Oogie Boogie Bash 2021 is upon us. I purchased a ticket and attended opening night of Oogie Boogie Bash and took pictures, videos, and notes in hopes that I can help you navigate the Bash with ease during your visit. The event is sold out for the 2021 season, but if you like what you see, keep that in mind for next year when tickets go on sale. The official event time is 6 p.m. until 11 p.m., but Bash guests are allowed to “mix-in” three hours early at Disney California Adventure park. Guests are allowed to wear costumes (no covering the face though, and they must conform to Disney’s dress code), there will be candy collecting at ten different treat trails (five of which are “immersive”). So how was the experience at the second Oogie Boogie Bash and what can you expect?
Arriving
From 3 p.m. until 6 p.m. Oogie Boogie Bash ticket holders can join DCA guests in the park. This three hours is not part of the official Oogie Boogie Bash event, so the special stuff will start happening after 6 p.m. when normal, ticketed guests are directed to leave the park. Parking can be purchased on the day of the event or online prior to arrival. If you’re a Dream Keyholder and made a park reservation, you can utilize that for your parking. Be sure to utilize available theme park parking. Toy Story shuttles will extend operating hours for this event. Remember that if you park at Mickey & Friends/Pixar Pals that you will be walking back to the parking structure – still no tram service. We recommend arriving before 5 p.m., so that you receive your event wristband and are checked in so that you are ready to go when 6 p.m. hits. Entrances to DCA are from the main entrance plaza (the esplanade between the two theme parks) and through the entrance at the Grand Californian Hotel.
The Entertainment
Villains Grove
Villains Grove is nearly identical to the Villains Grove from 2019. It is one of the better experiences at the Oogie Boogie Bash, so we recommend you trying to experience it at least once during your Oogie Boogie Bash experience. The line gets extremely long for this experience though, so your timing for visiting it is important. A cast member told me that the experience starts after “dark.” On opening night that was around 7:30 (give or take). You can line early or wait for a better moment. The line seemed to be at its lowest point during the first showing of the Frightfully Fun Parade at 7:55, so that might be a good time to get in line for Villains Grove. You’ll still have an opportunity to watch the Parade later in the night if you choose this option. Below you’ll find a walkthrough of Villains Grove from our Instagram TV Livestream.
Mickey’s Trick & Treat Show
This is a show with kids in mind in Hollywood Land at the Disney Junior Theater. Below you can watch our livestream of the show from September 9th to see if it is something you and/or your kids would enjoy.
Frightfully Fun Parade
The main event parade makes a return with two showings – at 7:45 p.m. and at 10:00 p.m. It was fantastic to see a live parade after going without one for 18 months. We have the full parade recorded below.
The Fun
Immersive Treat Trails & Treat Trails
There are ten treat trails in total, with several of them being “immersive.” Immersive treat trails feature a villain. This year the featured villains are: Cruella DeVille, Agatha Harkness, Sid from Toy Story, Maleficent, Evil Queen, Dr. Facilier, The Mad Hatter, and Oogie Boogie himself.
The Food
In addition to the Halloween Time special foods for the season, there are three loaded fries available from Flo’s V8 Cafe in Cars Land.
Loaded Chicken Buffalo Fries – $11.99
Steak Fries topped with Cheddar Cheese, Chicken Tenders tossed in Buffalo Sauce with Celery Bits, and drizzled with Ranch. These were my favorite of the two I tried. I’d guess that if you’re a fan of Buffalo wings, then you’ll enjoy this dish. If not, skip it.
Loaded Gravy Fries – $11.99
Steak Fries topped with Chicken Tenders, Jack Cheese and smothered in Gravy. This dish, akin to poutine, was savory and also tasted pretty good for what it was – fair food. I’d get this again, but I preferred the Buffalo Fries.
Final Thoughts and Tips
Remember that you get to choose what is important to you! If I did this experience again I would definitely want to get a few more photos with the fun characters who are only out for special ticketed events like this, but that’s just me. Maybe you want to ride a few rides? After 8 p.m. most of the rides were walk-ons. Spiderman Webslingers is also a walk-on (no virtual queue) for this event. The two biggest things to *do* are Villains Grove and the Parade. If you’ve done both of those things, then focus on having a blast. Remember that if you get in line for a ride one minute before the party ends, you can still ride that ride. The cost for the Halloween parties has steadily climbed over the last several years (last year excluded for obvious reasons), so I’m not entirely sure if the party is a good value anymore, but it *was* a lot of fun.