We will be there Sept 7th through to the 17th. I am hopeful that they will start Halloween time early enough we would see it (and I would absolutely kill for a MHP during out stay!)
I also had assumed that PL was open all year round like at WDW but apparently it is Halloween only so fingers crossed that that opens for us too! Does anyone know when PL opened last year?
mummabear --
Pirates League was open in its new location at the Halloween Carnival on the first day of Halloween Time last year -- which was Friday, 9/13/13. In 2012 it was in New Orleans Square.
You will definitely get the Halloween experience during some of your trip. It is always possible that DLR could switch things up on us and start Halloween Time a few days later than we expect -- in other words, instead of 9/12 they could start it on Monday, 9/15 or something. It's not too likely, but it's possible. Still, you'd at least have a couple of days of official Halloween Time fun!
Also, even before the season officially starts you will see Halloween merchandise in the stores around DLR and certain treats popping up in the candy and bake shops. You will also see the bright orange character pumpkins above the DL turnstiles appear before the season officially begins.
I don't think the MHP will officially start any earlier than 9/26 this year, if DLR keeps up with the pattern of beginning it 2 weeks after the Halloween Time season starts, and assuming Halloween Time begins on 9/12. One of these days they may chance it and try to start the MHP a little closer to when Halloween Time begins, but who knows when they would try out that plan?
Last year there was a big goof/misprint in the
Backstage Pass newsletter for AP holders that said the MHP was starting on a Monday night instead of a Friday night. It was completely incorrect, which we came to find out later -- after people adjusted their plans and changed trip dates. The party began, as we all originally expected, on a Friday night.
I have to admit, though, that it did get me thinking about how easily the dates can be switched when we least expect it.
Haunted Mansion Holiday will open either on the start date of the season, or possibly soft open the day before.
Space Mountain Ghost Galaxy will be open on the first official day of the season.
The Happiest Haunts tour should start on the first day of the Halloween Time season, too, as I recall.
That's kind of the dates I was figuring things would happen as well. I don't honestly see them starting HalloweenTime all that much earlier, but I could see the parties starting early (i.e., with the start of HalloweenTime). Could you imagine what kind of kick off weekend that would be...HMH, SMGG, and the first MHP all on 9/12?
Based on the list that Geemo was keeping all but one party sold out. So that's a sign that the parties are popular, so adding more probably wouldn't out of the question.
I doubt DLR is ever going to start HalloweenTime and MHP at the start of September. As much as it seems like there is an influx of "tourists" visitors coming this year, DLR is still primarily a locals' park. I'm just not convinced that people (non-tourist/vacationing-type folks) are really thinking about Halloween and MHP at that point. While some elements of Halloween are showing up as early as the end of August, it just doesn't seem that wide spread. Folks are still thinking about kids going back to school, the end of summer, etc.
So it seems like there are two conflicting issues...there is obviously a demand for MHP, but whether that demand would translate to earlier in the year is less clear. Frankly, I would be more inclined to guess that they'd add parties in (going to a three day per week schedule) opposed to starting earlier. MNSSHP runs three nights per week and more the closer it is to Halloween. I cant quite see DLR going to four nights per week, but adding in Sunday (or Monday) would not surprise me.
figment_jii --
All very good points.
I think that the earliest DLR could get away with starting the MHP (in its current format) would be when Halloween Time begins, but maybe they might try to do something like start it one week earlier than usual at some point -- in other words, one week after the season begins instead of two.
If DLR ever decides to ramp things up a bit and add in major new elements to either the Halloween Time season or to the MHP, that could be an excuse to start the MHP a little earlier in September than usual, perhaps. If, for example, they ever decide to do the long-rumored TSMM Halloween overlay (which would make more sense now that we have a direct Toy Story-Halloween connection from the
Toy Story of TERROR special last year), that could be a reason to extend things out a bit because it would presumably draw in some curious guests to the parks.
On a whole, though, I totally agree with you that, for the most part, most people (especially the non-DLR experts/aficionados/fanatics and reluctant holiday celebrants) will not be in a Halloween kind of mood in early September, and therefore would not be receptive to an earlier MHP.
Heck, as we all know, I love most holidays and I love fall. I adore Halloween and Halloween-ish things, and I can't wait for autumn to arrive -- but it is hard to walk into DLR when it is very hot and sunny outside (like in the 90s, sometimes) and get "in the Halloween spirit." All the visual signs are there -- bright orange bunting and pumpkins everywhere. Colorful window displays. I know that I am happy about Halloween Time arriving when I'm there...but it still feels like summer and I have to adjust my mindset into Halloween mode. Not that I'm complaining...I'd much rather DLR keeps starting Halloween Time when they do instead of making it a later event.
Other people will just declare that it is not Halloween to them until at least October -- and, conveniently, the MHP takes place mostly in October and hardly in September at all! So, DLR must recognize that most people -- at least, most locals -- do not start feeling really Halloween-ish until October.
Many people don't understand why there are any signs of Halloween popping up before mid-October, let alone in July or August! (I saw one online comment from someone somewhere who suggested that people should not even be decorating their houses, watching holiday movies or listening to Christmas music...
until the weekend right before Christmas!!!!!
Ha! Are you kidding me?
But I digress...)
Just for some insight from the other coast, Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party is supposedly starting on 9/1 this year. That's the earliest I've ever seen it. And MANY of their parties don't sell out. With nearly every party selling out at DLR, I'm shocked they haven't added more in recent years.
Hi,
Janet!
September 1st? Wow! That is really early.
DLR could certainly sell more party tickets because many people assume that the MHP nights will have low crowds and would buy the tickets for that reason alone (even though the crowds at the parties are anything but low!).
I would guess that the only reason DLR has not added in more party nights on a regular basis (as opposed to the random fluke occurrences in which there end up being 3 parties in a week) is because of the disruption it would cause to the schedule and to the regular, non-Halloween party visitors who want to be able to get as many hours in the park as possible, without being kicked out due to a party.
There are a lot of people who still don't consider Halloween to be a substantial holiday -- despite its increasing popularity all over America and even in some other countries -- and they just don't like it. I mean, people certainly feel that way about Christmas too, but clearly Christmas is such a huge holiday that it kind of 'takes over' whether people like it or not. It can't be avoided.
Halloween is a different story -- because it is not quite as extensive and all-encompassing as the holiday season is, a lot of people feel they can avoid all traces of Halloween if they just look the other way and pretend it's not there (and that means in or out of Disneyland).
So I think that trying to push more Halloween on people who are not ready to accept it might be risky for DLR, and that
could be why they haven't gone forward in developing the season a bit more. If anything, they seem to scale it back and remove things, so I feel that they probably want to keep Halloween Time in Disneyland as a strong presence -- but just not as prominent and dominant as the holiday season is!
Of course, for me, personally, I can't get enough Halloween Time or the holiday season -- so the more DLR does with it, the better!
I really do hope they do NOT get an early start, but rather they make it 3 parties per week.
Early September is just too soon, I like the idea of having a "slow" period before the parks ramp up for the Halloween and Christmas season.
My fingers are crossed, eyes shut tight and wishing for a 9/26 MHP start date
Vintage Mouseketeer --
I suspect you'll get your wish for a start date, and there may be a couple of extra nights thrown into random weeks...always with the one, lone straggler date that doesn't sell out!
As we know, DLR tends to oversell the MHP tickets and the parties end up being too crowded, or more crowded than they should be for an exclusive, hard ticket event. I remember you saying last year that you'd prefer it if more MHP nights are added into the schedule in future years, to help thin out the crowds a bit. That will work if DLR sells fewer tickets to each party, but I tend to think that they would still oversell and just add in more nights to oversell!
