HalloweenTime at DLR Superthread #4

[sgrap]

Hmmm... Curious.

I have been checking the AP section of the Disneyland Resort website every day, to see if:

1) They sneaked in the dates of the MHP before they are announced by the Parks Blog, which has happened before (in 2011); and

2) They sneaked in an updated version of the Backstage Pass newsletter/calendar, as the one that had been on there since the end of last year was the winter/holiday issue. A new Backstage Pass on the website would likely mean that a copy would arrive in the mail soon, and that copy would likely have Halloween Time and holiday season-related dates on the calendar in it.

I just popped over to the AP section now -- a bit later than I have been checking it every other day -- and the layout of certain sections of the AP site/mini-site looks very different now. They must have revamped those sections overnight.

I kept trying to get to the page where the link to Backstage Pass would be, and I never found it. Backstage Pass is gone -- which is good, because the old holiday issue was not doing us any good!

Whether this means that Disney is currently in the process of getting the MHP dates ready to put up in the AP section soon, as well as put up a new Backstage Pass, is anyone's guess -- but they have sneakily changed the look of things since I checked yesterday!

I think that whenever we can tell that the Disney elves are "working" on the website behind the scenes, it is an alert to start watching that site -- and the Parks Blog, and any other official Disney news source -- like a hawk over the coming days, as info could start to trickle in! Things like that have happened before.

The MHP dates would have to appear in the AP section fairly soon anyway, as the tickets will go on sale to AP holders before they go on sale to the general public.

woo-hoo!!!

 

[Amilo]

Hmmm... Curious.

I have been checking the AP section of the Disneyland Resort website every day, to see if:

1) They sneaked in the dates of the MHP before they are announced by the Parks Blog, which has happened before (in 2011); and

2) They sneaked in an updated version of the Backstage Pass newsletter/calendar, as the one that had been on there since the end of last year was the winter/holiday issue. A new Backstage Pass on the website would likely mean that a copy would arrive in the mail soon, and that copy would likely have Halloween Time and holiday season-related dates on the calendar in it.

I just popped over to the AP section now -- a bit later than I have been checking it every other day -- and the layout of certain sections of the AP site/mini-site looks very different now. They must have revamped those sections overnight.

I kept trying to get to the page where the link to Backstage Pass would be, and I never found it. Backstage Pass is gone -- which is good, because the old holiday issue was not doing us any good!

Whether this means that Disney is currently in the process of getting the MHP dates ready to put up in the AP section soon, as well as put up a new Backstage Pass, is anyone's guess -- but they have sneakily changed the look of things since I checked yesterday!

I think that whenever we can tell that the Disney elves are "working" on the website behind the scenes, it is an alert to start watching that site -- and the Parks Blog, and any other official Disney news source -- like a hawk over the coming days, as info could start to trickle in! Things like that have happened before.

The MHP dates would have to appear in the AP section fairly soon anyway, as the tickets will go on sale to AP holders before they go on sale to the general public.

Oooh! Nice sleuthing, Sherry! I would love to have AP and get inside scoop, but I'm in Hawaii and don't travel enough! Seems like Disboards lead to more info than AP anyway!.... SO excited for potential
announcement! Maybe Monday!?

 

[mummabear]

Do any of the vets have an idea when Pirates League was announced, open and available for bookings last year?

 

[Sherry E]

Do any of the vets have an idea when Pirates League was announced, open and available for bookings last year?

mummabear -

It was announced in this 2013 blog, and it looks as though reservations/bookings were being accepted as of August 20, 2013:

"The Pirates League is Back for a Limited Time Only at the Disneyland Resort!" -- Disney Parks Blog; posted on August 1st, 2013 by Michelle Harker, Manager, Merchandise Marketing & Communications, Disneyland Resort

As for the daily schedule, I'm not sure. It was already open at the Halloween Carnival when I was there on the first day of Halloween Time last year (Friday, 9/13/13).

 

[mummabear]

Thanks SherryE

Hopefully it will be back this year. God I can't take waiting until 2 weeks before we leave.

 

[mikana876]

mummabear -

It was announced in this 2013 blog, and it looks as though reservations/bookings were being accepted as of August 20, 2013:

"The Pirates League is Back for a Limited Time Only at the Disneyland Resort!" -- Disney Parks Blog; posted on August 1st, 2013 by Michelle Harker, Manager, Merchandise Marketing & Communications, Disneyland Resort

As for the daily schedule, I'm not sure. It was already open at the Halloween Carnival when I was there on the first day of Halloween Time last year (Friday, 9/13/13).

Wow, that's very cool! I had no idea they brought the Pirates League to DL for Halloweentime. I hope they do that again this year!

 

[addicted2dizney]

to the OP thanks so much for all the great info.. I'm curious as to why the "best guess" of the Halloween Party start date is Sept 26th? Being it seems the last 4 year's dates have been trending a bit earlier. I've only been to DLR once in 2010 but I'm a 4 times or more a year WDW person. It's so bizarre that DLR does not release the dates until 60 days out. I'm trained on the 180+ lifestyle. lol! I will be there 9/14-9/19. I was hoping for a party on the 19th... Although it won't be a make or break for me I would like to experience one. I will be heading to WDW 10 days after getting home from DLR and doing a MNSSHP on 10/2. I would be cool to experience both parties in one season.

 

[Sherry E]

to the OP thanks so much for all the great info.. I'm curious as to why the "best guess" of the Halloween Party start date is Sept 26th? Being it seems the last 4 year's dates have been trending a bit earlier. I've only been to DLR once in 2010 but I'm a 4 times or more a year WDW person. It's so bizarre that DLR does not release the dates until 60 days out. I'm trained on the 180+ lifestyle. lol! I will be there 9/14-9/19. I was hoping for a party on the 19th... Although it won't be a make or break for me I would like to experience one. I will be heading to WDW 10 days after getting home from DLR and doing a MNSSHP on 10/2. I would be cool to experience both parties in one season.

Welcome, addicted2dizney --

Thank you for joining us!

The start dates for the last several years of both Halloween Time and Mickey's Halloween Party are addressed in Question #4 of the Frequently Asked Questions on page 1. In Question #1, I go over the difference between Halloween Time and Mickey's Halloween Party.

The Halloween parties at Disneyland park have -- thus far -- never begun earlier than the last Friday in September. That's a fact. The Halloween Party started on Friday, 9/27 last year. (And, actually, when the parties were held in DCA, I don't think they started any earlier than the first Friday in October, though I could be misremembering that.)

That's why 9/26 is the best guess for a Mickey's Halloween Party start date, although Disney could decide to begin starting the party earlier. I have been thinking for a while that they will eventually start the parties a bit earlier one of these years, but probably not as early as when WDW starts theirs.

The actual Halloween Time season (not Mickey's Halloween Party) is what starts earlier -- usually in mid-September -- and the best guess for that start date this year is 9/12, though Disney could always start it a couple of days earlier or later in any given year.

 

[mummabear]

to the OP thanks so much for all the great info.. I'm curious as to why the "best guess" of the Halloween Party start date is Sept 26th? Being it seems the last 4 year's dates have been trending a bit earlier. I've only been to DLR once in 2010 but I'm a 4 times or more a year WDW person. It's so bizarre that DLR does not release the dates until 60 days out. I'm trained on the 180+ lifestyle. lol! I will be there 9/14-9/19. I was hoping for a party on the 19th... Although it won't be a make or break for me I would like to experience one. I will be heading to WDW 10 days after getting home from DLR and doing a MNSSHP on 10/2. I would be cool to experience both parties in one season.

I know, it's driving me crazy!

 

[laura&fam]

The Halloween parties at Disneyland park have -- thus far -- never begun earlier than the last Friday in September. That's a fact. The Halloween Party started on Friday, 9/27 last year. (And, actually, when the parties were held in DCA, I don't think they started any earlier than the first Friday in October, though I could be misremembering that.)

That's why 9/26 is the best guess for a Mickey's Halloween Party start date, although Disney could decide to begin starting the party earlier. I have been thinking for a while that they will eventually start the parties a bit earlier one of these years, but probably not as early as when WDW starts theirs.

The actual Halloween Time season (not Mickey's Halloween Party) is what starts earlier -- usually in mid-September -- and the best guess for that start date this year is 9/12, though Disney could always start it a couple of days earlier or later in any given year.

I think it would be great if they added an extra party or two. Since most of them have sold out the last couple of years I think there would be a market for them.

 

[scrappymel]

Thanks SherryE

Hopefully it will be back this year. God I can't take waiting until 2 weeks before we leave.

I feel the same way!!! This planning for DLR is soooo different than I'm used to. Can't wait to get everything squared away.

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

 

[addicted2dizney]

Welcome, addicted2dizney --

Thank you for joining us!

The start dates for the last several years of both Halloween Time and Mickey's Halloween Party are addressed in Question #4 of the Frequently Asked Questions on page 1. In Question #1, I go over the difference between Halloween Time and Mickey's Halloween Party.

The Halloween parties at Disneyland park have -- thus far -- never begun earlier than the last Friday in September. That's a fact. The Halloween Party started on Friday, 9/27 last year. (And, actually, when the parties were held in DCA, I don't think they started any earlier than the first Friday in October, though I could be misremembering that.)

That's why 9/26 is the best guess for a Mickey's Halloween Party start date, although Disney could decide to begin starting the party earlier. I have been thinking for a while that they will eventually start the parties a bit earlier one of these years, but probably not as early as when WDW starts theirs.

The actual Halloween Time season (not Mickey's Halloween Party) is what starts earlier -- usually in mid-September -- and the best guess for that start date this year is 9/12, though Disney could always start it a couple of days earlier or later in any given year.

Thanks for the warm welcome! ha ha.. ok now I see my mistake.. when I was reading question 4 I thought the first date was the party day.. now I see it was the start of the Halloween season at DLR.. I'm learning!

I know, it's driving me crazy!

lol.. I know! I have all my reservations for dinner and my halloween party tickets for WDW now for a month! I will have my Fastpass selections the same week I can start to make dining reservations at DLR. It will be worth it though... I loved the DLR on my short visit 4 years ago. Can't wait for an extended visit to really immerse myself in the magic.

 

[Sherry E]

woo-hoo!!!

sgrap --

Let's not forget the excitement and sheer exhilaration that awaits us tomorrow -- another Monday Summer Surprise to make us #GetHappier, and many hours wasted combing the various Disney Facebook pages and sites in hopes that the surprise will yield some Halloween Time info we can use.

Oooh! Nice sleuthing, Sherry! I would love to have AP and get inside scoop, but I'm in Hawaii and don't travel enough! Seems like Disboards lead to more info than AP anyway!.... SO excited for potential
announcement! Maybe Monday!?

Amilo --

It may mean nothing, but in the past -- even having nothing to do with Halloween Time or the holiday season -- when we have noticed that things were being tinkered with on the Disneyland Resort website, or in the AP section, it usually meant that some sort of new info (or dates) was about to appear shortly thereafter. So we shall see.

My sleuthing is now in overdrive. I received something in the mail yesterday -- my Disney Side decal from Disney Destinations, with a sturdy, protective insert that said, to my absolute horror: "Holidays at Disneyland Resort -- Select nights Nov. Dec."

The holiday season (which is called "Holidays at Disneyland Resort") has never been on "Select nights" in November and December. It has been every single day and night. So now I am wondering what that meant. If they are planning to spring a Christmas party on us, that would be a "Select nights" sort of set-up. (Just as Mickey's Halloween Party takes place on "Select nights" in September and October.)

Or, if some of the holiday season entertainment is being scaled back to a more limited schedule, then that would be a "Select nights" sort of thing for certain shows/events. It also could have been a poor choice of words by Disney Destinations and means nothing at all. In any case, I am doing double duty sleuthing, waiting for Halloween Time/Mickey's Halloween Party info and (quite possibly) dramatic new Holiday Season scheduling info too!

Thanks SherryE

Hopefully it will be back this year. God I can't take waiting until 2 weeks before we leave.

mummabear --

You're very welcome! It seemed as though PL was such a popular event, and it fit very well in the Halloween Carnival setting. I don't see why Disney couldn't bring it back to that location again this year. I hope they do!

Wow, that's very cool! I had no idea they brought the Pirates League to DL for Halloweentime. I hope they do that again this year!

mikana876 --

It was held in New Orleans Square in 2012, but last year PL worked very well in the Carnival location in Frontierland. It just seems like it's a natural fit for an extra activity to include in the roster of Halloween Time offerings!

I think it would be great if they added an extra party or two. Since most of them have sold out the last couple of years I think there would be a market for them.

laura&fam --

I think that Disney might as well go ahead and add in some extra nights. The only night that really didn't sell out for the last 2 years -- or it sold out at the last second -- was the party immediately before Halloween. All of the other nights eventually sold out.

While I agree with figment_jii in that I don't think DLR would ever start the Halloween party as early as WDW starts their parties (because the locals who frequent DLR probably cannot get into full Halloween mode until later in the month), I can easily see the parties happening maybe a week earlier than usual -- not necessarily this year, but eventually, down the road.

Here is how I see it -- if Disneyland Resort is ever going to build up the actual Halloween Time season and add more things to it that are available for the non-party attendees (which I would like them to do), then it might not be necessary to start the Halloween Party earlier than usual because there will be plenty of other things to do every day.

However, if they are not going to be adding in anything to DCA or anywhere else to kind of pump up the Halloween Time season during the daytime, then DLR might as well just add in some extra party nights.

I feel the same way!!! This planning for DLR is soooo different than I'm used to. Can't wait to get everything squared away.

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

scrappymel --

I am not even used to WDW planning and even I want dates and info way in advance!

I have no clue why DLR thinks that its local visitor base, AP holders and repeat visitors somehow don't want to know info way ahead of time! Having dates and details months ahead of time is not going to hurt anything or anyone, and it could only help to increase the number of guests coming to the parks year-round, I think.

Thanks for the warm welcome! ha ha.. ok now I see my mistake.. when I was reading question 4 I thought the first date was the party day.. now I see it was the start of the Halloween season at DLR.. I'm learning!

addicted2dizney --

No worries! We're here to help in any way we can! I know that it can be a bit confusing, also, because -- as far as I know -- WDW doesn't call its Halloween "season" anything in particular, correct? There are Halloween decorations in some of the parks, and there is MNSSHP, but they don't call their season "Halloween Time" or anything like that, right? Here, we have Halloween Time and we have the MHP. Some people will do the MHP as part of their Halloween Time fun, and some folks will just enjoy Halloween Time without attending the MHP.

 

[crystal1313]

I sure wish they would announce the party dates already! I want to start planning!!!!

 

[2tinkerbell]

I was hoping that today would be the day that they announced the Holloween Party times. Crazy that they have waited this long. I want to plan!

 

[Sherry E]

I sure wish they would announce the party dates already! I want to start planning!!!!

crystal1313 --

They will! They have no choice but to announce them soon, unless they plan to sell tickets under the radar, without an announcement first! The dates could be revealed today, or in a week -- but we know they're coming soon, and the dates will probably will not be dramatically different from what we already expect.

Meanwhile, over in the Christmas thread the big news is the mysterious "Select nights Nov. and Dec." sentence in regards to the Holidays at Disneyland Resort. We are analyzing and breaking down what that could possibly mean for this year's season! Come join in the fun, Crystal!

 

[mummabear]

crystal1313 --

They will! They have no choice but to announce them soon, unless they plan to sell tickets under the radar, without an announcement first! The dates could be revealed today, or in a week -- but we know they're coming soon, and the dates will probably will not be dramatically different from what we already expect.

Meanwhile, over in the Christmas thread the big news is the mysterious "Select nights Nov. and Dec." sentence in regards to the Holidays at Disneyland Resort. We are analyzing and breaking down what that could possibly mean for this year's season! Come join in the fun, Crystal!

I'm hoping a Christmas party will start up. We are planning a trip back home to Canada for Christmas 2015 and I want to do Disney at Christmas time, WDW seems to have a lot more to offer but is not exactly a stopover between New Zealand and Canada.

 

[Sherry E]

I'm hoping a Christmas party will start up. We are planning a trip back home to Canada for Christmas 2015 and I want to do Disney at Christmas time, WDW seems to have a lot more to offer but is not exactly a stopover between New Zealand and Canada.

mummabear --

Very true! It's not as if you can just dash over to WDW on your way to Canada!

WDW probably has more to offer, holiday season-wise, because it has 4 parks and all of those hotels and/or campgrounds, not to mention whatever else happens in DTD. Their Christmas party can work much more seamlessly at WDW because there are a lot of other holiday options if people don't want to pay for the party.

At DLR, we are limited to only one other park in which to enjoy the holidays if we didn't want to pay for party tickets, and the Downtown Disney holiday entertainment is random and not consistent. Most likely a party would be held in DL, leaving World of Color - Winter Dreams, Viva Navidad and the holiday version of the Mad T Party as the main alternate options for holiday entertainment if we didn't want to buy party tickets. While I loved Viva Navidad, it doesn't take the place of being able to see the Castle aglow in icicle lights, or It's a Small World Holiday illuminated in thousands of colored lights.

The Halloween Party works well at DLR because Halloween Time -- as an official season -- is still fairly "young," and the hard ticket party actually came first, before the season was given an official name. As long as Disney doesn't add anything into the regular roster of daily Halloween Time season fare, they can keep getting people to buy those MHP tickets because the MHP entertainment is truly exclusive to the MHP.

The holidays, on the other hand, have been at DLR for decades without any kind of party, and the existing holiday fireworks and Christmas parade are as old as the hills, so to throw a party into the mix now -- with those two events as the selling points -- would be a big shake-up.

However, that said, I think that most of us agree that a Christmas party is coming to DLR at some point or another. It could be this year -- hence, the mysterious "Holidays at Disneyland Resort - Select nights Nov. and Dec." wording in the decal insert -- or it could be next year. It could be after the 60th anniversary year. The main issues will be: what is included in that party and is it old or new entertainment; what is the cost; how many nights will it take place; and...what can we do or see that is holiday-ish if we don't want to attend a Christmas party? (Winter Dreams was not quite the massive success that I think Disney hoped it would be.)

 

[sgrap]

The #gethappier posts I saw this morning were just as exciting as prior weeks' posts. I am getting really anxious for party dates!!! I want to start looking at airfare!

The possible hint to a Christmas party is very exciting as well!!! As a first-time AP holder, I want to get as much out of it as I can!

 

[laura&fam]

I was surprised at how many decorations appeared between the daytime and MHP. I'd still be surprised though if they were able to decorate to the level that Christmas time has been just for an evening party. And everyone, myself included, is used to enjoying the decorations all day at the park.