2017 DISNEYLAND RESORT HALLOWEEN TIME / MICKEY'S HALLOWEEN PARTY THREAD!

[midnight star]

We asked a vendor last night who had no line and heard they have sold out of Oogie Boogie popcorn holders park-wide. With no more inventory expected until October 7. Ten days. Sold out. And I saw 1 person with 4. Expect to see some on eBay. Wish Disney planned a little better for their merch & had some limits on purchases. Sigh.

Eeekkk Well I'm going on October 13, so hopefully more will be in and I will be able to get one. If I get one cool, if not it's ok. I don't really need it lol, I just want one, they are too cute!

 

[SothrnChic]

Also, you cannot follow the first parade from IaSW to Main Street. They won't let anyone through the area where no one can sit (so basically from Alice to the Alice bathroom) because the area is closed for fireworks prep. So you have to go through Tomorrowland (around the Matterhorn). I think this is probably true for any nighttime parade that happens close to fireworks.

So would you suggest doing this (going around Matterhorn) for the fireworks?? We are going to be there on Oct. 3, but I don't want to waste a lot of my party time waiting on the parade. I had thought about viewing it from It's a Small World, but really want to see the fireworks from the castle with a view of the Orb. My son is a huge Nightmare Before Christmas fan and I know he would love this!! Let me know your thoughts.

 

[twodogs]

An update regarding fireworks...last night I watched them a little further back on Main Street. If you draw a line from Refreshment Corner to the Camera/Photopass Shop, that's about where I was this time. I could clearly see the entire orb (it was just above the tree line). So it looks like being slightly further down Main Street (opposed to being between Plaza and Jolly Holiday), makes a big difference.

Also, you cannot follow the first parade from IaSW to Main Street. They won't let anyone through the area where no one can sit (so basically from Alice to the Alice bathroom) because the area is closed for fireworks prep. So you have to go through Tomorrowland (around the Matterhorn). I think this is probably true for any nighttime parade that happens close to fireworks.

.

That is so weird because we attended the party Friday night, and watched the first parade from right by IASW. We then followed the parade (the dancers had a black rope and then CMs were behind them with a thin white rope) all the way down to the hub. It was hysterical watching Gaston pose for about 10 minutes continuously as the parade advanced towards the castle. We did not detour into Tomorrowland? We were allowed to fill in the area right in front of the VIP seated viewing area there in the hub. Pretty good view of the fireworks with just a few trees blocking the lower right side of the castle projections.

 

[Abbey1]

Mini trip report from last night.

We had an amazing time at the party, and definitely noticed the decrease in crowds from previous parties. I would say last night was the least crowded I have *ever* been to the parks. Lines were incredible short (often non-existant) and even the parade and fireworks viewing from Main Street didn't feel very crowded.

Our party started at 3, so we lined up at the gates around 2:45. We entered right after 3:00 and headed to get fastpasses for Haunted Mansion. After that, we headed to our 3:30 reservation for Cafe Orleans. We finished our meal at 4:20, which worked out perfectly as that was our HM return time. We quickly grabbed FPs for Indiana Jones and went to ride HM. I was very surprised at the lack of crowds during the three hours prior to the party starting. Normally, the park feels very busy during this time, but yesterday it felt like a regular week day, crowds-wise. We were able to do much more than I expected during that time.

After riding Indiana, we grabbed a Jungle Julep in the poison apple stein and sat for a bit waiting for the party to begin, and when it did, we hit the treat trails at RoA and BTMRR trail, none of which had more than a 2 minute line.

We spent the next hour or so in Fantasyland, riding Mr. Toad, Snow White, the Carousel, and Casey Jr, all of which were basically walk-ons, and Peter Pan which had about a 20 minute wait. We noticed that the wait times were consistently shorter than the posted times on the app throughout the night.

We quickly rode Matterhorn with about a 10 minute wait and headed to Main Street to find a parade spot. We found a curbside spot about halfway down Main Street at 7:40. We didn't attend last year's party, so the parade was new for us and we absolutely loved it! This parade has such a fun atmosphere and is just the right amount of spooky, imo. The headless horsemen was fun to watch as well.

After the last float, we headed up Main Street to watch the fireworks, making sure to be on the right side of Main Street to see the orb. This is another time I noticed that the crowds were much less oppressive than in years past. Viewing fireworks from Main Street always feels jam-packed with people, but there was plenty of room between groups last night. We had a good 8-10 feet between us and the group in front of us, which was awesome for my 6 year old. We had a great view of the projections, Zero, the orb etc. This fireworks show is one of my favorites and last night didn't disappoint.

After the fireworks (which were about 10 minutes delayed), my son insisted we ride HMH again, so we headed over to NOS. HMH had a 25 minute wait time posted, but we got through the line into the first room in less than 15 minutes. After the ride, we headed to PotC which was a literal walk-on, but brought about the only negative part of the evening. We ended up getting stuck on this ride for a little over 30 minutes (we were stuck in the jail cell room). My son was getting a bit anxious after the first 20 or so minutes and I was beginning to wonder exactly how we would be escorted off the ride logistally. Luckily, they got the ramp working again, but unhappily, we exited about 5 minutes after the party ended, and my son was unable to do a few more treat trails as we had planned. Not really a big deal though, as we already had filled about half of our bags from the three trails we had hit earlier in the evening.

Overall, I really think the Halloween parties are such a great value, and so much fun. I was a little disappointed that we didn't get a special treat or anything as Annual Passholders, but again, not a big deal. We LOVED the decorations over at DCA, particularly at night. I'll wrap up this mini-report (which ended up a lot less mini than I intended) with a few photos from our trip.

Hope everyone's trips will be/were amazing with lots of happy memories made.

 

[twodogs]

So would you suggest doing this (going around Matterhorn) for the fireworks?? We are going to be there on Oct. 3, but I don't want to waste a lot of my party time waiting on the parade. I had thought about viewing it from It's a Small World, but really want to see the fireworks from the castle with a view of the Orb. My son is a huge Nightmare Before Christmas fan and I know he would love this!! Let me know your thoughts.

This was our first Halloween Party, and we just happened to be up by IASW when the first parade was going to start. We had planned to do rides during the first parade and watching the second parade, but everyone was tired and we had just eaten (big rookie mistake), so no one wanted to ride Space Mountain!! So we wondered over to the parade area right at the start, by IASW. There were roped off areas which we thought were VIP or something, but the CM lifted the rope and told us to go right in (I guess they just roped off to keep walkways open). My kids were only 2-3 people back from the curb, and they were standing behind a stroller, so they had a perfect view. The Headless Horseman came out 2 minutes later, and we were underway! It ended up being a great view and no waiting on a curb for one hour! As I said, we were allowed to walk along behind the parade and get right up near the hub for the fireworks, but it sounds like that changed from Friday night to this week. My daughter is a big NMBC fan too, so seeing the orb was important. We could see it fine, but some of the right lower castle projections were blocked by a tree (orb is at upper left as you are facing castle). Not sure how filled up it would get if you had to detour into Tomorrowland and others could just stand up from the curb near the hub after the parade passed them, and fill in that area. It filled in within seconds of us walking up, so don't blink!

 

[SothrnChic]

That is so weird because we attended the party Friday night, and watched the first parade from right by IASW. We then followed the parade (the dancers had a black rope and then CMs were behind them with a thin white rope) all the way down to the hub. It was hysterical watching Gaston pose for about 10 minutes continuously as the parade advanced towards the castle. We did not detour into Tomorrowland? We were allowed to fill in the area right in front of the VIP seated viewing area there in the hub. Pretty good view of the fireworks with just a few trees blocking the lower right side of the castle projections.

Oh I hope this is true... where did you sit near IASW? Also... how long did you have to wait before the parade??

 

[monorailrabbit]

If they are roaming - will they stop and take pics with you? Still fairly new to DLR vs. WDW and the roaming is both awesome and confusing to me, haha!

 

[grammalisa]

Is Jack Sparrow at the party this year for picture taking?

 

[twodogs]

Oh I hope this is true... where did you sit near IASW? Also... how long did you have to wait before the parade??

We literally walked up about 2 minutes prior to the headless horseman's ride (so about 12 minutes prior to actual parade start time). We were up right by the gate that opens from "backstage" at the very start of the parade route. We stood on the left side of the street as you looked at that gate where all the floats and the horseman came out. We walked out of the gift shop for IASW and turned left. Walked along that walkway to the road and that's where we stood for the parade (parade goes down that road). Hope it works for you!

 

[figment_jii]

If they are roaming - will they stop and take pics with you? Still fairly new to DLR vs. WDW and the roaming is both awesome and confusing to me, haha!

Yes, they will stop to take pictures (and sign autographs, I think), but after they finish with you, they'll wander off to some different location. Basically, they don't want guests to form a line. It's tough on guests with kids who are reluctant to go up to the character, but it also means more interaction and (I think) more people can meet them.

Is Jack Sparrow at the party this year for picture taking?

I did not see him. The Columbia location featured Peter Pan and Wendy or Pirate Mickey and Minnie. I had heard he was meeting guests on TSI during the day (I didn't get over there so I don't know for sure).

 

[Kindermouse]

If they are roaming - will they stop and take pics with you? Still fairly new to DLR vs. WDW and the roaming is both awesome and confusing to me, haha!

A major area where DLR wins over WDW in my opinion. I love that free roaming characters stop, chat and take a couple of pictures before moving on. It feels so much more organic and so much closer to what the commercials are selling us on the Disney Park experience than a 45 minute line for a 30 second interaction and general feeling of being herded like cattle.

Enjoy!

 

[ExcitedMama]

You can definitely get your wristbands without leaving. They are given out at the Starcade in Tomorrowland at the Space Mountain exit. We went around 4 and the line wasn't bad and moved quickly. For some reason the CMs can be confused. I got a lot of wrong or confused answer when I asked about anything related to the party. I was even told I couldn't get my wristband without leaving the park so be careful about any info you get.

We went straight to Toontown and it was a very long wait in the pen. My DH had gone back to the hotel for costumes and said lines were bad and first line he tried wouldn't let him right in but he tried another line and they did. For that reason I don't recommend leaving.

They got right into ToonTown and we were in our second character line. Go in and find what character you want to see before lines get long. They started out short but got long quick. I don't know if it's always the same but Minnie was a candy corn princess and she switched out with Daisy who I think was a witch. Mickey was Zoro and switched out with a wizard Donald.

My DD was sad that right when we were at the front of the line Mickey switched out with Donald. We didn't want to wait in the long line and risk missing him again. If you are coming back during the day Mickey was in his Halloween suit which we've seen during other Halloween times right by the front gates after Lincoln. Line was really short at EMH but we wanted to get to the rides. Luckily he was still there around 2 and we got her picture with him.

Minnie was also there during the afternoon in her matching outfit but I'm not sure about the morning. Cruella walked by to the backstage area so she must be out. Pluto was there but like during the Toontown party he wasn't dressed up.

Don't wait in lines for the ToT. A lot of lines outside of the theater by Toontown & Main St. but the walk in between was deserted. It's the path that looks like rocks, hopefully someone better aquatinted can give the name. It's a great path with no one there and a lot of trails.

We ate dinner during the party at that restaurant on the corner by the water on the way to the mansion. Not many people there around 6 so got a street table. I haven't seen it mentioned but Donald, Goofy and the Chipmunks were on a float which went all the way around the riverbank. My kids swear Mickey was on it too so maybe someone else could confirm which characters. The Cadaver Dans didn't come all the way down so the restaurant wasn't the best view.

On the way out of the restaurant is a great scarecrow. He was funny.

People were lining up 8ish so I grabbed a spot. Again my favorite part turned out to be the castle projections so I'm glad I did. If you are in the front castle part if you are on the red bricks you are required to sit for both the parade and the fireworks which was great! We made sure to be able to see the parade route and had a great view but castle view was better. The trees on the right did block some of Zero circling on the right of the castle but he came from the left so we still saw him.

 

[Linkura]

You can definitely get your wristbands without leaving. They are given out at the Starcade in Tomorrowland at the Space Mountain exit. We went around 4 and the line wasn't bad and moved quickly. For some reason the CMs can be confused. I got a lot of wrong or confused answer when I asked about anything related to the party. I was even told I couldn't get my wristband without leaving the park so be careful about any info you get.

We went straight to Toontown and it was a very long wait in the pen. My DH had gone back to the hotel for costumes and said lines were bad and first line he tried wouldn't let him right in but he tried another line and they did. For that reason I don't recommend leaving.

They got right into ToonTown and we were in our second character line. Go in and find what character you want to see before lines get long. They started out short but got long quick. I don't know if it's always the same but Minnie was a candy corn princess and she switched out with Daisy who I think was a witch. Mickey was Zoro and switched out with a wizard Donald.

My DD was sad that right when we were at the front of the line Mickey switched out with Donald. We didn't want to wait in the long line and risk missing him again. If you are coming back during the day Mickey was in his Halloween suit which we've seen during other Halloween times right by the front gates after Lincoln. Line was really short at EMH but we wanted to get to the rides. Luckily he was still there around 2 and we got her picture with him.

Minnie was also there during the afternoon in her matching outfit but I'm not sure about the morning. Cruella walked by to the backstage area so she must be out. Pluto was there but like during the Toontown party he wasn't dressed up.

Don't wait in lines for the ToT. A lot of lines outside of the theater by Toontown & Main St. but the walk in between was deserted. It's the path that looks like rocks, hopefully someone better aquatinted can give the name. It's a great path with no one there and a lot of trails.

We ate dinner during the party at that restaurant on the corner by the water on the way to the mansion. Not many people there around 6 so got a street table. I haven't seen it mentioned but Donald, Goofy and the Chipmunks were on a float which went all the way around the riverbank. My kids swear Mickey was on it too so maybe someone else could confirm which characters. The Cadaver Dans didn't come all the way down so the restaurant wasn't the best view.

On the way out of the restaurant is a great scarecrow. He was funny.

People were lining up 8ish so I grabbed a spot. Again my favorite part turned out to be the castle projections so I'm glad I did. If you are in the front castle part if you are on the red bricks you are required to sit for both the parade and the fireworks which was great! We made sure to be able to see the parade route and had a great view but castle view was better. The trees on the right did block some of Zero circling on the right of the castle but he came from the left so we still saw him.

I saw Donald, Goofy, the Chipmunks, and Pluto on the raft. It was super cute!!

 

[Mama_Cass]

Mini trip report from last night.

We had an amazing time at the party, and definitely noticed the decrease in crowds from previous parties. I would say last night was the least crowded I have *ever* been to the parks. Lines were incredible short (often non-existant) and even the parade and fireworks viewing from Main Street didn't feel very crowded.

Our party started at 3, so we lined up at the gates around 2:45. We entered right after 3:00 and headed to get fastpasses for Haunted Mansion. After that, we headed to our 3:30 reservation for Cafe Orleans. We finished our meal at 4:20, which worked out perfectly as that was our HM return time. We quickly grabbed FPs for Indiana Jones and went to ride HM. I was very surprised at the lack of crowds during the three hours prior to the party starting. Normally, the park feels very busy during this time, but yesterday it felt like a regular week day, crowds-wise. We were able to do much more than I expected during that time.

After riding Indiana, we grabbed a Jungle Julep in the poison apple stein and sat for a bit waiting for the party to begin, and when it did, we hit the treat trails at RoA and BTMRR trail, none of which had more than a 2 minute line.

We spent the next hour or so in Fantasyland, riding Mr. Toad, Snow White, the Carousel, and Casey Jr, all of which were basically walk-ons, and Peter Pan which had about a 20 minute wait. We noticed that the wait times were consistently shorter than the posted times on the app throughout the night.

We quickly rode Matterhorn with about a 10 minute wait and headed to Main Street to find a parade spot. We found a curbside spot about halfway down Main Street at 7:40. We didn't attend last year's party, so the parade was new for us and we absolutely loved it! This parade has such a fun atmosphere and is just the right amount of spooky, imo. The headless horsemen was fun to watch as well.

After the last float, we headed up Main Street to watch the fireworks, making sure to be on the right side of Main Street to see the orb. This is another time I noticed that the crowds were much less oppressive than in years past. Viewing fireworks from Main Street always feels jam-packed with people, but there was plenty of room between groups last night. We had a good 8-10 feet between us and the group in front of us, which was awesome for my 6 year old. We had a great view of the projections, Zero, the orb etc. This fireworks show is one of my favorites and last night didn't disappoint.

After the fireworks (which were about 10 minutes delayed), my son insisted we ride HMH again, so we headed over to NOS. HMH had a 25 minute wait time posted, but we got through the line into the first room in less than 15 minutes. After the ride, we headed to PotC which was a literal walk-on, but brought about the only negative part of the evening. We ended up getting stuck on this ride for a little over 30 minutes (we were stuck in the jail cell room). My son was getting a bit anxious after the first 20 or so minutes and I was beginning to wonder exactly how we would be escorted off the ride logistally. Luckily, they got the ramp working again, but unhappily, we exited about 5 minutes after the party ended, and my son was unable to do a few more treat trails as we had planned. Not really a big deal though, as we already had filled about half of our bags from the three trails we had hit earlier in the evening.

Overall, I really think the Halloween parties are such a great value, and so much fun. I was a little disappointed that we didn't get a special treat or anything as Annual Passholders, but again, not a big deal. We LOVED the decorations over at DCA, particularly at night. I'll wrap up this mini-report (which ended up a lot less mini than I intended) with a few photos from our trip.

Hope everyone's trips will be/were amazing with lots of happy memories made. View attachment 272637View attachment 272638View attachment 272639View attachment 272640View attachment 272641View attachment 272642

Did you go through the AP treat trail in the theatre right at the front of Main Street? Was there one this year? Last year there was one and you got an AP small canvas treat bag to collect the rest of your treats. Wondering if we should expect the same again this year or not?

 

[Linkura]

Did you go through the AP treat trail in the theatre right at the front of Main Street? Was there one this year? Last year there was one and you got an AP small canvas treat bag to collect the rest of your treats. Wondering if we should expect the same again this year or not?

My understanding is that there's no AP treat trail this year, only a special AP photo op.

 

[Kindermouse]

I don't know if it's always the same but Minnie was a candy corn princess and she switched out with Daisy who I think was a witch. Mickey was Zoro and switched out with a wizard Donald.


.

yep

 

[choover2576]

How do you get photopass pictures for the Halloween party? Is there an app I have to download or link my ticket to somehow?

 

[mummabear]

Yes, they will stop to take pictures (and sign autographs, I think), but after they finish with you, they'll wander off to some different location. Basically, they don't want guests to form a line. It's tough on guests with kids who are reluctant to go up to the character, but it also means more interaction and (I think) more people can meet them.

Most of them will, Gaston doesn't sign (we have got his autograph at WDW before).
But they do seem to move on quickly if any sort of line or too many people start forming, so even if you are easy waiting to go and they have done photos and autographs with other people they may just up and start roaming.

How do you get photopass pictures for the Halloween party? Is there an app I have to download or link my ticket to somehow?

The photopass photos linked to our account (that also had the party tickets linked) were automatically ready to download (no watermark) the photos from the other days weren't ready until we added our photopass code.

 

[mummabear]

My understanding is that there's no AP treat trail this year, only a special AP photo op.

And from what I saw of the AP photo Op it looked nothing special-unless there was a special magic shot?

 

[mummabear]

A major area where DLR wins over WDW in my opinion. I love that free roaming characters stop, chat and take a couple of pictures before moving on. It feels so much more organic and so much closer to what the commercials are selling us on the Disney Park experience than a 45 minute line for a 30 second interaction and general feeling of being herded like cattle.

Enjoy!

Pros and cons to it really.
Yes t is very magical when it all works out.
However when you just can't seem to track them down, or they keep walking away and not taking photos (as Woody did in the Big thunder Area) then it is really frustrating.