HalloweenTime at DLR Superthread #4

[starshine514]

We did the party last night. We arrived at the Toy Story lot about 2:00. By the time we got to the park, picked up our tickets (yes, they did reimburse for parking) and got in line, it was 2:30 and there were only a couple groups in front of us in the line. If I had one piece of advice for those entering just for the party at the 3-hour mark, it would be to arrive early. They were putting the wristbands on us as we entered, and it severely slowed the line. I was glad that there weren't many people ahead of us (and there were many behind us).

We didn't do everything we hoped to do, but we had a good time. We spent an hour meeting Winnie the Pooh, and after that, the girls decided to forego trying to meet Maleficient. We did 4 treat trails and ended up with a ton of candy. We slipped into the fireworks area just as they were taking down the ropes, and got a central spot just behind the hub about 13 minutes before the fireworks started. My 6 month old LOVED the fireworks!

All in all, it was a successful and fun evening. We did do a lot of rides (my 7 year old rode 16 rides), so we missed out on some of the cool party stuff, but I think we reached a good balance for us. We also got the. Zero popcorn bucket - it's so cute!

 

[bearette]

We did the party last night too. As a mom to 2.5 year olds I recommend the party. Not scary and my kids loved it. I heard "witch mommy witch!" All night. The Villain meet and greet line was so long it kept closing on us. We accidentally hit the arrival show at 9pm which was great. I recommend you try to make it. We never made it to Tomorrowland but did the main street, Toon town and primates and beyond treat trails. Ride lines were short, 15 minutes was the longest and 5 min for haunted mansion.

As an annual pass holder I don't feel it is worth paying extra for. I can trick or treat at home. The parade while nice was small. The best was the fireworks, but bad weather could ruin that. I'm glad I did it once but I'm not going to do it again unless something new is added. It was great getting into the spirit of the holiday, but once I have to pay for the kids too expensive!

Holiday food : I tried the new I believe it was pomegranate punch(at the mint julep bar) and it was tasty. Attempted the banana dessert at the nearby bread bowl place but it was sold out by 10:30. We had dinner at the carnation cafe and ate its seasonal sausage sandwich, which was excellent. Going to go back in the day time to have more.

 

[CassieF]

We were also at last night's party...I went with my sister, niece, and dad and we'll, let's just say I'm looking forward to my solo party with my niece on Monday! My group was so focused on getting candy (they got 10-12 lbs each) and not super interested in party exclusive events. Fireworks...eh, "they're just fireworks"...I caught a glimpse of them through the trees from the Winnie the Pooh line. We waited once for the villains in town square, and it was a long wait, plus we missed out on a good set of characters and got Jafar, Queen, and Hook. Jafar was a new villain, but he is occasionally at conjure a villain. Hades and Dr. Facilier were not out at all. We did find the Queen of Hearts wandering around, but she seemed to pick one party and focus on them for an extended time. Luckily, she picked my niece! We walked all over town square, took a picture in front of the Mickey Head, got shown off to Cruella while she waited for people to make it through to her, over to the firehouse, for some dancing..it was very cool! I felt bad for others who tried to intrupt. We did see Horace and Clarabelle, Smee, Wendy, plus Jafar and Queen of Hearts for new characters, which I guess isn't bad! We did see Lady Tremaine and the stepsisters out and could have joined the mob to see them but I decided to just wait for Monday for them, since my niece will be doing rag dress Cindrella.

 

[LisaT91403]

It was running last night during the party.

Awesome! Thanks for letting us know!

 

[laura&fam]

Yes, they had all of them. I purchased mine in The Emporium, and I also asked in the store exiting Astro Blasters, and both had all of them. I didn't go into any other stores.

Here is what I bought

I passed on the set of four.

Dang. I really wanted that hitchhiking ghosts pin but it looks like it's only for AP holders. Can anyone buy it or only AP holders?

 

[Mister Skellington]

Thanks to EVERYONE who is taking the time to post their experiences! We wont be there till the end of the month but it makes going to work tomorrow easier.

 

[laura&fam]

Any idea if PhotoPass+ is worth it for a MHP night? I'm taking DS(6) and my nephews (9, 11)...I'm not positive that I can get them to slow down long enough for pictures, and/or if there would be enough photo opportunities during the party. Any thoughts?

I also don't know if it would get here in time, as our party is 10/10.

We've bought a photopass every trip until now. I didn't think it was worth it just for the party especially since we don't plan to ride Space Mountain or Splash Mountain. Also when we went 2 years ago the line for the castle shot and some of the other 'standard' shots were really long during the party so that was a factor in skipping it this time.

 

[APE]

We went to our first MHP (Tuesday) last night. Wow! So much fun. We got there at 3 and rode Small World, Buzz Light Year and Astro Orbitor. The overlap crowds were a little crazy. Especially with the parade running earlier at 4. (Just a note to plan for the early parade in trying to get around.) Our guide said nothing about the preparty, so I asked a CM at the gate and she didn't know about it. While we were down by Small World, we saw that Toon Town was closing at 4 and they were setting up ropes. I asked another CM about the preparty and he confirmed it would start at 5. So, we lined up outside of Toon Town at 4:30. They had three treat trails that went all throughout the area weaving in and out of Minnie and Mickey's houses, etc. Our little bags were mostly full after that. The people in front of us were asking for healthy alternatives and they said they only had candy at those stations. We then rode Roger Rabbit and Gadget with about a 5 minute wait on each. They had three character spots going on at once by the gazebo. When we got in line, they had Chip and Dale, Clarabelle & Horace and Goofy. Then they switched to Mickey & Minnie, Pluto and Donald.

At 6 we headed to Tomorrow Land and walked on Autopia. We did the treat trail through Innoventions and got in line to see Agent P while we were there. Then they switched to Pineas and Pherb. We continued on to as many rides and treat trails we could find along the way. We went on Space and Star Tours with 10 minute waits. Walked on Pirates and Jungle Cruise during the first Cavalcade.

We stopped for fireworks about 15 minutes before the show in the middle of the end of Main Street and saw the whole thing, Jack and all. After fireworks we waited 5 min for Matterhorn and did more treat trails. At about 10:30, we walked right on to Space and Matterhorn again.

We left just a couple minutes to 11 with 2 back packs full of treats plus each of our little bags full for our group of 5 and we didn't even do all the treat trails. As far as non candy alternatives, at various treat stations we got: carrots, apples, dried apples, Cheez-Its, Pretzel Goldfish, Bug Bites Grahams, Giant Goldfish Grahams, Pirate's Booty, yogurt covered Craisins and chocolate covered Craisins. You do need to ask for these things. Nothing against candy. It's just nice to have a variety.

As we were heading out the top of Main Street, we caught the very end of a show that looked like they were retiring all the villains. We saw Maleficent, Wicked Stepsisters, Cruella, Captain Hook...There were probably more we missed.

Had a blast! Hope to do it again. Thanks for everyone's help here to know better what to expect.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

Dang. I really wanted that hitchhiking ghosts pin but it looks like it's only for AP holders. Can anyone buy it or only AP holders?

The AP pins are supposed to be only for passholders. At past parties, CMs have asked to see my pass when I bought the pins.

 

[figment_jii]

Figment Goes to Mickey's Halloween Party, 9/26/14

Continuing with Mickey's Halloween Party (9/26 review)...this time, Mickey's Costume Party Cavalcade! It runs at 8:30 pm and 10:30 pm. The 8:30 pm show starts at It's a Small World and progresses to Main Street. The 10:30 pm show starts at Main Street and heads back to It's a Small World. While not a full blown parade, it's still cute and fun to watch. In most cases (I think) you can get a pretty good view without waiting very long. For the first parade, I got a curb side spot about 25 minutes before the Cavalcade (down on Main Street). For the second parade, I got a curb side spot on Main Street about 10 minutes before the Cavalcade! Aside from a few things, the Cavalcade was largely the same this year as last.

The biggest change was the Frozen pre-parade float. It steps off about 5 minutes before the Cavalcade. It’s the same as during the day, so not Halloween overlay. Following behind the float is a group of guests dressed as Frozen characters. It was interesting because it was entirely children dressed as Anna, Elsa, or Olaf (and their adults). I saw plenty of adult Annas and Elsas at the party, but none were included in the pre-parade, so I think the CMs were focused on finding children and their families.

The Cavalcade starts with Vampire Mickey!

Next up is the Costume Shop float (one of the only other floats in the parade). I loved all of the decorations on the float...many of which were Mickey hats from previous years. There were dancers before and after the float.

The next sequences of the parade consisted primarily of dancers and characters. I love the Mickey pumpkins! Pirate Mickey is followed by Peter Pan, Captain Hook, Wendy and friends.

Princess Minnie is followed by Snow White, Tiana, and Aurora (I think), plus several dancers.

Next up was Cowboy Mickey with Woody and Jessie.

Finally, Monster Mickey is followed by Sully and several monsters.

The next set of characters was kind of mish-mash of mostly animals. There was Clarabelle, Baloo, King Louie, and the bears from Country Bear.

The next sequence had ragdoll dancers and stilt walkers. The stilt walkers are always very impressive.

And then it was time for the final float of the Cavalcade. Daisy was on the front, Minnie and Mickey on the main platform. Goofy and Chip & Dale were in the middle. If you were seated on left side (when facing the float) you saw Stormtrooper Donald and if you were on the right, you saw Biker Stitch. On the back of the float was Miss Piggy and Kermit pumpkin.

Next up...Halloween Screams! and the Cadaver Dans!

 

[kkmcan]

We did the party last night. We arrived at the Toy Story lot about 2:00. By the time we got to the park, picked up our tickets (yes, they did reimburse for parking) and got in line, it was 2:30 and there were only a couple groups in front of us in the line. If I had one piece of advice for those entering just for the party at the 3-hour mark, it would be to arrive early. They were putting the wristbands on us as we entered, and it severely slowed the line. I was glad that there weren't many people ahead of us (and there were many behind us).

We didn't do everything we hoped to do, but we had a good time. We spent an hour meeting Winnie the Pooh, and after that, the girls decided to forego trying to meet Maleficient. We did 4 treat trails and ended up with a ton of candy. We slipped into the fireworks area just as they were taking down the ropes, and got a central spot just behind the hub about 13 minutes before the fireworks started. My 6 month old LOVED the fireworks!

All in all, it was a successful and fun evening. We did do a lot of rides (my 7 year old rode 16 rides), so we missed out on some of the cool party stuff, but I think we reached a good balance for us. We also got the. Zero popcorn bucket - it's so cute!

Thank Carla for the review! All good advice. We will be there tomorrow for our party and are planning on getting to the turnstiles at 3:30 for the 4:00 pre-party time. We are hoping to get a decent viewing place for the fireworks without having to hold spots for an hour.

We also are hoping to get a Zero popcorn bucket but I don't know how we'll carry it around all night. We don't carry much into the parks anymore. Not even a backpack, just small crossbody bags for the girls. Well we'll see how that works out. But we must have one!

 

[DisneyJamieCA]

I'm so happy to hear the Toontown pre-party is back again. We will definitely make time to make it back there.

 

[figment_jii]

We also are hoping to get a Zero popcorn bucket but I don't know how we'll carry it around all night.

I don't know if it's true at the MHP nights (I forgot to check), but the NOS popcorn stand closed early on Thursday (9/25) night. It was shutting down around 8:00 pm (the park was open until 10:00 pm) and I asked the CM about that because it seemed odd, but he said they usually close before the park. So it's something to keep in mind because the NOS popcorn stand was the only one that had the Zero buckets. Also, they may "sell out" during the day, but it might just means they're waiting for a replenishment. So if you happen to get there when they don't have it, check back a little later. It was amazing the number of Zero buckets I saw people carrying around the park! He's really cute...the only other caution I would have is that his nose seems a little fragile, so be careful not to bump it into anything.

For those that are heading down in the near(ish) future and like to collect souvenir containers, there are a lot of choose from! I found three different travel mugs (Skeleton Dance, HM 45th, and a Mickey Pearly Band), two popcorn buckets (Skeleton Dance and the HM 45th), four Premium popcorn buckets (Zero, White Mickey Hatbox, Blue Mickey Hatbox, and Ghost Mickey), the Maleficent Dragon Sipper and at least two glow cubes (Mickey Pumpkin and Jack Skellington)!

 

[KatieJoy]

I have a couple of questions...
We have tickets for the party on Halloween. My parents are going to the party with our kids (ages 6&9) rather than us. We're just going to hang out at the hotel or DCA.
1. Does Maleficent have specific place for meet & greet? DD is going as young maleficent, so I'd like to have a picture with them together. Really the only character photo we specifically want.

2. How long will meet&greet lines be? On average, at a sold out party?

3. Several people have mentioned the kids dressed as Frozen characters can get the chance to follow the Frozen float. DD was upset when I told her that, since she's not going as a Frozen character. She really likes that kind of thing, like performing and being onstage. Are there any other opportunities like that? Someone mentioned singing on stage at a dance party, maybe in Tomorrowland.

That's all my question for now, I'm sure I'll come up with more
Thanks!

 

[figment_jii]

1. Does Maleficent have specific place for meet & greet? DD is going as young maleficent, so I'd like to have a picture with them together. Really the only character photo we specifically want.

Kind of...Maleficent is one of the villains that meets below the Railroad Station on Main Street. She is not out all of the time during the party (it's a rotating set of three villains at a time). It sounds like she was in the first set for both of the parties that have happened, so that's your best bet. Personally, I would probably get to the meet and greet area about 30 minutes before the start of the party in hopes of seeing the first set of villains. I was pretty surprised that the line didn't really start forming until about 20 minutes before the party started last Friday, but that might (probably) have been a fluke.

I didn't really ask about the line length or check out the Monsters U Dance Party, so hopefully someone else can chime in about those.

 

[Spacepest]

Booyah!

I just booked a last minute Halloween trip, tacked onto the end of a convention! I'll be doing:
Mickey's Halloween Party
regular park day (husband is determined to get Marvel Innoventions pictures)
Knott's Halloween Haunt
Probably lots of shopping and eating (Downtown Disney and Mrs Knotts, here I come!)

And thank you to everyone who has posted in this thread, the advice has been most helpful!

 

[iheartglaciers]

Thanks to everyone who reported back! Does anyone know more info about the AP treat station? What is the special treat?

 

[figment_jii]

Thanks to everyone who reported back! Does anyone know more info about the AP treat station? What is the special treat?

I'll post a photo as part of my MHP review, but if you want to see it before then...
http://i963.photobucket.com/albums/...014 October/MHP 2014/DSC_0063_zpsb92790a0.jpg

 

[iheartglaciers]

I'll post a photo as part of my MHP review, but if you want to see it before then...
http://i963.photobucket.com/albums/...014 October/MHP 2014/DSC_0063_zpsb92790a0.jpg

Thanks for posting! It looks similar to the Frozen rice krispy I got at WDW last month. My sister is an AP so I'll make sure she picks one up! Believe it or not, the Halloween party will be my first time at Disneyland!

 

[Kilala]

I will post my review of Tuesdays party later on this week. I have come down with a cold