HalloweenTime at DLR Superthread #4

[Sherry E]

It's interesting that WDW has not done another soiree this year, just a dessert party with Fireworks viewing with no characters (for only about $20 less). Even though sales wise it sold out quick, the upset from taking away characters who had been previously available was too great. I think next year I wouldnt be as bad of a backlash, it really comes down to taking something away from people after they have already paid for it.



At WDW you get the same stuff for free during the week of Christmas, I would love a Christmas party and I would have thought with a local base it would be even better, however it comes down to adding things rather than taking away.
Think of the Villians soiree, if they had added it with even more rare characters and then left the usual MNSSHP villians as they had been promised it would have been an upsale same goes for MHP and the BB dinner, I am upset at having Dr Facilier taken away from the party as he is normally there and he is one of 2 villians I really want to meet (the other being Hans), if a "new" or more rare villian had been added for the dinner instead then I would not be having something taken away from what I have already paid for and those paying for it are paying for something more unique-everyone wins.

There is a big, big difference in having the holiday offerings available for "free" all season long (starting in early to mid November) at DLR, and only for free the last two weeks of the season at WDW. DLR is packed to the brim with people, often closing to capacity, in the week between Christmas and New Year's. It would be sheer mayhem if those offerings were only available without a hard ticket charge in the last two weeks of the year. There is no benefit (to guests) in having a Christmas party (for a crazy high price) at Disneyland unless something brand new, big and interesting is added in, or unless the crowds are low. I doubt the crowds would be low. Otherwise, they are taking away decades of "free" entertainment (the Christmas parade has been around since the '90s and Believe in Holiday Magic fireworks has been around for many years). I think that's why they haven't tried the Christmas party yet -- they have let the Christmas parade and holiday fireworks go on for too many years at this point, that it would be silly to make those party exclusives. The Halloween party and season are newer events than the Holidays, and the Halloween Screams fireworks only ran for one year for the general public before becoming a party exclusive, so it hadn't had a lot of time to become a tradition for people.

However, that said, I do think that DLR will attempt a Christmas party at some point -- and people will get caught up in the excitement even if things are being taken away from the regular holiday season. Hopefully, with any luck, something new and different will be added in as a selling point. Then again, they stopped doing the dinner packages for Candlelight years ago, and they do not promote it or sell it at DLR like they do at WDW. Some things just don't or won't work as well at DLR as they do at WDW.

I totally agree about the Blue Bayou event -- if some brand new, rarely seen Villains are added in (Villains who were not just at the last few years of Halloween Parties), or even some non-Villain, super rare characters that have not been appearing at MHP, it would make the value of the event more tangible to me. As it is, removing something that people paid for at MHP to throw into this Blue Bayou event is kind of sneaky. I think that if this year's BB event goes well, Disney may add in some additional characters in future years -- but will they be taking them away from MHP?

Planning for a large group trip always has it's challenges, I found out I have two more joining us and of course the Halloween Party is sold out on 10/25 when we go with the rest of our group of 19. Oh well that's the way it always seems to go.

19? Yikes!

 

[ACDSNY]

19? Yikes!

21 now. Ten years ago we had 25 of us.

 

[Sherry E]

We bought tickets for 10/2 and was a little bummed that there was no discounted price for this night like there has been in previous years. We always go the Friday night of Gay Days. It coincides with our kids fall break. I actually thought that we'd save the money and not go to the party at all but we had enough Disney Visa rewards dollars burning a hole in my pocket. So technically they were free.

I'm not really sad about the loss of the carnival. We never spent anytime back there anyways. Or the cavalcade... never saw it last year. But if those big character carvings are not on the turnstiles I do think I will break down and cry.

You were missing out by not spending time at the Carnival -- that was a Hub of Halloween entertainment, and the real, genuine carved/etched/painted character pumpkins courtesy of artists Ray, Joe and Georgina (as well as others) were 10,000 times more interesting and detailed than those fake foam pumpkins above the turnstiles! The carved pumpkins changed daily and weekly, so there was always something different to see.

However, even though the character pumpkins above the turnstiles are fake, they are pivotal to the Halloween Time experience because they say "Halloween" before anyone enters the park. They are usually the first glimpse of Halloween that anyone gets (not counting the display on the tram path, which many people don't see). They'd better be there.

I, too, wondered about the lack of discounts on certain MHP nights where there should have been discounts this year. I thought I was imagining the fact that there were fewer discounted nights than in the past, or that certain nights were no longer discounted.

 

[Comicbookmommy]

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/wordpress/2015/09/06/spotted-on-shelves-hostess-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.

We got the Pumpkin cupcakes yesterday! Sad to say I thought they tasted kind of icky How they could mess up a cupcake is beyond me!! Kids liked it though, but they'd probably eat cardboard if there was frosting on it, haha. I also saw Pumpkin Pop Tarts which the husband went bug-eyed at so probably going to try those next

Thanks to this thread we got the Pumpkin Starbucks! It was DELICIOUS!! Going to get more of those really soon!

​

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.

I feel like before this year, in terms of Halloween experiences at DLR, regular park hours were Prime (good) for experiencing Halloween and the Halloween Party was the Premium experience. Now it seems they're changing it by making regular hours: Sub-Prime, Halloween Party: Prime, and things like the BB thing supposed to be the new Premium experience. All set to make more $$$. I understand Disney must balance making profit with what they offer, but when (as you said) they push the boundaries like this of blatantly going after more profits at the expense of fair pricing, things start feeling very impersonal and very un-Disney.

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 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.

If there are more villains, it'll be more worth it to me for sure (though I still cringe at the price). I'm hoping Disney is perhaps offering a wider selection of villains during the party so scheduling a few to stop by BB for an hour wouldn't take away from the party as there'd be plenty of other opportunities.

Either way, our BB reservation is for the 29th, so plenty of time to cancel if reviews are not that great. Though I'd hate to stomp on my sweet husband's gesture by canceling!

Related to the changes coming during Halloween time in the future, one of my favorite spots during the party is the area between the Ranch and BTMRR, the area where there's a little water area with a boarded up cave. Durig the party the SFX and fog were sooooo cooool right there. Do you think they'll get rid of that area too for Star Wars Land? I certainly hope not Hoping they'll spare the BTMBBQ and the little cave area, and just redo the ranch area into a walkway up to Star wars Land (though I'll miss the ranch too). I feel these areas are critical the feel of both Halloween and Holiday time.

 

[haileymarie92]

I may have the unpopular opinion here, but I don't think offering the BB dinner during the MHP is backhanded at all. Disney just wants to make special experiences and make money off them. I also don't think that they're "taking away from MHP" by making Dr Facilier exclusive to the BB dinner. Again, just making money off what they can offer people.

Now, if the DL website specifically mentioned that Dr Facilier would be at MHP before they came out with the BB dinner, then yes I'd see the point. But buying a ticket to MHP doesn't guarantee that you'll see any specific character. It doesn't say "come to the MHP to see Dr Facilier". I know he's been offered in the past, but again that doesn't mean he's guaranteed. So I don't feel like they're taking from MHP if they make Dr Facilier exclusive to BB. Yes, people who don't buy the BB dinner will be disappointed, but I don't think it's wrong of disney to do.

 

[Sherry E]

We got the Pumpkin cupcakes yesterday! Sad to say I thought they tasted kind of icky How they could mess up a cupcake is beyond me!! Kids liked it though, but they'd probably eat cardboard if there was frosting on it, haha. I also saw Pumpkin Pop Tarts which the husband went bug-eyed at so probably going to try those next

Thanks to this thread we got the Pumpkin Starbucks! It was DELICIOUS!! Going to get more of those really soon!

​

I feel like before this year, in terms of Halloween experiences at DLR, regular park hours were Prime (good) for experiencing Halloween and the Halloween Party was the Premium experience. Now it seems they're changing it by making regular hours: Sub-Prime, Halloween Party: Prime, and things like the BB thing supposed to be the new Premium experience. All set to make more $$$. I understand Disney must balance making profit with what they offer, but when (as you said) they push the boundaries like this of blatantly going after more profits at the expense of fair pricing, things start feeling very impersonal and very un-Disney.




If there are more villains, it'll be more worth it to me for sure (though I still cringe at the price). I'm hoping Disney is perhaps offering a wider selection of villains during the party so scheduling a few to stop by BB for an hour wouldn't take away from the party as there'd be plenty of other opportunities.

Either way, our BB reservation is for the 29th, so plenty of time to cancel if reviews are not that great. Though I'd hate to stomp on my sweet husband's gesture by canceling!

I can tell that you are my holiday season kindred spirit! You are already in the spirit with pumpkin goodies and fall candles. Many people wouldn't even understand enjoying Halloween-ish offerings before Labor Day, but there are some of us who can't wait to be done with summer and hot weather! I think I mentioned last night/this morning that I was delighted to see that a neighbor in the next block over from where I live had replaced their porch lights and security lights with orange glowy lights, which projected spider web designs on the wall. I knew that I was not the only one who was trying to hurry into fall!

That's too bad that the Hostess Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes are not good. I suspect that the Pumpkin Spice Twinkies won't be good either. The Pop Tarts have been around for a while -- most recently seen at my 99 Cents Only Store -- but I have never tried them.

So the Pumpkin Spice Latte at Starbucks was delicious? I am debating on trying it. I am not the biggest fan of actual pumpkin flavor -- I prefer the smell of pumpkin foods, and I like actual carved pumpkins, of course.

I totally agree about what Halloween Time is becoming in terms of the Sub-Prime, Prime and Premium experiences. That's about the size of it. I can only hope that they don't start up with that for the holiday season this year too. I expect it at some point, but hopefully not this year.

Related to the changes coming during Halloween time in the future, one of my favorite spots during the party is the area between the Ranch and BTMRR, the area where there's a little water area with a boarded up cave. Durig the party the SFX and fog were sooooo cooool right there. Do you think they'll get rid of that area too for Star Wars Land? I certainly hope not Hoping they'll spare the BTMBBQ and the little cave area, and just redo the ranch area into a walkway up to Star wars Land (though I'll miss the ranch too). I feel these areas are critical the feel of both Halloween and Holiday time.

The BBQ is closing in January. The entire Ranch area has to be razed and closed. There is no possible way the BBQ can stay open. It's not going to be just a little path into Star Wars Land or a simple walkway. That whole area is going to be part of Star Wars Land, as much as the entrances to Cars Land are part of Cars Land.

The Big Thunder Trail -- which is where the cave is-- is the area that I was referring to when I said I had a feeling the Halloween Party would have to move over to DCA for a couple of years. I think that the Trail will probably be in disarray, or will lead to a mountain of construction, and they won't be able to put in the spooky effects and lighting for the party. I could be wrong -- we'll see what happens.

 

[keishashadow]

sherri - i remember reading that review before we went and thinking i had made a big booboo. We attended after that experience but still early on, the first weekend in October. imo they had time to fine tune things. We had the 2nd seating and we not rushed at all. I'd have rebooked it.

My DH loves to take pics, especially of the parade & headless horseman. it was so nice not to have to fight to hold down a piece of turf from poachers. DL has seemed more relaxed about the process, although it's been 3 years for us, things may have changed lol. Many times there is a frentic air in WDW, perhaps because many are there for rare visits vs DL's regulars idk.

what does bother me is those who show up without doing any prep work. If you're dropping hundreds of $ do your homework. You can't get everything done in a park in one day, why it's assumed it can be accomplished during limited event hours is beyond me. Yet, every years there are complaints as to waiting hours to get pics taken w/popular characters. At least the events offer an 'out'. A pricey one, but the option is there. It's just a darn shame that the add on options are cannabalizing the main event.

now to wait for the first reviews to roll out

 

[Sherry E]

I may have the unpopular opinion here, but I don't think offering the BB dinner during the MHP is backhanded at all. Disney just wants to make special experiences and make money off them. I also don't think that they're "taking away from MHP" by making Dr Facilier exclusive to the BB dinner. Again, just making money off what they can offer people.

Now, if the DL website specifically mentioned that Dr Facilier would be at MHP before they came out with the BB dinner, then yes I'd see the point. But buying a ticket to MHP doesn't guarantee that you'll see any specific character. It doesn't say "come to the MHP to see Dr Facilier". I know he's been offered in the past, but again that doesn't mean he's guaranteed. So I don't feel like they're taking from MHP if they make Dr Facilier exclusive to BB. Yes, people who don't buy the BB dinner will be disappointed, but I don't think it's wrong of disney to do.

But I think that if we are going to use the "nothing is guaranteed" logic, then Disney can be excused for anything and never be held accountable. I mean, if nothing is guaranteed, and if something is not mentioned on the website, why has anyone already contacted Disney to voice their opinions about the lesser Halloween Time offerings? I haven't even contacted them yet, and I am the one who is most bothered by the diminished offerings, and who has been reporting on what's not coming back (because I have watched the offerings diminish over the last 8 years)! If nothing is guaranteed and it's not mentioned on the website, then why contact Disney? (I'm just playing Devil's Advocate! ) Certain things do matter to some people, and some people feel that things are being taken from MHP. (Of course, we will find out soon enough if anything actually has been taken out of MHP and made exclusive to Blue Bayou, but I would have to imagine that something is going to be a BB exclusive in addition to the Halloween Screams seats or else the price is probably not worth it.)

 

[Comicbookmommy]

I can tell that you are my holiday season kindred spirit! You are already in the spirit with pumpkin goodies and fall candles. Many people wouldn't even understand enjoying Halloween-ish offerings before Labor Day, but there are some of us who can't wait to be done with summer and hot weather! I think I mentioned last night/this morning that I was delighted to see that a neighbor in the next block over from where I live had replaced their porch lights and security lights with orange glowy lights, which projected spider web designs on the wall. I knew that I was not the only one who was trying to hurry into fall!

That's too bad that the Hostess Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes are not good. I suspect that the Pumpkin Spice Twinkies won't be good either. The Pop Tarts have been around for a while -- most recently seen at my 99 Cents Only Store -- but I have never tried them.

So the Pumpkin Spice Latte at Starbucks was delicious? I am debating on trying it. I am not the biggest fan of actual pumpkin flavor -- I prefer the smell of pumpkin foods, and I like actual carved pumpkins, of course.

I totally agree about what Halloween Time is becoming in terms of the Sub-Prime, Prime and Premium experiences. That's about the size of it. I can only hope that they don't start up with that for the holiday season this year too. I expect it at some point, but hopefully not this year.

I think you'll like the Starbucks Latte then, it didn't taste over-the-top Pumpkin at all, and the flavor was not too sweet, and felt very "Fall" and cozy. I also can only handle pumpkin flavor in moderation, and prefer candles and real pumpkins to the foods, but my husband would probably drink liquid pumpkin flavoring if he could, haha! I'm really looking forward to Stash coming out with their Holiday Chai Tea, I start drinking during fall if I can find it as it fits right in with Halloween/Thanksgiving!

And yeah totally your kindred spirit on Holidays! I enjoy summer for all of about 2 weeks before I'm like "Okay, over it, is Fall here yet?" And while I said the 20th for decorating for Halloween, I think we're edging it back to the 16th (officially the "latter" part of the month) We bought a few new Lemax Spookytown Houses raring to be put out! I don't care if the neighbors think we're odd (they probably already do anyway, haha).

 

[Sherry E]

sherri - i remember reading that review before we went and thinking i had made a big booboo. We attended after that experience but still early on, the first weekend in October. imo they had time to fine tune things. We had the 2nd seating and we not rushed at all. I'd have rebooked it.

My DH loves to take pics, especially of the parade & headless horseman. it was so nice not to have to fight to hold down a piece of turf from poachers. DL has seemed more relaxed about the process, although it's been 3 years for us, things may have changed lol. Many times there is a frentic air in WDW, perhaps because many are there for rare visits vs DL's regulars idk.

what does bother me is those who show up without doing any prep work. If you're dropping hundreds of $ do your homework. You can't get everything done in a park in one day, why it's assumed it can be accomplished during limited event hours is beyond me. Yet, every years there are complaints as to waiting hours to get pics taken w/popular characters. At least the events offer an 'out'. A pricey one, but the option is there. It's just a darn shame that the add on options are cannabalizing the main event.

now to wait for the first reviews to roll out

Yes, indeed! Prep work and homework are necessary. That doesn't mean that all aspects of a DLR trip require as much planning and orchestration as a WDW trip, but research is needed just to know what has to be done, what can be done, what doesn't need to be done, etc.

I'm still waiting to find out if the Jungle Cruise Sunrise breakfast thing (for a mere $300) is going to obliterate the Jingle Cruise holiday overlay this year. I think that Jingle Cruise won't happen this year, or that it won't be installed early in the season while the breakfast events are happening. Jingle Cruise is not mentioned on the DLR website under the holiday activities (nor was it last year, until the season actually began), so I tend to think that Disney does not want to commit to bringing it back each year, and may decide closer to the actual season.

 

[haileymarie92]

But I think that if we are going to use the "nothing is guaranteed" logic, then Disney can be excused for anything and never be held accountable. I mean, if nothing is guaranteed, and if something is not mentioned on the website, why has anyone already contacted Disney to voice their opinions about the lesser Halloween Time offerings? I haven't even contacted them yet, and I am the one who is most bothered by the diminished offerings, and who has been reporting on what's not coming back (because I have watched the offerings diminish over the last 8 years)! If nothing is guaranteed and it's not mentioned on the website, then why contact Disney? (I'm just playing Devil's Advocate! ) Certain things do matter to some people, and some people feel that things are being taken from MHP. (Of course, we will find out soon enough if anything actually has been taken out of MHP and made exclusive to Blue Bayou, but I would have to imagine that something is going to be a BB exclusive in addition to the Halloween Screams seats or else the price is probably not worth it.)

That's true, I get that. I guess I just don't see characters as party features. The carnival and cavalcade are actual events and taking those away are totally different than making a character exclusive to a ticketed dinner, in my opinion. But I'm not -huge- on getting character pics or autographs, so guess I can see how someone who is big on characters would feel that it was taken.

 

[Sherry E]

I think you'll like the Starbucks Latte then, it didn't taste over-the-top Pumpkin at all, and the flavor was not too sweet, and felt very "Fall" and cozy. I also can only handle pumpkin flavor in moderation, and prefer candles and real pumpkins to the foods, but my husband would probably drink liquid pumpkin flavoring if he could, haha! I'm really looking forward to Stash coming out with their Holiday Chai Tea, I start drinking during fall if I can find it as it fits right in with Halloween/Thanksgiving!

And yeah totally your kindred spirit on Holidays! I enjoy summer for all of about 2 weeks before I'm like "Okay, over it, is Fall here yet?" And while I said the 20th for decorating for Halloween, I think we're edging it back to the 16th (officially the "latter" part of the month) We bought a few new Lemax Spookytown Houses raring to be put out! I don't care if the neighbors think we're odd (they probably already do anyway, haha).

On the one hand I think that a lot of people think that early décor is odd, but on the other hand I tend to think that more and more people are closeted early decorators. I think that more people are beginning to decorate earlier for Halloween, but they just call it fall décor. They may not want summer to end, but there is no real "décor" present for summer so they don't have to worry about pushing out the summer décor for the fall décor. I think the issue for many people comes with the transition from Halloween décor to Christmas décor. Even though Halloween things appear in stores quite early, that doesn't seem to be as much of an issue as Christmas/Holiday Season things appearing early. A lot of people don't mind Halloween cutting their summer short, but they don't like Christmas cutting their Halloween short! I have no problem with any of it. I love it all. If Halloween gets at least 3 months of shelf time, then so, too, should Christmas (if not more). It may seem wacky and wrong, but that's the world we are living in now -- where Halloween and Christmas things appear very early!

I can barely tolerate summer, and my whole goal every year is to try to find ways to deal with it and get through it as best as possible... which usually involves foods and drinks. This year's summer menu included: lemonade, ice cream, root beer floats, strawberry smoothies, strawberry Frappuccinos, actual strawberries, juicy fruits, etc. Whatever I can eat or drink to make summer bearable, then so be it! I can't get through summer with just water alone, when that's what I drink 365 days a year anyway!

That's true, I get that. I guess I just don't see characters as party features. The carnival and cavalcade are actual events and taking those away are totally different than making a character exclusive to a ticketed dinner, in my opinion. But I'm not -huge- on getting character pics or autographs, so guess I can see how someone who is big on characters would feel that it was taken.

I know what you mean. There are some years where I feel much more motivated to get photos with characters, and then there are years where I just bypass every single one of them. So the characters would not always be an MHP priority for me, and then maybe they would be a priority in other years. I am not consistent when it comes to characters! I am disappointed that Pumpkin Donald and Skeleton Goofy (among others) will not be out in the daytime this year, but that could just be a byproduct of the 60th anniversary. Once the 60th is in the past, I wonder if the Halloween-costumed characters will be back somewhere in the daytime. Donald and Goofy don't wear the pumpkin and skeleton costumes at MHP, respectively -- they have totally different ensembles.

 

[rwhistler92]

I see people saying they will cancel their BB Halloween dinner if the reviews aren't good.
I thought there was a no refund policy for that dinner. Am I wrong?

 

[jammyjam25]

I tried the pumpkin spice Frosted Mini Wheats today and I'm happy to report back that they were delicious!! The pumpkin flavor is really good and not too overpowering, and they weren't overly sweet either. Would definitely recommend for fellow pumpkin spice lovers.

 

[Sherry E]

I see people saying they will cancel their BB Halloween dinner if the reviews aren't good.
I thought there was a no refund policy for that dinner. Am I wrong?

It does say "No refunds, exchanges or discounts" in the Know Before You Go section.

 

[Comicbookmommy]

I see people saying they will cancel their BB Halloween dinner if the reviews aren't good.
I thought there was a no refund policy for that dinner. Am I wrong?

In my reservation for this event on the Disney site, there is a little information icon next to the pre-paid amount that says:

"For prepaid dining reservations, Guests who cancel within 24 hours of their reservation time or fail to show will be subject to a full price charge"

It also allows me to cancel the reservation online, same as regular reservations.

I don't know if that means there's some kind of charge if you cancel earlier than 24 hours beforehand or not, but to me it reads you can get a full refund, but if it also says no refunds under the event information, I don't know if that means this event is different?

 

[Kilala]

I did buy the Pumpkin pie pop tarts and they are very yummy. I have been buying he them since they came out. I went to Target and Wal-Mart today and I think Target will be up Halloween stuff next week. Wal-Mart is putting some Halloween tings uo in a isle and a lot of big bag candies, the $10 to $15 bags. I did see more of the Fall M&M's. I did noticed that Target is getting in most of the fall food and Wal-Mart is not getting any in except for candy.

 

[Chris9ty]

I'd do the Haunts thing too, if it were just me and DH, but the kids would be too scared, and as much as I love Mystical stuff, DH doesn't like dimly-lit restaurants (atmosphere be darned), so it's better for me to save money and just enjoy the MHP as planned.

I'll be the only one knowing what's going on without us while we chase the kids up and down the trick or treat trails, LOL

Canadian Harmony- I'll be there with you- I figure others can enjoy the extra party and more candy/less lines for us! LOL I'm with a group of 8, who would really just be happy eating chicken nuggets for dinner and my kids may not even go near the friendly characters, let alone the villains. I'll just enjoy reading the reviews while I eat my candy.

 

[mom2rtk]

That's true, I get that. I guess I just don't see characters as party features. The carnival and cavalcade are actual events and taking those away are totally different than making a character exclusive to a ticketed dinner, in my opinion. But I'm not -huge- on getting character pics or autographs, so guess I can see how someone who is big on characters would feel that it was taken.

The special character opportunities are the reason I bought tickets to 2 parties. If I didn't like meeting characters, I wouldn't be going at all. To me there's not much else to justify the price. I'm sure someone will chime in and say the atmosphere or the trick or treating is important to them. And that's sort of the point. Different things are a priority to different people. If they started charging a separate admission to the trick or treat trails, I'd roll my eyes, but wouldn't really care. Different strokes.

I know what you mean. There are some years where I feel much more motivated to get photos with characters, and then there are years where I just bypass every single one of them. So the characters would not always be an MHP priority for me, and then maybe they would be a priority in other years. I am not consistent when it comes to characters! I am disappointed that Pumpkin Donald and Skeleton Goofy (among others) will not be out in the daytime this year, but that could just be a byproduct of the 60th anniversary. Once the 60th is in the past, I wonder if the Halloween-costumed characters will be back somewhere in the daytime. Donald and Goofy don't wear the pumpkin and skeleton costumes at MHP, respectively -- they have totally different ensembles.

I was really hoping to see the characters in different Halloween costumes. I guess at this point I just need to be happy to see them in one!

 

[Sherry E]

I was really hoping to see the characters in different Halloween costumes. I guess at this point I just need to be happy to see them in one!

I guess you'll get the special Diamond Anniversary outfits in the daytime, and then whatever Halloween garb they are wearing at the party. I suppose that Pumpkin Donald and Skeleton Goofy might be on vacation this year.