Haunted Mansion as it appeared in 1972 . PHOTO BY MOACIR DE SA PEREIRA
When the Lake Buena Vista Shopping Village ( now Disney Springs ) opened in March of 1975 , Disney got creative with ways to encourage guests to peruse the 29 shops and eat at the four restaurants . Guests were invited to join the Village Halloween Party , which conveniently included trick-or-treating from shop to shop and a costume contest .
In 1976 , Magic Kingdom hours extended for the first time at the Saturday Night at the World Halloween Party . Resorts also participated in some trick-or-treating and Halloween activities . This same year , the Contemporary ’ s Ballroom of the Americas hosted a Halloween party for guests .
Magic Kingdom wrapped up the ’ 70s with the first hard-ticket Halloween party at Magic Kingdom . On October 27th , 1979 , Halloween Hysteria kicked off after regular park hours at 9:00 PM and lasted until 1:30 AM . This wasn ’ t a new concept for Magic Kingdom . Since opening in 1971 , the park has hosted after-hours parties for New Year ’ s Eve and Valentine ’ s Day .
Halloween Hysteria cost $ 9.99 at the gate or $ 8.95 in advance ( yep , that ’ s including tax ). The party included performances on the Tomorrowland Terrace stage ,
Early Halloween parade characters make their way down Main Street . PHOTO BY SCOTT HENDERSON