HalloweenTime at DLR Superthread #4

[figment_jii]

In terms of the Christmas time holiday, I can see them having some type of hard ticket event. The decorations could be out all day long, but then only have the fireworks, parade, and other activities be limited to the night time. Kind of like how MVMCP works at WDW; the majority of the decor (at least as I remember) was out all day long, but the special stuff only happened during the party (until the week of Christmas). If they do go the route of a party, I would hope they come with some new stuff and not just trot out the same parade and fireworks that they've shown in year's past.

In terms of MHP, assuming they didn't just copy and paste the blurb from last year, at least the Special Events ticket page seems to indicate dates in both September and October. Hopefully specific dates will be listed soon!

 

[sgrap]

I was just on the phone with Disneyland reservations, and the CM said they have heard nothing about MHP dates yet. She said in the past 4 years she has worked there, they have found out 2-3 days in advance.

 

[figment_jii]

Today's cryptic #GetHappier clue (1:07 pm) from the Disneyland Today twitter feed...

Knock knock.
Who's there?
#GetHappier.
#GetHappier who?
#GetHappier is coming.

Next update from Disneyland Today's facebook page (1:56 pm)...

Time to ‪#‎GetHappier‬! First 50 to find us in Tomorrowland and say "Monday" will receive a mouse-sized surprise!

It appears that they were handing out Vinylmations (based on the photo in the post/tweet).

Next update from Disneyland Today's feeds (2:05 pm)...

We're all out of #GetHappier surprises in Disneyland Park -- stay tuned for more opportunities later today!

So...this would imply that another activity will happen, but probably over at DCA.

Next update from Disneyland Today's feed (3:03 pm)...

'Adventure' is coming your way! RT if you're ready for more #gethappier opportunities, today!

Next update from Disneyland Today's feed (3:46 pm)...another Vinylmation give-away.

Monday un-bear-able? We have more #GetHappier magic for the first 50 to find us near Grizzly River Run & say 'Grrrr'.

Next/last update from Disneyland Today's feed (3:53 pm)...This one only took about six minutes to finish up!

That's it for today's #GetHappier surprises. Stay tuned for more opportunities next week! You never know what magic will pop up!

 

[Sherry E]

I was just on the phone with Disneyland reservations, and the CM said they have heard nothing about MHP dates yet. She said in the past 4 years she has worked there, they have found out 2-3 days in advance.

...Which is why I always say that the CMs on the front line (on the phones) are literally the last ones to know anything, and that I have had to tell them the dates of seasons and events in the past.

You won't find out anything from the CMs on the phones at DLR before you find it out elsewhere!

​

ETA: I had just seen the #GetHappier post on the Disneyland Today page right before I popped over here to type up my previous comment, and I was curious to observe exactly how long it took from when the post went up on Facebook to when the 50 items were all gone. It looks like it took about 9 minutes from the time Disneyland Today posted about the surprises to when they posted that they were all out.

Nine minutes is fast! I am wondering if most of the people nabbing the surprises were already in Tomorrowland and happened to see them. I doubt that too many people would have had time to run over from another land in 9 minutes and grab their surprises before other people got them, but who knows? Maybe they did? At least this surprise thing is moving from land to land, park to park. Where in DCA will they end up today?

 

[figment_jii]

I had just seen the #GetHappier post on the Disneyland Today page right before I popped over here to type up my previous comment, and I was curious to observe exactly how long it took from when the post went up on Facebook to when the 50 items were all gone. It looks like it took about 9 minutes from the time Disneyland Today posted about the surprises to when they posted that they were all out.

Nine minutes is fast! I am wondering if most of the people nabbing the surprises were already in Tomorrowland and happened to see them. I doubt that too many people would have had time to run over from another land in 9 minutes and grab their surprises before other people got them, but who knows? Maybe they did? At least this surprise thing is moving from land to land, park to park. Where in DCA will they end up today?

I think it's mostly made up of folks that happen to be in Tomorrowland. Based on a couple of photos I saw on the twitter/facebook feeds, it looks like it's one "surprise" per person, so all it would take is 12 families of four plus one couple to exhaust the supplies of "surprises". 50 individuals is not that many, so I'm not surprised they only lasted 9 minutes.

They haven't announced where in DCA yet. The last update (2:05 pm), just said that they were done in Disneyland, but stay tuned for more surprises later in the day.

 

[Sherry E]

I think it's mostly made up of folks that happen to be in Tomorrowland. Based on a couple of photos I saw on the twitter/facebook feeds, it looks like it's one "surprise" per person, so all it would take is 12 families of four plus one couple to exhaust the supplies of "surprises". 50 individuals is not that many, so I'm not surprised they only lasted 9 minutes.

They haven't announced where in DCA yet. The last update (2:05 pm), just said that they were done in Disneyland, but stay tuned for more surprises later in the day.

My "Where in DCA will they end up today" question was rhetorical. I know they haven't announced it yet -- I'm on Facebook too, remember! I had just seen the post on Disneyland Today before I came here to this thread and saw that you posted about it.

​

"Is your Monday un-bear-able? We have more #GetHappier magic for the first 50 to find us near Grizzly River Run and say 'Grrrr'."

Disneyland Today's latest post -- another Vinylmation giveaway.


(By the way, how funny is it that people are running up to the CMs and saying "Grrrr"? Lol. I hope that they don't hand out any surprises to anyone who doesn't say "Grrrr.")

 

[figment_jii]

Okay, I have to admit that when they said 'Adventure', I wasn't thinking of Grizzly River Rapids (I was thinking more like Little Mermaid or something with "Adventure" in the title).

I updated my post on the previous page to have all of the tweets and their times from today. It took 9 minutes for the DL "surprise" to finish and 6 minutes for the DCA "surprise". I really think the only way to get it is to be there when it starts.

 

[Sherry E]

Okay, I have to admit that when they said 'Adventure', I wasn't thinking of Grizzly River Rapids (I was thinking more like Little Mermaid or something with "Adventure" in the title).

I updated my post on the previous page to have all of the tweets and their times from today. It took 9 minutes for the DL "surprise" to finish and 6 minutes for the DCA "surprise". I really think the only way to get it is to be there when it starts.

I assumed "Adventure" just meant California Adventure. It's not very original or creative, I know! I think they did a giveaway in Paradise Pier last week. They had the Dwarfs set up at the Wishing Well. They've been in Tomorrowland and Grizzly Peak. I think they were in Critter Country at one point. They seem to be bouncing around the lands. Where will it be next week? Cars Land? Toontown? Downtown Disney? One of the 3 hotels?

That's really what they should do -- get creative and leave the parks. They should mosey on through Downtown Disney and into one of the hotels, totally taking everyone there by surprise (because people expect to see the Get Happier stuff in the parks). The people handing out surprises should go to some random spot, like near the geyser at the DLH.

But 6 minutes is super-fast and you're right -- the surprise recipients had to have been right there when the giveaway started. Lucky timing.

By the way -- I have never bought a Vinylmation and I forget what the cost of them has been when I have looked at them at DLR. Are the giveaways/surprises getting more valuable? In other words, they've gone from Mickey ears to Oswald ears to Glow with the Show Ears, and now to Vinylmations. Are the Vinylmations more expensive than the ears?

I can't wait to see who ends up getting whatever "big" things they eventually hand out or give away online. That should be fun.


So we shall continue to keep our eyes peeled on (a.k.a. stalk) the Parks Blog and the various Disney sites, pages and feeds for any signs of Halloween activity!

 

[figment_jii]

Here are my notes for #GetHappier...

6/16 11:58 am -12:52 pm Critter Country Mickey Ear Hats ($14) [50]
6/16 3:00 pm - 3:27 pm HollywoodLand Oswald Ear Hats ($17) [50]

6/23 (did not announce) - Wishing Well photo op with the Seven Dwarves [?]
6/23 5:21 pm - 5:30 pm Paradise Pier WOC Voucher and Glow with the Show Ears ($25) [50]

6/30 1:56 pm - 2:05 pm Tomorrowland Vinylmations [50]
6/30 3:46 pm - 3:53 pm Grizzly River Rapids Vinylmations [50]

Vinylmations run from $10 to $13 depending on the style. It looked like they were all the open box style (you can see which one it is) and some looked pretty nice, while others were kind of "meh".

In terms of value (price to buy), the Glow the Show Ears was probably the most expensive. The others are fairly comparable.

 

[sgrap]

...Which is why I always say that the CMs on the front line (on the phones) are literally the last ones to know anything, and that I have had to tell them the dates of seasons and events in the past.

You won't find out anything from the CMs on the phones at DLR before you find it out elsewhere!

​

Yes, I knew that when I asked her . . . but since I had a CM on the phone anyway, figured I'd humor myself and ask. I am trying to add Monday 10/20 to our hotel reservation at GCH, but the rooms are blocked out. They said they hoped they would be released and to call back. Does anyone know what is going on the weekend of 10-17 to 10-20 that would have a bunch of rooms on hold? The are not all booked, apparently. We already have 10/21-10/26 but thought I should try to add 10/20 in case there is a Tuesday MHP. Once we get dates, I'll pick our MHP and then drop a couple of days, most likely.

 

[Sherry E]

Here are my notes for #GetHappier...

6/16 11:58 am -12:52 pm Critter Country Mickey Ear Hats ($14)
6/16 3:00 pm - 3:27 pm HollywoodLand Oswald Ear Hats ($17)

6/23 (did not announce) - Wishing Well photo op with the Seven Dwarves
6/23 5:21 pm - 5:30 pm Paradise Pier WOC Voucher and Glow with the Show Ears ($25)

6/30 1:56 pm - 2:05 pm Tomorrowland Vinylmations
6/30 3:46 pm - 3:53 pm Grizzly River Rapids Vinylmations

Vinylmations run from $10 to $13 depending on the style. It looked like they were all the open box style (you can see which one it is) and some looked pretty nice, while others were kind of "meh".

In terms of value (price to buy), the Glow the Show Ears was probably the most expensive. The others are fairly comparable.

Thanks, figment_jii --

And, of course, the mystery of June 9th lingers on!

So it figures that the most expensive item they've given out so far was the item that they gave out only 50 of, instead of 100!

Yes, I knew that when I asked her . . . but since I had a CM on the phone anyway, figured I'd humor myself and ask. I am trying to add Monday 10/20 to our hotel reservation at GCH, but the rooms are blocked out. They said they hoped they would be released and to call back. Does anyone know what is going on the weekend of 10-17 to 10-20 that would have a bunch of rooms on hold? The are not all booked, apparently. We already have 10/21-10/26 but thought I should try to add 10/20 in case there is a Tuesday MHP. Once we get dates, I'll pick our MHP and then drop a couple of days, most likely.

sgrap --

Even within the official, more knowledgeable realms of Disney, often times the internal departments and branches are not on the same page, so one segment of Disney might know something and another segment has no idea about it. But for some odd reason, the poor front line CMs who handle emails and phone calls are the last to know anything. I have no idea why, but it's always been that way (in recent years). Even if they were ever privy to early information, they wouldn't be allowed to reveal it before it had been officially announced.

I can't help but wonder if, maybe in the distant past, the front line CMs were told bits of information that they ended up spilling. Perhaps Disney just decided to keep any info from them so they wouldn't risk letting it out when it could still be subject to change.

I think that Monday, 10/20 will open up (it's still pretty far away by Disneyland Resort hotel standards). I can't figure out why any of those particular dates in October would be blocked or held, unless it is some sort of holdover or delayed effect of the Utah event. There could be some other large group -- not a group we've heard of, but just a large gathering of some sort -- blocking the rooms. Some sort of corporate group or something? One never knows.

 

[figment_jii]

I don't know that events over the Convention Center would really impact GCH all that much, but there is supposed to be a Produce Marketing Association conference (Fresh Summit Convention & Expo) over at the Convention Center from 10/17-19, so maybe some of that crowd spills over. They said they have over 20,000 attendees. I vaguely recall reading/hearing about them last year.

Otherwise, I would guess some group is planning a convention or meeting at the GCH and they're still finalizing their plans. Once they're set, then the rooms will either be blocked for them or released to the public. It might be that there is a deadline by which registrants have to sign up otherwise the rooms are released to the public.

 

[Sherry E]

I don't know that events over the Convention Center would really impact GCH all that much, but there is supposed to be a Produce Marketing Association conference (Fresh Summit Convention & Expo) over at the Convention Center from 10/17-19, so maybe some of that crowd spills over. They said they have over 20,000 attendees. I vaguely recall reading/hearing about them last year.

Otherwise, I would guess some group is planning a convention or meeting at the GCH and they're still finalizing their plans. Once they're set, then the rooms will either be blocked for them or released to the public. It might be that there is a deadline by which registrants have to sign up otherwise the rooms are released to the public.

Now that you mention it, I think I heard something about a Produce event last year but I didn't associate it with fall or autumn. Whatever I heard about it was minimal, so I probably just assumed it was a summer thing in my mind.

That could certainly be a possibility too (along with any unknown large meetings or corporate group events taking place) -- the fruit and veggie folks could be hanging around for extra days to enjoy DLR and attend an MHP!

 

[laura&fam]

I don't know that events over the Convention Center would really impact GCH all that much, but there is supposed to be a Produce Marketing Association conference (Fresh Summit Convention & Expo) over at the Convention Center from 10/17-19, so maybe some of that crowd spills over. They said they have over 20,000 attendees. I vaguely recall reading/hearing about them last year.

Otherwise, I would guess some group is planning a convention or meeting at the GCH and they're still finalizing their plans. Once they're set, then the rooms will either be blocked for them or released to the public. It might be that there is a deadline by which registrants have to sign up otherwise the rooms are released to the public.

I wonder if this means MHP could be moved around a bit that weekend because of the conference goers or a corporate event. Probably not but that's when I'd like to go to MHP and not knowing the dates is killing me.

 

[Sherry E]

I wonder if this means MHP could be moved around a bit that weekend because of the conference goers or a corporate event. Probably not but that's when I'd like to go to MHP and not knowing the dates is killing me.

I am saying this in jest, of course, but I couldn't help but giggle at the idea of fruits and vegetables (at the Produce conference) possibly causing rooms to be blocked and schedule interruptions. For some reason, it amuses me (though it's probably not what's happening). I am imagining giant bananas, carrots and watermelons marching into the GCH, carrying luggage, wearing sunglasses and lounging by the pool!

I think that any time anyone wonders about crowds in October, or about why the MHP dates haven't been released, or wonders about anything related to Halloween Time, I will say, "Blame it on the veggies!!!"


(Don't mind me -- I am just amusing myself, I guess.)

 

[DisneyJamieCA]

I wonder if this means MHP could be moved around a bit that weekend because of the conference goers or a corporate event. Probably not but that's when I'd like to go to MHP and not knowing the dates is killing me.

I sure hope not! We will be there that weekend and are banking big time on a Friday night party. We did this same weekend 2 years ago without a problem.

 

[figment_jii]

I am imagining giant bananas, carrots and watermelons marching into the GCH, carrying luggage, wearing sunglasses and lounging by the pool!

Great...now I have the "Veggie, veggie, fruit, fruit" refrain running through my head from Kitchen Kabaret at Epcot!

laura&fam, in honesty, I don't think things like conferences/conventions really affect the MHP schedule. I mean they have parties during the Gay Days and CHOC walk weekends, and those are both "big" events in terms of the impact on DLR. So, my guess it that what ever is going on at GCH is probably not going to impact the MHP schedule. I just did a look for room at GCH for the night of 10/20 and there are options, so most likely what happened is that the category of room that sgrap has booked is "sold" out or on hold, but it does not mean the entire hotel is booked.

 

[TulipsNZ]

Hello, I'm just joining the thread in the hope that we will be able to make one of the MHP's we fly back to NZ on the 28th Sept so I have a small window of hope.
I think my boys would love it though.

 

[pixiepirate]

July at last! Any idea how close we are to MHP dates announcement? My sister and I are working on getting costumes together. Sure would be nice to have somewhere to wear them.

 

[Sherry E]

Great...now I have the "Veggie, veggie, fruit, fruit" refrain running through my head from Kitchen Kabaret at Epcot!

laura&fam, in honesty, I don't think things like conferences/conventions really affect the MHP schedule. I mean they have parties during the Gay Days and CHOC walk weekends, and those are both "big" events in terms of the impact on DLR. So, my guess it that what ever is going on at GCH is probably not going to impact the MHP schedule. I just did a look for room at GCH for the night of 10/20 and there are options, so most likely what happened is that the category of room that sgrap has booked is "sold" out or on hold, but it does not mean the entire hotel is booked.

figment_jii --

I haven't been to Epcot, but I think I once saw a video of the Kabaret!

Blame it on the veggies!

I agree -- I doubt that any fruits, vegetables or other conferences would really impact the MHP schedule, especially not in mid-to-late October. I think that there has been an occasion or two in the past when mysterious "corporate" events took place, or someone with a lot of money rented out the park to have a party, and the MHP moved from a Tuesday to a Monday or something like that. However, that is not necessarily guaranteed to happen every single year, and when it has happened I think it was pretty early in the MHP line-up (like within the first week or two of the MHP).

Hello, I'm just joining the thread in the hope that we will be able to make one of the MHP's we fly back to NZ on the 28th Sept so I have a small window of hope.
I think my boys would love it though.

TulipsNZ --

Welcome, and thank you for joining us!

I would think that if the pattern of the last few years can be trusted, there should be an MHP on 9/26. That would be your best bet, and it is a very likely/probable scenario! I don't think there would be an MHP on Sat., 9/27.

Of course, Disney could always decide to start the MHP slightly earlier than usual and have a party before 9/26, like earlier during that same week, which would be good too. One never knows.

The MHP is a lot of fun, and I think you will all have a great time!

July at last! Any idea how close we are to MHP dates announcement? My sister and I are working on getting costumes together. Sure would be nice to have somewhere to wear them.

pixiepirate --

You'll be able to wear them on one night or another!

It has literally got to be an "any day now" kind of thing, as far as when the MHP dates will be revealed. It would have to be, because the first rounds of tickets would have to go on sale very, very, very soon, followed by the tickets for the general public. I don't think tickets have gone on sale in August since back when the party was still being held in DCA. Since it's been in DL, I think the tickets have always gone on sale in July (though I could be wrong).

Unless I missed something, I don't think that Erin from the Disney Parks Blog posted anything today -- I mean any kind of article about anything (not just Halloween). I saw other writers post, but not Erin -- and she is the one who would probably be working on the piece about the Halloween Time dates and the MHP dates. She is usually the one to do those sorts of pieces at first, and then as the seasons roll on the other writers join in and contribute their own pieces about the seasonal events.

So I wonder if Erin is working on something related to the 4th of July first, and then a Halloween-related post next. If not, I am not sure what the deal is with why the Parks Blog and the DLR website take so long to release Halloween Time info. I realize that they are probably backlogged with summer-related things and July 4th things to write about, but it seems as if they don't want to ever focus on more than one holiday at a time, or more than one season at a time.

We can probably be certain that when the Parks Blog with the MHP dates is posted, it will say something along the lines of "We know that summer just started but..." or "Even though summer just started, we are thinking ahead to Halloween." ... Some sort of sentence like that, to "excuse" or "justify" a blog about Halloween in the summer -- because they (Disney in general) assume that no one wants to hear about Halloween or any other fall/winter event in the summer, when that is so far from the truth (the people in my Christmas Superthread want to know holiday season-related dates as well, and they surely want to know if there is going to be any sort of Christmas party happening this year)!!! Everyone wants to know info as soon as possible, regardless of which season it is or which holiday is happening this week!