloween Party is a limited-capacity, separately ticketed event that adds family-friendly fun for guests of all ages the opportunity during Halloween Time.
Oogie Boogie Bash – A Disney Halloween Party offers an opportunity to enjoy the park’s attractions, unique entertainment, character sightings and more, while dressed in their favorite Halloween costumes. Disneyland has already confirmed some entertainment and experiences for the 2022 Oogie Boogie Bash Halloween Party, but there are also a few unknowns. Here’s a quick rundown of what we know so far…
July 4, 2022 Update: Tickets to the 2022 Oogie Boogie Bash are now sold out. This came only 4 days after they went on sale to the general public and less than a week after pre-sales began for Magic Key Annual Passholders and D23 Members. This is far and away the fastest Halloween Party tickets have ever sold out at Disneyland Resort.
In recent years, Oogie Boogie Bash tickets have sold out quickly–usually for all dates before the first party night. However, they usually take over a month to sell out, and have never previously been gone in under a week. Consequently, some readers have asked if we think Disney will release more tickets or if the ‘sold out’ status is an error.
While more tickets being released closer to event dates is possible (especially if Disney ups the entertainment to increase capacity), the likelihood of this being an error is exceedingly low. Disneyland proactively updated text on the Oogie Boogie Bash event page, which would not happen if tickets were mistakenly showing as sold out.
With that said, here are dates and ticket prices for the 2022 Oogie Boogie Bash – A Disney Halloween Party:
Highlights of the 2022 Oogie Boogie Bash include immersive treat trails, “Mickey’s Trick and Treat” show, the “Frightfully Fun Parade,” Villains Grove at the Redwood Creek Challenge Trail, and more. All lands will remain opening during the Halloween Party, including Avengers Campus.
Unfortunately, still nothing about World of Color – Villainous, which wasn’t presented last year due to the World of Color refurbishment. It should be back this year, but Disney omitting it from the announcement is concerning.
In 2022, Oogie Boogie Bash will likely be very similar to the inaugural event. Most entertainment and everything else will have returned–and been expanded upon.
As for last year’s event, we attended and share thoughts on the experience in Photos & Review: 2021 Oogie Boogie Bash Halloween Party Report. That covers what we were able to accomplish, highs and lows of the party, what was new, and more photos in addition to what’s here.
Here we’ll offer Halloween party strategy, a review, photos, and answer “is Oogie Boogie Bash worth the money?” Before we get to all of that, let’s start with an event overview and some basics…
For starters, purchasing admission to this special event allows you to enjoy Disney California Adventure for up to 3 hours before Oogie Boogie Bash — A Disney Halloween Party begins. The party itself runs for 5 hours, with special Halloween-themed entertainment, attractions, character greetings, and more.
Parking can be purchased upon arrival, or in advance. We recommend budgeting about 90 minutes for the time it’ll take to get parked, over to DCA, and through the turnstiles. There are lines for literally everything, from the parking garages to park trams to getting wristbands for the event. All of this waiting adds up and takes time–arrive early to ensure that doesn’t cut into the event time.
If you’re unable to attend Oogie Boogie Bash or are simply wondering how this special event compares with standard Disneyland and DCA park admission during the fall months, consult our Ultimate Guide to Halloween Time at Disneyland.
The good news is that there’s a ton of Halloween fun in both parks that is included with regular admission. In fact, if it comes down to visiting Disneyland during the day or doing Oogie Boogie Bash, we’d probably recommend the former. That way you’ll experience Haunted Mansion Holiday, Halloween Screams Fireworks, decorations, and characters throughout the park. In an ideal world, we’d recommend doing both Disneyland and Oogie Boogie Bash during the Halloween Time season.
Oogie Boogie Bash Entertainment Info
Let’s start with the flagship entertainment during Oogie Boogie Bash: the Frightfully Fun Parade. This debuted during Mickey’s Halloween Party at Disneyland, and we really enjoy it. Frightfully Fun Parade is similar to Boo to You Parade at Walt Disney World, albeit it shorter and a tad darker.
Despite the shorter duration, Frightfully Fun Parade is very strong, and it does a ton with an economy of parade units and floats. What’s featured here is really good and has direct ties to Halloween. There are also some notable differences in the characters featured.
Frightfully Fun Parade begins with the Headless Horseman of Sleepy Hollow carrying his flickering jack-o-lantern. He heralds the arrival of Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse who lead the cavalcade of characters.
After that, the highlight of the parade appears: Jack Skellington, the Pumpkin King, who brings greetings from Halloweentown, as characters from “Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas” appear. Following that, Grim grinning ghosts come out to socialize and bring Disney’s iconic Haunted Mansion attraction to life.
From there, Dr. Facilier uses his mystical powers to summon the Shadow Men from the bayou to loom large over his strange and twisted Voodoo parlor in one of the parade’s spookier units. Finally, the mischievous Disney Villains appear out of the darkness, with a dungeon-like lair and a wicked gathering of villainy including Hades, Evil Queen, Jafar, Cruella, and more.
Next up, World of Color – Villainous! was not shown during last year’s Oogie Boogie Boo Bash. This was due to the platforms and other show infrastructure being refurbished. That project is now finished and normal World of Color has returned.
Expect World of Color – Villainous or another Halloween incarnation of World of Color to be included in the 2022 Oogie Boogie Boo Bash Halloween Party. As such, we’re keeping its description and info for posterity.
The Halloween incarnation of World of Color is exclusive to Oogie Boogie Bash, and does not run on non-party nights. In this nighttime spectacular, Oogie Boogie is host, and a new original theme park character named Shelley Marie is the star.
In World of Color – Villainous!, Shelley Marie is a nine-year-old girl trying to decide whether to dress up as a princess or a villain for Halloween. This loose narrative framework is used to take Shelley Marie on a dark journey, encountering the Wicked Queen, Ursula, Dr. Facilier, Hades, and finishing with Maleficent.
As with all versions of the show, World of Color – Villainous utilizes dancing water fountains, lights, lasers, projections, and special effects. It’ll be familiar to anyone who has seen the other versions of World of Color, albeit with a more story-driven approach.
While those are the flagship entertainment offerings for Oogie Boogie Bash – A Disney Halloween Party, there are a few other noteworthy additions. First, the Mickey’s Trick and Treat show.
This interactive stage production in Hollywood Land is aimed at small children. It offers them the chance to join Mickey Mouse and friends as they throw a Halloween party with dancing, not-so-frightening scary-tales, and candy.
Another interesting addition is Redwood Creek Challenge Trail, which becomes Villains Grove. This is a wondrous and ethereal world of Disney villains, completely transformed with lighting, projections, sounds, and special effects, creating a haunting, dreamlike (or does that make it nightmare-like?) environment.
Villains Grove is one aspect of Oogie Boogie Bash that Disney is really hyping, and it’s basically Disney’s twist on a standard Halloween walk-through maze you might find at other theme parks in Southern California. The primary difference here is that the environments are accomplished entirely via ‘flip of a switch’ technology that creates a dramatic day/night difference at Redwood Creek Challenge Trail.
As usual, there are treat trails throughout Disney California Adventure, where guests may enjoy trick-or-treating. The main DCA treat trails feature the following iconic characters:
- Agatha Harkness (WandaVision)
- Cruella (Cruella)
- Maleficent (Sleeping Beauty)
- Evil Queen (Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs)
- Oogie Boogie (Nightmare Before Christmas)
- Sid (Toy Story)
- Mad Hatter (Alice in Wonderland)
If you’re already planning ahead for the 2022 Oogie Boogie Bash – A Disney Halloween Party, expect the character list to be different. In particular, Agatha Harkness and Cruella were included this year because those are the hot Disney+ properties. That might be the case again for the 2022 Oogie Boogie Bash – A Disney Halloween Party, or other new things may be big on Disney Plus.
Treat trails offer oversized cauldrons full of candy, healthy snacks, and more. We are not particularly keen on candy, so we grabbed the apple sauce, carrots, cranberries, and other options each time we passed through the trails. If we wanted candy, we could’ve absolutely cleaned up, as each trail offers multiple distribution points.
There are also character meet & greets with Disney characters, including villains. Expect to encounter some rare characters and seldom-seen costumes for fan favorites.
Note that these are modified for this year’s Oogie Boogie Bash, as physically distanced character encounters. Expect normal meet & greets to return for the 2022 Oogie Boogie Bash – A Disney Halloween Party.
A lot of people don’t seem to understand how these special event ticket parties work, so to be crystal clear: a regular park ticket will not grant you admission to Oogie Boogie Bash – A Disney Halloween Party.
You must purchase the special event tickets to stay in Disney California Adventure once Oogie Boogie Bash begins. Yes, this means potentially buying two tickets for the same day if you want to stay from park opening until closing.
On the other hand, a party ticket alone does grant you admission to Disney California Adventure a few hours before the event officially begins. It’s also cheaper than a 1-day park ticket for several dates.
This is a big reason why the Halloween Party is so popular with locals in Los Angeles and Orange County–it’s a less expensive way to see the Halloween offerings with lower crowds and at a cheaper price. Even though it’s not the whole day, it’s a good value if you’re a local who doesn’t want a full day at DCA.
The downside to this all is that the event is in DCA instead of Disneyland, and early entry is only in DCA. This means you cannot experience Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge with just an Oogie Boogie Bash Halloween Party ticket, or any of the other Disneyland classics, including Haunted Mansion Holiday or Space Mountain Ghost Galaxy.
This is a big loss, and one we think will cause a lot of locals to balk at party tickets this year. But we’re getting ahead of ourselves–more on this in the “Is Oogie Boogie Bash Worth It?” section below…
One of the cool components of Disney’s Halloween Party for many guests is the opportunity to dress in costume. There are limits to the costumes you can wear, but it’s basically common sense stuff like ‘no weapons or sharp objects’ and nothing offensive. If you need further guidance, I’d recommend reading Disneyland’s costume rules.
You also should keep in mind that unlike Florida, Southern California can get cool at night this time of year. We’ve worn heavier costumes to Disney’s Halloween Party–the kind that would be unbearable in Florida–and were perfectly comfortable thanks to evening breezes. We have a Tips for Disney Parks Halloween Costumes post that covers some ideas for what to wear…and what not to wear.
If you’re reading this after the 2022 Oogie Boogie Bash Halloween Party is sold out online, note that it is sometimes possible to score last-minute or same-day tickets even when the party is sold out online by calling Disneyland at (714) 781-4636. Your luck may vary with this method, but it doesn’t hurt to try. (If you need regular park tickets, check out our Guide to Buying Discount Disneyland Tickets to save money.)
Guest Services at the three official Disneyland hotels occasionally have same-day tickets for guests staying at those resorts. Keep in mind that both of these strategies are very hit or miss, so don’t bank on either working. In the past, we’ve had good luck and bad luck with both methods. Once, I bought a last-minute ticket on Craigslist, which I would never recommend to anyone else. Fortunately, I didn’t get scammed, but your mileage may vary with that.
Oogie Boogie Bash Halloween Party Strategy
One thing you’ll want to keep in mind is that it’s unlikely that you’ll be able to do everything there is during Oogie Boogie Bash Halloween Party. We’re talking just the special entertainment and character greetings, let alone the regular Halloween attraction overlays like Guardians of the Galaxy — Monsters After Dark or Luigi’s Honkin’ Haul-O-ween or Mater’s Graveyard JamBOOree.
This is especially true if you plan on doing multiple meet and greets, as characters can consume several hours of your party time. If you don’t plan on meeting any characters–or plan on doing the less popular ones–you’ll have far more flexibility.
Here’s our Oogie Boogie Bash Halloween Party Itinerary based upon what worked (and didn’t) for us at the party we attended…
- Enter Disney California Adventure 3 hours before the event, and do attractions at your leisure. Prioritize Guardians of the Galaxy — Monsters After Dark and the Cars Land “Haul-O-Ween” seasonal attraction overlays if you want some Halloween fun.
- If Halloween character meet & greets are a priority, do the ones around Carthay Circle starting 1 hour before the official Oogie Boogie Bash Halloween Party start time.
- Line up for the Mickey & Minnie meet & greet in Paradise Garden Park (the normal World of Color viewing area) immediately before the official party start time. This is the most popular character encounter during the event, and the lighting isn’t great at night–so getting there early is wise.
- Finish character meet & greets thirty minutes before the Frightfully Fun Parade steps off.
- Grab a parade spot near Paradise Garden Park for a low crowds location or facing Carthay Circle Theater for a photogenic spot.
- After the Frightfully Fun Parade, rush to the next high-priority meet & greet you missed or Villains Grove Trail at Redwood Creek.
- Do the Treat Trails, prioritizing Oogie Boogie, Mad Hatter, and Dr. Facilier (all of whom are in Hollywood Land).
Grab a front zone viewing spot for World of Color – Villainous by entering near Golden Zephyr roughly 30 minutes before the second showing.
Now, a few notes about that strategy for Oogie Boogie Bash Halloween Party…
Frightfully Fun Parade only has one running during Oogie Boogie Bash Halloween Party due to the long parade route at Disney California Adventure. As with all parades at DCA, viewing areas are significantly busier at the front of the park in Carthay Circle and Hollywood Land.
Viewing from near where the parade steps off is ideal for seeing it. This also gives you the opportunity to bounce to your next stop while most guests at Oogie Boogie Bash are still waiting for Frightfully Fun Parade to get to them. The downside of this location is that the lighting is harsher and the backgrounds are boring, making it a less photogenic location.
Meet and greet wait times are fairly consistent throughout the party, with less popular characters seeing shorter lines at the end of the night. Rare characters will have consistently long lines throughout, which is why we’d recommend lining up for Mickey & Minnie Mouse in their Halloween costumes shortly before the party officially begins.
Once those characters come out, passers-by will queue up, and those lines will balloon. Other popular character meet & greets include the rare characters in Carthay Circle, and villains at the rear entrance/exit of Grizzly Peak.
Attractions will have short waits throughout the party. Once regular day guests cycle through, you can expect peak wait times to be around 30 minutes, and that’s for popular rides like Guardians of the Galaxy – Monsters After Dark and Radiator Springs Racers.
If you’re going to do attractions, consider doing them during the parade.
Speaking of which, World of Color – Villainous has two showings. It will have dramatically lower crowds for the second showing as very few guests will want to see it twice. The second showing ends as Oogie Boogie Bash concludes, making it a good stop for the end of the night.
Linger as you leave the World of Color – Villainous viewing area to capture photos of the ambiance in Cars Land and Buena Vista Street.
Now, if you’re still wondering whether you should you do the party, we’ll try to help you answer that question…
Is Oogie Boogie Bash Worth It?
Value is all a matter of perspective. If you have financial means and won’t feel the sting of the ticket cost, or just really love Halloween and want to splurge on Oogie Boogie Bash, go for it.
Despite some opening night hiccups, we enjoyed Oogie Boogie Bash and previously have had a blast at Disneyland’s other Halloween Parties, and have never regretted attending. If the event is not a splurge for you, it’s unlikely that you’ll regret it.
In terms of Oogie Boogie Bash itself, there are two flagship pieces of entertainment, atmospheric enhancements to Disney California Adventure, characters, and a few minor entertainment offerings. You’re probably looking at around 3-4 hours of Halloween-centric entertainment that’s unique to this event.
Additionally, there are the core attraction offerings of Disney California Adventure that you can experience before Oogie Boogie Bash begins. If you want to break it down, we’d assign the following values to each component of the event: $25 for World of Color – Villainous, $25 for Frightfully Fun Parade, $25 for other entertainment and ambiance, and another $25-50 (depending upon the night you attend) for early access to DCA. That’s assuming you can do around 6-8 attractions in those 3 hours–or about $5-8 per ride.
As a total sucker for World of Color and Halloween parades, I can justify at least some of those costs. You might ascribe different values to each component of the event, or elect not to break the cost down on a ‘per unit’ basis.
There’s also trick or treating, which a lot of people really seem to value as it presents a safe and “Disney” environment for their kids to trick or treat. It’s tough to dispute this from a fun perspective, and this year, the interactive treat trails with characters like Oogie Boogie are way more fun than the normal ones.
Seeing these characters has value to us, whereas Halloween candy itself doesn’t have a particularly high value. A bag of candy from the CVS on Harbor Boulevard is ~$5 and you can bring it to the park if you wanted. Nevertheless, the overall experience of these is fun, and you’ll get value out of them one way or another.
There are a lot of other scenarios where the Halloween Party might be appealing. I already mentioned the locals from Los Angeles and Orange County. Oogie Boogie makes complete sense for this demographic, especially those who love Halloween. It’s a great way to experience a mix of special and regular offerings in DCA without buying a 1-day ticket.
Beyond that, tourists who only have a single day to spend at Disneyland Resort get a lot accomplished during the 8 hours that the Oogie Boogie Bash ticket provides access to Disney California Adventure. You won’t be able to do everything, but those 8 hours are going to have lower than normal crowds, allowing you to accomplish more attractions (if that’s your priority) than you could do in a normal full day in the parks. Plus, this is cheaper than a 1-day ticket.
Again, the downside in both of the above scenarios is that Oogie Boogie Bash only grants access to the second gate. Not being able to experience iconic attractions in Disneyland, or step foot in Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, is a tremendous downside. We love DCA, but if we only had ~8 hours to spend at Disneyland Resort one day per year, we’d want to spend literally every single hour of that time in Disneyland, not DCA.
If you’re visiting Disneyland and Disney California Adventure for multiple days, you might be able to justify Oogie Boogie Bash – A Disney Halloween Party from the perspective of one less day on a multi-day ticket, doing something else in the morning (Downtown Disney or the beach, perhaps) and then heading to DCA for the event. In this scenario, you’re paying a premium for the party ticket, but it’s almost like it’s discounted.
In an ideal world, we’d recommend getting a 3-day Park Hopper ticket and spending at least 4 days at Disneyland Resort, with the morning of Oogie Boogie Bash – A Disney Halloween Party spent doing the Goofy’s Kitchen character breakfast at Disneyland Hotel followed by lunch in Downtown Disney (or heading down to Laguna Beach for the entire morning). After that, head into DCA that afternoon and using only your Oogie Boogie Bash party ticket that day. It’s a good way to stretch your vacation dollars and make the cost of the event a little more palatable.
With all of that said, we have to admit that all of the above is a look at whether Oogie Boogie Bash – A Disney Halloween Party is worth it on paper. A big draw is the atmosphere and different vibe Disney California Adventure takes on. There’s special background music, unique lighting & effects, and other guests dressed in costumes give the Halloween Party a palpable energy. This is a true X factor.
Of course, this doesn’t mean you’ll likewise be able to find a way to justify the cost of Oogie Boogie Bash – A Disney Halloween Party. With every single event date costing over $100, the price is certainly steep. Moreover, there are a lot of Halloween offerings at Disneyland Resort that are included in the standard price of admission. If you already have APs or regular park tickets, there’s less of a “need” to do this.
For us, special events like Oogie Boogie Bash – A Disney Halloween Party are a fun splurge. While we found the first two Oogie Boogie Bashes that we’ve attended to be imperfect, they are still “worth it” to us. Even if we would have a hard time breaking down the cost to justify it, the bottom line for us is that the parties are just plain fun, and we really love doing them. Your mileage may vary, but that makes the Halloween Party at Disneyland Resort worth the high cost to us. We hope it continues to improve in its third year–the 2022 Oogie Boogie Bash – A Disney Halloween Party should benefit both from experience and normal operations!
Planning a Southern California vacation? For park admission deals, read Tips for Saving Money on Disneyland Tickets. Learn about on-site and off-site hotels in our Anaheim Hotel Reviews & Rankings. For where to eat, check out our Disneyland Restaurant Reviews. For unique ideas of things that’ll improve your trip, check out What to Pack for Disney. For comprehensive advice, consult our Disneyland Vacation Planning Guide. Finally, for guides beyond Disney, check out our Southern California Itineraries for day trips to Los Angeles, Laguna Beach, and tons of other places!
YOUR THOUGHTS
Did you attend this year’s Oogie Boogie Bash? Do you disagree with my assessment of the Halloween Party? Already planning ahead for the 2022 Oogie Boogie Bash – A Disney Halloween Party? Favorite characters you hope are featured at the 2022 event? Already have your costume made for it? Any questions? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!