Janet --
I think you'll enjoy Halloween Time, but as the main person who has been championing Halloween Time visits to people on this forum for the last several years, I am being honest in saying that it is nowhere close to being on the same level as the holiday season, in terms of immersion and all-around decor. Halloween Time is fun in its own way, but I am always a bit surprised that Disney manages to stretch it out for 6 or 7 weeks when the offerings are on the 'thin' side.
I think it all comes down to perception, and which holiday one prefers more. If you are more of a Halloween person, then what
Disneyland has to offer will be delightful. You won't notice what's there or not there. If you are more of a Holiday season person -- now that you have experienced DLR for the holidays for 2 years in a row -- you might notice all of the spots around DLR that are not decorated for Halloween as they would be for the holidays. The contrast becomes more striking.
I remember reading someone's review on Yelp that said that "all of the rides" at DL get Halloween makeovers... which is unequivocally untrue. TWO rides get Halloween overlays -- and one of those rides shares its overlay with the Holidays, as we know! But, in this Yelp person's mind, his perception was apparently that there was so much Halloween fun to be had that "all of the rides" had Halloween overlays! It's a nice, optimistic way to view Halloween Time at DLR, but it's just not true!
As Bret said, there always seem to be small (and sometimes large) changes to the holiday décor every year. With each new Halloween Time and new holiday season I am anxious -- and a bit afraid -- to see what has been added, gone missing or been moved or changed in some way. Even the Winter Castle has looked different over the last couple of years than it did in the past.
About watermarking -- it's certainly not a bad idea for your stunning photos, but I will say that Internet thieves will steal photos and claim them as their own even if the photos are not of the caliber and quality of yours! It has happened to me. Someone stole photos of mine (not Disneyland photos), put their OWN watermark on them --
-- and posted them on other sites. And these photos were taken with ancient, crummy cameras back in the '80s. People think that they own whatever they see on the Internet because it's on the Internet, and have no idea or concern that they are incorrect.
The other day I was rounding up some photos that I was using in... a project... (more on that soon, hopefully) and I batch processed them to save myself some time in resizing. While I was using the feature I almost, almost slapped a tiny watermark on them and then changed my mind. If I make it too tiny and put it in the bottom right or left corner, someone could just crop it out anyway. And if I put a giant watermark in the center of the photos, it would not be good for "the project." So I was stumped and then gave up on the idea.
By the way -- off-topic, but I wonder if PrincessInOz realizes that I mentioned her in the Catalina Island-related podcast I did last month (with the DIS Unplugged folks)??
But why do people think flash photography in a dark ride is all right and never annoying for anyone else?
