HalloweenTime at DLR Superthread #4

[abminer]

6. They are still doing the Villains Entrance show (8, 9, and 9:55). They've added some effects (I think). The first set of villains showed up about 5 minutes after the party started (no show).

Can someone please explain what this is?

 

[Sherry E]

I have updated the list of MHP reviews to include the 4 recaps/reviews that came in about last night's (9/26/14) MHP --HERE. I will keep adding to it as we get more reviews and as more MHPs take place!

I know FP are not utilized during the party, but are we still able to use our DAS card? If so, are all the Information stations open?

Ysell

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Vintage Mouseketeer --

Good question. I don't know the answer, but I wanted to bump up your question so it didn't get lost in the shuffle before someone could see it!

Thanks for the updates everybody! Cannot wait until Tuesday!!

If anybody watches the Disney Channel shows, we saw commercials last night that they're showing Halloween themed shows to kick off October. I saw stuff for Jessie, Girl Meets World and I think Dog w/ a Blog. There was also an ad for a witch-type movie mid-October.

kim3339 --

Is the Disney Channel event called "Monstober"? I know that ABC Family has the "13 Nights of Halloween," but I think that one of Disney's other channels does "Monstober."

Also, AMC will have "Fearfest" was well. And TCM does some kind of all-day Halloween event on 10/31.

I'm also going on the 8th. Thank you everyone for they're reports and for everyone involved in this super thread

itsmedumdum --

Well, thank you for joining us and sticking around for all of the reports to come in! Welcome!

Can someone please explain what this is?

abminer --

figment_jii can give a better answer, but I think it is literally the entrance that the Villains make into the MHP. In other words, instead of just casually walking in and standing at their respective posts, they enter the MHP with fanfare and apparently some new effects!

Disney tried to do a bit of an entrance show at the Unleash the Villains event last year, but it fizzled.

 

[Kilala]

I did see the pro mo for the 13 night of Halloween on ABC family. They have not run the 31 days of Halloween on SyFy but, they have mentioned it on a couple of shows. Now I'm super excited about the 30th party.

 

[briggscreek]

We're back and had a great time, we discovered that 6 days in the parks is definitely not too much for us! We started on Sunday which was way too crowded in my opinion, and there were a lot of rude people which is something we haven't encountered before. We stayed at the Paradise Pier, which is actually my favorite of the Disney hotels. Had a theme park view and loved watching WOC from our room.

The weekdays were much slower, a little busier than we're used to but not bad at all. For some reason the line for pirates always seemed long, normally when we go it's pretty much always walk on. My kids loved the Halloween carnival, we met Cruella, the Evil Queen, Captain Hook, and Jafar, and they were all really fun. I do wish that Jafar would be a talking face character though, they should totally make him look like he does in the Aladdin show instead! The magic show was fun too and my daughter loved it since she got to go on stage and help pull the bunny out of a hat.

Sherry, we found the Sally coffin cake and had it on two separate days! It was SO good, I wish I could have brought a few home with us. We also shared a Maleficent candy apple, really yummy and the horns were rice crispy treats. Also grabbed a pumpkin shaped sourdough loaf in DCA. We ate so much good food, I'm sad to be home and have to cook again LOL.

The Halloween party wasn't as crowded as I thought it would be. We didn't stand in line for any villains since my kids wanted to go on rides, we almost waited for Jack Sparrow but they changed their minds. We did a few treat trails and got plenty of candy, but I saw some people carrying huge totes full LOL.

My husband decided to wait in front of the castle for the Cavalcade and fireworks, which turned out to be a mistake for us. We didn't care much for the Cavalcade (too cutesy and it was really short) and the fireworks were canceled midway through. Big time bummer, but oh well. We loved all of the lighting effects through the park and the rides were mostly walk on later in the night. Unfortunately, I didn't get to see the Cadaver Dans, we waited for the first show and they were late coming out so we left to go to treat trails and didn't make it back. I really wanted to buy the Jack Skellington Halloween party pin for a souvenir but I couldn't find any.

Overall, the kids said they love Halloween time at DL the best and would love to go back. I would be willing to (and Halloween is my favorite holiday), but I think I like Christmas at DL a bit better. If they decorated both parks and did a bit more, I might change my mind.

 

[pudinhd]

I do wish that Jafar would be a talking face character though, they should totally make him look like he does in the Aladdin show instead!

That is a brilliant idea!!! I love it!

 

[mon8key]

I have read most of this thread, but cannot find the answer to this. Do they continue to let non-party guests into DL during the 'overlap' time 3-7pm? I'm thinking about coming in around 6pm for the party, but would like to avoid a sea of humanity going through the gates. I'm not sure if we'd be better off coming in around 2pm (we will have park hoppers) or waiting until 6pm. Thanks!

 

[pudinhd]

I have read most of this thread, but cannot find the answer to this. Do they continue to let non-party guests into DL during the 'overlap' time 3-7pm? I'm thinking about coming in around 6pm for the party, but would like to avoid a sea of humanity going through the gates. I'm not sure if we'd be better off coming in around 2pm (we will have park hoppers) or waiting until 6pm. Thanks!

Yes, regular park guests are still allowed into the park until it closes for the Halloween party.

 

[Spacepest]

I havent gone very deep in this thread yet, but I'm wondering if anyone could answer this question?

My husband wants to do a quick October trip to do the Marvel character meet and greets at Innoventions. Do they have the Marvel characters present an Innoventions on the Halloween party nights, or is it only during regular operating hours? We want to do one day at the park, and are trying to decide to go during a regular operating day or on a party night.

 

[pudinhd]

I havent gone very deep in this thread yet, but I'm wondering if anyone could answer this question?

My husband wants to do a quick October trip to do the Marvel character meet and greets at Innoventions. Do they have the Marvel characters present an Innoventions on the Halloween party nights, or is it only during regular operating hours? We want to do one day at the park, and are trying to decide to go during a regular operating day or on a party night.

I don't think I heard anything about Marvel characters from the reports I have read so far this year. Unless I missed something, last year the Marvel characters were not meeting during MHP. Phineas and Ferb were in the middle of a treat trail in Innoventions.

 

[LisaT91403]

I understand that the Disneyland Railroad was not running during last year's parties. Does anyone know if it was closed again this year?

 

[mikana876]

My 5yo made it through midnight last night! Actually we got on our last ride at midnight so left the park at 12:30. Then he asked me to wake him up this morning so he could ride TSMM first thing. Proud mama!

The fireworks were the only disappointment. They stopped right as Jack said "I saved the best for last". What we saw was amazing. Seemed like a technical difficulty to me.
Ocean Spray was a sponsor so yogurt covered Craisins were the most popular "healthy" snack. Also giant graham cracker goldfish, some apples and carrots, apple crisps, and a few stops with Pirates Booty. We did about half the treat trails and that was way too much candy for us. (Is it wrong to give it away for Halloween?

 

[LisaT91403]

We didn't see any of those healthy alternatives! I wish we would have, then DS could of had more than a bag full of skittles lol.

Do you have to ask for the alternatives? Or are they just at certain stations?

 

[PixiDustDears]

Do you have to ask for the alternatives? Or are they just at certain stations?

When we went last year on Halloween, we saw healthy options at quite a few stops. At least one on each trail I would say but probably even more. We did have to ask most of the time for them though. They would drop candy in the bag just as we were asking for apples or carrots. So they would toss those in to. I'm one of the odd few who really like the dried apple crisps and was disappointed that they didn't have as many last year. Looking forward to yogurt covered craisens though.

 

[Sherry E]

Those of you who also follow my Disneyland at Christmas/Holiday Season Superthread may know that I am a sucker for the predictable, sweet, sappy, lightweight holiday movies that the Hallmark Channel provides in November and December.

Well, Hallmark only has a couple of Halloween or Fall-related movies, and they debuted a new Halloween one last night -- Midnight Masquerade. I had high hopes for it (in the same way that I have high hopes for the predictable, sweet, sappy, lightweight holiday fare), and a Halloween movie that is not scary, bloody or solely for kids is a novelty, so I watched it... and was bored. While I loved seeing all of the Halloween decorations in every scene -- in each shot there appeared to be random pumpkins, scarecrows, witches and Halloween-ish colors -- and the story has a bit of a Cinderella-theme to it, I could not get into it.

What I have learned from this is that Hallmark does Christmas better than Halloween!

But... you may enjoy Midnight Masquerade. So if you want to watch a new Halloween romance-meets-Cinderella-themed movie that is family-friendly, check the Hallmark Channel for times. I know that MM is airing again today, at least once, and I'm sure it will air again between now and 10/31.

I did see the pro mo for the 13 night of Halloween on ABC family. They have not run the 31 days of Halloween on SyFy but, they have mentioned it on a couple of shows. Now I'm super excited about the 30th party.

Kilala --

Oh, that's right! I forgot all about the 31 Days of Halloween on Syfy! Yes -- they definitely get into the spirit of that holiday too.

We're back and had a great time, we discovered that 6 days in the parks is definitely not too much for us! We started on Sunday which was way too crowded in my opinion, and there were a lot of rude people which is something we haven't encountered before. We stayed at the Paradise Pier, which is actually my favorite of the Disney hotels. Had a theme park view and loved watching WOC from our room.

The weekdays were much slower, a little busier than we're used to but not bad at all. For some reason the line for pirates always seemed long, normally when we go it's pretty much always walk on. My kids loved the Halloween carnival, we met Cruella, the Evil Queen, Captain Hook, and Jafar, and they were all really fun. I do wish that Jafar would be a talking face character though, they should totally make him look like he does in the Aladdin show instead! The magic show was fun too and my daughter loved it since she got to go on stage and help pull the bunny out of a hat.

Sherry, we found the Sally coffin cake and had it on two separate days! It was SO good, I wish I could have brought a few home with us. We also shared a Maleficent candy apple, really yummy and the horns were rice crispy treats. Also grabbed a pumpkin shaped sourdough loaf in DCA. We ate so much good food, I'm sad to be home and have to cook again LOL.

The Halloween party wasn't as crowded as I thought it would be. We didn't stand in line for any villains since my kids wanted to go on rides, we almost waited for Jack Sparrow but they changed their minds. We did a few treat trails and got plenty of candy, but I saw some people carrying huge totes full LOL.

My husband decided to wait in front of the castle for the Cavalcade and fireworks, which turned out to be a mistake for us. We didn't care much for the Cavalcade (too cutesy and it was really short) and the fireworks were canceled midway through. Big time bummer, but oh well. We loved all of the lighting effects through the park and the rides were mostly walk on later in the night. Unfortunately, I didn't get to see the Cadaver Dans, we waited for the first show and they were late coming out so we left to go to treat trails and didn't make it back. I really wanted to buy the Jack Skellington Halloween party pin for a souvenir but I couldn't find any.

Overall, the kids said they love Halloween time at DL the best and would love to go back. I would be willing to (and Halloween is my favorite holiday), but I think I like Christmas at DL a bit better. If they decorated both parks and did a bit more, I might change my mind.

briggscreek --

Thank you for reporting back! I added a link to your comments in the MHP Reviews post.

I love the PPH too. I began staying there simply because it was less expensive than the DLH, but I grew to like it over the years. Now, I almost can't envision staying anywhere but the PPH. I love love love the view of DCA. I even enjoy the walk from the PPH to the parks (using the GCH shortcut).

You mentioned that you like Christmas at DL a bit better (even though Halloween is your favorite holiday), and that if DLR did more for Halloween Time you might change your mind. Exactly -- they need to do more! Much more! When you think about it, Disney has a Halloween Time season that is about 7 weeks long -- which is basically just as long as their Holiday season is -- and yet, look at all of the things they pack into the holiday season compared to what they include in Halloween Time!! It's almost startling to consider that they get away with making a whole Halloween Time "season" out of so little. (The Holidays at DLR are just over 7-1/2 weeks this year, but they buy extra time because they celebrate Three Kings Day as part of the Holidays too!)

I feel that -- since the MHP existed before the Halloween Time "season" officially existed -- DLR is basically building everything around the MHP. The MHP is supposed to be the main event of the season, though HMH and SMGG are available outside of the MHP as well. I think that it is possible to enjoy Halloween Time without doing the MHP, but the offerings are limited. There are only a few areas of Disneyland where the Halloween décor is really concentrated, and there is next to nothing in DCA. And the hotels are lacking in any Halloween fun too.

In the case of the holidays/Christmas at DL, there is no hard ticket party so far, but the immersion, depth and breadth of the Holiday merriment has existed for decades without a party.

I'm so glad you had a great trip -- and that you found the Sally Coffin Cake (as well as some other treats too)!!

I have read most of this thread, but cannot find the answer to this. Do they continue to let non-party guests into DL during the 'overlap' time 3-7pm? I'm thinking about coming in around 6pm for the party, but would like to avoid a sea of humanity going through the gates. I'm not sure if we'd be better off coming in around 2pm (we will have park hoppers) or waiting until 6pm. Thanks!

mon8key --

The crowds will be heavier in that 3 hours of overlap time (when non-party folks and party folks can be in DL together). I'd probably still go in at 2 p.m., though, and just pick up a wristband for the MHP while in the park. There is apparently candy being given out and there are characters greeting guests in Toontown again this year, and Toontown will probably open one hour before the MHP begins (it will also close early due to the fireworks). So if you are interested in heading to Toontown to see what's happening, being in the park a bit earlier would be good.

I don't think I heard anything about Marvel characters from the reports I have read so far this year. Unless I missed something, last year the Marvel characters were not meeting during MHP. Phineas and Ferb were in the middle of a treat trail in Innoventions.

pudinhd --

So far, I have not heard anything about Marvel characters at the MHP either -- unless I have overlooked it or missed something important.

I understand that the Disneyland Railroad was not running during last year's parties. Does anyone know if it was closed again this year?

Do you have to ask for the alternatives? Or are they just at certain stations?

LisaT91403 --

Hopefully figment_jii or one of our other 9/26/14 MHP-goers will confirm, but I would guess that the train is closed again this year.

Also, I'm not sure about this year (other than what we have already read), but at the last MHP I went to I had to ask the CMs to put apple slices, carrots and other healthy snacks in my bag -- and I don't think that those alternatives were at all of the treat stations; only at some of them. They automatically assume people want candy, I suppose. I took the candy as well, but I always had to say "I like apples too!" or "I eat lots of apples!" They would chuckle and throw some packets of apple slices and baby carrots in the bag on top of the candy.

 

[kim3339]

kim3339 --

Is the Disney Channel event called "Monstober"? I know that ABC Family has the "13 Nights of Halloween," but I think that one of Disney's other channels does "Monstober."

Also, AMC will have "Fearfest" was well. And TCM does some kind of all-day Halloween event on 10/31.

They didn't use the Monstober term in the commercial, but I remember they called it that last year. I think the commercial was also b/c the shows on Thurs are usually on Fri.

 

[Sherry E]

They didn't use the Monstober term in the commercial, but I remember they called it that last year. I think the commercial was also b/c the shows on Thurs are usually on Fri.

kim3339 --

Oh, I see. I always thought "Monstober" was an interesting play on words! It is kind of clever, and yet it doesn't quite sound right.



On the scarier, less family-friendly side of things, Bravo used to run this great series every year (for several years in a row) called The 100 Scariest Movie Moments. They made a couple of sequels as well, called Even Scarier Movie Moments and something else like that. The original was a 5-part series, with one hour airing every night as they counted down to the scariest movie moment. It was just like all of those VH1 Countdown shows or shows with people who pop onscreen to comment (such as I Love the '80s or whatever), except that all of the people commenting on the scary movies were people in that sort of genre (Rob Zombie and Eli Roth, for example), or actors who had been in those movies. It was a really intriguing show, as it covered a wide range of movies -- both classic horror films (Psycho) and more obscure, lesser-known (but still horrifying) movies.

For some reason, Bravo stopped running the Scariest Movie Moments series and the sequels, but another channel -- maybe Chiller? Maybe Reelz? -- made a knock-off, similar series that airs every year around Halloween.

Oddly, though, I am not seeing any new Halloween shows on the schedule for the Travel Channel, which is very odd. They usually make a couple of new Halloween shows every year.

 

[BayGirl22]

I don't think I heard anything about Marvel characters from the reports I have read so far this year. Unless I missed something, last year the Marvel characters were not meeting during MHP. Phineas and Ferb were in the middle of a treat trail in Innoventions.

Same this year. We did the treat trail in Innovations and Phineas and Ferber were at the end.

We didn't see any of those healthy alternatives! I wish we would have, then DS could of had more than a bag full of skittles lol.

Almost every station had a bin in the middle with the "healthy" alternatives, but you had to ask for them. I realized we had more candy than we would eat but the healthy stuff could be snacks so I started asking every time. Plus we just prefer those kind of foods. Most times the CMs still gave us a handful of candy.
It's a bit harder to get home, I have all the crackers packed inside popcorn buckets.

 

[mikana876]

Same this year. We did the treat trail in Innovations and Phineas and Ferber were at the end.



Almost every station had a bin in the middle with the "healthy" alternatives, but you had to ask for them. I realized we had more candy than we would eat but the healthy stuff could be snacks so I started asking every time. Plus we just prefer those kind of foods. Most times the CMs still gave us a handful of candy.
It's a bit harder to get home, I have all the crackers packed inside popcorn buckets.

Hmm well we did ask, but we only did one treat trail, in the ToonTown pre-party. So maybe those treat trails don't have the alternatives?

 

[castmember19]

I'm sure this question has been asked somewhere, but there's lots and lots of pages to get through. I want to know exactly when we can change into our costumes. We have tickets for early in the day as well as our Halloween party tickets. Should we change at the park? Should we go back to the hotel and change? If we change in the park, when is the best time? Do they not allow people into costume until exactly 6 o'clock? 3 o'clock?

 

[DenaRox]

I'm sure this question has been asked somewhere, but there's lots and lots of pages to get through. I want to know exactly when we can change into our costumes. We have tickets for early in the day as well as our Halloween party tickets. Should we change at the park? Should we go back to the hotel and change? If we change in the park, when is the best time? Do they not allow people into costume until exactly 6 o'clock? 3 o'clock?

For what it's worth, when I called in regards to my tickets the CM told me we were allowed to show up and wear costumes all day. Maybe someone else can confirm or shoot down that info

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Darn iPad did a double post. Sorry