Halloween Time Superthread 2019: "Oogie Boogie Bash" Party to Be Held in DCA ONLY! and Other Halloween Time Information

[Nonsuch]

Getting very excited for the party - we are traveling from Minneapolis on Wednesday and staying at Disneyland Hotel. Party on Thursday night - my husband and I will be dressed as Junior Woodchucks. It is also Gay Days at Disney this coming weekend which we didn't even know about - but works out perfectly for us Thanks to everyone on this thread for helping us prepare. Have a great week!

Remember to wear Red for Gay Days
The Mark Twain becomes the Big Red Boat on Saturday at 11AM
(I don't try to get on the boat, it's fun to watch it pass by)

 

[midnight star]

Mini update from the weekend. I went yesterday and today.
- Pumpkin Spice beignets are delicious!
- Fleet fries at Galactic Grill are also yummy! Have a slight kick, but it didn't bother me.
- Carthay is out of the witch fingers but they still have the glow cubes
- The candy corn spirit jersey is sold out in places but I've heard of people finding some in random stores throughout the park.
- I think the AP bucket might be sold out. That's what I heard earlier today. I saw some yesterday at the Haunted mansion cart though..
- Other Halloween merchandise like home decor, t-shirts, etc are still in stock

I won't be back for 2 weeks..hope I can make it lol.

 

[midnight star]

11 days for us... we are landing at 2 pm... at dreaded LAX... I couldn’t justify the price difference this time, so sad about not flying into SNA or LGB. Staying at the Fairfield, also new, we usually stay on site. I think we are going to pretty much throw our bag at them and go to the park and check in later. I guess we will see how long the line is at reception.

We have OBB that night, and we are going to the Darkside the next day and do the park and the HHN that night. Then back to DLR for Saturday and the bulk of Sunday. I got F! “linner” at BB at 3 pm Saturday, and I just scored Oga’s for 12:30 pm too.... Sunday we are doing brunch at Storytellers... other than that we are just mobile ordering around the park.... hit hot topic and dd got some cute tees... we also got blinky ghost and bat necklaces from Freddy’s... really getting excited here!

I did HHN last year and had fun! I was scared to death, but had fun lol

 

[DisneyJamieCA]

Are there any reports this year of being able to buy tickets day of as a resort guest? We went to the party on Thursday, but have friends who missed out on getting tickets for Halloween night and are staying at the DLH. Thanks!

 

[Vala]

Are there any reports this year of being able to buy tickets day of as a resort guest? We went to the party on Thursday, but have friends who missed out on getting tickets for Halloween night and are staying at the DLH. Thanks!

Yes. They still have tickets, but a very limited number and the demand on the day seems pretty high.

 

[Vala]

Sooo... back home. And so long a wait for the next Halloween season.

I wasn't sure what to expect of Oogie Boogie Bash, honestly. But man, that event blew others out of the water for me as a character fan.

The highlights:

1. Low crowds.
   
   I usually don't go right at the beginning of the season, but man what a difference to my normal October dates. I walked up to Harbor security and straight through a lot of the days.
   
   
2. The Haunted Mansion Ghosts meet.
   
   The morning before I flew in my phone started blowing up. "The Hitchhiking Ghosts are meeting, the Hitchhiking Ghosts are meeting!" Spent a good amount of hours in New Orleans Square catching all Spooky Friends, and it was so worth it.
   
   
3. Galaxy's Edge.
   
   Yeah, even I can tell it could be even better. You can tell where the budget cuts hit. But to me this is way better than Pandora where I go "fake, plastic etc." constantly and don't even go in anymore because I don't want to ruin it for my friends.
   
   
4. The insane amount of rare characters at the Oogie Boogie Bash.
   
   Heaven. Finally villains that were not out during the day time. When I even found Loki wandering around I was pretty close to a heart attack.
   
   
5. The hotels are actually doing something for Halloween.
   
   Take your time and wander to Paradise Pier if you can. Their set up this year is insane! Also they offer and extremely tasty cocktail named "The Sea Witch." The Halloween Burger there is good too, but the Sea Witch is fabulous.
   
   
6. The cast members.
   
   The last 2 pin event trips to Paris were so bad, they almost made me forget that there's Cast Members who really care. The new Hidden Mickey Pins dropped half way through my trip. A really really cool release this year. I especially wanted one of the stylized Disneyland "D" pins, the one with the Cheshire Cat. It's pretty much considered the hardest one of the entire release, and it doesn't help that all Wonderland fans want it. We needed 2 as well because the friend I was with a lot of the time is a huge Wonderland collector too.
   
   So a week into the trip me and another friend walked into a Cast Member who had a lot of the new pins on her lanyard. We got chatting, and she asked if I had found everything I wanted yet. I replied almost, but I was having no luck whatsoever with the D. My friend laughed and added that I had come from Germany and had been dragging him all over the park all week trying to find that D.
   
   She went through her pockets, pulled out a pin and asked "is this time one you are looking for?" It was. I started shaking so badly, my friend had to officially trade her for it because I couldn't get the pin off my lanyard. I stammered thank you like a complete fool, and she only smiled and said that she loves when she can make magic.
   
   Then the next day another CM saw my Rescue Rangers camera strap and randomly gifted me a Chip and Dale pin. Still a complete mystery to me how he saw that, he was doing crowd control at Fantasmic and the show was on. So really dark.
   
   A couple of days later we got chatting to another CM at Star Traders about pins. He even remembered us from a few days before. We mentioned our Chessie D hunt and that the first one had gone to our completist friend, and that I was hoping to find myself that pin before we go. (I have a rule: even if I like a character I won't take the pin if a friend collects that character too. Most of them are completists who really want all pins of that character, and I am not destroying a collection for the sake of having a pin.) After our chat we went in line for Launch Bay, which we had mentioned to him. Suddenly he shows up in line, jokingly tells me "but you have to trade me something really good for it!" and holds out the Chessie D. Everyone who was around gasped, and I almost burst out in tears. He had gone backstage, found me the pin and then made the effort to track us down. That's going way beyond anything. And of course I gave him the biggest Paris pin I had with me in trade.

The "meh":

Villains Grove.

Pretty, but I don't really get it. The line was sneaking back to the Grand and back thrice the first night.
​

The downsides, mainly event related:

1. No idea why they did not put on Oogie Boogie as a regular meet, but put him in a treat trail. Don't get me wrong, the immersive trails are done marvelous. But he's the Master of Ceremonies for the whole thing, he should be in a meet.
   
   
2. The handling of party merchandise.
   
   First party days friends of mine came in for the pins. I arrived about 10 minutes before them. Pins (and all merch but the spirit jerseys) were out, I asked if I could buy, was told yes. All shiny and fluffy. Friends ran in 10 minutes later to be told pulled, available at party only. And at the party the pins were all over the place. One store had some, but never found all in one place.
   
   The release of the spirit jerseys the first night was atrocious. They basically pushed a rack out, said "here's the merch" and the guy pushing it out ran for cover. I have never seen that much pushing and grabbing, and I have done my fair share of pin releases. My ankle went over and looked pretty nasty for a few days. I got everything me and my friends needed - seeing no one was enforcing any limits I decided not to care and bought stuff for the friends going towards the end of the season too as it was clear they'd otherwise be out of luck because resellers were swiping up everything.
   
   
3. Candy trails running out of candy 1.5 hours before the show ended - didn't seem very well organised.
   
   
4. Character meets starting off quite late. My last party was on the 26th, and the Marvel stop still did not beging a meet before 7 pm. Some got better like Kingdom Hearts, but with only 5 hours of party time and so many great characters an hour can bite you in the butt A LOT.
   
   I am not to sure if I like the idea of only putting "Disney Afternoon Friends" and such phrases on the map either. I thought Disney Channel would be more Disney Junior characters and had almost missed out on Kim Possible had a friend not seen it on Instagram and screeched. And in the Kingdom Hearts line there was an adorable couple dressed as Rescue Rangers who had no plans for the Disney Afternoon meet until I mentioned that they may want to head there because of the actual Rescue Rangers meeting.​

Best Halloween themed "Snack": The Sea Witch cockatil from Paradise Pier. The Witch Fingers at Carthay were also great. I'll try to put up a "food guide" of what I tried later tonight.

They did approach attendees about a survey at the party. I was very surprised a lot of it was character centered, even going as far as who we'd like to see. Also the survey asked about how I liked the roaming characters, plural. The only one I found was Loki (and was perfectly happy with that), but keep your eyes open for others.

 

[cruisehopeful]

The parks were very busy yesterday. We ended up not doing much, because we are the types who won't wait in line for anything.

We had a late lunch reservation for Carthay Circle, which was nice. Poison Apple Martini was not good by any means, but we didn't get one last year because they sold out so quickly. So, we were just glad that we finally got one after what we considered waiting a year for one, lol.

Carthay had a pumpkin dessert was very plain tasting. I think they should have had pumpkin creme brulee instead.

After our meal, DCA was so crowded that we escaped to DL. Pretty much just walked around for while and I wanted popcorn, but wasn't willing to wait in any of the popcorn lines. When we were leaving later, I saw the popcorn line for Main Street wasn't as bad, but I wasn't hungry anymore.

My daughter had the 13th hour brew from Harbor Galley. She said it was almost identical to the cloud coffee drink from Starbucks, but slightly better at DL.

I finally walked through Star Wars area and it was the least crowded area in all of both parks and DTD. Not a Star Wars fan, so I wasn't awed, but everyone else that I was with thought it looked great.

There was a special jewelry trunk show for 2 days only. There was a picture of some cool looking Malificent jewelry, but they were sold out of those pieces. The artist told us to check online every couple of weeks, because she was sure that they would get more.

The gift shop with Haunted Mansion stuff by POTC had a couple empty shelves. I was trying to remember what was there before. I know the walking Zero toy was gone, but I couldn't remember what else was gone. Also, I couldn't find any Hocus Pocus Dooney and Bourkes, but I saw plenty a few days ago.

My daughter told me she saw the Trader Sam's dress I've been wanting to the DTD dress shop. I've been searching online for it for a couple weeks and it's been "sold Out" on Disney, but available by black market sellers. I was really happy to be able to buy it in DTD last night, along with the Haunted Mansion dress cut in the same style. First time I've only had a 10% discount in a few years. Going to be reworking my math on this Flexpass, but will post about that in the FlexPass thread.

 

[midnight star]

I just don't understand the frenzy surrounding DL merch. Don't get me wrong, I love shopping at DL, but if it means that I will have to fear for my safety, then I can pass on it. That is mostly why I decided to shop in the middle of the party. Granted I didn't want the spirit jerseys, but even if I did, I wouldn't be willing to put myself through pushing and shoving, and total madness.

 

[woolf5150]

Heading to DLR and was curious if the crowd levels are lower in DL on nights Oogie Boogie bash. Real curious as it seems Fall crowds are growing.

 

[Mepp]

I attended last night's (Sunday) event. I arrived at the Mickey & Friends parking lot at 12:40. There was a 20-minute line to pay for parking and it took another 10 minutes for us again to our parking spot. We took another 10 minutes in the car to get our costumes and makeup on, and then took the walkway through Downtown Disney and into the parks. It was a pretty easy walk, and I think that we saved time compared to waiting for the trams. With all the walking and a modest wait at security, we got in line to go to the park right around 2, so next time I would have planned to arrive a little bit earlier. Others in our party entered through Grand Californian and it sounds like the wait was a lot shorter there.

As for fast passes, Incredicoaster and Grizzly River Run were available for most of the afternoon. Soarin' and Radiator Springs Racers was hard to get. I was able to get the fast passes that I wanted by continually refreshing the screen when I was in line for rides.

This was what we were able to accomplish arriving at 2 and leaving at around 10:30.

Incredicoaster
Soarin'
Guardians of the Galaxy
Disney Junior show
Monsters Inc
Carousel Ride
All 5 immersive treat trails and 2 non-immersive ones
Mickey's Trick and Treat
Parade
Villainous
A PhotoPass picture with the Headless Horseman statue

We hardly encountered lines on rides and the treat trails once the Halloween party started. The lines for characters looked pretty long so we avoided them. It was a little tough finding a good spot for parade 15 minutes before the start, but we did end up finding one. We did find a good viewing spot for a Villainous 20 minutes before the show started.

We flew back through LAX with a carry-on luggage half full of candy. Security did go through all of the candy, dumping out each bag before putting the candy back. Some stations give out applesauce, so make sure you declare those separately in your carry-on if you're in a similar situation as I was.

 

[midnight star]

Heading to DLR and was curious if the crowd levels are lower in DL on nights Oogie Boogie bash. Real curious as it seems Fall crowds are growing.

Yesterday was pretty crowded at DL. But today LAUSD doesn’t have school so I’m sure people stayed late for fireworks and parade.

 

[seesclubhouse]

can anyone going today or tomorrow confirm about the cauldrons ap buckets being sold out, or the witch fingers being already sold out at carthay lounge? a bit ridiculous its not even oct 1st and stuff is already picked clean by vulture evilbay re-sellers. I wont be at the parks till wednesday and was hoping to nab an ap bucket.

 

[midnight star]

can anyone going today or tomorrow confirm about the cauldrons ap buckets being sold out, or the witch fingers being already sold out at carthay lounge? a bit ridiculous its not even oct 1st and stuff is already picked clean by vulture evilbay re-sellers. I wont be at the parks till wednesday and was hoping to nab an ap bucket.

I can confirm about the witch fingers. I went to Carthay lounge yesterday specifically to eat them and the bartender said they sold out and I doubt it was sold out just for that day because I got there at noon and it opened at 11:30am. They have the glow cubes though. Maybe when you go they will have them again

Yes it sucks regarding the merchandise. I’m not shocked though. Happens every year

 

[seesclubhouse]

I can confirm about the witch fingers. I went to Carthay lounge yesterday specifically to eat them and the bartender said they sold out and I doubt it was sold out just for that day because I got there at noon and it opened at 11:30am. They have the glow cubes though. Maybe when you go they will have them again

Yes it sucks regarding the merchandise. I’m not shocked though. Happens every year

Ill be sure to update on stuff when I'm down if anyone needs a count of something they aim to procure.

 

[Erin M]

Are there any reports this year of being able to buy tickets day of as a resort guest? We went to the party on Thursday, but have friends who missed out on getting tickets for Halloween night and are staying at the DLH. Thanks!

We had a friend in our party who was able to buy two tickets the morning of the party at the DLH. Tickets went on sale at 6:30am. There were a few people in line, might be bussier on actual Halloween though.

 

[AndrewC]

I might be trying to get a Halloween ticket for a Sunday party. I know I've been able to get them at the front desk of the DLH before, but I'm curious about this situation. I'm checking IN on Sunday, do you think I could try to snag a ticket for that nights party, or would they say I'm not officially a guest yet since I haven't received a room yet (I assume that happens what, between noon and 4pm based on availability?)

 

[AndrewC]

11 days for us... we are landing at 2 pm... at dreaded LAX... I couldn’t justify the price difference this time, so sad about not flying into SNA or LGB. Staying at the Fairfield, also new, we usually stay on site. I think we are going to pretty much throw our bag at them and go to the park and check in later. I guess we will see how long the line is at reception.

We have OBB that night, and we are going to the Darkside the next day and do the park and the HHN that night. Then back to DLR for Saturday and the bulk of Sunday. I got F! “linner” at BB at 3 pm Saturday, and I just scored Oga’s for 12:30 pm too.... Sunday we are doing brunch at Storytellers... other than that we are just mobile ordering around the park.... hit hot topic and dd got some cute tees... we also got blinky ghost and bat necklaces from Freddy’s... really getting excited here!

Quick comment about this, what tickets do you have for HHN? I've gone the last four years and lines are often 75+ min and for popular things (Stranger Things) 150+ minutes. I highly recommend at least front of the line (works once for each maze) or RIP tour (unlimited front of the line for every maze + guided portion which lasts about 3 hours). I know it's crazy expensive, but the mazes are ~3 to 5 minutes to walk through and have LOADS of detail. Very easy to do two or three times and take it all in, but waiting an hour or two for that is killer and I've chatted with a lot of people that are upset after only doing less then half the mazes after a full night because of lines. If you already got tickets, call Universal and see if you can have those applied toward the cost of a front of the line or RIP if you're wanting to switch. It's worth it so much.

(That said, I tend to go sometime during Oct 20 - 28th, but I suspect lines are pretty rough all October)

 

[crvetter]

I might be trying to get a Halloween ticket for a Sunday party. I know I've been able to get them at the front desk of the DLH before, but I'm curious about this situation. I'm checking IN on Sunday, do you think I could try to snag a ticket for that nights party, or would they say I'm not officially a guest yet since I haven't received a room yet (I assume that happens what, between noon and 4pm based on availability?)

Disney considers you a guest with access to the amenities on check in day (not the time the room would be available) so as soon as you get there on that day I assume you'll have no problem. Anecdotally, I know I checked in on 9/19 at GCH at 6:30 AM and they offered me tickets for that party's night on the spot (I did already have it though).

 

[seesclubhouse]

Quick comment about this, what tickets do you have for HHN? I've gone the last four years and lines are often 75+ min and for popular things (Stranger Things) 150+ minutes. I highly recommend at least front of the line (works once for each maze) or RIP tour (unlimited front of the line for every maze + guided portion which lasts about 3 hours). I know it's crazy expensive, but the mazes are ~3 to 5 minutes to walk through and have LOADS of detail. Very easy to do two or three times and take it all in, but waiting an hour or two for that is killer and I've chatted with a lot of people that are upset after only doing less then half the mazes after a full night because of lines. If you already got tickets, call Universal and see if you can have those applied toward the cost of a front of the line or RIP if you're wanting to switch. It's worth it so much.

(That said, I tend to go sometime during Oct 20 - 28th, but I suspect lines are pretty rough all October)

(my off topic comment)
I've never had an issue if you do early drop, get right in, skip the scareamonies and hit the backlot pronto and or stranger things. almost all the mazes will be open early this year it seems.
I will say though, if you got the $$$ and if you want to repeat mazes have the FOLP comes in handy, did it for the year the krampus maze was up.

 

[Mommy2PrincessAbby]

Quick comment about this, what tickets do you have for HHN?

We are actually doing the VIP tour during the day (we have done Orlando a couple times, but never Hollywood, and didn’t want to spend the day in lines...) and we have HHN express passes for that night... expensive day at the park, but worth it to us to save standing around time.