HalloweenTime at DLR Superthread #4

[dolphingirl47]

I have sorted out my Halloween costumes for this year. I am hoping to go to Mickey's Halloween Party twice this year. For one I am hoping to convince a friend to join me and the other one I am going to do solo. I am going to dress up as Steampunk Princess for one and as Ursula for the other. I am now kind of hoping that the rumours that Mickey's Halloween Party will return to DCA will become true as I would love to ride the Ariel ride and the carousel dressed as Ursula.

Corinna

 

[Sherry E]

I have sorted out my Halloween costumes for this year. I am hoping to go to Mickey's Halloween Party twice this year. For one I am hoping to convince a friend to join me and the other one I am going to do solo. I am going to dress up as Steampunk Princess for one and as Ursula for the other. I am now kind of hoping that the rumours that Mickey's Halloween Party will return to DCA will become true as I would love to ride the Ariel ride and the carousel dressed as Ursula.

Corinna

I think that would be a lot of fun, Corinna (riding the Little Mermaid-related rides dressed as Ursula)!!

I would be thinking that the chances of MHP moving back to DCA are still strong if the rumors were continuing to trickle out this year (from more people and more websites), or if there had been any recent whisperings among CMs in the parks, or any discussion, or anything. I almost tend to think that it was an idea that was being tossed around by Disney last year, and maybe they decided it wouldn't work in 2015 and scrapped it.

The strange thing is that there seems to be no talk of Halloween Time, Mickey's Halloween Party or how any of it would be affected by the Diamond Celebration events at all. And yet, the Disney people that spoke at the Q&A following the announcement about the 60th anniversary shows clearly said that by the time the holiday season comes around, the Diamond Celebration will still be happening and it will still be "60th all the time." They completely glossed over Halloween Time -- and none of the people asking the questions seemed to ask about it either.

So if the 60th stuff is still going strong by the time the holidays get here in November, as the Disney folks said it would be, I would have to assume it will still be going strong in Sept-Oct. And if the number of nights that fireworks can run is limited in Sept-Oct, then it seems like the special, limited-run, 60th anniversary fireworks would take a big hit if they had to take a back seat to 14+ nights of Halloween Screams and the Halloween party, some of which will be Fridays and at least one Saturday. And to include those new fireworks in an exclusive party makes no sense if the same fireworks are being offered on other nights outside of the party (not to mention the fact that they won't be Halloween-themed).

So I am very confused because nothing makes sense, no matter how I play out the assorted scenarios in my head! Lol.

 

[dolphingirl47]

So do you think that they may actually scrap the Halloween parties for this year?

Corinna

 

[Sherry E]

So do you think that they may actually scrap the Halloween parties for this year?

Corinna

No, I think the parties are way too popular -- and Halloween Time as a season by itself would be too 'thin' without the parties. There will be parties.

I think it's just a matter of where the parties will be held and for how many nights that is the main question. If the 60th stuff is still supposed to be going strong, I don't know how it will all work but there will be a party of some sort. It's just very weird that no one at the Q&A asked the Disney people about Halloween Time, nor did the Disney folks address Halloween Time when they said that the 60th stuff would still be happening during the holidays.

 

[lorijohnhill]

So do you think that they may actually scrap the Halloween parties for this year?

Corinna

Oh, I really hope that is not the case! I am so looking forward to going to one (or maybe even two) this year. I missed out on half of the party last year due to scooter issues and am really hoping to get the full experience this year.

Given the popularity of the parties, I find it difficult to believe that Disney would give up the parties because of the anniversary.

 

[dolphingirl47]

That is a relief. I did not think Disney would be inclined to turn away a guaranteed profit and the parties seem to be quite a nice money spinner for them.

Corinna

 

[keishashadow]

That is a relief. I did not think Disney would be inclined to turn away a guaranteed profit and the parties seem to be quite a nice money spinner for them.

Corinna

indeed, we cancelled our usual WDW MNSSHP portion of our "Halloween" trip to experience DL's festivities (admittedly, mostly interested in the HM overlay).

Sadly, if the party is not offered, we would certainly think twice as to cancelling the trip this year & push the visit back to next year.

I realize that DL is often termed a locals' park and those on the west coast have to jump thru hoops to visit WDW. However, if they want to entice people who would normally visit WDW that time frame but would like to try DL instead, they need to get their ducks in a row as to pinning down this year's Halloween events and how they will coincide with the anniversary celebration. If they don't, then they likely will lose that market of potential guests. It's a prime opportunity for them to promote the park to those who might be on the fence as to a DL trip in lieu of a WDW. Really surprised they haven't run with this since many people tend to make plans far in advance for Disney parks and might be otherwise commited.

 

[corinne76]

We may not do a MHP afterall. Still watching this thread tho. I'm curious to see when (and where?) the parties will be held. We're not normally hopper people, so the parties will still greatly affect my planning

 

[Sherry E]

This is really right around the time when I start getting eager for any random morsels of news or rumors of Halloween Time or holiday stuff. I think I need a few months at the beginning of the year to de-holiday-ize my mind, so I can start with a blank slate and a renewed sense of excitement for September through December at DLR. After Easter passes (that's my last "fun" holiday until Halloween), the urgency for info really kicks in!

Of course, it doesn't help matters any when I see that tickets have already gone on sale for WDW's Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party and for Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party... in April. WDW is so far ahead of the game when it comes to their special events and releasing details about those events early on. That is one area where DLR seriously suffers.

The most we can hope is that, IF there were to be a major, significant announcement about the fate of Mickey's Halloween Party -- such as a relocation from DL to DCA -- we might get a Parks Blog about it as early as May (that's what happened in 2010, when the party moved from DCA to DL).

Otherwise, if nothing major is changing on the MHP front, we will probably have to wait until late June or the very beginning of July before even getting a confirmation of when the MHP starts this year (will it be Friday, 9/25, or an earlier date such as 9/18?), let alone when tickets go on sale.

As keishashadow indicated above, this (the 60th anniversary year at DL) is a prime opportunity to lure people who may be contemplating a DLR trip instead of a WDW trip, and releasing as many details of holiday/seasonal activities early on can only be a good thing.

 

[iKristin]

I want to trick or treat dang it!!!

 

[bcwife76]

Don't the powers that be realize there are so many of us who like to plan MONTHS in advance because that is what keeps our world spinning?!!! Sheesh

teehee.....I just really want to know because I'm trying to plan out which restaurants I want to make ADR's at (again I wish they would let us do that more than 60 days out, too!) And trying to figure out if we'll do costumes for DH and I or just the kids. And other assorted details

 

[Sherry E]

It always seems as if the people who plan out the seasonal events for DLR assume that DL and DCA are "locals parks" and that the locals wouldn't/shouldn't/don't need or want to know dates and details early on in the year.

Let's just assume that's true for the moment, and that the majority of year-round visitors are locals. Is there any reason why locals shouldn't know or wouldn't want to know DLR's MHP dates, Halloween Time start and end dates and Holiday season start and end dates at the same time WDW's seasonal event dates come out? That has never made sense to me. Even if only locals are in the parks, there's no real reason to withhold dates and details -- especially when it is almost certain that Team Disney Anaheim/DLR knows exactly what is going to happen for the entire remainder of the year, and has already mapped everything out!

In many ways DLR tries to emulate WDW, and the DLR powers that be try to make DLR more of a vacation destination like WDW is ... but they certainly don't follow WDW's lead in this way at all!

 

[iKristin]

I wanna know the dates so I can figure out which day I wanna go so I can ask for the day off work (and the next morning for recovery lol)

 

[keishashadow]

It always seems as if the people who plan out the seasonal events for DLR assume that DL and DCA are "locals parks" and that the locals wouldn't/shouldn't/don't need or want to know dates and details early on in the year.

Let's just assume that's true for the moment, and that the majority of year-round visitors are locals. Is there any reason why locals shouldn't know or wouldn't want to know DLR's MHP dates, Halloween Time start and end dates and Holiday season start and end dates at the same time WDW's seasonal event dates come out? That has never made sense to me. Even if only locals are in the parks, there's no real reason to withhold dates and details -- especially when it is almost certain that Team Disney Anaheim/DLR knows exactly what is going to happen for the entire remainder of the year, and has already mapped everything out!

In many ways DLR tries to emulate WDW, and the DLR powers that be try to make DLR more of a vacation destination like WDW is ... but they certainly don't follow WDW's lead in this way at all!

Do you think in a way Disney is leveling the playing field for those who live locally (who might not start to get in the mind frame to plan a trip to the parks for a specific time frame more than 60 days prior)? Otherwise they could run into backlash from angry locals who could be shut out by infrequent visitors who, accustomed to how the other park rolls, sit up until midnight or 1 am to make ADRs.

 

[Sherry E]

Do you think in a way Disney is leveling the playing field for those who live locally (who might not start to get in the mind frame to plan a trip to the parks for a specific time frame more than 60 days prior)? Otherwise they could run into backlash from angry locals who could be shut out by infrequent visitors who, accustomed to how the other park rolls, sit up until midnight or 1 am to make ADRs.

Most likely that's a large part of what is going on, but the end result is a poor compromise, that's for sure.

Also, I suspect that Team Disney Anaheim just assumes that the majority of the locals/people who visit DLR more often aren't in a Halloween mindset way in advance, nor are they in a holiday season mindset way in advance. Last year the Disney Parks Blog didn't even officially announce the start date of the holiday season -- which begins in November -- until September!!!!!!!! In the past they had announced the date earlier than that, so I have no clue what the delay was about -- but waiting that long to announce holiday dates is not very conducive to long distance travelers planning in advance! It's like Disney just assumes that no one really needs the DLR seasonal info ahead of time (like when WDW info is released), so they don't even bother with it.

But, as you said earlier, now -- of all years -- is a time to release dates and details early, when people who don't live locally will be considering flocking to DLR to experience all of the 60th anniversary fun. For example, if a family that usually travels to WDW for their annual Christmas/Holiday season trip is now contemplating heading west in December for DLR's Diamond Celebration, they may want to also be assured that certain holiday season events/overlays/activities will be going on as well, i.e., Viva Navidad, Jingle Cruise, Olaf's Ice Rink in DTD, Jingle Jangle Jamboree, etc.

It seems like Disney is tiptoeing on the line between treating DLR as a vacation destination and treating it as a locals-based destination, and they haven't found a good happy medium yet (meaning a solution that would please both the infrequent visitors and the locals).

​

What's sad is that, more than likely, the dates for all of the other really popular Southern California Halloween season events -- Knott's Scary Farm/Halloween Haunt; Queen Mary's Dark Harbor; Universal Studios Hollywood's Halloween Horror Nights; the Los Angeles Haunted Hayride; Six Flags Magic Mountain's Fright Fest, etc. -- will be announced before we ever get the dates for Mickey's Halloween Party. Without going back and looking it up, I think that the dates for all of those events were released before the MHP dates came out in 2014. I know that I was already amusing myself by reading the colorful, vivid descriptions of the Los Angeles Haunted Hayride's Echoes from the Rift 2014 event before I knew what was happening at Disneyland.

But, again, the Disney Parks Blog -- for some wacky reason -- thought that people didn't need to know 2014 holiday season dates (and people often treat their holiday trips as a big deal, as those may be the only trips they take all year) until September, even though the season was starting in November! So, when I take that into consideration I suppose it doesn't seem too shocking that they would wait until June or July to start giving us morsels of Halloween Time/Halloween party info, when the season will begin in September.

The good news is, I don't think that Disney can wait any longer than July to reveal info and put party tickets on sale, so we know that in 3 months we will definitely know something, if not sooner. I could be misremembering this, but to the best of my recollection I don't think the Halloween party tickets have gone on sale in August since back in the days when the party was still held at DCA and didn't begin until early October. I think that when the party moved to DL in 2010, the tickets went on sale earlier because the party started slightly earlier (late September).

 

[Drnifer]

I agree totally! We're going to WDW in Sept. and want to make a quick trip to DL for the 60th festivities. Our choices are the end of October or mid December. Last year we were at DL for Halloweentime and really enjoyed it compared to the WDW version, although we missed Fantasmic and the fireworks since we weren't there on a weekend. I'd really like to know what's going to happen regarding the Halloween parties so I can choose a date. Without a Halloween party or Halloween fireworks, December is more appealing.

 

[Sherry E]

This is not specifically Halloween Time-related (at least not yet -- maybe some of the daily prizes might include Fast Passes for Haunted Mansion Holiday or Space Mountain Ghost Galaxy or something, but we won't find out about that for a while), but it's something to make your Halloween Time trips to Disneyland Resort a little sweeter. (Unless an online angle to this sweepstakes is eventually announced, right now it appears that all winners will be people on the DLR premises -- so that could be in Downtown Disney, or in the Esplanade, or at one of the hotels, etc.)

Here is a Disney Parks Blog about the new Diamond Days sweepstakes (it's kind of along the lines of the Year of a Million Dreams giveaways back in 2007 and 2008):

"Disneyland Diamond Days Sweepstakes to Give Away Dazzling Prizes During Disneyland Resort Diamond Celebration" -- Disney Parks Blog; posted on April 14th, 2015 by Erin Glover, Social Media Director, Disneyland Resort

So far there is no end date for this promo. Erin of the Parks Blog said in her replies that the Diamond Days sweepstakes "...will run throughout the Disneyland Resort Diamond Celebration," so it will likely go on for the rest of the year in some capacity -- and that includes Halloween Time!

The Diamond Days sweepstakes begins on May 22nd, to be exact, when the 60th Anniversary celebration begins

​

From Disneyland News (it's a press release site for media, and the releases often have a lot of the same verbiage and info that the Parks Blogs have, but occasionally -- if you read closely -- you will find extra little details and nuggets o' info in the press releases that the Parks Blog does not disclose until later. For example, it was through Disneyland News that I first learned about the gingerbread house in the GCH lobby last year -- not from the Parks Blog):


"Disneyland Diamond Days Sweepstakes Will Give Away Diamonds, Stays in the Disneyland Dream Suite and Daily Prizes During Dazzling Diamond Celebration" -- Disneyland News; posted on April 14th, 2015


"Unique Dining, Shopping and Interactive Street Entertainment Add to the Fun of Disneyland Resort Diamond Celebration"-- Disneyland News; posted on April 14th, 2015


"Disneyland Resort Diamond Celebration Adds Disneyland Diamond Days Sweepstakes and Dazzling, New Nighttime Spectaculars Beginning May 22"-- Disneyland News; posted on April 14th, 2015

​

 

[iKristin]

Mmk so I need to visit every single day to try and win something lol

 

[Sherry E]

Mmk so I need to visit every single day to try and win something lol

Yep!

Apparently we all have to just hang out somewhere on DLR property to have a chance to win something, and we have to do it every day! Lol. I didn't get a single Year of a Million Dreams prize until December of 2008! The giveaway was almost over by the time I won something.

 

[kaoden39]

Hi everybody!
Sherry, I decided to jump in with both feed. We'll be going on our first trip to DLR during the time of Halloween decorations. I'm really hoping to at least see some of them. We are going to be there 9/13-9/19, so who knows we may be there too early for it anyway.