HalloweenTime at DLR Info and Photo Superthread #3

[aggie98]

Looking forward to hearing about everyone's experiences tonight! Can't wait until I'm there Tuesday night!

 

[perlster]

Too late for tonight, but a little more info (courtesy of the "highly reliable source")

Mickeys Costume Party Cavalcade routes
8:30: its a small world to Town Square, 10:30: reverse


Disney Villains
Town Square, Main Street, U.S.A.
Weekdays: 6:45, 7:30, 8:15, 9:00, 9:45, 10:30
Friday: 7:45, 8:30, 9:15, 10:00, 10:45, 11:30


Character Greetings
The "pirate friends" turn out to be Captain Jack Sparrow, Peter Pan, Wendy, and Captain Hook
Genie will appear with Aladdin and Jasmine
Winnie the Pooh's friends are Tigger, Rabbit, and Eeyore


Toontown Treat Pre-Party
There's a new Toontown Treat Pre-Party from 6 p.m. - 8 p.m. on Friday night events, and 5 p.m. - 7 p.m. for all other events. The pre-party features early trick or treating for event guests and character meet & greets with Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Pluto, Donald, Chip, Dale, Clarabelle Cow and Roger Rabbit.
Toontown will close to non-event guests two hours before scheduled park closing to clear the area, and will reopen at the times listed. Toontown will then close for the night after the pre-party.


Trick or Treating
There are 10 trick or treat locations / trails this year. New this year: each one will offer gluten- and sugar-free treats, but only at the first stop along each trail (the one built to look like a door).

 

[heybets30]

Too late for tonight, but they put up booths just inside frontierland where you could purchase a ticket for tonight. We got ghe heck out of dodge, and are currently awaiting out tot fastpasses instead!!

On another note, why doesn't disney put up ropes at the entrances to dca for events like tonight? We were caught in 4 lines of about 50 people each, no crowd control, people fighting for a place to get in first. Never understood that. Took us 30 mins to get from Matterhorn to dl exit ... We were routed thru tomorrowland and all the trck or treaters. Took almost 30 mins to get into dca.

Felt bad for the CMs, there were some VERY rude people, most cms were trying to be as polite as they could be.

 

[dnamertz]

Disney Villains
Town Square, Main Street, U.S.A.
Weekdays: 6:45, 7:30, 8:15, 9:00, 9:45, 10:30
Friday: 7:45, 8:30, 9:15, 10:00, 10:45, 11:30

What are the times for? Is that when they rotate in new villains?

 

[Sally_fan]

What are the times for? Is that when they rotate in new villains?

I'd say yes. Last year they rotated out every 45 min (in a very entertaining way I might add!).

 

[Disney Lvr of Old]

Disliked it- would never do it again. I thought it was insanely crowded. Lots of rude people~ the CM's were taking a beating.

 

[twinspirit]

It was nuts! SO many people coming and going, rope up everywhere made it very difficult to make your way around. There was no chance of watching the Costume parade. Couldn't get anywhere close. Having said all that, the kids had fun on the treat trails (we only did 3) and the costumes people were wearing were quite awesome. The fireworks were of course spectacular. We didnt attempt any rides. Could barely move from Main Street :s

 

[tdashgirl]

It was nuts! SO many people coming and going, rope up everywhere made it very difficult to make your way around. There was no chance of watching the Costume parade. Couldn't get anywhere close. Having said all that, the kids had fun on the treat trails (we only did 3) and the costumes people were wearing were quite awesome. The fireworks were of course spectacular. We didnt attempt any rides. Could barely move from Main Street :s

Sorry, but it sounds like they are overselling this event now In previous years I've never experienced a crazy crowded party. As was posted above also, the event was "sold out" yet they were selling tickets in Frontierland. No wonder it was so hectic. Hmmmm, hoping this Friday's will be better, if not we will definitely rethink spending the extra money on party tickets in the future. We'll just enjoy the Halloween decor and food on non-party nights. I'll miss the trick or treating fun and wearing / seeing costumes but not if it means spending extra money on top of my AP to be crushed in a crowd.

Edited to say I wish they would bring back the old school way of doing the party when it was in DCA -- close down the park, empty out the regular guests, then reopen for party guests. No more super pricey ticket with the "bonus" of being allowed into DL early ... personally that is not worth the $ since I'm an AP holder! And maybe would cut down the crowds to just the people who want the special ticketed event ... of course why would Disney do any of the above Just wishful thinking

 

[Rayes88]

There's no mention of a Rapunzel and Flynn m&g on the map guide. Will they be at the Fantasy Faire or in Rapunzel's room during the party? My gf and I will be going as Rapunzel and Flynn for the October 11 party, and getting a picture with them is our goal for the night! Thanks!

My DH and I are also going as Rapunzel and Flynn but on the 23rd - anyone have any information on Flynn and Rapunzel Meet and Greets?

Would be so bummed not to be able to get pictures with them!

 

[DPickering]

It was nuts! SO many people coming and going, rope up everywhere made it very difficult to make your way around. There was no chance of watching the Costume parade. Couldn't get anywhere close. Having said all that, the kids had fun on the treat trails (we only did 3) and the costumes people were wearing were quite awesome. The fireworks were of course spectacular. We didnt attempt any rides. Could barely move from Main Street :s

Our son, 3, loved the treat trails at first but on the third he was done, wanted to leave and go on the submarines. So we did it twice because the line was so short.

We actually ended up just avoiding Main Street and most of the Halloween content because of the crowds. Which was fine because we got on a lot of rides very quickly in a relatively short period of time.

And my son did see fireworks for the first time in his life, was spooked at first but liked it and did not want to leave.

So many staff telling us we could not walk or stand or whatever in so many places. I was polite all the time but by the end was definitely fed up with that. And the Pirate Pals, my son's fave (he was dressed as Jake), were seemingly never there.

But overall a very fun night. A lot of firsts and we all left very happy.

 

[tdhickey]

Overall we had fun, but agree it was very crowded and the CM's had a horrible strategy for crowd management. For example, 10 of them would line up with the "MHP only" signs blocking off walkways while many wristbanded people wanted to get by. They also shuffled everyone through a tiny mainstreet roped off section.

They told me to go through Frontierland to get from the hotdog refreshment stand to Jolly Holiday Bakery right next to it. Mainstreet was full of people standing, the pathyway to Jolly Holiday was empty...I was complainy!!!

Treat trails were nuts, no line control, super crowded and slow!

Ride lines were typical for a Friday, maybe slightly less.

Food service took longer than usual

Fireworks were spectacular, best part of the night!!!!

Not sure if I will reapeat.

 

[DZNEE4US]

Too late for tonight, but a little more info (courtesy of the "highly reliable source")

Mickeys Costume Party Cavalcade routes
8:30: its a small world to Town Square, 10:30: reverse


Disney Villains
Town Square, Main Street, U.S.A.
Weekdays: 6:45, 7:30, 8:15, 9:00, 9:45, 10:30
Friday: 7:45, 8:30, 9:15, 10:00, 10:45, 11:30


Character Greetings
The "pirate friends" turn out to be Captain Jack Sparrow, Peter Pan, Wendy, and Captain Hook
Genie will appear with Aladdin and Jasmine
Winnie the Pooh's friends are Tigger, Rabbit, and Eeyore


Toontown Treat Pre-Party
There's a new Toontown Treat Pre-Party from 6 p.m. - 8 p.m. on Friday night events, and 5 p.m. - 7 p.m. for all other events. The pre-party features early trick or treating for event guests and character meet & greets with Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Pluto, Donald, Chip, Dale, Clarabelle Cow and Roger Rabbit.
Toontown will close to non-event guests two hours before scheduled park closing to clear the area, and will reopen at the times listed. Toontown will then close for the night after the pre-party.


Trick or Treating
There are 10 trick or treat locations / trails this year. New this year: each one will offer gluten- and sugar-free treats, but only at the first stop along each trail (the one built to look like a door).

I really hope these plans are true!!! There are some unique characters listed. I wonder if any of the characters who appear in the Toontown pre party are dressed in costumes.
I can't wait for more party reports!!

 

[Vala]

Roger and Clarabelle werde definitely in Toontown, a friend sent me photos. He's also sent a photo of Mickey and Minnie in costume that seems slightly different to the park outfits, but I am waiting for his confirmation that this was from Toontown.

 

[Kilala]

If you guys can believe this at my local WalMart I saw this week Christmas decorations up. I think that is way too soon. It's two days before I go to WDW. 5 days before my first MNSSHP!!

 

[DZNEE4US]

Roger and Clarabelle werde definitely in Toontown, a friend sent me photos. He's also sent a photo of Mickey and Minnie in costume that seems slightly different to the park outfits, but I am waiting for his confirmation that this was from Toontown.

WOW! That sounds great!

 

[pudinhd]

We were at the party last night and I FINALLY MET MALEFICENT!!!!!

We arrived around 2:00 and there was no line for the parking lot, got lucky with a good parking space, only about a tram-full of people waiting for the tram, no line at bag check , and no line to enter Disneyland... Crazy!!

We went to the Conjure a Villain tent, almost walked right in for the Evil Queen, and then Captain Hook was next. A CM told my husband the other villain was Cruella, so we left.

Went on Haunted Mansion Holiday twice and both of us saw the monkey bride for the first time!!!

We got our wristbands at 4:00 and then went to get dinner. While looking at the map, there is no information about ToonTown on it. Even the CMs at the in-park bracelet area didn't have any. We went to the information booth at the HUB where we got a little help, but it would have been nice to know Clarabelle Cow and Roger Rabbit were there since we have never met them.

After watching the parade we went over to find a non-existent line for the villains. I wouldn't suggest getting there at the opening of the party because there still wasn't a line and then the villains didn't come out on time. Then they just had one character out for pictures. It was the Queen of Hearts and then Cruella until the others arrived. The first round was Cruella, Dr. Facilier, and Jafar. The second round was MALEFICENT, Hades, and the Evil Queen. I have no idea about the time between characters because they started out so late.

There was a cute little parade of villains between the switch. Some of them would walk and 2 of them would ride in a horse-drawn carriage with music. It was pretty cool. When we got back to Town Square at the end of the night, the villains were at the top of the train station doing a little dance for a while. The Cadaver Dans were there, too! (BTW, the Cadaver Dans show is on a little barge that slowly floats along the edge of Rivers of America. Way cool!!!)
*EDIT - It wasn't the Cadaver Dans at the train station - just 4 guys with candelabras. They were also in the carriage procession.

The lines for the treat trails were very deceptive. The first spot would be a short line and then the next spot would have a huge line. We didn't make it to all of them, but my favorite was the Village Haus! The busiest was along the Rivers of America. The monorail treat trail starts down below and once you are up on the platform, there are 3 treat trails and you do each of them twice. The meet & greet for Phineas and Ferb was in the middle of the Innoventions treat trail, you just got out of line to see them.

The fireworks were amazing and we were sitting almost at the rope, just behind one family. The big, big, big bummer was that there was no "big ball" to use for the character faces. There was a delay for technical difficulties and I guess that was it, because it never appeared. If anyone posts a video of the upcoming party fireworks, please let me know, because I would really like to see it!

The princess meet & greet line is at the Royal Theatre, not in their hall, and the line will stop for the Cavalcade. We saw Snow White, Cinderella, and Tiana. I also saw Rapunzel, Pocahontas, and another princess earlier in the evening when we walked by. The line for the StormTroopers was longer than Phineus & Ferb, which surprised me. We did see Pooh in a bee costume, Tigger, and Rabbit!!!

I think that's it for now... We left at midnight and are completely exhausted! It was a fun event and I would do it again, even with the crowds, chaos, the missing villains, and the technical difficulties. Hope this helps and that everyone has a fabulous time!!

 

[Susie63]

We had a blast! I didn't find the crowd control bad and the area around the fireworks really wasn't much different than any other night for the fireworks. We stood in behind a bench where the parade enters the hub and when those people left after the parade we grabbed that bench. We waited for the fireworks at 9:30 and they were awesome. You really need to be there early for the fireworks because they do have to keep walkways open for guests who are travelling through.
The trick or treat trails were good. We emptied our little bags 3 times into a backpack and still had half a bag each when we decided that we had enough candy and poor DH's back was going to give out from carrying it all....poor guy. Longest line was at the monorail station. It was slow but all the switchbacks were great for costume viewing.
We did pictures during the day with Jack & Sally, Mickey & Minnie and we conjured up Captain Hook at the ranch. We were there at about 1pm and there was no wait for the games or the tent for the villains.
We didn't do any rides except for POTC at 11:58.
We were in full costume, had our armbands showing clearly and breezed right through as we entered. It may be different if you are not in costume.
Was it worth $150? Yes. Would I do it again? Yes.
It was my 50th birthday yesterday and I had the best party ever. Love the CM's at Disneyland.

 

[Sherry E]

Too late for tonight, but a little more info (courtesy of the "highly reliable source")

Mickeys Costume Party Cavalcade routes
8:30: its a small world to Town Square, 10:30: reverse


Disney Villains
Town Square, Main Street, U.S.A.
Weekdays: 6:45, 7:30, 8:15, 9:00, 9:45, 10:30
Friday: 7:45, 8:30, 9:15, 10:00, 10:45, 11:30


Character Greetings
The "pirate friends" turn out to be Captain Jack Sparrow, Peter Pan, Wendy, and Captain Hook
Genie will appear with Aladdin and Jasmine
Winnie the Pooh's friends are Tigger, Rabbit, and Eeyore


Toontown Treat Pre-Party
There's a new Toontown Treat Pre-Party from 6 p.m. - 8 p.m. on Friday night events, and 5 p.m. - 7 p.m. for all other events. The pre-party features early trick or treating for event guests and character meet & greets with Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Pluto, Donald, Chip, Dale, Clarabelle Cow and Roger Rabbit.
Toontown will close to non-event guests two hours before scheduled park closing to clear the area, and will reopen at the times listed. Toontown will then close for the night after the pre-party.


Trick or Treating
There are 10 trick or treat locations / trails this year. New this year: each one will offer gluten- and sugar-free treats, but only at the first stop along each trail (the one built to look like a door).

Thanks for all of the great info about the MHP, perlster! It is very useful and handy for everyone who is going to attend one of the remaining 12 MHPs.

Sorry, but it sounds like they are overselling this event now In previous years I've never experienced a crazy crowded party. As was posted above also, the event was "sold out" yet they were selling tickets in Frontierland. No wonder it was so hectic. Hmmmm, hoping this Friday's will be better, if not we will definitely rethink spending the extra money on party tickets in the future. We'll just enjoy the Halloween decor and food on non-party nights. I'll miss the trick or treating fun and wearing / seeing costumes but not if it means spending extra money on top of my AP to be crushed in a crowd.

Edited to say I wish they would bring back the old school way of doing the party when it was in DCA -- close down the park, empty out the regular guests, then reopen for party guests. No more super pricey ticket with the "bonus" of being allowed into DL early ... personally that is not worth the $ since I'm an AP holder! And maybe would cut down the crowds to just the people who want the special ticketed event ... of course why would Disney do any of the above Just wishful thinking

Tania --

I have to agree. I liked the old way of doing it -- closing the park and clearing everyone out, and then letting all of the party guests enter the park at a certain time. Also, while I enjoy the locations of the treat trails and treat stations around Disneyland, and I like the fog over the Rivers of America and in Frontierland, I really think there was more space to move around when the party was held in DCA. At that point, I'm sure that fewer tickets were sold for each night.

I even thought that the last MHP I went to in 2011 was too crowded. I thought they oversold the tickets even then. I can't imagine how many tickets they are selling now, as it sounds like the crowds are worse now than they were 2 years ago. The problem is, it shouldn't seem like a regular night in the parks, crowd-wise. It should seem like a less crowded park, with fewer people -- it should seem like a more exclusive event.

We were at the party last night and I FINALLY MET MALEFICENT!!!!!

We arrived around 2:00 and there was no line for the parking lot, got lucky with a good parking space, only about a tram-full of people waiting for the tram, no line at bag check , and no line to enter Disneyland... Crazy!!

We went to the Conjure a Villain tent, almost walked right in for the Evil Queen, and then Captain Hook was next. A CM told my husband the other villain was Cruella, so we left.

Went on Haunted Mansion Holiday twice and both of us saw the monkey bride for the first time!!!

We got our wristbands at 4:00 and then went to get dinner. While looking at the map, there is no information about ToonTown on it. Even the CMs at the in-park bracelet area didn't have any. We went to the information booth at the HUB where we got a little help, but it would have been nice to know Clarabelle Cow and Roger Rabbit were there since we have never met them.

After watching the parade we went over to find a non-existent line for the villains. I wouldn't suggest getting there at the opening of the party because there still wasn't a line and then the villains didn't come out on time. Then they just had one character out for pictures. It was the Queen of Hearts and then Cruella until the others arrived. The first round was Cruella, Dr. Facilier, and Jafar. The second round was MALEFICENT, Hades, and the Evil Queen. I have no idea about the time between characters because they started out so late.

There was a cute little parade of villains between the switch. Some of them would walk and 2 of them would ride in a horse-drawn carriage with music. It was pretty cool. When we got back to Town Square at the end of the night, the villains were at the top of the train station doing a little dance for a while. The Cadaver Dans were there, too! (BTW, the Cadaver Dans show is on a little barge that slowly floats along the edge of Rivers of America. Way cool!!!)

The lines for the treat trails were very deceptive. The first spot would be a short line and then the next spot would have a huge line. We didn't make it to all of them, but my favorite was the Village Haus! The busiest was along the Rivers of America. The monorail treat trail starts down below and once you are up on the platform, there are 3 treat trails and you do each of them twice. The meet & greet for Phineas and Ferb was in the middle of the Innoventions treat trail, you just got out of line to see them.

The fireworks were amazing and we were sitting almost at the rope, just behind one family. The big, big, big bummer was that there was no "big ball" to use for the character faces. There was a delay for technical difficulties and I guess that was it, because it never appeared. If anyone posts a video of the upcoming party fireworks, please let me know, because I would really like to see it!

The princess meet & greet line is at the Royal Theatre, not in their hall, and the line will stop for the Cavalcade. We saw Snow White, Cinderella, and Tiana. I also saw Rapunzel, Pocahontas, and another princess earlier in the evening when we walked by. The line for the StormTroopers was longer than Phineus & Ferb, which surprised me. We did see Pooh in a bee costume, Tigger, and Rabbit!!!

I think that's it for now... We left at midnight and are completely exhausted! It was a fun event and I would do it again, even with the crowds, chaos, the missing villains, and the technical difficulties. Hope this helps and that everyone has a fabulous time!!

pudinhd --

The crystal ball was not working during Halloween Screams? Yikes! That's one of the highlights of the show!

I'm glad you finally got to meet Maleficent.

Yay! You finally had your first Monkey Bride sighting! So I am guessing that my instructions on where/how to look for her were good, since you found her. Did you find her by sitting on the left side of the Buggy, or were you sitting on the right?

We had a blast! I didn't find the crowd control bad and the area around the fireworks really wasn't much different than any other night for the fireworks. We stood in behind a bench where the parade enters the hub and when those people left after the parade we grabbed that bench. We waited for the fireworks at 9:30 and they were awesome. You really need to be there early for the fireworks because they do have to keep walkways open for guests who are travelling through.
The trick or treat trails were good. We emptied our little bags 3 times into a backpack and still had half a bag each when we decided that we had enough candy and poor DH's back was going to give out from carrying it all....poor guy. Longest line was at the monorail station. It was slow but all the switchbacks were great for costume viewing.
We did pictures during the day with Jack & Sally, Mickey & Minnie and we conjured up Captain Hook at the ranch. We were there at about 1pm and there was no wait for the games or the tent for the villains.
We didn't do any rides except for POTC at 11:58.
We were in full costume, had our armbands showing clearly and breezed right through as we entered. It may be different if you are not in costume.
Was it worth $150? Yes. Would I do it again? Yes.
It was my 50th birthday yesterday and I had the best party ever. Love the CM's at Disneyland.

Belated happy birthday, Susie63!

I'm glad you had a great time! It sounds like your first Halloween Time Disney trip was a big success.

​

Keep the MHP reviews coming, everyone! I am fascinated to read about everyone's experiences -- both positive and negative -- and their observations. It definitely sounds like the party is getting more crowded from year to year, so despite the tickets "selling out" I think that Disney is selling even more tickets than they used to.

I will be especially interested to read some recaps of the second party after it happens, to see if it is as crowded as the first one apparently was.

​

 

[j2tyco]

We are attending the Tuesday Oct 8th Mickey Halloween Party and one thing that has confused me is that on the Park Hours it does not list the fireworks show....is this because the Halloween Screams fireworks are only for the party goers or do those of us going to the party on on non weekend nights not get a fireworks show??


I guess it makes since that the regular park hours would not list the Screams fireworks since it does not list any of the other party related events--but this has me confuzzled so just checking


Obviously no "regular fireworks show" but that is because we are getting to see the special Screams fireworks right??

 

[dnamertz]

Thanks everyone for sharing your experience at last night's party.

For those people who saw the fireworks last night, how early did you get a spot and how good was your view? Same questions for the "parade".