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Daisy Duck, Minnie Mouse, and Clarabelle dressed as the Sanderson Sisters at Oogie Boogie Bash

Oogie Boogie Bash is the premier Halloween event at the Disneyland resort. While many have fond memories of Mickey’s Not-so-Scary Halloween party over at Disneyland Park, Disney decided to move the party across the esplanade to Disney California Adventure, and give it a fresh makeover with a new theme.

While there are numerous things to do at Oogie Boogie Bash, one of the main attractions of the event are the numerous, rarely seen characters that pop up. Some are face actors portraying iconic villains in treat trails while others are fully costumed, equally rarely seen characters conducting traditional meet and greets.

It can be difficult to navigate them all and figure out where they are, which ones to hit up first, what to expect in regard to wait times, and the like. In this guide, I intend to help you with those challenges. I have been to the bash numerous times and have developed a sound strategy that allows to see most, if not all, of the characters that I will share with you below.

Let’s get into it.

Oogie Boogie Bash Dates

Oogie Boogie Bash decor at Disney California Adventure.

First, you need to know the event dates. In 2024, Oogie Boogie Bash runs on Sundays, Tuesdays, and Thursday evenings throughout late August, September, and October. This is the first year where the Halloween season begins in August at the Disneyland Resort.

If you’re seeing this post for the first time and its past early August and you haven’t purchased tickets yet, I’m sorry to report that tickets to every Oogie Boogie Bash in 2024 have sold out. It took much longer this year for the event to be a complete sell out, as in previous years it happened in a matter of days.

Don’t allow desperation to kick in and purchase tickets from third party sellers, or through sites like StubHub or Craigslist. Disney does not allow for tickets to be resold and if it’s discovered that you obtained tickets this way (and they’ll likely know), they will deny you entry and no, they won’t care if you were duped or how much you spent.

Trust me, Oogie Boogie isn’t going anywhere. It’ll return next year. Just hold off until then and purchase your tickets directly through Disney. If you did obtain your tickets and this is your first bash, be sure to read my 12 tips to maximizing your time at the event.

Oogie Boogie Bash Traditional Meet and Greets

Daisy Duck, Minnie Mouse, and Clarabelle dressed as the Sanderson Sisters.

I’m beginning with the traditional meet and greets because far and away the most popular one at the bash are Daisy Duck, Minnie Mouse, and Clarabelle cosplaying as the Sanderson sisters (Hocus Pocus). They meet with guests at the far side of the Hollywood Backlot.

If you’re going to want a photo with them, heed my advice and line up prior to the start of the event. The bash begins at 6pm, but your ticket allows you into the park at 3pm. Grab an early dinner, review the event map, and then head to the backlot.

I recommend lining up at least 45-minutes prior to start time. My wife and I did just that and only waited 20-25 minutes to get the photo above. Just a minute before the event started, as new guests were entering the queue, I heard a cast member advise them that from the end of the line, it’ll be a 1.5-2 hour wait. So if you must have a photo with them, make them your first stop and line up early.

Captain Hook during a meet and greet at Oogie Boogie Bash.

Pain and Panic from Hercules during Oogie Boogie Bash.

There are several other meet and greets happening around the edges of the Buena Vista Street Fountain. Pain and Panic, the sidekicks to Hercules antagonist, Hades, are making their Oogie Boogie Bash debuts and have proven to be popular. During my visit, I saw them rotating out with Prince Hans (Frozen).

On the other side of the fountain during my event was Captain Hook and his sidekick, Smee, rotating out with each other. It would’ve been cool to be able to photograph them together, but I digress. These meet and greets begin at 6pm and continue until roughly 10:30pm (a half hour before the event ends).

These were only characters at the fountain that I saw during my visit but at past events, I have also seen the following characters:

Blue Fairy (Pinocchio)
Mulan (Dressed as Ping)
Frollo (The Hunchback of Notre Dam)
Sheriff of Nottingham (Robin Hood)
Governor Ratcliffe (Pocahontas)
The Old Hag (Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs)

Bruno from Encanto during Oogie Boogie Bash

Further into the park, you’ll find additional meet and greets. Bruno of Encanto fame is in his usual spot near the Grizzly River Run Water Wheel. He’s been there since 2022 but now that he’s a character you can see during regular park hours, I suggest skipping him (unless you’re a big Bruno fan).

Down the Embarcadero and past the Little Mermaid attraction in the waterfront area is where you can meet Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, and Goofy in their Kingdom Hearts outfits. We decided to skip this as we’re not video game people and have little knowledge of it. The outfits did look pretty cool, though.

If you’re into Kingdom Hearts and want a photo with them, do note that their queue does get long, but it starts to taper off a bit later in the night. You’ll likely have to settle for one or the other, as they tend to rotate with each other, leaving only one character at a time posing for photos.

Lotso from Toy Story 3 greeting guests during Oogie Boogie Bash.

Along Pixar Pier are several meet and greets. One of the biggest draws in the area is Lotso (Toy Story 3). I managed to get lucky and walk by right as Lotso was coming out, so my wife and I ended up being one of the firsts in line. I have heard his queue isn’t as large as it used to be, but regardless, cast members do a great job keeping the lines moving. You can find him in front of the Toy Story Midway Mania attraction.

*Note: In case you’re wondering, yes, he does smell like strawberries when you hug him

Just across from Lotso’s meet and greet is where you can meet some not-so-rare Pixar characters. Joy and Sadness (Inside Out) often stop by, as well as the newly minted Anger character (I missed him, unfortunately). Additionally, Ember and Wade (Elemental) are making their bash debuts in this area. We got to meet them during Pixar Fest this year.

Mater dressed as a vampire during Oogie Boogie Bash.

Red from Cars dressed as a clown during Halloween.

Moving onto Cars Land, multiple characters from the popular franchise make appearances throughout the night donning their Halloween costumes. Mater is dressed as a vampire, Red (fire engine) is dressed as a clown, and Lightning McQueen as a pirate.

I know for sure that Mater and McQueen appear in their costumes during regular park hours, but I believe Red only appears in his costume during the event. Mater and McQueen are usually near the Cozy Cones, while Red is typically parked in the pathway between Cars Land and Avengers Campus.

Spiderman greeting guests during Oogie Boogie Bash at Disneyland.

In Avengers Campus, numerous characters appear throughout the night. After we left the Agatha Harkness treat trail (we’ll get to that momentarily) we randomly ran into Spiderman just walking around. I’ve also seen Shuri as the new Black Panther, the zombie variant of Captain America, and more.

That about sums it up for traditional character meet and greets. The specific characters you can see are always subject to change. So the ones that I’m discussing in this post may or may not be there during your event. Though it’s likely you’ll see at least most of them.

Oogie Boogie Bash Villains Treat Trails

Oogie Boogie during Oogie Boogie Bash at Disneyland.

Now we’re going to discuss the villains treat trails at Oogie Boogie Bash. The treat trails differ from traditional meet and greets in the sense that the character is elevated above the crowd and aside from Oogie Boogie, they’re all face actors portraying iconic Disney villains rarely seen in the parks.

The characters will interact with you, and will even briefly stop to pose for photos or video but aside from a quick selfie, you won’t be able to take a photo with them as you could with the characters listed above. Cast members keep these lines moving quickly so despite how long some are, they go quickly.

Below, I’m going to list the villain treat trails in the order in which I recommend you hitting them up in. This is also assuming you’re going to follow the above-mentioned advice and get your picture with the Sandersons first thing.

The treat trails have candy stations positioned at multiple points throughout the queue to keep the lines moving. Additionally, you are allowed to take photos and video of the characters but if you linger for too long, a cast member will likely start to shoe you along. Remember to keep in mind that these characters stay active until the end of the night (11pm).

Oogie Boogie character during the Oogie Boogie Bash event.

In the Hollywoodland/Backlot area, there are five popular character meet and greets and/or villain treat trails. When it comes to the later, there are four total, two of which are brand new additions to the event; Hades (Hercules) and Dr. Doofenshmirtz (Phineas and Ferb). The others are the event namesake himself - Oogie Boogie (Nightmare Before Christmas) and returning fan favorite, Ernesto de la Cruz (Coco).

Assuming you’ve already knocked out the Sandersons, there’s a good chance it hasn’t gotten dark enough yet. I recommend skipping Hades and Ernesto for now, as their lighting packages are amazing and unless it’s dark, you won’t get the full experience. Instead, begin with Oogie Boogie and Dr. Doofenshmirtz, since they’re both indoors and unaffected by ambient light.

Dr. Doofenshmirtz greeting guests during Oogie Boogie Bash.

Oogie Boogie is located in the Art of Animation building and Dr. Doofenshmirtz (or just…Doof) is positioned in the Disney Theatre. The queues for both get rather long, but don’t be scared of even the longest of lines as they go rather quickly. During my visit, the queue for Doof stretched and snaked outside the theatre and all along the street but despite that, our wait was only 15 minutes.

Next, head over to the Grizzly Peak Area to see Judge Doom (Who Framed Roger Rabbit?). Bringing Judge Doom to life was a home run by both Disney and the actor portraying him. His stage is brilliantly decorated and like Ernesto and Hades, his lighting package is great.

Judge Doom during Oogie Boogie Bash at Disneyland.

This is one that I wish we had waited just a little bit longer to see, as it was still light out and the effects didn’t come across as well as they should’ve. I still recommend making Doom your third stop though, but stop at the Buena Vista Street Fountain and spend some time with those characters while you wait for it to get darker, and then go see Judge Doom. You can find him on the side of the Soarin’ Over the World building.

From here, your next stop is going to be Sid (Toy Story) at the far end of the park in Pixar Pier. Sid is another character who’s queue often gets long but again, it’ll go by quickly. It can be a bit chaotic here, and trying to find the back of the line can be difficult. Simply look for the sign pictured below.

The sign for the back of the Sid line at Oogie Boogie Bash.

Sid from Toy Story greeting guests at Oogie Boogie Bash.

Sid is an Oogie Boogie Bash original. Disney keeps bringing him back year after year because of how well he interacts with the audience. There’s a reason why he sees some of the longest lines during the event. Sid is definitely a can’t miss villain. You can see him in front of the Pixar Pier Band Shell, across from the Pixar Fun Wheel.

From here, you’re going to make your way through Pixar Pier and into San Fransokyo to see the next villain - Yokai (Big Hero 6). He’s positioned in the back corner of the land, where Baymax and Hiro conduct their meet and greets during the day. His queue is usually quite short, so you should be able to breeze through it.

Yokai from Big Hero 6 during Oogie Boogie Bash.

After Yokai, make your way through Cars Land and from there, into Avengers Campus for the next villain. Cars Land does have a treat trail, but there’s only candy stations, no villain. You can find it along the pathway leading to San Fransokyo, across from Flo’s V8 Cafe’s outside seating area.

Once you’re in Avengers Campus, head left after entering the land and into the Ancient Sanctum, where Dr. Strange usually does his meet and greets. There, you will see Agatha Harkness, who’s the star of her own Disney Plus series, “Agatha All Along”. Much like Yokai, her line never backs up that much.

Agatha Harkness during Oogie Boogie Bash at Disneyland.

Honestly, it’s amazing to me that Agatha returned again. This is her third straight year and when I think about all of the amazing villains Marvel has in its arsenal, it’s criminal that we haven’t gotten a new featured villain. Not that I have anything against her, I would just rather see Disney pull the trigger on bringing Thanos or Doc Ock to life.

After Hagatha, you’ll work your way out of the main entrance of Avengers Campus to the Performance Corridor to the next villain, Mad Madam Mim (Sword in the Stone). The actress playing Madam Mim has done a fantastic job portraying this beloved villain. You’ll find her in the little enclave behind Carthy Circle.

Mad Madam Mim during Oogie Boogie Bash at Disneyland.

After Madam Mim, head back to the Hollywood Backlot. By now, it should be plenty dark to see Hades and Ernesto in all their glory. First, you’ll stop to see Hades, who’s located on the backlot stage. Take your time with this one so you have a chance to see his lighting package go from blue to red (as his mood changes).

This was one of my favorites this year and I’m so glad we waited for it to get dark. He interacts with the crowd in a similar manner to how Sid does, often roasting guests who talk about Hercules, or mention Hades’ loathed sidekicks, Pain and Panic.

Hades during Oogie Boogie Bash at Disneyland.

This is actually Hades’ second time being a featured villain at the bash, but 2024’s iteration has been given a higher production budget from 2019’s version. His queue remained fairly consistent throughout the night but since he’s outside, you’ll have sight of him through your entire wait.

Once you’ve bagged Hades, it’s now time to make your way to Ernesto de la Cruz whom, in my opinion, is the premier villain to see during Oogie Boogie Bash. The actor(s) portraying him do a phenomenal job at bringing him to life. They actually sing a spooky rendition of “Remember Me” and play the guitar. If you’re only going to visit just one villain during the event, make it Ernesto.

Ernesto de la Cruz during Oogie Boogie Bash at Disneyland.

Ernesto de la Cruz performing during Oogie Boogie Bash at Disneyland.

I’m going to sound like a broken record here but like a few of the above mentioned villains, Ernesto often attracts large crowds and thus, has long queues. Unlike the others, his tends to go a bit slower because as stated, he’s consistently been the most popular villain since his debut in 2022 and folks tend to linger around his stage.

One thing you can do is wait until the final parade showing. During this time, the lines tend to be much smaller than they usually are. Speaking of the parade, if you happen to come across it while trying to leave Avengers Campus to see Madam Mim, do the opposite of what we discussed above.

After Hagatha, go see Ernesto. You’ll still happen upon the parade going in that direction but over there, cast members will eventually let people cross between parade floats. Then from there, go see Hades and conclude with Madam Mim.

Planning a trip to Disneyland during Oogie Boogie Bash? If so, read my Disneyland Halloween Guide to see all that’s going on throughout the resort. Also, check out my Ultimate Oogie Boogie Bash Guide to see all of what the event offers. If it’s your first time, see my 12 tips to maximize your time at OBB. Lastly, for great deals on Disneyland vacation packages and excellent service, visit my friends at Get Away Today.

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