Unofficial Guide to Oogie Boogie Bash 2024 at DCA

The Disneyland Resort’s most-popular annual after-hours event is back, and we’ve got your Unofficial Guide to enjoying all the tricks and treats at Disney California Adventure’s Oogie Boogie Bash 2024.

Nighttime at front gates of Disney California Adventure during Oogie Boogie Bash 2024 — Bone up on all the tips you need to maximize your night at Disney California Adventure’s sold-out Oogie Boogie Bash 2024. (Photos/videos by Seth Kubersky)

If you’ve ever dreamed of getting to stay and play in the Disney theme parks at night after the daytime crowds have exited, the Disneyland Resort has a series of seasonal late-night parties that may be right up your alley, and Disney California Adventure’s Oogie Boogie Bash is the biggest seasonal soiree of them all.

Oogie Boogie Bash, the park’s popular after-hours Halloween event, features a Frightfully Fun parade led by the Headless Horseman, themed treat trails, and rare character encounters. This year, DCA’s Oogie Boogie Bash began on August 23rd, and it continues on select evenings through Halloween night. Parties are held on select Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday nights in late August through October.

Oogie Boogie Bash is a “hard ticket” event, which means regular theme park admission tickets and Magic Key annual passes are not valid for admission; you must purchase a special event ticket directly from Disney. Tickets for Oogie Boogie Bash 2024 cost $134–$189, depending on the date, and are currently sold out for all nights. Book early for next year if you’re interested because the events usually sell out swiftly, and the nonrefundable tickets can’t be resold or transferred.

Oogie Boogie Bash 2024 Character Treat Trails

By far, the most popular elements of Oogie Boogie Bash are the “treat trails,“ which offer the opportunity to spot seldom-seen characters—some of whom only appear at these special events—while collecting some Mars Wrigley brand candy.

Event guests sometimes wait up to an hour to snap photos with a single character. Event maps point out character meet-and-greet locations but don’t indicate exact set times.

Be aware that characters may rotate or take periodic breaks, so the character appearing when you get in line may be gone by the time it’s your turn.

Some of the popular character appearances at Oogie Boogie Bash 2024 include Hades from Hercules (found on the Hollywood Backlot stage), Sid from Toy Story (found at Pixar Pier), and Dr. Doofenshmirtz from Phineas and Ferb (found inside the Disney Junior theater).

In addition to character encounters, a large variety of photo backdrops appear around the park, perfect for posing with and posting to your social media page. Some are simple background images, while others offer physical props to interact with.

Each photo op is accompanied by a Disney PhotoPass photographer, whose services are included in the party ticket price; also expect to find a long, slow-moving queue for all the popular picture spots.

Oogie Boogie Bash 2024 Parade and Entertainment

Perhaps the most exclusive elements of the Oogie Boogie Bash are the unique live shows and experiences that aren’t available any other time of the year. First and foremost is the Frightfully Fun Parade, which features Mickey and friends in festive costumes, along with waltzing ghosts, ghoulish gravediggers, citizens of Halloweentown from Nightmare Before Christmas, and many more.

Plan your evening around this must-see parade, which only runs twice per night. It’s possible to purchase reserved seating with an extra-cost dessert party, but that certainly is not necessary; we snagged a great spot where it starts near Silly Symphony Springs less than 20 minutes before step-off.

Be sure to show up early enough to catch the Headless Horseman, who trots through the streets in a pre-parade 10 minutes prior to the big procession.

Watch a full performance of the Oogie Boogie Bash’s Frightfully Fun Parade with our 4K video:

Oogie Boogie Bash 2024 Attractions

Our favorite experience at Oogie Boogie Bash is Villains Grove, which uses haunting lighting and audio effects to transform the Redwood Creek Challenge Trail into a lair for Disney’s most wicked characters.

Take a stroll through Villains Grove with our 4K POV video:

Unfortunately, the Trick or Treat and Descendants stage shows of earlier years, as well as the short-lived Villainous version of World of Color, have not returned in 2024. Also note that special event showtimes aren’t listed in the Disneyland smartphone app, so you’ll need to refer to the printed Oogie Boogie Bash brochure to know where and when the entertainment occurs.

For guests who want to be part of the live entertainment themselves, after-hours events are one of the only instances when both kids and grown-ups are allowed to wear Jedi robes and other costumes inside the theme parks (although signing autographs or brandishing realistic weapons is still forbidden).

Another big reason to attend Oogie Boogie Bash is the chance to experience some of your favorite rides in a different way, thanks to the return of some special attraction overlays. Guests can enjoy the Monsters After Dark variation of Guardians of the Galaxy—Mission: Breakout!, a scarier version reserved for the Halloween season.

This overlay amps up the fear factor even further with startling special effects and original heavy metal music, as you help Rocket rescue Baby Groot from a ferocious fire dragon.

Cars Land’s residents celebrate Haul-O-Ween with special decorations, custom soundtracks for the Luigi’s and Mater’s rides, and costumes on the car characters.

Keep in mind that all of these attraction overlays can be experienced without purchasing a special party ticket. Monsters After Dark is typically available to all DCA visitors September through October after 3 p.m., and the Haul-O-Ween attractions are open all day.

You also don’t need an Oogie Boogie ticket to Celebrate the Musical World of Coco with the Plaza de la Familia storytellers, who perform in Paradise Gardens from late August through early November. This newly-revamped live outdoor production, which features handcrafted folk art puppets and propulsive folklórico dancers, is not to be missed.

Get a front-row view of the Musical World of Coco show with our 4K video:

Another highlight of the Oogie Boogie Bash is the ability to experience popular E-Ticket rides with shorter-than-usual waits. Capacity for the events is capped, and many attendees are more interested in the unique characters and entertainment than re-riding old favorites. Most importantly, Lightning Lane return times are not sold during the after-hours events, which makes the attractions’ standby queues move with maximum efficiency. (DAS is still available to assist registered guests during events.) As a result, attendees can expect to encounter waits of 20 minutes or less for most attractions, especially
during the final hour of the party.

Oogie Boogie Bash 2024 Food & Merchandise

Last (and in our humble opinion, least), the Oogie Boogie Bash allows guests to wait in absurdly long lines for the opportunity to purchase exclusive food, drinks, and merchandise. The locations for these sought-after items are detailed on the event maps, and some are certain to sell out within the opening hour of the evening.

To be honest, the food and drinks seemed to be engineered more for their Instagram impact than actual taste (to say nothing of nutritional content), and the souvenirs for sale at the events we attended weren’t especially exciting. If shopping and snacking are important to you at Oogie Boogie Bash, pick your priorities quickly, and be prepared to spend a substantial portion of the party parked in queues.

Oogie Boogie Bash Touring Tips

We attended Oogie Boogie Bash in its inaugural year, and again in August 2024, and we’ve enjoyed the special entertainment. However, we don’t think the event is a great value, especially compared to the similar Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party at Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom. That event includes more stage shows, a first-rate fireworks display, and more generous candy distribution than DCA’s version, along with exclusive attraction overlays that can’t be experienced during the daytime.

While it’s impossible to estimate the value of some of the unique event offerings, Oogie Boogie Bash tickets cost $139–$189 per person for up to 8 hours inside the park (including the 3-hour pre-party mix-in), which works out to $17–$24 on a strict dollar-per-hour basis. In comparison, a standard one-day/one-park ticket costs between $104 and $194, with the average price on dates near the Oogie Boogie events running around $169. That’s $11–$14 per hour, based on a 12–16 hour operating day, provided you can last that long in the parks without pooping out.

However, if you factor in the additional cost of Lightning Lanes (which are neither offered nor needed during the special events), that daytime hourly rate increases to as much as $20 per hour, which is nearly on par with the party price. In other words, you’ll pay more per hour for less time in the park with a party ticket, but if you’re focusing on rides, you’ll potentially accomplish more than you would during the daytime, thanks to shorter waits.

If you do attend DCA during the Halloween parties, be sure to pack some extra patience because lines at security and the turnstiles can be especially long on event nights. You’ll need to receive a wristband that allows you to remain in the park after the day guests are ushered out; if there’s a long line to obtain them at the park entrance, go to the distribution area across from Golden Vine House.

Essential to getting full value from an after-hours party ticket is entering the park a full 3 hours before the event officially begins. Special event admission is only good for the park where the party is taking place and does not provide park hopper access to the other park during the three-hour “mix-in” period prior to the regular park closing.

TIP: We don’t recommend using a regular park ticket on the same day you attend an evening event; it’s more cost-effective to rest up and enjoy a non-gated attraction (such as Downtown Disney or your hotel’s pool) in the daytime before the party. And it’s also not a bad idea to plan on sleeping in the next morning after your big night out!

Do you think that Oogie Boogie Bash is worthy of the hype? Let us know in the comments below!