Fall at the Magic Kingdom, 2020 Style

Yesterday I was part of a media group, invited to the Magic Kingdom to spend the morning learning about the new Halloween offerings in the park. I really wanted to see what Disney had come up with.

I’ll start with the best part. The seasonal Character Cavalcades are amazing! My favorite was the one with Mickey and friends. They used the Boo-to-You song! There were a lot of happy people along the parade route when they heard the familiar tune. The other new cavalcades were Winnie the Pooh and friends, The Nightmare Before Christmas, and Disney Villains. All of them were fantastic. I’ll be adding at least one of each on the Disney Over 50 Facebook and Instagram accounts over the next few nights, so make sure you follow along. The Villains caravan and The Nightmare Before Christmas caravan run on select days.

The decorations were nice, but they were nothing to write home about. I think that we have been spoiled by Disney. We expect everything to be so much larger than life. These weren’t. They were mostly Mickey pumpkins on poles along Main Street, U.S.A. There were a few extra flowers on some of the Main Street buildings. As I said, they were nice, they just weren’t as grand as we’ve seen in past years.

We had a peek at the merchandise. Both The Nightmare Before Christmas and Haunted Mansion are well represented. There is also some general Disney Halloween themed merchandise. Remember, right now Florida Residents receive a discount of 20 percent some days, and Annual Passholders receive a 30 percent discount daily. You can read about that here. It’s for a limited time.

As far as food was concerned, I purchased the Headless Horseman Rides again. It’s Strawberry Dole Whip and Fanta, and comes with a Headless Horseman straw. It was good for a change, but I prefer Pineapple Dole Whip. My sweet tooth went into overdrive and I also tried the Pumpkin-spiced Mickey Waffle Sundae. Flavored Mickey waffles, vanilla ice cream, caramel, and sprinkles? Yes, please! It was delicious, the waffles were my favorite part. I’m not one of those “I need all things pumpkin spice for September and October” type of people, but these were flavored to perfection.

If you’re headed to the Magic Kingdom during the next few weeks, don’t forget your costume! Adults are allowed to wear them through October 31. There were plenty of costumes, and I expect that the number will grow as we get closer to Halloween. Find a face mask that works with your costume, because costume masks aren’t allowed.

Like everything else, things are different this year. If you’ve never seen the Halloween decorations before you’ll be thrilled, otherwise you might feel like something is missing in that department. The new Character Cavalcades are all worth watching. There are plenty of delicious treats to buy, and there is some great merch out there. Disney could have canceled all things Halloween this year, but instead they decided to give us a modified experience. I had a great time, and I think that you will as well. The fall and Halloween festivities run through October 31.