HalloweenTime at DLR Superthread #5-- HALLOWEENTIME STARTS SEPT. 9!! SOLD OUT!!

[minnieralyks]

Next crazy question. We have 5 people in our group. Every one has AP's except my mom. Will she be able to walk through the AP treat trail with us and just not get anything?

They probably won't allow her to go through, since you have to have your AP scanned at the entrance. She can wait at the exit for you, though. It's a really quick treat trail (not more than 5 minutes if you don't stop for the cartoons at the end). If it's in the Opera House again, the exit is almost right next to the entrance, so it would be really easy for her to find.

 

[pudinhd]

Next crazy question. We have 5 people in our group. Every one has AP's except my mom. Will she be able to walk through the AP treat trail with us and just not get anything?

I don't think so... If I remember correctly from last year, they scanned my AP before I entered the building.

 

[Niltiac]

Next crazy question. We have 5 people in our group. Every one has AP's except my mom. Will she be able to walk through the AP treat trail with us and just not get anything?

I heard one report from someone last year who left their one AP-less friend at the entrance, and after a moment the CM waved them through. So if you get a sympathetic CM, maybe. I would just go up to the CM at the entrance and ask where the exit is, explaining that your mom doesn't have an AP and will wait at the exit, and if you're lucky maybe they'll offer to let her in. But I don't think it will be a big deal for her to wait. I went before the AP trail was moved to the Opera House, so it was at the Big Thunder exit instead, and it was literally a 1-minute trail - I think there was one candy stop and one stop for bags. Maybe it's more elaborate where it is now, but I wouldn't expect her to have to wait very long.

 

[Disneybridewifemama]

Just back from our trip. We went to parties on the 28th (Wed) and the 30th (Fri). Here's some thoughts!

-The Wednesday party was WAY less crowded! Was the 28th sold out like the 30th? On Wednesday, it was awesome. treat trails were not very crowded, and there was plenty of walking space. Friday ALL NIGHT was crowded in the usual places, to the point I felt really uncomfortable. You could find a quiet spot if you really needed to, but getting around the park felt chaotic.

-I seemed to get less candy this year, which was fine with me, but I did note it. I saw people carrying HUGE sacks of candy still though

- I was able to snag a curb spot for the parade right in front of the train station 20 minutes beforehand. But this was on WED., on FRI. I noticed it filled up WAY quicker.

-I cancelled my BB package as I saw the parade easily on WED. Sad that Mystical Spirits is gone, but my wallet is happy.

-The parade was pretty great, but a lot shorter than I thought it'd be. There was more space in between things. I loved the Headless Horseman, but almost missed him because he came so far ahead of the parade (10 min?) and was quiet.

-I missed the Annual Pass treat from other years (big rice crispy frosted thing). This time it was a little tote, but nothing amazing.

- Costumes: My eldest had a costume with a prop (foam crowbar) and they tested it out at security but it passed as it was flexible (nothing worse than what they sell in parks). My other son was an inflatable T-Rex, and was totally fine, just neeed to roll up his tail so it didn't drag on the ground. They seemed pretty on top of costumes.

-Was checked for wristbands early in the night, but definitely not later. Though, I may not have noticed if they were checking as we passed.


Overall it was very fun. Have a great time, everyone!

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Any news on where the winnie the pooh characters were since critter country is closed?

 

[Caropooh]

Will someone fill this party rookie in on how the Treat Trails work, please?

 

[Niltiac]

Will someone fill this party rookie in on how the Treat Trails work, please?

It's pretty simple. When you get your wristband they give you a small plastic trick-or-treat bag (you can bring your own if you want). The map marks where the trails are, but honestly walking around you'll just see them everywhere. It'll be a roped off area with an entrance and exit (there are signs) and as you walk through there will be stations with a big bin of candy and CM's on either side handing it out. You just walk through and go to each station. A lot of the trails have decorations to check out along the way.

 

[kiapepito]

Any news on where the winnie the pooh characters were since critter country is closed?

I was just informed that they will be outside the Splash Mountain exit.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

Next crazy question. We have 5 people in our group. Every one has AP's except my mom. Will she be able to walk through the AP treat trail with us and just not get anything?

Probably not. Last year they scanned passes to allow you to enter the AP area. But the trail is really short (one treat station and the bag station), so you and your group will be done in a few minutes. Your mom could easily meet you outside in front of the Opera House.

 

[kyrkea333]

I was listening to The Dis Unplugged and I heard it mentioned that the Headless Horseman doesnt begin the parade at IASW and he entered the parade a bit further down the route. So I you want to see the HH I would find a spot closer to Main Street.

I haven't finished reading the whole thread so I don't know if this has been answered, but we were at MHP on the 3rd and waited for the parade at IASW, not expecting to see the headless horseman as we'd heard on dis unplugged, and it ended up that he did leave from there, at least that night! I also still haven't figured out why there were no fireworks that night.[/QUOTE]

 

[kyrkea333]

Yes I would like to know this as well!!!

I'm not sure if it varies, but I was surprised to see the Headless Horeseman come out ahead of the parade. We were waiting at IASW on the 3rd, and were not expecting to see him based on what we'd heard on the dis Unplugged.

 

[WebmasterMaryJo]

I was listening to The Dis Unplugged and I heard it mentioned that the Headless Horseman doesnt begin the parade at IASW and he entered the parade a bit further down the route. So I you want to see the HH I would find a spot closer to Main Street.



This was also mentioned in the Dis Unplugged- monkey bride is in the attic on the left on a platform at eye level-for a better explaination of where to find monkey bride listen to the Dis unplugged.

I think that maybe the first night the Headless Horseman came from around the Matterhorn area (probably from the backstage area by Casey Jr.), as it was told to us by some people who were standing there and saw it come out; but that may have been the only night (hopefully). I should have corrected it in Housekeeping last Sunday. And we DID see the monkey bride. She's to the left, just as you enter the attic, about eye level. You'll see the back of her and the red beating heart, and if you turn around you'll get full view.

 

[mom2rtk]

I also still haven't figured out why there were no fireworks that night.

Any time the fireworks don't go off, there's a high likelihood it was a wind issue.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

For those who will be in the L.A. area from 10/28 - 10/30, the Hollywood Bowl will be presenting "The Nightmare Before Christmas" live in concert with Danny Elfman, Catherine O'Hara, Paul Reubens, Ken Page, etc. This sounds like a really fun event. Tickets are available on Ticketmaster.

 

[krispin41]

Not surprised...my last trip in June I saw several girls wearing lace pants! With bathing suits, these were actual more like things you would wear to the pool. One I thought was just weird...four over the course of the week? Odd, I mean I did happen to be there in the 100++ heat wave but still...

This fits what I have seen in the past. THough Disney always had rules against overly revealing clothing I have seen people in Halloween costumes that were...WOW...just WOW.

I think the focus on costumes-and the reason for the new guidelines is safety. You could smuggle a great many things under a floor length hoop skirt, but not much can be hiding under transparent spandex lace that barely cover your bum. While I'd be more comfortable in a park filled with the hoop skirts I see where they are going with it. Now if we could just get them to be equally concerned about the 2 inches of transparent spandex stretched over nearly exposed bodies and call foul on both then I would certainly feel happier and like my little kids and my teenage boy were in an appropriate place for family fun. I almost wish they had a party or two just for adults so that there would be a time and place for such costumes (everyone has a right to enjoy Walt's Park-It's not just for little kids) and then those of us that don't want our kids to see such costume could avoid those nights.

As it was the last time we saw a real doozy of a costume I just kept walking in the opposite direction when I saw them coming and when I got uncomfortable enough we just left the park. I am also not a prude but when I feel embarrassed and uncomfortable looking at people I know its time to steer the kids the other way.

 

[Kindermouse]

Here is some info from my party experience sorry for the lengthy post.

I was at the party on wednesday the 5th and I still dont know where the AP treat trail was because I had CM's sending me from frontierland, to toontown and each time I got there I was told-nope it's not here its somewhere else. I had 3 kids with me who were tired of running around and not doing rides or treat trails or meeting characters so I gave up but FYI the CM's dont know where it is so dont think you can ask where it is when you get there. boo hoo I didn't get my bag.

4:30 is not early enough to line up for the toontown preparty. We were way way back in the line which meant we waited for a very long time to meet Mickey and Minnie-in fact we waited so long that they swapped out for donald and daisy about 3 people ahead of us. on the plus side though the line for them was right next to where Goofy ended up. In fact he was so close to the M&M line that he shook my hand while I was in line. He was few minutes late to the party so when he showed up most everyone was already in a line so he just stood there for a few minutes. I sent the kids over to get pictures with Goofy while I held down our spot in line since he was only about 10 feet away with no line-until I sent my kids over and other people got the idea to do the same. Then it was a line of kids lol. The Mickey and Minnie line was long and moved very slowly but at lease it was block off by chairs so I took advantage of that and sat my tired feet down.

We saw a lot of really good costumes and I did see people with dress that dragged the ground and layered costumes. I also saw a variety of large props including large umbrellas strung with lights, brooms, bejeweled canes, and shields and swords.

I decided to give up my 4:10 BB res and just do my BB birthday lunch at 11:30 since I was worried about how long it would take and missing the preparty in toon town and about my cake getting smashed in the bottom of the stroller during the party. This meant that I needed to get a parade viewing spot. At 7:20 We were able to snatch up what appeared to be one of the last spots on main street. I had planned to find a seat at 7:30 but we made our way over a few minutes early and I am glad I did. by 7:35 the second row behind us was even filled in. so all in all I lost about 20-30 more minutes of the party due to not doing my BB res but it was perfect since we were in need of a break but then anyway and I had little one getting cranky and falling asleep (she slept through the parade and the fireworks at the hub-you know they are exhaused when they can sleep through that noise.) I had signed up for the BB res since I thought we might not make it to the second parade without the little guys getting to tired but ha ha the joke was on me when one of them didn't make it to the first parade.

Also I hear a lot of reports that the headless horseman was too slow in making his way down main the parade route and the it was almost funny it was so slow- but that was no the case for the parade I saw. He wasn't galloping by any means but he was cantering at a good speed. however he was more than 5 minutes ahead of the parade. it was more like 10 minutes and I was starting to wonder if the parade was ever coming.

I LOVED the parade. Yes, its not long but wow it is fabulously done. We even got some good character interaction during the parade. Captain hook and my 9 year old brandished hooks (well one hook and on hooked finger anyway) at each other and squared off for a moment and the queen of hearts came over and pushed his hat down over his eyes. we were laughing hysterically. So the front row seat was perfect and worth it.

I made the kiddos wait for the most part to do the treat trails until after the fireworks so the lines would be shorter aside from one that we walked past in the beginning of the party that was totally empty. The lines were much more manageable at the end of the party than they were at the beginning of the party. Thanks Disers for that tip. In prior years we wasted too much time on lines at the beginning of the night but I told the kids in advance that we wouldn't be doing that this time and it worked out well.

The rides all had very short lines, especially after the fireworks. We didn't do Space or HM as these were the exceptions. If the wait was more than 10 minutes I passed. The boys rode matterhorn 5 times back to back at the end of the party because they could literally get off and get back on.

BE WARNED-if you are in frontierland there is a treat trail blocking off your access to the bathroom by Rancho Del Zocalo. this means that your nearest bathroom is pretty far away in what was the most crowded part of the park. Making my way through the crowd with a double stroller was horrendous and I had a child in tears almost wet himself in the middle of the party because we wasted time making our way to that bathroom only to have to push through the crowd again to get to different one that was beyond full because it was the only bathroom around that wasn't blocked off for a treat trail.

FOR THOSE NOT DOING THE PARTY-rope drop on a party day (which is also a non-magic-morning day) is was less crowded as was the park all morning long. The first couple of hours in the park was heavenly on party days. I think a lot of party goers do late starts to the day so they could stay up late for the party and many other non party goers make party days a DCA day but I highly suggest doing rope drop at DL on party days since they were so much less crowded. For example we had a Plaza in breakfast res at 7:10 on a nonparty MM day and the crowds at security and and the lines at the turnstiles were insane. We finished breakfast and left at 8:00 on the nose and when we got to sign ups for Jedi training the line took over a half an hour and when we got to our turn all that was left was the 2 latest shows. On our rope drop non-party-day we waited about 10 minutes in line and got the first show and had almost no one behind us. When we came back for our 10:10 check in for jedi training the last show was still available. All shows were totally taken the previous day just before 9:00. The same was true of DCA on non party days with all the lines being very short but on party days the lines at DCA were much longer and the park was more crowded.

 

[kiapepito]

We are back from the Halloween party from Friday night! We had lots of fun, but it was busy up until 10pm when the lines began to disappear! I have NEVER walked onto to Dumbo and Alice ride in my life.. that was quite a change! A couple notes from our trip as I find them helpful when I was looking for information!

1 Our party began at 4 pm. We were in line at the gates .by 3:30 pm and were the 5th group in line. They started letting us in at 3:45pm.
2. We were going to take our picture with giant Mickey pumpkin... upon seeing at least an hour wait... we said nope!
3. Walked over to Haunted Mansion for our fast passes as line was 85 minutes long... and had no idea if our young girls would be it past 9 pm... (bedtime back home is 7:30 pm..)
4. Butterscotch beignets were yummy! I was pixie dusted and received 4 instead of the 3 pack! Whoo hoo! They made a great breakfast the next morning!
5. Just as Toon Town had the pre-halloween celebration, they had it at critter country even though everything was closed (rides and stores). You could not go into the land unless you had a wrist band and we were led through around 6:15 pm. It was awesome... because there was NO ONE.... we had Pooh, Eeyore and Tiger to ourselves. The best photo opps as they were dancing with my girls and running with them! However, they were not in their Halloween costumes! I thought it was interesting that they had us in the land even though everything was closed... there was no set photo op for Pooh's gang as they were literally running around in circles! Fun!
5. We got in line for the Trials of the Temple Jedi training at 5 pm at the exit of Star Wars Launch Bay. They asked my girls if they could follow directions, not be afraid on stage and then were handed a pass to come back to the same spot at 7:10 pm for the 7:30 pm show. At 7:10 pm, they were robed and we the parents were taken to the priority seating section. After the kids were done, they gave back their robes and they received a badge for completing their training.
6. Umm.. so when I heard peeps candy.. I was stoked.. to see that it was literally a single piece of peep.. lol.. it was pretty funny!
7. The wait to see Jack (Sally was absent pretty much the entire night, was told she was re-stitching herself) was only 12 minutes long... even the CM was shocked! We stood in line at 10 pm.
8. Parade was great! My daughter commented that it was too short! Not scary at all! I have a 4 and 7 year old and they were both up and dancing.. for some reason, it looks much scarier when I watched it on Youtube.
9. They sold out of the dracula Mickey buckets.. the only thing I wanted...
10. Pumpkin twists are amazing.... I ate a bunch of them just as my girls did.
11. We all made it to midnight awake and alert!
12. Overall, it was a fun experience. Would I go again next year? Probably not as it was weird just entering the park for the first time that day at 4 pm and I did not like feeling rushed like we were picking between photo op lines, candy lines and/or rides.

Please ask me if you have any questions!

 

[kiapepito]

I forgot to add... that the headless horseman does not go fast at all.. I think my 4 year old could have out-walked him... which made it nice to talk pictures and see him and the horse! He was five minutes ahead of the parade.

 

[WebmasterMaryJo]

For those looking for the Monkey Bride, here is where you should look in the Haunted Mansion this year:

 

[jessicaerv]

Haven't been posting on the thread this year. My DD and I have a reservation at the Grand Californian for this coming Thursday the 13th through Sunday the 16th (DVC studio). Unfortunately I have to cancel our trip. This is a long shot, but if anyone wants to upgrade to the Grand by taking over my reservation, let me know. (Mods - if this isn't allowed, please remove).

 

[lorijohnhill]

@Kindermouse do you have pics of your cake?