Halloween is one of the BEST seasons to visit Disneyland Resort, especially if you head on over to Disney California Adventure. That’s right, it’s finally time to kick off the Halloween season!

One of the best ways to celebrate the season is Oogie Boogie Bash! This after-hours event is a full night of Halloween fun with special snacks and all of your favorite villains. We’re here for the first party of 2026, and we’re showing you EVERYTHING you need to know!

 

The Basics

Oogie Boogie Bash runs on select nights from August 18th to October 31st and is a separately ticketed event in Disney California Adventure where the park is completely transformed into a Halloween spectacular. The event is five hours long, but with lower crowds than normal, there’s SO much you can get done!

Tickets range from $139 to $199, with nights closer to Halloween being the most expensive. The event starts at 6 PM and runs until 11 PM. You can get into the park as early as 3 PM with an event ticket, but the official party fun doesn’t start until 6 PM.

Crowds

These after-hours parties can be pretty busy, and we were expecting long lines for exclusive merchandise and characters. However, when we visited the party on opening night, we noticed that the crowds were not as intense as we expected. Even all the treat trail lines moved pretty quick!

We made sure to pick up our wristband first thing, and then we were ready to party!

These wristbands are how Cast Members check and make sure you’re supposed to be in the park for the party, so be sure to keep yours visible at all times.

Event Guide

Make sure you grab an event guide when you get to the park! This map will show you where to find all the characters, treat trails, snacks, and more. Photo locations for PhotoPass are also listed, and you get FREE access to them all night with your party ticket, so our advice? Take advantage of each and every one!

The event guide is a great souvenir, but it’s also PACKED full of information for the evening. You can use this event guide to help plan out your evening and see where everything is located in the park.

In fact, we recommend stopping to look over the map the moment you grab it, rather than waiting until later at night.

Merchandise

Who doesn’t love exclusive merchandise? We know we’re suckers for it every year! There are tons of exclusive merchandise you can find throughout the event, although one of our favorites had to be these Jack Skellington and Oogie Boogie Ears!

Make sure to dedicate some of your time at Oogie Boogie to explore all the great merchandise!

Treat Trails

One unique part about Oogie Boogie Bash is the immersive treat trails. You can grab free candy while walking through themed trails with some of your favorite villains. Disney provides a free candy bag when you arrive at the event, but you can also bring another one if you’d like. In fact, you can walk through these trails as many times as you’d like! 

These are some of the best ways to see some super rare Disney Villains. While they’re not traditional meet-and-greets (in order to keep the lines moving), we still find it super cool. It’s a big draw each year, so expect to see some long lines — they do traditionally move fast, though! First up, we saw  Yzma at her treat trail in Grizzly Peak. She is a brand-new character this year, and we were thrilled to see her make an appearance at Oogie Boogie.

You can also spot the host himself, Oogie Boogie, at his treat trail over in the Disney Animation building in Hollywood Land.

Dr. Doofenshmirtz from Phineas and Ferb has returned this year with a treat trail at the Disney Junior Theater in Hollywood Land.

You can find Ernesto de la Cruz singing to guests at the treat trail located just outside Avengers Campus in Hollywood Land.

There is also a treat trail in Pixar Pier featuring Syndrome. 

It was Agatha all along! You can find Agatha Harkness over in Avengers Campus.

Over in Grizzly Peak, you can find a treat trail featuring the Mistress of All Evil, Maleficent. 

You can also spot everyone’s favorite temperamental villain Hades!

Finally, you can visit Judge Doom from Who Framed Roger Rabbit near Hollywood Lounge in Hollywood Land.

Villains Grove

Redwood Creek Challenge Trail is the place to be for a full walkthrough experience with some of the best Disney Villains around.

This year, the sections you’ll get to explore are:

• Frollo’s Sanctuary
• Maleficent’s Will
• Queen of Hearts Garden
• Scar’s Elephant Graveyard
• Dr. Facilier’s Friends on the Other Side
• The Wicked Queen’s Lightning Forest
• Home of the Wisps
• Dawn

While this is a bit spookier, no one is intentionally trying to scare you, and there aren’t any jump scares. Still, it may be helpful to prepare younger kiddos for what they’re going to experience, and perhaps go through when it’s still light outside if you’re concerned.

Madame Leota’s Swinging Wake – A Haunted Mansion Street Party

This year, the beloved Frightfully Fun Parade has been replaced by a new offering, Madame Leota’s Swinging Wake – A Haunted Mansion Street Party, due to construction around the backstage area.

This is a new parade of its own kind, full of spooky music, energetic dancing, and spirited Characters. If you’re a big fan of Haunted Mansion, we’ve got a feeling you’ll LOVE this!

We absolutely loved this experience, so be sure to check your guide for times and prioritize seeing this during your time at Oogie Boogie!

Food

This year, there have been tons of Halloween eats announced for Disneyland Resort, but none of them are only available during Oogie Boogie Bash! Regardless, we did choose to snag a few treats during the party to give them a try. We headed over to Schmoozies! first to snag the Matcha Mickey-shaped Waffles filled with banana custard.

From the Cappuccino Cart, we snagged the Mickey-shaped Waffle Macaron. This is a Mickey-shaped macaron filled with salted maple buttercream, maple syrup, and chocolate-coated waffle pieces.

Click here for FULL REVIEWS of all the Disneyland Halloween Treats we tried this year!

 

Attractions

Three attractions in Disney California Adventure change to a Halloween theme, and we recommend adding these to the top of your list during the night!

• Mater’s Graveyard JamBOOree
• Luigi’s Honkin’ Haul-O-Ween
• Guardians of the Galaxy — Monsters After Dark

We will continue to keep you posted on ALL the Disneyland Halloween news, so stay tuned to Disney Food Blog so you never miss anything!

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Are you going to Oogie Boogie Bash this year? Let us know in the comments!

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Disneyland truly feels like The Happiest Place on Earth when you have room to breathe.

When Disneyland is at its busiest, you can often find yourself dodging strollers, waiting HOURS to get on popular attractions, and sharing space with a bunch of strangers. While Disneyland is never truly empty, there are definitely weeks throughout the year when crowds are noticeably lighter. These are the absolute BEST times to visit the Southern California resort — and the good news is there may be more of these weeks than you’d think.

Planning your vacation around these slower periods can mean shorter waits, easier dining reservations, better Lightning Lane availability, and a much more relaxing park day. If your schedule is flexible, these are the weeks you’ll want to keep on your radar for 2027.

January 24th through February 13th

One of the best times to visit Disneyland comes immediately after the holiday rush ends. The actual holidays can be a nightmare at the resort. But the following weeks are often considered Disneyland’s “off-season.”

Once New Year’s crowds disappear, attendance drops dramatically. Weekdays from late January through February — before Presidents’ Day weekend — are traditionally among the quietest days of the year. With that said, remember that holiday weekends can change everything. Presidents’ Day weekend brings a significant spike in attendance, so you’ll want to plan around it. Basically, 3-day weekends WILL be rough.

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April 25th through May 15th

Another underrated sweet spot arrives after most Spring Break vacations have wrapped up, but before Memorial Day crowds begin.

Weekdays during late April and early May often offer a nice balance of perfect weather and manageable crowds. It’s not uncommon to experience wait times that are far more forgiving than you’ll see during spring break or summer vacation. Mix that with the best weather of the year, and you’ve got yourself an A1 vacation.

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September 12th through September 25th

After Labor Day, Disneyland often experiences one of its biggest attendance drops of the year. Kids are back in school, and the locals dominate the parks — which is good news for wait times and foot traffic. You’ll often find lighter crowds throughout mid-September. For many Disneyland veterans, this IS the best time to visit.

The best part? All of September features Halloween festivities!

Some days can be a pain if there’s a special Halloween event, but overall, September remains one of the most reliable low-crowd periods. If you love Halloween and Disney, this is the month where you can have your cake and eat it too.

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December 5th through December 18th

The holidays are the busiest at Disneyland. Fortunately, there’s usually a brief lull between Thanksgiving week and the beginning of winter break. Those early December weekdays offer holiday decorations, seasonal food, festive entertainment, and holiday overlays on attractions. This stretch is kind of like September — albeit with a much shorter window.

However, you may only get one or two weeks of bliss. The closer we get to Christmas, all bets are off.

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BONUS: Summer 2027

Traditionally, summer has been one of Disneyland’s busiest seasons. However, 2026 threw everyone a curveball. Attendance throughout much of June and July felt noticeably lighter than many recent summers. Walkways were easier to navigate, average waits were lower than many guests (me included) expected, and the parks simply didn’t feel as packed on many days. And when talking with Cast Members, they confirmed that summer attendance was down.

There are several possible explanations. Rising vacation costs may have caused some families to postpone trips, while Southern California’s summer heat could also have encouraged guests to visit during cooler seasons instead.

Whatever the reason, it’s definitely a trend worth monitoring heading into 2027. If those patterns continue, summer may become a much more appealing option than many Disneyland fans have traditionally assumed.

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MORE BONUS: The Best Days of the Week

Even during slower seasons, the day you choose can make a noticeable difference. Historically, Tuesdays and Wednesdays post the lowest average wait times and lightest foot traffic throughout the parks. If you’re planning a multi-day trip, these are excellent choices for your busiest ride days.

On the flip side, Mondays tend to attract guests extending long weekends, while Saturdays are also rough. In 2025 and 2026, I found myself feeling that Monday was even worse than the weekend on several occasions. It seems this trend may be here to stay. If possible, center your vacation around the middle of the week.

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Pro Tip: Timing Matters

Even on a busy day, your arrival time can completely change your experience. One of the smartest strategies is arriving for rope drop 30 to 45 minutes before official park opening. Those first couple of hours often deliver the shortest waits of the day — making it possible to experience several e-ticket attractions before crowds build.

Families with small children may take off in the late afternoon, and many guests head home immediately after the nighttime spectaculars — meaning the last two hours before park closing provide the best window of the day. Here, you’ll find the lowest wait times and shorter waits for pretty much everything.

If your feet can handle it, staying late often pays off.

No Disneyland vacation is guaranteed to be crowd-free, but choosing the right weeks can dramatically improve your experience. These trends can always shift, so we recommend keeping it posted right here at the Disney Food Blog for all the latest Disneyland tips, tricks, updates, and more!

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When is your favorite time to visit Disneyland? Let us know in the comments!