HalloweenTime at DLR Info and Photo Superthread #3

[laura&fam]

Maybe this is off-topic, but can someone please explain Duffy the Disney Bear to me? I had never heard of him until I started planning this DL trip.

 

[deejdigsdis]

More pictures before the theme changes...

 

[deejdigsdis]

And a few more...

 

[Eeee-va]

Maybe this is off-topic, but can someone please explain Duffy the Disney Bear to me? I had never heard of him until I started planning this DL trip.

Well, there's a story!

In 2002, Disney US came out with the "Disney Bear", a cute teddy bear with a hidden Mickey on his face and Mickeys on his foot-paws (and I think a Mickey mark on his backside too)? There was a story that Mickey hugged him and that transferred the Mickey symbol onto his face, I think, and maybe Tinkerbell brought the bear to life. It did not do well in the states.

The good folks at Tokyo Disneyland Resort reappropriated the Build-a-Bear-sized bear and eventually named him "Duffy." He's a special bear that Minnie made for Mickey to accompany him on sea voyages. Minnie put a message in a bottle around his neck. While Mickey was asleep on his voyage, he dreamed of Duffy. When Mickey woke up, Duffy magically came to life, and was wearing the same sailor outfit as in Duffy's dream! Now Duffy and Mickey go all around the world and take pictures wherever they go, then share the pictures with people at home.

Duffy became insanely popular in Japan, and they have amazingly high-quality outfits for him over there...he has made the Tokyo Disneyland owners a LOT of money. Obviously US Disney took some interest in that.....

So around October 2010, Disney brought Duffy over to the US, with a similar story to Japan's. He's a special teddy bear that Minnie sewed for Mickey, and Mickey takes him on his voyages. The costumes and even plushies are not generally as high a quality as Japan's, but many items are still cute. When you meet Duffy, he hugs you and generally tries to steal your Duffy plushies if you have any. (In Japan, they say "Duffy Brings Love.")

In the US he has his regular sailor outfit for the meet-and-greet, and then his Halloween outfit and his Christmas outfit (and a lot more outfits you can buy separately, if you get the 17"/Build-a-Bear sized Duffy). In Japan the meet-and-greet Duffy seems to get a unique outfit for every season!

I love him...some people think he's a soulless money-grab but he's adorable and makes me smile, so I don't see how that's bad.

 

[deejdigsdis]

And last but not least...horse butt Halloween decorations...

 

[iKristin]

HAHA horse butt decor

 

[StyledSugar]

We are not going to the Halloween party this year but we did last year. I just thought I'd peek into this thread and post a pic warning folks about bringing a backpack to the park during the party if you plan on doing the whole candy thing....

There were two adults and two kids. We went a little overboard I think It was so much fun though!!! We chose to do Christmas this year instead but would do the Halloween party again in a heartbeat!!!

 

[Sherry E]

It's Friday, and you know what that means.....



It’s time for the Theme Week Friday Countdown to Halloween Time!!!

...Only 21 Days Until

Halloween Time Begins at Disneyland Resort!!!!

​

And with the new week comes a new Disneyland Resort Halloween theme!!

As you know, I'm going to showcase a particular area of interest of DLR's Halloween Time festivities each week until the 2012 merriment officially begins on Friday, September 14!! It is a good way to keep the photos rolling in on a regular basis and build anticipation for 9/14! Also, it's a way to display the different aspects and details of the Halloween season at DLR that may be totally new to some people...or previously unnoticed/overlooked by others.

Last week we strolled along Main Street and enjoyed the Pumpkin Festival, as well as many wonderful window displays. The week before that we celebrated Autumn with a visit to the Scare-Dy-Crow Shack and admired the intricately carved character pumpkins tucked away at the Halloween Round-Up. Prior to that, we took a little trip into the twisted mind of Jack Skellington and his Haunted Mansion Holiday overlay. Including today’s theme, there will be 10 more themes to come over the next month: 4 weekly Friday countdowns for 8/24, 8/31, 9/7 and 9/14, and 6 “mini-themes” – one each day, from 9/8-9/13, leading up to the season’s start date.

Over in Frontierland, there is a rather spiritual, colorful area that many folks pass by…

In the Spotlight this Week......

DIA DE LOS MUERTOS (Day of the Dead)!!!​

Rather than compose an outline or synopsis of what Dia de Los Muertos is about (which may or may not be read by the thread followers!), I will simply post this photo of a sign at the display which will explain the story behind this most interesting celebration…

From 2011…

From 2009…

Please feel free to post your photos of the Dia De Los Muertos/Day of the Dead celebration in Disneyland all this week!!!!!

 

[mvf-m11c]

Here are my pictures of Dia de los Muertos last year

From 2010

 

[Goofy_Mom]

October 19 is fall break for many Utah schools. Also the fact that there is no early purchase or AP discount for that day gives me the idea that Disney thinks it's going to sell out.

I noticed that most of the Friday partys aren't offering the AP discount

 

[iKristin]

2010:

 

[I'm mikey]

Disneyland animated HALLOWEEN site is up!!

http://disneyland.disney.go.com/events/halloween-time/

 

[KittyKat1978]

Sorry if this has been asked before....

If I buy my ticket online do I get an e-ticket or do they mail it to me?

I ask because I am going to WDW the week before I go to DL. I would rather have an e-ticket.

Thanks

 

[theworldneedscolor]

Do they have any Dia de los Muertos merchandise available? I would love to pick up something for my Spanish teacher

 

[I'm mikey]

Sorry if this has been asked before....

If I buy my ticket online do I get an e-ticket or do they mail it to me?

I ask because I am going to WDW the week before I go to DL. I would rather have an e-ticket.

Thanks

If you purchase tickets through Disneyland.com, you will be given the option at checkout for:

E-tickets...Your Disney eTickets will be delivered within minutes to the e-mail address provided at checkout. Print your tickets from your computer and take them straight to the Park main gate.

Standard mail.....Delivered in 10 days or less. Available for orders shipped to a single address located in the contiguous United States.

 

[Curiouser&Curiouser]

I think it would be really neat if Disney sold mini versions of the HM gingerbread castles. I'd buy one.

I was just telling my husband this same thing!!! I am going to try to recreate (less intensly) but will use a glue gun becuase I just can't imagine that frosting is going to do the trick. My normal gingerbread houses always fall apart.

 

[KittyKat1978]

Thanks I'm mickey. I live in Canada so my only option is e-ticket which is what I wanted.

 

[Sherry E]

theworldneedscolor -

I know for sure that there are at least a couple of Dia de los Muertos pins available. I'm not sure about other merchandise. I am thinking that there must be something for DDLM sold in Frontierland because it's a returning part of the Halloween season. I keep thinking I saw something else - just not sure what it was!

​

For those who were talking about wanting mini-versions of the gingerbread displays....

Speaking of miniature gingerbread centerpieces and Haunted Mansion Holiday, I thought you guys would be interested to hear a little gingerbread-related tale.

If you didn't know already - which you may not if you never visit DLR during Christmas time - Storytellers Cafe usually displays a gingerbread house every year for the holiday season. I'm not sure if the house goes up on the first day of the season in November, or maybe not until December.

In December 2010 I asked my Storytellers waiter why there were no decorations of any kind - not even a tree, let alone a gingerbread house - in Storytellers, as that restaurant seems like it would lend itself to some cozy seasonal decor. The waiter told me that a Haunted Mansion Holiday-themed gingerbread house had been up and on display in the entrance area when he arrived to work a day or so before...and then when he left on a break, or came back for his later shift, the house was totally gone! It just vanished in the same day!

Now this gingerbread house in Storytellers Cafe was not tiny, so it's not like anyone could steal it. The waiter wondered if maybe someone had knocked it over and broken it. Whatever the case, the HMH-themed house was gone within hours.

I ate at Storytellers again the next day and I asked a different waiter, as well as the hostess at the check-in desk, what happened to the HMH gingerbread house, and they looked at me as if I had just said that I was from another planet. They claimed to have no clue what I was talking about. They claimed to have never seen the house. Even when I told them which waiter mentioned the house to me, they acted puzzled and bewildered, as though there never was such a house.

So, fast forward one year to December 2011. I ate at Storytellers again (their spaghetti is delicious!). There was a big gingerbread house sitting right there in the entrance area, and the aroma was sooooooo wonderful because it was real and it was fresh! But...there was no 'theme' to it. It was about as generic of a theme as you could get for a gingerbread house. It was not a particularly elaborate display at all, but it was festive because gingerbread houses are festive and they smell good.

I asked the CM's at the check-in desk if they knew about the mysterious, disappearing HMH gingerbread house from December 2010. Had they heard about it? Were they aware? The CM's instantly said yes, they definitely knew about the disappearing HMH house from 2010 - I guess enough time had passed where they could all 'admit' to knowing about it now - and they fully remembered that the house had been on display and then quickly taken down.

I asked why the HMH house had been taken down so fast, before anyone knew it was there, and they pretty much said that they thought it had something to do with "legal reasons." Hmm... Maybe some licensing issues with Tim Burton or something?? In any case, from all that I've heard in the tales that have been told, that HMH house was very cool. And I guess no one will ever see it. And no one knows where it went, but I bet that some CM got to take home a really cool souvenir in 2010!

So just in case you happen to visit DLR for the holidays this year, check Storytellers for their fresh, aromatic gingerbread house..but it will probably not have a theme.

 

[margiepooh]

I think I read that Disney Visa cardholders get the same advance price as ap holders for the Halloween party. How do I get the Disney Visa discount online? I don't see anything about it. Will it be applied automatically when I check out with the card?

Thanks for your help. I'm looking forward to my first trip to Disneyland!

 

[momsquad]

I think I read that Disney Visa cardholders get the same advance price as ap holders for the Halloween party. How do I get the Disney Visa discount online? I don't see anything about it. Will it be applied automatically when I check out with the card?

Thanks for your help. I'm looking forward to my first trip to Disneyland!

From one Disney Visa cardholder to another - be aware that not all dates are available for the discount whether AP or Visa. I am going on 26OCT - had no choice but to pay full price.