Halloween Party- worth they money?

[Ashlotte]

We will be in DLR the first date of the Halloween party options. Is it worth the cost? My kids are 7 & 9, and we won't be able to stay up until midnight. Also, I know you can get in three hours before the scheduled party starts, but I figure we would already have had a pass for that morning. This seems like a waste of money, like I am paying twice for that three hour window. Thoughts and advice? Thanks!

 

[scrappingpickle]

We went for the first time last year and we had so much fun. I have 4 kids 9,7,4,2. Everything was magical. We ended up bringing hom 25lbs of treats for our family of 6. It filled a carryon. Luckily we drove so we didn't have to worry about checking it. We closed down the park too. In fact my 2 year old stayed awake and begged to go on small world at the end. It was a totally magical night. Go if you can and stay as long as you can.
We hit the pool in the am and then headed to the park in the afternoon and gave our selves one more day at the park, so we didn't over lap our tickets.

 

[Stinkerbell1973]

My .02...

We attended the Christmas Party at WDW back in December. I'd pay the $ to do it again in a heartbeat. My daughter is 7 (will be 8 soon) and she didn't make it until midnight either, but that was our fault for not enforcing some kind of down time during the day (which we normally do - go back, take a nap/dip in the pool and then head back to the park to shut it down). She had the time of her life at that party. The special offerings you get are worth it, IMO. Maybe they can hold out until 12. Mine is going to try this year.
We are making our first venture to DLR in October and we're buying tickets for the 10/19 party. I can't wait!!!

 

[cchamble]

We went last year with our four year old. We had so much fun getting right on all the rides and collecting candy. The Halloween calvacade was adorable. The fireworks alone were worth the added ticket price. We had season passes so it didn't really hurt to pay for the tickets because we weren't paying for our visit that morning (well, we had paid for it when we bought APs a year earlier). We didn't want to wait in the ridiculously long lines for characters, so we took full advantage of riding rides with no lines. We aren't candy people so we actually used our three over stuffed treat bags to hand out to trick or treaters the next week, haha. We would not do this activity again, but it was so worth it for one time. DS loved it. And DH (not a huge Disney fan) could not stop talking about the incredible fireworks for weeks after. It was really a great night, but probably only worth it if you plan on staying the whole time.

 

[disneygrl4ever]

We wondered the same thing. We have decided to extend our stay by 1 day. So, we will do DL on Monday. Then on Tues we will sleep in, do a character breakfast, shop in DTD, maybe hit the hotel pool, change into costumes and go to the party. I won't use our hopper that day. That will leave 2 more full days of parks, and I won't have felt rushed for character meal or shopping

 

[Stinkerbell1973]

Also - the crowds are lower than a "typical" day since it's a hard ticket event. At least at WDW, that's the case.... It's a 5 hour party.
We'll be doing "Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party" when we go back to WDW next year in September.

 

[MagicMomma1]

We've attended the Halloween party the past 2 yrs. The first year we went, our kids were ages 1 and 3. The little one crashed before the Calvalcade began but the older was up until 11. They went thru one trick-or-treat station and we spent the evening riding rides, enjoying the atmosphere, and were BLOWN AWAY by the Halloween Screams fireworks. We had an awesome time and felt it was WELL WORTH the money.

When we returned again last year, kids were obviously a year older, and this time they did a lot more trick-or-treating (which they LOVED) and had a blast. Neither managed to stay awake until the fireworks but it didn't matter.

Frankly, I can't say enough about how much I love the Halloween party. The decorations, the effects, the music, the lighting, the themed merchandise and desserts, the controlled attendance....

If you're on the fence, I say GO. But I advise skipping the park the day of the party and JUST doing the party--you get like 8 hrs in the park as it is! Save that day on your passes and add an extra day to your vacation instead.

 

[JadeDarkstar]

we are going oct 2ed and we are not going to park till 3pm that day dtd hotel sleep in relax the rest of the day till its time to go. I think its worth it. Now saying that we went one year in dca and it wasn't all that fun because kid got sick and stuff before fireworks and cavalcade. I think this years will be much better its worth it to try at least once

 

[princesscinderella]

What type of goodies do they hand out at the party. Is it purely candy or is it fruit snack and rice crispy treats,etc too? We are going on oct 2nd also. It's the first day we arrive at DL and will be there til Friday it will be nice to have some snacks and goodies we can bring to munch on while waiting for rides. We will be flying and I don't think I want to bring home a carry on full of it.

 

[RuthieT]

They handed out candy, dried apples(with mickey on package), cranraisins, carrots not sure if there was anything else.. We went last year and yes ended up with around 20lbs of candy/treats

 

[KateDrake]

We wondered the same thing. We have decided to extend our stay by 1 day. So, we will do DL on Monday. Then on Tues we will sleep in, do a character breakfast, shop in DTD, maybe hit the hotel pool, change into costumes and go to the party. I won't use our hopper that day. That will leave 2 more full days of parks, and I won't have felt rushed for character meal or shopping

I think this is a great plan! Making it a low-key day makes it that much more magical when you enter the park that night. We always have a hard time tearing ourselves away, and then end up without as much time to rest/swim/get ready. So this is an awesome plan.

As to the crowds, we've done the DLR party and the WDW, and there is no comparison as far as crowds are concerned. At WDW, it really does feel like it is just you and a few friends. But at DLR, it was so crowded you could barely move on the Rivers of America walkways. I swear all of SoCal was out for the night. And this was on a Tuesday! So if you are looking for low crowds, it isn't worth it at DLR. That said, the party is still a ton of fun, especially if you are really into Halloween. So I'd say do it, just don't expect to have the place to yourself. You will stand in long lines for Trick or Treating, character meets, etc. What worked best for us was to do rides first when everyone else was getting candy, then Trick or Treat after the fireworks. Kind of goes the opposite of what everyone else is doing.

 

[KalamityJane]

Thanks, Kate - this is great advice! We are also doing lowkey morning at the pool, and then heading out at 3 (going to the Oct 9 party). It is mid trip, so it should be nice to relax a bit.

 

[Ashlotte]

Thanks everyone for the replies! It sounds like a lot of fun. Here's another question... do adults get to trick-or-treat, too, or just the kids? I feel like if I am paying $60, I might like some dried apples, too. Are most people dressed up? Adults as well? Thanks!

 

[JadeDarkstar]

yes we adults can dress up and trick and treat

 

[Sherry E]

Thanks everyone for the replies! It sounds like a lot of fun. Here's another question... do adults get to trick-or-treat, too, or just the kids? I feel like if I am paying $60, I might like some dried apples, too. Are most people dressed up? Adults as well? Thanks!

It's about 50/50 - half of the people in costume; half not in costume. No one notices if you are not in a costume, though.

There are many treat trails around Disneyland - and then treat stations along each trail. Some of the lines at the trails and stations are long, but they move faster than you'd expect. Last year, for example, there was a treat trail (with several treat stations) in the Pirates queue (because Pirates was closed for 2-1/2 months last year). That was a long line but it zipped right along. Likewise with the trail at the Golden Horseshoe (which has a few stations) - long line; moved quickly. Innoventions had a line but it went fast.

Pixie Hollow did not have much of a line at all - I think a lot of folks skipped that trail altogether, which was fine with me because that's one of the prettiest areas of the park, even at night, and I didn't mind enjoying the beauty of it all while getting my candy!

There were also not really any lines at the trail back at the Halloween Round-Up.

I went to the MHP on a Monday night last year. It was only the second party night of the season. I found it to be much more crowded than I expected - not unbearably so, but it was not slow or quiet by any means. It looked like a weekend night. The lines for most characters were pretty long. I have also been to the older version of the party - when it was still being held in DCA - on a Friday, and it was pretty much the same thing. Long lines for certain rides but not others. Long lines for characters. Long lines that moved pretty fast at the treat trails.

 

[MagicMomma1]

Thanks everyone for the replies! It sounds like a lot of fun. Here's another question... do adults get to trick-or-treat, too, or just the kids? I feel like if I am paying $60, I might like some dried apples, too. Are most people dressed up? Adults as well? Thanks!

Adults are welcome to trick-or-treat. Anyone holding a ticket (adult or child) is given a small paper trick-or treat sack. Since our youngest has been little enough to attend sans ticket for the past two years, he wasn't given a treat sack, so I've given him mine. My husband trick-or-treated and, while it depended on the CM's, they were definitely more generous with the candy with the kiddies. Can't remember if it was last year or the year before but a CM at one of the stations dropped ONE piece of candy into his bag and it was like, "REALLY?". Not that we're gluttons when it comes to the candy whatsoever but still... at $60 a ticket there's no need to be THAT stingy!! LOL

And the Halloween parties are the one time when adults can come to the park in costume! There are a couple rules about the types of costumes, however.

 

[Fivers]

I'm heading to DLR in October with my Mom, we've been numerous times but have never gone to the Halloween Party. Is it worth it for two adults with no kids? We're not that into character interactions, and probably won't trick-or-treat. Sounds like the fireworks are awesome, but beyond that is there anything else above and beyond the normal? Thanks everyone!

 

[cchamble]

I'm heading to DLR in October with my Mom, we've been numerous times but have never gone to the Halloween Party. Is it worth it for two adults with no kids? We're not that into character interactions, and probably won't trick-or-treat. Sounds like the fireworks are awesome, but beyond that is there anything else above and beyond the normal? Thanks everyone!

I think I enjoyed it more than our son did! My husband and I trick-or-treated as well, and I dressed up (minimally... a red and gold scarf and a little eyeliner lightening bolt on the forehead and I was a cheap looking Harry Potter!). But the BEST part was the ZERO wait time for almost all the lines and the AMAZING fireworks show. Seriously. This is a show that we had seen previously when they did it at the park during Halloween, but it is now exclusive to the MNSSHP. It is the best show hands down we have ever seen at Disneyland. We didn't stand in line for a single character, it wasn't worth it when we could ride every ride with no wait. OH! Another thing. They have random bands and dance parties. If you go to the area where they do the Star Wars show every hour (in Tomorrowland next to Nemo) they had a great band and lots of adults dancing with their families and friends. We stopped there for a bit and laughed and had a great time just enjoying the music and "people watching." I think two adults would have a fantastic time attending this event.

 

[dellen72]

We went for the first time last year. It was fun & I'm glad we experienced it once, but we aren't planning to do it again (~$250 for a family of four is pretty steep).

Yes, there is great atmosphere, parade, costumes, fireworks, & enough candy to last a year. While the candy is exciting, we couldn't help thinking, $250 is a lot to pay for all of this candy that we can't possibly (& probably shouldn't) finish. I did enjoy the private (although a little crowded) event, and it was fun discussing & describing it to friends when we got back.

 

[Fivers]

Thanks! It definitely sounds like it's worth going to, we will probably give it a try!