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If you’re looking for the least crowded, best day to visit Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party in 2013, circle Tuesday, September 17, 2013, on your calendar. That Halloween Party, on a Tuesday in mid-September, was the least-crowded event in 2012’s schedule.

If that date doesn’t fit in your schedule, last year’s crowds indicate that Tuesday Halloween parties are less crowded on average than parties held on any other day of the week.

Friday and Sunday are the next-best days to attend a Not-So-Scary Halloween Party. Thursday was surprisingly the busiest day, although it may has something to do with the Magic Kingdom often having morning Extra Magic Hours on Thursdays.

Not surprisingly, September dates are generally less busy than the October dates, although Tuesdays are still the best days regardless of which month they are in. The one big exception to this last year was Friday, September 28, 2012, which was the busiest Halloween party we tracked. The most likely cause was that this was also the opening weekend of the Epcot Food & Wine Festival as well as the weekend of the Wine & Dine Half Marathon.

A strange quirk in attraction wait times is that October 31, 2012 (Halloween), was one of the parties with very low wait times. In this case the data is deceiving, as that party was sold out (as was Sunday, October 28). While the sellout indicates high crowds, our research shows very short attraction lines. In reality, both of those are true, and all of the parties near Halloween tend to be quite busy, regardless of the wait times.

If you are considering other dates, here are our predicted rankings of attraction wait times at each of the 2013 Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Parties.

[Please note that the military discount ends following the September 27 party and the Advance Annual Pass and Disney Vacation Club discounts end following the October 24 party, but are also not available for the parties on October 4, 11, or 18.]

Party Date Attraction Wait Times Rank Advance Purchase Price for an Adult Ticket Notes Tuesday, September 17, 2013 Lowest Wait Times $59 Tuesday, October 22, 2013 2 $62 Tuesday, September 10, 2013 3 (Estimated) $59 “Estimated” because we do not have any 2012 data Thursday, October 31, 2013 4 $73 Sold out 4 days in advance in 2012 and 2 days in advance in 2011. Lines for character greetings and parade viewing spots will be long. Friday, September 13, 2013 5 $59 Sunday, October 27, 2013 6 $62 Lines for character greetings and parade viewing spots will be long. Friday, September 20, 2013 7 $59 Tuesday, October 29, 2013 8 $62 Friday, October 11, 2013 9 $67 Monday, October 14, 2013 10 $62 Sunday, September 29, 2013 11 $62 Thursday, October 03, 2013 12 $62 Tuesday, September 24, 2013 13 $59 Friday, October 04, 2013 14 $62 Sunday, October 06, 2013 15 (Estimated) $62 “Estimated” because there is no equivalent 2012 date Friday, October 18, 2013 16 $67 Sold out 1 day in advance in 2012. Thursday, October 17, 2013 17 $62 Friday, October 25, 2013 18 $67 Friday, November 01, 2013 19 $62 Thursday, October 24, 2013 20 $62 Sunday, October 20, 2013 21 $62 Thursday, October 10, 2013 22 $62 Friday, September 27, 2013 Highest Wait Times $59 Sold out 1 day in advance in 2011.

To determine all of the above, we looked at posted wait times from key attractions including Pirates of the Caribbean, Haunted Mansion, it’s a small world, and The Barnstormer. We narrowed it down to times between 7pm and midnight, which is when the park is limited to party guests.Some quick notes about our research:

Our wait times only include attractions−not character meet and greets, special shows, or parades. The characters, in particular, often have long lines, especially for rare characters like the Seven Dwarfs. Regardless of which party you attend, some of the character lines will be long. If those are a must do, do them as early in the evening as possible.

In general the wait times during the Halloween parties are quite low, averaging only about 10 minutes. If there are any attractions that you have really been wanting to do, experiencing them during the Halloween party might just be the time.

If you are a data nerd like we are, you can find all of our wait time data for the Halloween parties on this Google spreadsheet.

Looking for more information? Erin Foster wrote an amazing overview of Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party that will help you whether this is your first trip or your 100th (and if it’s your 100th, you might have a problem…being too awesome).

If you consider yourself handy with the camera, or if you simply want better pictures, you can’t go wrong with Tom Bricker’s tips on photographing the Halloween party.

Now that you are armed with the most powerful weapon…knowledge, you can plan your 2013 trip to Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party. This blog post will help you find all of the party dates and prices.

Hopefully this analysis will help you choose the best Halloween Party to attend. Make sure to check back here later, where we’ll soon be breaking down Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party, as well.

Thanks!