Halloween at DL

[Sherry E]

Originally Posted by jaylensmom

Forgive me if this has been asked because I haven't read thru all the posts...

Can you order on 7/16 or do the tickets sell out before then? I think I want to take me DS who is 5 to MHP this year...He's never been to DL...Is it good to to MHP on your first visit? Will he get the full experience of DL during that time?

Hi there, Jaylensmom!

Hopefully I can answer your question.

The MHP tickets are currently on sale to AP holders, Disney Visa (debit or credit) holders and, I guess, Disney Vacation Club members as well. So if you have an AP or a Disney Visa, or are a DVC member, you can buy the pre-sale tickets (which are cheaper at $44) now. Otherwise, the tickets go on sale to the general public on 7/16, so they definitely won't be sold out yet. The prices will be higher, at $54 or $59, depending on whether it's a Tuesday or a Friday when you go. I would guess that the bulk of the tickets sold are probably general public sales. On 7/16, there will be a link to order them on the DLR website, where the regular Hoppers and tickets are sold. There will probably be some tickets reserved for sale on the actual nights of the MHP too - many people make last minute decisions to go, DLR holds some tickets aside for those purposes.

I tend to not think that Tuesday night MHP tickets will sell out as quickly as Friday night tickets, but I could be totally wrong.

Sure - why not take your DS to the MHP? It'll be fun! He'll love it, I'm sure. Is that the only day/night you are going to be there at DLR or will you have other days in the parks as well? If you have a MHP ticket for DL and want to head over to DCA, you will need a separate ticket for DCA. But I say go for it - if you think your DS would have fun and enjoy the party, by all means take him. This year it's being held in DL, but next year it could switch back to DCA - we just don't know. I think that mostly everything in DL will stay open during the party, except for ToonTown, which closes kind of early at night anyway. It will be great!

[Smiling Cheshire Cat]

Thanks guys for saving me some $$. I did not realize that Disney VISA holders were eligilble for the discounted ticket price. I'm pretty sure this was not true at WDW when we went to the Christmas party last year. Anyway, I ordered our Halloween party tickets today and I'm super excited.:

[Sherry E]

Originally Posted by Smiling Cheshire Cat

Thanks guys for saving me some $$. I did not realize that Disney VISA holders were eligilble for the discounted ticket price. I'm pretty sure this was not true at WDW when we went to the Christmas party last year. Anyway, I ordered our Halloween party tickets today and I'm super excited.:

That savings of $10 - $15 really helps, doesn't it?! It doesn't appear that it is widely advertised that Disney Visa holders can get the discount on the tickets. It really only seems to be advertised that AP holders can get discounts, but you don't really see anything - either on the DLR website or in the Disney Visa website, mailings and brochures. It's almost kind of a secret!

I have to run the idea of the MHP by one friend in particular this upcoming week. If she is interested in it and has the $44, then I may try to make an effort to do the MHP this year and order tickets with the Visa in the next week. If she's not interested in going at all, then I may try to skip October and do a September HalloweenTime DLR trip this year. I'm still trying to brainstorm and weigh the pros and cons of September vs. October in my mind, and the only thing that really keeps October in the running is the MHP. If the MHP is off the list, then there's no reason why I can't go in late September, when it's less crowded and everything (hotel-wise and Goofy's Kitchen-wise) is less expensive.

[dismom73]

How do you order the pre-sale tickets? I have a Disney Visa and I cant find it anywhere on the website. Do I have to call Disney Visa or Disney directly?

[Sherry E]

Originally Posted by dismom73

How do you order the pre-sale tickets? I have a Disney Visa and I cant find it anywhere on the website. Do I have to call Disney Visa or Disney directly?

Call Disney - 714-781-4400.

[dismom73]

Thank you.

[Sherry E]

I wonder how many folks here have seen the new "Toy Story 3" movie. I have not seen it yet, but I know what happens in it from beginning to end. I won't spoil anything for those who have not seen it yet, but I think it has been pretty widely reported in reviews and synopses of TS3 that new character Lotso Huggin is, uh, let's say...less than pleased with his new toy friends Buzz, Woody and the gang.

So...this makes me wonder if Lotso might be more of a prominent fixture at DLR during HalloweenTime because of his 'villain' status. Funny, I never thought of a strawberry-scented bear as a villain, but he pretty much is one!! Lotso could easily be right there at the Villains photo spot in FL, next to Captain Hook, the Queen of Hearts and Jafar!! For some reason, that strikes me as an amusing image!!

[Sherry E]

Originally Posted by dismom73

Thank you.

You're welcome! It is very odd how there is no mention of the Disney Visa holders getting discounts for the MHP on the DLR website or on the Disney Visa website, isn't it? It's almost like they are trying to keep it from leaking out to the public! But they can't fool us over here on the DIS! Someone will always get to the bottom of it and find out the scoop!!

[Flitterific]

Originally Posted by jenergy

I would definitely call again. I try to go by the "best 3 out of 5" rule with CMs...LOL

Originally Posted by Sherry E

Yes, definitely keep trying until you get someone who isn't locked into that mindset. Because...quite frankly, even though the grouchy CM has worked in tickets for 35 years, she is wrong! I mean, let me clarify - she may not be wrong in that they don't allow it. Perhaps DLR does not allow it now. (Remember I told you the last time I did a swap in October of last year, the CM at the ticket booth - while very pleasant and nice - said she had to check with the supervisor because they aren't supposed to allow it.) Maybe they finally decided to stop allowing it once and for all, but this CM you spoke to seemed unwilling to even check with the DL Bank to see if it was ever accepted in the first place! Clearly it was. I did it on two separate occasions - once for an AP and once for 3 Park Hoppers.

Now there may be allowances because of the kinds of tickets I had, which had no expiration dates on them as well as being unused, and they were not discounted tickets. They were full price. Perhaps combining the GAD and the LMT tickets together would not be allowed. But this CM you reached on the phone seemed like she didn't want to acknowledge that it had ever been done with any kinds of tickets. It doesn't hurt DLR in any way to do a swap with one day/one park tickets - they aren't losing any money at all. But the rules for the GAD or LMT tickets may be different.

I remember that one of the CMs I got on the phone last year told me that some CMs are aware of certain things DLR is allowed to do or not do, and other CMs have no idea that certain things are allowed or not allowed. So it's entirely possible that this 35-year CM has no clue they can do such a thing because she's never personally had to do it for a customer, OR it's possible that DLR no longer allows a swap and the CM just doesn't know that it was ever allowed it in the past.

I wish I could recall the name of the CM I spoke to who helped me on the phone and took the time to check with the Bank. I may have put her name in my TR somewhere. Why do I think it was Janelle? Something with a 'J,' I think. I'll have to check my TR from last year and see if I can find her name when I have time. If I can think of the CM's name, maybe you could even ask for her specifically.

Originally Posted by Disney Dreams

This differentiation that Sherry just mentioned about her tickets being non-expiring and non-discounted is huge.

Let's look for one moment about how DLR handles WDW tickets. They will let you use one day at a time from a non-expiring WDW PH. Sherry's tickets were non-expiring. I know the GAD tickets expire. Do the LMT ones? I think this is the key difference in Flitterific's situation.

Not to say you shouldn't ask again, Flitterific, but I think the expiring factor is key when it comes to swapping.

- Dreams

Thanks everyone! So I called back today and spoke to a CM named Raelene. She was a lot nicer than the grouchy lady I spoke with on Friday. Anyway, she said that as long as they are two unused tickets, I would be able to swap them for an AP. However, I think I'll take jenergy's advice and go with the 3 out of 5 rule. I'll let you guys know the outcome

[Sherry E]

Originally Posted by Flitterific

Thanks everyone! So I called back today and spoke to a CM named Raelene. She was a lot nicer than the grouchy lady I spoke with on Friday. Anyway, she said that as long as they are two unused tickets, I would be able to swap them for an AP. However, I think I'll take jenergy's advice and go with the 3 out of 5 rule. I'll let you guys know the outcome

That's great, though - at least the news is getting better! One or two more calls and hopefully the answers will be consistent!!! I wasn't sure if DLR would be able to handle the discounted tickets in the same way - viewing them "as money," as was told to me about my OD/OP tickets - but it sounds like (from what Raelene told you) that it may be okay!! I would think that, as long as it's a situation where DLR is not losing any money, and basically you are just exchanging two tickets for another type of ticket (the AP) and paying the difference after that, it shouldn't harm them to do it. But it is a slippery slope. Some of those CMs simply don't want to do it, even if it's allowed - and based on the grouchy CM who had been there for 35 years, it seems some of them don't even want to check to see if they can do it.

I understand the grouchy CM had been there for 35 years - and that says a lot. I'm sure she's a great employee and has lots of knowledge and knows a lot of inside scoop. But she's also been at DLR long enough to know that some CMs are totally unaware of some of the things they can do or can not do. It seems like it would have been the right thing for her to do to just humor you and say, "Let me ask another CM here if it's allowed," or "Okay, I'll check with the Bank just to confirm."

Anyway, keep us posted on the next call to DLR! Of course, I am especially interested because I have done this swap thing twice before and I may need to do it again at some point. So I need to keep up to date on whether they are still allowing it or not.

[Flitterific]

Originally Posted by Sherry E

That's great, though - at least the news is getting better! One or two more calls and hopefully the answers will be consistent!!! I wasn't sure if DLR would be able to handle the discounted tickets in the same way - viewing them "as money," as was told to me about my OD/OP tickets - but it sounds like (from what Raelene told you) that it may be okay!! I would think that, as long as it's a situation where DLR is not losing any money, and basically you are just exchanging two tickets for another type of ticket (the AP) and paying the difference after that, it shouldn't harm them to do it. But it is a slippery slope. Some of those CMs simply don't want to do it, even if it's allowed - and based on the grouchy CM who had been there for 35 years, it seems some of them don't even want to check to see if they can do it.

I understand the grouchy CM had been there for 35 years - and that says a lot. I'm sure she's a great employee and has lots of knowledge and knows a lot of inside scoop. But she's also been at DLR long enough to know that some CMs are totally unaware of some of the things they can do or can not do. It seems like it would have been the right thing for her to do to just humor you and say, "Let me ask another CM here if it's allowed," or "Okay, I'll check with the Bank just to confirm."

Anyway, keep us posted on the next call to DLR! Of course, I am especially interested because I have done this swap thing twice before and I may need to do it again at some point. So I need to keep up to date on whether they are still allowing it or not.

Sherry - I totally agree with you. That grouchy lady could have at least pretended to do it and I'd feel better. She was so not Disney-like I'm glad that the other CMs I spoke with were more helpful though

Anyway, I called again today and spoke with Naeemah. She told me that as long as the tickets are unused and have a cash value to them, I can use them to swap for an AP. I think I will call one more time to ask which value of the ticket gets applied to the AP (i.e. the full value or only the discounted value). Hopefully it's the full value so I can save some money. Otherwise, I'm not going to even bother with it since it'll only create more problems than not. I'll keep you guys posted

[PHXscuba]

Super Tuesday bump!!

Just for you, Sherry


PHXscuba,
... waiting out the AZ heat for a one-day DL visit in a month!

[Sherry E]

Originally Posted by Flitterific

Sherry - I totally agree with you. That grouchy lady could have at least pretended to do it and I'd feel better. She was so not Disney-like I'm glad that the other CMs I spoke with were more helpful though

Anyway, I called again today and spoke with Naeemah. She told me that as long as the tickets are unused and have a cash value to them, I can use them to swap for an AP. I think I will call one more time to ask which value of the ticket gets applied to the AP (i.e. the full value or only the discounted value). Hopefully it's the full value so I can save some money. Otherwise, I'm not going to even bother with it since it'll only create more problems than not. I'll keep you guys posted

Good idea to keep calling with different variations of the question to make sure you get the same answers! And just be prepared to have to repeat the whole song and dance again when you get to the ticket booth to actually do the swap - because those ticket booth seem to be tough nuts to crack!!

Originally Posted by PHXscuba

Super Tuesday bump!!

Just for you, Sherry


PHXscuba,
... waiting out the AZ heat for a one-day DL visit in a month!

Thanks for the Tuesday bump, PHXscuba! I noticed that this thread was hovering ominously close to the bottom of Page One when I was on here earlier.

We are 12 weeks - 3 months - away from the beginning of the HalloweenTime start date. And in 4 weeks or less, we will have the full HalloweenTime schedule/agenda/list of attractions & highlights, and the MHP tickets will go on sale to the public. We're getting closer, everybody!!

So I imagine this means that this thread - if all goes well - should be hoppin' with DLR HalloweenTime visitors until September (assuming people still have questions and need info). Then, as soon as HalloweenTime begins, we will start to get new photo contributions to this thread, which will be exciting.

Now...I have to start really figuring out what I'm going to do for HalloweenTime - September or October? MHP or no MHP? Hotel stay or one-day trip?

PHXscuba - you and I are both in desert states, but, of course, Arizona is much hotter on a regular basis than California, I would guess. Does Arizona start to see really high, intense heat in June, when summer begins, or is it more like California where we often times get what I call a 'delayed summer,' and the temperatures don't start to get really crazy hot until August, September and even October sometimes?

[Sherry E]

Time for a bump!

[PHXscuba]

Sherry, anything from mid-May on is hot and hotter. No "June gloomies" for us! We got lucky that it was late hitting 100 this year -- it waited all the way until May 21 this year but can happen as early as the end of March!

Here's the forecast for the next five days: 108, 111, 109, 105, 105.

The heat tapers off a little bit when the monsoon weather begins and we get some humidity, but it will still be over 100 until the end of September. My birthday is the last week of September and it's been over 100 most of the 12 years we've lived here. We often go out of town in mid-October and it's still hot when we leave!

I suppose you understand why much of Arizona is in California in June and July ... Fall is now my favorite season and what I am surviving for!

PHXscuba