I had no intention of going to Disneyland’s Oogie Boogie Bash. I did Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas at Disney World some years back and thought it was pretty much a waste of money. The store bought cookies were stale and there wasn’t nothing extra special about the event except a couple of lame dance parties. There was nothing I couldn’t experience with a normal ticket. I forever after I wrote off the overpriced “special events”. The trouble was that this year I had promised Sage a trip to Disneyland in 2021 and, with the early winter coming, the year was running out.

I purchased Hopper tickets thinking we would spend a day at Dizzyland after visiting my mom for Fall Break. Surprise. I couldn’t find an available reservation date except for Tuesday Oct. 19; the same night as The Bash. Just like skiing last year. You can buy a ticket but you can’t actually go unless you get a reservation for a particular date. With a hopper ticket, you start at one park and you can “hop” to the other at 1:00 p.m.. Here’s the rub. Depending on crowd levels, Disney may decide for you which park you can start your day in. This Tuesday, I would have to start at Disneyland and could only go to California Adventure after 1:00 p.m. Because the Bash starts at 6:00 p.m. at California Adventure, we would be forced to leave unless we had the special ticket. That’s only five hours at DCA when it is notoriously crowded because of the new Avengers Campus setting.

That’s just not worth a regular ticket. If I was going to spend $150 but not be able to to stay all night what’s the point? I might as well postpone those tickets as they are good until next December and join the party.

What Is This Oogie Boogie Bash??

Oogie Boogie Bash happens three nights a week (Tues, Thurs., Sun.) from 6 p.m- 11 p.m at Disney California Adventure from mid-September to October 31. You can’t attend without a separate special ticket. Regular Park guests are pushed out at 6 p.m. but Bash ticket holders can enter the Park at 3 p.m. They actually get three extra hours of the normal rides and attractions before the party starts. After 6 p.m., Oogie Boogie welcomes guests to explore 10 treat trails where you get to collect gobs of candy, see “villains” like Cruella, The Evil Queen or the Mad Hatter improv and chat with guests, ride attractions with half the wait times, watch a special Halloween Parade, take photo ops with a free Photo Pass download and stroll through a forest filled with spooky lights, sounds and smells. Yes, it’s totally different than a normal day at the park but with the price of admission, it doesn’t make sense to buy a regular ticket and a Bash pass. Sleep in and go to DCA in the afternoon.

Oogie Boogie Bash tickets cost $114-$169. Tickets went on sale on Tuesday, July 13, 2021, and sold out in mear weeks. If you ask most people they’ll tell you it’s impossible to get a ticket once they’re sold out. However, consider this: if you are buying something in July for an event in October, what are the chances that everyone in your party is still going to make it? Disney gets this and doesn’t want to deter people from plunking down huge amounts of money for something they might not use. They personally won’t give back your money, but you are free to recoup how you see fit. The Bash tickets are fully transferable up until the date they are activated and used. Ticket holders are permitted to pass any unused ticket to a friend or family member so they can assign the spares to anyone if they want.

How I landed two Oogie Boogie Bash tickets for the night I wanted in less than an hour

You can first check eBay, Craigslist and a site called Ticketswap. Nothing was available for Sunday October 17, but I had seen people make pleas on Facebook group pages. I searched “oogie boogie 2021” on Facebook and came across three pages that I needed to join- Disneyland Secret Society, Discount Disneyland Tickets and Oogie Boogie Bash 2021. I posted on all three that I was looking for two tickets for October 17. As I read through the comments on the pages, I saw that scammers were out of control. People lamented paying for tickets and never receiving valid ones. I myself was immediately contacted by three scammers. One even began to threaten me after I said, “I’m sorry but you appear to be a scammer and I’m not interested, thank you.” Luckily, a very nice member of one of the groups took me under her wing and showed me what the OB scams looked like and how to find a legit sale.
The same member had created her own page- the Oogie Boogie Bash 2021 one. She said she uses the Discount Disney page to identify the scammers and block them from her page. There, another very nice lady responded to my post that she had tickets.

Who Do You Trust?

At this point I was wary. I was instructed to ask whoever offered to sell tickets to video chat with me because most scammers won’t be willing to go live. They’ve stolen somebody else’s profile. They would need to show the email confirmation for the Oogie Boogie Bash tickets which has a very specific header and instructions. They would need to hold it up and raise a pinky or something so that I would know it’s not a photo that they’ve copied from someone else.

Sherry and her husband immediately called to video chat. They said they saw that I was from Park City and they immediately knew I wouldn’t be scamming them. They had lived here and owned property all over town. We spoke for nearly an hour. I felt safe as well. They asked for the face-value of the tickets just to recover what they paid because some in their party couldn’t make it. We didn’t use ticketswap (which takes a fee). They emailed their vouchers and I Venmoed their money. The next morning, I connected the tickets to my Disneyland app.

Not only was it a safe experience but it was also fun! I look forward to running into this couple tomorrow at my inaugural Oogie Boogie Bash. I hope this tale helps you find tickets if you really want to attend.

Signs you are being scammed

They won’t video chat
They want you to pay cash up front or half up front.
She says she’s a mother and just wants to spread good karma.
They get belligerent if you ask for details or a photo of the confirmation letter
Their name comes up in other comments and people call them scammers.
They’re trying to sell their ticket for well below face value.
They don’t have a profile or their profile doesn’t match the photo that they send to you when you chat

Playing it safe, being cautious and suspicious, doesn’t make you stupid, it makes you human. Those Oogie Boogie Bash tickets aren’t cheap and who wants to be swindled out of $300 or more because of a 5-minute snap judgment with a dirtbag?

Ready to Go? Disneyland Increases Ticket Prices

I will be taking my campervan there and back so I don’t need a hotel but if you have big plans for Anaheim and Disneyland, talk to the ladies at Get Away Today. They’ll be able to hook you up with some great deals.

BTW, Disneyland just announced a last minute price increase on their theme park tickets. Yep, WAY WAY LAME. It’s not like they didn’t just raised prices. But if you hurry, you can still get last week’s pricing through Get Away Today.

By buying with them now, you can save up to $45 per ticket. Here are the details so you don’t miss out:

• Save up to $45 over gate prices by booking your Disneyland tickets with Get Away Today by November 3, 2021 – If you know you’re going to go to Disneyland between now and Dec. 2022, don’t wait. Buy now.
• If you don’t know when you’re going, you’ll just need to enter a general date to purchase your tickets. The date that you enter will be the date that Get Away Today sends your reminders to make theme park reservations, which are required. The date you entered is not tied to a theme park reservation and the dates you choose are flexible.
• Get Away Today’s tickets are refundable, have no blackout dates (subject to theme park availability) and you can make theme park reservations 120 days in advance.

Here are the exact savings based on ticket type over current gate pricing:

5-Day Park Hopper: $45 Savings

5-Day 1-Park per Day: $40 Savings

3-4 Day Park Hopper: $30 Savings

3-4 Day 1-Park per Day: $25 Savings

2-Day Park Hopper: $27 Saving

2-Day 1-Park per Day: $22 Savings

Book now here: 

If you are planning a trip to the House of Mouse anytime before the end of next year, stock up on tickets