HalloweenTime at DLR Info and Photo Superthread #3

[Lucrezia]

Went to Walgreens & one other store today... lots of Halloween / fall stuff out already! I saw a ton of festive decor and seasonal candy at both. Yay! The holidays can't get here fast enough...

 

[DharmaLou]

By the way, thank you for posting that info about the merchandise and treats on 9/13 above. I was especially intrigued by the "Pumpkin Fritters with Apple Cider Caramel Custard Dipping Sauce." I'm not a big pumpkin flavor person -- I like the look of pumpkins and the smell of pumpkin pie more than I like the taste, but for some reason those fritters sound delicious!

Oh man, those sound AWESOME! Too bad we'll be there on October 13th, not September 13th!

 

[Susie63]

I picked up our little goodies for DD to hand out to little ones who aren't having a magical time. Flashing pumpkins and little credit card sized Halloween doodle pads with a marker. I love the dollar store. Major sewing weekend. Less than 3 weeks to go

 

[Goofy_Mom]

I searched Netflix for that Thriller TV show mentioned a couple pages back. There are two versions. The older one is hosted by Boris Karloff and it is dated 1960, apparently William Shatner was not a big TV star at the time as it lists him as "soon-to-be star". They describe it as "began as an anthology of crime dramas and mysteries but later morphed into chilling tales of the supernatural and gothic horror"

The second one started in 1973 taking cues from "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" and "The Twight Zone" is packed with stars like Donna Mills, Bob Hoskins, Helen Mirren, Hayley Mills and Stephen Rea.

Netflix only has one season of the later series, not sure if there is more than one. Its not streaming for either series. I've added the newer one to my queue.

 

[Sherry E]

figment_jii --

Great write-up/breakdown of the differences between MNSSHP and the MHP! Thank you for posting it here. I'm sure it will be a lot of help.

Went to Walgreens & one other store today... lots of Halloween / fall stuff out already! I saw a ton of festive decor and seasonal candy at both. Yay! The holidays can't get here fast enough...

Lucrezia --

Well, you know my opinion on that! I agree! It's been anywhere from 95 - 100 degrees here, with some humidity, every day for a while. It finally 'dropped' to something like 91 degrees and still feels miserable. It's not even cool at night where I am. We've been well above average. Next week it is supposed to drop to somewhere around 81 degrees (below average) in the first few days. I'm not sure about the temperature on 9/13 but it had better be reasonable! It's way too hot for almost-Fall!

Oh man, those sound AWESOME! Too bad we'll be there on October 13th, not September 13th!

DharmaLou --

As I was looking over that list that pudinhd posted earlier I realized that some of those items are usually available through the entire Halloween Time season. I am thinking (guessing? hoping?) that those treats are just being given some catchy names and possibly different packaging for 9/13, but will still be available all season long in their usual forms.

I picked up our little goodies for DD to hand out to little ones who aren't having a magical time. Flashing pumpkins and little credit card sized Halloween doodle pads with a marker. I love the dollar store. Major sewing weekend. Less than 3 weeks to go

Susie63 --

What a great idea! The kids will love those.

The dollar store is great for so many things, isn't it? There is a 99 Cents Only store near where I am and it is great! It has so much good stuff in it -- not only things that people would expect like unknown brands and banged up packages, but well-known brands, fruits and vegetables, etc. Every now and then they even have good dinnerware or mugs and things in stock. Plus, for every significant holiday they sell the little knick knacks such as you described. It is really a treasure trove of wonderful discoveries -- the only problem I have with the store is that it is always so crowded and the aisles are packed with people.

I searched Netflix for that Thriller TV show mentioned a couple pages back. There are two versions. The older one is hosted by Boris Karloff and it is dated 1960, apparently William Shatner was not a big TV star at the time as it lists him as "soon-to-be star". They describe it as "began as an anthology of crime dramas and mysteries but later morphed into chilling tales of the supernatural and gothic horror"

The second one started in 1973 taking cues from "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" and "The Twight Zone" is packed with stars like Donna Mills, Bob Hoskins, Helen Mirren, Hayley Mills and Stephen Rea.

Netflix only has one season of the later series, not sure if there is more than one. Its not streaming for either series. I've added the newer one to my queue.

Goofy_Mom --

You know, I finally saw one episode of "Thriller" the other night (from 1960, and in black & white). It airs in the wee hours every day on MEtv, usually somewhere around when "Night Gallery" airs.

I won't judge an entire series on just one episode, but the one episode I saw of "Thriller" was boring and annoying. There was an annoying kid running around getting into mischief, his annoying father and the mom who was trying to reason with both of them.

Part of the problem with the show is that it is one hour. It dragged on too long in that one hour. Too much talking and too many slow scenes, and then too many scenes with the precocious son.

The reason why "Twilight Zone" and "Night Gallery" worked so well is that Rod Serling's storytelling abilities fit nicely into a 30-minute time slot, and there was even room for the inevitable twist at the end of every episode to wrap things up and leave us surprised. Nothing ever dragged for too long. There were some one-hour "Twilight Zone" episodes (like the one in the wax museum, for example) and those did seem a bit slower as well.

That was always the problem I had with "Outer Limits" and "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" too - they were one hour, and if the plot of the episode was not totally enthralling it dragged.

So I will give "Thriller" another chance if I find an episode that has a plot I am interested in, but the one I saw was not enough to lure me in. I think I might like the 1973 version of the shoe a bit better.

The "Night Gallery" movie (upon which the TV series was ultimately based), which starred Roddy McDowell and Joan Crawford (and her segment was directed by Steven Spielberg, if I recall correctly), was great. I highly recommend that if you haven't seen it. There was a creepy story about a painting that kept changing every time Roddy McDowall looked at it. I love storylines in which things come to life that shouldn't come to life, such as paintings, statues, dolls, wax figures, mannequins, puppets, etc.!!

 

[I❤MICKEY]

Every year there are a few people who ask about the differences between Disneyland's Mickey's Halloween Party (MHP) and Disney World's Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party (MNSSHP). I was lucky enough to go to both parties in 2011 and 2012 and posted a short comparison between the two. Everything is subjective, of course, but I tried to provide mostly information and keep the opinion to a minimum goodvibes).

While some of the elements between the two parties are fairly similar, to me the parties felt very different. Both were a lot of fun and I can't wait to go again (to both, alas it'll probably be in 2014 instead of 2013).

Parade: As many have said, WDW's Boo-To-You parade is much more elaborate than DLR's Cavalcade. Prior to the WDW parade, the Headless Horseman rides the parade route. It's really cool! I love the Haunted Mansion sequence in Boo-To-You (the dancers with the shovels are amazing). The DLR cavalcade is cute, with lots of characters in costume and some floats.
WDW's MNSSHP

DLR's MHP

Fireworks: In this case, both shows are really good. DLR's Halloween Screams has Zero flying (in place of Tinkerbell or Dumbo), but he's really neat. Jack Skellington is the host, so if you're a Nightmare fan, that should be a treat. I don't think anyone flies during WDW's HalloWishes, but they make really cool use of the castle and "surround fireworks". Some of the music is the same between the two shows.
WDW's MNSSHP

DLR's MHP

Trick-or-Treating: WDW has treat stations with one or two big treat trail. DLR has almost entirely treat trails (multiple treat stations along the path). In both cases, the trick-or-treating is pretty popular first thing at the party and tends to be more manageable by the second half. The treats themselves seemed pretty similar.
DLR's MHP

Dance Parties: WDW and DLR both have character dance parties, which can be fun if you like to do that. I think they're nearly in the same places: Tomorrowland and Frontierland.

Castle Forecourt Show: WDW has a Villains Mix n Mingle show on the castle forecourt stage. Afterwards the villains come down and do photo ops with guests. It's a great chance to get photos with Maleficent, Jafar, and other villains. DLR doesn't have anything quite like this, although I did see some villains at the character meet and greets near Small World or the Main Street Hub.
WDW's MNSSHP

Character Meet and Greets: Both parties have a lot of character meet and greets. You'll find some "rare" characters out and about. The most popular characters at WDW seem to be the Seven Dwarves, Jack Sparrow, and (this year, most likely) Jack Skellington and Sally. Both Jack Sparrow and Jack and Sally are out at DLR's as well. I have to say that Jack Sparrow has a much cooler location at DLR; in front of the Columbia with the "fog" coming off of the Rivers of America.
The Columbia at DLR:

Rides: At both parks, most of the big rides are open during the party. The lines are generally not walk on at either party. DLR has Haunted Mansion Holiday and Space Mountain Ghost Galaxy. Both are the same during the day time. None of the rides at WDW have a Halloween overlay, however, the CMs at the Haunted Mansion often enhance their costumes for the party hours.

Food: In both parks not all of the food venues remain open during the party. If you want to eat, I'd grab dinner before the party starts! Be sure to check out any special Halloween-themed items. The popular Jack Skellington coffin was available at both WDW and DLR.
DLR

Other Atmosphere: There is a lot of Halloween-inspired atmosphere at both parks during the party. At DLR there are the Cadaver Dan's that perform on the Rivers of America and ghostly projects on the ground and buildings (including Small World). Over at WDW there is a ghostly Southern Belle in front oft he Haunted Mansion, along with projections on the ground and buildings.
DLR's MHP

Guests: At both parties you'll find a mixture of costumed and non-costumed guests. It's a good enough mix that you won't feel out of place either way!

[Opinion: Overall, I liked both parties. WDW's party was much "bigger" in some ways (e.g., parade), but DLR's party was also very well done.]

This is a link to Allears website for DLR's Mickey's Halloween Party:http://allears.net/dlr/tp/dl/mhp.htm

And the link to Allears website for WDW's MNSSHP: http://allears.net/tp/mk/mnssh.htm

Thank you for sharing. We attended DL MHP last year and will be in WDW for MNSSHP this year so I really appreciated the comparison.

Now in just hoping my boys will be able to stay awake. Hoping the time difference works to our advantage in Florida.

 

[Goofy_Mom]

Goofy_Mom --

You know, I finally saw one episode of "Thriller" the other night (from 1960, and in black & white). It airs in the wee hours every day on MEtv, usually somewhere around when "Night Gallery" airs.

I won't judge an entire series on just one episode, but the one episode I saw of "Thriller" was boring and annoying. There was an annoying kid running around getting into mischief, his annoying father and the mom who was trying to reason with both of them.

Part of the problem with the show is that it is one hour. It dragged on too long in that one hour. Too much talking and too many slow scenes, and then too many scenes with the precocious son.

The reason why "Twilight Zone" and "Night Gallery" worked so well is that Rod Serling's storytelling abilities fit nicely into a 30-minute time slot, and there was even room for the inevitable twist at the end of every episode to wrap things up and leave us surprised. Nothing ever dragged for too long. There were some one-hour "Twilight Zone" episodes (like the one in the wax museum, for example) and those did seem a bit slower as well.

That was always the problem I had with "Outer Limits" and "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" too - they were one hour, and if the plot of the episode was not totally enthralling it dragged.

So I will give "Thriller" another chance if I find an episode that has a plot I am interested in, but the one I saw was not enough to lure me in. I think I might like the 1973 version of the shoe a bit better.

The "Night Gallery" movie (upon which the TV series was ultimately based), which starred Roddy McDowell and Joan Crawford (and her segment was directed by Steven Spielberg, if I recall correctly), was great. I highly recommend that if you haven't seen it. There was a creepy story about a painting that kept changing every time Roddy McDowall looked at it. I love storylines in which things come to life that shouldn't come to life, such as paintings, statues, dolls, wax figures, mannequins, puppets, etc.!!

I didn't see "Night Gallery" in the "might me interested" section that pops up after you put a DVD in the queue, I'll have to look it up. I did, however, see that there are a couple newer "Twilight Zones" dated the 80's and 2002. It seems that the most popular ones were re-done with "current" stars. Those aren't streaming either, I may have to add those. My queue is 14 discs deep right now. In between my Netflix arrivals, I have to watch my Halloween season movies. And somehow I have to take care of my family lol

 

[Sherry E]

I didn't see "Night Gallery" in the "might me interested" section that pops up after you put a DVD in the queue, I'll have to look it up. I did, however, see that there are a couple newer "Twilight Zones" dated the 80's and 2002. It seems that the most popular ones were re-done with "current" stars. Those aren't streaming either, I may have to add those. My queue is 14 discs deep right now. In between my Netflix arrivals, I have to watch my Halloween season movies. And somehow I have to take care of my family lol

Goofy_Mom --

Take care of your family? When Halloween is a-comin'? No way! Just kidding, of course!

I will say that I am usually not a big black & white TV show or movie person, but the old Twilight Zone is much, much, much better than the TZ from the '80s and beyond. The newer episodes don't even compare. The two William Shatner episodes of TZ -- with the creepy fortune telling machine and the one on the plane, where he keeps seeing the monster on the wing -- are reason enough why the old Twilight Zone far surpasses the newer version. Then there is Talky Tina (or is it Talking Tina?) -- the killer doll. And the episode where the plane breaks the sound barrier and ends up going back in time... There are so, so, so many great episodes of the old TZ -- I cannot even remember one great episode of the newer TZ.

Night Gallery was late '60s/early '70s cheesy outfits and hair, and spooky goodness! There was a hideous evil doll... a giant squeaking spider... a nasty witch (Aunt Ada)... a voodoo doll... a Druid statue that came to life to torment Bill Bixby... all kinds of terrible things in that series.

The Night Gallery movie preceded the series and one of the stories was about Roddy McDowall's character, who owns/inherits this painting. Every time he looks at the painting something in it has changed, and soon he sees an eerie figure in the painting (like a figure of death) walking up to a door -- which is HIS door, in his house!! And then he hears a knock!

 

[Pinup Mommy]

Halloween has UN-officially started, I was at the resort earlier today and here are a few pictures

They have Halloween merchandise in all the shops, and themed Minnie Mouse ears.

I really wish I was able to take more photos, but my husband does Disney commando and DD was a little cranky since it was HOT !!!!!

Can't wait till Friday the 13th

 

[pudinhd]

Halloween has UN-officially started, I was at the resort earlier today and here are a few pictures

Can't wait till Friday the 13th

Yay!!! Thanks for sharing the pictures!! I can't wait until Friday, either!!

 

[Kiwigirls]

Halloween has UN-officially started, I was at the resort earlier today and here are a few pictures

They have Halloween merchandise in all the shops, and themed Minnie Mouse ears.

I really wish I was able to take more photos, but my husband does Disney commando and DD was a little cranky since it was HOT !!!!!

Can't wait till Friday the 13th

Thanks for the pictures Pinup Mommy! Love the Mickey & Minnie figures!!! Getting so excited for this trip.

 

[Kilala]

Halloween has UN-officially started, I was at the resort earlier today and here are a few pictures

They have Halloween merchandise in all the shops, and themed Minnie Mouse ears.

I really wish I was able to take more photos, but my husband does Disney commando and DD was a little cranky since it was HOT !!!!!

Can't wait till Friday the 13th

Nice pictures. This makes me more excited for MHP!!!!

 

[Sherry E]

I just want to be sure that everyone knows (in case this is your first time visiting Disneyland for the Halloween Time season) that the first photo above that Pinup Mommy posted (of Mickey, Minnie and Donald with the pumpkins)^^^ is actually not in the parks anywhere. It is located only along the tram path, and it will be on your right-hand side if you're heading to the parks from the Mickey & Friends parking lot, or on your left hand side on the way back. There are also little ghost figures along the tram path.

This tram path display is one of the most annoying things to me -- annoying because it is soooo cute, and yet it is hard to get a shot of it when you're traveling in the tram. You have to have your camera aimed and ready to go as you are passing the display, and if you don't know where exactly along the path it is you can miss it (which is why you so rarely see any photos of it). Also, if you are not taking the tram for any reason you will miss the display. I really think that the Halloween tram path display should be moved to one of the parks where more people can enjoy it.

There are some DIS'ers who have managed to successfully get photos of this tram display and also of the little ghosts on the side of the path, but it is tricky. One person suggested that you could go up to one of the levels of the Mickey & Friends lot and try to get photos of at least the Mickey/Minnie/Donald part of the display from above.


Anyway, thanks, Pinup Mommy, for the report and sneak peek pictures! I think that the turnstile character pumpkins will be up by tomorrow or Tuesday, and the giant Mickey pumpkin in Town Square will probably be up by Thursday.

I'll be there all day on 9/13, on a mad photo spree!

P.S. I cannot WAIT to try one of the gingerbread zombies!!!!!!

 

[Pinup Mommy]

I just want to be sure that everyone knows (in case this is your first time visiting Disneyland for the Halloween Time season) that the first photo above that Pinup Mommy posted (of Mickey, Minnie and Donald with the pumpkins)^^^ is actually not in the parks anywhere. It is located only along the tram path, and it will be on your right-hand side if you're heading to the parks from the Mickey & Friends parking lot, or on your left hand side on the way back. There are also little ghost figures along the tram path.

This tram path display is one of the most annoying things to me -- annoying because it is soooo cute, and yet it it is hard to get a shot of it when you're traveling in the tram. You have to have your camera aimed and ready to go as you are passing the display, and if you don't know where exactly along the path it is you can miss it (which is why you so rarely see any photos of it). Also, if you are not taking the tram for any reason you will miss the display. I really think that the Halloween tram path display should be moved to one of the parks where more people can enjoy it.

There are some DIS'ers who have managed to successfully get photos of this tram display and also of the little ghosts on the side of the path, but it is tricky. One person suggested that you could go up to one of the levels of the Mickey & Friends lot and try to get photos of at least the Mickey/Minnie/Donald part of the display from above.

Anyway, thanks, Pinup Mommy, for the report and sneak peek pictures! I think that the turnstile character pumpkins will be up by tomorrow or Tuesday, and the giant Mickey pumpkin in Town Square will probably be up by Thursday.

I'll be there all day on 9/13, on a mad photo spree!

P.S. I cannot WAIT to try one of the gingerbread zombies!!!!!!

I was surprised and excited to see the "tram decor", I snapped the picture with my phone that is why it a bit blurry , I also had a picture of the ghosts but I accidentally deleted why uploading on to Instagram... UGH!

I will be there on Friday too, if you see a gal dresses like it is still Dapper Day it maybe me... Lol

 

[Sherry E]

I was surprised and excited to see the "tram decor", I snapped the picture with my phone that is why it a bit blurry , I also had a picture of the ghosts but I accidentally deleted why uploading on to Instagram... UGH!

I will be there on Friday too, if you see a gal dresses like it is still Dapper Day it maybe me... Lol

Pinup Mommy --

I haven't even attempted to get a shot of any part of that display -- neither the ghosts nor Mickey/Minnie/Donald -- because, even though I have the advantage of knowing that it is coming up (unlike people who are experiencing their very first Halloween Time tram ride), I can never seem to get my camera poised and ready to snap when I pass it, and the tram doesn't seem to be going slowly enough. I know that my sad attempts would turn into a blurry mess.

The other thing that is key is to try to make sure to sit on the side of the tram that will pass the display, depending on whether you are coming from or heading to Mickey & Friends, and sit all the way at the end of the row (with no one blocking the view). That is not easy to pull off, so my hat is off to anyone who tries to get those shots!

I wish that Disney would just move that darn tram display into one of the parks. There has to be somewhere they can put it so that more people can see it and get photos. I feel like it is going to waste where it is now -- and it makes no sense, because they don't have a display along the tram path for the holiday season, from what I recall. Why have one there for Halloween Time and not the holidays?

Disney should also take all of the smaller candy corn pieces that used to be part of Candy Corn Acres in DCA (back in the old days) and plop them along the tram path (where the little ghosts are now). They used to hang from the Golden Gate Bridge, from the palm trees and from the various bushes in the area. Just stick the candy corn in the foliage so it looks like it is growing along the tram route.

I totally forgot about Dapper Day! I keep overlooking the fact that September has a whole first half to it that is not part of Halloween Time (even though decorations are up and merchandise is out). I only think of Halloween when I think of September at DLR now!

I guess it's kind of like how people view the holiday season (in or out of DLR) -- even if certain holidays don't start until specific dates, and even if DLR's holiday season doesn't begin until a certain date, the fact that the merchandise is out early, many of the decorations are up early, and some of the treats are even sold early throws everything off and makes it seem like the season is starting even earlier than the official season start date! (Not that I mind at all -- I love it!)

To that end, I see pictures of Halloween things up and out way in advance of when Halloween Time is starting (merchandise began to appear in DLR shops last month, I think) and it seems like it's already Halloween Time. So I lose sight of anything else happening in September!

 

[abent]

I ordered out party tickets a few hours ago for Oct. 15th. I feel so excited and lucky to be able to take my girls (daughter and grand daughters) trick or treating at Disneyland!!
Can someone remind me of the seasonal treats to look forward to? I haven't been at Halloween in a couple years!

 

[Sherry E]

I ordered out party tickets a few hours ago for Oct. 15th. I feel so excited and lucky to be able to take my girls (daughter and grand daughters) trick or treating at Disneyland!!
Can someone remind me of the seasonal treats to look forward to? I haven't been at Halloween in a couple years!

abent -

Yay! You'll have a great time. Trick or treating in Disneyland is so much fun!

Here is a post - http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=48562092&postcount=1327 - that will help remind you of the wonderful treats. Between Disney's blog, the Unplugged blog and the Disney Food Blog you can get a great overview of Halloween Time goodies. We talked about treats on last year's Unplugged Call-In show too.

I find that certain things return every year -- the gingerbread men with mouse ears (this year there will also be gingerbread zombies); the pumpkin raisin muffin with the pumpkin Mickey on top; assorted Halloween Time apples; pumpkin beignets, pumpkin fudge, a demitasse dessert in a pumpkin character mug, etc.

 

[Diszona]

Just something I wanted to mention for anyone wanting to go to the MHP on the 4th. Even though it says sold out on the website, if you call the Reservation and Tickets line there may still be a few available (at least there were some last week). I had called just to see if there was a chance some may come available later (the 4th is the only night we can go so I couldn't just pick another night) and to my surprise they said there were still a few available. I don't know if any are still left for that date but I thought others might want to know when other nights are sold out.

 

[Lucrezia]

Trent's little sister's friend is going to be at one of the MHPs we're going to! I just got this picture of her costume and I think its so adorable.

 

[Cheshirecatty]

Just something I wanted to mention for anyone wanting to go to the MHP on the 4th. Even though it says sold out on the website, if you call the Reservation and Tickets line there may still be a few available (at least there were some last week). I had called just to see if there was a chance some may come available later (the 4th is the only night we can go so I couldn't just pick another night) and to my surprise they said there were still a few available. I don't know if any are still left for that date but I thought others might want to know when other nights are sold out.

This doesn't surprise me in the least--thanks for posting.