I love Disney. I love Halloween. I love the Nightmare Before Christmas. Given that the Oogie Boogie Bash Halloween party at Disney California Adventure Park covers all three of those things, it seems a no brainer (mmm… braaaaaiiiiinssss) that it’s a thing that I’d want to check out. So my wife and I made costumes, bought tickets, trekked across the country, and celebrated Halloween with Oogie Boogie and his Disney villain pals.

Is this event a treat, though? Or were we tricked? Read on, foolish mortals, and find out!

The Oogie Boogie Bash is a ticketed event, meaning that there’s a separate charge to attend. The ticket price for the Bash includes entry, the Photopass photos that you can get throughout the party, and candy (more on that in a bit). Like many of these special events, it also means that you get to be in the park after it’s been closed to non-party guests. In this particular case it’s at Disney California Adventure, and the park closes at 6:00pm to anyone without a ticket to the party. It’s then open until 11:00pm for the attendees of the bash. If you want to be at the park during the day, though, you’d still need to purchase a park entry separately from the Oogie Boogie Bash ticket.

The party itself runs from 6:00-11:00, though if you have a ticket to the event (and didn’t buy park entry for the day), you can actually get into DCA anytime after 3:00pm with just your Oogie Boogie Bash ticket. So if you want to try to get on a couple rides before tricking and treating, that’s an option. For us, we had park entry and spent the day at DCA, so we were already there and then just stayed for the Oogie Boogie Bash. Regardless of which way you do it, though, anytime after 3:00pm you can head to the event sign-in area and get your special Oogie Boogie Bash wristband. Cast members will be checking for these throughout the event, to insure that only paid guests are attending, so it’s important that you have one and that it’s visible (or at least easily shown).

We brought our costumes in bags and stored them in lockers that morning, so we wouldn’t have to carry them or wear them all day. When we decided that it was time to get into costume, it was easy to get them out of the locker, use the nearby restroom to get changed, and then toss our regular clothes back into the same locker. This seemed to be a pretty popular option for those attending the party, given how busy the locker area and nearby restrooms were with people getting changed, so if you’re planning to hang around the park all day I’d recommend getting there early enough to ensure you can get a locker (we needed a larger one for our two outfits).

I went as the Queen of Hearts, and my wife dressed as the White Rabbit.

The party includes a few different activities:

Treat trails: These are essentially lines leading to a villain interaction, and along the way you’ll pass stations where cast members are handing out candy. This year (2021) the villains were: Oogie Boogie, Cruella (from the recent live action film), Dr. Facilier, Maleficent, Evil Queen, Sid (the mean kid from Toy Story), Mad Hatter (from the live action movies), and Agatha Harkness (from WandaVision). These aren’t traditional meet & greets, but rather the villains are up on a decorated stage talking to guests as they pass by. Lights and sound effects help bring each character’s area to life. You can stop and spend as much time as you want talking to them, though they do keep moving around their area to try and see as many guests as they can.

We had a blast with these. All of the characters were really well performed, and with the exception of Oogie Boogie (who is completely covered in a costume and speaks with pre-programmed lines), each character was a blast to interact with. It’s not that Oogie Boogie wasn’t fun to see and hear in person, the costume was actually really cool, it’s just that you don’t get a one-on-one conversation with him like you can have with other villains. I got into a debate about crown size with the Evil Queen, we discussed hats with the Mad Hatter, Dr. Facilier asked how far we traveled to attend the party, and Cruella stopped to admire/comment on our costumes. It was great to get to chat with characters and at no time did we feel like we were being rushed through. We never lingered long at each villain, but also never felt like we didn’t get the chance for a little interaction. Really, the only real downside to the setup is that you can’t get photos with these villains. You can certainly take photos of them, but you can’t get a pic with them like you would with a normal meet & greet.

If I had one small comment about the treat trails, it’s that I found a couple of the villain choices a bit odd. I mean, can the Mad Hatter really be considered a villain? Plus, why go with the one from the live-action films and not the beloved animated classic? I sort of get Sid, in that there aren’t many Pixar villains who would work as face characters in the park (and his treat trail was on Pixar Pier, so thematically it made sense), but we still skipped him because we just had no interest in meeting him. Sorry, Sid.

As promised, though, let’s talk about candy. There’s a lot of candy. When you sign in and get your wristband for the event, you’ll also get a small trick-or-treat bag (which very likely won’t be big enough for you if your goal is to get as many sweets as possible). I saw lots of guests who had brought their own, larger bags for this purpose. At every treat trail, cast members are there to drop candy into your bag. Sometimes by the handful. Most of the treat trails even had more than one of these stations, and cast members at each one would cheerfully drop even more candy into your bag. For the most part it’s the usual Halloween fare–fun sized bars, mini bags of M&Ms, etc–and there’s just so much of it available for attendees of the bash.

We’re not really big candy eaters, so we often politely declined their offerings. You can request healthy snacks, and you’ll get small bags of apple slices or grapes or baby carrots, but even then we were getting so much that we had to breeze past many treat stations and not get anything. If you’re into candy, though, you’ll probably get all that you want (and more) at the treat trails.

Meet & greets: Around the park there are also some specific locations for character meet & greets. These had small Halloween backdrops set up, with a PhotoPass photographer stationed at each one, and they operated a bit more like traditional character meets (except for keeping a safe distance from the characters due to the Covid protocols at the time). Stand in line, meet the character, have a short little interaction, get a photo, move on. The characters often rotate, too, so even passing by the same location means you might see a different character. In addition to popular characters like Chip and Dale dressed up for Halloween, and (of course) a variety of well-known villains, they also had some rarities. For example, we got to meet Prince John and the Sheriff of Nottingham from Robin Hood. We had also heard that Pain and Panic from Hercules were there, though we never got to see them.

If I had one complaint about these, it’s that it was a little tough to find which characters were where and when. There were specific character locations around the park, and it seemed like there was a particular schedule of who would be at which one when, but none of the cast members we spoke to seemed too sure about any of that (as each spot often had multiple characters being rotated through). We asked more than one cast member about Prince John and nobody was able to tell us when and where he’d be, until we finally talked to one who helped us figure it out. I don’t think this is the fault of the cast members, more that they’re just not given the information in advance. I never even got to see Pain and Panic (I love Hercules and would have liked to get a photo with them) because I had no idea where they were.

I’m also still somewhat upset, months later, that we didn’t swing through Avengers Campus and see zombie Captain America. But we didn’t know he was there until after the fact. I heard that he was really cool and surprisingly scary, though. Oh well. Next time.

Frightfully Fun parade: This runs twice throughout the event, once in the early evening and once at the end of the night. Like most Disney parades, it’s a series of floats as well as performers and characters, though of course this one is all Halloween themed. Floats based on the Haunted Mansion and the Nightmare Before Christmas both make an appearance, and a number of villains are marching around as well. There are also performers playing roles like ballroom dancers and grave diggers (from the Haunted Mansion) or Ichabod Crane and the Headless Horseman. It’s all set to a unique song, written specifically for the parade, that plays throughout.

What can I say? I love Disney parades, and when you toss in villains and the Haunted Mansion I love it even more. Plus, I’ve been waiting a while to see their Headless Horseman trot down the street live, and I was not disappointed. He was really cool. The performers were fun, and it was a great combination of fun and creepy that you’d expect from a Disney Halloween show. Like any parade in the parks, you need to stake out a spot early to guarantee a good view, but the more limited number of ticketed guests at the event meant that this was easier than it would be on a normal park day. We opted to catch the later parade, and had no issue finding a good spot to watch.

The Villain’s Grove: For the event, the usually quiet and serene Redwood Adventure Trail gets transformed into the Villain’s Grove, a spooky walk-through experience that uses lights and sound to represent some of the most popular Disney baddies. Using projections, Maleficent’s thorns wrap around rocks as the trees are bathed in purple and green. Candles flicker in mist. A mysterious signpost shows you the way to different landmarks in Wonderland, only to change suddenly. Laughter echoes as spooky music plays.

I honestly loved this way more than I expected that I would, and it ended up being one of my favorite experiences of the evening. To be fair, it doesn’t sound super exciting on paper: there’s no actual characters roaming around, it’s all done with lights and sound, and you’re simply walking along a trail. Yet, it just works. You can’t see any other part of the park, so you’re really “lost” in this haunted forest. The lights and projections, as well as the sound effects, clearly evoke the Disney villains. It was fascinating and creepy, and a surprising amount of fun. Honestly, I would have walked through it again if I had the time, but there seemed to be a fairly long wait throughout much of the evening. The line moves quickly, since the entire thing is basically one big line of people walking, but it could still get crowded. We hit it during the first parade, and found the wait to be a bit lighter because so many people were watching the parade. On the flipside, we then went to see the second parade and found that there were fewer people there (since so many had gone to the first) so we got a great viewing spot.

Mickey’s Trick and Treat: This is a stage show geared for younger audiences, and it features Mickey Mouse and his friends telling Halloween stories.

I didn’t get the chance to check this out, so I have no opinion on it. I’d say that if you have kids and you want to sit down and chill for a bit it’s probably going to be a good time. Disney shows are usually fun, and of course this one is Halloween themed. So you likely can’t go too wrong with it.

Special Extras: In addition to all that there is to see and do at the Oogie Boogie Bash, there’s also a variety of special treats (like themed drinks and flavored churros) and exclusive merchandise available for purchase (some of which sells out extremely quickly).

Plus, of course, you get to wear a costume and see other Disney fans wearing theirs! Honestly, this was a lot of fun for us. We worked hard on our outfits and really enjoyed showing them off, and when other people stopped to compliment us it was a bit of a thrill. Getting to stop and compliment others on their costumes was great too, it was just this neat part of a shared experience with other attendees of the bash.

There’s also a handful of attractions that are open throughout the evening. Some, like the Halloween overlay for Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission Breakout, had a moderate wait all night. Others, like Monsters Inc, were pretty much a walk-on. In fact, at one point later in the night we just wanted to sit down for a bit, so we rode Monsters. The attractions certainly aren’t the draw for the event, but it’s nice to have the option to go on some rides if you want.

There are also special Photopass Magic Shots available throughout the evening. Since the photos are included in the price of the event ticket, it’s worth stopping to get your picture taken and getting some of the special Halloween shots!

So, here’s the big question: is the Oogie Boogie Bash worth the cost of admission? For the two of us, at 2021 pricing, we spent a total of $268 just for the tickets to get in. We didn’t spend a ton of money once we were in the event: one overly sweet special drink, a churro, and that’s about it, but just the price of entry is still a chunk of dollars. If you’ve got a group that’s more than just two adults, it’ll obviously add up. Plus, we both spent a couple hundred dollars to make our costumes (it’s possible we went a little overboard) and of course there’s the flight and hotel and all the various expenses to even get out there to do the Halloween party in the first place. This was not a cheap experience for us.

A lot of the worth of the event, though, ultimately boils down to your own personal preferences. If you’ve read everything I wrote and thought “this all sounds amazing! I want to do all of this! Whoa, this guy is an amazing writer and I want to follow him on social media!” then yes, you’ll likely enjoy the Oogie Boogie Bash. If you got through all this and your impressions were “wait, that’s all you get for the money? That doesn’t sound fun at all. Still, this guy is an amazing writer and I want to follow him on social media” then it’s probably not the event for you.

We, however, had a blast. We loved seeing the park all decked out for the party, it was neat to meet the rare characters that they had out, and interacting with the villains on the treat trails was fun. The Villain’s Grove experience was amazing, and the parade was great. Even just getting to walk around the park with a much lower capacity, sharing in the Halloween festivities with other like-minded folx, showing off our costumes and appreciating what other people were wearing, was just really a cool experience. It really felt, rather than just being at the theme park, like we were attending a Halloween party with a few hundred of our closest strangers.

So if you’re a big fan of Disney and Halloween, and you want to do something fun with a few hundred strangers who are also into Disney and Halloween, the Oogie Boogie Bash is a great time. There’s lots to see and do, it’s fun to dress up and show off your costume, and it’s generally just a neat way to spend an evening. It’s also very much a “you get out of it what you put into it” sort of experience. If you’re going to go through all of the treat trails and interact with the villains, do the meet & greets, watch the shows and parade, do the Villain’s Grove, and get candy, you’re going to have a great time. If you’re going to walk around and say “OK, what else is there besides all of that”, then this absolutely isn’t your bag.

Would we do it every year? Probably not. I suppose if we were local and could buy tickets for a night without all of the additional costs we incurred, I could see us making it an annual event, but otherwise it’s not something that we can afford to do every Halloween. That being said, it was a lot of fun, and I would absolutely do it again.

I may have, even before I left at the end of the night, started planning a new costume for next time…