Any Hints to Help Plan 2024 Halloween Trip?

[keishashadow]

haven’t been to DL since 2019. the Mr has requested we again enjoy their Halloween festivities next year & see Marvel area.

Realize it’s nearly a year off, aside from being a commando planner…

I’m really floored at all the changes I’m seeing and feeling more than a bit out of my element.

the new tix system/reservations had me utterly confused at first read, need to go back and give that a better look

I am very concerned as to how fast I saw Oogie Boogie disappear this year Worried that I might miss out on the tix entirely, seeing, so many were disappointed, especially those who bought from unauthorized resellers. Ugh.

appears those tix were released in waves of a sort? Is there a “how-to” thread here I missed as to increasing one’s odds of obtaining/who gets first dibs…such as AP holders, possible vacation packages, etc?

Looking at visiting the area for a week, also seeing other attractions in the area we enjoy. Thinking sometime over the 2nd - 4th week of September, we are flexible. I had hoped for Knotts Scary Farm again but, both it and USH HHN dates seemed to start rather late in season this year, i think, not sure.

The accommodations are not an huge issue in my mind, will get something booked there. In the past was able to grab DVC or decent rate onsite DLH. Figure odds of that are slim to none this time of year as so popular. May just book something walkable on Harbor. Booked Great Wolf last go-round, fun for the grand kid but too much transport time for me To parks

Anyway, my goal is to work up some sort of timeline check-list for myself so I don’t drop the ball in planning this trip, including the budget.

Going to search out what my fav bloggers had to say about this year & read thru the threads here, did see some TR. Any suggestions or links much appreciated.

thanks

 

[Lisa24jks]

Definitely stick to September if you can. October is the busiest month at Disneyland. (I didn't believe it until I saw it myself recently, but it is true.) When I went in September for OBB, it was much more manageable than October.

HHN at Universal starts around the second week of September, but Knott's Scary Farm didn't start until like the 21st of September this year. Obviously, we won't know those dates officially until next year, but that's likely to be roughly the same again.

As for OBB tickets, I'm HOPING (along with many others, I'm sure), that Disney revamps its ticketing system entirely after this year's absolute mess. Usually, Magic Key holders are the only advantage holders when it comes to buying OBB tickets, as they get first crack at them a couple days before public sale. (This year though, the public sale had to be postponed due to the whole... mess. And I'm a Magic Key holder and couldn't get tickets on MK day due to technical glitches a-plenty and had to go through both public sale days. So there are no guarantees in life or OBB.) Ticket sales were in late June, but public sale got delayed to July 11th.

So I would go in with cautious optimism regarding OBB tickets. As in, hope for the best, but prepare for the worst. That said, even if you don't get OBB tickets, Halloween is a GREAT time at Disneyland. Both parks have plenty of fun seasonal things to see and do. (CarsLand, which is always phenomenal, is EXTRA phenomenal during spooky season.)

 

[keishashadow]

Ticket sales were in late June, but public sale got delayed to July 11th.

Oh, that is a way bigger mess than I had realized. Had to be really frustrating.

there are no guarantees in life or OBB

Lol that sounds like something that should be emblazoned upon a pillow.

since I’m so out of the DL loop, once we do actually settle upon a specific time frame; should we buy our park tix ASAP? Assume we will need them in place to make a park reservation.

no idea if a sense of urgency/ if DL ever does run out of reservations or dated tix For that time frame of year

then, I guess we need to determine if we need to add genie+/LL. I’ve never felt the need @ WDW.

More research needed for me!

 

[wabbott]

We were there in late September. The Nightmare Before Christmas overlay for the Haunted Mansion was memorable. Don't miss it.

 

[keishashadow]

We were there in late September. The Nightmare Before Christmas overlay for the Haunted Mansion was memorable. Don't miss it.

Yes, one of the things that reinforces it as “the best” HM for me.

love WDW but, DL is just an absolute treasure IMO.

 

[sophy1996]

since I’m so out of the DL loop, once we do actually settle upon a specific time frame; should we buy our park tix ASAP? Assume we will need them in place to make a park reservation.

no idea if a sense of urgency/ if DL ever does run out of reservations or dated tix For that time frame of year

then, I guess we need to determine if we need to add genie+/LL. I’ve never felt the need @ WDW.

DL doesn’t require dated tix if you’re buying multi-day tix, so you don’t have to settle on specific dates before you buy. You could buy tix good until mid-January 2025 right now from third-party sellers (and possibly save some money if they still have tix at old prices since prices went up last week).

Park Reservations have opened up to 180 days out but you don’t need to jump on them the instant they open. (For comparison, right now, almost every day the rest of this year is showing availability for park hopper tix for both parks.)

You don’t absolutely have to decide on Genie+ right away. You can buy Genie+ day by day at the parks if you might only want it some days. But again, might save some money if you buy quickly. I think it’s a better value at DLR because you can get a lot of rides with it.