HalloweenTime at DLR Superthread #4

[TraderCharlie]

So, I am checking out the weather forecast for my trip this week (AH!) and I notice that Anaheim has a good wide range of temps from am to pm. It's forecasting 81 to 56- does it really get that cool at night after a warmish day?! Where I live we maybe vary by 10 degrees lol.

Yes it does! As the sun sets, the temps drop pretty quickly. The early mornings will be chilly as well. Dress in layers!

 

[pudinhd]

Here are our experiences this year. The times are approximate. Feel free to ask any questions. Thank you very, very much to everyone who provided information and their experiences! I took quite a few notes and they were extremely helpful!

10/22/15
3:30 We got wristbands in Frontierland and went to ToonTown.
We started an unofficial line before they started a line and enjoyed the time sharing stories with Cast Members.
4:45 We were allowed into ToonTown. Husband went TOT while I started the picture line behind the gazebo.
5:00 Mickey & Minnie were first and switched with Chip & Dale around 5:30.
5:02 I think we were the first to meet Goofy & Pluto together on the area to the right of the gazebo.
My husband went to TOT and I got in line to see Chip & Dale, but the line was huge. When my husband joined me, I left the line to meet Donald & Daisy. I had my husband join me and we skipped Chip & Dale.
5:50 We left ToonTown and headed toward Big Thunder Ranch. Jessie was meeting so I took photos with her and then waited since Bullseye was supposed to come out soon. I took pictures with Jessie and Bullseye together.
6:30 We went to Pirate’s Wharf where I met Peter Pan and Wendy, but Captain Hook had already left. My husband had gotten in line a little distance behind me and I was able to meet Captain Jack Sparrow once I joined him.
7:15 I went ahead of my husband and walked quickly to Critter Country. I met Tigger and Eeyore together and then Pooh. Again, my husband had gotten in line after me, so I was able to meet Tigger and Rabbit and then Pooh. The Cast Member told Rabbit that he was my favorite character and I told Rabbit it was true. Rabbit wouldn’t let Tigger near me and the interaction was so fun that I couldn’t stop laughing. Even Pooh ended up joining us because there weren’t any guests going to see him. I have a great picture of me laughing in the middle of the 3 of them.
7:40 I again went ahead of my husband to go see the princesses and he got in line after me. The lines were huge with a switchback by the side where the walkway to Frontierland is and then going a little way along Main Street. I was about 20 groups back when a Cast Member asked the people around me if we knew who we wanted to meet. I said that I wanted to meet Pocahontas and Snow White, as did the woman behind me. We got pulled out of line to go up to the front as everyone else wanted to see the other pair. After meeting them, I joined my husband in line. Again, when I was in about the same place, the same Cast Member asked if I knew who I wanted to meet and I said Mulan and Jasmine. I was pulled out of line to go up to the front. It was crazy to me that no one wanted to meet the rare princesses!
8:30 We headed toward Town Square. We did the Town Square trail, the AP trail, and then saw the Queen of Hearts walking around. After 2 days of searching for her during the day, I was finally able to meet her! She wanted my husband in the picture, too, so a gentleman offered to take the picture.
We went to the almost empty Villains line to ask Cast Members about when the line would begin again. A CM suggested that we wait behind the benches across from the meet and greet to watch the parade. She said the line would start about 10 minutes before the fireworks started. The gentleman who took our picture with the Queen of Hearts was standing with me and we waited behind the bench right by the entrance. The line started during the parade, so it was good that we stayed where we were. (Many thanks to the person that answered a question I had about the villain line during the parade!)
8:55 The male villains came out. My husband was again in line farther down the line so we could get all of the villains. It did get a little stressful because we were getting closer to the front and no one anywhere near us wanted to meet the male villains. Thankfully the females showed up when we were about 5 groups away from the front!
10:30 We went through the Town Square trail and then found a spot to wait for the villains finale show. It was a lot of fun, but I think it was a little long.
11:00 We left to walk back to the hotel and there was Dove candy still available.
We were impressed with the amount of characters we were able to meet and ended up with 10 pounds of candy for this party.

10/23/15
4:30 We got wristbands in Frontierland and went to meet Captain America in Tomorrowland.
5:00 We went to Big Thunder Ranch to wait for Mickey & Minnie. Another couple was there around 5:15 and a family joined us around 5:30.
6:00 Big Thunder Ranch trail opened and I went through 3 or 4 times in an hour.
7:00 Mickey & Minnie came out. We went TOT in Village Haus, the Matterhorn area (including the Frozen photo opp), the Fairies, Rancho Del Zocalo, and the Golden Horseshoe. The lines were long, but moved fairly quickly.
My husband and I separated so he could go around taking photos before he headed back to the hotel.
I got in line to meet Aladdin and friends, but only Genie was there. A CM said he would be out in about 10 minutes so I quickly went to the Rivers of America trail. I enjoyed the Cadaver Dans for a couple minutes while doing the first 2 treat stops and then skipped the rest as the line seemed to stop in the middle.
8:30 I headed back to Aladdin’s Oasis and was able to meet Genie and Aladdin together.
I stopped into the Golden Horseshoe for more treats.
9:00 I decided to go meet the princesses and was able to see Cinderella and Pocahontas. The line was much, much shorter than the previous night. It was also different than the previous night in that people actually wanted to meet Pocahontas.
I went back to the Rancho Del Zocalo treat trail and took a picture with Pirate Goofy.
I went to the Golden Horseshoe, the Rivers of America trail twice, and then the New Orleans trail.
9:35 I went back to the Rivers of America and did the first stop only to get the Peeps. I backtracked a little to wait for the fireworks just inside the ROA treat trail. The view was better than I expected and they played the speaking parts of the show, so I didn’t miss “ball” or the crowds!
After the fireworks, I restarted the ROA trail, went to the New Orleans trail, and then the Golden Horseshoe trail.
I started making my way toward the exit and there was a short line for one side of the giant pumpkin so I stopped for some photos.
I went through the Town Square trail and then the AP trail.
10:30 I did receive Dove candy as I exited to start the walk back to the hotel.
Both my husband and I left early after a long few days at DLR, but we ended up with 11 pounds of candy for this party.

 

[Mommy2PrincessAbby]

I can confirm the pirates from the blue bayou dinner and the cadaver dans are different people. We watched the dans float down the river while the pirates were chatting with us before we walked to the fireworks viewing. Just waiting for Screams right now. The dinner was amazing and worth every penny!

 

[haileymarie92]

I can confirm the pirates from the blue bayou dinner and the cadaver dans are different people. We watched the dans float down the river while the pirates were chatting with us before we walked to the fireworks viewing. Just waiting for Screams right now. The dinner was amazing and worth every penny!

There are different sets of Dans, though.

 

[Speechphi]

Halloween folks...

Any sign of Christmas decorations going up yet? It usually seems like the holidays start to collide at more than just HMH right about this time, but I haven't heard or seen anything yet.

Bugs land is decorated; saw that on Sat. Not sure about anywhere else.

 

[Abbey1]

So excited for our first park day tomorrow. I made a last minute reservation at Goofy's Kitchen for tonight at 8:10 and am so glad I did. Donald was there! He is my son's (and husband's) absolute favorite. Goofy even visited with our table since it was the end of the night. Can't wait for our party on Tuesday!

 

[Oswald23]

Here are our experiences this year. The times are approximate. Feel free to ask any questions. Thank you very, very much to everyone who provided information and their experiences! I took quite a few notes and they were extremely helpful!

10/22/15
3:30 We got wristbands in Frontierland and went to ToonTown.
We started an unofficial line before they started a line and enjoyed the time sharing stories with Cast Members.
4:45 We were allowed into ToonTown. Husband went TOT while I started the picture line behind the gazebo.
5:00 Mickey & Minnie were first and switched with Chip & Dale around 5:30.
5:02 I think we were the first to meet Goofy & Pluto together on the area to the right of the gazebo.
My husband went to TOT and I got in line to see Chip & Dale, but the line was huge. When my husband joined me, I left the line to meet Donald & Daisy. I had my husband join me and we skipped Chip & Dale.
5:50 We left ToonTown and headed toward Big Thunder Ranch. Jessie was meeting so I took photos with her and then waited since Bullseye was supposed to come out soon. I took pictures with Jessie and Bullseye together.
6:30 We went to Pirate’s Wharf where I met Peter Pan and Wendy, but Captain Hook had already left. My husband had gotten in line a little distance behind me and I was able to meet Captain Jack Sparrow once I joined him.
7:15 I went ahead of my husband and walked quickly to Critter Country. I met Tigger and Eeyore together and then Pooh. Again, my husband had gotten in line after me, so I was able to meet Tigger and Rabbit and then Pooh. The Cast Member told Rabbit that he was my favorite character and I told Rabbit it was true. Rabbit wouldn’t let Tigger near me and the interaction was so fun that I couldn’t stop laughing. Even Pooh ended up joining us because there weren’t any guests going to see him. I have a great picture of me laughing in the middle of the 3 of them.
7:40 I again went ahead of my husband to go see the princesses and he got in line after me. The lines were huge with a switchback by the side where the walkway to Frontierland is and then going a little way along Main Street. I was about 20 groups back when a Cast Member asked the people around me if we knew who we wanted to meet. I said that I wanted to meet Pocahontas and Snow White, as did the woman behind me. We got pulled out of line to go up to the front as everyone else wanted to see the other pair. After meeting them, I joined my husband in line. Again, when I was in about the same place, the same Cast Member asked if I knew who I wanted to meet and I said Mulan and Jasmine. I was pulled out of line to go up to the front. It was crazy to me that no one wanted to meet the rare princesses!
8:30 We headed toward Town Square. We did the Town Square trail, the AP trail, and then saw the Queen of Hearts walking around. After 2 days of searching for her during the day, I was finally able to meet her! She wanted my husband in the picture, too, so a gentleman offered to take the picture.
We went to the almost empty Villains line to ask Cast Members about when the line would begin again. A CM suggested that we wait behind the benches across from the meet and greet to watch the parade. She said the line would start about 10 minutes before the fireworks started. The gentleman who took our picture with the Queen of Hearts was standing with me and we waited behind the bench right by the entrance. The line started during the parade, so it was good that we stayed where we were. (Many thanks to the person that answered a question I had about the villain line during the parade!)
8:55 The male villains came out. My husband was again in line farther down the line so we could get all of the villains. It did get a little stressful because we were getting closer to the front and no one anywhere near us wanted to meet the male villains. Thankfully the females showed up when we were about 5 groups away from the front!
10:30 We went through the Town Square trail and then found a spot to wait for the villains finale show. It was a lot of fun, but I think it was a little long.
11:00 We left to walk back to the hotel and there was Dove candy still available.
We were impressed with the amount of characters we were able to meet and ended up with 10 pounds of candy for this party.

10/23/15
4:30 We got wristbands in Frontierland and went to meet Captain America in Tomorrowland.
5:00 We went to Big Thunder Ranch to wait for Mickey & Minnie. Another couple was there around 5:15 and a family joined us around 5:30.
6:00 Big Thunder Ranch trail opened and I went through 3 or 4 times in an hour.
7:00 Mickey & Minnie came out. We went TOT in Village Haus, the Matterhorn area (including the Frozen photo opp), the Fairies, Rancho Del Zocalo, and the Golden Horseshoe. The lines were long, but moved fairly quickly.
My husband and I separated so he could go around taking photos before he headed back to the hotel.
I got in line to meet Aladdin and friends, but only Genie was there. A CM said he would be out in about 10 minutes so I quickly went to the Rivers of America trail. I enjoyed the Cadaver Dans for a couple minutes while doing the first 2 treat stops and then skipped the rest as the line seemed to stop in the middle.
8:30 I headed back to Aladdin’s Oasis and was able to meet Genie and Aladdin together.
I stopped into the Golden Horseshoe for more treats.
9:00 I decided to go meet the princesses and was able to see Cinderella and Pocahontas. The line was much, much shorter than the previous night. It was also different than the previous night in that people actually wanted to meet Pocahontas.
I went back to the Rancho Del Zocalo treat trail and took a picture with Pirate Goofy.
I went to the Golden Horseshoe, the Rivers of America trail twice, and then the New Orleans trail.
9:35 I went back to the Rivers of America and did the first stop only to get the Peeps. I backtracked a little to wait for the fireworks just inside the ROA treat trail. The view was better than I expected and they played the speaking parts of the show, so I didn’t miss “ball” or the crowds!
After the fireworks, I restarted the ROA trail, went to the New Orleans trail, and then the Golden Horseshoe trail.
I started making my way toward the exit and there was a short line for one side of the giant pumpkin so I stopped for some photos.
I went through the Town Square trail and then the AP trail.
10:30 I did receive Dove candy as I exited to start the walk back to the hotel.
Both my husband and I left early after a long few days at DLR, but we ended up with 11 pounds of candy for this party.

So funny. You here

@pudinhd I was the ome behind you at the male villains line and the day after at big Thunder ranch Mickey

 

[pudinhd]

So funny. You here

@pudinhd I was the ome behind you at the male villains line and the day after at big Thunder ranch Mickey

That is too funny! I read your post about the 2 parties, but I thought it would be too much of a coincidence that it was you. Thanks again for taking the picture and for the company!

 

[JessieD]

WE LEAVE FOR THE AIRPORT IN 3.5 HOURS!!!!! I'm like a kid on Christmas morning! I can't wait to tell our son

 

[mom2rtk]

Can you clarify a little on this? I understand you cannot get a wristband, but you are not allowed to board the monorail with just a Halloween Party ticket? If so, I'm so annoyed. This was my plan to avoid the parade as well. I even emailed Disney and their reply lead me to believe I could. Here is what I wrote:

Hi, We have tickets to Mickey's Halloween party on October 27th. We
would like to enter the park right at 3:00. I noticed that the parade
is scheduled for 3:00 that day and will make entering the park
difficult. I was wondering if a) the monorail from downtown disney will
be running and b) if we would be allowed to get on the monorail with
just Halloween Party tickets at 3:00 to enter the park?

And here is what they replied:

Thank you for your email to the DISNEYLAND® Resort.

Guests who have the Mickey's Halloween Party event ticket may enter the
Park 3-hours before the event begins. Guests may use the Disneyland
Monorail in Downtown Disney for entering the Park.

Again, thank you for taking the time to write. We hope you will have the
opportunity to visit the DISNEYLAND® Resort soon and trust your visit
will be pleasant in all regards.

Sincerely,


Linda Trump
DISNEYLAND® Resort
Guest Experience Services

So, mom2rtk, they said no to boarding?

They said they don't know how to process the tickets there. So I didn't push for further clarification.. Sorry I can't help you any more than that. I was only interested in doing it if they could give me my wristband so I didn't push for an answer on just entering. I'm not shocked to see inconsistent answers though.

I will say the gates up front were really busy and slow moving when we got there a little before 4.

 

[ashleysev]

Just got home from the hospital for an MRI an it revealed an injury in my right ankle, so now I have a walking boot on my left leg and an ankle brace on my right, plus crutches. I'll get a wheelchair after we get inside, but I was curious if anyone knows if I'll be restricted from riding certain rides now?

We leave early tomorrow morning for the airport!

 

[happyrebster]

Just back from Oct. 25th party. Outstanding! Best year yet! (We have been the last five years). My notes:

Didn't hit Magic Kingdom / Disneyland until 6:30. This was genius. Non-ticket holders had already left the park and there was NO crowding on Main Street AT ALL! It was a dream. So empty. Lots of lovely animations running on the walls of the buildings.

The talking scarecrows were in a great location just outside of Golden Horseshoe and they were VERY funny this year!

All the treat trails moved quickly and loads of good treats - including nearly unlimited Dove chocolate at the park exit after fireworks.

Rides: Walked on to Big Thunder twice. Pirates, Indiana Jones, Jungle Cruise, Pooh Bear, Casey Jr., Splash Mountain were all essentially walk on (under 5 minutes). On Jungle Cruise, we had the funniest guide we had ever encountered. On Pirates, the Cadaver Dans were just walking through the back of the swamp cabin so they could reach the party in Blue Bayou. This was adorably haunting because of course one never sees people moving inside that little shack! They also stared down at us in a ghoulish manner and got huge laughs. When we were coming out of the ride, we could hear them singing clearly and it was a delight.

Meet and Greet: Very small lines for all of the creatures in the Hundred Acre Wood. A well organized crew made it easy for us to meet Tigger, Rabbit and Pooh in about five minutes.

Treats: Got more than we could ever eat. Loads of Dove chocolates and peeps.

Fireworks: Arrived five minutes before start time and stood right near the castle on the Pixie Hollow side. So, as you face the castle, we were very near the front but quite far to the right. Just to the right of the roped off sitting area. Had a fantastic view of little Zero's flight!!! (My fave part). We were behind a tree that blocked some of the lovely animations projected on the castle, but the view of the fireworks and Zero was TOP LEVEL. If you are a Zero fan, this is your spot! And it wasn't crowded!

Overall, I honestly think the party is a great value. We go every year and it's a big highlight of my daughter's entire holiday season.

 

[texstout]

Please help me plan my one-day Trip!

My extended family will be going to the party this Thursday night (29th) as we will be in California for my brother's Sunday wedding. We are taking our 5 and 7 year old boys who have been to WDW once, but never to DL. Our plan is to arrive right at 3pm. Our #1 interests are rides and absorbing the atmosphere. We aren't interested in meet and greets and less interested in the trick or treat trails. (okay - the boys probably are very interested in them, but I am not going to spend a lot of time waiting in line for candy on our one-day at the park). Several specific questions:

1) Is the Toon Town pre-party worth it if we aren't interested in the M&G or candy?
2) What section of the park would you recommend for the 3-6pm time period? I assume fast passes will be gone at that point?
3) Where do you recommend we eat? We are big foodies and the kids are adventurous eaters, but I figure we will be leaning towards quick and easy. I was thinking maybe French Market (even though my kids eat Cajun/creole all the time).
4) We do want to see the parade and the fireworks, but also do not want to waste too much time waiting. We do not need the best spot, but something 'decent' would be nice. Maybe at the end of the parade near Main Street? (If I can get my MIL to wait with a blanket, we will. But she has never been to Disney either)
5) What would be your top 3 'must-dos' for the 5-7 year old range? (Boys are dressing up as Beetlejuice and Doc Brown from Back to the Future)
6) Of course a couple more family members now want to come with us and don't have party tix. What is the likelihood of being able to buy a couple more to our current 8 person group?

Thanks!!!

 

[dolphingirl47]

I am all caught up again. I had a fantastic trip and was lucky enough to two a total of 4 Halloween parties (two at Disneyland and two at Walt Disney World).


General comments:

I was surprised how hot it was at Disneyland. It was actually cooler in Florida than it was in California.


I loved all the new shows. Paint The Night is amazing. Disneyland Forever blew my mind and I was a little sad that I only managed to see this once. My personal favourite though was World of Color Celebrate! Although I still marginally prefer the original version, I found this very moving and the special effects on this are out of this world.


I was surprised how quiet the parks were for the most part. I had a few occasions where I did popular rides on both coasts with less than a 5 minute wait. The only long wait I had was Peter Pan’s Flight during EMH. When I got in line, there was posted waiting time of 30 minutes, which I felt was good for the ride. Unfortunately it broke down, nobody informed us that it had gone down and where I was in line, I would have struggled to get out anyway. In the end I waited 90 minutes.


I stayed at the Disneyland Hotel for the first time. I was very excited about this beforehand, but soon realized that this is my least favourite of the three onsite hotel. I was in the Frontier Tower, which may have had something to do with it. It just felt like it took forever to get back. I was glad when I moved to Paradise Pier for the second part of my stay at Disneyland.


I never got to meet the characters in their Diamond Anniversary outfits. Before I left, I had read here that the character would wear their Halloween costumes in the morning and the Diamond Anniversary costumes in the afternoon. However, it now appears that they only wear them after the afternoon parade. Considering that three of the days I was there were party nights, that leaves a very limited window. Even on the days I was there that were not party nights, I never saw them out at all at that time of the day, which probably was just bad timing on my part.


I got to cross something off my bucket list when I got to ride with the pilot on the monorail at Disneyland.


I was completely over the moon when I walked towards It’s A Small World and Judge Frollo was coming the other way. I was not quite so lucky with the Evil Queen. According to the map on the Disneyland app I should have stood right next to her, but she was nowhere to be found.


Halloween Parties: I did two Halloween parties at Disneyland and two parties at Walt Disney World. So I thought I do a little comparison:


Disneyland

Trick or Treating is much better at Disneyland. I really like that they have treat trails rather than individual treat stations. It is also a real bonus to have the pre-party. During the second party at Disneyland, my treat bag was nearly full before I even left Toon Town. The treat stations at Walt Disney World are not all that visible. I went through the first party at Walt Disney World without ever noticing a treat station.


The general atmosphere is much better at Disneyland. I loved all the special effects along Big Thunder Trail and the Rivers of America. I was absolutely spellbound by the projections on the building along Main Street. Walt Disney World does not have anything on this scale.


The fireworks are in a completely different league at Disneyland. I had really enjoyed Halloween Wishes at Walt Disney World, but watching the fireworks in both parks in quick succession I became very aware that this is really not in the same league as Halloween Screams.


I definitely saw more creative costumes at Disneyland. I had so much fun people watching and checking out all the fantastic costumes. I also thought that more people had dressed up at Disneyland than at Walt Disney World.


Walt Disney World

Walt Disney World wins hands down on the parade, which was amazing. The highlights for me were the headless horseman and the grave diggers who actually created sparks with their shovels. I love Paint the Night, but I wish that they had given this at least a little Halloween twist.


Walt Disney World is way ahead when it comes to Photopass photos. They had some party exclusive Magic Shots with the hitchhiking ghosts and a ghostly carriage man. I think there may have been different Magic Shots as well, but those are the only ones I did. Disneyland did not seem to have any Magic Shots during the party.


When it comes to characters, I think Walt Disney World has the edge. There was a bigger selection of unusual characters available and overall, the waiting times were shorter. I could not believe my luck when I managed to meet the Old Hag, the Queen of Hearts and Alice and the Mad Hatter with next to no wait. Other lines like for Lotso and the characters in their Halloween outfits were very reasonable. The only really long lines were for the Seven Dwarfs (which I passed on) and Jack and Sally, but I think at the parties I attended they were comparable to the lines for the Villains at Disneyland.


Merchandise was definitely handled better at Walt Disney World. This started with a breakdown being listed on the map which store has what special merchandise. This merchandise was only available during the parties and some of it was actually kept behind the counter.


Tied

The crowds were about the same at both locations even though both parties at Disneyland were sold out and there were still tickets available for both parties at Walt Disney World. The crowds in general were very manageable, but there were longer lines for some things.


This may surprise people, but as far as the entertainment is concerned, I think both parks are tied. I did not do the dance party at either park. I watched the Hocus Pocus Villains Spectacular and although I did enjoy it, I enjoyed watching the Cadaver Dans and the scarecrows just as much.


I think rides are another area that is tied. In both parks the waiting times during the party were very reasonable with the exception of Haunted Mansion Holiday at Disneyland and Seven Dwarfs Mine Train at Walt Disney World. Even those were only about 30 minutes, which is not actually bad for those rides.


Overall, I had an absolute ball and had no regrets doing 4 parties in total. Actually at Disneyland, I kind of wish I had done a third one as I seem to have missed out on quite a bit.

Corinna

 

[ArchOwl]

Just got home from the hospital for an MRI an it revealed an injury in my right ankle, so now I have a walking boot on my left leg and an ankle brace on my right, plus crutches. I'll get a wheelchair after we get inside, but I was curious if anyone knows if I'll be restricted from riding certain rides now?

We leave early tomorrow morning for the airport!

Aw, that is no good! So sorry! I have done Disneyland in a kind of similar situation, a walking boot on one leg and a knee brace on another.

I was able to do everything I wanted, even if sometimes it took me longer to load/unload. Space Mountain was tricky, but since the handicapped train is loaded to the side, I could take all the time I needed. Small World was also tricky, but manageable. I almost couldn't do the Matterhorn, but I squeezed the boot in. Definitely be ready to maybe bail on that one if your boot is large.

Bring a cast cover for the water rides, nothing fun about walking in a wet walking boot. Ugh. You can buy the cast covers for cheap and they fold up small.

Wheelchairs are ok, but I liked ECVs better. Wheelchairs I was dependent on people to push me. I prefer having my own mobility. And pushing a wheelchair is hard work for the pusher. At least maybe look into it? I rented an ECV, it was much cheaper than the Disney rental and much more maneuverable.

Bring a bungee cord or something like it to attach the crutch to your wheelchair/ECV. Otherwise you have to hold it and that becomes a pain.

Also consider something to light up the chair at night. It is hard for people to see you. So I bought some cheapy glow sticks and decorated a bit to help people see me at night. I think it helped a lot.

I may think of more things. Do you know how the wheelchair return times work? If not, let me know. And have fun!

 

[StyledSugar]

The park is packed today!! Reminded me of Christmas, except it's insanely hot! Anyone know why it's so packed today?

 

[Mommy2PrincessAbby]

The park is packed today!! Reminded me of Christmas, except it's insanely hot! Anyone know why it's so packed today?

We've been in CA all day and had little to no waits. Tot was the longest at 30 minutes when we rode without a fp. Guess everyone is in dl.

 

[tzeitel]

Got back Saturday night from 5 park days and one Hollywood day. We were so worried about the weather but it was perfect! Highs in the low 80's, lows in the 60's. Went to the party on the 19th - not super crowded but still did not get to do everything (do we ever?). Did Toontown pre-party, met Donald, Goofy, and Chip & Dale. 5 min wait for RR, did only one trail there since it was a bit crowded - DH went to meet his folks on MS and bring them to TT but they could not get in right away. They waited about 15 minutes while people left. Saw (and loved) Cadaver Dans. Was kinda bummed about the parade being cancelled but we had more days to see it. The rain did not stop us, we did some rides, got candy, and took a photo in front of the Halloween Tree - the CMs I asked about its whereabouts did not know what I was talking about Closed the park after watching the Villains show.

Did not find much Halloween merch, but came home with lots of 60th stuff. Was looking for the 60th stein but it was out property wide. Did get 3 travel mugs (always my favorite souvenirs) - 60th, Halloween and Haunted Mansion (Mickey as the Hat Box ghost!). Got the red balloon popcorn bucket. Found Shellie May at Paradise Pier (just the stuffed animal, not the character), WoD said they knew nothing about her or when she would be available. My big purchase was the 60th Dooney & Burke letter carrier.

Went to Big Thunder BBQ, Blue Bayou, Carthay Circle, Wine Country Trattoria (WOC package), and Jazz Kitchen. All good, favorite was Jazz, least fave was Wine Country. WOC package was worth it, but we also had 2 people with mobility issues so we were in the back with benches set aside for people who could not stand for long periods of time. Even from the back we could see everything perfectly, probably better than people closer to the show since they had people standing in front of them. DD, DH and I stood but there was no one directly in front of us.

I will try to add photos of Nightmare Before Christmas 4D at El Capitan. I missed buying tickets for the premiere party, we went the second night. Show starts at 7pm but we lined up at 6pm and were first in line for our balcony seats so I was able to take photos with nobody in the lobby, stairs, concession stand etc. We were not alone in the line for more than 3 minutes - people lined up fast! Beautiful theater, the organist was amazing. They had projections on the walls (flying skeleton reindeer etc), snow, fog, searchlights. Loooooved it, so much fun and we got NBC popcorn buckets Only thing - if you are taller than 5'4" (my height) or have long legs the seats are tiny. DH is 6' and he was ok if he sat sideways (he was kinda uncomfortable since he does have a fake knee). but it was not easy to sit sideways since there were no empty seats. I could not cross my legs or sit on one side, so if you are fidgety be forewarned.
We had an app at Mel's which was pretty good, tried Ghirardelli's first but did not really want ice cream. Kinda disappointed n Ghirardelli, average Disney merch. 5 Seconds of Summer (is that their name?) was having a free show so there was a mess of girls, press and cops across from the theater. I felt so old lol! We found Roy's and (one of) Walt's stars.

 

[StyledSugar]

We've been in CA all day and had little to no waits. Tot was the longest at 30 minutes when we rode without a fp. Guess everyone is in dl.

It's our first day. I guess we were in the wrong park!! lol

 

[mummabear]

Was looking for the 60th stein but it was out property wide.

Damnit, I am desperate for one of these.
Would the park merchandise people at WDW be able to get one shipped over?