HalloweenTime at DLR Superthread #4

[Sherry E]

Ugh, totally missed that the 30th is a Monday! Great at the rate DL has been going with Halloween time they will put it off until the last second, June 30th, sigh. Well let's just hope for something Halloween Monday.

momof6princesses --

Disneyland certainly operates at a snail's pace when it comes to releasing info such as dates and schedules. WDW has its Candlelight narrators lined up months and months in advance, and DLR's Candlelight narrators are usually leaked out through a non-Disney source maybe a month in advance, or less.

What's funny is that, when the Parks Blog does release any kind of tiny morsel of info about Halloween in the summer, they will always make some sort of statement along the lines of, "We know that summer just started, but..." or "We know that Halloween is a long way off, but..." Something like that. It's almost as if they feel the need to excuse or justify the reasons for posting Halloween (or holiday season) info in advance!!!

And when I read those kinds of sentences in the Parks Blog text, I always think, "Do they not see that releasing dates and info early on will make everyone happy? It's a win-win for everyone involved! There's no down side!" The only down side would be if the information given out was somehow not set in stone and could change on a dime -- then that would be bad.

Otherwise, who cares if it is summer and Halloween doesn't happen until October 31st? People want to know the info, so Disney should just give it to them! It's not as if everyone waits until summer is over (September) to begin planning their Halloween Time and holiday season trips! Especially in regards to the holiday season, which is a huge deal for many families and requires a lot of special planning for trips, Disney should release as much info about it as early in the year as possible!

 

[ArchOwl]

Welcome aboard, ArchOwl! We do have some awesome contributors here! I'd been having a harder than usual time getting people to join in and start participating (unlike last year at this time, when we had a lot of activity happening and all sorts of discussion about various things), but fortunately it seems that things are picking up! Did you check out the MHP Frequently Asked Questions on page 1? That was one of the main things I wanted to get onto page 1 before other things, but I still need to fill in more details (and more photos) in some of the other posts on that page. Time has not been on my side! I haven't been to an MHP in a while, and I had fully intended to go last year before plans got derailed, but it helps fill out the whole Halloween Time experience for me when I go. I can easily enjoy Halloween Time without the MHP (which I did, last year), but I think the MHP is a good enhancement/complement to it.

Thanks so much for the welcome! I did read the first few posts actually and they answered most of my questions, yay! Thanks!

Perhaps I missed the section about when is the best time to go? I was thinking perhaps the third weekend in October, to miss Gay Days and the Utah Education thing. But please feel free to direct me to the discussion if I missed it!

 

[momof6princesses]

Thanks so much for the welcome! I did read the first few posts actually and they answered most of my questions, yay! Thanks! Perhaps I missed the section about when is the best time to go? I was thinking perhaps the third weekend in October, to miss Gay Days and the Utah Education thing. But please feel free to direct me to the discussion if I missed it!

That's what my thoughts were when we set our dates. We are going the Oct. 17-24. Good luck!

 

[Sherry E]

Thanks so much for the welcome! I did read the first few posts actually and they answered most of my questions, yay! Thanks!

Perhaps I missed the section about when is the best time to go? I was thinking perhaps the third weekend in October, to miss Gay Days and the Utah Education thing. But please feel free to direct me to the discussion if I missed it!

ArchOwl --

I still have to add in some things to page 1! I don't think there has necessarily been a specific ongoing discussion in this thread about the best time to go -- yet -- because other threads have popped up in which that question has come up and people haven't necessarily asked it here as much, though I'm sure everyone here who has been to DLR for Halloween Time and the MHP would have an opinion, such as Cheshirecatty, figment_jii, Kilala, etc.

I think that after Gay Days (10/3 - 10/5), the CHOC Walk (10/12), Columbus Day (10/13), and the Utah/UEA time frame (10/16 and 10/17), you have a window of time in which some crowds might thin out a bit. Then, things will probably pick up again during the week of Halloween.

On the past couple of occasions when Disney offered some sort of Fall hotel discount/PIN code offer, I noticed that they blocked out certain weeks in October, November and December -- the weeks when they expected a lot of people to show up -- and the remaining weeks were discounted or offered for cheaper rates. Those "cheaper" weeks tended to be in the second half of October, which tells us that Disney was not anticipating huge crowds during that time frame (because, if they were, they wouldn't need to offer discounts on hotel rooms).

So I think you have the right idea about when to go!

 

[Cheshirecatty]

Thanks so much for the welcome! I did read the first few posts actually and they answered most of my questions, yay! Thanks!

Perhaps I missed the section about when is the best time to go? I was thinking perhaps the third weekend in October, to miss Gay Days and the Utah Education thing. But please feel free to direct me to the discussion if I missed it!

Hi ArchOwl…..I think Sherry is spot on about the 3rd weekend in Oct. being a good time to visit, and crowds possibly thinning.

Having said that, we always visit(and have for years) between the middle of the first week and anywhere up to the 17th of Oct., and the only time we thought the crowds were unbearable(or even a nuisance, really) was years ago when the Electric Light Parade finished it's run at Disneyland during our October week. Those were crowds I hope never to see again!!!

We usually arrive on the last day of Gay Days, and leave the day before CHOC walk begins(or morning of), and have found that to be a really great time frame---increased crowds because of all the HalloweenTime offerings, yes, but very manageable, and not in the least too crowded(in our opinion)!

We've also been there several times during UEA, and didn't feel that we, or our plans/touring style, were negatively impacted in any way. I think your zeroing in on the 3rd weekend, would be a nice plan!

 

[ArchOwl]

Thank you so much everyone! We are limited to weekends due to my friends' work schedules. However, my last few Saturday visits have been quite good. I have been to Gay Days and it was super fun, but pretty crowded. We would prefer to avoid the crowds as much as possible this time. And hopefully get a little cooler weather. I appreciate all your helpful suggestions.

 

[Autty40]

Hi there! I am a long time lurker for this thread. I wanted to drop in though and say that we are officially 99 days away from our trip! I can't believe it's so close!
I can't remember if I listed the last time I posted that it'll be me, my DH, my DD2, my MIL, FIL, and two friends going Sept29-Oct3. We're staying at the Bet Western Stovalls. I am so excited for this trip since we're adding a day from our last trip and it's the first time if over 20 years that my MIL and FIL will be going. We are not planning to do any of the Parties.
I really love these Superthreads and used the Christmas one last year. Thanks again for all the information. I look forward to really planning out our trip.

 

[Sherry E]

Hi there! I am a long time lurker for this thread. I wanted to drop in though and say that we are officially 99 days away from our trip! I can't believe it's so close!
I can't remember if I listed the last time I posted that it'll be me, my DH, my DD2, my MIL, FIL, and two friends going Sept29-Oct3. We're staying at the Bet Western Stovalls. I am so excited for this trip since we're adding a day from our last trip and it's the first time if over 20 years that my MIL and FIL will be going. We are not planning to do any of the Parties.
I really love these Superthreads and used the Christmas one last year. Thanks again for all the information. I look forward to really planning out our trip.

Welcome aboard, Autty40!

I'm so glad you're enjoying (and hopefully getting some good information from) the Superthreads!

Of course I know who you are! (And I remember that your 2013 trip took place while The View was taping at DLR!) You not only followed my Christmas/Holiday Season Superthread last year, but you participated in the Theme Week Countdown! (By the way, even if you don't have another holiday season trip planned for DLR this year, you are more than welcome and encouraged to participate in this year's Theme Week Countdown in the Christmas/Holiday Season Superthread, which will begin on Monday, July 21st and end with the final theme on Monday, November 3rd! Chances are you probably took some photos during your November 2013 trip, so those photos can be used in the Countdown somewhere or another!)

Your trip sounds like it will be wonderful! Will this be your first Halloween Time visit to DLR?

Right around now (a.k.a. The Beginning of Summer), I begin to really, really look forward to Halloween Time arriving in September, because it's not far away at all. It is now within reach. When we consider that there is only one more week of June, we can basically just write off June as being "over." One more week is not all that significant. So then, September is only 2 months away from July. Once September starts, we will probably only have to wait another couple of weeks for Halloween Time to start.

The time will zoom by, and Halloween Time will be here in the blink of an eye... which I have to keep reminding myself as the temperatures soar higher and higher over the next couple of months!

 

[BebopAngel88]

I am also a fellow lurker but trying to be more active. I have been to DL for the Halloween season but never to MHP. I am taking my bf and our two kids and I am just beyond excited! This is our favorite season and we are going from Oct 8-10 for a 3 day park hopper but I am planning to do MHP, hopefully... on Oct 7th. I read that Tuesdays are not as bad as Fridays so I hope that is true.

 

[Sherry E]

I am also a fellow lurker but trying to be more active. I have been to DL for the Halloween season but never to MHP. I am taking my bf and our two kids and I am just beyond excited! This is our favorite season and we are going from Oct 8-10 for a 3 day park hopper but I am planning to do MHP, hopefully... on Oct 7th. I read that Tuesdays are not as bad as Fridays so I hope that is true.

Welcome, BebopAngel88!!

Thank you for joining in!

If, for some crazy reason, there is no MHP on 10/7 because it is switched to 10/6 (every so often a Tuesday party will get switched to a Monday, if there is any sort of private, corporate event taking place in the park), would you go to the MHP on 10/6 or would you go on 10/10, even though that's your last day at DLR? I don't want you to miss it!

Of course, we should know the schedule for the MHP very soon, so we shouldn't be in suspense too much longer.

About Tuesdays being less crazy/hectic than Fridays -- The last MHP I went to was on one of those random Mondays that took the place of a Tuesday, and I felt that it was comparable in crowds to what Friday would be. Not out of control, unbearably crowded, of course, but just much more crowded than I would have expected it to be for a Monday night hard ticket event. Personally, I felt that there were too many people there for the event, but other MHP attendees felt differently. (Hopefully, figment_jii, Cheshirecatty, Kilala, and any other recent MHP-goers will give their opinions on crowds during their nights!) I would rather that Disneyland add more MHP nights and sell fewer tickets to each night instead of overselling the existing nights.

However, that Monday party was towards the beginning of the MHP schedule that year, and there were probably some weekend holdovers who stayed to attend MHP.

I've always thought that if the same number of tickets are sold for Tuesday parties, Friday parties or any other parties, and all of those nights sell out (which they do), the crowds for each MHP should be about equal.

And then someone (it may have been Nonsuch, but I don't recall?) brought up the fact that the earlier weeknight parties probably empty out faster and earlier in the evening because a lot of people have to get to work (and/or school) the next day, whereas the Friday parties probably stay busy all the way through.

That is a very good point, so that probably explains a lot of why Tuesdays (or Mondays, or whichever day) may be less crowded than Friday parties. People spread out to certain areas and then probably leave early!

You'll be there after Gay Days is over, and before CHOC Walk or the Utah break. But that 10/10 date will be the beginning of the Columbus Day weekend, so if you had to end up going to the 10/10 party instead of your planned date, you might encounter some bigger crowds in the parks and at the party.

I love the season too -- Fall (in or out of Disneyland) is spectacular for so many reasons! The bright splashes of orange everywhere.... the different kinds of creatively carved pumpkins... Harvest decorations... the aromas of pumpkin spice and apple goodies... the leaves changing colors... the smell of fireplaces beginning to burn in the distance... the cool morning air. What's not to love? It's an amazing time of year!

 

[sgrap]

Any Monday #GetHappier news today? I looked at both FB pages and didn't see anything exciting, other than hours and such.

 

[Sherry E]

Any Monday #GetHappier news today? I looked at both FB pages and didn't see anything exciting, other than hours and such.

sgrap --

Not that I've seen either. I've checked the Parks Blog website, the Disneyland Today Facebook and Twitter pages, and the Disneyland Facebook and Twitter pages and...zilch!

I guess we will have to assume that today's "surprise" is one of those mysterious, not-quite-defined "online" surprises instead of an in-park or in-Downtown Disney surprise, which could mean a random email from some segment of Disney, with a surprise attached.

That would all be well and good if we just heard something about it afterwards like, "Jane Doe won a 1-night stay at the Disneyland Hotel, courtesy of Disney Destinations," or "John Doe won a free D23 membership," or whatever.

The thing is, there is no payoff in these random online surprises other than to the specific person or people who win them. All of us who are wasting our time checking websites, Facebook pages and Twitter feeds might like to hear who won what!! Am I alone in that line of thinking?

And...since 50 people won Mickey ears in DL last week, and another 50 won Oswald ears in DCA, does that mean that 50 people would be receiving the "online surprises" too? Out of 50 online winners, someone would have to announce something, somewhere, eventually -- and yet, the mystery of who won what on June 9th (and probably June 2nd too!) lingers on because no one has talked about it anywhere!

Also, if today is not an online surprise but is really something happening at DLR that hasn't been announced yet, it would be nice to know that too.

I think the whole way this #GetHappier surprise deal is set up and structured is bad. It's not about wanting to "win" something for me. I just want some sort of payoff to my time spent searching Facebook, Twitter and the Parks Blog by way of some sort of revelation of what the online surprise was!!!

 

[sgrap]

sgrap --

Not that I've seen either. I've checked the Parks Blog website, the Disneyland Today Facebook and Twitter pages, and the Disneyland Facebook and Twitter pages and...zilch!

I guess we will have to assume that today's "surprise" is one of those mysterious, not-quite-defined "online" surprises instead of an in-park or in-Downtown Disney surprise, which could mean a random email from some segment of Disney, with a surprise attached.

That would all be well and good if we just heard something about it afterwards like, "Jane Doe won a 1-night stay at the Disneyland Hotel, courtesy of Disney Destinations," or "John Doe won a free D23 membership," or whatever.

The thing is, there is no payoff in these random online surprises other than to the specific person or people who win them. All of us who are wasting our time checking websites, Facebook pages and Twitter feeds might like to hear who won what!! Am I alone in that line of thinking?

And...since 50 people won Mickey ears in DL last week, and another 50 won Oswald ears in DCA, does that mean that 50 people would be receiving the "online surprises too"? Out of 50 online winners, someone would have to announce something, somewhere, eventually -- and yet, the mystery of who won what on June 9th (and probably June 2nd too!) lingers on because no one has talked about it anywhere!

Also, if today is not an online surprise but is really something happening at DLR that hasn't been announced yet, it would be nice to know that too.

I think the whole way this #GetHappier surprise deal is set up and structured is bad. It's not about wanting to "win" something for me. I just want some sort of payoff to my time spent searching Facebook, Twitter and the Parks Blog by way of some sort of revelation of what the online surprise was!!!

I agree! You would think they would want to get the most mileage and PR out of these surprises, so why not publicize them more?

 

[pattyduke34]

I seen something on the #gethappier...it was posted on FB Disneyland,,saying
"monday would be happier if we were hanging out with talking cars" and a picture of Carsland. It was posted about 5 hours ago,..

 

[Sherry E]

I agree! You would think they would want to get the most mileage and PR out of these surprises, so why not publicize them more?

sgrap --

Exactly! And, if nothing else, just let us revel in the joy of the moment and celebrate with/congratulate the lucky recipients of the online surprises (whatever those may be)!

If no one (who got an online surprise) leaks anything out on any discussion board, anywhere, after today, then I am going to start questioning whether or not DLR is really doing any kinds of online surprises at all! I am starting to think that they are just "telling" us that some of the surprises are online, but if we never hear about them we never know if they did or did not happen!

I seen something on the #gethappier...it was posted on FB Disneyland,,saying
"monday would be happier if we were hanging out with talking cars" and a picture of Carsland. It was posted about 5 hours ago,..

pattyduke34 --

I saw that too! There were a couple of posts with the #GetHappier slogan on them, but no announcement of a surprise (unlike last week). The posts from today were the same sorts of posts they had on the Facebook and Twitter pages 2 weeks ago -- just teasers that didn't lead to anything!

 

[momof6princesses]

I saw that too! There were a couple of posts with the #GetHappier slogan on them, but no announcement of a surprise (unlike last week). The posts from today were the same sorts of posts they had on the Facebook and Twitter pages 2 weeks ago -- just teasers that didn't lead to anything!

Maybe it is a every other week thing?! So we won't hear anything until the 30th.

 

[kaci]

I just saw a report on one of the "other" boards that there was a M&G in DL with the 7 Dwarves as part of the #GetHappier Monday promotion.

 

[Sherry E]

momof6princesses --

It could be an every other week sort of thing in terms of announcements, but there may be random surprises that pop up that are unannounced in between those weeks! Madness!


kaci --

Okay, well that's a lead on something then! Thank you for the update. Even though it was not announced by Disney, I can see that happening. I just wish they had told us, "Hey, everyone, the Dwarfs are out! Go now and meet them to #GetHappier!"

ETA: I just saw that post on the other board -- did she not know that #GetHappier happened last week? The title of her thread sounds as if she didn't realize that anything took place last week too.

 

[kaci]

kaci --

Okay, well that's a lead on something then! Thank you for the update. Even though it was not announced by Disney, I can see that happening. I just wish they had told us, "Hey, everyone, the Dwarfs are out! Go now and meet them to #GetHappier!"

ETA: I just saw that post on the other board -- did she not know that #GetHappier happened last week? The title of her thread sounds as if she didn't realize that anything took place last week too.

I'm not sure if she knew about last week or not. I read it as her confirming something actually happened *this week*, but I could see how it could be taken as a comment on last week, too.

This whole campaign has been pretty confusing and anti-climactic, IMHO... But it was fun to see a pic of the Dwarves

 

[Sherry E]

I'm not sure if she knew about last week or not. I read it as her confirming something actually happened *this week*, but I could see how it could be taken as a comment on last week, too.

This whole campaign has been pretty confusing and anti-climactic, IMHO... But it was fun to see a pic of the Dwarves

kaci --

I just gave you a shout out over in the Christmas/Holiday Season Superthread too, for being the one to finally tell us what today's surprise is!

I totally agree -- I think this campaign is most definitely confused and confusing; vague; mysterious (but not in a good way); time-wasting; poorly structured, etc. For example, if Disney could announce #GetHappier on Disneyland Today last week so that people could make a mad dash for the ears, why not announce it today so people would know to run over to DL and meet the characters?

Disney could have done a better job of orchestrating how these Monday Surprises are revealed instead of having all of us waste our time, scanning multiple pages for info -- only to end up finding it on a non-Disney discussion board! But at least someone reported back so we know there was something happening today!










Okay, Disneyland Today just posted this cryptic message, less than 10 minutes ago:

"If you're in Disney California Adventure, stay tuned! Your Monday is about to #GetHappier"






Everyone, run to DCA! Now! Hurry! Rare characters might be on the loose! Or something else! Go go go!!!

Jamie/DisneyJamieCA and Bret/mvf-m11c are in the parks today! Maybe they'll get there!