Disney World's Halloween Season Just Sold Out Its Opening Night, and It's Only the Start of a Busy Two Weeks

The first week of August put the theme-park calendar into fast-forward. Magic Kingdom’s Halloween season opens August 7 with its very first Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party already sold out, Disneyland pulled two of its oldest attractions off the weekday schedule as the 70th-anniversary year winds down, and out at Universal Orlando a beloved ride is counting down its final days. Add a marquee Disney fan convention landing in Anaheim next week, and the next fortnight is stacked. Here is what actually changed, verified against each park’s official listings.

Magic Kingdom’s Halloween season opens August 7, and opening night is already gone

Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party returns to Magic Kingdom on August 7 and runs on 38 select nights through October 31, according to Walt Disney World’s official event page. The separately ticketed after-hours party splits into 9 August nights, 13 in September, and 16 in October — and per Disney’s live ticket inventory, opening night on August 7 has already sold out, making August 21 the earliest date still available as of this week.

Pricing runs $119 to $229 per person before tax, with the peak numbers landing on October weekends as Halloween approaches. Only two nights — August 11 and August 14 — carry the season-low $119 price, while opening night was set at $159. Annual Passholders and Disney Vacation Club Members save $10 per ticket on event nights from August 7 through October 2.

Having worked these parties with clients for years, we always point first-timers toward the cheapest early-season nights, because the trick-or-treat trails, the Boo-to-You parade, and the Halloween fireworks all run identically to the $229 October nights, and the summer humidity is a fair trade for saving a chunk of change per head. Here’s the catch this year: both season-low $119 dates — August 11 and August 14 — are already sold out, so that rock-bottom price is off the table. The cheapest night still available is August 21 at $139, which is exactly why it’s now the earliest open date on the calendar. If a value night is what you’re after, book it now — the discounted early-season dates are vanishing fast, and waiting only pushes you toward the $200-plus October weekends.

Disneyland quietly pulls two classic attractions off the weekday schedule

As Disneyland’s 70th-anniversary celebration heads toward its August 9 finish, the resort has trimmed two of its oldest attractions to a part-time schedule. Per Disneyland’s official calendar and app listings, the Sailing Ship Columbia is running weekends only, roughly 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays, and Davy Crockett’s Explorer Canoes are open Friday through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Both also sit out several full weekdays — the Columbia is down August 3–7 and August 10–14, and the Canoes are out August 3–6 and August 10–13.

The reductions are temporary: Disney’s calendar shows the Canoes returning to daily operation on August 14 and the Columbia on August 15. It is an easy change to miss until you’re standing at the Rivers of America dock on a Tuesday wondering why the ship isn’t sailing, which is exactly what happened to us on a slow-season visit a couple of Augusts back.

The timing is not random. Late August is Disneyland’s seasonal breather before Halloween Time detonates: the Haunted Mansion closes August 8 for its annual Nightmare Before Christmas overlay and reopens as Haunted Mansion Holiday on August 21, the same day Halloween Time officially begins. If you’re visiting in this narrow window, build your Frontierland plans around weekends and treat these two rides as a weekend-only bonus.

Universal’s Fast & Furious ride is down to its final days

Over at Universal Studios Florida, the clock is nearly out on Fast & Furious: Supercharged. Universal Orlando has confirmed to Annual Passholders that the attraction will permanently close on August 17, 2026, making August 16 the last day guests can ride. The 2018-opened attraction is being retired to clear the way for Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift, a new roller coaster slated to open in 2027.

The notable wrinkle is timing: the closure lands roughly a year earlier than Universal had previously signaled, when the ride was expected to run into 2027 alongside construction of its replacement. Instead, the site is being handed over to the Hollywood Drift project now — a meaningful acceleration for a coaster that will be one of Universal Studios Florida’s headline additions.

We won’t pretend Supercharged was anyone’s favorite — it consistently ranked near the bottom of the park’s thrill lineup — but a permanent closure is still a permanent closure, and if riding it one last time is on your list, you have until August 16. For everyone else, the real story is that Hollywood Drift just got a head start.

D23 lands in Anaheim next week, and the parks reveals are the ones to watch

The biggest forward-looking event on the calendar is D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event, running August 14–16 across the Anaheim Convention Center and the Honda Center. According to The Walt Disney Company’s official programming announcement, the parks-focused centerpiece is Horizons: Disney Experiences Showcase on Saturday, August 15, hosted by Neil Patrick Harris, promising behind-the-scenes looks at future Disney Parks and Resorts projects, Imagineering conversations, and new announcements.

It bookends a three-night run at the Honda Center: the Disney Entertainment Showcase on August 14, the Experiences Showcase on August 15, and the Disney Legends Awards on August 16, hosted by Ryan Seacrest and honoring 13 inductees including Dwayne Johnson, Anne Hathaway, and the Jonas Brothers. Three-day Ultimate Preferred Fan passes started at $1,299.

For those of us who plan trips for a living, the Saturday showcase is the appointment viewing — it’s where the next few years of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, and Disney Cruise Line expansion typically get their first official reveal. We’ll be watching it live and breaking down whatever’s announced.

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Planning a fall Magic Kingdom trip around the party? Our full Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party 2026 dates breakdown walks through every party night, the cheapest dates, and how to stack a party night with a regular park day.