A guide to Oogie Boogie Bash

September called for a quick weekend trip to check out this year’s Oogie Boogie bash. Oogie Boogie bash is Disneyland’s after hours Halloween party with special characters, trick or treating, spooky decor and halloween themed parade. This was my first time at Oogie Boogie bash and I learned a lot about how to navigate Oogie Boogie Bash and what to expect and prepare for. Here is a little guide to help you do just that! Whether it's for this year's party or for one in the future. Let’s dive in!

Overview

Oogie Boogie bash is on select nights September and October in Disney’s California Adventure. The party officially starts at 6:00 pm but party goers can get into the park starting at 3:00 pm. The park does get pretty busy in these hours leading up to the party with regular park guests and party guests combined. Party tickets range from $129 to $179. Parties are already sold out for this year's event. They typically sell out within a few days when they release in June.

Oogie Boogie Bash's epic treat trails showcase limited time specialty characters that are rarely seen in the parks. Some examples from this year are Sid from Toy Story, Madam Mim from Sword and Stone, Ernesto De La Cruz from Coco and the big guy himself - Oogie Boogie. It also features Villian’s Grove - a highly themed walking path that features decor based off of various villains. The Frightfully Fun Parade is a big highlight of the night featuring floats from Nightmare Before Christmas, Haunted Mansions and more! Here is a full list of events from the Disneyland Website.

Characters

This years characters feature some of the most popular ones from the night before plus a few more. You can see characters in two different ways: via treat trails and by photo locations. You can see on the map where they are located and what type of interaction it’s but the map does not tell you which character is where. Here is a little cheat sheet so you know where you need to head:

Photo Location Characters

Minnie, Daisy and Clarabelle as the Sanderson Sisters - Stage 12 near Hollywood Lounge

Mater, Lightning and Cruz - Carsland near CozyCone and Flos V8

Bruno - In front of the Grizzly River Run water wheel

Mickey in Kingdom Hearts gear - Paradise Garden Park

Incredibles - Incredicoaster water area

Thor and Loki - Avengers Campus

Treat Trail Characters

Oogie Boogie - Animation Academy

Madam Mim - Hyperion Theater

Agatha - Doctor Strange’s Sanctum

Ernesto De La Cruz - Across from the Waterfall just past Carthay Circle

Maleficent - behind Soarin’

Mother Gothel - Grizzly Peak Trail

Dr. Facilier - By the Golden Zephyr

Sid - By Bing Bong’s Sweet Stuff

Strategy

We started the night by getting there early around 4:30 pm. We headed towards the Hollywood Lounge area where you can meet Minnie, Daisy, and Calrabelle dressed up as the Sanderson Sisters. This was high priority on our list because my daughter LOVES Hocus Pocus and dressed as Mary Sanderson. My 3 year old son fell asleep as we headed over there so I just let him rest. Ideally I would have mobile ordered food and ate while we waited in line but I knew I would need to get him some food once he woke up. Great places to mobile order food near there are Studio Catering Co and Award Wieners.

I was hoping that the would begin meeting guests prior to the official party start but they began right at 6:00 pm. We stood right at the front of the line and finished meeting them by 6:15 pm. If meeting the Sanderson Sisters is high on your priority list, I would definitely suggest waiting before the party starts for it. That way you aren’t wasting valuable party time. I have also heard that wait times for them are the lowered (around 45 min) during the first parade.

From here you can go a variety of ways depending on who is high on your list to see. Take a look at this image of where the lines start and where they end so that you can plan out your route easily. I feel like the biggest hassle was not knowing where a treat trail began. I did a lot of extra walking.

I would definitely prioritize the Villain’s Grove. The line will look incredibly long but the wait times are listed in the app which helps you plan your time. A low wait time for this is about 20 minutes. It takes about 20 minutes for the line and then about another 20 minutes to walk through so make sure you give yourself plenty of time to do this.

We watched the second parade although I wish we would’ve done the first parade. Not only did my daughter fall asleep but I feel like we could’ve done more during the party had we seen the first parade.

Wait times for rides were fairly low but not walk ons. We did Toy Story Midway Mania and waited about 20 minutes. I personally wouldn’t spend a lot of time on rides unless you really want to do a ride that you haven’t been able to do during the day. There are no overlays on rides or unique things during the parties. You would really just be taking advantage of lower waits.

I hope this finds planning your Oogie Boogie bash night helpful! Look for more tips if you are taking your little ones by subscribing to my blog.