Which Characters Could Have Meet & Greets at This Year’s Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party?

Disney just announced the return of Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party to the Magic Kingdom for the first time this fall since 2019. With the announcement came all of the details on dates for the event (which kicks off early on August 12, 2022 and runs through Halloween!) as well as ticket pricing, and which entertainment components will return this year. Many of the details for Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party are still in the works, including which character meet and greets Guests will be able to find in the park.

With knowledge of previous Magic Kingdom Halloween events, plus all of the changes and new characters introduced over the past two years, I’ve come up with a couple of ideas for who we might see at this year’s Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party.

Characters likely to return to this year’s party

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It should go without saying that Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Daisy, and other close friends will return to this year’s Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party. In a different location, or in a different Halloween costume? Sure, that’s possible, but in any case, it would not be Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party without him and his friends!

Jack Skellington and Sally are also sure to return. The Pumpkin King himself is the host of Disney’s Not-So-Spooky Spectacular, the party’s fireworks show, so it only makes sense that he would be in attendance. On top of that, Jack and Sally have always been incredibly popular characters to meet at past Halloween parties in the Magic Kingdom, so I would be shocked if they did not return this year.

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At the last party, the regular princesses who reside in Princess Fairytale Hall (Cinderella, Elena, Tiana, Rapunzel) were also available in the same location for meet and greets during the event. While Disney could obviously choose to put another character here, it seems likely that this will remain the same for the 2022 party.

Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party has historically been one of the only times Guests could meet all seven of the dwarfs from Snow White (1937) together. It has consistently been one of the most popular meet and greets at the event often drawing very long wait times, and I can’t imagine Disney would change anything about it.

The gravediggers from the Haunted Mansion were also a popular character to see at the 2019 event, and given that they have been heavily featured in Disney’s official announcements for the party and on social media so far, I believe they will be back this fall.

Most of the character lineup from 2019 will likely remain the same when the party returns this fall. While Disney could easily switch up some of the villains that appeared at the last party (like Cruella or Jafar, for instance) I don’t have a strong opinion one way or another for who could be swapped. Other characters like Moana, Stitch in his Elvis costume, and Lots-o’-Huggin’ Bear from Toy Story 3 (2010) seem to me like they will be sticking around for this year, too.

Characters we may not see this year

Of course, if new characters are going to pop up this fall in the Magic Kingdom, it makes sense that others will be removed from the event. While not among the most popular characters at Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party, Brer Fox, Brer Bear, and Brer Rabbit have been spotted in Frontierland in the past (they were there greeting Guests at the last party in 2019). I would take a guess that given the announcement in 2020 that Splash Mountain will be rethemed to Princess and the Frog (2009) and the controversy surrounding the ride’s source material in Song of the South (1946), these characters would be among the first to go for this year’s event.

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At the time of the last Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party, Gaston was regularly meeting Guests in Fantasyland during regular park hours, and during the event he was accompanied by Belle making for a unique interaction with the two characters together. So far, Gaston has not returned for meet and greets, and it is unclear if or when he will. For that reason, there is a chance we will not see Gaston during the Halloween party. Perhaps Belle will be accompanied by the Beast?

Captain Jack Sparrow may have been a bit more of a commodity during past Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween party nights at the Magic Kingdom than he has been lately. Since character meet and greets began their return to “normal,” earlier this month, Captain Jack has regularly been greeting Guests in Adventureland. Before the pandemic changed things up, the Captain could sometimes be found at the Pirate Tutorial, an interactive activity for kids in Adventureland, but he was not often out for regular meet and greets outside of the Halloween party and after-hours events. With Jack being in the park during daytime hours, now, it seems like a possibility we will see someone new in Adventureland.

New characters?!

News of the return of Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party was certainly welcome, but it did not really list anything new coming to the park outside of a couple of photo ops and some additional details for the 50th anniversary of Walt Disney World.  As for new character meet and greets, I would be curious to see if any of the following made an appearance this year.

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Mirabel (or Bruno?!) from Encanto (2021) seems like an obvious choice for a new character to introduce at the party. The film is incredibly popular and where it debuted while the parks were still in the process of reopening, it has not had very much presence at Walt Disney World at all save for some PhotoPass Magic Shots and food items at the EPCOT International Flower & Garden Festival. If my pondering Jack Sparrow leaving Adventureland is correct, it seems this would open up a spot for characters from Encanto.

What about the Sanderson Sisters? Hocus Pocus (1993) has garnered a massive fan following for years, and this year with the debut of Hocus Pocus 2 on Halloween and the return of the Hocus Pocus Villain Spectacular stage show, this trio of witches seems like an obvious choice. In fact, I am surprised the Sanderson Sisters have not had a meet and greet at Walt Disney World in the past (you can find “unofficial” Sanderson Sisters posing for photos in Salem, Massachusetts during October, one would think you could meet them at Mickey’s party!)

For other possibilities, I am looking to the character cavalcades. We know these characters are available to see from a distance, so it seems like an easy transition for Disney to host them as meet and greets during Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party. From the Disney Adventure Friends Cavalcade, I think it is possible that The Incredibles or Nick and Judy from Zootopia (2016) could appear for meet and greets during the event.

My last thought leads me to look at the distanced character meet and greets that were offered during Boo Bash, which took place the past two years during the hiatus of Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party. Foulfellow and Gideon from Pinocchio (1940) appeared above Pinocchio Village Haus in Frontierland. The area by the restaurant, while sort of quiet during the party has traditionally been a treat location, and it looks like there would be space to have these two characters greet Guests outside.

It will certainly be interesting to see which characters do appear at this year’s event! We will of course keep you updated here on Disney Fanatic on all things Halloween as Walt Disney World as we get closer to spooky season. Happy Halloween!