a few questions...

[brettandlyndi]

hi all, my wife, 3 1/2 year old dd, and i will be going to disneyland in just a little over a week, 10/4-10/5. this is our 3rd time going since last may, and we are so excited we get to spend 2 days this time. just had a couple of questions...

what can we expect as far as crowds go? we figured it wouldn't be too bad, since its a Monday/Tuesday, and it's not a special holiday weekend or anything.

can the princesses typically be found at certain areas of the park(s) other than the princess fantasy faire? this january when we went we visited the fantasy faire twice, and only got 4 different princesses (cinderella and aurora we got twice). we were kinda bummed because my daughter was dressed up as snow white, and we never got to see her.

i saw something about the fireworks show starting up again. does anyone know if they do the fireworks on weekdays as well as weekends?

thanks all for any help you can give!

 

[longtimedisneylurker]

I expect crowds shouldn't be too bad during the day. Things may pick up in the evenings when locals come after work, but with 8 PM closings of both parks even that may not be an issue. Disneyland will close at 6 PM on Tuesday night to all but Halloween party guests. You can pre-purchase tickets to that event for $49 per person, but that may not be in your budget or of interest to you.

There will not be fireworks on the Monday night or Fantasmic either night. You would only be able to view fireworks in the park on the Tuesday night if you have tickets to the Halloween party. You might be able to see them from the esplanade or some other nearby spot, but I think a lot of what makes them special, castle projections, other special effects, and probably the music, will only be available in the park. World of Color should run in DCA once each night at 8:15 PM.

We have encountered princesses outside of the PFF. I don't know how typical our experiences are. The Drawn to the Magic show in DCA, which is ending its run soon but will still be going during your visit, always has one princess appear. It is usually Cinderella, but we have seen Snow White there twice. We have encountered Mulan signing autographs near the Hyperion theater a couple times. Occasionally one or more princesses have appeared in the afternoon near the main entrance of Disneyland. Princess Tiana was doing several performances per day followed by meet-and-greet in New Orleans Square; not sure if this is still going on. You might be able to get more information about princess appearances by asking at Guest Relations, City Hall, or one of the info booths. If you want to spend extra money, the breakfast or lunch at Ariel's Grotto in DCA is supposed to be a good way to meet princesses, and other character meals always have one or two princesses in attendance.

Have fun!

 

[brettandlyndi]

thank you longtimedisneylurker for the info! I had seen the halloween party information, but didn't know if it was worth the extra $50 per guest. It just seemed like an awful lot on top of our 2-day park hopper passes. have you been before, is it worth the extra money? i know my daughter would get a kick out of it!

we are doing a character meal, at goofy's. we opted to do that because it opens at 7:00, and we have a reservation for that time, so we could eat and be at the park entrance at opening on monday.

 

[longtimedisneylurker]

thank you longtimedisneylurker for the info! I had seen the halloween party information, but didn't know if it was worth the extra $50 per guest. It just seemed like an awful lot on top of our 2-day park hopper passes. have you been before, is it worth the extra money? i know my daughter would get a kick out of it!

we are doing a character meal, at goofy's. we opted to do that because it opens at 7:00, and we have a reservation for that time, so we could eat and be at the park entrance at opening on monday.

We have been to Disneyland in October a couple of times but have never done the party because we haven't been able to convince ourselves that it's worth the money to us. You may want to look at the Halloween superthreads to see what people are saying:
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2408927&highlight=halloween
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2560082&highlight=halloween

My sons love Goofy's. We have done that exact thing, 7 AM at Goofy's on a late-opening or late-starting day. I like the breakfast there better than dinner. You are sure to see at least one princess at Goofy's, probably two. When we last went in July, it was Snow White and Belle, so maybe you will get lucky in that regard.