HalloweenTime at DLR Info and Photo Superthread #3

[ashnjam]

We have 3 day park hoppers for our stay in December. If we wanted to add an extra day when we are there do we have to pay the full price for one day or do they discount them?

 

[CrAzY4DL]

I found them here:

http://www.disneyinsidertips.com/2013/05/disney-halloween-christmas-party-dates-for-2013/

Are these not accurate? Man, that would be a relief!!!!!!!!!

 

[Sherry E]

I found them here:

http://www.disneyinsidertips.com/2013/05/disney-halloween-christmas-party-dates-for-2013/

Are these not accurate? Man, that would be a relief!!!!!!!!!

I think I only see dates for the WDW events, not the Disneyland events. You're not the first person to come here with dates for the MNSSHP at WDW, thinking they were dates for the MHP at Disneyland! It seems to be a common mistake!

​

Everyone, please remember -- because I try hard to answer questions and give people an idea of when dates might be released, which kinds of dates we can expect to see for the MHP, where we might be able to find that info, which info is official and not official, etc. -- if you are looking up information on the Halloween Party at Disneyland, it is called Mickey's Halloween Party. It is not called Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party. The MHP is at Disneyland. The MNSSHP is at WDW, and if you pull up the MNSSHP you will get info for that specific event, not Disneyland's event!

I just want to be sure that everyone knows what to look for online so we don't end up confusing people into thinking that the dates have come out when they haven't (although the Disneyland party dates should be out any day now, really).

 

[CasandraC]

msbatchelor5 --


Welcome, CasandraC!

Chances are, if you were to do a 3-day trip, only one night would be an MHP night during your visit (it's an educated guess). Most likely, the parties would be 3 days apart, i.e., a party on a Tuesday and a party on a Friday, or maybe a party on a Monday and a party on a Thursday during Halloween week (though they could do a Tuesday and Thursday party in that week). I don't think you'd run into more than one party night whenever you go.

Yesterday I posted links to the hours from September and October of last year (in a reply to dnamertz), so that should give you a good idea of what park hours will probably be like this year on party nights and non-party nights.

As for school breaks and things like that, every time I think I have a window of time narrowed down in which there will be no breaks and no particular reasons why the parks should be extra crowded, someone tells me that there is a break or an event of some kind! Honestly, I wouldn't worry too much about school breaks because it seems there will always be some sort of break during a Fall trip!

I think the week before Halloween -- and closer to your daughter's birthday -- will be a great time to go! When Disney has offered Fall hotel discounts in the past, they usually included the week before Halloween in the discounts (not the week OF Halloween, to be clear) -- which means that Disney expected fewer people in that week and wanted to increase attendance.

Thanks Sherry for the information. If the crowds won't be much different than I'll go the week before. I did look at the information from last year and was planning on it being the same, but.... I hear that could change. I guess crowds are all a matter of perception. We went last March 20, 21, and 22 durning spring break and it wasn't unbearable. The mornings weren't bad at all really. I also expected it to be busy, so maybe that's why it didn't bother us so much. I hadn't been there since the mid 80's when I was a kid, so a lot has changed. I think I had more fun than our daughter. Do you have any input on what Sundays are like? I'm trying to decide if I want to do a Sunday so we can catch Fantasmic. We didn't get a good spot last year and want to see it again. But if the crowds are crazy we may not do much better this year. I'm considering doing Sunday, Monday, Tuesday (only MHP) and Wednesday. Then off to Universal Thursday and Friday. If we don't go Sunday we'll probably do the early entry Tuesday and go all day. My daughter was 5 last year and she pulled open to 11 everyday without much fuss, so I'm not worried about getting burned out. She's a trooper when it comes to this kind of stuff. Anyways, thanks for all your help, I appreciate it!!

 

[CrAzY4DL]

GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA! HAHAHA

So, the first week of October, what is your BEST GUESS the day(s) there will be a party? We can be there any days between 9/28 and 10/4. I was actually kind of excited to have a Thursday party then we could leave Friday afternoon and be home for a night before heading to the Rock N Roll Marathon in San Jo on Saturday. Siiiiigh!

And thanks for pointing my mistake out to me!! Like I said, COMPLETE and TOTAL Disneyland Halloween newb, tho DH and I did go for 1 night the first year the Ghost came to Space Mountain.

 

[Sherry E]

Okay, sorry for the delay in replies -- I had to go throw something in the oven, which was a disaster, but that's another story...

Hmm... seems like a lot of people on here are going about the same time we are---for us, the 21st of Oct. to the 26th. Is that generally a busy time? On the website isitpacked.com, they predict the three days before Halloween will be a ghost town, less busy than the week we've chosen. Is it possible that the following week might be less crowded? Funny, I had predicted the other way around. Looks like some people had the same thought I did in trying to avoid the school breaks, holidays, Gay Days, etc. Lol!

DisneyFan3113 --

Disney usually does not discount their party tickets in the week of Halloween -- neither the party on Halloween night nor the party earlier in the week -- which means they expect a lot of people to be at DLR that whole week. The week prior to Halloween week has had some MHP and hotel discounts in the past, which means Disney does not expect as many people to be at DLR.

It could be that more people are planning to go in the pre-Halloween week for the same reasons you are -- to avoid crowds and, thus, the parks become more crowded with crowds trying to avoid crowds!

It used to be that the week immediately following Thanksgiving weekend was the time that was expected to be the least crowded. It still is, to a large degree, but I recall that last year someone posted a poll on this board and asked when everyone was going. Most people selected the week-after-Thanksgiving time frame...because that was the time that had previously been the least crowded!

I think you should just go when you had planned to go and not worry so much about gigantic crowds. It will be fine!

This feels like information overload!! Super confused, LOL. We were originally planning on going to DLR 10/3 and 10/4 and get the dessert buffet for Fridays Fantasmic! showing but now I see that there are Halloween parties both of those nights. Sigh. We've never been during a Halloween party so TOTALLY feeling overwhelmed and unprepared, hahaha!

1-So, if we went to DCA on Wednesday, 10/2 and did everything we wanted there, what would be the advantage to going to the Halloween party at DL Thursday versus Friday?

2-Will Fantasmic! play either of those nights?

We're looking to spend 2 to 2.5 days in the park (2 full days and then do the half as just the party without getting a park ticket during the day). We can't change our dates, sigh as my dad had to fight to get that week off of work and can't change that and DH has a marathon in San Jose on the 6th.

Thanks in advance for any and all help!!​

CrAzY4DL -

dnamertz answered your Fantasmic questions above, and we already cleared up the confusion about the party dates!

I don't know that Halloween party dates have been announced yet, other than the 1st party on 9/30 (or did I miss something). Whenever the parties are, I'm guessing there will not be parties on both Thursday and Friday of the week you mentioned...it will probably be on Friday. However, there usually are no Fantasmic showings during the weeknights that time of year...only Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. But since there is usually a party every Friday night in October, it looks like Fantasmic is limited to Sat and Sun nights during that month.

Thank you for taking that question, dnamertz! I really appreciate it! Great answer too!

We have 3 day park hoppers for our stay in December. If we wanted to add an extra day when we are there do we have to pay the full price for one day or do they discount them?

ashnjam --

I think you maybe meant to post in the Christmas Superthread, but that's okay! We welcome all holiday travelers in either thread!

I would assume that you can just add the day on for the discounted price, as long as you don't wait until the last minute. Maybe you can add the day before your 3rd day?

Thanks Sherry for the information. If the crowds won't be much different than I'll go the week before. I did look at the information from last year and was planning on it being the same, but.... I hear that could change. I guess crowds are all a matter of perception. We went last March 20, 21, and 22 durning spring break and it wasn't unbearable. The mornings weren't bad at all really. I also expected it to be busy, so maybe that's why it didn't bother us so much. I hadn't been there since the mid 80's when I was a kid, so a lot has changed. I think I had more fun than our daughter. Do you have any input on what Sundays are like? I'm trying to decide if I want to do a Sunday so we can catch Fantasmic. We didn't get a good spot last year and want to see it again. But if the crowds are crazy we may not do much better this year. I'm considering doing Sunday, Monday, Tuesday (only MHP) and Wednesday. Then off to Universal Thursday and Friday. If we don't go Sunday we'll probably do the early entry Tuesday and go all day. My daughter was 5 last year and she pulled open to 11 everyday without much fuss, so I'm not worried about getting burned out. She's a trooper when it comes to this kind of stuff. Anyways, thanks for all your help, I appreciate it!!

CasandraC --

You're very welcome! I hope that this thread and all the info in it can be useful to Halloween Time visitors!

I think that crowds are largely a matter of perception. Sure, the numbers are there and if there are 900,000 people in the park, then there are 900,000 people in the park. But I have definitely noticed that two groups of people can go to DLR at the same time and come back with different interpretations of whether or not it was crowded. Also, crowds move around and congregate in different areas, so it may not seem crowded at one point in the day because everyone is in a different spot.

Expectations have a huge amount to do with it -- if everyone goes in thinking "it won't be crowded," then they will likely find that it is more crowded than they expected. If they go in expecting huge crowds and mentally bracing for it, then anything less than what they envision will probably be a relief! I've read some posts from folks on this board who came back after a post-Christmas/pre-New Year's trip saying that the crowds were not bad. Well, it's wonderful that they did not find the crowds to be oppressive and horrifying -- that is what we all want in our trips -- but if other people were to read those "not crowded" reports about the post-Christmas time frame and expect that it will not be crowded, then they could be in for a rude awakening when they arrive!

I think Sunday should be fine -- I mean, yes, it's a weekend day and it may be a little busier for the first half of the day, but I don't think it will be too awful. The last time I did a Sunday during Halloween Time happened to also be the day that Miley Cyrus' 16th birthday party was being held in Disneyland -- so the crowds descended on all of DLR for that mess. They were even playing Miley's songs in Downtown Disney to get everyone excited. Luckily, I left later that day.

Let's hope that Miley is not planning her 21st b-day party in Disneyland this year!

GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA! HAHAHA

So, the first week of October, what is your BEST GUESS the day(s) there will be a party? We can be there any days between 9/28 and 10/4. I was actually kind of excited to have a Thursday party then we could leave Friday afternoon and be home for a night before heading to the Rock N Roll Marathon in San Jo on Saturday. Siiiiigh!

And thanks for pointing my mistake out to me!! Like I said, COMPLETE and TOTAL Disneyland Halloween newb, tho DH and I did go for 1 night the first year the Ghost came to Space Mountain.

CrAzY4DL --

No worries at all. As I mentioned earlier, you're not the first person to make that mistake. The early release of the WDW MNSSHP dates throws people off because they think that those dates are also the Disneyland Mickey's Halloween Party dates.

Now, realistically, we should be seeing the release of the full Halloween party agenda very, very soon. The AP holders have to be able to start buying tickets in July, if not sooner, and it is quite possible that the DVC owners and Disney Visa holders will be able to get their party tickets even before that. So we have to hear something soon!

We know that there is supposed to be a party on Mon., September 30th. That much was printed in the Backstage Pass magazine for AP holders. Beyond that, I am fairly certain that there would be a party on Friday, 10/4. True, Disney could switch things up on us and have a party on Thursday, 10/3 instead, but I doubt they would have 2 back-to-back party nights. Fridays are always in the mix, though, so I think that 10/4 would be a party date.

 

[DisneyFan3113]

Okay, sorry for the delay in replies -- I had to go throw something in the oven, which was a disaster, but that's another story...




DisneyFan3113 --

Disney usually does not discount their party tickets in the week of Halloween -- neither the party on Halloween night nor the party earlier in the week -- which means they expect a lot of people to be at DLR that whole week. The week prior to Halloween week has had some MHP and hotel discounts in the past, which means Disney does not expect as many people to be at DLR.

It could be that more people are planning to go in the pre-Halloween week for the same reasons you are -- to avoid crowds and, thus, the parks become more crowded with crowds trying to avoid crowds!

It used to be that the week immediately following Thanksgiving weekend was the time that was expected to be the least crowded. It still is, to a large degree, but I recall that last year someone posted a poll on this board and asked when everyone was going. Most people selected the week-after-Thanksgiving time frame...because that was the time that had previously been the least crowded!

I think you should just go when you had planned to go and not worry so much about gigantic crowds. It will be fine!

Thank you, Sherry! This helps! I wouldn't be so worried about the crowds normally---they don't bother me that much, and waiting in long lines is pretty much part of the Disney experience, lol---but my mum might be coming with us for the first time in years all the way from England. She's only been to DL a handful of times because she hates the crowds so much! I guess you could say she lacks a good deal of patience, even in the happiest place on earth. Still, I think we'll stick to the dates and just hope for the best. (As a side note, your holiday thread helped us out a good deal when we went for Christmastime last year! Learned lots of great tips to fully enjoy our experience---thanks again!!)

 

[briggscreek]

briggscreek --

It's a tough choice, deciding between seasons!

If Halloween is your favorite holiday I am surprised that you're not that interested in going to the Halloween party! I would think you'd want to go, because the Halloween Screams fireworks are so great.

Because you love Halloween you should definitely experience Halloween Time at least once -- although, keep in mind that Disney tends to "skimp" on Halloween Time in many ways. They don't do as much for it as they do for the holiday season -- not even close. So if you are thinking that you're going to arrive at DLR and see the Halloween equivalent of the holiday season in terms of decor and overall merriment, you won't find it. But you will enjoy what is there. Main Street and Frontierland are particularly special during Halloween Time and, of course, there are some little Halloween touches around NOS too.

Basically, the bulk of Halloween Time is focused in Disneyland. DCA is sorely lacking in Halloween-ness (unless that changes this year), with the exception of Duffy's photo spot. The hotels don't get into the Halloween spirit at all, except for on Halloween (the actual holiday) when they hand out candy.

Even in Disneyland, the Villains were made less available and less accessible last year so that they could be used as big selling points for the Halloween party. You could "conjure up a Villain" at the Carnival/Round-Up in the daytime, but it was only one Villain at a time. There were lots of Villains out and about at the party. This year, after the Villains dance party thing on 9/13, who knows whether they will be out and about in the daytime or not?

As for the holiday season, it's not just Cars Land but Buena Vista Street too. There are gingerbread "houses" (sculptures) in all of the restaurants in both BVS and CL. The gingerbread Mater in Flo's was one of my favorites, but the gingerbread Cozy Cone model was fantastic! The retro decor, the retro holiday music, the Bell Ringers and the "department store Santa" on BVS are just wonderful! Meanwhile, over in CL you will find more themed holiday music, all kinds of crazy themed Christmas trees and decorations, as well as Snowy the Snow Car and the "Santa Stanley" statue/fountain, which displays Santa Stanley wearing a Santa hat and carrying a sack of goodies.

DCA finally feels more involved in the holiday season.

Thanks Sherry! You aren't helping with the decision between holidays though - now I want to do both LOL. It's not that I'm not interested in the Halloween party, we just try to avoid crowds as much as possible. I also don't like to have to prepay for stuff like that in case we have to cancel - are the parties non-refundable? At this point, I'm down to either the week of Sept. 30, October 7, or the first week of December. We haven't seen DCA all decorated for Christmas yet, it sounds wonderful!

 

[Priory]

I'm having trouble making a decision too, but it's between going the weekend of Friday 13th and a weekend with a traditional halloween party. I've done the party the last two years and it's wonderful (although way busier in 2012 than 2011). But I'm thinking 9/13 might be an opportunity to experience Halloween decor and rides and experience a (probable) once in a lifetime event. I just don't know how cool the 9/13 thing is going to be...

 

[dnamertz]

And thanks for pointing my mistake out to me!! Like I said, COMPLETE and TOTAL Disneyland Halloween newb, tho DH and I did go for 1 night the first year the Ghost came to Space Mountain.

Not your fault. The link you found those dates on doesn't say anything about it being in Disney World. They should really make that clear to avoid this kind of confusion.

 

[Sherry E]

Thank you, Sherry! This helps! I wouldn't be so worried about the crowds normally---they don't bother me that much, and waiting in long lines is pretty much part of the Disney experience, lol---but my mum might be coming with us for the first time in years all the way from England. She's only been to DL a handful of times because she hates the crowds so much! I guess you could say she lacks a good deal of patience, even in the happiest place on earth. Still, I think we'll stick to the dates and just hope for the best. (As a side note, your holiday thread helped us out a good deal when we went for Christmastime last year! Learned lots of great tips to fully enjoy our experience---thanks again!!)

DisneyFan3113 --

You're very welcome! I think you'll have a great time, but I completely understand the dilemma of being with a travel companion who has little patience for crowds. I used to be more compatible with people I went to the parks with, but over time it seems that they all have less patience for DLR and I am still hanging in there!

It's kind of discouraging when you're excited and eager to experience all there is to experience in the parks; go on this ride or that one; look in this shop or that one, etc....and the person or people you are with catch a glimpse of a long line or a crowd of people and it's like they just lose all interest in doing anything right at that moment!

I'm so glad that the Christmas Superthread helped you last year as well! Have you seen the latest version of the Christmas Superthread? When we hit the page limit in the old one I had to move us into a new thread, and when I did I revamped most of the information on the first page so that it's broken down into categories, with many, many links, small pictures in several of the posts to show examples of what the subject/category is, etc. There is so much ground to cover with the holiday season that I felt it was necessary to break everything down that way. I'm not 100% done -- there are still some minor odds and ends I have to add in and tweak in the posts on Page 1, but I'm fairly happy with how it came out.

Thanks Sherry! You aren't helping with the decision between holidays though - now I want to do both LOL. It's not that I'm not interested in the Halloween party, we just try to avoid crowds as much as possible. I also don't like to have to prepay for stuff like that in case we have to cancel - are the parties non-refundable? At this point, I'm down to either the week of Sept. 30, October 7, or the first week of December. We haven't seen DCA all decorated for Christmas yet, it sounds wonderful!

briggscreek --

I figured I was of no help! On the one hand I think you should stick with Halloween Time because you love Halloween and you've never experienced a Halloween Time visit to DLR.

On the other hand, I really think that DCA feels much more involved in the holiday season now and it is worth revisiting. The decorations, window displays, gingerbread houses, etc., in CL and on BVS are worth seeing. The giant tree on BVS has sort of retro-looking ornaments and toys under it. It's a different style than the Main Street tree. The Bell Ringers are great fun. The Trolley Treats window display is great. The various trees in Cars Land (even in shops such as Sarge's) are wacky and very specific to Cars Land.

(I was saying in another thread earlier today that I could sell Christmas time at DLR to Ebenezer Scrooge if given the chance!)

As far as I know, I believe the parties are non-refundable and the tickets are not supposed to be for resale. I think that Disney always prints something to that effect in their fine print on the back of the tickets. In the past I think people have discovered that they couldn't go to the MHP and didn't know what to do (there is no selling on this board, so we had to close or delete the threads when they tried to sell their tickets here). So I can understand your point about not wanting to buy tickets and then risk wasting the money if something should change.

I'm having trouble making a decision too, but it's between going the weekend of Friday 13th and a weekend with a traditional halloween party. I've done the party the last two years and it's wonderful (although way busier in 2012 than 2011). But I'm thinking 9/13 might be an opportunity to experience Halloween decor and rides and experience a (probable) once in a lifetime event. I just don't know how cool the 9/13 thing is going to be...

Hi, Priory!

Well, I think it helps to put it all in context and perspective a bit. Have the other Limited Time Magic events that have already happened this year been of interest to you? Do you really, really love Villains?

I don't think the 9/13 thing will be once in a lifetime, necessarily. I mean, yes, it is a rare occasion in which Friday the 13th kicks off the Halloween Time season, but I'm sure Disney could package and market another kind of Villains thing for Halloween Time in the future.

Basically, Disney made the Villains more exclusive/less accessible last year so that letting them loose in the park for 9/13 this year seems like a bigger deal, even though they used to be out and about at their photo spots pre-2012.

But...since you have already done the MHP for the last two years -- and I don't foresee any huge changes or additions to that this year -- why not just skip the MHP and do the Villains thing, just in case it doesn't happen again? The MHP will be back next year. This we know for sure. The Villains thing may not be back for a while.

 

[Sherry E]

...Further proof that the lovely CMs who answer Disney's Guest Services lines at DLR are often the last to know anything...

I called DLR today -- specifically, the AP holder line -- and I asked if they knew when the Mickey's Halloween Party tickets would go on sale to AP holders. I knew it was a shot in the dark and that they wouldn't know, or that they would at least tell me they didn't know, but I figured that since we will have to be able to purchase tickets sometime very soon, maybe they would have some idea. Sometimes, depending on the CM you speak to, you might get a bit more info than you'd get with other CMs.

In traveling through the various automated options in DLR's phone system, I talked to 2 very nice CMs. I had to fill them in on what was printed in the Backstage Pass magazine for AP folks -- I told them that the MHP starts on Mon., 9/30, the Halloween Time season starts on Fri., 9/13 and the holiday season starts on Tues., 11/12. They were very surprised that this info had even come out because they had not heard anything.

The second of the 2 CMs sounded skeptical at first, like maybe she thought I was reading everything incorrectly in the BP booklet...or maybe, just making stuff up! She asked me if I minded holding on while she went off to investigate.

After a couple of minutes the nice CM returned and said that she asked a supervisor or two and yes, indeed, the first MHP is on Mon., 9/30, the Halloween Time season begins on Fri., 9/13 and the holiday season begins on Tues., 11/12. All true, all confirmed (even though these CMs did not have that confirmation until I called). She agreed with me that starting the MHP on a Monday is odd (even though there probably would have been a Monday party in there somewhere), and starting the holiday season on a Tuesday is even stranger.

All this time, when people had been calling this CM to ask what the dates of the party were going to be (clearly, those callers don't follow us here on the DIS to know that the dates had not been released to anyone), she had been telling them that she didn't know -- which she doesn't -- and that she didn't even know the start date of the MHP (because she was unaware that BP printed it)!!! She thanked me for filling her in!

She was quick to add in that her supervisors said that they don't have any other dates besides what we now know has been confirmed. They don't have the schedule for the MHP to know if will be the same basic set-up that it usually is (10 or 11 nights). They have no idea when, specifically, the MHP tickets will go on sale to AP holders or any other people, but it will be sometime between now and early/mid-July.

At the end of the conversation, the CM said, "Is there anything else I can help you with?" Then she said, "Or maybe I should say, is there anything else you can help me with?"

That's me. Helping Cast Members learn about Halloween Time and the Holidays at Disneyland Resort, wherever I go!

Seriously, though, if the supervisors and higher-ups to the CMs knew that these Halloween/MHP/holiday season dates were accurate, why didn't they pass the info on to their staff so that the CMs who tackle the many calls can help guests?

 

[PHXscuba]

...Further proof that the lovely CMs who answer Disney's Guest Services lines at DLR are often the last to know anything...

I called DLR today -- specifically, the AP holder line -- and I asked if they knew when the Mickey's Halloween Party tickets would go on sale to AP holders. I knew it was a shot in the dark and that they wouldn't know, or that they would at least tell me they didn't know, but I figured that since we will have to be able to purchase tickets sometime very soon, maybe they would have some idea. Sometimes, depending on the CM you speak to, you might get a bit more info than you'd get with other CMs.

In traveling through the various automated options in DLR's phone system, I talked to 2 very nice CMs. I had to fill them in on what was printed in the Backstage Pass magazine for AP folks -- I told them that the MHP starts on Mon., 9/30, the Halloween Time season starts on Fri., 9/13 and the holiday season starts on Tues., 11/12. They were very surprised that this info had even come out because they had not heard anything.

The second of the 2 CMs sounded skeptical at first, like maybe she thought I was reading everything incorrectly in the BP booklet...or maybe, just making stuff up! She asked me if I minded holding on while she went off to investigate.

After a couple of minutes the nice CM returned and said that she asked a supervisor or two and yes, indeed, the first MHP is on Mon., 9/30, the Halloween Time season begins on Fri., 9/13 and the holiday season begins on Tues., 11/12. All true, all confirmed (even though these CMs did not have that confirmation until I called). She agreed with me that starting the MHP on a Monday is odd (even though there probably would have been a Monday party in there somewhere), and starting the holiday season on a Tuesday is even stranger.

All this time, when people had been calling this CM to ask what the dates of the party were going to be (clearly, those callers don't follow us here on the DIS to know that the dates had not been released to anyone), she had been telling them that she didn't know -- which she doesn't -- and that she didn't even know the start date of the MHP (because she was unaware that BP printed it)!!! She thanked me for filling her in!

She was quick to add in that her supervisors said that they don't have any other dates besides what we now know has been confirmed. They don't have the schedule for the MHP to know if will be the same basic set-up that it usually is (10 or 11 nights). They have no idea when, specifically, the MHP tickets will go on sale to AP holders or any other people, but it will be sometime between now and early/mid-July.

At the end of the conversation, the CM said, "Is there anything else I can help you with?" Then she said, "Or maybe I should say, is there anything else you can help me with?"

That's me. Helping Cast Members learn about Halloween Time and the Holidays at Disneyland Resort, wherever I go!

Seriously, though, if the supervisors and higher-ups to the CMs knew that these Halloween/MHP/holiday season dates were accurate, why didn't they pass the info on to their staff so that the CMs who tackle the many calls can help guests?

Seriously Sherry, why isn't Disney employing YOU to staff their Guest Services line?

I actually kind of feel bad when I get a CM who hasn't been given any information. "Yes, there IS an AP discount for the hotel; please look it up." I hate to be one of those "I read it on the Internet" types, but if Disney is going to leave their front-line gatekeeper employees in the dark, what else can you do but politely ask for a supervisor?

I think the only other recourse is to use the end-of-call surveys to tell Disney that their Guest Services information is lacking.

PHXscuba

 

[Sherry E]

Seriously Sherry, why isn't Disney employing YOU to staff their Guest Services line?

I actually kind of feel bad when I get a CM who hasn't been given any information. "Yes, there IS an AP discount for the hotel; please look it up." I hate to be one of those "I read it on the Internet" types, but if Disney is going to leave their front-line gatekeeper employees in the dark, what else can you do but politely ask for a supervisor?

I think the only other recourse is to use the end-of-call surveys to tell Disney that their Guest Services information is lacking.

PHXscuba

Disney should definitely employ me in some kind of way, although I don't envy those nice CMs manning the phones who likely have to deal with a lot of cranky, grumpy people here and there! Yikes!

I agree with you, PHX -- I feel bad for the CMs who are left in the dark. They are on the front lines, as you said, and they will get bombarded with questions. We can see here on this board how anxious people are to know dates, details and prices and things. So you just know that the CMs are fielding a lot of questions that they cannot answer.

Even if just a small portion of info is released -- like the start date of Halloween Time, or the MHP, or the holiday season -- it's better to fill those CMs in than to not fill them in. They may or may not have the rest of the information (like the other MHP dates) at their fingertips, but they should at least be able to discuss what has already been publicly, officially published by Disney, either online or in Backstage Pass!

The funny thing is, the second CM I spoke with today was well aware that the dates for WDW's MNSSHP had been released, but she had no idea that the MHP was starting on 9/30!

 

[Cheshirecatty]

Sherry, I just have to laugh at your experience with that poor CM. How frustrating for both of you, and a little cringe-worthy for CMs trying to answer people's endless, yet important questions.

I am so glad that you are on the job for all of us, and appreciate your efforts AND sense of humor in trying to inform us of things we are needing/wanting to know!!!

p.s. WHAT was the oven disaster--I need to know!

 

[Sherry E]

Sherry, I just have to laugh at your experience with that poor CM. How frustrating for both of you, and a little cringe-worthy for CMs trying to answer people's endless, yet important questions.

I am so glad that you are on the job for all of us, and appreciate your efforts AND sense of humor in trying to inform us of things we are needing/wanting to know!!!

p.s. WHAT was the oven disaster--I need to know!

Cheshirecatty --

Thank you! If I didn't have a sense of humor about certain things, I probably would have gone insane years ago!

It was funny that the CM didn't know the dates for anything (at least she knows now!). I suppose that, within the whole huge entity that is the Walt Disney Company, there are segments of/people in that organization who actually know details and specifics of things way in advance. And then there are other people in other branches of the organization who don't know even certain basic details because they have not been informed by the people who do.

Those CMs who tackle the guest inquiries on the phones at DLR usually do not have the updated, correct information until after we have already learned about it elsewhere! This is why I am always a little skeptical when a DIS'er says that he/she was told something by one of the CMs on the phone at DLR, because we tend to find out things before they do and if we haven't heard the latest info, they probably have not heard it either.

Not long ago one of our DIS'ers in the Christmas thread was told by a CM via email some details about the holiday tour at DLR. I knew that there was no way the holiday tour info for 2013 was coming out that early in the year, so when I read the information that was posted, I realized that the CM emailed the tour info from 2011 to the DIS'er! Not even the 2012 info -- it was info from 2011, and the CM who emailed it must have thought it was applicable to 2013!

So, basically, the actual CMs working with guests at Disneyland Resort get the info last, and they may give out incorrect info if they have not been updated. It's the people behind the scenes -- the ones in the planning departments, the ones who put out press releases, the ones who have to release dates to travel agencies so that those agencies can begin to book trips for their clients, etc. -- who know the dates.

Realistically, there is probably someone in the Team Disney Anaheim offices right now who knows the entire schedule of entertainment and other details about Halloween Time, the holiday season and possibly even info about next year's seasons. I don't think they plan/decide things on the fly, as a rule. Most things are well-planned out, with occasional changes in agenda along the way. For whatever reason they don't like to release the info way in advance -- possibly because they feel they may have to change something at some point.

However, once dates and things like that appear via an official Disney source, like Backstage Pass, like the Parks Blog, like Disneyland News, like D23, etc., they should certainly be passed on to the CMs who man the phones and email!! If Backstage Pass has the Halloween Time start date, the MHP start date and the holiday season start date printed on its pages, then why on earth would the people who decided those dates and put them on that calendar NOT inform the folks who answer the AP holder questions on the AP hotline? It makes no sense!

The oven disaster -- basically, I have an old oven with a dial that is not set correctly. It's loose, and when I try to preheat the oven to, say, 375 or 450 degrees it always heats up to a warmer temperature than that, which is fine if I am keeping a close eye on what I'm cooking and making sure it doesn't burn. The other day I let something sit in the oven 2 minutes too long when I got distracted, and my extra sensitive smoke detector caught one whiff of that "burn" smell and proceeded to pierce my eardrums with its loud siren! Meanwhile, as I tried to shut the stupid alarm up by waving at it wildly and smothering it with a towel, all while standing on a chair, the oven proceeded to burn my food even more. Fun times!

 

[DisneyFan3113]

So, do the restaurants in DL stay open during the parties? After the non-party guests leave? Like, for example, Carnation Cafe, Blue Bayou, Cafe Orleans, etc.? Sorry if this is a stupid question

 

[Sherry E]

So, do the restaurants in DL stay open during the parties? After the non-party guests leave? Like, for example, Carnation Cafe, Blue Bayou, Cafe Orleans, etc.? Sorry if this is a stupid question

It's not a stupid question at all! Many people have wondered about this very thing in the past.

I would have to do some digging around for a list of the restaurants that were open/not open last year, and by the time I find it we could possibly already know the details of this year's party!

I will search around, but maybe someone else who attended the party last year will remember exactly what was open?

Basically, some restaurants are open and some are not. Some of them may even be used for treat trails/stations. I know that at least a couple of the counter service places are open. Coke Corner was open during my last party, but there are others open as well.

Does anyone out there remember which restaurants were or were not open last year at the MHP?

 

[iKristin]

Some of them stay open (limited number) but Blue Bayou is closed during the party for sure.

 

[DisneyFan3113]

Thanks, Sherry and iKristen, for the info. I kind of figured about the restaurants, but just wanted to double check. Assuming most of them will be closed, we'll probably just try to eat beforehand... I don't want the kids to go crazy on candy! Lol