I Went To The Oogie Boogie Bash Halloween Party Is The 179 Dollars Ticket Worth It
ID:
TMS-5131
Source:
SFGate
Author:
Julie Tremaine
Dateline:
Posted:
Status:
Current
“Hello my dears,” Cruella said, flipping her dalmatian coat dramatically behind her as she walked across the stage. I was walking closer and closer to her, stopping every so often to collect another handful of candy as I approached. “Aren’t I just amazing, stunning, perfect really?”
I mean, except for the whole puppy murder thing, yes. But she wasn’t the only villain I’d talk to at Disneyland that night. It was the Oogie Boogie Bash, the park’s annual Halloween party and the one event a year when Disney’s delightfully dark side is on full display.
The event requires a special ticket, and that ticket is pricey: up to $179, which is what I paid for my Saturday night entry in early September. During the party, the park closes Disney California Adventure to day guests at 6 p.m. Then, the lights go down, and come back up in ghoulish shades of purple and green. The screeching soundtrack of "The Nightmare Before Christmas" blasts through the speakers. Cast members roll out hundreds and hundreds of pounds of candy. And all the bad guys come out, ready to say hello to everyone who has come through the gates in hopes of a marvelously wicked time.
Oogie Boogie Bash has a huge following among Disney fans. When tickets went on sale at the end of June, they were gone within days.
This was my first time, though, and walking through the gates, I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. Between the atmosphere created by the eerie lights and music, watching everyone walk around in elaborate costumes and seeing Lady Tremaine herself — no relation to me, but my favorite villain because of our shared surname — I immediately knew I was in for something special.
Oogie Boogie Bash might be expensive, but if you’re going to spend money on one special event at Disneyland, this should be it.
I loved every minute of the bash; it’s the best event I’ve ever been to at Disney (not just Disneyland, also Walt Disney World). It’s expensive and it’s hard to get tickets. But it’s worth every penny and every minute you spend preparing for it for the total immersion in the wicked fun of the Halloween season.
Here’s a tip if you haven’t been before: You need a killer costume. It’s not strictly necessary, but it really adds to the fun. Oogie Boogie is also the only time of year adults are allowed to wear costumes in the park. Every time I walked somewhere, I either complimented someone on their costume, or got a compliment on mine — usually both. It just adds a level of raptness into the Halloween feeling and amps up the spooky vibes. My friends and I went as the hitchhiking ghosts from Haunted Mansion. That night, I saw a handful of Ghost Hosts and murderous brides named Constance from the ride, but most of the costumes were either inspired by Marvel (mostly Lokis in all their multitudinous forms), "The Nightmare Before Christmas" or "Hocus Pocus." Those Sanderson sisters have been cult favorites for a long time. But this year, there were a lot of them, between the sequel coming out Sept. 30 and Minnie, Daisy and Clarabelle appearing as the witches for a new character meet-and-greet.
That’s where we started our night, in line to meet the newest witches on the block. Around us, the costumes were on point. There was a guy who made a really big “Turning Red” deep dive and made himself a Halloween costume of the red panda costume Mei wears herself in the movie. There was a really convincing Billy Butcherson, Winifred Sanderson’s former flame who gets his mouth sewn shut in “Hocus Pocus.” But not everyone was in Disney dress: I also spotted an on-point Cher and Dionne from “Clueless,” who were absolute friends costume goals.
The party doesn’t start until 6 p.m., but ticketholders can enter the park as early as 3 p.m. At about 5:30 p.m., the three of us got in line for the Sanderson sisters, thinking we’d beat the crowd. We did not. After a few minutes, a cast member told everyone in line that at the point we were in the line, we’d be facing a two-and-a-half to three-hour wait. Half the party wasted just to get a photo? No thanks. We stepped out of line and moved on to another, much shorter line.
New characters this year get dedicated lines for photo ops, like the Minnie Sandersons and Bruno from "Encanto." The rest of them were available on “treat trails,” which are queues with trick-or-treating stations every so often in the line. Walk a minute, get a handful of candy, walk a minute, see Ernesto de la Cruz from "Coco," Mad Madam Mim from "The Sword in the Stone" or Agatha Harkness from "WandaVision." We got to interact with a lot of characters, and the lines moved quickly, so we didn’t have to sacrifice time and miss anything important, like the parade.
And the parade is, in a word, unmissable. It starts with the Headless Horseman riding on horseback through the path connecting Pacific Wharf and Hollywood Land and is followed by a truly dastardly cast of characters. There’s a "Nightmare" section with the mayor of Halloween Town. I especially loved that one because in addition to Jack and Sally, there was a group of those creepy floating vampires from the movie that don’t get enough attention for my taste. Then there was a Haunted Mansion section with the hitchhiking ghosts and Constance the murderous bride, in addition to ghoulish ballroom dancers and gravediggers dragging their shovels and making sparks on the ground.
After that, there’s a group of demon ghouls on stilts dancing around Dr. Facilier from "The Princess and the Frog," followed by a cavalcade of villains including Ursula, Captain Hook and evil stepsisters Anastasia and Drizella with, yes, Lady Tremaine. Pulling up the rear: the Evil Queen from "Snow White" stirring up a poisonous brew in her cauldron, and Dragon Maleficent.
Beyond that, there’s another totally unique attraction: Villains Grove, which turns the Redwood Trail into a lair any evildoer would be proud to call home. It’s a walkthrough filled with atmospheric lights and fog, spooky music and some kind of Disney magic that creates the ghost of the Red Queen from "Alice in Wonderland" with glowing red and white roses.
What makes the event special is the true feeling of immersion in the season. The dastardly characters are free to be their most villainous selves. The music and lighting are dark and atmospheric. Almost everyone was dressed up, whether they were costumed or in Halloween garb. We were all a part of something spooky, and for a moment, the world looked like I wanted it to: delightfully spooky and full of Halloween magic. (Another great thing about the party: high-demand rides like Toy Story Midway Mania are walk-on.)
The one area I think Disney could have done better: the food. There wasn’t a ton of special event food for Oogie Boogie that wasn’t already on the seasonal Halloween menus throughout the park. The few we did try tended to be spicy: loaded buffalo chicken fries, a hot link corn dog dipped in black batter and a ghost pepper churro that was thankfully not as painfully spicy as I feared it would be. I liked them all, but I wished there were others I wanted to try.
The merch this year was also limited. On top of my $179 ticket and $30 parking, I probably spent about $40 on food and drinks through the night. If there were more interesting things to try, it probably would have been a lot more.
If you missed the window this summer, there’s still a little hope for you. Sometimes, though not often, Disneyland releases day-of tickets for special events. And there are always second market sale sites like TicketSwap, preferred by Disneyland fans, and StubHub. (As of press, tickets on StubHub were selling for nearly $1,000 each.)