A Chat with Ken Bingham

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You refer to Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party as a “festival”. What else counts as a Disney festival?

I think of Disney Festivals as an Mary Poppins carpet bag that holds within it all the holiday and special event activities that take place across Walt Disney World over the course of a normal calendar year. Disney originally created these events to take advantage of slower times in the park. However, Disney being Disney, these events have now become so successful and exciting that they’re some of the most popular times to visit. Last year alone, over twenty million tourists (28% of all visitors) came to Disney just to partake in one of these specialized events.

The events range from Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party to Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party; from the Food & Wine Festival to the International Flower & Garden Festival; from the Princess Half Marathon Weekend to the Wine & Dine Marathon; from Star Wars Weekend to Painting Masters Weekend; from Gay Days to Grad Days; from the Night of Joy, which celebrates contemporary Christian music, to the Flower Power Concerts, which celebrates the sounds of the sixties.

And that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

How long has Disney been hosting Mickey’s Not So Scary? Has it changed significantly from its earlier incarnations?

The very first Mickey’s Not So Scary party was held in 1985 as a response to Universal Studios’ Halloween Horror Nights, which feature more hard-core chills like Frankenstein, Dracula, and chain-saw-wielding maniacs. These thrills do indeed have their place, especially on Halloween, but following Walt Disney’s family-oriented philosophy, Disney World wanted to create a party that could be enjoyed by all, no matter their disposition.

This philosophy hasn’t changed since the inception of the party or indeed of the first Disneyland resort in California. The party itself changes each year, however. Sometimes, events are tweaked, sometimes entirely new events are introduced, and at all times Disney has their ears open to the public to find out exactly what they’re looking for.

Who are some of the characters that guests can meet during the Party that they won’t be able to meet anywhere else?

There are many rarely seen characters at the Not So Scary Party. Some of the 999 Happy Haunts that have escaped from the Haunted Mansion can indeed be seen at no other time outside their ghostly domain than at the parties. The prime time to catch them is during the parade.

The Gravedigger and his dog walk warily ahead of the gang, followed by a team of dancing shovelmen, who send off sparks every time they scrape their spades to the ground. The ballroom dancers waltz along the crowds, with the crowning touch of the Hitchhiking Ghosts saluting the audience from their very own float. You can also find Madam Carlotta and Madam Rinata standing outside the Haunted Mansion, involving the guests in some frolicsome improvisation.

Jack Skellington & Sally made their Not So Scary debut last year, and, even though they have been known to pop up at Epcot now and again during the season, you can only count on finding them for certain at the parties themselves. Their nemesis Oogie Boogie also makes a rare appearance.

One of the main attractions of this Festival are the Seven Dwarves, who can also be found only at one other time: Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party.

Among the plethora of villains who haunt the party, you can find such rarely do-badders as Dr. Facilier, Lord Frollo, and Lotso. And if you’re looking for some heroes, you’ve got Tarzan and Jane making an appearance in Adventureland.

Your book is so up to date that it even has coverage of Disney’s brand-new Mayhem at the Mansion app. Have you had a chance to try it? Is it something that works only during Not So Scary, or is Disney making it permanent?

For those who may not be in the know, Disney has introduced a free augmented-reality app for the iOS and Android devices that can help you and your family track down the free-wheeling ghouls who have escaped from the Haunted Mansion. Using your provided “spectre collector” you locate the ghosts, scan them with your phone’s camera, then return them to the Mansion, where you’ll get the opportunity to win prizes.

I have had a chance to see the app in demonstration; however, I’m not going to get the opportunity to really use it until I arrive at the Not So Scary myself. As of now, Disney hasn't released plans as to its future. It could augment the already popular Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom interactive game. Then again, they may just want it to spook up the parties every year.

Disney has unveiled a new event for this year’s Halloween Party: the Villains’ Sinister Soiree. For an extra $99, guests get preferred viewing to a parade and fireworks, and they also get dessert at Cinderella’s Royal Table. Is that good value? Do you think guests who have ponied up for the Party are going to pony up even more for the Soiree?

Let’s start by familiarizing everyone with the Soiree.

Disney has introduced a new way to plus your party this year with an event, which, as you said, will grant you a preferred viewing area for the 8:15 pm Boo to You Parade and the HalloWishes Fireworks Spectacular. As if this weren’t enough to make one’s antennae quiver, you also get a seat at the Royal Table for one of two villainous dessert party blasts.

Lady Tremaine will host the event, regaling her audience with some ghoulish musical numbers. She’ll be joined by cohorts Captain Hook, Cruella de Vil, Dr. Facilier, Snow White’s Evil Queen, Frollo, the Queen of Hearts, and this year’s Villain of Choice, Maleficent. All guests will receive a special autograph card and a collectible Maleficent dragon cup.

I personally think it’s worth the extra cost. I mean, just look at it. You get to hang with villains while enjoying desserts in a castle and singing creepy songs with Lady Tremaine herself. And you get preferred seating at the parade and fireworks to boot.

However, you have consider that I’ve been to the Not So Scary many times before. If you’re on your first or even second visit, it’s a tougher decision. There are so many events and spectacles at the party that you’re not going to be able to see everything you want to see. Sure, you might want to take in the Sinister Soiree, but you’re going to have to levy this against the fact that there are some events which you may miss because of it.

In addition, though the desserts look plentiful and delicious at the soiree, Disney is giving away tons of free treats that already come with your price of admission.

A lot of work went into your book, from researching every last detail of the Halloween Party to tracking down dozens of links to relevant websites and videos and podcasts (all those links are in the book, too!). From trick to treat, how long did it take you to write?

I’ve been working on this book since January of 2014, and completed it in late July. But...I wouldn’t really say that “working” is the right verb here. I had a ball while putting it together, putting on the headphones and listening to Disney music while doing research and composing the piece. That’s not a bad “working” day.

When you’re not writing Disney books, you’re writing for National Geographic: what have you written for them?

I have worked with National Geographic for about five years and have been involved in many books, but rarely under my own name, with such titles as “The Jagged Edge of Silence”, “Blue Zones”, “Lost Gold of the Dark Ages”, and “Thrive”.

I know you have a guide forthcoming in October about Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party. And I know you’ve been to both the Halloween and the Christmas parties, numerous times. Which is your favorite?

That’s like asking me my favorite ice cream flavor. It all depends on what I’m wishing for at the time. Both parties have great benefits, and I can absolutely never get enough of either.

I do, however, enjoy the Christmas season more at Disney because every single park, resort, and entertainment facility gets in on the events in a big way. Thus, when the Very Merry is over, you can continue on the Yuletide trail throughout your stay.

Is Not So Scary a bigger event than Very Merry, in terms of attendance?

No. Both parties are capped nightly at 20K so that you can be assured of easy movement on your night at the ball. Many more Very Merrys will sell out than Not So Scarys. This is not because the Not So Scary is a less popular event; it’s more because Halloween is treated as a one-night holiday across the US. Outside of the weekends, most of the traffic at the parties is local. In fact, if you go on a Tuesday during the first weeks of the festival, you’re going to feel like you have the park to yourselves.

If you could attend Mickey’s Not So Scary in any costume, with no restrictions on cost (or even taste), what would you choose?

I would go as Goofy’s version of Marley’s Ghost. I’m a huge Dickens and Goofy fan. It’s a marriage made in heaven…or really in Disney, which for me is pretty much one and the same.