Disney has officially announced that 2021 will not see the return of Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party. Instead, it will see the debut of a new event, Disney After Hours Boo Bash. In this post, we discuss what you can expect from After Hours Boo Bash, including a review of our experience.
Throughout this post, we’re going to be of two minds about Disney After Hours Boo Bash. Is it an After Hours event or a replacement for Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party? Well, it’s both. So we’ll be talking about it with both mindsets. Now, onto the show!
2022 After Hours Boo Bash Information
Update: Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party will be returning in 2022, which presumably means the end of After Hours Boo Bash.
This post is currently in its 2021 form since no information about the 2022 event has been released yet. Dates for the Halloween event are typically announced in April / May, so expect more information then.
Disney After Hours Boo Bash Basics
We’ll start with the basics, including comparison to other After Hours events and the former Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party.
What Is Disney After Hours Boo Bash?
Disney After Hours Boo Bash is a hybrid of two events that existed before the 2020 closure / reopening phase—Magic Kingdom After Hours and Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party.
The “After Hours” events at Disney World allow guests to access the park and select attractions “after hours”—that is, for three or four hours after the regular Magic Kingdom park hours. After park closing, access to the rides is limited to ticketed guests.
We’ll be covering the new Disney Very Merriest After Hours, which is the new Christmas event, and we reviewed the former After Hours events:
The last of these, Villains After Hours, was the only one that had unique entertainment / offerings of the same sort that we expect from After Hours Boo Bash. The theme is even pretty similar, since Halloween tends to have a villains tilt to it.
That’s because unlike other After Hours Events, After Hours Boo Bash also serves as a replacement for the former Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party. In its capacity as a replacement for that event, it will also have unique entertainment, cavalcades, food, and character sightings. More on this stuff below.
Disney After Hours Boo Bash Dates and Times
Disney After Hours Boo Bash will be held select nights from August 10 through October 31, 2021. It will be held on Tuesdays August 10 through October 26, except September 28; Fridays August 20 through October 29, except October 1; and Sundays September 5 through October 31 except September 26 and October 3.
Disney After Hours Boo Bash will be from 9:30PM to 12:30AM on event dates before September 6 and 9PM to Midnight on event dates after September 6.
When Will Disney After Hours Boo Bash Tickets Be On Sale?
Tickets went on sale June 15, 2021 and are available for purchase here. Guests of Disney hotels had early access to purchase tickets.
How much does Disney After Hours Boo Bash Cost?
Including tax, tickets for Disney After Hours Boo Bash cost between $137.39 ($129 pre-tax) and $211.94 ($199 pre-tax). Small ($10) discounts are available for Disney World annual passholders and Disney Vacation Club members
Do I Need a Parks Pass Reservation for Boo Bash?
No, you don’t need a parks pass reservation (or a separate park ticket) to attend Disney After Hours Boo Bash. The ticket for the event guarantees you access to the event, separate from parks pass and the rest of the day.
When can Boo Bash Guests Enter Magic Kingdom?
Tickets to Disney After Hours Boo Bash will grant you entry to the park at 7PM for the 9PM-12AM (or 9:30PM-12:30AM) event. That’s two bonus hours you’ll spend with the day’s other guests.
You don’t need a separate park ticket (or parks pass) to enter at 7PM, but if you want to be in the park earlier you’ll need a ticket for that day (and either parks pass for Magic Kingdom, or you need to hop to Magic Kingdom).
What’s Included With Disney After Hours Boo Bash
As we said, there’s two points of comparison here. We’ll start with a comparison to After Hours and then compare the event to the old holiday party.
How is Disney After Hours Boo Bash Like / Different from Other After Hours?
As mentioned above, the core of “After Hours” is access to select attractions with small crowds during the event. Specifically, there are 22 attractions (20 rides, plus Swiss Family Treehouse and Country Bear Jamboree) available at the event.
The other core component of “After Hours” events, that will be a part of Boo Bash, is the included popcorn, ice cream bars, and bottled beverages. You can grab these from the kiosks throughout the park during your visit.
As for how Boo Bash will be different from the other After Hours events. Well, that’s all good news. It will have everything (list of rides maybe varying) a normal After Hours event had, and more! That brings us to…
How is Disney After Hours Boo Bash Like / Different from Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party?
Switching gears, Disney After Hours Boo Bash will also include some—but far from all—of the magic that made Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party special. This includes:
Trick-or-treating
Exclusive Halloween cavalcades (in place of the former party’s parade)
Special lighting / decorations / castle projections
Exclusive themed food and drink (at an extra cost)
Halloween-themed PhotoPass
Special Character “sightings”
There are a few big aspects of Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party missing from that list. No stage shows are listed. No parade is listed. And only character sightings, NOT “greetings,” are listed.
Despite the return of Happily Ever After to Magic Kingdom, and despite Very Merriest After Hours having an exclusive Christmasttime firework show, Boo Bash does not have an exclusive firework show.
Can guests wear costumes to Disney After Hours Boo Bash?
Yes. Subject to some restrictions that you should read, both kids and adults can wear costumes to Boo Bash.
After Hours Boo Bash Event Guide and Map
Here’s a look at the event guide and map that you’ll get on arrival. Keep in mind this guide was for aa 9:30PM to 12:30AM event. Some events are 9PM to 12AM, and all details are subject to change even for events with the same time. (Use the arrows to swipe.)
After Hours Boo Bash Review and Itinerary
With the background information out of the way, let’s discuss how we spent our visit to Boo Bash, what we could have done better, and what we thought of the event.
Booking Our Boo Bash Ticket and “Sold Out” Dates
When tickets for Boo Bash went on sale back in June, I asked Lauren at Travel With Character to snag me some tickets. Since I’d be coming in from out of town anyways, I booked a stay at Wilderness Lodge so I’d get the earlier booking window.
I couldn’t go to the first event on August 10 because of a conflict, so I booked the second, on August 17. I also wound up changing my hotel to Polynesian after I cancelled my previously scheduled visit to Poly. Wilderness Lodge and Polynesian are both pretty convenient to get to from Magic Kingdom, which is something I look for on nights I’ll be at a late event.
I paid $137.39 for my ticket. While the event was advertised as sold out online, tickets were for sale at the gate. This also happened for the first event on August 10. Presumably, either capacity has increased but Disney didn’t want to reopen a “sold out” event online, or enough guests cancelled due to Florida’s situation that Disney decided to reopen sales (or both).
Since Boo Bash is a late event (either 9PM to midnight or 9:30PM to 12:30AM), our toddler (literally—Z toddles now) Zoe wouldn’t be able to come, so I did this trip as a solo, one-night trip.
With Boo Bash tickets, guests can enter the park as early as 7PM. You don’t need a separate parks pass or park ticket in the case, your event ticket gets you in for these two bonus hours. No part of the party is going on at that point, but you’re free to get in line for rides or shop or dine with everyone else.
As an annual passholder (and a resort guest), I had no trouble getting a parks pass reservation for Magic Kingdom, so I was in the park around 4PM. If you’re already in the park, when 7PM rolls around you can go find a wristband distribution station and get three things: your After Hours wristband, your event guidemap, and your treat bag. If you’re entering the park at or after 7PM, you’ll get these three things at the front.
If you enter the park at 7PM you’re going to be a little past peak crowds, but waits are going to be much higher than you’ll find at the event. You probably want to target either things that aren’t a part of the event, or things you don’t want to waste event time on.
For things that aren’t a part of the event, the top attractions are probably Tom Sawyer Island, the Liberty Square Riverboat, Walt Disney’s Enchanted Tiki Room, Hall of Presidents, and Walt Disney’s Carousel of Progress. Country Bear Jamboree is supposed to be a part of the event but was closed during tonight’s event, so it may be hit or miss.
If you wanted to grab a table service meal, you could do that too, but keep in mind you’ll have access to some free and exclusive-but-paid snacks during the event.
As for things that are a part of After Hours but might still be worth doing before the event, something like Splash Mountain could make sense. It’s a long ride that might not be worth your time during the event, even if it has no wait then. Or you could do Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, which will have a “long” (20ish minutes at least) wait most of the event. One hour during 7PM to 9PM maybe isn’t worth as much as 20 minutes during the event.
Finally, keep in mind you’ll probably want to watch the fireworks. You could skip them and do a ride or two instead, but whether it’s Happily Ever After (last performance September 29, 2021) or Disney Enchantment (first performance October 1, 2021), I favor watching the show.
Now, onto the event itself. Tonight’s event was from 9:30PM to 12:30AM. Some nights, the event is from 9PM to 12AM. In either case you need to confirm specific times—like the cavalcade schedule—in your guide when you arrive. Even if you’re visiting a 9:30PM party, the schedule might change (yes, this does happen).
All the details in this post are from my specific visit, and all my reasoning is built around those times. While it should still apply to most visits, you need to factor in any scheduling differences when planning your night.
Planning Around Cavalcade Times
The cavalcades are the big thing you’re going to schedule your night around if you’re making time for anything besides rides, so I’m going to focus on those before switching to my actual schedule for the night.
There are four cavalcades, each occurring twice. The specifics of the cavalcades make it pretty easy to plan your night. Tonight’s schedule was:
Mickey’s cavalcade – 9:55PM*, “10:15PM”*, and 11:25PM
Villains cavalcades – 10:30PM and 11:45PM
Jack Skellington cavalcade – 10:40PM and 11:55PM
Maleficent cavalcade – 10:50PM and 12:05AM
Okay, so what’s with the asterisks and “10:15PM” time for Mickey’s cavalcade? You can see on the map that the first running of Mickey’s goes from Frontierland to the hub and back through Frontierland. I wound up seeing it in Frontierland at the start (9:55PM) and then again on its way back near Country Bear Jamboree at 10:15PM.
Now, this means you can’t catch this first running of the cavalcade from Main Street, but if you are planning to watch from Frontierland you don’t have to catch it right at 9:55PM, and from a scheduling perspective you probably shouldn’t.
Notice that for the latter three cavalcades, you can plan to just find a spot along the route and watch from either 10:30PM to 10:50PM or 11:45PM to 12:05AM, keeping in mind if you’re on Main Street the cavalcades will get there later.
If you plan to catch Mickey’s cavalcade on it’s way back, your schedule could be something like: Mickey’s at 10:15PM, watch Cadaver Dans at 10:20PM, then the remaining three cavalcades from 10:30PM to 10:50PM.
If you arrive too late to catch Mickey’s on its way back, that’s okay because it runs again at 11:25PM!
Finally, what about just watching all the cavalcades later? Probably don’t do that. First of all, the cavalcade crowds really aren’t too bad even at the earlier times. Second of all, ride waits will be much shorter in the latter half of the evening—spend that time on rides.
My Night at Boo Bash After Hours
After watching Happily Ever After at 8:45PM, I headed over to Tomorrowland Transit Authority PeopleMover. I love the ride and knew it would have no wait, and it allows me some time to plan the rest of my night.
With the 9:30PM official event start time, I didn’t know what to expect (the park close was 9PM) trying to get on a ride right after 9PM, but with a check of my After Hours wristband I was allowed on. I boarded around 9:09PM with no wait.
After PeopleMover, I decided to check off some low-hanging fruit. I rode Dumbo (9:28PM, no wait) and Under the Sea (9:39PM, no wait but a lonnnng walk in the queue) with a stop for treats in between at around 9:33PM.
Trick or treating is back this year and mostly the same as at the old Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party. You walk through with the treat bag, Cast Members put a handful of candy in your bag. I did two stops and wound up with mostly Snickers, Skittles, and Lifesavers.
I’d never wait in line for treats, but it’s not the worst thing to spend a minute walking through to get some “free” candy. It’s important to note it’s not a spruced up experience, though. If you’re looking for characters handing out treats, or even particularly costumed Cast Members, you won’t get anything like that. This is just getting handed candy out of a bucket.
At 9:34PM the longest waits were for Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin, Space Mountain, and Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, all 25 minutes. The waits for snack carts and Photopass were also long, so I decided to delay these until later.
Exiting Under the Sea sometime around 9:45PM, I probably made my first mistake in thinking I wanted to catch the Mickey cavalcade at 9:55PM. As I mentioned above, I really should have watched on its way back through Frontierland at 10:15PM, buying me an extra 20 minutes for a ride or maybe a Photopass opportunity.
On my way into Frontierland I spotted Chip and Dale hanging out on one of the balconies. Then I caught the 9:55PM running of the Mickey cavalcade before walking onto Big Thunder Mountain Railroad with no wait at around 10PM.
Arguably this was another mistake, as I’d forgotten I had a huge gap until the 10:30PM Villains cavalcade. I was chatting with Cristin from Smart Mouse Travel and she went to Pirates of the Caribbean, which probably made more sense. On a future visit I’d maybe even roll the dice and try and squeeze in Big Thunder Mountain Railroad between two of the later cavalcades, but it might be tight.
I wanted to try one of the exclusive-but-paid treats, so I got an Apple Ginger Dale Frozen Drink from Golden Oak Outpost for $6.38. Golden Oak Outpost, near the start of the cavalcade route, is where two of the four paid snacks were being sold, so it made sense to grab one while I was there for the cavalcades anyway.
With a few minutes to spare, I caught the Mickey cavalcade on its way back at 10:15PM and then watched the 10:20PM performance by the Cadaver Dans, followed by the 10:30PM to 10:50PM cavalcades.
Altogether this meant about halfway through the event I’d ridden four rides, including one roller coaster, had one paid snack, and seen all the entertainment (the four cavalcades and the Cadaver Dans).
Here’s my itinerary so far with ride counts:
9:09PM – PeopleMover (1)
9:28PM – Dumbo (2)
9:33PM – Trick or Treat
9:39PM – Under the Sea (3)
9:55PM – Mickey’s cavalcade
10PM – Big Thunder Mountain Railroad (4)
10:10PM – Paid Snack (Apple Ginger Dale Frozen Drink)
10:15PM – Mickey’s cavalcade again
10:20PM – Cadaver Dans
10:30PM – Villains Cavalcade
10:40PM – Jack Skellington Cavalcade
10:50PM – Maleficent Cavalcade
As I noted on Instagram at the time, I find the cavalcades a poor replacement for the parade in this instance. They each take about 90 seconds to pass you, so you wind up standing around for at least 20 minutes for just 2-3 minutes of entertainment. That’s a huge waste of time.
I’d say it’s a “tough call” whether or not to skip the cavalcades altogether. As you’ll see, I wound up having a pretty good night all things considered. But you might prefer to pack even more in.
Having seen all the cavalcades, I was free to focus on rides. I headed to Pirates of the Caribbean, boarding around 10:59PM with no wait. Pirate Goofy was hanging out where Jack Sparrow usually is after I finished.
Since I wasn’t planning on riding Splash Mountain, I was done at this far end of the park and decided to head back toward Tomorrowland and Fantasyland. Along the way I stopped at a snack cart with no line and grabbed a bottle of water and some popcorn.
Remember, all After Hours events include free bottled beverages, popcorn, and ice cream bars (including Mickey bars) from these carts. I mentioned a long line earlier, but once you’re a little deeper into the night (or even just not in the busiest part of the park), you should be able to just walk up and grab/request what you want.
Eeyore and Piglet were at Crystal Palace, almost hidden honestly. I noticed this with a few characters, sometimes even when you were following the map you had to take a second to figure out exactly where they were (which, to be fair to Eeyore and Piglet, was literally just on the Crystal Palace patio).
I passed by the dance party in Tomorrowland before walking on Space Mountain with no wait at about 11:26PM, and the Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin with no wait at about 11:38PM.
The longest waits at 11:37PM, with an hour to go in the event, were Jungle Cruise, Peter Pan’s Flight, and Seven Dwarfs Mine Train at 20 minutes.
I wanted to spot some more characters, and to see Honest John and Gideon basically required me to walk through the trick or treat stop at Pinocchio’s Village Haus, so I passed through there at 11:50PM.
At this point I needed to start making some decisions. I knew Haunted Mansion was a must for a Halloween-themed event, so I went there despite the posted 15 minute wait. Luckily there was actually no wait, and I was off around 12:05AM.
Since Peter Pan’s Flight is a big one for a lot of people, I always like to try and fit it into my plans, and I was able to walk on (10 minute posted wait) at 12:12AM.
Now, if you really wanted to maximize ride count you’d do Winnie the Pooh or the carrousel at this point, but I was happy with my night and decided to hop into line for Seven Dwarfs Mine Train at 12:17AM.
As long as you’re in line for a ride by the end of the event (12:30AM), you’ll get to ride it, so technically I had 13 minutes to spare, which is why I said I could have fit one or both of those other rides in. On the other hand, why risk a delay, especially when such an important ride (Seven Dwarfs Mine Train) is in play. I boarded at 12:26AM, waiting only 9 minutes compared to the posted 20 minute wait.
By the time I was actually off the ride, it was 12:30AM and the event was done. I was surprised to see almost no Photopass photographers on Main Street, and the doors to Emporium already locked.
It’s common at events like this for guests to be allowed to enter Emporium for a few minutes (at least) after the event ends, so I was surprised to see that if you wanted to purchase merchandise you had to be in Emporium by the end of the event.
One possible reason for this is that there isn’t exclusive event merchandise. There is Disney Halloween merchandise, but that’s available outside the event and, for most of it, outside the park as well.
There were some characters standing over the train station saying goodbye, but they finished around 12:40AM. So if you were a slow walker or on one of the last rides of Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, you probably wouldn’t catch them.
I decided to walk back to Polynesian (because I love walking, even at 1AM), but the resort boat would have been my fastest option.
Here’s how I wound up doing:
9:09PM – PeopleMover (1)
9:28PM – Dumbo (2)
9:33PM – Trick or Treat
9:39PM – Under the Sea (3)
9:55PM – Mickey’s cavalcade
10PM – Big Thunder Mountain Railroad (4)
10:10PM – Paid Snack (Apple Ginger Dale Frozen Drink)
10:15PM – Mickey’s cavalcade again
10:20PM – Cadaver Dans
10:30PM – Villains Cavalcade
10:40PM – Jack Skellington Cavalcade
10:50PM – Maleficent Cavalcade
10:59PM – Pirates of the Caribbean (5)
11:09PM – Free snacks at snack cart
11:26PM – Space Mountain (6)
11:37PM – Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin (7)
11:50PM – Trick or Treat
11:58PM – Haunted Mansion (8)
12:12AM – Peter Pan’s Flight (9)
12:26AM – Seven Dwarfs Mine Train (10)
That’s 10 rides, compared with 7 at Villains After Hours, which offered more (and better) entertainment and 16 at regular Magic Kingdom After Hours, which offers no entertainment.
With a better strategy (I already mentioned the first cavalcade debacle repeatedly) and squeezing in a quick ride before Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, that count would easily be 12, which isn’t awful for having spent 30 minutes standing around watching cavalcades.
Importantly, I was able to get on some major rides like Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, Space Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, and Peter Pan’s Flight. The list of rides I missed ranked by what I’d call “importance” was:
Splash Mountain
Jungle Cruise
The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
Astro Orbiter
“it’s a small world”
Tomorrowland Speedway
Mad Tea Party
Prince Charming Regal Carrousel
Barnstormer
Magic Carpets of Aladdin
Now, if this was the entirety of my time at Magic Kingdom, would I trade the cavalcades for Splash Mountain? Probably. But if I could have gotten on Splash and Jungle Cruise between 7PM and 9PM, that would have been even better.
Should I Attend Disney After Hours Boo Bash?
With our visit in the books, let’s talk about how you might evaluate whether you want to visit Boo Bash.
Is Disney After Hours Boo Bash Worth The Price?
We’ll use a hypothetical price of $175, which is the average of the lowest and highest prices for the event for this analysis, which, as these things go, will be pretty subjective.
The next two subsections are more objective in discussing whether the event will fit well into your trip and whether it’s the best way for you to get on the most rides. This one is tougher, but here’s a three-point way I look at it at this moment.
First, After Hours is usually a good way to get on a lot of rides. In a three-hour Magic Kingdom After Hours, I rode 16 rides. Your experience will vary, but that’s a lot of rides. However, at Villains After Hours—which had entertainment and other exclusives for me to enjoy—I only made it on seven rides.
At Boo Bash, I made it on ten rides, but pretty easily could have gotten 2 more in. I probably could have gotten another 2-3 if I’d skipped the cavalcades. In short, I think the lines for my event were low enough that I could have matched my 16-ride total from the plain ol’ Magic Kingdom After Hours if I’d had laser focus on rides.
Second, while I think Halloween “transformations” of the park are more fun than Christmas transformations, I found the Halloween aspect of Boo Bash to be underwhelming. The sporadic cavalcades, tough-to-spot characters didn’t do enough, and there’s only so much spooky music and lighting effects can do.
In terms of theming, I’d say Boo Bash fell short of both Villains After Hours and Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party. That is, I think your analysis of Boo Bash should be mostly as an After Hours event, focused on rides. Can the Halloween content tip the scales if it’s a close call? Sure. But if you’re looking to see what “Disney can do with Halloween theming!” this isn’t the best representative.
Third is a crucial date to keep in mind—October 1. Boo Bash begins in August and ends October 31, with the Disney World 50th Anniversary Celebration kicking off October 1.
Before October 1, we expect Disney World to mostly look like it does now. That means touring strategy is relatively easy to plan, and you don’t need a ticketed event to help you get on rides.
After October 1, we basically have no idea what to expect from touring strategy at the resort. Right now, in July, we have no idea what the new Early Theme Park Entry will look like. We have no idea what the exclusive evening access for deluxe hotel guests will look like. We have no idea if FastPass will be back or what it will look like.
Now, we don’t know exactly what Boo Bash will look like, either, but it’s a safe bet you’ll be able to visit a significant chunk of Magic Kingdom. And if waits are too long, then at least you’ll be at an event with some cool exclusive offerings.
So, on balance, I think Boo Bash looks “worth it” at our average $175 per person price point after October 1. But if you’re visiting Disney World before October 1, I think you’ll do just fine with regular park hours, at least as far as ride strategy goes. Let’s close with some more objective points to consider in your planning, though.
Does Boo Bash Fit Your Trip?
First on my mind—as a new parent—is that 9PM to 1AM probably won’t work with little ones. Sure, you could plan to stay 9PM to 11PM and maybe it’s a little better, but by the time you get back to your hotel from Magic Kingdom it would still be around midnight.
Even without young kids, a 2AM bedtime on party night could very well render your next morning, well, worthless. You aren’t going to be up 6AM to be at a park for rope drop. So the day after Boo Bash should best be reserved for a resort day, or at least a resort morning (late breakfast, relax by the pool).
If you’re staying at a Disney hotel, that lost morning is a lost visit to Early Theme Park Entry. As I write this we’re months before Early Theme Park Entry will debut, so we can’t quite say how big a loss this is. I’m willing to guess it’s not going to a huge loss, relative to what you’d get out of Boo Bash, at least.
Finally, if you’re staying at a deluxe Disney hotel, you might miss out on a night of Disney’s new evening hours exclusively for deluxe resort guests. We know next to nothing about this offering, other than that it will be select parks select nights, so it might not even conflict with your Boo Bash visit.
Alternatives to Boo Bash If You care Most About Rides
With those logistics in the back of your mind, let’s talk about what you’re getting here, and at what price. Let’s start with rides. Boo Bash has 20 attractions, which will be almost of all Magic Kingdom’s attractions.
As mentioned above, I think I could have gotten close to 16 rides if I’d focused solely on rides. But your experience will vary. Importantly, we’ll see how crowds at Boo Bash compare to past events as we get closer to the holiday and the surge of 50th Anniversary Celebration guests.
(As also noted above I only rode seven rides while focusing on entertainment at Villains After Hours. If you’re going to the event to get on 10+ rides, you’ll need to miss most of the entertainment.)
If your goal is getting on the most rides, the main alternative to a ticketed event is adding a day to your trip. If you’re paying around $150-$200 per person, even a couple is going to be in a position where it might make sense to add a day to their trip.
A five night sample November stay for two people at Coronado Springs (Water View) without park hopper starts at $2878. Adding a sixth night (with another day of park tickets) costs $3248, or $370 more. That’s about what you’d expect for two people to pay for Boo Bash, and I’d definitely take an extra full park day over a ticketed event.
Two things though. First, that’s just our view. Park days can be a slog, After Hours events are a delightful breeze, so I can understanding picking the latter. Second, you might not have the day to spare. After Hours is a good way to fit more rides into a shorter trip.
If you’re planning a non-Disney hotel because of price, you could switch to a Disney hotel and unlock Early Theme Park Entry beginning October 1, which will get you 30 minutes of bonus time every day at every park. Unfortunately we don’t really know enough about this option at this point, but I lean toward saying Boo Bash will be a better use of your money.
Another option for visits beginning October 1 would be to upgrade your stay to a deluxe hotel, giving you access to the (as-of-yet-still-super-mysterious) evening hours for deluxe hotel guests. This isn’t a cheap option, though, as it’ll probably run you at least $150 per night. Of course, if you did a split stay and upgraded only two nights of your stay, you might be in the ballpark of the Boo Bash cost. Until we know…anything…about this new offering, though, it’s hard to give advice.