I tried to edit my previous post early this morning to include this link to the latest blog from Mint Crocodile, but I guess that the forums were down for maintenance. Anyway, Mint shows us some additional Halloween décor (things that we have pretty much already seen in MiceChat's blogs) -- http://mintcrocodile.blogspot.com/2015/09/visiting-disneyland-resort-on-force.html.
And, in Pumpkin Pandemonium news... I already reported on Hostess releasing both a Candy Corn Cupcake and a Pumpkin Spice Cupcake. Not to be outdone, Twinkies have now jumped into the Pumpkin Spice Reign of Terror as well - http://www.theimpulsivebuy.com/word...stess-limited-edition-pumpkin-spice-twinkies/.
Also, remember that Starbucks' Pumpkin Spice Latte should "officially" be available as of 9/8/15, but people who have a My Starbucks Rewards account or know a secret code can preview the new and improved PSL this weekend, and tomorrow (Labor Day), ahead of official release. I have a Starbucks Rewards account but I don't think I'll be at Starbucks today or tomorrow.
McDonald's McCafe is selling Pumpkin Spice K-cups this year - http://www.theimpulsivebuy.com/word...-mccafe-limited-edition-pumpkin-spice-k-cups/. But... you may not be able to get an actual Pumpkin Spice Latte at your neighborhood McDonald's - http://consumerist.com/2015/08/31/m...mpkin-spiced-latte-in-only-38-of-restaurants/.
I hate the idea of DL & WDW being homogenized into one size fits all. Appears they are testing the waters to see who bites re these pricey events @ DL.
Of the people I spoke to who did attend last years' WDW event, the reviews were stellar. The complaints came from those who didn't/or couldn't obtain the tix. Many were blind-sided by the missing character interaction and loss of viewing area in the castle hub. It's certainly understandable, especially if they had no idea what was changing. Do find it odd that you rarely see any complaints about people paying routinely $ for the dessert party (and sitting in the spot where we would stake out 'free' in the past).
With all the expansion, Disney is likely tightening the budgets, including entertainment. From a business sense it's very smart to take existing performers and churn more revenue via the events. Unfortunately, if there is not a sharp decline in the sale of party tix, this trend will likely continue. The Star Wars weekends @ WDW has similar programs, pricey but for those who only have a day to get 'er done, justifiable for many. If I wasn't part of the SWW thread here that yuellin has, would've missed chance to even purchase the tickets. Utterly ridiculous that Disney doesn't announce the events until after they've gone on sale.
OT I'm not thrilled that my girls want to visit
MVMCP this year. compared to
MNSSHP, a waste of $ imo. I don't have to go far to see snow, hot chocolate & snickerdoodles in western PA...yet, you do what you do to dole out the pixie dust.
I haven't had a chance to run the numbers yet, but it occurred to me that for the price of this new event, DH & I could likely do the VIP Knotts Scare Farm and EE buffet for less $. apples and oranges I know, but still...
Although I totally expect
Disneyland to eventually whip out some sort of Christmas party or hard ticket event in the not-too-distant future, I think that they had better put something brand new and totally exclusive in that party or they will get a lot of backlash. The Halloween party has been going on for 10 straight years at this point, so tinkering with it every few years is expected to a degree. The Holiday Season at DLR is a whole different thing, with all of the seasonal events (Christmas parade, snow, holiday fireworks, Winter Castle, characters in holiday attire, etc.) being "free" with the cost of park admission. If they suddenly remove all of those things and place them in a party, yes, of course, there will be people who get caught up in the excitement and jump on buying tickets...but there will also be a sea of complaints flooding the Parks Blog and Disneyland email!
I definitely agree with you that DLR is testing the waters now, to see what they can get away with in terms of these special events. If this BB event turns out to be a resounding success after it's over with for the year, we can expect to see it return next year. Although... I was kind of thinking that the Halloween Party would eventually move over to DCA for a couple of years, when the Big Thunder Ranch is torn up and the Big Thunder Trail can't be used for spooky party effects during construction. If MHP does eventually go back to DCA for a temporary period of time, I wonder if Disney would have a similar paid event within the paid event in DCA, or if they would continue to do the Blue Bayou thing at DL -- with some modified version of entertainment and not Halloween Screams -- while having the party at DCA. It will be interesting to see what happens in the next few years, as Star Wars Land is being built.
Our very own Pete Werner (founder of The DIS) referred to the Villains' Soiree at WDW last year as "Wickedly Disappointing" -
http://blog.wdwinfo.com/2014/09/02/villains-soiree-wickedly-disappointing/. Then again, I think that these types of events are going to draw mixed opinions from people based on their expectations. I guess that if someone has a certain vision in their mind about what is going to take place and that scenario doesn't happen, then it's easy to be disappointed. Other people will find them entirely worthwhile and integral to the whole Halloween experience.
Disneyland Resort has stripped away so much of its Halloween Time celebration outside of MHP, that now it seems like it's not enough and they are going deeper by possibly stripping away certain elements of the MHP itself to include in the BB event. To anyone who is used to WDW's way of doing things, this won't seem unusual. To anyone who has been used to DLR's usual way of doing things and how the Halloween Time "season" has been handled over the years, this kind of progression into spending even more money to have a good Halloween experience is a bit disheartening. But... it is what it is. People will either buy into it or not. As you said, unless there is a sharp decline in ticket sales then this sort of thing will continue.
Well, the website does say that "to keep the spirits happy, portions of the tour are refreshed each year", so it's entirely possible they are including DCA this year.
After the Blue Bayou dinner offering, I'm just waiting for the announcement that Happiest Haunts tour participants will have the "opportunity" to pay an additional $50 to receive an exclusive pin and Halloween treat in addition to the tour. If you're gonna do paid event within paid event, might as well go all in.
But seriously, I think a large part of it has to do with the improving economy too. I travel frequently for work, and back in the midst of the Great Recession hotels were tripping over themselves to lower rates and give away bonus loyalty points and status. Now that the economy is somewhat back to normal, not so much. This applies to Disney too. I read reviews of VIP tours from just two or three years ago that mentioned a price in the $200s per hour and got excited to book one, but now it's in the $400s. Almost makes me want to wish for another recession.
Yes -- the "opportunity" to receive a souvenir and treat for an extra $50+ in addition to the cost of the tour!
That would be exactly the kind of thing they'd do.
Very true -- the recession spawned a lot of great offers and discounts, at a multitude of places!
I wasn't really sure why the HHT didn't go into DCA last year, when it had been including DCA and Tower of Terror for a long time. I mean, true -- there is no "Halloween" in DCA, so maybe they didn't want to draw attention to that sad fact. If it actually does return to DCA this year, I wonder if that means that there will be some semblance of Halloween décor in that park other than just a random window display on Buena Vista Street.
Tomorrow -- or possibly Tuesday -- is when we should begin to read or hear about the character pumpkins going up over the DL turnstiles. If we don't hear about those pumpkins being in place by Wednesday or so, I will question if they are returning this year. If anything Halloween-ish is going to go up in DCA at all (other than just a window display or store display), it would have to go up in the next few days.
I think I'm deciding against the Blue Bayou Halloween package, but I wish I knew if there were going to be other villains attending, as the the lines are always WAY too long during the party, especially as we have a baby and waiting for a long time can be difficult. But as is, nothing sounds worth the price tag on top of the four $84 tickets I already bought. I also dislike a LOT paying adult price for my 5 year old. I also think it's awful they're pricing out families who just could never afford something like this. At LEAST offer smaller prices for the back tables, and smaller prices for children. Same with the Jungle Cruise Breakfast. Walt would have made it more fair.
Hope they don't mess with Christmas-time too much.
Even though now you know you're already going to the BB event, I was going to say that when the Parks Blog finally announces this event in a blog (4 or 5 days after we all found out about it), hopefully it will be clear -- or someone will ask in the comments -- whether or not Facilier is the only Villain or if there will be more.
I agree. It is tempting, but the price would be quite a bit for my family of 5, and having to pay an adult price for my 5yr old son puts it over the top. If it were just 2 or 3 of us, then it would be more attainable. But for a larger family, it becomes impractical.
Now, if it also included admission for MHP, then I would end up doing it. I would consider that a decent offering.
I agree on all your points. Having to pay that money for a small child is crazy. This kind of event makes more sense for smaller groups of people. The fact that an expensive MHP ticket is needed in addition to the $100+ for the BB, it just pushes it past a point of being reasonable for a lot of people, I think.
Looks like toontown preparty may be happening. Schedule is finally available for first MHP and it shows Toontown attractions closing at 6pm.
Aha! Thank you for reporting in about that -- that's exactly how we figured it out last year. Toontown's hours were short on the DLR website. So if TT is closing at 6 p.m. on a 7 p.m. party night, then I wonder if the pre-party will again be a 2-hour thing, or just a 1-hour thing.
It would be nice to be able to wait for early party reports before making a decision. But, that isn't a realistic option if you want a specific day. Last year half the parties were sold out on or before the day of the first party. This is our first party year, and we specifically wanted Oct 31. Good thing I purchased early.
As for the BB event, yes I did get caught up in the excitement and pulled the trigger the first night I heard about it. But, due to the limited capacity of BB, I wouldn't be surprised if all dates for this event sold out before the first party. Especially Oct 31. But, if this isn't awesome, I will be much more hesitant to part with this much money in the future.
By the way, I already have one complaint. The event has a limited prix-fixe menu. I understand they need to do this because they will be serving the entire restaurant all at once. I still think that for $150 a plate I should be able to order whatever I want, but my real issue is that the gumbo is not an option for the starter! Who thought that was a good idea?!?!?!
Reviews and reports of MHP from last year and from 20i3 are abundant and readily available, so if seeing what people thought of their party experiences is helpful to new MHP guests before buying a ticket, there is a lot of information in those reviews. However, this year MHP will be tweaked a bit, with the inclusion of Paint the Night and the removal of the Cavalcade. So that aspect will be new, as far as how PTN is going to work within the context of MHP, what crowds will be like for PTN, etc. So those reviews will be eagerly waited once 9/25 rolls around.
The Blue Bayou event -- that's, of course, totally new territory for DL and MHP, and we will all be waiting with baited breath for the first reviews. Not only will it probably sell out before the first party on 9/25, I wouldn't be surprised if it sold out right after the Parks Blog about it finally goes up! Because a lot of people are getting a head start and booking it now, I wonder how many spots will still be available when the Parks Blog decides to announce it.
The menu situation is kooky, and I agree that for the price you're paying you should be able to order what you want.
Ha, well right when I was deciding to not do the BB Halloween, my husband surprised me by saying he already booked it (could tell I was agonizing over the price so he got it and said he'd make the extra $$$). What a sweet husband he is
Still super unhappy about the child price, and everything else, so this better be amaaaaaazing! I also agree with Spyral that Halloween Party tickets should be included in the price!
You have a very sweet and intuitive husband, indeed!
