Oogie Boogie Bash is a hard ticketed Halloween party that is offered every fall in California Adventure. The event typically runs from 6-11 PM, with entry into California Adventure starting at 3. OBB (yeah, you know me) has been very popular over the years, typically selling out all dates. That has changed in 2026 as Disney has added more dates and the event doesn’t have as much demand. We attended the opening night of Oogie Boogie Bash and this post reviews the 2026 edition of the Halloween party.

As I mentioned, Oogie Boogie Bash is traditionally an extremely popular event. People who wanted to attend the party would wait in the infamous website virtual queue for hours to get tickets. In short, the party was a big deal!

The reason demand was so high is obvious – Oogie Boogie Bash was, and still is, very fun! The event is a great way to celebrate the Halloween season and offers excellent counter-programming to the horror-based experiences at Knott’s Berry Farm and Universal Studios Hollywood.

For people who have only attended Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party in Walt Disney World, Oogie Boogie Bash has a more laid back approach. There’s less waiting in line thanks to the great character treat trail idea. DCA’s offerings are more atmospheric, best embodied by Villains Grove which is a walkthrough attraction using lights and projections to turn Redwood Creek Challenge Trail into a Halloween dream.

All of the individual components at Oogie Boogie Bash are great – unique character meet & greets, Villains Grove, treat trails, a new street party replacing the parade in 2026 and a few other touches. So, why the drop in popularity? There are three main factors:

• 2026 offers 33 dates, 6 of which take place before the calendar turns to September.
• The party is very expensive, with the cheapest tickets being $159/person.
• Oogie Boogie Bash makes minimal changes every year.

The first 2 are self-explanatory, more dates equals less demand especially when people are thinking more about the end of summer than Halloween. $159 per person is a lot of money to celebrate a holiday that isn’t going to actually happen for another 2 months. I like seeing people dress up as much as the next guy, but I really felt for the man who went with the full Cobra Bubbles suit costume in the 90 degree heat on August 18th.

The third bullet point, in my opinion, is the bigger cause of the popularity decrease and also the crux of this review. Again, we go each year and have a great time, even with the August heat and post D23 Expo exhaustion. The bright side of the party not changing is that the event is dependable; you know what you’ll get. Some really enjoy that, especially for a once per year party. I have friends who go every year, generally closer to Halloween, and love that being their Halloween celebration.

For others, the party has grown stale. Even when the party felt new to us, we thought Oogie Boogie Bash could use a full stage show or something of the like. Now that we’ve gone a few times and have the pattern down, offering one more piece could really complete the puzzle.

That said, there is one major difference in this year’s party although it comes with a giant asterisk by it. The Frightfully Fun Parade is not offered in 2026 because California Adventure can’t house a parade with the current Coco attraction construction. In its place is a street party called Madame Leota’s Swinging Wake.

Madame Leota’s Swinging Wake

This street party being a new offering in place of the Frightfully Fun parade does give Oogie Boogie Bash a shot in the arm. Most of that energy boost is courtesy of outstanding choreography and performances. Truly, this is some of the best dancing we’ve seen come out of the Disney Parks, whether it be a parade, show, or me busting out a move at the Tomorrowland Dance Parties.

Madame Leota’s Swinging Wake does look familiar to Oogie Boogie Bash patrons, as these are the same floats from Frightfully Fun. The cynical look is that 2026 is giving you less to look at on the parade route, with fewer showstoppers. The largest floats are still fairly small by parade standards.

Even so, we came away impressed by the street party. Unlike the parade, this stops in 3 different locations – in front of The Little Mermaid – Ariel’s Undersea Adventure, in front of Wine Country Trattoria and Sonoma Terrace, and in Hollywood Land. The street party pauses in each spot for just under 10 minutes. The dancing and choreography is elaborate and exciting.

If you’ve ever had the chance to see California Adventure’s Viva Navidad street party during the holidays, that’s the best comparison to Madame Leota’s Swinging Wake. One is themed to the holidays and one is themed to Haunted Mansion but in terms of scale and length they are similar. Obviously, the Swinging Wake does move in between the 3 stopping points and there’s more choreography done during those jaunts but we do not recommend watching it from anywhere besides where it stops.

Preceding the street party is the Headless Horseman in his usual role. It’s another great touch albeit nothing new for 2026.

We thought the change this year to Madame Leota’s Swinging Wake was making the very best of a bad situation. The Haunted Mansion theme is a treat and the choreography plus performances make this a must-do during Oogie Boogie Bash. I think whether you prefer the Frightfully Fun Parade or Madame Leota’s Swinging Wake will depend on what you enjoy the most about these type of performances. We both preferred the street party, and were pleasantly surprised by it. That could be some recency bias poking through though!

Here’s a look at what else Oogie Boogie Bash offers.

Villains Grove

Villains Grove is a standout at Oogie Boogie Bash. The repurposed Redwood Creek Challenge Trail is lit up and transforms into an immersive, dreamlike environment conjured up by different villains. This walkthrough is less sinister and more mystical. I won’t spoil anything (outside of a photo or two) but the lighting in the last 5 minutes of the attraction is astounding every single time. The whole experience is surprisingly beautiful and less IP filled than I expected, although there are plenty of references. Villains Grove runs from sunset on and shouldn’t be missed.

Treat Trails

The rest of Oogie Boogie Bash is centered around Treat Trails and Character Experience. Many of the treat trails are focused around a character, with Cast Members handing out sweets before and after guests see the character.

Treat Trails are a highlight of the party, specifically the trails that feature characters that talk as you pass by. Those characters include Oogie Boogie, Ernesto de la Cruz, Syndrome, Yzma and Maleficent, Agatha, Judge Doom, Hades, and Dr. Heinz Doofenshmirtz. All of these are great and worth doing, as the characters talk to passersby making memorable interactions. We’ll have a ranking of the treat trails up in the next day or two but don’t miss Yzma’s (new this year) and Oogie Boogie’s trail. The trails without characters are just a way to get more candy, which no one should say no to, but aren’t anything special.

Speaking of, there is so much candy. I don’t recommend trying to get $159 (or whatever price tickets were) worth during the party but I’m also convinced that you probably could if that’s how you really wanted to spend your time! We never try very hard to get candy, just doing all of the trails once and those are mainly to see the characters. Even with that strategy, we come away with enough candy to last us for months.

Characters

Outside of the treat trail characters, there are a decent amount of designated character meets throughout Oogie Boogie Bash. Minnie, Daisy and Clarabelle dressed as the Sanderson Sisters (from Hocus Pocus) is our favorite encounter. Those three ham it up in their roles and look great in those costumes. That meet & greet is held in the World of Color (which does not run during Oogie Boogie Bash) viewing area.

The other most popular meet & greet is Mickey, Donald and Goofy in Kingdom Hearts attire. You can find this near the Golden Zephyr. Pain, Panic & Meg from Hercules all meet over by the Monsters Inc attraction in Hollywood Land and several Pixar characters, including Edna, meet by Incredicoaster. There’s also a host of villains in front of Carthay Circle, Cars Land has characters in costumes, and some heroes show up in Avengers Campus. We did notice a few more walk around characters in 2026, which is a good change.

Miscellaneous

There are a few other odds and ends that Oogie Boogie Bash offers. That includes some specialty food and drinks, merchandise, projections on Carthay Circle and plenty of decor. Much of this can be found during a regular California Adventure night in the fall, so I hesitate to call them party specific activities but they do enhance the atmosphere.

Value

That brings us back around to whether Oogie Boogie Bash is worth the price. If you’ve never been before then the party is great! Complaints of it being the same old thing wouldn’t matter to first timers and the price tag is, at the very least, worth considering. I still prefer a full day at Disneyland than most of these parties but this is a fun and festive way to experience something different in the parks, and does offer entry into DCA starting at 3.

If you have been then your mind is likely already made up. For those that love Oogie Boogie Bash every year then this year is just as good, if not a little better. The addition of Yzma on the treat trails is wonderful and Madame Leota’s Swinging Wake is an impressive interim replacement.

For those on the fence about returning to Oogie Boogie Bash, there probably isn’t enough in the 2026 edition to draw you in. By and large, this is the same party. A new character on a treat trail and a parade shrunk down but with more elaborate dancing probably isn’t enough to change your mind.

That’s where Oogie Boogie Bash is stuck. Adding something of substance next year to the current offerings would go a long way in bringing guests back. If only there was a large theater to put a show in… Or a few stages to add live music acts… I won’t even charge a consulting fee for these ideas.

The 2026 version of Disneyland Resort’s Halloween party is a blast but that’s because Oogie Boogie Bash is always a blast, not because the party is all that different from previous iterations. We like the additions they made but they feel like replacements instead of adding on. Oogie Boogie Bash remains a well oiled Halloween machine, it just needs some sprucing up soon.

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