HalloweenTime at DLR Superthread #4

[Sherry E]

That sounds awful

I'm sure for others though it sounds like a fun night!

I know! I was thinking, "Thankfully I'm not going to be a part of that Halloween celebration!"

I don't even want to know what or who the "Blood Drums" are, or what lurks in the "gaping maw of terror."

But, alas, as you said, zanzibar138, for others it will be a fun night.

I think that there are certain folks who love all sides of the Halloween celebration, as it were -- they love the fun, whimsical, playful, family-friendly side; they love the more "harvest"-centered celebrations involving scarecrows, corn mazes, Oktoberfest and fall foods; and then they love the terrifying, gory, "horrifying-leviathan-abominations-that-will-emerge-from-the-depths-of-the-abyss" side of things too!

I do know of a few people who like to go to DLR for Halloween Time, and then to Knott's Scary Farm/Halloween Haunt back-to-back, as well as maybe a visit to Universal Studios Hollywood's Halloween Horror Nights too (which has a Walking Dead-themed segment that is extremely popular). Then there is also Dark Harbor at the Queen Mary.

If someone were going to be in Orange County for a few days they could do Knott's and DLR, and if they were going to be in L.A./Hollywood for a couple of days they could do Universal and the L.A. Haunted Hayride!

So I guess there are a lot of scary, shocking things to do for Halloween in SoCal, but Halloween Time at DLR is a nice, safe, lighthearted way to celebrate for all ages!

 

[figment_jii]

So I guess there are a lot of scary, shocking things to do for Halloween in SoCal, but Halloween Time at DLR is a nice, safe, lighthearted way to celebrate for all ages!

I'm glad DL's HalloweenTime is relatively tame; I'm not into the blood and gore. I always read the descriptions of Universal Studios' Halloween Horror Nights and think that those would give me nightmare for the rest of the year! Aside from the Halloween events at DL and WDW, I accidently got to see some of what the Halloween Party at Marine World looks like. It's much more like Universal (I think, but I've not gone to Universal). At Marine World, some of the decor was out all day; lots of tombstones, spider webs, and skeletons. By early evening, there were zombies, axe murders, blood-covered things out and about (i.e., costumed party actors; guests also came in costume). It was not my cup of tea. Rather like how MHP and day-guests overlap for a bit, the same happened at Marine World. I remember one mother (I assume it was a mother) not looking happy at all as one of the zombie/undead actors made a bee line for her daughter (probably about 8 or so). She stepped right in front of the girl, put her hand out, and said "no" in a very clear and loud voice. The costumed character was actually looked pretty surprised and stopped in his tracks. I think they thought everyone there was for the party, so it would be okay to scare kids. They didn't realize that a good chunk of the guests were "day guests" and just trying to get out of the park. My group didn't realize that the gruesome stuff was going to come out before the party started, so we had to figure out how to get out of the park without the little ones (4 and 2) getting freaked out. The worse part was the Halloween Party gruesome stuff started at the front of the park, so we had to get through it all before we could get to the exit! We vowed (after that) to never go again on a Halloween Party night or we were going to leave no later than 3 pm! So, I am very grateful that MHP is cute, rather than gruesome!

 

[TulipsNZ]

Ugh, I'm all for friendly fun Halloween but the scary stuff ick!
Back to thinking we will go in costume jedi's all

 

[tarheelalum]

Has anyone here been to Knotts Scary Farms, Universal and the Queen Mary for their Halloween. If so could you rank them for me? We are going to go to a least one of these this fall but can't do all of them. The scarier the better!

 

[BebopAngel88]

Has anyone here been to Knotts Scary Farms, Universal and the Queen Mary for their Halloween. If so could you rank them for me? We are going to go to a least one of these this fall but can't do all of them. The scarier the better!

Its been about 10 years since I've been to a couple of these places but they are SO much fun!! Knotts Scary Farm, I would rate it between 8-9. They have a lot of fun mazes and scary characters that hang around in shadows just waiting for to walk by.

I really enjoyed Queen Mary and I would rate that as an 8, but I prefer Knotts Scary Farm. It is really neat going into the ship where they have some mazes and than they more mazes on the ground.

I have never been to Universal Studios for the Halloween season but I am trying really hard to go this year. My bf and I are huge fans of Walking Dead, so we want to check it out.

 

[Kilala]

Has anyone heard yet if Toon Town is open for MHP yet?

 

[figment_jii]

Has anyone heard yet if Toon Town is open for MHP yet?

I haven't seen anything yet...

 

[TulipsNZ]

Its been about 10 years since I've been to a couple of these places but they are SO much fun!! Knotts Scary Farm, I would rate it between 8-9. They have a lot of fun mazes and scary characters that hang around in shadows just waiting for to walk by.

I really enjoyed Queen Mary and I would rate that as an 8, but I prefer Knotts Scary Farm. It is really neat going into the ship where they have some mazes and than they more mazes on the ground.

I have never been to Universal Studios for the Halloween season but I am trying really hard to go this year. My bf and I are huge fans of Walking Dead, so we want to check it out.

Are mazes a normal part of the park or a special Halloween thing? We love mazes and had not been considering Knotts but if they have mazes I may rethink things.

 

[Sherry E]

I just burst out laughing again, at the overly-dramatic descriptions of hideousness and horror (again, courtesy of that Halloween gem, the Los Angeles Haunted Hayride Facebook page):

"The gibbering of mad men echo through the twisting halls of this insane asylum turned Temple to the Apocalypse. The Revelation scriptures scribbled on the walls, etched in deep by broken and bloodied fingernails. With the pages of Mystics in the hands of Psychotics, the inmates have crowned themselves Unholy Vessels of the great Horsemen, and sit in judgment of your flesh in the bowels of their House.

Seven Sins Sideshow is an ALL NEW EXPERIENCE this year."

Knott's Scary Farm/Haunt and Universal's Halloween Horror Nights aren't even that over-the-top in their descriptions of their own events (nor is Dark Harbor)!






And on a much more family-friendly Halloween note (as an idea for an alternate Halloween activity if you happen to be in Anaheim on Saturday, October 25th) -- the Anaheim Halloween Parade (which Disneyland was actually part of last year) and Fall Festival. From their website:

"Since 1924, Halloween has held special magic for the people of Anaheim. A nighttime pageant of ghosts, goblins, jack-o’-lanterns, and witches stretching a mile and a half through the darkened streets of downtown, the annual Anaheim Halloween Parade has become a Southern California family favorite.

The Parade was first held on October 30th, 1924 as part of the larger Anaheim Hallowe’en Festival that was begun the year before. An estimated 20,000 residents and neighbors from nearby towns crowded onto the sidewalks on both sides of Center Street to watch the 45-minute procession led by baseball superstars Babe Ruth and Walter Johnson.

Begun as a device for discouraging Anaheim youngsters from mischievous Halloween pranks such as soaping windows, uprooting fences and damaging property, the Festival and Parade were instantly successful and continued to grow in size and scope with each passing year. In the mid-1950s, the Los Angeles Times heralded it as the “biggest Halloween party in the nation,” with nearly 150,000 spectators lining the parade route during the height of its popularity. By the late 1960s, the parade was being televised live each year throughout Los Angeles and Orange County on KTLA....."

So there you have it -- two different ideas of alternate Halloween fun either before or after your DLR Halloween Time visit!

​

 

[figment_jii]

I was looking around the Disney Florist website today and they had listing for Halloween 2014 (under Holidays). I wonder if this is what this year's Halloween Mickey ears will look like...
http://disneyworld.disneyfloralandg...useearhathalloween.do?sortby=ourPicks&from=fn

 

[2tinkerbell]

Question: How fast do you think tickets for the September 30th party will sell out? Do you think that I can purchase them over the weekend? Should I jump on them on the 30th when they go on sale?

Thanks!

 

[figment_jii]

Question: How fast do you think tickets for the September 30th party will sell out? Do you think that I can purchase them over the weekend? Should I jump on them on the 30th when they go on sale?

I suspect that the first parties to sell out will be Halloween night, the first party, and the one on 10/3 (Gay Days Weekend). Those will most likely sell out sometime in early(ish) September. The rest of the parties will more likely sell out in late-September or a couple weeks ahead of the date at the earliest. I highly doubt anything will sell out this first weekend; if anything did, I would be absolutely stunned.

 

[2tinkerbell]

I suspect that the first parties to sell out will be Halloween night, the first party, and the one on 10/3 (Gay Days Weekend). Those will most likely sell out sometime in early(ish) September. The rest of the parties will more likely sell out in late-September or a couple weeks ahead of the date at the earliest. I highly doubt anything will sell out this first weekend; if anything did, I would be absolutely stunned.

Thanks for the information. I have these and the Tinkerbell 1/2 Marathon and 2 5K's to register for. I've planned/budgeted for them but just need to spread it out a little.

My Supervisor is also going, but, over UEA (Utah Escapes to Anaheim) so he is purchasing his tickets on the 30th.

 

[figment_jii]

My Supervisor is also going, but, over UEA (Utah Escapes to Anaheim) so he is purchasing his tickets on the 30th.

I expect the 30th to be another morning when the DLR phone lines will be swamped (like they were when tickets went on sale to AP, DVC, and Disney Visa Card holders). I would advise him to wait until mid-afternoon to call or to see if they're available online (they should be) rather than to try an call first thing in the morning.

 

[ashleysev]

I was looking around the Disney Florist website today and they had listing for Halloween 2014 (under Holidays). I wonder if this is what this year's Halloween Mickey ears will look like...
http://disneyworld.disneyfloralandg...useearhathalloween.do?sortby=ourPicks&from=fn

Those are pretty neat!

 

[zanzibar138]

Are mazes a normal part of the park or a special Halloween thing? We love mazes and had not been considering Knotts but if they have mazes I may rethink things.

'Mazes' are a special Halloween thing. They are terrifying, dark mazes though, where scary things jump out at you. I can't imagine anything worse! I think I would end up sitting in a corner with my eyes shut until the whole thing was over

I just googled Knotts Scary Farm mazes and came up with these images (there were also plenty showing some of the scary characters within the mazes, but for the sake of keeping these boards family friendly, I left them out - I might have nightmares tonight though!).







Just warning you because I thought I remembered you saying you didn't like scary Halloween stuff.

 

[TulipsNZ]

Thank-you I think I will leave those *shudder*

 

[leslieboehm]

I was looking around the Disney Florist website today and they had listing for Halloween 2014 (under Holidays). I wonder if this is what this year's Halloween Mickey ears will look like... http://disneyworld.disneyfloralandgifts.com/product/mickeymouseearhathalloween.do?sortby=ourPicks&from=fn

Those are AWESOME! Do you know I purchase those ahead of time and get them delivered to my hotel room (staying at the DLH)?

 

[LisaT91403]

I suspect that the first parties to sell out will be Halloween night, the first party, and the one on 10/3 (Gay Days Weekend). Those will most likely sell out sometime in early(ish) September. The rest of the parties will more likely sell out in late-September or a couple weeks ahead of the date at the earliest. I highly doubt anything will sell out this first weekend; if anything did, I would be absolutely stunned.

I'm torn. I need to buy 7 tickets for 10/10, and I can buy them now with my AP (no discount for that night). However, I'm hesitant to buy $500 worth of non-refundable tickets so far in advance. When you have kids involved, anything can happen in the course of 2 1/2 months! On the other hand, I don't want the tickets to sell out, as then we'd be out of luck.

Any thoughts about 10/10?

 

[Sherry E]

I'm torn. I need to buy 7 tickets for 10/10, and I can buy them now with my AP (no discount for that night). However, I'm hesitant to buy $500 worth of non-refundable tickets so far in advance. When you have kids involved, anything can happen in the course of 2 1/2 months! On the other hand, I don't want the tickets to sell out, as then we'd be out of luck.

Any thoughts about 10/10?

LisaT91403-

October 10th is the party right before Columbus Day. That's a holiday weekend, of course, so it could always sell out sooner than later. It's possible.

As I posted in the MHP FAQ on page 1, there were a bunch of parties that sold out in rapid succession over two or three weeks (roughly between late September and mid-October-ish), but I can't recall when the party before Columbus Day sold out.

Also mentioned in the MHP FAQ is the fact that onsite hotel guests have a chance to get tickets on the morning of the event. Will you be staying onsite?

You might want to check Geemo's thread from 2013, tracking the sellouts, as there is a mention of Columbus Day weekend on the first page and that may give you an idea of when the MHP right before it sold out.