Just came back from Halloween party

[Disney Vegas]

And LORD it was so unbelievably crowded! We went there Friday and Saturday. Both parks were busting with people, even the employees were shocked by how many people were there.

It was Gay Day, so I don't know if that's why, but, yeah, we were running, trying to get on the rides before the fast passes were gone....which...I never got to go on Space Mtn, due to the fast passes vanishing and the wait was 1 1/2- 2 hrs long, all day.

After 7pm, it did quiet down a little, but not much.

The party was awesome though. The costumes people wore were amazing, one group was Aurora and her parents (I thought they were park characters), I saw the 3 fairies from Sleeping Beauty, Tron...such creative and expensive costumes.

It baffled me how Friday night, the park was decorated with Halloween stuff all over...the lamps, the tree's etc., then Saturday, those decorations were gone. Every trick or treating station had candy and if you wanted, you could get apple slices or carrots. The bags that they gave out, were very very small, we ended up having to get another one.

Overall, it was a great time, but, due to the massive crowds in both parks, we barely got to do anything we wanted to do. Also, Carsland was packed.

Just make sure, that if you go to the Halloween party, it is not on a day where there is another event...like Gay day or Goth day.

 

[Mary09]

I don't think for the party itself it'll matter if there's another event, because they're all selling out.

Thanks for the report!

 

[theluckyrabbit]

It has been reported that Gay Days brought 30,000 people into the parks! That certainly would explain the overwhelming crowds.

 

[siburdue]

Thanks for the report - I'm glad to hear you had a great time at the party! I'm anticipating large crowds but enjoying people watching and trick or treating

 

[ChrisSD]

The crowds were definitely from Gay Days.

I made the mistake of not searching for non Disney sanctioned events and went on Sunday. What a freaking nightmare. Normal off season Sunday Space Mountain lines would be less than 30 minutes. Not 120. Avoid Goth Day and Gay Days at all costs unless that is your thing and you like Fast Passes for Space Mountain being gone by 11:30am.

 

[Briarrose1306]

Glad to know this was the major cause of the over crowdedness. I'll be there in a little less than two weeks and was worried.

 

[Disney Vegas]

Exactly....that's the same thing that happened to us. We saw the crowds on Sunday, when we were going into Downtown Disney and we all just breathed a sigh of relief that we weren't going into the park

 

[Disney Vegas]

ooooh. I like your Sleeping Beauty profile pic. Hopefully, you won't have the crowds we had. And, I wouldn't be as upset if we were able to go next yr., but as it stands right now, we may not be able to go again for about 3-4 yrs! And that would be just a regular trip, not a Halloween trip...that will be in another 5-6 yrs from now. So, the fact that I didn't get to go on Space Mtn's Ghost Galaxy, anger's me

 

[Stinkerbell's Mommy]

We were in the park Sunday and Monday and did not see anything "disgusting". Yes it was crowed Sunday but Monday (Columbus Day) was much busier. I believe that A LOT of people took advantage of the Gay Day's ticket and hotel deals that were not participating in the convention. Add that to all the states having Fall break and THAT is why people didn't get on Space Mountain.

We started at the parks Friday evening for the party and stayed until late Sunday night. We were there with our DD5 and didn't see a single disrespectful tshirt or innapropriate display from the convention goers. I can't same the same thing about some of the behavior we witnessed by other park attendees.

 

[rowan1813]

We were also there Thurs- Sat and couldn't believe the crowds either!!! We spent most of Saturday in DCA and that wasn't too bad but when we hopped over to DL for some shopping, it was crazy! I think there is a reason I don't go during the summer anymore.

The only shirt that I saw that I consider to be inappropriate was a shirt with a slogan based on the 'Enjoy Coca-Cola' logo and instead it said 'Enjoy ******'. The lady wearing it disappeared into the crowds as soon as I saw her and my mind registered that that was actually what her shirt said, so I wasn't able to report her shirt to a CM.

I too saw the group who was dressed as King Stefan and the Queen and Aurora. They looked so good!!! Did you see the group dressed at the Wicked Witch of the West, her guards, and the flying monkey? That was amazing!! As soon as I am able, I will be uploading the pictures of people's costumes that I managed to catch. I also saw a guy who was dressed as Iron Man and looked like Robert Downey Jr. - pretty awesome.

Also had a very interesting encounter in the lockers during MHP. My friend and I were putting some things away in our locker and retrieving our treat bags. We were in the very last row of lockers along the very back wall, in between a family with little kids and a couple of gentlemen. The gentlemen proceeded to drop trou and change right there. According to my friend who could see more than I could (I was fixing the back of her costume and couldn't see them), the gentlemen weren't wearing underwear that covered very much (front or back), were talking very suggestively, and slapping each other on the behinds. Thankfully we were shielding the little kids next to us, but I just couldn't believe that they were doing that with little kids around and chancing that other little kids would walk in and see that. YMMV of course, but I was a little shocked.

Overall it was a great weekend and I am already planning our costumes for next year. Thinking about doing Hogwarts professors (we're all teachers ) I walked away with 10 lbs of candy alone!!! Must freeze it otherwise I'll end up putting on 200lbs.

 

[bumbershoot]

Please do not forget the fact that this was a holiday weekend!

We were there 3 years ago at the end of Columbus Day weekend and it was a MADHOUSE. Our first park was DCA, and we had APs. As we ENTERED the park, they insisted we get handstamps, because Disneyland had closed to capacity the previous day. I said "but we have APs", because passholders generally don't need handstamps, and she said that we did need them.

This was 3 years ago. The parks did NOT close to capacity this Columbus Day weekend.

It's still a holiday at many CA schools, even if only inside of Fall Break. It brings a ton of people to the parks, even without Gay Days.


We were at the party on the 5th, and didn't find the crowds to be tremendous, except for the Innoventions treat trail and the mystery (not on the map) and completely idiotic monorail treat trail. We had passed by the Matterhorn trail b/c of the crowds, and quickly realized that that line was shorter than the ones we moved on to, LOL. (we left the line for Innoventions b/c it was ridiculous to get a handful of junk candy that we wouldn't even be able to eat anyway!)

I also saw some absolutely disgusting innuendo laced and directly sexual shirts.

Well, the ONLY naughty shirt I saw from 9/29 through yesterday afternoon was worn by a rather straight man (or deeply, deeply closeted to the point of having a wife and kids and seeming to be happy with them), and it was merely a shirt showing his appreciation for University of South Carolina sports teams. Not a naughty word until you remove the word "game" from their team name, and that's what his shirt said.

Also had a very interesting encounter in the lockers during MHP. My friend and I were putting some things away in our locker and retrieving our treat bags. We were in the very last row of lockers along the very back wall, in between a family with little kids and a couple of gentlemen. The gentlemen proceeded to drop trou and change right there.

What's funny is that I was chatting with a lifeguard about weird things people do, and she said that it's amazing how many times she has to request that people NOT change clothes AT the pool. That they do need to go into the restroom to change into/out of their bathing suits. The look on her face as she recalled how often she has to say that to people was hilarious.

 

[rowan1813]

What's funny is that I was chatting with a lifeguard about weird things people do, and she said that it's amazing how many times she has to request that people NOT change clothes AT the pool. That they do need to go into the restroom to change into/out of their bathing suits. The look on her face as she recalled how often she has to say that to people was hilarious.

Oh wow, that's pretty bad. Yeah the bathroom next to Carnation Cafe was filled with ladies changing into costumes and my BFF and I changed there as well so it wasn't like the bathrooms were too far away.

We also did the Monorail treat trail and I kept wondering as we were walking up the ramp, there better be candy up there. We actually liked the Innoventions trail. We went after the 2nd parade and there was hardly a line and towards the end, they were giving out handfuls of candy.

 

[bumbershoot]

We went after the 2nd parade and there was hardly a line and towards the end, they were giving out handfuls of candy.

We were absolute toast by that time, and were back at the room. I think we did 4 trails and that was it. I think I'm done with Halloween parties, having not really enjoyed the WDW one and now this one. I'll miss the good fireworks, but since I experienced those for the first time when they were FREE, it still irks me to have to pay for them.

The Innoventions line when we got there was going to be a very solid hour and probably more When I saw that the line still outside had FIVE switchbacks (indicated by tape on the ground), that's when I said absolutely not. What was a bummer was that that's where Phineas and Ferb were, and the lady behind us said that they didn't want candy, just to meet those characters, and the CMs had told her that she HAD TO wait in the same line. I felt really bad for her.

So we went and met the "stromtroppers" instead. (that's what the map for the party calls the stormtroopers, and I will call them stromtroppers forever in my mind...) And got to see a little girl dressed as Boo ask the troopers if they would please say hello to Darth Vader for her. (so so so so SO cute!)

 

[rowan1813]

We were absolute toast by that time, and were back at the room. I think we did 4 trails and that was it. I think I'm done with Halloween parties, having not really enjoyed the WDW one and now this one. I'll miss the good fireworks, but since I experienced those for the first time when they were FREE, it still irks me to have to pay for them.

The Innoventions line when we got there was going to be a very solid hour and probably more When I saw that the line still outside had FIVE switchbacks (indicated by tape on the ground), that's when I said absolutely not. What was a bummer was that that's where Phineas and Ferb were, and the lady behind us said that they didn't want candy, just to meet those characters, and the CMs had told her that she HAD TO wait in the same line. I felt really bad for her.

So we went and met the "stromtroppers" instead. (that's what the map for the party calls the stormtroopers, and I will call them stromtroppers forever in my mind...) And got to see a little girl dressed as Boo ask the troopers if they would please say hello to Darth Vader for her. (so so so so SO cute!)

Yeah it ticks me off that we have to pay for the fireworks too. I was there the year that the party was still at DCA and the Halloween fireworks were showing at DL and loved them!!!! Oh well, Disney has found a great way to separate people from their money - something they are so good at.

We closed the park down but our feet were definitely hurting by the end of it. The Innovations line sounds ridiculous. By the time we were there, there was no line throughout the whole thing but that was par for the course for all of the treat trails. Sucks for that woman - they should have let her bypass the stations; that would have been easy to do.

We noticed the "stromtroopers" as well. We pondered if it was because Disney was too cheap to pay for the copyright. Awwww, that little girl sounds too cute! I saw a young lady who was dressed as Boo as well and her costume looked awesome! She said she had made the whole thing! I made my friend's and my costumes (Belle and Red from OUAT) but that must have taken skills.

I was just amazed how the costumes and how creative and intricate some people got. That was half the fun of the party for me!

 

[mmlover74]

We were there last night and did Innoventions TOT trail. It was fine and all the CM were very friendly and generous with their candy. We lasted the whole night and my group is still sleeping.

I noticed the Stromtroopers as well when someone posted a copy of the map on here.
SMGG and ST were virtually walk on which was awesome.

Lots of people but I didn't get the overcrowded feeling. The only thing that did not have Disney magic was families not sharing benches for calvacades and fireworks. We are all tired by that point and if we were able to get a bench, we would have shared.

 

[mmlover74]

My son had an awesome time when we posed with the Stromtroopers. He was dressed as Spiderman and shooting them with his web. They played along very well. My son is having a Star Wars bday party and these pictures will add to it.

 

[pikaboo27]

Regarding inappropriate t-shirts, it had nothing to do with Gay Days. I've seen so many completely inappropriate shirts at DL every time we go. I'm talking "Tickle my Elmo" with an arrow, "Support Satan", shirts with swear words on them, etc. I always think to myself, what are these people thinking???

As for inappropriate behavior, we were there this past weekend and saw none. It was crowded but everyone seems to be having a really great time.

 

[kailuagirl]

We saw some pretty bad tshirts as well. Even my husband and BIL were mentioning some and those things they never notice. The worst though was this couple by the Mad Tea Party Friday night, oh boy, they needed a room. I was following another mom and I saw the look on her face and we made a comment to each other about it.

We went to the party on the 5th, it was pretty crowded, lines everywhere, we didn't even get to do half of what we wanted, it was like a mad rush to try to get things done, we avoided treat trails until later when the lines went down and I think just did 2, they were so long, I just couldn't see us waiting. We were there from 3:30 to closing.

 

[Ashansen]

We also were there this past week (Fri to Monday) and yes, it was crowded...but I expected as much.

Sadly, we saw many, many inappropriate shirts. We probably noticed more than most as my 12 year old was asking what alot of them meant....Most of them were intended to be "funny" shirts celebrating gay days, but I kept thinking this was Disneyland. Maybe they thought kids wouldn't get it and the ones that did, well, they were old enough to get it. One even had in HUGE print ****. No mistaking there.

But the WORST was a tattoo on one mom at the park which said "**** Love" right on her neck? Really? There's no covering that up and she had her husband and two young kids with her. We were waiting in the Toy Story line for 45 minutes passing her every 5 minutes! I just don't understand it.

We didn't witness any inappropriate behavior...just shirt's I'd rather not have to read! So I just tried to direct my kids attention elsewhere.

Bottom line...we can't control what others are doing and I guess it's a good time to teach your kids how what they wear can also have a bearing on how they are percieved.

Ashleyh

 

[KalamityJane]

We saw a lot of shirts as well with a bunch of either blatant stuff or sexual innuendo. I was grateful my 4yo couldn't read yet.