Halloween by Sept 14?

[BryANDJessMom]

Hi!

I am planning a trip once school starts to try to avoid some of the Carsland stampeed. We have a day off in Monday sept 17 so I was hoping we could go the weekend of Sept 14-17...anyone know if the Halloween stuff will be up? I want to book the rooms but the folks at Disney told me they wouldn't announce if it was up until 6 weeks before. My kids really want to see HM and SM with the holiday overlays.

Best guesses anyone?

Thanks so much!
Nancy

 

[Sherry E]

Hi!

I am planning a trip once school starts to try to avoid some of the Carsland stampeed. We have a day off in Monday sept 17 so I was hoping we could go the weekend of Sept 14-17...anyone know if the Halloween stuff will be up? I want to book the rooms but the folks at Disney told me they wouldn't announce if it was up until 6 weeks before. My kids really want to see HM and SM with the holiday overlays.

Best guesses anyone?

Thanks so much!
Nancy

This question comes up a lot. In fact, just in the last page or two of the Halloween Superthread I think I answered it a couple of times!

Don't listen to the folks at Disney about this particular subject. Most of the times the Cast Members are the last to know when anything will be open or start, and they are unaware that dates trickle out through other channels way before they learn them!

We have no clue when the season will begin as of yet. It will be somewhere between 9/14/12 and 9/21/12. It may be 9/14. It may be 9/21. Or, Disney could do something out of the norm and start the season on Monday, 9/17 (they began the Christmas holiday season on a Monday last year, which was different).

I tend to wonder if all the Cars Land hoopla and promotion may delay the start dates of both Halloween Time and the holidays, just to keep the spotlight on the new stuff in DCA. But I could be totally wrong in my line of thinking!

Last year the Halloween Tiime dates were (surprisingly) put up on the Disneyland website much, much earlier than they had been released in the previous years and our wonderful DIS'er jernysgirl broke the news in our Halloween Superthread.

I am hoping we will find out the season start date in the next month or two (keep checking the DLR website), but we may not find out until May or so.

 

[BryANDJessMom]

Thanks so much! I guess I will make reservations just in case then switch if I have to...everywhere I have looked so far has said "mid-september"

 

[Sherry E]

Thanks so much! I guess I will make reservations just in case then switch if I have to...everywhere I have looked so far has said "mid-september"

You're very welcome! I am dying to know when the seasons are going to begin, too - I tend to think that the powers that be (on the corporate side) at Disneyland know waaaaay in advance what these dates will be, but they don't like to release them right away in case they decide to make schedule changes. I hope we find out in the next month or two, but it could be as late as May.

It pretty much will be mid-September, basically. So what you have read is not inaccurate. We're just not sure if it will be 9/14, 9/17 or 9/21.

Since Halloween Time has become an official season at Disneyland, I don't think it's ever begun any earlier than 9/16, from what I can recall. In fact, there was one year (maybe 2008?) in which it began on the very last Friday in September - rather late in the month!! I also recall Halloween Time beginning on 9/21 in the past too (I think that was in 2007).

Last year, the season began on 9/16. In 2010, it began on 9/17. So it very well could be 9/14 this year, but if my suspicion proves to be right and the Cars Land, etc., stuff at DCA dominates most of the press and media spotlight for a while, we could see a later start date for Halloween Time of 9/21. Or, as I mentioned earlier, they may decide to do what they did for the Christmas season and begin Halloween Time on a Monday, which would likely be 9/17.

I doubt Halloween Time would begin any later than 9/21, and more than likely it will be 9/14 or 9/17.

 

[Sherry E]

I forgot to add above that I always wonder how the masterminds in Planning at Disney/TDA decide on the dates for seasons. They have very definite start and end dates for Summer, Halloween Time and the holiday season, but the dates differ each year.

So I wonder if they kind of loosely pick dates - like they say, "Well, let's just start Halloween Time on whichever Friday date is closest to the middle of September," or if it's more structured, like, "Halloween Time will begin on the 3rd Friday in September."

Last year, 9/16 was the 3rd Friday in September. In 2010, 9/17 was the 3rd Friday. If that were the criteria they use and that's how it was all planned out, then 9/21 would be the 3rd Friday in September this year and would be the start date. But TDA could use a much more informal way of deciding dates - they may just glance at a calendar and say, "Hmmm...what looks good for 2012? Let's go with 9/14 this year!"

I'd love to sit in on a planning meeting and listen to how the schedules for the year are mapped out!