Five Things I Did Not Like About Oogie Boogie Bash

When Disneyland replaced Mickey’s Halloween Party with Oogie Boogie Bash, it was shocking. Oogie Boogie Bash sounded like a more sophisticated and fun party. I’ve attended a Disney Halloween Party yearly since 2007. So I thought Oogie Boogie Bash would be amazing. For me this was the first year the party fell flat. And here are five reasons.

The lines were insanely long.

Not Enough Time

The party is only five hours long. It is hard if not impossible to do everything in one night. Especially if the party sold out. Which they all are.

The treat trail lines are long the first three hours. If you want to enjoy Villianous the new World of Color show. And watch the parade then trick or treat and meet characters you will have a hard time getting that all done.

The parties at Disneyland on weekends lasted til midnight. It can surprise you what you can do with an extra hour.

Can you do everything in one night? If you were very lucky, it is possible. Remember the first 3-4 hours some lines are long. This includes treat trails and meet and greets. Even if you spend 5-10 minutes waiting per trail, it adds up. Then add the time you will spend waiting for and watching the parade and Villiainous. You could rack up 3 plus hours of waiting.

Think about it you do 6 treat trails (there are 10) if it’s five minutes a trial that’s half an hour. If the wait is 10-15 minutes for interactive treat trail lines, it adds up. There are five interactive trails total. Those lines are long. That is an hour plus.

Want to watch Villiainous? I say show up at least 20 minutes if not sooner before the show. The show is another 21 minutes, so this is at least 41 minutes.

The Frightfully Fun Parade is 13 minutes. But secure a spot at least 20-30 minutes before. That is another 33-43 minutes gone.

If you watch Villiainous, the parade, and trick or treat a little that takes at least 115 minutes. Or about two hours out of five. This does not include all the character picture opportunities. There are 11 total if you are lucky you wait about 10 minutes. These activities take an hour and a half or longer.

If you want to attend The DescenDance Party, it is up to you how long you should stay.

Mickey’s Trick & Treat at Oogie Boogie Bash show is about 12 minutes but you have to line up and wait for it to start. If you are lucky, it takes about 15 minutes.

Villains Grove is a walk through with a line. So that can take you anywhere from a few minutes to 20 plus minutes depending on the line.

I did not include time to walk to each destination. Or allow time for bathroom breaks. Or even food. So if it takes four hours to do everything you are lucky. I would think if you have no small children you could do everything in the perfect conditions in 3.5-4 hours.
However, many of those attending the party have children. Someone will need to use the restroom. Eat. Or need a break to decompress.

I love the fact Disney lets you in at three. This gives you time to eat and go on some rides. But you cannot do anything exclusive to the party. Have a plan and stick to it. Make the most of your time. Remember all the parties sold out so Oogie Boogie Bash will be packed.

Getting In

Getting in can take some time. You used to wait in line, scan your ticket, get your wristband and bag and go. Not anymore. There are two lines. Which can take forever? If you line up before three.

So you wait. Get a picture taken and your ticket. Then wait in another line and get a wristband with your ticket. Then get a bag.

Bottom line show up after three. It took us twenty minutes which is bearable. But if you get there at let’s say 2:30 and line up (many people arrive between 2-3) you can wait for an hour.

Remember this is after parking, walking or riding the tram, and queuing up. Those security lines can get long so plan wisely.

The Parade

There is only one parade. Yes, you read that right. There is one parade. Even when Mickey’s Halloween Party was at DCA, there were two parades. This puts some in a disposition. By taking away the second parade it makes it harder to spend time to do something somewhere else.

It is hard to get a good parade spot for the parade. Especially when your child cannot see over other people's heads. The second parade was always much less crowded and a better choice.

Second the parade needs a little updating it is shorter than Boo To You its counterpart at Disney World. It would be nice to see a few child friendly additions to update this parade. My issue is there is only one parade. Just in case someone at Disney is reading I thought I should mention a few more floats would be welcome.

Villains Grove

Is it cool? Yes. Is it worth waiting in line for? No.

Not when people are stopping in the middle of the trail creating a bottleneck so they can pose for pictures. Villains Grove is Redwood Creek Trail with lights, music, and a smog machine.

It fell short. The Cheshire Cat projection was blurry. Without characters Villains Grove felt like something was missing. As a treat trail Villains Grove would have been much more enjoyable.
Said and done it was a time suck for us. Not worth the wait in line.

Lines For Pics

Lines everywhere. For pictures and treat trails.

It would be nice if some photo opps were available at three. This could work indoors with entry with a valid wristband. It may make for shorter lines. There are plenty of places too. Like Blue Sky Cellar or the Chase Cardholder meet and greet location.

Everyone knows how long the picture lines can get. It can take 10 minutes if you are lucky or an hour if you are not. Several meet and greets can take the entire night.

Also, it was nice that they used a Moonlight Magic photo opportunity. However, it was basically a recycled meet and greet. It would have been nice to see a few child friendly ones. Just saying. The Mickey and Minnie line was long. It would have been nice to see Vampirina or PJ Masks. I know PJ Masks do not have a meet and greet. I am just putting that out there. Hi Disney.

Final Thoughts

Oogie Boogie Bash was ok. Is there room for improvement? Yes. Will I go again next year? Well, if Disney does not invite me (they won’t) I do not know. I think we paid $110 for each ticket and I did not feel I got that much value for my money.

So I am waiting to see what Disney has planned for next year before deciding. They should announce something between April and June.

What did you think about Oogie Boogie Bash? If you have not been to Oogie Boogie Bash are you planning on going?