Calling all ghouls! It has been Halloween time at Disneyland Resort since the beginning of September, whether you’re ready for summer to be over or not. Along with the plethora of decorations, food and shows happening around the resort during the duration of Halloween, there is also a special ticketed event at DCA on select nights called Oogie Boogie Bash.

Tickets for Oogie Boogie Bash have been sold out for quite some time, but luckily for me I was able to attend a cast member preview of the event. Here’s a quick run down of what to expect if you’ve been lucky enough to snag a ticket or two.

• Early Entry to Disney California Adventure Park
  Arrive ahead and explore the park before the party starting at 3 PM.
• Immersive Treat Trails
  Collect goodies along trails offering Halloween-inspired music, fun décor and the Villains themselves—including Oogie Boogie and Maleficent—as they oversee the festivities from their thrones. You may even spot more familiar faces.
• Character Sightings
  Seize the chance to see some of Disney’s most popular Characters decked out in their Halloween costumes.
• Special Décor & More
  Enjoy unique decorations, lighting, music and effects sure to set a not-too-spooky, family-friendly tone.
• Limited-Capacity Access to Disney California Adventure Park
  This event lets a limited number of Guests explore the park after it closes, offering shorter wait times at some attractions. Plus, no theme park reservation is required for the park mix-in and event with your event ticket.
• Frightfully Fun Parade
  Don’t miss this spirited masquerade cavalcade starring Mickey, Minnie and some of your favorite Disney Villains!
• Mickey’s Trick & Treat
  Watch Mickey and friends as they headline a live show filled with not-so-scary Halloween tales.
• Villains Grove
  Explore Redwood Creek Challenge Trail like never before as the worlds of Maleficent, Scar and other Disney Villains unfold via ethereal scenes replete with hauntingly beautiful color, sound, light and shadow.
• Carthay Circle
  Hold onto your hats as clouds of black bats coil around Carthay Circle’s Bell Tower while spellbinding effects transform the building.
• Photo Ops
  Let Disney PhotoPass photographers capture shots at scenic park locations. PhotoPass digital photo downloads are included in the price of your event ticket!

Since the event I attended was only a preview and not a full event night, there were some characters and meet and greets that I didn’t end up seeing. Even so, I still saw a ton of spooky characters and nabbed a ton of candy, so let’s get into the experience! One small caveat to mention, my nighttime photography skills are extremely limited, so bear with me in terms of photo quality. If possible I would have sneaked Andrew in so you could enjoy more professional visuals!

For the event I focused on seeing the characters and parade. They did have three attractions open for the preview: Guardians of the Galaxy – Monsters After Dark, Luigi’s Honkin’ Haul-O-Ween and Mater’s Graveyard JamBOOree. I didn’t go on any of the attractions during the preview because of the limited time, but I have been on Monsters After Dark since.

Both Cars Land rides simply change the song that plays during the attraction and some of the lighting, but Monsters After Dark feels like a completely different ride compared to the normal Mission Breakout. A power outage has caused all of the monsters locked in the Tivan collection to be freed, and Rocket needs your help to find Groot, who is lost in the sanctum. The queue experience is definitely very eerie, and the new storyline refreshes the ride in a scary and satisfying way. The only thing we disapprove of in terms of this overlay is the original Monsters After Dark song that plays during the ride. It lacks the vintage rock feel that Guardians is known for.

On my Oogie Boogie evening my first stop was Villains Grove, the walkthrough in the Redwood Creek Challenge Trail. The lighting effects in the area were cool, but there were no actual characters in the area, just ‘spooky’ ambiances themed towards Disney villains.

The line for this was longer than all of the treat trails I visited, but I found the trails to be more exciting because one, candy, and two, there were interactive characters. If you’re in a time crunch and have to miss one part of the party, this is what I would skip.

The activity that will most likely take up the majority of your time is going to the treat trails. They are located all throughout the park, and are marked by these giant blow up Oogies.

There were eight treat trails during the preview, and I ended up seeing six of them. Each treat trail has three or more treat stations with cast members handing out candy or other types of treats, like pretzels and rice treats. Each trail also showcases a Disney villain who interacts with guests as they move through the line. The eight villains at this year’s Oogie Boogie Bash are Maleficent, Sid, Oogie Boogie, Dr. Facilier, Cruella, the Mad Hatter, Agatha and the Evil Queen.

Due to a lack of time I did not see the Evil Queen or Agatha. Side note: if you’re headed to Oogie Boogie Bash this year I wouldn’t worry about a lack of time, the event is 5 hours long on event nights, and I ended up only having 2 hours at the preview. That said, the treat trails I went through were awesome. You get incredibly close to the villains, and can talk to them as much as you’d like. You’re also able to get right back in line for the treat trail! I ended up seeing Oogie Boogie twice because he was incredible.

They took advantage of the screens in the Animation building to make a casino-like atmosphere for the Oogie treat trail! He talked and grinned wickedly as we all collected bug shaped graham cracker snacks.

Sid, the child from the first Toy Story film was found on Pixar Pier, and had a collection of toys that he made himself to show to the crowd. He was also threatened to tattle on park guests to his mom.

The big winner for me was Cruella. They used the young Cruella from the live action film and she dominated the stage by the Monsters, Inc. attraction. She was surrounded by dresses of her own design, and was quick to compliment her own expertise.

The Mad Hatter was very kind for a villain, and discussed hat options that he felt would fit best for guests.

After getting through all the treat trails I could, it was time for the Frightfully Fun Parade. This was the first parade I had seen in a year and a half, so no matter how good it was I was going to love it. This was also the first Halloween parade I had ever seen!

The parade is proceeded by the Headless Horsemen, who is quite intimidating in person. It is hard to tell exactly how big he is via photograph. I ended up sitting across from Off The Page for the parade, and had a good view. The parade route runs through Hollywood Land, up the main pathway back towards the pier and a bit past the Golden Zephyr.

Here are best photos I was able to get during the parade!

The parade started with Mickey and Minnie in cute orange outfits, with a group of dancers behind. Then came a Nightmare Before Christmas section (LOVE) with the Mayor, Jack and Sally and a group of vampires!

The Mayor’s face rotated from happy to sad!

Sally joined Jack on this float, but unfortunately she was on the opposite side.

Of course Zero joined in on the fun too! After the Nightmare Before Christmas came a Haunted Mansion section with many of the most iconic Happy Haunts. You can catch the ballroom dancers, Constance and even the Hitchhiking Ghosts in this parade.

After the Haunted Mansion came the villains. There were many on foot, including Ursula and Captain Hook.

A large villains float ended the parade with Hades, Cruella Deville, the Evil Queen and the Chesire Cat waving farewell. Take a look!

There were a few other elements to the parade, but I can’t give away all of the surprises! Overall it was a fabulous parade, and the only downfall is that the music gets stuck in your head but it’s not available on Spotify.

After telling you all about my experience, my next step would be to talk about the cost for Oogie Boogie Bash and discuss if it’s worth the cost of admission. Unfortunately, all the tickets for the event are already gone! I don’t know if I would have paid the full price for the event, as tickets were over $100, but if you’re a big fan of character interactions then this is definitely the event for you. Guests are also allowed to dress in costume for the event, the only time adults are allowed to go into a Disney park in full costume.

Overall, Oogie Boogie Bash was a blast, and if you have tickets, get ready for a ghoulishly good time!

Are you attending Oogie Boogie Bash this year? Let us know in the comments, along with any questions you might have! If you are planning a trip to Disneyland, then check out our planning guide. If you enjoy what you are reading here on Wandering in Disney please share this post with your friends, as well as like our social media pages.  You can also subscribe to the blog via WordPress or email.  You can do all of that on the right side of this page.  Thank you for reading, we really appreciate it!