HalloweenTime at DLR Superthread #4

[maleficent55]

Those pumpkin puffs look delicious!

Yes they do! But I have to know...where can I find the Ursula cupcake?!?! I heard them say DCA, but where exactly?

 

[Imdboss]

Well here I am in our hotel room on our 6th and final night at least we have a partial day tomorrow. I've kept notes of each day of our trip so when I return I can give a detailed report, including MHP from 10/10. Reading the posts before our trip were so helpful, hopefully I can return the favor in my trip report. I'm thinking I will start a new thread with my post so those that don't follow this thread will see it, unless it would be best to post here. Maybe Sherry will chime in on that???

 

[Vala]

Yes they do! But I have to know...where can I find the Ursula cupcake?!?! I heard them say DCA, but where exactly?

I saw it at FiddlerFifer & Pratical Cafe.

Thank you again! It is funny to me that they don't advertise it. And I was chatting online with the Disney chat about Fantasmic and asked about the pre-party and two different people (I thought I would ask the 2nd person just to see) and they both said, "There are no pre-parties." What is the harm in letting people know!?!

I am full planning mode and trying to balance what everyone will want to do! While it isn't as fun as being in Disneyland, it sure comes close!!!!

I was told the exact same thing when I asked at City Hall even. "No pre parties."

Then a CM who knows I love my characters noticed me in Frontierland shortly before the pre parties started and was kind enough to come up to me and ask: "Hey, why aren't you in Toontown?" "Why should I be in Toontown?" "Cause there's a pre party with characters, and at Big Thunder Carnival too." I'm hoping not too many people within ear shot spoke German cause my cursing wasn't pretty.

Sprinting from the Big Thunder Mountain entrance to Toontown is something I always wanted to try in 100 degree heat. Even worse, my friends had gone to the hotel to get changed and their cell phones were acting up. They finally came running in almost an hour later after some pretty frantic attempts to reach them.

 

[figment_jii]

I was told the exact same thing when I asked at City Hall even. "No pre parties."

This is the official line, even today (well, yesterday). I sent a message to Disneyland commenting that I missed the pre-party because the CMs at Guest Services/City Hall said there was no party. The Disneyland Guest Services CM that called me back about the message said that there is no Toontown pre-party this year. So, while we all know there is a pre-party, "official" there is no pre-party.

 

[laura&fam]

Has anyone seen the white square HM house plan plates shown in the third merchandise photo in this post: http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/bl...chandise-appearing-this-fall-at-disney-parks/
And if so can you please tell me where? We won't have much time at Disneyland this trip (but I'm just glad we get any time at all ) so I won't be able to shop around and hunt for them.

 

[figment_jii]

Has anyone seen the white square HM house plan plates shown in the third merchandise photo in this post: http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/bl...chandise-appearing-this-fall-at-disney-parks/
And if so can you please tell me where? We won't have much time at Disneyland this trip (but I'm just glad we get any time at all ) so I won't be able to shop around and hunt for them.

I didn't see them at the end of September, but my guess is that if they're going to be anywhere, it'll be at Port Royal (the Jack Skellington/Haunted Mansion shop) in NOS.

 

[perlster]

There are several posts about Disney not announcing the Toontown pre-party. Well, color me not shocked. Does anyone have any evidence that Disney announced that there would be a Toontown pre-party last year?

The "announcement" that people remember is probably what I repeated from the highly reliable source.

I have the map from last year's MHP and there is no mention of a Toontown pre-party. I looked for a photo that might show a sign at or near the Disneyland entrance mentioning a pre-party, but couldn't find one.

As for this year, there wasn't any doubt on my part it would be held again, as I explained earlier.

So, it seems to have started quietly last year, and it just as un-publicized this year.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

As for the Big Thunder Ranch pre-party, it would be helpful to note the exact dates on which MHP guests have attended it. Using the same logic as in the earlier post, I don't see how it could happen on Tuesday the 14th. BTR is listed as closing at 6PM with the rest of Disneyland Park. On Friday evening, BTR also closes at 6 PM, but that is an hour before the park closes for MHP. Even then, there's an issue - that is time for an hour of pre-party (before the regular MHP start), but no time would be allotted for the changeover from regular to pre-party.

 

[pycees312]

First off I have to say I am super sad i have never attended this event before! We had a fabulous time. I can only speak from my own experience becuase i've seen people post in other groups andplaces that seemed to have a very different view than myself.
My son and I since we are Dis Vets did not see a reason to go into the park at 4:00. I'm wondering if this is the reason people were reporting elsewhere that is was super packed. Anyway we left our room at Park Vue inn at 6:20pm. We were in the park by 6:35. We knew we wanted to hit all of the big attractions so that was our focus. Space Mountain, Matterhorn, Big Thunder, Indiana, Pirates, star tours.
We headed to space Mountian and the time was still at 75 mins and the cast member told us to come back shortly as the park was getting people out for the party etc. So we went to Star Tours it said 20 min wait and it was less than 10.
We exited star tours puchased a churro then headed to Materhorn. This was walk on and only 2 trains left before us while in line.The lady in front of us here already had her bag fulland i asked where did she go and she said the toon town pre party she had waiting in line for it. We then got in the treat line right behind the matterhorn. It looked long but as people reported it went very fast. We then hit the trails by storybrook, and in the villiage house. We then headed over to big thunder and it was walk on.. We walked right up to the train and loaded litterally. At this point I felt the price was well worth it. We hit the treat trail in the ice cream shop( i forget the name). Oh this is where the live scarecrow was and he was a hoot!!! loved him. went through the treat train in front of the water where fantasmic is. curved back and did Pirates. This was our longest line of 20 mins. Indian Jones was next again maybe 15 mins. At this point we headed back to space mountain 10 mins.
We went into innoventions for the treat trail and this was our longest treat trail line for some reason. We watched the fireworks from innoventions. Went back to star tours and also did buzz light year. We were done but decided to hang around and watch the parade at 10:30 so we got a bite to eat. The parade to me was not all that and we could hve went home at 10 and been done. ooh i forgot we did winnie he pooh before pirates. So i imagine those folks who did fantasy land may have a different view but even when we were over there the lines were VERY short. and from what i saw people were wasting time waiting for parades and the fireworks shows. When leaving there was another treat line in the area where you saw mickey cartoons( i had forgotten about that place.) As we exited there was Elsa and Anna no line for pics, and i think it was hades and The evil Queen. I got a pic with her. It was litterally one of the only pics we took becuase my iphone camera is not the best. When we saw lines for characters earlier the lines were LONG for that type of stuff. So overall if you had small kids, needed to see the parade, fireworks, and fantasyland with chaacter pics then yes your experience was much different from mine. we had a blast. We left at 10:20 after the parade and were very content with that. sorry this report probably looks like a huge run on sentence im at work trying to hurry.

 

[figment_jii]

There are several posts about Disney not announcing the Toontown pre-party. Well, color me not shocked. Does anyone have any evidence that Disney announced that there would be a Toontown pre-party last year?

There was a sign last year at the entrance to the parks that said "Mickey's Toontown Will close at 4:00 pm today for Mickey's Halloween Party" in 2013 (not this year). It didn't mention anything about a pre-party, but it did state Toontown would be closing due to the party.

You actually had a link (no longer active) to the Passholder page, which is where I thought you probably got the information for the Toontown event. This was the only/first reference I could find in the previous HalloweenTime SuperThread.
http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=48894312&postcount=1569

 

[Sherry E]

There are several posts about Disney not announcing the Toontown pre-party. Well, color me not shocked. Does anyone have any evidence that Disney announced that there would be a Toontown pre-party last year?

The "announcement" that people remember is probably what I repeated from the highly reliable source.

I have the map from last year's MHP and there is no mention of a Toontown pre-party. I looked for a photo that might show a sign at or near the Disneyland entrance mentioning a pre-party, but couldn't find one.

As for this year, there wasn't any doubt on my part it would be held again, as I explained earlier.

So, it seems to have started quietly last year, and it just as un-publicized this year.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

As for the Big Thunder Ranch pre-party, it would be helpful to note the exact dates on which MHP guests have attended it. Using the same logic as in the earlier post, I don't see how it could happen on Tuesday the 14th. BTR is listed as closing at 6PM with the rest of Disneyland Park. On Friday evening, BTR also closes at 6 PM, but that is an hour before the park closes for MHP. Even then, there's an issue - that is time for an hour of pre-party (before the regular MHP start), but no time would be allotted for the changeover from regular to pre-party.

perlster --

I appreciate your insight. I have devoted many, many, many, many hours/weeks/months to making this thread helpful, and I am sorry if you don't feel it is helpful enough. Duly noted.

No, the memory of the Toontown event being "announced" last year has nothing to do with your report from the other source, though I do remember your photos and the fact that I referred to one candy corn accessory that Pluto was wearing (shown in your photo) and not another.

The Toontown Pre-Treat or Pre-Party (or whatever the heck the name of it was) was actually posted in some official Disney capacity and given that name. It may have been on the DLR website, or a brief mention in a Parks Blog talking about other elements of the Toontown event. but it was officially mentioned or "announced" (made public) by Disney. My use of the word "announce" or "didn't announce" is simply another way of saying that the info was not publicized or posted in an official capacity.

Also, other sites -- such as babble ("courtesy of Disney") -- mentioned it last year -- HERE.

 

[LisaT91403]

I did hear one "official" mention of the TT pre-party from a CM. When we rode the Disneyland RR to TT at 6:00pm last Friday, the CM made an announcement over the loudspeaker as we approached the station. I don't remember his exact words, but it was something to the effect of "We are approaching Toontown, and if you are attending Mickey's Halloween Party tonight, you can go in now for some early trick-or-treating."

 

[Sherry E]

Yes they do! But I have to know...where can I find the Ursula cupcake?!?! I heard them say DCA, but where exactly?

maleficent55 --

This Parks Blog seems to imply that the Ursula cupcake is a California Adventure thing (which would fit with where Vala saw it), meaning you could probably find it in any of the places that sell baked goods, or possibly even in Trolley Treats (cupcakes can usually be found in the candy shops around DLR). The cupcake may be available in Disneyland as well, but at least you know for sure that it should be in DCA.

Well here I am in our hotel room on our 6th and final night at least we have a partial day tomorrow. I've kept notes of each day of our trip so when I return I can give a detailed report, including MHP from 10/10. Reading the posts before our trip were so helpful, hopefully I can return the favor in my trip report. I'm thinking I will start a new thread with my post so those that don't follow this thread will see it, unless it would be best to post here. Maybe Sherry will chime in on that???

Imdboss --

If you do an actual trip report, make sure you put it in the Disneyland TR forum.

I would at least post a short MHP synopsis here in this thread -- which is what everyone else has been doing -- even if you do a more detailed report elsewhere. While there may be people who don't follow this thread, we have a lot of views of this thread (well over 100,000) and Disney's social media people are aware of this thread (they watch the hot spots around the Internet where there is a lot of discussion going on about particular subjects). So it never hurts to put some comments and thoughts in a thread where Disney people might be lurking!

Also, it's easier and faster for me to search within the thread and look for something specific (if I have to reference it later) than it is to search elsewhere.

Maybe you could do a mini-MHP recap here (which I will add to our list of MHP reviews), and then you can do your more detailed trip report elsewhere, and link it here for us?

I saw it at FiddlerFifer & Pratical Cafe.




I was told the exact same thing when I asked at City Hall even. "No pre parties."

Then a CM who knows I love my characters noticed me in Frontierland shortly before the pre parties started and was kind enough to come up to me and ask: "Hey, why aren't you in Toontown?" "Why should I be in Toontown?" "Cause there's a pre party with characters, and at Big Thunder Carnival too." I'm hoping not too many people within ear shot spoke German cause my cursing wasn't pretty.

Sprinting from the Big Thunder Mountain entrance to Toontown is something I always wanted to try in 100 degree heat. Even worse, my friends had gone to the hotel to get changed and their cell phones were acting up. They finally came running in almost an hour later after some pretty frantic attempts to reach them.

Vala --

The sentences I bolded above made me laugh out loud!! So funny....

First off I have to say I am super sad i have never attended this event before! We had a fabulous time. I can only speak from my own experience becuase i've seen people post in other groups andplaces that seemed to have a very different view than myself.
My son and I since we are Dis Vets did not see a reason to go into the park at 4:00. I'm wondering if this is the reason people were reporting elsewhere that is was super packed. Anyway we left our room at Park Vue inn at 6:20pm. We were in the park by 6:35. We knew we wanted to hit all of the big attractions so that was our focus. Space Mountain, Matterhorn, Big Thunder, Indiana, Pirates, star tours.
We headed to space Mountian and the time was still at 75 mins and the cast member told us to come back shortly as the park was getting people out for the party etc. So we went to Star Tours it said 20 min wait and it was less than 10.
We exited star tours puchased a churro then headed to Materhorn. This was walk on and only 2 trains left before us while in line.The lady in front of us here already had her bag fulland i asked where did she go and she said the toon town pre party she had waiting in line for it. We then got in the treat line right behind the matterhorn. It looked long but as people reported it went very fast. We then hit the trails by storybrook, and in the villiage house. We then headed over to big thunder and it was walk on.. We walked right up to the train and loaded litterally. At this point I felt the price was well worth it. We hit the treat trail in the ice cream shop( i forget the name). Oh this is where the live scarecrow was and he was a hoot!!! loved him. went through the treat train in front of the water where fantasmic is. curved back and did Pirates. This was our longest line of 20 mins. Indian Jones was next again maybe 15 mins. At this point we headed back to space mountain 10 mins.
We went into innoventions for the treat trail and this was our longest treat trail line for some reason. We watched the fireworks from innoventions. Went back to star tours and also did buzz light year. We were done but decided to hang around and watch the parade at 10:30 so we got a bite to eat. The parade to me was not all that and we could hve went home at 10 and been done. ooh i forgot we did winnie he pooh before pirates. So i imagine those folks who did fantasy land may have a different view but even when we were over there the lines were VERY short. and from what i saw people were wasting time waiting for parades and the fireworks shows. When leaving there was another treat line in the area where you saw mickey cartoons( i had forgotten about that place.) As we exited there was Elsa and Anna no line for pics, and i think it was hades and The evil Queen. I got a pic with her. It was litterally one of the only pics we took becuase my iphone camera is not the best. When we saw lines for characters earlier the lines were LONG for that type of stuff. So overall if you had small kids, needed to see the parade, fireworks, and fantasyland with chaacter pics then yes your experience was much different from mine. we had a blast. We left at 10:20 after the parade and were very content with that. sorry this report probably looks like a huge run on sentence im at work trying to hurry.

Thank you so much for reporting back to us, pycees312!

I added your review to the list of MHP Reviews that I have linked in the MHP FAQ post on page 1.

I'm so glad you had a great time! Now that you know you enjoyed the party, maybe you will go again next year!

 

[figment_jii]

Haunted Mansion Holiday, 2014

Inside the Mansion and Stretching Room
The extra skulls decorating the entry way were absent this year, but otherwise, the waiting area looked much the same as last year. (Last Year’s Post) It all starts out looking so Christmas-y…then it changes…

(Anyone spot the Hidden Mickey?)

Hallway
Last year they added the portraits that included Zero flying from image to image. Those were back this year! (Last Year’s Post) This is still one my favorite additions for the 13th Anniversary.

Endless Hallway (Last Year’s Post)
After boarding your Doombuggy, it’s into the Mansion you go! Most of this was the same, but again, some of the extra décor was missing, so it was easier to figure out what added for the groups of 13 (gift tags, bones, etc.).

Ballroom (Last Year’s Post)
Every year, the HMH has a different gingerbread creation! This year, it was…um…different…

When you enter the ballroom, there is coffin full of presents scattered on the ground. Can you spot the Hidden Mickey and Jack Skellington face?

As you exit the Ballroom, look to the top of the Christmas tree! Zero is flying there.

The ghostly Monkey couple is still dancing at the base of the tree (they’re the greenish thing by the purple present). They’re hard to see on the ride and tough to take a picture of!

 

[iheartglaciers]

I'm going to the party on the 24th (can't wait!!) and am wondering when/where is the best place to get a picture with Halloween themed Mickey and Minnie. I know we'll have to wait on a long line, but would like to go when the line is hopefully shorter. Should we line up before the Toon Town pre-party opens?

Thanks!

 

[figment_jii]

I'm going to the party on the 24th (can't wait!!) and am wondering when/where is the best place to get a picture with Halloween themed Mickey and Minnie. I know we'll have to wait on a long line, but would like to go when the line is hopefully shorter. Should we line up before the Toon Town pre-party opens?

You can usually see Minnie and Mickey in their Halloween attire at the Big Thunder Ranch Halloween Carnival during non-MHP hours. They do not generally meet together (they wander around the area separately), but they don't really have a long wait. They might meet together during the party near Big Thunder Ranch (hopefully someone who has meet up with them can chime in!).

 

[audrey2580]

Just got back and had so much pixie dust this trip! Here's a brief TR:

Arrived late Thursday night.
Friday morning: Arrived at M&F parking structure at 7:20 and was directed to park in the handicap area on the ground open area (no idea why) but it was great parking Walked up right as a tram was arriving. Park opened at 8:00 and we hit: matterhorn, autopia, space mtn, buzz, haunted mansion, pooh. Used FP for Star Tours and grabbed some for Big Thunder - ALL BEFORE 10:00am! We walked up minutes before the 11:00 magic show was starting at the Halloween Carnival and grabbed seats - perfect timing. My son was picked to be levitated by the magician! He loves magic so this was so cool! Through out the show they picked: 2 girls to pull a rabbit, 3 moms to help with the cups/balls trick, and my son. Then my nephew was picked to Conjure the Villain in that show! He got the evil queen and loved it. Had lunch and then headed to DCA. Walked on Mater and then maybe a 5 min wait for RSR single rider. I honestly haven't been to the parks this light in forever. We did Goofy's, Juppin Jelly Fish, Golden Zepher and then Redwood Creek before we decided we wanted to go back and swim (3:00 ish?). Now to the party. Arrived back at the gates at 5:00 and the line to get in was pretty long. We used our regular tickets and walked right in. Rancho was closed for dinner and the line at Stage Door was a good 20 mins. We raced through dinner and saw the pre party was going at Big Thunder area but we still needed bracelets. No wait at the Fantasyland theater! 6:15 walked right on into toon town preparty. Treat trail lines at Minnie and Mickeys moved and by the end our bags were 1/3 full! CM's loved the kids jawa costumes and were handing them handfuls. Kids walked on gadgets and we played in toontown until 6:45 ish. The music just super loud - only complaint. We walked over to tomorrowland and they opened the innovations trail a few mins early. We walked around there for awhile and the Captain American line was only 20 mins which I understand is short?? We went into stores and they were checking wristbands. 5 min wait for Star Tours - the Jawa's insisted we ride. We saw a stormtropper meet n greet (10 mins wait approx) but the kids wanted to trick or treat instead. Rode alice and did the trail in Village Haas which I thought was decorated the best. Then we did the one in Golden Horseshoe. Rode BTM which was maybe 5 mins. At this point the kids were getting cranky. So we headed to Jolly Holiday bakery for hot choc and lattes and to rest. We did the trail at the opera house and called it a night. Overall we had a great time and would do it again!

 

[Diszona]

You can usually see Minnie and Mickey in their Halloween attire at the Big Thunder Ranch Halloween Carnival during non-MHP hours. They do not generally meet together (they wander around the area separately), but they don't really have a long wait. They might meet together during the party near Big Thunder Ranch (hopefully someone who has meet up with them can chime in!).

They do meet together in their Halloween attire near BTR during MHP. There wasn't much of a line when we were there.

 

[cmpeter]

We will be there tomorrow night! Can't wait. We'll be in the parks Wed - Fri and have three day hoppers with party tickets for Friday.

How early can we get our wristbands? And I where is the best place to get them?

 

[figment_jii]

How early can we get our wristbands? And I where is the best place to get them?

You can get your wristbands starting at about 4:00 pm (three hours before the party starts) at either the in-park check-in location (Small World Mall) or at the main gate (exit the park and then re-enter using the MHP ticket). I went the main gate route for the first party and in general it was pretty quick (I waited until the initial rush at 4:00 pm got into the park, so the lines were pretty short).

 

[Vala]

You can get your wristbands starting at about 4:00 pm (three hours before the party starts) at either the in-park check-in location (Small World Mall) or at the main gate (exit the park and then re-enter using the MHP ticket). I went the main gate route for the first party and in general it was pretty quick (I waited until the initial rush at 4:00 pm got into the park, so the lines were pretty short).

I had gone the Fantasyland Theater route on the 30th and that was a nightmare. The line stretched up the hill, past the theater, down again and mingled with the train station line.

I'm working on an overall mini review to be added to the list, should hopefully be done tomorrow.

You can usually see Minnie and Mickey in their Halloween attire at the Big Thunder Ranch Halloween Carnival during non-MHP hours. They do not generally meet together (they wander around the area separately), but they don't really have a long wait. They might meet together during the party near Big Thunder Ranch (hopefully someone who has meet up with them can chime in!).

Yes, they do. At the photo set up outside the Ranch, at least that's where I saw the line going to. I didn't even try cause it was so long and I wanted to do some lines I had missed last year.

Vala --

The sentences I bolded above made me laugh out loud!! So funny....

Now I can definitely laugh about it too. But that afternoon it was definitely an "oh *bleep*" moment.