Halloween week

[tinks_1989]

Hello,

We are just waiting for DH to get the thumbs up from work that he can have time off before we click and book a week at Disneyland.

We are looking to come October 25th-November the 1st. How busy will it be? We are first timers to DL and I am sorry I have googled it but just can't seem to find a crowd calendar any where. I just get WDW or DL but the dates don't reach October yet.

We are planning on getting a 5 day hopper. We have a 3 year old with us so we would like the extra days so we know we can do everything at a slightly slower pace.

Is the MNSSHP worth it at DL? We love it at WDW is it just as good at DL?

Sorry for all the questions I'm just very excited to finally visit the original DL.

 

[figment_jii]

Hello,

We are just waiting for DH to get the thumbs up from work that he can have time off before we click and book a week at Disneyland.

We are looking to come October 25th-November the 1st. How busy will it be? We are first timers to DL and I am sorry I have googled it but just can't seem to find a crowd calendar any where. I just get WDW or DL but the dates don't reach October yet.

We are planning on getting a 5 day hopper. We have a 3 year old with us so we would like the extra days so we know we can do everything at a slightly slower pace.

Is the MNSSHP worth it at DL? We love it at WDW is it just as good at DL?

Sorry for all the questions I'm just very excited to finally visit the original DL.

Disneyland during the HalloweenTime season is a lot of fun. I suspect the weekdays during that period will be pretty manageable. Friday (Halloween) and the weekend will be busy.

Disneyland has Mickey's Halloween Party (MHP), which is a lot of fun. In some ways it's similiar to MNSSHP and in some ways it is very different. If you go to MHP expecting MNSSHP I think you'll be disappointed. However I'd you go with an open mind, MHP is a great experience. It has an awesome fireworks show, lots of great trick-or-treating, character meet and greets, and dance parties. Halloween night will most likely sell out well in advance. Last year, 11 of the 13 parties sold out before the day of the event, so they are very popular.

There is a HalloweenTime Super Thread that will have all of the info about HalloweenTime at DLR as it comes out.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

Mickey's Halloween Party (MHP) is lots of fun! As stated above, just remember that DL is very different from MK and that the party is different, too. Who wants cookie cutter experiences wherever they go? Enjoy the differences and have fun! DL is a smaller park than MK, so that should be an advantage with a 3 yo. You will be able to cover more ground and do more things at the party -- our little ones liked DL better because the rides were closer together, so walking around was not so tiring for them.
FYI, on MHP dates, DL closes early to non-party ticketed guests (at either 6pm or 7pm, depending on the party start time). So, should you decide not to go to MHP, you will have early closing at DL on at least one, if not two, days during your trip. Last year, DL had MHP on 10/30 and 10/31. When DL closes early, you can head for DCA, but expect it to be more crowded because of all the other non-party guests who had to head over there, too.

 

[tinks_1989]

That's brilliant thank you both of you.

So during the week except Halloween it should be a good week? DH wants to try other places so we will plan to go where he wants on the busy days at DL.

I need to find these threads. I have started the fantasmic one. Are there any dinner fantasmic packages like there is at WDW? I saw in their website there was one for world of color but they also have a FP for that.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

There is no dinner package for F! at DL, but there is a VIP dessert package that includes reserved seating and a generous dessert box. You can find info about that in the F! super thread. Read the first post in the WOC super thread to get a better idea about the differences between the WOC Preferred Dining packages and the regular fast passes. Both are fine, depending on your preference. The more you know about them, the better off you will be.

 

[tinks_1989]

There is no dinner package for F! at DL, but there is a VIP dessert package that includes reserved seating and a generous dessert box. You can find info about that in the F! super thread. Read the first post in the WOC super thread to get a better idea about the differences between the WOC Preferred Dining packages and the regular fast passes. Both are fine, depending on your preference. The more you know about them, the better off you will be.

Thank you so much I have a lot to read.

 

[tarheelalum]

It probably going to be busy all week. Just more so near Halloween.

 

[tinks_1989]

It probably going to be busy all week. Just more so near Halloween.

Would you advise a first timer to go a different week? We aren't tied to school holidays and can go when ever we want it was just a week that fitted in well.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

If you want to see the Halloween Time decorations, then your chosen week may work quite well. Other weeks in October can be very crowded because of large conventions or school holidays. You'll have the weekdays, which won't be so crowded earlier in the day. And with all the research you'll be able to do here (e.g. fast pass, rider switch, MHP, etc.), you should be prepared for whatever happens, making for a much more enjoyable trip. Your 3 yo may not be tall enough for many of the more exciting rides (namely, the rides with the longer lines), so that may be a good thing -- it will free up much of your day to enjoy other things with him/her. Will you be staying at one of the DLR hotels? That would give you early entry at alternating parks, which could help you get a lot more done in the mornings when the crowds are lower.
If Halloween decorations aren't a priority, you might enjoy the Holiday Time decorations, which go up right after Halloween is over (Halloween things start coming down after closing on 10/31!). Thanksgiving week in November and the weeks right before and after Christmas can be very crowded, but the weeks in between (late November to mid December) usually aren't bad.

 

[TreeDharni]

We went Oct 29-31 2012. We really thought the crowd levels were fine. We only did MHP on Halloween day. It kind of sucked having really short days on the other days. As for the party, it was crazy busy. I never saw any characters for meet and greets (but I was not looking). The "trick or treat" lines were very well managed and quick to get through. Best of all all the rides were less than 10 min wait because all the kids (and parents of said kids) were doing other stuff like meet and greets. We stayed at PPH so we has EMH all 3 days. At GCA there was hardly anyone in the park for EMH. We walked on all the rides we wanted including RSR. It was awesome. I highly recommend riding RSR in the daytime and night time. The last time I was at DL was June of 2010 and I felt like the October trip was very much less crowded. We are going the first week of December this year and hope for even smaller crowds. I hope you have a magical trip!

 

[tinks_1989]

If you want to see the Halloween Time decorations, then your chosen week may work quite well. Other weeks in October can be very crowded because of large conventions or school holidays. You'll have the weekdays, which won't be so crowded earlier in the day. And with all the research you'll be able to do here (e.g. fast pass, rider switch, MHP, etc.), you should be prepared for whatever happens, making for a much more enjoyable trip. Your 3 yo may not be tall enough for many of the more exciting rides (namely, the rides with the longer lines), so that may be a good thing -- it will free up much of your day to enjoy other things with him/her. Will you be staying at one of the DLR hotels? That would give you early entry at alternating parks, which could help you get a lot more done in the mornings when the crowds are lower.
If Halloween decorations aren't a priority, you might enjoy the Holiday Time decorations, which go up right after Halloween is over (Halloween things start coming down after closing on 10/31!). Thanksgiving week in November and the weeks right before and after Christmas can be very crowded, but the weeks in between (late November to mid December) usually aren't bad.

I would love to see the Halloween decorations. We have been to Disneyland Paris and WDW at Halloween and love seeing it decorated.
No she isn't tall enough she is very petite. She does love rides though she has the height requirement for TOT on her height chart lol!
We aren't staying on site unfortunately our ticket does include one early entry.
Do they do anything at DTD for Halloween like they do at WDW?
I can't take time off in December I would love to Disney at Christmas but my work doesn't allow it.

We went Oct 29-31 2012. We really thought the crowd levels were fine. We only did MHP on Halloween day. It kind of sucked having really short days on the other days. As for the party, it was crazy busy. I never saw any characters for meet and greets (but I was not looking). The "trick or treat" lines were very well managed and quick to get through. Best of all all the rides were less than 10 min wait because all the kids (and parents of said kids) were doing other stuff like meet and greets. We stayed at PPH so we has EMH all 3 days. At GCA there was hardly anyone in the park for EMH. We walked on all the rides we wanted including RSR. It was awesome. I highly recommend riding RSR in the daytime and night time. The last time I was at DL was June of 2010 and I felt like the October trip was very much less crowded. We are going the first week of December this year and hope for even smaller crowds. I hope you have a magical trip!

Are both parks closed during party nights? We may just avoid the parks on party nights. Were the days between manageable?

 

[figment_jii]

Do they do anything at DTD for Halloween like they do at WDW?

WDW's DTD does something for Halloween? I only ask because the last I had heard was they discontinued trick-or-treating at WDW's DTD in 2011 or 2012.

Are both parks closed during party nights? We may just avoid the parks on party nights. Were the days between manageable?

No, only DL closes early for MHP. Last year, DCA tended to remain open until 8:00 pm on the weeknight when there were parties and midnight on Friday.

 

[tinks_1989]

WDW's DTD does something for Halloween? I only ask because the last I had heard was they discontinued trick-or-treating at WDW's DTD in 2011 or 2012. No, only DL closes early for MHP. Last year, DCA tended to remain open until 8:00 pm on the weeknight when there were parties and midnight on Friday.

Oh has it stopped? I thought it was still going.

We are looking at staying 10days now and getting APs. Are these the same price no matter what your age?

 

[figment_jii]

Oh has it stopped? I thought it was still going.

We are looking at staying 10days now and getting APs. Are these the same price no matter what your age?

I had never really looked into it before, but based on the tickets prices listed on Disneyland.com, it looks like the price for an adult AP is the same as the AP for ages 3-9.
https://disneyland.disney.go.com/tickets/

 

[tinks_1989]

I had never really looked into it before, but based on the tickets prices listed on Disneyland.com, it looks like the price for an adult AP is the same as the AP for ages 3-9. https://disneyland.disney.go.com/tickets/

That's ok I thought it was. I had searched and read all the FQAs but couldn't see any price structure for age so just guessed it was one price for all.