HalloweenTime at DLR Info and Photo Superthread #3

[figment_jii]

Are the characters during the party limited to just the meet-and-greet spots listed on the map, or do they walk around freely as well?

I noticed Judge Frollo wandering around Town Square without a formal meet and greet area. Lady Tremaine and her two step daughters also follow the villains procession and kind of wander around. I think Rancho del Zocalo might be the only treat trail where characters are nearby; there is a dance party at that same site. I didn't see any characters in the lines at Toontown, the Main Street Movie House, New Orleans Square, Critter Country, or Fantasyland treat trails. (As I mentioned Frollo was kind of wandering around and did visit the start of the Town Square treat trail.) Over in Toontown, the characters were kind of "wandering" especially when they did not have lines yet formed or when they were getting to their meet and greet locations.

Not specific to MHP, but the characters do wander around a lot at the Big Thunder Carnival area. The villains are in the tent (so no wandering), but all the other characters (I was Chip & Dale, Donald, and Mickey) were freely wandering around the Carnival area.

 

[rosanab1031]

One more day before I go to MHP!!!! I was only able to get ticket for the 18th. Next year I know know I'm going twice if not more than that.

YAY! I hope you have an amazing time!

After having the fireworks cancelled during my very first MHP I think I will definitely be buying tickets for two different nights next year. Unfortunately EVERYTHING but Halloween night is all sold out right now and since that is the day of my birthday we already have plans. Looking forward to next year though!

Thank you! My next step will be finding a place to eat in the park for dinner then. Nothing worse then hungry cranky kids late at night! For some reason I always forget to eat while running around Disney. My husband says its because Im too excited and am afraid I will miss something. I think he nailed it. Im worse then the kids. I get back to the hotel and binge eat whatever I can because I realized im starved.

FOMO= Fear Of Missing Out! Lol. Learned that one at camp when NO one wanted to go to sleep because we all had FOMO. Lol.

One of my favorite things to do at Disney is eat! Lol. There are even some really great restaurants in DD to help avoid some of the madness in the park. We ate at Tortilla Jo's before we were allowed into the park for our MHP. Then we just bought snack while inside

 

[kmedina]

Unfortunately EVERYTHING but Halloween night is all sold out right now and since that is the day of my birthday we already have plans. Looking forward to next year though!

Halloween is sold out. The 30th is the only day with an opening.

Happy early birthday.

 

[dnamertz]

I noticed Judge Frollo wandering around Town Square without a formal meet and greet area. Lady Tremaine and her two step daughters also follow the villains procession and kind of wander around. I think Rancho del Zocalo might be the only treat trail where characters are nearby; there is a dance party at that same site. I didn't see any characters in the lines at Toontown, the Main Street Movie House, New Orleans Square, Critter Country, or Fantasyland treat trails. (As I mentioned Frollo was kind of wandering around and did visit the start of the Town Square treat trail.) Over in Toontown, the characters were kind of "wandering" especially when they did not have lines yet formed or when they were getting to their meet and greet locations.

So, there is a dance party there this year? Someone else said there is not.

 

[Jenn1116]

24 hour countdown. I'm dancing in my cubie! Au revoir, co-workers

(Just ignore my clock below, we're leaving a day early. )

Thanks for putting up with and answering all my questions.

 

[Disney127]

So what should our plan be? We are going on the 21st party as well. Do share!! lol I need help! What time do you plan on being dressed in costume and in the park?

So excited! We are leaving tomorrow! Have been planning this trip since our last visit in February and looking forward to seeing all the Halloween decorations. We will be attending the parties on the 21th and 25th and also celebrating my parents' 48th anniversary (they haven't been to DLR since 2002). They are even dressing up! Thanks to all the advice and trip reports, I think that we will just go in with an open mind about the crowds. We plan to have an early dinner, go to TT and maybe some rides & meet n greets (depending on the lines) and doing the treat or treat stations towards the end (don't need that much candy to keep us happy ). Also, we do not want to miss the fireworks or cavalcade. We have two nights at the parties so if we miss something the first night, we can try again on the second night. We plan on being dressed and in the parks around 3 pm and 4 pm on the two days and just go with the flow! It will be good to compare a week night to a Friday night

 

[Sherry E]

I wonder if any of our Halloween Time visitors who got into Disneyland when it opened this morning happened to see local L.A. entertainment reporter/TV host Sam Rubin taping his news segments by the giant Mickey pumpkin on Main Street?? If you were entering Disneyland and facing the pumpkin and Main Street, Sam and his crew would have been on your left-hand side.

Sam Rubin is a fixture on the KTLA Morning News, and today he did several live segments from DL as he stood next to the giant pumpkin. At one point he interviewed one of the Disneyland Ambassadors. At another point he interviewed one of the stars of Pretty Little Liars. At another point he was talking about his bike shorts. Mickey (dressed in Halloween attire) joined Sam for a minute, when the Ambassador was there. For the first segment or two the park had not opened yet, but Sam stayed there even after it opened and people were coming up to the pumpkin to get pictures taken (I could see them in the background).

Every year at least a couple of our local morning news channels send a reporter out to Disneyland for Halloween Time and then for the Holiday season. Sam is often the one to do the Disneyland stories for KTLA -- he also covered all of the Cars Land opening stuff last year as well, on Media Day. I suspect he'll be back when Winter Dreams opens next month.

​

By the way..... How crazy is it that we have all been here for months, discussing Halloween Time, discussing Halloween in general, sharing spooky stories and discussing creepy TV shows, anticipating the seasonal fun, announcing the first signs of Autumn popping up in stores and assorted seasonal treats -- and both Halloween, the holiday, and Halloween Time, the season, will already be over and completely behind us in exactly 2 weeks? That just blows my mind, for some reason!

I've been so anxious for "the fun months" to begin (September-October-November-December) and for Halloween Time to begin, and now this part of the fun is almost at an end!

I can recall when the AP Backstage Pass newsletter/magazine came out, like 5-1/2 months ago, and it had the the MHP start date listed as Monday, 9/30, which was totally wrong! And then we waited for the full list of dates for the MHP to be announced, and then for the MHP tickets to go on sale. I can remember TheZue telling us that a Costco friend reported that Halloween things arrived in that store, in July. And now there are only 13 days until Halloween!

Memories...like the corners of my mind...Misty water-colored memories...

I can't even believe it's been 5 weeks since Halloween Time began! Time flies soooooooo fast these days.

 

[figment_jii]

Continuing with Mickey's Halloween Party...this time the Cadaver Dans and the fireworks! Both were a lot of fun and well worth seeing.

The Cadaver Dans perform on the Rivers of America at set times during the evening. They're on one of the "rafts" and kind of start over by the PotC and then drift/motor towards the Golden Horseshoe and then back. They sing a set of songs (about 15-minutes, I think) with Halloween themes. They open and close with "This is Halloween" (which I think is Disney's "go to" Halloween song because it's in the fireworks and Mad T uses it too!).

Off in the distance:

Closer-up:

The dry ice makes for a very cool effect for both the Cadaver Dans and the Columbia, which is docked by the Pirates meet and greet.

And then there are the fireworks! These are among my favorites, primarily because Zero flies! It's harder and harder to find a good, non-hub spot because of the trees on both sides of the Partner Statue area. Those really can affect your ability to see the show. For Halloween Screams, make sure you can see the left side of the castle (when facing it) because that's where the ball appears.

Next time...general atmosphere and decorations!

 

[Spirit Mage]

I wonder if any of our Halloween Time visitors who got into Disneyland when it opened this morning happened to see local L.A. entertainment reporter/TV host Sam Rubin taping his news segments by the giant Mickey pumpkin on Main Street?? If you were entering Disneyland and facing the pumpkin and Main Street, Sam and his crew would have been on your left-hand side.

Sam Rubin is a fixture on the KTLA Morning News, and today he did several live segments from DL as he stood next to the giant pumpkin. At one point he interviewed one of the Disneyland Ambassadors. At another point he interviewed one of the stars of Pretty Little Liars. At another point he was talking about his bike shorts. Mickey (dressed in Halloween attire) joined Sam for a minute, when the Ambassador was there. For the first segment or two the park had not opened yet, but Sam stayed there even after it opened and people were coming up to the pumpkin to get pictures taken (I could see them in the background).

Every year at least a couple of our local morning news channels send a reporter out to Disneyland for Halloween Time and then for the Holiday season. Sam is often the one to do the Disneyland stories for KTLA -- he also covered all of the Cars Land opening stuff last year as well, on Media Day. I suspect he'll be back when Winter Dreams opens next month.

​

By the way..... How crazy is it that we have all been here for months, discussing Halloween Time, discussing Halloween in general, sharing spooky stories and discussing creepy TV shows, anticipating the seasonal fun, announcing the first signs of Autumn popping up in stores and assorted seasonal treats -- and both Halloween, the holiday, and Halloween Time, the season, will already be over and completely behind us in exactly 2 weeks? That just blows my mind, for some reason!

I've been so anxious for "the fun months" to begin (September-October-November-December) and for Halloween Time to begin, and now this part of the fun is almost at an end!

I can recall when the AP Backstage Pass newsletter/magazine came out, like 5-1/2 months ago, and it had the the MHP start date listed as Monday, 9/30, which was totally wrong! And then we waited for the full list of dates for the MHP to be announced, and then for the MHP tickets to go on sale. I can remember TheZue telling us that a Costco friend reported that Halloween things arrived in that store, in July. And now there are only 13 days until Halloween!

Memories...like the corners of my mind...Misty water-colored memories...

I can't even believe it's been 5 weeks since Halloween Time began! Time flies soooooooo fast these days.

I was watching him this morning. I was thinking about going down to try and catch him but it's too far LOL. I was sad that I didn't know he was going to be there! I love Sam! I thought he looked good in his bike outfit LOL But I've seen him live in person and he is much, much thinner in person than the camera makes him appear.

 

[SingWithFlowers]

Whelp we might not be going... 31st is sold out as I suspected it would (mom insisted she didn't think it would sell out). I know there is a glimmer of hope for getting tickets day of, but I have to look back through "sold out" threads. Even if we don't make it to the party I would like to make even just a day trip to see the "fall/halloween time decor".

 

[siburdue]

I attended the first two parties, Friday September 27 and Tuesday, October 1. Sorry it took so long to post this, but I got really sick when I returned and am just now feelig better. Anyway, our goal in attending the parties was to get as many character photos as possible with characters we did not previously have pictures of, or everyday characters in Halloween costumes, and to just really soak up the atmosphere and enjoy ourselves. We also wanted to see the Rivers of America and the Cadaver Dans. I am happy to say that we met our goal! We had photos taken with 14 characters at the first party and 12 different characters at the second party. I will talk about the 09/27 party in this post.

We got to the park at about 4pm on 09/27. Although the party lines at the entry gates were long, they moved rather quickly. We had a late lunch just prior to going to the park, so we didn’t have to worry about dinner. We went to pick up our photopass plus, then wandered around and went to Mickey’s Magical Map. The show ended just before 6:00 and we saw a roped off line heading to Toon Town, and I asked a CM about it and so we got in the line. Luckily for us, the line wasn’t too bad – it was long, but people spread out once they got in to Toon Town. We immediately saw Roger Rabbit and went to get photos with him (he was in the middle of the treat trail to the right when you got in to Toon Town. Then we saw Clarabelle Cow and took photos with her – she was going to leave, but I smooth talked her into a few photos before she swapped out with Goofy. We also got photos with Goofy and Pluto (loved his spiked collar made from caramel corn) and Sorcerer Donald.


DSCF5073 by siburdue, on Flickr

DSCF5063 by siburdue, on Flickr


The trick or treat lines were long, so we left the area and headed up main street to see the villains since it was just about 7:00. As previously reported, what a nightmare heading down main street at that time! Everything was blocked and there were rows of CMs holding party signs, but not providing any real info. Of course, we showed our arm band multiple times through our trek! As we walked down Main Street, we snapped photos of the projections on the building (spiderwebs, heffalumps (sp?) and skeletons).


DSCF5090 by siburdue, on Flickr

We got in line to see the first set of villains, which was Cruella, Dr. Facilier and the Queen of Hearts. The line, of course, was fairly long, so by the time we got to the see the villains, the Queen of Hearts was gone and had been replaced by Jafar. We then headed out of the Main Street area, as it was too crazy with people leaving the park and entering the park. We headed off to the Rivers of America. We saw Captain Hook, Wendy and Peter Pan together. Then stopped to watch the Cadaver Dans, while we trick or treated along the Rivers of America.


DSCF5119 by siburdue, on Flickr

We continued to trick or treat our way over to see Pooh and the gang. Rabbit was there when we arrived, but then he left and was replaced by Eeyore. We headed back towards Main Street and visited with Cinderella, Tiana and Snow White at the Royal Theatre, took photos of the castle with projections on it, and also the pumpkin lights surrounding the Walt Statue.


DSCF5093 by siburdue, on Flickr

We did not plan on or go on any rides during the party. Even though we just trick or treated on the way to where we were going, we still had a large bag of candy by the end of the night. At about 11:30 we were back on Main Street to see the villains show. There was a photopass photographer at the area where Cinderella’s step mother/sisters had been earlier, and he took some really fun photos of us with the spooky background. We had a fabulous time!


DSCF5148 by siburdue, on Flickr

 

[siburdue]

As a continuation of my previous post, this post will talk about the party on Tuesday, 10/01. Prior to the party, we saw Jack & Sally - if you want to see them together, ask the CM character handler when that will happen


DSCF5839 by siburdue, on Flickr

We were in the park that day anyway, so we went to Frontierland to get our arm band about 3:00. The line wasn’t too long and moved very quickly. We then decided to go see who was at Big Thunder Ranch, and to try our hands at conjuring a villain. We saw Jessie and Woody together and got photos with them, and we also saw Mickey, Minnie, Pluto and Donald dressed in Halloween attire, and used our own camera to take photos with them. We conjured up Captain Hook (about a 10 minute wait), and asked who else we may see that day. We were told that it would be better to come back the next day to see the villain we wanted to see. We played the games there and took pictures of the carved pumpkins. Then we headed off to get some dinner at Hungry Bear Restaurant. Once the party officially started at 6:00 we headed to see Jasmine & Aladdin. We asked when the Genie would be there, and they said in 10 minutes, so we waited to see him, too. It was great. About 8:00 we headed to Main Street to try to see the 2nd set of villains. We saw Cinderellas Step Mother/Sisters and then got into line, as I had asked a CM when they were changing out the villains and I wanted to make sure we would see the 2nd set of villains. The line to see the villains was long all night long from what I could tell – it was into the entry tunnel, and it was not very fast moving. The carriage then brought the villains and we finally got to see them (the Evil Queen, Malificent & Hades). We were so disappointed that they traded out Hades for Jafar 3 families before us, but with the ‘headed’ characters, they change out frequently and you couldn’t count on seeing the one you wanted. We then split up and I went to see the storm troopers while my friend went to see Jack Sparrow (she also saw Captain Hook & Smee – guess there were trading out with Smee that night instead of Wendy/Peter Pan whom we saw the night before). I found a decent spot to watch the fireworks, as it was a roped off area to the side with a lot of strollers and the music scared the kids, so they quickly left. I was able to see the globe to the left of the castle, which I was unable to do last year, so that was neat. I even took a few photos with my automatic camera!


DSCF6080 by siburdue, on Flickr

DSCF6090 by siburdue, on Flickr

After the fireworks I headed to Fantasyland and took a few photos of IASW with the projections of pumpkins on it (after taking a photo of the castle with a spiderweb projection).


DSCF6108 by siburdue, on Flickr

DSCF6110 by siburdue, on Flickr

DSCF6113 by siburdue, on Flickr

Then went to Frontierland and the Golden Horseshoe Revue, finally to the Rancho del Zocalo Restaurant. Goofy, Pluto, Chip, Dale and Donald were all there in pirate garb, along with a group of CMs dresses as pirates (this was a trick or treat area). I think the characters were tired and getting loony, and we got some great photos of them clowning around.


DSCF6122 by siburdue, on Flickr

DSCF6128 by siburdue, on Flickr

DSCF6159 by siburdue, on Flickr

Once again, we closed down the park and we had about 2/3 bag of candy, even though trick or treating was not our highest priority!

I agree with everyone that the parties are too crowded. Since they only sell a limited number of tickets, I would have expected less people than a regular (busy) park day. Also, I would like to see them close down the park and then reopen for party guests only, as it was just too too crazy during the transition times. However, we knew that the park would be packed, and we had a tentative plan as to what we wanted to do, and we did accomplish that and more, and we were VERY happy. We really enjoyed the decorations and people watching. We figure that about 40% of the people were in costume, some were quite elaborate and it was hard to tell if they were a Cast Member or a guest! The one thing I did miss from last year, was the scarecrows hanging from poles and chatting with the crowd. This year, they were just walking around and it didn’t feel extra special like it did last year.

 

[Kilala]

One of my fiends is not going to make it the party tonight. Here's the costume I'm going to wear tonight.




This is my version of one of the charcters from the musical Cats, Demeter. I'm going to try to get there by 5:15pm

 

[Jenn1116]

Great pictures siburdue.

 

[dnamertz]

After the fireworks I headed to Fantasyland and took a few photos of IASW with the projections of pumpkins on it (after taking a photo of the castle with a spiderweb projection).

DSCF6108 by siburdue, on Flickr

DSCF6110 by siburdue, on Flickr

I love the pictures of IASW. I wonder if they'll have those at the 10/21 party, as that is the first day IASW closes for the holiday installations.

So excited! We are leaving tomorrow! Have been planning this trip since our last visit in February and looking forward to seeing all the Halloween decorations. We will be attending the parties on the 21th and 25th and also celebrating my parents' 48th anniversary (they haven't been to DLR since 2002).

That is so funny. We are also leaving tomorrow, attending the Oct 21st party and going with my parents who just celebrated their 48th anniversary this summer.

 

[Lucrezia]

I noticed Judge Frollo wandering around Town Square without a formal meet and greet area. Lady Tremaine and her two step daughters also follow the villains procession and kind of wander around. I think Rancho del Zocalo might be the only treat trail where characters are nearby; there is a dance party at that same site. I didn't see any characters in the lines at Toontown, the Main Street Movie House, New Orleans Square, Critter Country, or Fantasyland treat trails. (As I mentioned Frollo was kind of wandering around and did visit the start of the Town Square treat trail.) Over in Toontown, the characters were kind of "wandering" especially when they did not have lines yet formed or when they were getting to their meet and greet locations.

Not specific to MHP, but the characters do wander around a lot at the Big Thunder Carnival area. The villains are in the tent (so no wandering), but all the other characters (I was Chip & Dale, Donald, and Mickey) were freely wandering around the Carnival area.

Thank you!! This very much helps. I cannot believe this thread is up to 199 pages! Correct me if I'm wrong, Sherry, but isn't the page limit 200?? You sure have your work cut out for you in creating another one of these. Day after the day after tomorrow, we'll be going to Disneyland!!! Wish us luck... we'll need it lol

 

[Disney127]

That is so funny. We are also leaving tomorrow, attending the Oct 21st party and going with my parents who just celebrated their 48th anniversary this summer.

LOL That is funny! I am also bringing my DD (11) and DD (17) who loves Halloween! Hubby has to work so no vacation for him, besides he's not a big Disney fan. My parents will be dressed up as prisoners so if you see us, come and say 'hi'!

 

[Sherry E]

Thank you!! This very much helps. I cannot believe this thread is up to 199 pages! Correct me if I'm wrong, Sherry, but isn't the page limit 200?? You sure have your work cut out for you in creating another one of these. Day after the day after tomorrow, we'll be going to Disneyland!!! Wish us luck... we'll need it lol

Lucrezia --

No. The page limit is 250. If it were 200 I would have already started a new thread. There's plenty of room in this thread to carry us through the next 2 weeks.

This thread won't be any more work than the Christmas thread was in putting together -- that took weeks and weeks -- but if I want to put the same kinds of info (categories, sections, links, etc.) in the next Halloween thread that I put in the Christmas thread, it will be an ongoing process. It doesn't happen quickly. I am detailed and thorough when I gather up all of that info and organize it, so it will take a while. It has to be done a little at a time. But, the timing is perfect because -- as I mentioned on the previous page -- the Halloween season is almost over. That's the time to work on new threads -- when the current Halloween season is about to end and there is a long time before the next Halloween season begins!

 

[Lucrezia]

Lucrezia --

No. The page limit is 250. If it were 200 I would have already started a new thread. There's plenty of room in this thread to carry us through the next 2 weeks.

This thread won't be any more work than the Christmas thread was in putting together -- that took weeks and weeks -- but if I want to put the same kinds of info (categories, sections, links, etc.) in the next Halloween thread that I put in the Christmas thread, it will be an ongoing process. It doesn't happen quickly. I am detailed and thorough when I gather up all of that info and organize it, so it will take a while. It has to be done a little at a time. But, the timing is perfect because -- as I mentioned on the previous page -- the Halloween season is almost over. That's the time to work on new threads -- when the current Halloween season is about to end and there is a long time before the next Halloween season begins!

Riiiight, 250. That's what I meant. Total props to you by the way for putting together all these great threads! I do imagine it takes a lot of effort, especially with keeping them up to date and all. I very much appreciate the work you put into it because I know it's definitely helped my fiancé and I with our planning. And many many more people here probably feel the same. Thanks again!! (As a side note, I'll post pics and an update here when I get back from my long-awaited Disney trip next Saturday... eeek I'm so nervous-slash-excited!)

 

[siburdue]

Great pictures siburdue.

Thanks - it was hard to pick just a few to post, since I have over 2,000 from the trip