Halloween at DL

[4xMommy]

Okay, no flames, please. My family doesn't "do" Halloween, and one of the reasons we specifically chose the time frame of mid-September was to avoid the Halloween decorations. (Personal preference.) Now Halloween Time will start smack dab in the middle of our trip. Will it be overwhelming? Is it like everywhere you turn there are Halloween decorations? Any info would be helpful. Thanks.

 

[Sherry E]

Okay, no flames, please. My family doesn't "do" Halloween, and one of the reasons we specifically chose the time frame of mid-September was to avoid the Halloween decorations. (Personal preference.) Now Halloween Time will start smack dab in the middle of our trip. Will it be overwhelming? Is it like everywhere you turn there are Halloween decorations? Any info would be helpful. Thanks.

Well, one good way to gauge is if would be overwhelming for you is to kind of glance over the photos in this thread and see. When you stand at the turnstiles to DL, there are all kinds of Disney character pumpkins over the turnstiles. Then, you enter the park and there is a giant Mickey pumpkin right there at the beginning of Main Street. As you walk down Main Street you will see various carved pumpkins on window sills and things. Then you get to the Partners statue and there are Disney pumpkins all around it.

In Frontierland, they have the Ray Bradbury Halloween tree, as well as the Day of the Dead display. You will also find the Halloween Round-Up, which is chock full of even more pumpkins.

Space Mountain will become Space Mountain Ghost Galaxy, and Haunted Mansion Holiday will be in full swing.

There may be some Villains set up for photos somewhere and other characters out in their Halloween costumes (like Goofy in his skeleton outfit).

And in DCA, they usually have giant candy corn at the entrance to Candy Corn Acres.

There will be all kinds of Halloween merchandise and food items sold.

Other than those things, you can walk for long stretches of space without seeing traces of Halloweentime. It's not as immersive and all-encompassing as Christmastime is. This year, however, because they are shifting so much focus over to Disneyland itself and away from DCA, there may be more 'stuff' in Disneyland than there has been before. Likewise, there may be less Halloween stuff in DCA. But we won't know yet until it starts.

 

[BELLEDOZER]

I have to admit that I've never been much of a Holloween fan, just the simple reason is do the kids really need that much candy? I do celebrate it here, as we've got alot of kids in the neighbourhood, and some of the neighbours really dress up their places for Holloween. I'm going for the simple reason that it's my one chance to experience it, and intend to go to 1 or both parties that are going to be on while I'm down there. I can't eat the candy, as I'm sugar allergic, so will be probably be bringing enough candy to feed the neighbourhood kids. If this doesn't get me into the Holloween Spirit I don't know what will. Thanks everyone for all the great info, and I'm grumbling as I won't have my AP until the end of Sept, so I can't take advantage of the early MHP ticket sales, but will stay up till midnight to book my MHP on July 15th, so I can get tickets for the dates I want. Have a great day!

Trish

 

[tdashgirl]

Nice job Sherry on the recap

I think the price will be the tipping point. I totally get that people without kids would be hesitant to fork out the extra bucks. If it approached WDW prices ...

I'm not a huge fireworks person, and would still enjoy the decorations and HMH/SMGG during regular park hours. But since we have a 6 year old daughter, the trick-or-treating and dance parties with characters will still get us to fork over the money ....

 

[mmmears]

Nice job Sherry on the recap

I think the price will be the tipping point. I totally get that people without kids would be hesitant to fork out the extra bucks. If it approached WDW prices ...

I'm not a huge fireworks person, and would still enjoy the decorations and HMH/SMGG during regular park hours. But since we have a 6 year old daughter, the trick-or-treating and dance parties with characters will still get us to fork over the money ....

So, other than the fireworks, trick-or-treating and the dancing, is there any other reason to go to the party? And can't we kind of see the fireworks from the plaza outside the turnstiles? I know we can check out the decorations and the rides during the normal park hours...

I'm asking since my DD is older now and I don't think she'd like the dance parties or the trick-or-treating (and IMO we get too much candy at home as it is).

Just wondering if maybe we should spend the night at DCA or if it's worth it to buy the tickets for the party???

 

[tdashgirl]

So, other than the fireworks, trick-or-treating and the dancing, is there any other reason to go to the party?

I think everyone's different. Some people would view the opportunity (as an adult) to wear a costume inside Disneyland as a reason (since normally that's not allowed). They haven't done a full disclosure on all the entertainment available yet ... but honestly right now it seems that your assessment above is correct

 

[Sherry E]

Nice job Sherry on the recap

I think the price will be the tipping point. I totally get that people without kids would be hesitant to fork out the extra bucks. If it approached WDW prices ...

I'm not a huge fireworks person, and would still enjoy the decorations and HMH/SMGG during regular park hours. But since we have a 6 year old daughter, the trick-or-treating and dance parties with characters will still get us to fork over the money ....

Thanks again for being one of the contributors to the big breaking news yesterday, Tdashgirl!! You know we were all prepared to be Halloweentime Information Boogie-ing here until our booties fell off just to get the scoop!! So you (along with MattsPrincess, iKristin and Stitch4336) helped save us all from losing our booties!!

However, even though we got a huge chunk of info yesterday, mid-July can't come fast enough for me to get the next wave of information! I want even more info, and we still have to get that official HalloweenTime agenda. Then, let the planning begin!!!

Last year, the HalloweenTime agenda info came through the
the D23 channels and someone posted it here on the DIS. I'm sure D23 will be quick on the trigger to get the info again, but I think that the Disney Parks Blog is going to be something to keep an eye on, possibly even before D2s announces anythign. That Heather person from Disney who does the Blog might not only post new, unexpected blogs with info between now and mid-July, but she might also offer some informative replies to some of the comments people have made about the Blog, which is what was happening yesterday - that's how we found out that HalloweenTime starts on September 17th. It just happened to be something Heather said in one of her replies.

So let's keep all our eyes on Heather over on the Disney Parks blog and just Halloweentime Information Boogie her until she forks over the rest of the info!!!

So, other than the fireworks, trick-or-treating and the dancing, is there any other reason to go to the party? And can't we kind of see the fireworks from the plaza outside the turnstiles? I know we can check out the decorations and the rides during the normal park hours...

I'm asking since my DD is older now and I don't think she'd like the dance parties or the trick-or-treating (and IMO we get too much candy at home as it is).

Just wondering if maybe we should spend the night at DCA or if it's worth it to buy the tickets for the party???

You pretty much summed it up, Mmmears!! One thing I will say about the fireworks - and I am not a big fireworks person either - is that the Halloween Screams fireworks were the only ones I would really be interested in seeing again. You could probably view a good portion of them outside the gates, but I am not sure if you would be able to see the cool special effects with Zero flying across the sky (he is kind of hard to see even when you are in DL) and also the crystal ball that is present throughout the whole show, while various villains appear in it. And, of course, Jack Skellington is the MC. The music for the show is really festive (all villains-themes music or Haunted Mansion songs).

 

[MVBowers111]

I can't wait for the price information to come out! I so want to go to the Halloween party this year...and I almost have my family convinced as well! Hopefully the price won't be too ridiculous because the party is at DL this year. When we went in 2008 we had a blast and would love to be able to see the party at DL.

 

[mmmears]

I think everyone's different. Some people would view the opportunity (as an adult) to wear a costume inside Disneyland as a reason (since normally that's not allowed). They haven't done a full disclosure on all the entertainment available yet ... but honestly right now it seems that your assessment above is correct

You pretty much summed it up, Mmmears!! One thing I will say about the fireworks - and I am not a big fireworks person either - is that the Halloween Screams fireworks were the only ones I would really be interested in seeing again. You could probably view a good portion of them outside the gates, but I am not sure if you would be able to see the cool special effects with Zero flying across the sky (he is kind of hard to see even when you are in DL) and also the crystal ball that is present throughout the whole show, while various villains appear in it. And, of course, Jack Skellington is the MC. The music for the show is really festive (all villains-themes music or Haunted Mansion songs).

Thanks to both of you. I'm trying to figure out if it's "worth it" for us. I'm sure that when the ticket prices come out that may help. I'd love to see the fireworks up close, but I don't know how much that's worth to me... Ticket price x 3 = sometimes (if it's just for the fireworks). If I knew the park would be less crowded and the ride lines shorter that would help. But I suspect it may be very crowded on that first night... Guess I'll have to really think about this one...

 

[Sherry E]

Thanks to both of you. I'm trying to figure out if it's "worth it" for us. I'm sure that when the ticket prices come out that may help. I'd love to see the fireworks up close, but I don't know how much that's worth to me... Ticket price x 3 = sometimes (if it's just for the fireworks). If I knew the park would be less crowded and the ride lines shorter that would help. But I suspect it may be very crowded on that first night... Guess I'll have to really think about this one...

I know what you mean! Ticket price (whatever that figure will be) x 3 is a lot of extra money to spend to go in and get candy and see characters in costumes and watch the fireworks. I'm in the same boat as you - I have to figure out if it's worth it for me and weigh the pros and cons of the MHP before I try to convince my friends to go! Once the price is released (and we will have a good idea of what it is next week when the early tickets for AP holders go on sale, even though those will be cheaper than the general sale tickets), that will push me one way or the other.

Honestly, I am a little bit surprised that Disney is opting to only do the Halloween Screams fireworks for the MHP guests this year, compared to the nightly shows last year. (I realize the TOTP was not held in DL last year, so the fact that it is now changes the whole scenario.) That caught me off guard! If anything, I kind of expected the ooposite to happen, meaning I thought for sure that they would run the fireworks every night, all season long, except that they may opt to not show them for the party guests because the party guests would not be paying full admission price. I thought they would stick some other kind of entertainment in the party. Or the other scenario was that they would do the fireworks nightly, party or no party, for everyone. I never imagined that they would make the Halloween fireworks a party-exclusive!! So they have spent however much money on putting that elaborate show together, only to run for a total of 10 nights in October.

To me, it seems not only like a blatant ploy to get people to spend more money and attend MHP, but it also may be a way of nudging people over to World of Color. If DLR opts to not show 'regular' fireworks on non-party nights - and we don't yet if they will or won't - they probably figure that this will cause some folks to go wandering over to DCA in search of nighttime entertainment (assuming everyone in DL is in Fantasmic overload) and get caught up in the WoC buzz.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

Honestly, I am a little bit surprised that Disney is opting to only do the Halloween Screams fireworks for the MHP guests this year, compared to the nightly shows last year........... To me, it seems not only like a blatant ploy to get people to spend more money and attend MHP, but it also may be a way of nudging people over to World of Color.

Agreed. I don't find this news exciting at all. As a person who enjoys fireworks it's one of the things I find more disappointing about DL when you go during the off season. I was SO happy last Oct when the fireworks were every night - and were season specific. It just fit's the park so well with all the Halloween decorations up. It got me very psyched to go to DL more.

I'm also losing interest in the very high priced special events when I know that if I went a week earlier I could have longer access to the parks for the regular admission. If they made it truly something that didn't interfere with regular operations then I'd consider it a better value.

 

[Sherry E]

Agreed. I don't find this news exciting at all. As a person who enjoys fireworks it's one of the things I find more disappointing about DL when you go during the off season. I was SO happy last Oct when the fireworks were every night - and were season specific. It just fit's the park so well with all the Halloween decorations up. It got me very psyched to go to DL more.

I'm also losing interest in the very high priced special events when I know that if I went a week earlier I could have longer access to the parks for the regular admission. If they made it truly something that didn't interfere with regular operations then I'd consider it a better value.

Reading some of the comments in response to yesterday's blog from the Heather at the Parks, it seems like some people are not happy at all about the extra money they will need to spend if they want to see fireworks. Some of them are still not grasping that the fireworks will be shown to MHP guests only (I think that's hard for everyone to grasp!!). Others are just excited to hear any news about HalloweenTime at all.

It really is such a drastic change from last year, though, when the fireworks ran every single night at DL, all the way from late September to the first day of November, down to only 10 nights this year. It may work in attracting a lot of people to spend extra money - I guess it depends on what kind of marketing and advertising DLR uses this year to promote HalloweenTime and MHP and WoC and all of it. Maybe there will be some folks who decide to only go to DL for the hours they are allowed in on MHP days - they may choose to enter DL at 3 p.m. and stay until the party ends. But I think a lot of folks will be ticked off about this, and those who already have multi-day Park Hoppers may not want to spend an extra $40 - $50 just to see some fireworks and get candy, or to stay in DL later that day when they could just stay in DL later the next day with their Hopper.

 

[AmyPond]

I watched part of the Halloween fireworks on youtube and really wasn't a fan. So I'm not too sad if I miss them. They had the potential to be good when I read about them. But the execution was just cheesy to me.

 

[Sherry E]

I watched part of the Halloween fireworks on youtube and really wasn't a fan. So I'm not too sad if I miss them. They had the potential to be good when I read about them. But the execution was just cheesy to me.

Oooh - do you have that clip handy to post the link here? I am sure other folks who have not seen the fireworks yet and want to determine if they look interesting enough would want to see it.

I have seen some of the YouTube clips in the past - it doesn't translate well on YouTube, to be fair. And I reiterate - I am not a fireworks person in general. I couldn't care less if I catch fireworks while I am at DLR (this is probably a reason why I am apathetic about World of Color as well - that kind of thing just doesn't grab me!). I saw enough fireworks at DL as a kid. But the Halloween Screams ones are quite cool in person, and it's not really any cheesier than anything else Disney does, in my opinion. It's all kind of in the same Disney style. I would want to see them again - one more time - just to catch the things I missed the first time, but that would be it.

BUT, cool fireworks alone would not be enough to get me to shell out X number of extra dollars on a MHP ticket. Fireworks - Halloween or otherwise - would probably be cool to see if I happened to be moseying by and caught them en route from one place to another. I would have to base my decision of whether or not to attend MHP on the other things at the party, if the price is not too outrageous.

The main thing that makes me want to see MHP in DL is that it's in DL, and I am curious to see what the set-up is and how different it is from the TOTP in DCA, and if there are any new Halloween things they put up. That's my main draw. But it may not be enough of a draw to get me to shell out the money!! I can do without the bite-sized Mr. Goodbars.

 

[Kiwianna]

Why am I so interested in all of this when we won't even be going until late
in 2011?

 

[Sherry E]

Why am I so interested in all of this when we won't even be going until late
in 2011?

 

[AmyPond]

Here's one - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dlb_iPg1g7Q

I think the main reason I think it's extra cheesy is because instead of the actual versions of the songs (like Grim Grinning Ghosts and Poor Unfortunate Souls) they used weird pop versions. It made is so very lame.

I love Remember...Dreams Come True. I love that they used actual sounds and stuff from the rides. If the Halloween fireworks used actual songs, I'd love it. But for me, the pop version is a big fail in my book.

 

[mmmears]

One more question -- Does anyone know how many tickets they sell per party?

I'm really just wondering how crowded the park will be then. If it's crowded with long lines for the rides and if I have to wait a couple of hours on Main St. to be able to watch the fireworks, I think I'll pass on this one.

If it's pretty empty compared to normal nights, then I can see an added benefit for the extra money spent.

 

[iKristin]

It won't be packed I doubt, since even at TOTP they didn't sell TONS of tickets so that it was jam packed, they sold just enough. I hope they do the same with this one

 

[Spacepest]

Oh wow.

I was totally not planning on going to DL around Halloween this year--last year's visit was a total disaster due to the crowds. For the record, we're out of towners who were going to DL in October every year for the past decade, with usually light crowds around that time. Last year was awful. We were there for three weekdays in mid October, and after 3pm every day the park became total gridlock, with people camping out for the fireworks for hours. We couldn't get a good view of the fireworks on any of the days we were there due to the crowds, and Space Mountain was only approachable with a Fastpass. After 5pm half the rides in the park were shut down to accomodate the fireworks and there were huge lines on everything left open. ON a week day! We also spent hardly a dime in the park because we spent so much time navigating the crowds (except for food. Strangely enough, the only places empty were the sit down restaurants). A week in Anaheim, and we didn't even attempt to go to either park on a weekend...we could see lines of cars backing up the freeway to DL from our hotel room window though!

I'm seriously considering buying tickets to one of the parties if attendance is capped at a reasonable level. I'd love to be able to watch the fireworks in a less crowded setting and go "trick or treating" for candy. Hmm, decisions, decisions.