HalloweenTime at DLR Superthread- 9/14-10/31; Mickey's Halloween Party starts 9/28!

[spiderdust]

Oh, I'll have to pick up one of the shot glasses for my (also non-drinking) shot glass collecting sister!

 

[isisisme]

Do the parks have Halloween themed souvenir mugs (other than the ones you get with the demitasse desserts) in October like the winter themed ones you can find in December?

Last year there was a Halloween/Villans travel mug as well as a NBC travel mug by the HMH. Lucky for me, the NBC mug looks to be same since someone "borrowed" mine at my work and forgot it should be returned.

 

[Diznygrl]

I"m back from the mouse, and here's my thoughts on the MHP on Sept 30th. First off throw out the MHP TOT map. Use it as a general guide line, but that's about it. We only made it through 2 lands, and ended up with over 25+lbs of Halloween candy between the 4 of us. There were alot of TOT stations that were not on the map. IMHO there was at least double to triple the amount of TOT stations than last year. Alot more decorations, Mickey Ghosts in the different lands, and more entertainment in general. No more Girradelli chocolates, and Criasins, but sm boxes of raisins, fruit gummies, as well as the usual healthy snacks of carrots and apple slices, but the healthy snacks were in the minority unless you asked for them. Liked the Halloween shirt alot better than last year. And had a great time at the mouse. The kids loved seeing DL in it's Halloween time glory, although they are ready to get me for putting them on the HM ride (they hated it, but not as bad as the normal HM without the Nightmare Before Christmas overlay). Have a great day everyone!

Say it ain't so. If no Ghiradelli, do they at least have some other kind of sponsored premium candy station? I hear WDW's party has a Werther's Original station this year with some kind of new yummy caramel filled chocolate.

 

[mysteriouspnai]

I"m back from the mouse, and here's my thoughts on the MHP on Sept 30th. First off throw out the MHP TOT map. Use it as a general guide line, but that's about it. We only made it through 2 lands, and ended up with over 25+lbs of Halloween candy between the 4 of us. There were alot of TOT stations that were not on the map. IMHO there was at least double to triple the amount of TOT stations than last year. Alot more decorations, Mickey Ghosts in the different lands, and more entertainment in general. No more Girradelli chocolates, and Criasins, but sm boxes of raisins, fruit gummies, as well as the usual healthy snacks of carrots and apple slices, but the healthy snacks were in the minority unless you asked for them. Liked the Halloween shirt alot better than last year. And had a great time at the mouse. The kids loved seeing DL in it's Halloween time glory, although they are ready to get me for putting them on the HM ride (they hated it, but not as bad as the normal HM without the Nightmare Before Christmas overlay). Have a great day everyone!

I confirm there were no Ghirardelli chocolates this year. However, there definitely were Craisins

 

[StyledSugar]

We are going to the party on the 31st as well.

Yay!! We'll be a group of 4 adults and 2 children all wearing matching t-shirts and some sort of Mickey-type hat/eats. lol I'm sure there won't be anyone like that!

 

[b1gr3dmachin3]

Hi everyone! I haven't been to Disneyland during halloween for a long time, but I will be going this year 10/28-10/31. I am super excited and just have a few questions!

I don't plan on attending mickey's halloween party and last time I was there during halloween it was held in DCA. However, I heard it is being held in DL now? If so, I guess that means DL would close early on halloween night? What time?

I may be getting an annual pass, is there is a discount for MHP for halloween night with an AP?

Also, I've never attended MHP and just assumed it was for little kids to trick or treat and no one in my family is under 15. Is there anything else to do for MHP that would appeal to an older audience?

Thanks!!

 

[StyledSugar]

Hi everyone! I haven't been to Disneyland during halloween for a long time, but I will be going this year 10/28-10/31. I am super excited and just have a few questions!

I don't plan on attending mickey's halloween party and last time I was there during halloween it was held in DCA. However, I heard it is being held in DL now? If so, I guess that means DL would close early on halloween night? What time?

I may be getting an annual pass, is there is a discount for MHP for halloween night with an AP?

Also, I've never attended MHP and just assumed it was for little kids to trick or treat and no one in my family is under 15. Is there anything else to do for MHP that would appeal to an older audience?

Thanks!!

The party starts at 6pm on Halloween so yes, the park closes early that night.

I've never been to the party but in my opinion......it's Disneyland, so it's fun for all ages!! Plus I don't think you need to be under 15 to enjoy all of the candy given out! At least we sure don't.

We'll be at the party that night and can't wait!! Have fun, whatever you decide to do!

 

[SueTGGR]

Hi everyone! I haven't been to Disneyland during halloween for a long time, but I will be going this year 10/28-10/31. I am super excited and just have a few questions!
I don't plan on attending mickey's halloween party and last time I was there during halloween it was held in DCA. However, I heard it is being held in DL now? If so, I guess that means DL would close early on halloween night? What time?
I may be getting an annual pass, is there is a discount for MHP for halloween night with an AP?
Also, I've never attended MHP and just assumed it was for little kids to trick or treat and no one in my family is under 15. Is there anything else to do for MHP that would appeal to an older audience?

Thanks!!

I have to tell you that I had attended the party in both and I think especially since the construction has taken over DCA, I am happy they moved it over. But I REALLY want to see then put it back and make sure they return Candy Corn Acres! But I think there is more room for the party in DL.
I think there are only certain days the AP has discounts but I'm sure someone else can verify. We skipped AP's this year.
I think if you can swing it, the party is worth it. I think I was secretly jealous of my little ones getting all the fun with trick or treating. I liked that part of being a kid and trick or treating. Last year, we took a backpack and ended up with 15lbs of good candy between the 3 of us. Check out pictures on the first page. Look through some of the groups that dressed, I know they had fun. You can dress up or you can not dress up. I can tell you the CM and characters will play along if you do dress up. So the little ones enjoy it but I think us big kids enjoy it that much more!
Go at least once!
Later,
Sue

 

[nik76]

Back from MHP.

Fireworks were spectacular, SO MUCH CANDY, Craisins, fresh apple slices, raisins, carrots, and dehydrated apples.

It's easier to wander than to rely on the map for anything. We had moments with Cruella, Duffy, Goofy, Mary Poppins, Bert, Phineas, Ferb, Perry, Jessie, Woody, and Storm Troopers.

I'd say we came back to the hotel with about 25 lbs of candy. And that's with doing some rides and character meets and seeing the fireworks (including holding a seat for 35 mins)

As for the 6 Day Hopper into the 8 Day, we just went to the ticket booth on day 3 and said we heard you can make add a 7th day for $5 and they give you the 8th day free. They said that actually Day 7 & 8 are $5 together.

Night evveryone! Magic morning tomorrow!

 

[tksbaskets]

Back from MHP.

Fireworks were spectacular, SO MUCH CANDY, Craisins, fresh apple slices, raisins, carrots, and dehydrated apples.

It's easier to wander than to rely on the map for anything. We had moments with Cruella, Duffy, Goofy, Mary Poppins, Bert, Phineas, Ferb, Perry, Jessie, Woody, and Storm Troopers.

I'd say we came back to the hotel with about 25 lbs of candy. And that's with doing some rides and character meets and seeing the fireworks (including holding a seat for 35 mins)

As for the 6 Day Hopper into the 8 Day, we just went to the ticket booth on day 3 and said we heard you can make add a 7th day for $5 and they give you the 8th day free. They said that actually Day 7 & 8 are $5 together.

Night everyone! Magic morning tomorrow!

Sounds like a great evening! Thanks for sharing

 

[AnnieDroid]

*GCA cards are priceless. My son had a brain injury a couple of years ago on a bunkbead ladder. He gets very impatient and distracting to put it mildly. My nephew is "On the Spectrum" and is pretty much the same, but more so. Our pediatrician told us to just go to City Hall, explain the kids do not do well in lines, etc. Both kids qualified fore CGA "alternate entrance" passes. What that means is that on rides that have them, we usually go through the Fast Pass Line, or otherwise the exits. I felt guilty at first passing everyone in line by, but I know that if you had me next to you with my son for those 30 minutes you were in line, you would be begging me to go ahead.

That's really great that you were able to get those and that they worked so well for you. I'm glad I read this. I will have to look into these for a friend of mine who has a disability, as I didn't even know these existed! It might make our future trips to the land much easier.

 

[Sherry E]

I was at the MHP last night (with Liza/funatdisney, and we met up with Jessica/Belle Ella and Paula/smile4stamps).

While the tiny bag they give you for collecting candy cannot handle all the candy IF you stop at every treat station, the candy I acquired filled up exactly half of (no more than that) the big bag I bought (and everyone was walking around with bags they bought because the free ones were just too small).

We went to every treat station (unless somehow we missed something, but I doubt it because we walked all over, to every land). For those who are new to the party, I think that what the map indicates is not every treat station, but, rather, every treat trail. And along each trail there may be multiple stations, like at Innoventions, at the Halloween Round-Up/Big Thunder Ranch, at Pixie Hollow, in the Golden Horseshoe, in the queue for POTC, etc. So if you want to collect that candy, you have to keep a watchful eye on exactly how many stations there might be.

We came home with a lot of candy between the two of us after stopping at every station (and even going through the Big Thunder Ranch stations twice), but I don't think it was close to 25 pounds, realistically (and Liza agreed). If we had gone through each station multiple times, then it could have really added up.

At some of the spots we hit, the CM's only gave us one or two pieces. At other stations, they would attempt to give us a handful of stuff, but the candy would fly out of their hands and onto the ground. I saw that happening for lots of people. Sometimes a CM would grab maybe 3 pieces, and one of them would go flying off somewhere.

Still, it was a lot of candy. Even if it were 5 pounds of candy it would be a lot!

There was NO Ghirardelli of any kind, anywhere. There were also no Hershey's minis this time, like I remember having 3 years ago when I did the party in DCA. There are lots of M&M's, Snickers, Twix, Skittles, Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, Nestle Crunch, and the ever-present Tootsie Rolls and Tootsie Pops.

The fresh apple slices and carrots that are handed out are not at every station. Far from it (at least they were not at every station last night, but maybe it changes from night to night)? In fact, relatively speaking, when you compare all the treat stations I visited to exactly how many bags of apple slices I walked away with, it's not much at all. I think I came home with 6 mini-bags of apple slices and one bag of carrots - that means 6 stations out of all the stations around DL. I visually surveyed every station before I approached and purposely looked for those apple slices, and I made sure to let them know each time that I loved apples so they would hand me a bag.

Make sure you tell them you want the healthy stuff (Liza noticed this as well)! Otherwise, they only gave me candy.

The dried apple crisps, however, seem to be everywhere. I saw those at probably 75% of the stations we stopped at.

If anyone is thinking that by going to the party you will encounter an uncrowded Disneyland...think again! Maybe if it had rained it would have been different, but there were tons of people everywhere. It looked just like it would look on a non-party night, crowd-wise.

 

[specialks]

I was at the MHP last night (with Liza/funatdisney, and we met up with Jessica/Belle Ella and Paula/smile4stamps).

While the tiny bag they give you for collecting candy cannot handle all the candy IF you stop at every treat station, the candy I acquired filled up exactly half of (no more than that) the big bag I bought (and everyone was walking around with bags they bought because the free ones were just too small).

We went to every treat station (unless somehow we missed something, but I doubt it because we walked all over, to every land). For those who are new to the party, I think that what the map indicates is not every treat station, but, rather, every treat trail. And along each trail there may be multiple stations, like at Innoventions, at the Halloween Round-Up/Big Thunder Ranch, at Pixie Hollow, in the Golden Horseshoe, in the queue for POTC, etc. So if you want to collect that candy, you have to keep a watchful eye on exactly how many stations there might be.

We came home with a lot of candy between the two of us after stopping at every station (and even going through the Big Thunder Ranch stations twice), but I don't think it was close 25 pounds, realistically (and Liza agreed). If we had gone through each station multiple times, then it could have really added up.

At some of the spots we hit, the CM's only gave us one or two pieces. At other stations, they would attempt to give us a handful of stuff, but the candy would fly out of their hands and onto the ground. I saw that happening for lots of people. Sometimes a CM would grab maybe 3 pieces, and one of them would go flying off somewhere.

Still, it was a lot of candy. Even if it were 5 pounds of candy it would be a lot!

There was NO Ghirardelli of any kind, anywhere. There were also no Hershey's minis this time, like I remember having 3 years ago when I did the party in DCA. There are lots of M&M's, Snickers, Twix, Skittles, Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, Nestle Crunch, and the ever-present Tootsie Rolls and Tootsie Pops.

The fresh apple slices and carrots that are handed out are not at every station. Far from it (at least they were not at every station last night, but maybe it changes from night to night)? In fact, relatively speaking, when you compare all the treat stations I visited to exactly how many bags of apple slices I walked away with, it's not much at all. I think I came home with 6 mini-bags of apple slices and one bag of carrots - that means 6 stations out of all the stations around DL. I visually surveyed every station before I approached and purposely looked for those apple slices, and I made sure to let them know each time that I loved apples so they would hand me a bag.

Make sure you tell them you want the healthy stuff (Liza noticed this as well)! Otherwise, they only gave me candy.

The dried apple crisps, however, seem to be everywhere. I saw those at probably 75% of the stations we stopped at.

If anyone is thinking that by going to the party you will encounter an uncrowded Disneyland...think again! Maybe if it had rained it would have been different, but there were tons of people everywhere. It looked just like it would look on a non-party night, crowd-wise.

Thanks for the report Sherry! Sounds like some great brand name candy...I might have to trick or treat along with my kiddos!

When you talk about crowds, was it equivalent to our own experience last Dec (on the 13th I think) crowdwise or not that bad?

 

[Sherry E]

Thanks for the report Sherry! Sounds like some great brand name candy...I might have to trick or treat along with my kiddos!

When you talk about crowds, was it equivalent to our own experience last Dec (on the 13th I think) crowdwise or not that bad?

It was probably not quite as crowded as December 13, I don't think. Then again, it may have been. It's hard to say because people were congregated in specific spots for photos and candy where they may not have otherwise been congregated in December. Some of the treat stations had long, long lines - usually, if you see a tremendously long line (like at the POTC queue, for example), that means there are multiple treat stations along the queue, not just one. The Golden Horseshoe also had a crazy long line, but, again...multiple stations inside the building.

The lines for character photos were long, of course.

It was definitely crowded. So be prepared for that. Then again, this was only the second night of the party. By the time your party date rolls around, maybe some of the novelty will have died down a bit and it won't be as crowded. But there were lots of people milling about in the usual congested walkways and people with strollers running into my ankles in the treat lines and things like that! Just like a normal day at Disneyland!

 

[mysteriouspnai]

Sherry, thanks for the post about MHP! You reminded me of some stops I forgot to mention in my own TR, and naming what kind of candy was there is brilliant. I hope you had a wonderful time, and I definitely agree that it was more crowded than I was expecting. I wonder how many tickets they're allowed to sell for one night...

 

[Sherry E]

Sherry, thanks for the post about MHP! You reminded me of some stops I forgot to mention in my own TR, and naming what kind of candy was there is brilliant. I hope you had a wonderful time, and I definitely agree that it was more crowded than I was expecting. I wonder how many tickets they're allowed to sell for one night...

mysteriouspnai -

I saw your thread earlier this morning (after I posted here). I have been trying to get caught up on 100 things at home and am behind on all my posting and commenting here on the DIS, but I wanted to tell you that your thread is great! The idea to post MHP tips is awesome - and very helpful right at this specific moment, when the party is still early in the season and many people have parties yet to come.

When I get some time, I am going to include a link to your thread on Page 1, Post 1 of this specific thread - probably in the Halloween TR category, though maybe I'll create a category for "Tips" or something and put it there. I'll figure something out. Since the Superthread is a year-round info thread and will be part of the main Info sticky at the top of the page all year long, I think it would be great to have something with party tips in that first information post here, so people can always have easy access to it!

You went to Friday's party and not last night's party, right? I noticed that last night there were treat trails/stations over by Ghost Galaxy. Didn't you say that at your party this was not the case (or maybe I read it too hastily and missed something?) and the treat trails started somewhere else?? I wonder if, perhaps, the CM"s move the treat stations and trails a bit here and there, as they see how the flow of traffic progresses? It seems like it would be easy enough to move the trails and stations (even though it negates the point of the map, of course).

Yes - it was much more crowded for a Monday party than I expected. I guess I would assume that, as the party goes along through the season, the novelty may wear off a bit and the Tuesday parties will be less crowded. I think last night was hoppin' because there are still quite a few schools on break and the party was only in its second night. But, wow! Some of those lines - like at POTC and at the Golden Horseshoe, as well as in Fantasyland - were really long!

Anyway, again - great idea to post Tips! It will be very helpful to many DIS'ers!

 

[AZBeth]

We will be at the Halloween party next Tuesday and think the "free" bags I have seen pictures of stink, they don't even have handles to carry them, they sort of look like movie theather popcorn bags in the photos.

Where do you buy the big bags and do they have handles?

thanks,

Beth

 

[sierranevada]

We will be at the Halloween party next Tuesday and think the "free" bags I have seen pictures of stink, they don't even have handles to carry them, they sort of look like movie theather popcorn bags in the photos.

Where do you buy the big bags and do they have handles?

thanks,

Beth

I was just there and the bags do have handles but they are small. The larger totes that you are seeing photos of can be found in most of the stores - I saw them in Emporium & World of Disney - they are basically reusable grocery bags.

Have a great time!

 

[isisisme]

I am glad you got to go Sherry!!!

I can't wait until the party on Halloween!!

 

[jaydoe]

Well, I am no expert by any means. I wish I lived close enough to be.... BUT, we were at the Halloween Party last year (on a Tuesday). I noticed it does seem pretty busy in certain areas like the candy stations and character meet and greets, but rides didn't seem to have very long lines. Also, I noticed if you wait a little while and do the candy stations later in the evening the lines weren't nearly as bad.... Just my observations of the party. Thought some people would like to hear.

I am heading there next Tuesday and will be going to the party. I will be sure to post my observations for this year!!