Halloween stuff

[AnimalPrincess]

Ok I need some experienced folks responses please. We are planning on going down to DL the third week of September, will the halloween decorations and special attractions be up by that time? TIA!!

 

[FourM's]

DH and I have been in disneyland the 3rd week in September for the last two years.(Wedding anniversary) There isn't much in the way of Halloween decorations up when we first get there but I notice every morning there is a little more. We usually leave around the 23rd and I would say all the decorations are not up yet at that time. My guess would be that its all up by the 1st of October. It is fun to show up each morning and see what the Disney elves have put up while your sleeping!

 

[Sherry E]

The funny thing is that in 2007, the official start of 'Halloweentime' at DLR was, indeed, on the third Friday in September (it was, I think the 21st) - in fact, it was a very rainy Friday in September. However, in 2008 and 2009, Halloweentime officially began on the 4th Friday in September. I have no clue why it was one week earlier in 2007, but then again, the Christmas/Holiday season started one week earlier last year than it had started the previous two years, so who knows? Anyway, looking at the calendar, it appears that Halloweentime will officially begin on Friday, September 24h this year (I doubt it would be any earlier than that), and the Trick or Treat Party will begin on Friday, October 1st (it always begins one week after the start of the Halloween season).

 

[AnimalPrincess]

So it sounds like stuff doesn't get going until October 1st. Any other people out there know anything different.

 

[DLR29]

The third week as in the week starting with the 12th? If so, then definitely not. The following week, you might begin to see some things starting to open (Haunted Mansion Holiday will probably open that following week).

Most certainly by the week of September 26th will Halloweentime be up and running, probably with Space Mountain: Ghost Galaxy, which was a huge hit this past year.

 

[Sherry E]

I don't know if you saw my post above, but it will be September 24th that Halloweentime season starts. DLR does not go by specific dates (i.e., October 1 or September 26th or whatever). They go by Fridays. So as I explained previously, in 2007, they started Halloweentime on the third Friday of September for some reason, whereas in 2008 and 2009 it began on the 4th Friday of September. So this year, the 4th Friday of September will be 9/24. Generally, the Trick or Treat party begins one week later than when Halloweentime season begins, so it always falls in October. So this year, one week after Halloweentime begins will be October 1. But next year and the year after that, Halloweentime will have a different start date depending on the Fridays in September and the TOTP will have a different start date than it has this year or last year, etc.

In other words, all of the Halloweentime festivities will be in place on September 24, unless, for some reason, DLR decides to begin Halloweentime earlier or later than usual. But going by their regular pattern September 24th WILL be the start date of the season. Everything - Haunted Mansion Holiday, Space Mountain Ghost Galaxy (if that returns in 2010), the Halloween Round-Up, any fireworks that may be Halloween-themed, all the decorations and food, etc., will be in effect on 9/24. The only thing that will not be up on September 24, most likely (again, unless DLR suddenly changes its pattern), is the TOTP, and that should begin on October 1, one week later.

 

[S. S. Columbia]

... Any other people out there know anything different.

Sherry E is correct.

In 2010, Labor Day will be Sept. 6, and they typically take down HM (to install the HMH overlay) after Labor Day (it's often the day after Labor Day). It typically takes 17 days to install the overlay, although last year they did it in 15. Based on previous years, it looks like HM will be down from Sept. 7 - 23, and HMH will open on Sept. 24.

In '08, there was a soft opening, so HMH opened a couple of days ahead of schedule, but who knows?

We won't know the opening date for HMH until the Disney folks make an official announcement. For 2010, the DL web-site says, "Check back in summer 2010 for details." In '09, they announced the HMH schedule in early-July (last year the HM had a big event on Sept. 9 (9-9-09) as part of HM's 40th Anniversary). In '08, they announced the HMH schedule in early-June.

Here's some info about last year's Halloween Time:
http://www.mouseplanet.com/8999/Disneyland_Resort_Update

FWIW, here are some historical dates when HM was down to install the HMH Overlay:

‘09: Sept. 10 - 24 : HMH opened Sept. 25, 2009 (Fri) *

’08: Sept. 2 - 25 : HMH opened Sept. 26, 2008 (Fri) **

’07: Sept. 4 - 20 : HMH opened Sept. 21, 2007 (Fri)

’06: Sept. 11 - 28 : HMH opened Sept. 29, 2006 (Fri)

’05: Sept. 12 - 29 : HMH opened Sept. 30, 2005 (Fri)

’04: Sept. 7 - Oct. 1 : HMH opened Oct. 2, 2004 (Sat)

’03: Sept. 8 - Oct. 2 : HMH opened Oct. 3, 2003 (Fri)

* Special 40th Anniversary event was held on 9/9/09 (Wed)
** HMH had a soft-opening a couple of days before Sept. 26, 2008

HTH

 

[AnimalPrincess]

Wow thank you all for your responses!!! Much appreciated, unfortunately they were not the answer that I wanted lol. Due to my job there are only a few weeks in either Sept or October that we can go, and I was hoping that the Halloween stuff would be up earlier. Oh well, back to planning! Thanks again!

 

[PeytonSdiz]

Dang. We are thinking about going in late September. And I was hoping to catch The Haunted Mansion in it's original state. I hate that they do the holiday stuff for so long. I haven't seen it normally since August 2007.

Oh well, at least I got to see it at Disneyworld this year and in 2008 (which has a few extra scenes I really like anyway.)

 

[Sherry E]

Dang. We are thinking about going in late September. And I was hoping to catch The Haunted Mansion in it's original state. I hate that they do the holiday stuff for so long. I haven't seen it normally since August 2007.

Oh well, at least I got to see it at Disneyworld this year and in 2008 (which has a few extra scenes I really like anyway.)

Of course, it is always a possibility that, one of these years, DLR will change its pattern and shorten the amount of time HMH is up so that it doesn't extend into September. Some folks think it should only be up during Christmastime, but I think DLR, from their business perspective, needs to have a 'major' attraction to lure people in during Halloweentime and make it more of a must-see, so I can't see that they would ever skip HMH for Halloween and only have it up at Christmastime, but they may eventually have it up for Halloweentime only one year and then take it down before Christmas. Or they may skip it entirely one year (once they have enough other things to draw in the masses for Halloweentime). You just never know. Things are always subject to change. So while we are basing our info on previous patterns, DLR may throw us all for a loop and suddenly switch it up!!

 

[PeytonSdiz]

It just stinks because we like to make trips during the "slow" times and also when the weather isn't super hot. So typically we go January, and the HM is usually closed then. We were thinking of doing late September this year even though it could be too hot for us. But I am sad about the HM being holiday.

 

[Leofoenget]

Ok I need some experienced folks responses please. We are planning on going down to DL the third week of September, will the halloween decorations and special attractions be up by that time? TIA!!

One year they were up because I was there, however for the past few years they have not been up. So unless they move the date up a week, my best guess is NO