HalloweenTime at DLR Superthread #4

[Sherry E]

I must get caught up in adding the most recent MHP reviews to my MHP Review List. Again, thank you to everyone here who has been posting the reviews as they will not only help the people who are headed to the MHP within the next 3 weeks, but also the people who go for the first time next year and don't know what to expect (although, if there is any validity to certain rumors floating around 'out there,' the MHP could be see some big changes next year and might end up being quite different from this year's MHP)!

Since this is a Fall holiday weekend, let's cover one of the most important elements of any holiday weekend -- food! Here are the latest articles and blogs about Disneyland Resort's Fall/Halloween food, as well as the latest Pumpkin Pandemonium sightings (courtesy of The Impulsive Buy, Consumerist, the Junk Food Guy and GrubGrade)!

1. "Pumpkin Mania at Disneyland Resort" -- Disney Parks Blog; posted by posted on October 10th, 2014 by Pam Brandon, Disney Parks Food Writer;

2. "Dining in Disneyland: Caramel Apple Funnel Cake and Mango Habanero Lime Iced Tea at Hungry Bear" -- Disney Food Blog; posted on Oct 6th, 2014 by Heather. (I'm not even a huge funnel cake fan, but come on now. This looks DELICIOUS!!!!);

3. Califia Farms Pumpkin Spice Latte Cold Brew Coffee with Almond Milk;

4. Entenmann's Apple Cinnamon Iced Cake (YUM!) -- See it -- HERE;

5. Philadelphia Cream Cheese Spread -- Pumpkin Spice and Caramel flavors;

6. Russell Stover Caramel Apple Chews;

7. Tru Moo Orange Scream Orange Cream-flavored milk;

8. Chipotle's Boorito Promotion;

9. Stacy's Salted Caramel Pita Chips;

10. Hood's Pumpkin Eggnog; and

11. Some nondescript brand's Pumpkin Spice milk -- See HERE!!!



Speaking of food.... does anyone here use Restaurant.com gift certificates for anything? They usually allow like $25 off of $50 orders, or $10 off of $30 -- that sort of thing. They are not tremendously valuable, and the restaurants that participate in Restaurant.com discounts are usually not convenient at all and are very limited (at least not to me), but I know that some folks use them.

One restaurant I noticed that is featured in the Anaheim list of participating Restaurant.com restaurants is Marri's Pizza (which is very close to DLR and usually gets good reviews). The Restaurant.com gift certificate that I have cannot be used on deliveries -- only in the actual restaurants themselves -- but I might be giving away a Restaurant.com e-gift card I have that I probably won't be using. I won it through a panel last year, and I have waited for restaurants that I would eat at to be added to the list, but there have been none, or I wouldn't spend $50 to get $25 off. I have to find out for sure that I can transfer the e-gift to someone else (I think I can), and then I will give it away if anyone would actually use it!

​

 

[wendydarling33]

Those of you trying the Big Thunder Ranch pre-party please report back and let us know how it is. Thank you for all the reports so far it has really helped me to plan what to do for our party night.

Since it seems like a lot of people are interested in this, I'll elaborate on my experience as best I remember. We got there about 5:10 on 10/8 when the party officially started at 6. We saw a sign that said MHP pre-party so we decided to check it out. You had to enter by the BBQ which I believe was still open for regular guests since the entertainment on the stage was still going on. We were able to do this one treat trail (by showing our wristbands of course) which wraps around and exits by the petting zoo.

The Carnival area was open as well as the Pirate's League. Very few guests were in there - I'd guess 20. Definitely more cast members than guests when we got there at least. In the Carnival area they were playing the spin a wheel and pumpkin hoop toss games. Pluto and Duffy were floating around and interacting with guests. Jessie seemed to have her own meet and greet "space" over by Conjure a Villain but no one was in line for it or greeting with her most of the time.

As we continued the treat trail there was a violinist playing in the petting zoo area and since we were the only ones in that area, he played the Indiana Jones theme for my son.

Honestly, we didn't stay very long but it was nice to do the first treat trail without a line and to have a little character interaction before heading to ToonTown.

When we got to TT at 5:30 there was no line to get in but the treat trail lines and character greetings looked pretty long to me (especially after being spoiled at Big Thunder). It definitely felt more festive there because there were more people and the music was Halloweeny. We just went on the rides though and moved on.

Hope that helps - not sure if it will be the same the rest of the party or if they'll start advertising it better. I think most people just didn't realize it existed but I'm glad we wandered upon it.

 

[CassieF]

So I've spent a LOT of time up at the jamboree and have never seen Pluto out. A quick search shows he has been out in previous years with a vampire type collar. Do I just have really bad luck never seeing him or did they eliminate him this year?

 

[Sherry E]

I posted information about Uva Bar's Oktoberfest menu, Catal's Fall menu and Naples' Fall menu a while back. I also posted about Jazz Kitchen's Murder Mystery event and their Haunted Gingerbread Workshop.

Not to be outdone, Tortilla Jo's in Downtown Disney is celebrating Dia de los Muertos on Saturday, November 1st, with a special menu -- HERE. The churros sound good!

They will also have kids' activities, face painting "and more," according to the newsletter I got!

So if you are at DLR on 11/1 and the pumpkins are coming down, you can still enjoy Dia de los Muertos food and fun!

​

 

[Mister Skellington]

Any costume threads? I would love to see what everyone was wearing!

 

[MermaidHair]

I posted information about Uva Bar's Oktoberfest menu, Catal's Fall menu and Naples' Fall menu a while back. I also posted about Jazz Kitchen's Murder Mystery event and their Haunted Gingerbread Workshop. Not to be outdone, Tortilla Jo's in Downtown Disney is celebrating Dia de los Muertos on Saturday, November 1st, with a special menu -- HERE. The churros sound good! They will also have kids' activities, face painting "and more," according to the newsletter I got! So if you are at DLR on 11/1 and the pumpkins are coming down, you can still enjoy Dia de los Muertos food and fun!

Thanks Sherry! I was on the fence about what to do for my group of 9 people for dinner on Saturday 11/1. I saw this and called and booked us a reservation for dinner. How festive! I also took your suggestion and moved my dinner reservation at CC earlier in the evening on Halloween itself so we could take advantage of the BTR and TT pre-parties. Your tips and advice have been so helpful!

 

[momof6princesses]

Last weekend before we leave! So excited, the kids will get packed and ready today as they have a busy school week. Only 6 more sleeps before we hit the road.

Thanks to all for the tips and information it has played a huge part in our planning and excitement!

 

[marypoppins6325]

Hi everyone! I have lurked on this thread for a while, but never posted anything before, so bear with me. My family and I went to MHP last night and had SO MUCH FUN!!! We live in SoCal and go up to Disneyland at least once a year, but had never done the Halloween party before and didn't really know what to expect. For those of you curious about the party, here was our experience:

We got up to the Disneyland area around 2 pm the day of the party and checked into our hotel, the Sheraton Garden Grove (about 1.5 mi from Disneyland). We stayed there because we could use points and get a room for free and the closer 2 Sheratons were booked - it's fine if everywhere else is full, but I would not overly recommend this hotel. The roll-away bed was ancient, the room was very small and had a slight odor, and the parking lot is tiny. But, we didn't want to have an hour and a half drive home at midnight, and this worked out just fine. Once we settled in, we decided to head over to Downtown Disney to kill some time before the party started. We drove as far as the Toy Story lot and took the bus over - this was SO easy and I would highly recommend using this lot if you are coming from the Garden Grove direction. In DD, we wandered through the World of Disney and got a Starbucks...by that time we were ready to party!

We lined up to get in around 3:45, and were in through the gates by 5 after 4...not bad, not bad at all. We got a quick picture by the pumpkin Mickey, then decided to wander over to the Frontierland/New Orleans Square area. The park was quite crowded with long lines for most rides, so we hopped on a raft over to Tom Sawyer Island and wandered around for a few minutes. For those of you who haven't been over to the island in a while, wow! They have done updates - including cool almost Audio-Animatronics in a few of the cave trails, and some pirate-themed lore along the trails.

After returning from the island, it was time to meander over to Cafe Orleans, as we had 5 pm dinner reservations. This was our first time eating here, and the food was so good! We split the pommes frites, a cup of French Onion soup, a cup of gumbo, and 2 Monte Cristo sandwiches between all of us. Everything was absolutely delicious - the sandwiches were both sweet and savory, the fries were full of garlicky goodness, and the gumbo tasted like real down-home Southern cooking.

After a leisurely dinner, we decided to check out the pre-parties. We went to Big Thunder Ranch first and hit the treat trail, checked out the cool pumpkin carvings, and met a few characters (Duffy, Pluto, and Jessie). Then we wandered over to Toontown and did 2 of the treat trails through the character houses and went on Gadget's Go Coaster....there was no line!

By the time we were finished there, the party was in full swing. We enjoyed the projections on small world, and as there was no line, decided to take a trip around the world. We then walked past the Matterhorn and saw there was no line, so we also took a bobsled ride. We realized we hadn't done any of the Halloween rides, so we went to Space Mountain: Ghost Galaxy and rode that with around a 20 minute wait.

By that point, we were all fairly thirsty, so we grabbed some sodas and wandered back over to Frontierland, enjoying the spooky atmosphere. We took a quick spin on Big Thunder Mountain Railroad and caught the 8:45 Cadaver Dans performance before securing a spot for the fireworks. We all enjoyed the show, but didn't totally understand all the hype surrounding it.

Afterwards, we stopped for some Halloween cookies at the Jolly Holiday bakery, went on Haunted Mansion Holiday, caught the mandatory Jungle Cruise boat ride (it's my dad's favorite ride), shopped along Main Street, and did one last treat trail at the front of the park before calling it a night around 11:30.

This morning, we drove over to the Disneyland Hotel and had a lovely relaxed breakfast at Steakhouse 55 before heading home.

Overall thoughts and impressions:
1) Crowds: The crowds were heavy during the turnover period, but after that were quite manageable. It depends on what you want to do, but if you go trick or treating during the pre-parties, you can enjoy most of the party with relatively few lines and crowds.
2) Atmosphere: We all agreed our favorite part was just strolling and taking all the special atmosphere in. Everyone is having a great time, it's fun seeing the creativity so many people have with their costumes, and the decorations are so neat.
3) Rides/Value: Wow! If we had wanted to, we could have done a TON of rides in the 8 hours we were there for quite a bit less than the price of a 1 day ticket. We didn't wait more than 20 minutes for a ride all night.

Hope this is helpful for those of you still planning for or dreaming about the party!

 

[Renae De Liz]

My family and I are going to DL for the first time at Halloween in about 9 days and I'm SO EXCITED!!!

I was wondering how the crowds are for the Halloween Party Fireworks and Parade? Will we have to scout out spots far in advance like regular times? I went during early December at Christmas time in 2012, and it was PACKED and so difficult to get spots. We're going to MHP two nights, but I still don't like the idea of wasting so much time during the parties sitting and holding a spot.

Can't wait to go! I'm making my husband a "Willy the Giant" Costume from Mickey and the Beanstalk for the party. So much fun!

 

[TulipsNZ]

Any costume threads? I would love to see what everyone was wearing!

This was us

 

[Mister Skellington]

Hi everyone! I have lurked on this thread for a while, but never posted anything before, so bear with me....

Great 1st post! Thanks for sharing.

This was us

How fun! I love group costumes!!! We have three of us going as Lock, Shock, and Barrel from Nightmare Before Xmas. I am still making the masks.

 

[violentlyserene]

Quick date question: are the last Tuesday and Friday in September safe dates to plan on for next years MHP? We need to get the dates off work ASAP but it makes me nervous planning on dates that won't be announced for quite a while.

Also are the weekday and weekend parties much different in business at that point?

 

[BigCheese]

Based on everyone's experience at the Toontown pre-party, do you think it's possible to meet & greet all of the different characters there within the first hour of the pre-party or so? How quickly to they rotate the groups in & out? It sounds like standing in line at least 30 minutes before hand (if not more in advance) is advisable?

 

[casperghost]

Feedback on Halloween nights at Disneyland. We have run tour groups to California and DL since 1998 and made personal trips as well. Well what a shock to go this year. We have been coming from Australia to do Halloween nights in DL for several years now and always been very pleased. ..until now. For the first night this year (Friday 26thSept)Not only did we not get access to the park until an hour later than previous years(why ??), but the regular patrons of the park (without event tickets) were still filing in the gates at 6.55pm and not told to remove themselves from the park until 7PM (when a general announcement was made that they could stay shopping in Main St for another hour on top of that)then there were still non-ticketed patrons wandering around at 9pm and later!!! I even saw several people who were NOT tagged with a wrist bands running around getting candy from the trick or treat stations and sitting at the parades and fireworks . I spoke to quite a few cast members and they were even perplexed at the lack of instruction and guidance from senior staff and how late the other patrons were removed from the park . What a waste of money on our behalf and what shoddy organisation from DL management. Shame on management for that night.. Previously we thought Halloween nights were great and a real treat for the family and the groups we go with. We wont be wasting money or time on it again and certainly wont recommend it to others unless DL Event Management picks up its act. And yes...I have forwarded this onto DL management... maybe they will take notice....but I wont hold my breath.

 

[casperghost]

we do toontown morning madness every year. You are in there for about 30 mins meeting characters, then a short show. It is possible, but the one you have to be quick off the mark for is Donald and especially Daisy (who usually appears over near Roger Rabbits toonnspin for about 10 minutes and then goes. The ticket says to arrive an hour before regular Toontown hours- but in my experience they someties let patrons in much earlier(we have been let in up to 10 mins earlier) and in that time toontown is empty. BUT you will be first off the mark for Mickey and Minnie who come out first, closely followed by Goofy and Pluto...we have often had Mickey all to ourselves for 5 minutes because of this. If you are not purchasing tickets through the DL travel company (which I recommend and is how you get the TMM tickets+ extras )you can sometimes purchase them on ebay.

 

[Sherry E]

Quick date question: are the last Tuesday and Friday in September safe dates to plan on for next years MHP? We need to get the dates off work ASAP but it makes me nervous planning on dates that won't be announced for quite a while.

Also are the weekday and weekend parties much different in business at that point?

violentlyserene --

I think that the last Friday is September 2015 will most likely be a party date -- probably. If Disney follows the pattern similar to the one they have followed for the last several years, then Friday, 9/25 should be a party date, and so should Tuesday, 9/29.

There is a rumor -- and it is only a rumor, which may never come to fruition at all -- to indicate that the MHP may move back to California Adventure in 2015, and that there are going to be "big changes" coming to the MHP next year.

If the rumor is true and if there are big changes coming, then the whole schedule could change. I'm sure that Fridays would still be involved, but the party could start on a different night of the week, there could be more nights or fewer nights, and Tuesdays may not be included. It's anyone's guess.

When the party used to be held in DCA, it did not start in September. It started in October. However, that was before the DCA makeover. Now that DCA is a more fully realized park (lacking in Halloween décor). it is possible that the same MHP schedule could apply if the MHP moves back there.

Some folks have reported that the early weeknight parties feel less crowded than the Friday parties. That could be because local parents take their kids home so they can be up early for school the next day, while Friday nights are okay for party guests to linger and stay up late. Also, I don't know if Disney sells fewer tickets for early weeknights than they do for Friday parties (no one seems to know).

Thanks Sherry! I was on the fence about what to do for my group of 9 people for dinner on Saturday 11/1. I saw this and called and booked us a reservation for dinner. How festive! I also took your suggestion and moved my dinner reservation at CC earlier in the evening on Halloween itself so we could take advantage of the BTR and TT pre-parties. Your tips and advice have been so helpful!

MermaidHair --

Thank you for the kind words! I appreciate it. I'm so glad to have been of some assistance, and feel very happy that this thread has been of help to many people (thanks to everyone who is participating and sharing info and experiences).

Also, I'm happy to see that you're going to eat at TJ's and enjoy whatever they have going on for Dia de los Muertos! I almost didn't post that menu link when I got the newsletter in my email, but then I thought, "Hmmm... some of our Halloween travelers will still be at DLR after 10/31, so maybe they'll be interested."

I think it's good that you moved the CC reservation to an earlier time. At first I was only thinking of the Toontown Pre-Party and how the timing of your meal would work. This whole Big Thunder Ranch/Carnival area Pre-Party is a surprise and quite new! If it was happening last year, no one mentioned it. I think it's a good idea to open a couple of spots ahead of when the party officially begins, especially for those who have to leave a bit earlier.

 

[violentlyserene]

violentlyserene --

I think that the last Friday is September 2015 will most likely be a party date -- probably. If Disney follows the pattern similar to the one they have followed for the last several years, then Friday, 9/25 should be a party date, and so should Tuesday, 9/29.

There is a rumor -- and it is only a rumor, which may never come to fruition at all -- to indicate that the MHP may move back to California Adventure in 2015, and that there are going to be "big changes" coming to the MHP next year.

If the rumor is true and if there are big changes coming, then the whole schedule could change. I'm sure that Fridays would still be involved, but the party could start on a different night of the week, there could be more nights or fewer nights, and Tuesdays may not be included. It's anyone's guess.

When the party used to be held in DCA, it did not start in September. It started in October. However, that was before the DCA makeover. Now that DCA is a more fully realized park (lacking in Halloween décor). it is possible that the same MHP schedule could apply if the MHP moves back there.

Some folks have reported that the early weeknight parties feel less crowded than the Friday parties. That could be because local parents take their kids home so they can be up early for school the next day, while Friday nights are okay for party guests to linger and stay up late. Also, I don't know if Disney sells fewer tickets for early weeknights than they do for Friday parties (no one seems to know).

Thanks for the rumor info. Apparently there was a miscommunication over my husband's availability for vacation so we are only able to be there in oct anyway so it should work out one way or the other. I'm a bit concerned over big changes but really I just hate not knowing what to expect.

 

[Dot2Vegas]

violentlyserene --

I think that the last Friday is September 2015 will most likely be a party date -- probably. If Disney follows the pattern similar to the one they have followed for the last several years, then Friday, 9/25 should be a party date, and so should Tuesday, 9/29.

There is a rumor -- and it is only a rumor, which may never come to fruition at all -- to indicate that the MHP may move back to California Adventure in 2015, and that there are going to be "big changes" coming to the MHP next year.

If the rumor is true and if there are big changes coming, then the whole schedule could change. I'm sure that Fridays would still be involved, but the party could start on a different night of the week, there could be more nights or fewer nights, and Tuesdays may not be included. It's anyone's guess.

When the party used to be held in DCA, it did not start in September. It started in October. However, that was before the DCA makeover. Now that DCA is a more fully realized park (lacking in Halloween décor). it is possible that the same MHP schedule could apply if the MHP moves back there.

Oh I hope this does not happen!! We love the party as it is, where it is. I know it used to be at DCA but to us, it would not be the same without HMH, the effects on Rivers of America, and the spooky effects on the castle. For those that used to attend when it was in DCA, did you like it? What did you prefer (I know its a totally different park now, but I never heard much about the old DCA parties)? I told DH about the rumor and he says he would not go to the party if it moves-eek!

 

[Sherry E]

Dot2Vegas & violentlyserene --

So far I am not giving too much thought or applying too much credibility to the MHP rumor, but it is worth sort of keeping 'in the backs of our minds,' I suppose -- just in case. It's very much second/third/fourth-hand information.

Someone on MiceChat started a thread this past week about supposedly overhearing a CM at the MHP saying that this is the last year for the MHP to be held in DL, and that it is moving back to DCA next year. I don't post there -- I merely spy on their threads to see what the competition is discussing -- but, from what I could see, most of the people who replied to the person who started the thread were doubtful and skeptical.

Then, someone else posted in that same thread and claimed that during the MHP training this year (I swear, I never knew there was MHP training until this year!), the CMs were told that "big changes" were/are coming to the MHP next year. So, if we take that and tie it in with what the first person said about overhearing that the MHP is moving to DCA, then it becomes more of a "thing."

Of course, the "big changes" may be something totally different than a move to a different park.

If next year were not the DL 60th anniversary year, I would assume that the rumors were 100% false and that the information was simply misinterpreted or misunderstood.

The fact that 2015 is the 60th anniversary year is the only thing that keeps me thinking that a temporary relocation of the MHP could, possibly, perhaps, maybe happen. It is possible that Disney may want to run its supposed new fireworks and new parade all year long, without interrupting them for the MHP.

However, as you said, the facades and areas around DL lend a lot to the atmosphere and overall mood of the party. What would the MHP be without Halloween Screams at this point? There would have to be an all-Halloween World of Color to make up for it, and actual Halloween decorations around DCA (which would be great!).

I went to the party when it was in DCA and I liked it -- I wouldn't mind it returning to DCA if Disney would actually Halloween-ify DCA once again. They can't leave DCA Halloween-less and have a party there. But... in terms of atmosphere and interesting treat trail locations, I think that DL is a better showcase for all of it than DCA is.

 

[CassieF]

Based on everyone's experience at the Toontown pre-party, do you think it's possible to meet & greet all of the different characters there within the first hour of the pre-party or so? How quickly to they rotate the groups in & out? It sounds like standing in line at least 30 minutes before hand (if not more in advance) is advisable?

I've gone twice this year. Both times we observed the same rotation of characters. For starters, it opens an hour before the party starts and goes for 2 hours, which means each character is out twice, for half an hour each.

The first group of characters were Clarabelle and Horace, Chip and Dale, then I think Goofy.

They switched out to Pluto, Mickey and Minnie, then Donald (or Goofy if Donals was out first).

The longest line was Mickey and Minnie so the trick is to get in Chip and Dale's line about 5 minutes before he half hour mark (which is when Mickey and Minnie will come out) you'll have a short line. We were able to get all 6 groups of characters in but it took until their last rotation. I wouldn't plan on getting all in withing an hour, but if you were toward the front you could probably get the first three groups in, as the lines will stay short initially. If you do that, then wait in chip and dales line until Mickey and Minnie come out, you might be able to do it.