HalloweenTime at DLR Info and Photo Superthread #3

[seobaina]

I was assuming the opposite. I was thinking one of the benefits during the party might be that the crowd would be smaller than a typical Friday night. From what people say, the lines for rides during the party are pretty light...the crowds are waiting in line to see characters and trick-or-treating.

During our last trip mid November, we were there Tues - Fri and the only really crowded time was the 2nd half of Friday (I assume because the local AP holders came in for Friday evening).

That's a good point and worth noting but tbh if we went to the party we wouldn't be doing the rides and shows then, we'd be doing the Halloween stuff. I was at MNSSHP last year in WDW and it was HEAVING!! We've got four days in DLR (tues to fri) so hopefully we'll have had plenty of time to do the rides by then *touch wood*

seobaina -

True. If Disney decides not to have a party on 9/27 (and in the back of my mind I keep thinking that the 9/30 date in the magazine must be a misprint!), at least you won't have to deal with any of those overlap crowds, when the party guests and non-party guests are in the park at the same time for 3 hours before the party begins. That's a very busy time!

Well, I'm not gonna give up hope yet but that's reassuring to know. I'm hoping tues-friday at that time of year will be relatively 'quiet' without parties and ok on the other three days if there are parties but I've no idea.

 

[qckrun]

Question regarding rides being shutdown/ closed for the Halloween Time?

My family and I were planning on going to DL Sept. 15-20, but I am concerned are there going to be closures due to the Halloween Time Prep?

Will all rides be open when I am going?

 

[Sherry E]

Well, I'm not gonna give up hope yet but that's reassuring to know. I'm hoping tues-friday at that time of year will be relatively 'quiet' without parties and ok on the other three days if there are parties but I've no idea.

seobaina -

I will hope for you that 9/27 is added into the line-up of Halloween Parties! I really can't see why it was left out other than: A) Disney is sort of "substituting" the 9/13 dance party for what would have been a party on 9/27; or B) Disney has some other private event scheduled for 9/27.

I think the crowds should be pretty manageable and not too hideous during your dates.

Question regarding rides being shutdown/ closed for the Halloween Time?

My family and I were planning on going to DL Sept. 15-20, but I am concerned are there going to be closures due to the Halloween Time Prep?

Will all rides be open when I am going?

qckrun -

Hello! Well, I'm not sure about any other ride closures in either park at that time, but Haunted Mansion Holiday and Space Mountain Ghost Galaxy will both be running during your trip. The Halloween Time season begins on 9/13, so those 2 rides have to be operational at that point.

Any other rides that may be closed during that time frame -- if any -- would not be related to Halloween Time, but would be closed for maintenance or other reasons.

I hope that helps!

 

[qckrun]

seobaina -

I will hope for you that 9/27 is added into the line-up of Halloween Parties! I really can't see why it was left out other than: A) Disney is sort of "substituting" the 9/13 dance party for what would have been a party on 9/27; or B) Disney has some other private event scheduled for 9/27.

I think the crowds should be pretty manageable and not too hideous during your dates.





qckrun -

Hello! Well, I'm not sure about any other ride closures in either park at that time, but Haunted Mansion Holiday and Space Mountain Ghost Galaxy will both be running during your trip. The Halloween Time season begins on 9/13, so those 2 rides have to be operational at that point.

Any other rides that may be closed during that time frame -- if any -- would not be related to Halloween Time, but would be closed for maintenance or other reasons.

I hope that helps!

Thank you Sherry.

Kind of offtopic, but is there a site that shows ride closures due to maintenance or other reasons?

 

[seobaina]

seobaina -

I will hope for you that 9/27 is added into the line-up of Halloween Parties! I really can't see why it was left out other than: A) Disney is sort of "substituting" the 9/13 dance party for what would have been a party on 9/27; or B) Disney has some other private event scheduled for 9/27.

I think the crowds should be pretty manageable and not too hideous during your dates.

Thank you Sherry x

 

[Sherry E]

Thank you Sherry.

Kind of offtopic, but is there a site that shows ride closures due to maintenance or other reasons?

Hmmm...I thought that there used to be a thread or two on this forum that discussed rides that were down.

Other than the Disneyland Resort website, I think that most sites just kind of discuss/list ride closures as they come up, and sometimes Disney doesn't let people know way ahead of time what will be closed. Sometimes we find out about it closer to the dates we're interested in.

One ride I am pretty sure will still be closed when you are there is Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. That has been closed since early in the year and is scheduled to reopen in "mid-Fall." So I don't suppose it will be open in September unless the refurbishment is finished way ahead of schedule.

Maybe someone else here knows of other rides that are scheduled to be closed? I haven't been keeping up with other ride closures lately, other than Big Thunder.

Thank you Sherry x

You're welcome!

 

[Mommavilla]

Hi Sherry

Thanks for all the info! We are going at the end of September and this will be our first time doing Mickey's Halloween Party! Looks like we will be there for the first party on the 30th. How fast do the tickets sell out? We do have Disney Visa, does that give us a chance to buy in advance? Being that its on a Monday what kind of crowd should we expect? Any input would be greatly appreciated! Thanks again

 

[scrawny]

Me too. Looking for same info. Thanks.

 

[Goofy_Mom]

Hi Sherry

Thanks for all the info! We are going at the end of September and this will be our first time doing Mickey's Halloween Party! Looks like we will be there for the first party on the 30th. How fast do the tickets sell out? We do have Disney Visa, does that give us a chance to buy in advance? Being that its on a Monday what kind of crowd should we expect? Any input would be greatly appreciated! Thanks again

It varies from year to year how fast the dates sell out. Usually the first party and Halloween night sell the fastest, followed by the Friday dates then the Tuesday dates. Yes, you do get first dibs being a Disney Visa card holder. I have never been to a first Halloween party so can't tell you about that. You can look up on youtube Halloween party Disneyland and Halloween Time at Disneyland, there are a handful of video of those to give you a feel of the season and crowds.

 

[Sherry E]

Hi Sherry

Thanks for all the info! We are going at the end of September and this will be our first time doing Mickey's Halloween Party! Looks like we will be there for the first party on the 30th. How fast do the tickets sell out? We do have Disney Visa, does that give us a chance to buy in advance? Being that its on a Monday what kind of crowd should we expect? Any input would be greatly appreciated! Thanks again

Mommavilla -

Hello, and welcome!

Last year many of the party nights sold out quite a bit faster than they had in previous years, and I think that was largely due to the fact that the access to Villains in the non-party Halloween Time hours was more limited. People bought tickets to the MHP to see those Villains in addition to the other things that had already been part of the party.

Also, all of the party nights sold out last year, whereas in the past there were usually a couple of nights that didn't. Of course, some nights sell out faster than others. I would not wait too long to buy the tickets when they go on sale. There have been times in the past when I thought, "I'll wait a while before buying my ticket," and then the night I wanted sold out.

If it is true that the MHP is beginning on Monday, 9/30 (and, according to the Backstage Pass magazine, it is), I don't know if the party would be just as crowded on that Monday night as it would be if the party started on Friday. It seems like some folks would have to work and go to school the next morning.

The park itself will get really busy in that 3 hours of overlap time I have been talking about in the past page or two of this thread -- the 3 hour time frame in which the party guests and non-party guests are in the park at the same time, prior to the start of the party.

Basically, if only a certain number of tickets are sold for each party night and it's the same number for all nights, and if the tickets sell out for each party, then all the parties should basically have the same crowds, more or less. People will congregate in different areas, but overall the party crowds should be the same.

I have been to a Monday night party before (in 2011), but it was not the first party of the season, as this one will be. It was the second party night of the season and it did not sell out nearly as fast -- in fact, I don't think it sold out until just a few days before the actual date. I found it to be much more crowded than I expected it to be, but not unbearable. There were lots of people milling about in the pathways and walkways. It seemed like any old night in Disneyland!

I've also been to a Friday night, first-party-of-the-season several years back (in DCA), and that didn't seem as crowded as the Monday night party in DL 2 years ago!

The Visa question I answered in my reply to scrawny below.

Me too. Looking for same info. Thanks.

scrawny -

You may have missed the reply I posted to you a couple of pages back. I don't know if that helps with anything. See below:

scrawny -

I haven't seen anything about that yet. The last time I checked the AP site there was no party mentioned at that point.

What usually happens is that the party tickets first go on sale to AP holders, Disney Visa members and Disney Vacation Club owners. Those tickets should likely go on sale in June (if not before the end of May). Then the tickets go on sale to the general public in July.

The party dates will probably appear on the AP site at some point, to announce the advance purchase options. Quite possibly the Parks Blog will do a blog on it as well, before the tickets go on sale.

I think we'll hear something about the ticket prices and sale dates very, very soon!

 

[KatrinfromGermany]

Welcome, KatrinfromGermany! I'm glad you joined us!

I don't think we know too much about exactly what's happening on 9/13 just yet. The Villains event is part of the "Limited Time Magic" promo that's going on all year at Disneyland Resort. So far, as part of LTM, there were Valentine's Day events; there was a Lunar New Year celebration; there was a Mardi Gras celebration; there will be 4th of July/Independence Day events, etc. There's even an an upcoming Greece-influenced celebration! There have been quite a few other events popping up this year that have been interesting.

Unless I have missed something somewhere, I think that all we know so far about 9/13 is that Disneyland will be open until 1:00 a.m. (they're calling it the "13th hour" in celebration of Friday the 13th), and the Villains will host a "dance party."

I'm not sure what's going on in the daytime on 9/13 but I don't think there would be any kind of separate ticket needed for that. Only the dance party is in question as far as tickets.

Haunted Mansion and Space Mountain will be closed on your first couple of park days, up until 9/13, when they reopen in their Halloween versions (Haunted Mansion Holiday and Space Mountain Ghost Galaxy, respectively)!

I don't think the parks will be too crowded in the days leading up to 9/13 because a lot of people will go back to school after Labor Day is over. I think there will be an increase in crowds on 9/13 due to the Villains/13th Hour thing, but especially at night for the dance party.

California Adventure may or may not be in the Halloween spirit at all. For the last few years it has been almost totally stripped of Halloween fun, while the majority of the festivities are in Disneyland. Last year there were some "Frankenweenie" things in DCA, but I think that was just happening because the film opened in 2012. I am hoping things will change this year and we will see more Halloween fun in DCA too!

As for tips/recommendations -- if you look my post above on this page with the links to blogs about Halloween treats, you will find that I also included a link to a podcast/call-in show we did last year (the DIS Unplugged team and I) and in that show we give a lot of tips and recommendations that would be helpful for new Halloween Time visitors.

Otherwise, if you kind of skim through this thread (starting with the first page, which has a lot of info -- some of which needs to be updated but it still mostly applicable to Halloween Time in general), you'll get a lot of ideas about Halloween seasons past and what to expect. Always feel free to just jump in anytime you have a question and someone will answer it here!

Thank you so much for your help!
And the superthread is really great and helpful

 

[khardin2218]

We are planning a trip september 7-14. There are two dates for MNNSHP during our trip. We would prefer to go to the pary on Tuesday, but it is the opening night. Will it be too busy? which date would you suggest. It will be me, my husband and our three year old. We have been to MNSSHP last year and had a great time

 

[GrandBob]

Also, all of the party nights sold out last year, whereas in the past there were usually a couple of nights that didn't.

I don't think that's true, Sherry. Last year we went to the party on Monday Oct 29. I don't believe that party sold out. At least, it wasn't sold out as of when we left home for DLR, a couple of days before. Maybe they sold out at the last minute?

Of course, some nights sell out faster than others. I would not wait too long to buy the tickets when they go on sale.

Definitely good advice

-Bob

 

[RAnderson0819]

Khardin2218, where have you been able to find dates for the parties? We are also going that same week but I haven't been able to find anything yet.

 

[Sherry E]

KatrinfromGermany -

You're welcome! I'm glad the thread is helpful.







khardin2218 -

Mickey's Halloween Party is at Disneyland. That doesn't begin until Mon., 9/30, according to the AP Backstage Pass Magazine that is out now. Disneyland's Halloween Time season starts on 9/13.

I think you might be confusing the WDW Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party dates with Mickey's Halloween Party. Maybe?







GrandBob -

Welcome back, Bob!

Are you making another Halloween (or holiday) trip this year?

I remember that party night you mentioned! I remember watching the MHP calendar as each night sold out, one by one, and that night was the lone hold out night that stayed "open" the longest while the others were selling out. I remember thinking at that point, "I wonder why this specific night is not selling out when all the others have?" But it eventually did, I think -- probably close the very last minute, but I think it did.

The other nights sold out much faster than they had in previous years, and nights that previously would not have sold out at all in previous years ended up selling out. It's those darn Villains -- if they hadn't become more exclusive last year, I think it could have worked out differently!

Given what happened last year, I wouldn't advise anyone to risk waiting too long to snap up those tickets or they may not be able to get the night they want.

 

[Sherry E]

Khardin2218, where have you been able to find dates for the parties? We are also going that same week but I haven't been able to find anything yet.

RAnderson0819 -

The MHP (Mickey's Halloween Party) dates have not been released yet -- at least, not as of this morning when I last checked 3 different websites. They will be announced any day now, though -- sometime in the next week or two. Keep checking the Disneyland website, the Parks Blog, etc. Sometimes dates will not appear in the morning and will suddenly be announced in the afternoon.

I think that khardin2218 saw the MNSSHP dates for WDW and thought they were the MHP dates for DLR.

 

[RAnderson0819]

Thanks! That was my thought as well...

 

[we3peas]

Question-I am from Orlando but will be in Anaheim for a conference during Halloween time frame (Oct 26-Oct 30). I do not want to attend the halloween party but do want to see DL and CA as much as possible. What days do you think will be more likely that we can spend the whole day (open to close) at each park, possibly hopping to be able to see as much as possible?

Do they run the parties every night towards the end of Halloween like WDW or will we have a chance to see both parks without ha to leave early?

TIA

 

[Kilala]

They have the party on Tuesdays and Fridays and sometimes on Monday.

 

[Sherry E]

Question-I am from Orlando but will be in Anaheim for a conference during Halloween time frame (Oct 26-Oct 30). I do not want to attend the halloween party but do want to see DL and CA as much as possible. What days do you think will be more likely that we can spend the whole day (open to close) at each park, possibly hopping to be able to see as much as possible?

Do they run the parties every night towards the end of Halloween like WDW or will we have a chance to see both parks without ha to leave early?

TIA

we3peas --

Hello and welcome!

Now I don't know with 100% certainty because Disney could always switch things up on us, but if we can use past seasons as a guideline I expect the only party night during your trip to be either Mon., October 28th or Tues., October 29th. Again, Disney could totally flip the script on us and add in crazy, unexpected party days. But there will be a party on Thurs., 10/31 and I think they'd have one earlier that week as well.

So if I am correct, I don't think you'd have to worry about Disneyland closing a little bit earlier for a party more than one night during your trip. You'd likely still be able to stay in Disneyland until 6 p.m. on the party night and then you'd have to leave. Otherwise, your other days should probably be free and clear to park hop without worry.