HalloweenTime at DLR Superthread- 9/14-10/31; Mickey's Halloween Party starts 9/28!

[specialks]

Figment...thanks for the great photos! I'm getting so excited to experience DL in a fun, new way!

 

[AZBeth]

Thanks everyone for all the Halloween information. We leave next Tuesday and are attending that evenings party and we are getting so excited!

I hope someone will post how the 10/3 party was to compare to the 9/30 crowd level...

 

[Sherry E]

Very nice input on MHP this Monday Sherry. MHP is a fun exclusive event to attend to at least once so you can enjoy the full effects of the Halloween season at DL.



MHP ran on Monday Oct 3rd instead of Tuesday.

Thank you, Bret!

Thanks everyone for all the Halloween information. We leave next Tuesday and are attending that evenings party and we are getting so excited!

I hope someone will post how the 10/3 party was to compare to the 9/30 crowd level...

AZBeth -

Do you mean that if someone went to both the 9/30 party and the 10/3 party, they can give a comparison of the crowds on each night? I think a couple of DIS'ers may have attended both the 9/30 party and the 10/3 party, but I can't recall who.

The 10/3 party was quite crowded, but I am guessing a lot of that has to do with various schools still being on break as well as the fact that it was only the second night of the party.

Some of the treat trails with the longest lines (because there were multiple treat stations along the trails) were the ones at POTC and at the Golden Horseshoe, as well as at Innoventions. There were no lines at all at the Halloween Round-Up/Big Thunder Ranch. The Pixie Hollow lines moved quickly, too (and that is a beautiful area to visit at night).

 

[Sherry E]

I posted these photos right after returning from opening day of Halloween Time a few weeks ago, but since the question has come up about the bags people are using for their MHP candy, I will post again!

Basically, there are 2 main tote bags floating around DLR in the shops, and people are using these as trick or treat bags, since the free bags you get with your MHP admission are tiny and don't hold much.

This orange bag is everywhere, in almost every shop around Disneyland (and maybe DCA too?) - it has a cute design on the front, but in person it looks a little cheap. I think it's a bit more durable and sturdy than it appears, but I just don't really care for the kind of shiny material, which doesn't come across as well in photos. In any case, if you need a bigger bag to haul your candy around, it gets the job done!

And this is the bag I got (I prefer this bag because I like the colors better and it lights up and twinkles at night), which Jessica/Belle Ella also has. IF you see this bag in a shop and you like it, grab it right on the spot! Don't wait! This bag is more popular than the orange bag, I think, and it gets snapped up rather quickly. When I first looked around on 10/3, I didn't see this bag in any store but the orange bag was all over the place. All of a sudden, before the MHP began, the black & green bag reappeared in a couple of shops! There must have been a stash of the bags in the back somewhere.

Here it is in its twinkly form, at night:

People are also using Mickey pumpkin trick or treat buckets (not as much as the bags, though).

And here are other random photos taken 2 days ago, just for the heck of it (because I'm already in Photobucket!):

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Little cutie (I love animals!)!:

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One side of a pumpkin:

The other side of the same exact pumpkin:

Now all of these thoughts are popping into my head, 3 days after going to the party!

I forgot to mention this last night, when I posted the photos above^^^.

See the 3 dark photos above, with either the red or purple eerie glowing lights? Those are special effects just for the party.

Well, the first "red" photo was in an area that must have been haunted - and not just because it was a spooky setting in Frontierland for the Halloween party!

When I got to that 'red' spot, I purposely turned off my flash...repeatedly. I manually went in and turned off that darn flash so that it would stay off. At first it worked for a couple of photos and it did NOT flash. But I was trying to get several different angles and the flash started going off on its own, even though I kept turning it off. In fact, all of the settings on my camera stated changing and all of these odd symbols for things I never use popped up on my screen.

I finally gave up because it was too annoying to try to figure out why the flash was going off even though I was disabling it over and over again (and I am very accustomed to turning off the flash and changing the ISO - I do it all the time).

But then - another girl and her boyfriend came up to the railing, next to where I was standing. And she was having the same problem! I overheard her tell her companion that she kept turning off her flash and yet it kept flashing anyway! So I was not the only one with that problem!

So be sure that, whether you have an SLR camera or even a point and shoot, if you try to take photos in the "dark, spooky" hidden areas of the party, like in Frontierland, check and double check your settings to be sure the flash is not going off. If you leave the flash on, it will wash out the 'spook factor' and make it less creepy looking. I managed to get a few without flash, thankfully, but the camera had a mind of its own for the girl next to me and for me!!

 

[Belle Ella]

As far as the treat trails, with the exception of the one at Big Thunder Ranch I only hit each trail once and I still eeked out that much candy. My tip, instead of going through the trails multiple times, just have more than one bag with you. I had three (2 small ones and a larger plastic bag that I kept emptying the other 2 into as they got full) so essentially I went through each line three times at once. I had barely gotten a single layer at the bottom of my bag full by the time the Cavalcade and the fireworks started. So I filled up about 90% of that bag in the final hour of the party, and got a character photo in there. And at the end of the night they practically throw the candy at you on your way out and just dump as much as they can in your bag(s).

 

[Riverrunner]

Thanks, everyone for all the great info! DW and I will be going to DL next week for the first time at Halloween (though we've been innumerable times at other times of the year). We can't wait to see all the decorations and attend the party next Tuesday.

It sounds like many people spend the entire party time with character meets, parade, fireworks and getting candy - is that right? No rides? I guess the rides aren't any different during the Party than at other times, are they?

 

[figment_jii]

It sounds like many people spend the entire party time with character meets, parade, fireworks and getting candy - is that right? No rides? I guess the rides aren't any different during the Party than at other times, are they?

We didn't do many rides because they are same during the day and we wanted to spend as much time as possible doing the Halloween party specific activities. I asked the CM at HM if there was anything different during the party and she said no. (I asked at HM because at MNSSHP at WDW the CM really dress up and get into the party atmosphere.)

 

[Princess Row]

I leave in five days!

We are doing the halloween party on Friday.
I did read that they have pulled better characters out this year for the parties......

Can anyone tell me what characters you have seen during the party?
(Becides the normal everyday characters).

I am glad to see the pumpkin carvers have finally stepped it up for this year. I am excited to see the pumpkins for when I go!

 

[Sherry E]

Thanks, everyone for all the great info! DW and I will be going to DL next week for the first time at Halloween (though we've been innumerable times at other times of the year). We can't wait to see all the decorations and attend the party next Tuesday.

It sounds like many people spend the entire party time with character meets, parade, fireworks and getting candy - is that right? No rides? I guess the rides aren't any different during the Party than at other times, are they?

Riverrunner -

I would say that's a fair assessment. There are a lot of people who head straight towards the rides because they expect the lines to be super short or non-existent during the party (which can sometimes be true and sometimes is not the case).

But I would guess that there are more people who spend the bulk of the time between character photos, candy collecting, watching fireworks and the cavalcade, and maybe not even all of those things but perhaps 3 out of 4.

The rides are no different during or for the party. Space Mountain Ghost Galaxy is going to be Ghost Galaxy all season long, day and night, and Haunted Mansion Holiday will be in its Skellington-ized form until early January!

Make sure you spend some time at the Halloween Round-Up, which is a gem and I think a lot of people don't bother with it. That's where all the amazingly intricate carved character pumpkins are, and they change all the time. Some of the pumpkins will last for a month. Some of them will only last a week. The carvers are constantly replacing the pumpkins and adding more. And inside the Scare-dy-Crow Shack, there are some cute photo spots (not with characters but with fake pumpkin people).

The window displays along Main Street are quite festive too.

 

[tkitty]

We're leaving for Ca on Sat. and doing the Party on Tues.
Here's my question- How does the free parking work? Can we arrive and park at 1 or 2pm for free? giving us time to do a little shoping at World of Disney before entering the park around 3.

 

[tkitty]

Thanks, everyone for all the great info! DW and I will be going to DL next week for the first time at Halloween (though we've been innumerable times at other times of the year). We can't wait to see all the decorations and attend the party next Tuesday.

It sounds like many people spend the entire party time with character meets, parade, fireworks and getting candy - is that right? No rides? I guess the rides aren't any different during the Party than at other times, are they?

Hi Riverrunner! We'll be there on the same night. We're from the Phoenix area and this will be our first Disney Halloween party. I know we will be trying to hit as many rides as we can. I'm hoping my DD's Disney App works during the party to give us accurate ride wait times.
I think we will only be seeking out certain characters for my grandkids, but not planning on waiting in many lines for pictures. We'll let the kids decide. Of course I can't miss the fireworks though!

 

[Belle Ella]

Thanks, everyone for all the great info! DW and I will be going to DL next week for the first time at Halloween (though we've been innumerable times at other times of the year). We can't wait to see all the decorations and attend the party next Tuesday.

It sounds like many people spend the entire party time with character meets, parade, fireworks and getting candy - is that right? No rides? I guess the rides aren't any different during the Party than at other times, are they?

Honestly, in my opinion the rides are a 'waste' of party time. They are no different than they will be during the rest of your stay so why not focus on what isn't the same, you know? The way that I went about the party was to collect FP's in the morning, go home for a nap and to change into my costume and get back in at 3 to use my FP's for whatever rides I wanted to get out of the way before the party actually began. Then it was character photos first, the cavalcade and the fireworks, and then going on a trick-or-treating spree. It was a blast and I would do it the exact same way all over if I could.

 

[Riverrunner]

Make sure you spend some time at the Halloween Round-Up, which is a gem and I think a lot of people don't bother with it. That's where all the amazingly intricate carved character pumpkins are, and they change all the time. Some of the pumpkins will last for a month. Some of them will only last a week. The carvers are constantly replacing the pumpkins and adding more. And inside the Scare-dy-Crow Shack, there are some cute photo spots (not with characters but with fake pumpkin people).

The window displays along Main Street are quite festive too.

Thanks Sherry E! I assume the Halloween Round-Up is at BTR, right? Is it any different during the party than at other times? And, where is Scare-dy-Crow Shack?

 

[Sherry E]

Thanks Sherry E! I assume the Halloween Round-Up is at BTR, right? Is it any different during the party than at other times? And, where is Scare-dy-Crow Shack?

Right. The Halloween Round-Up is at BTR, and it doesn't change for the party except that it gets a treat trail with treat stations. But it will change within the Halloween season itself, as different pumpkins are added and removed. It can change from day to day. In fact, I even noticed some other decorations (non-pumpkins) had come and gone between my visit on 9/16 and my visit 3 days ago.

The Scare-Dy-Crow Shack is a cute little place at the Round-Up (that also conveniently doubles as Santa's cabin during the holiday season!) with all sorts of Halloween decorations and framed pictures inside, as well as some "pumpkin people" photo ops, like pumpkins playing cards, etc.

The pictures I posted on the previous page include many photos from the Round-Up, both outdoors and inside the Scare-Dy-Crow Shack, and I posted some photos a few weeks ago that were also from the Round-Up/Scare-Dy-Crow Shack. I can find them if you want, but I don't want to spoil it for you if you want to be surprised!!

 

[StyledSugar]

Great pics and updates from the parties so far! Everytime I read this thread I get more and more excited about our upcoming trip!!!

 

[Riverrunner]

Right. The Halloween Round-Up is at BTR, and it doesn't change for the party except that it gets a treat trail with treat stations. But it will change within the Halloween season itself, as different pumpkins are added and removed. It can change from day to day. In fact, I even noticed some other decorations (non-pumpkins) had come and gone between my visit on 9/16 and my visit 3 days ago.

The Scare-Dy-Crow Shack is a cute little place at the Round-Up (that also conveniently doubles as Santa's cabin during the holiday season!) with all sorts of Halloween decorations and framed pictures inside, as well as some "pumpkin people" photo ops, like pumpkins playing cards, etc.

The pictures I posted on the previous page include many photos from the Round-Up, both outdoors and inside the Scare-Dy-Crow Shack, and I posted some photos a few weeks ago that were also from the Round-Up/Scare-Dy-Crow Shack. I can find them if you want, but I don't want to spoil it for you if you want to be surprised!!

Thanks, Sherry E! I think I've seen the photos already, I was just wondering where things are since the names have changed for the holidays. There will be lots of surprising things since this is our fist Halloween at DLR!

 

[mysteriouspnai]

In fact, I even noticed some other decorations (non-pumpkins) had come and gone between my visit on 9/16 and my visit 3 days ago.

I think it's funny that we went so close to each other. We were there on 9/16, and we were there on 9/30, the Friday before your Monday. When's your next trip? We'll plan it around your time xD

 

[Sherry E]

I think it's funny that we went so close to each other. We were there on 9/16, and we were there on 9/30, the Friday before your Monday. When's your next trip? We'll plan it around your time xD

The funny thing is that I almost went on 9/30 instead of 10/3! The 10/3 trip was sort of a last minute change of plans. So if 9/30 had panned out, I would have been there on your exact day again! (By the way, did you notice how delightfully uncrowded DCA was in the early daytime on 9/16? It was emptier than I have seen it in 4 years! I think everyone was over in DL where the bulk of the Halloween stuff is.)

I think - unless something unexpected comes up - that the next trip is probably in November, for the holiday season opening (although that's kind of screwy this year because IASW Holiday and the holiday fireworks are beginning on 11/11, and yet the season does not officially begin until 11/14, so I feel safer with 11/14 because there may be more things open on that date, like the Reindeer Round-Up, etc.).

So if you happen to be there around the holiday season start date, we may finally cross paths!

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This morning one of the local news shows (Good Day L.A.) is doing some segments from DL about Halloween Time. The season has been going on for 3 weeks now - they are a little slow to get someone out there! Usually, when the Christmas/holiday season begins they send out a reporter to DLR to do multiple segments pretty early on. They don't wait 3 weeks. I wonder why they waited so long to send someone out for Halloween Time? I mean, I guess it doesn't matter either way because the people who really want to know about Halloween Time already know about it, but I would think they'd want to be more timely with their reports!

 

[MychaelP]

I searched but didn't easily find it and also didn't want to start a new thread.
If I buy Halloween Party tickets for tonight at Disneyland today do they reimburse me for parking since parking is included with the tickets? Or am I out the parking fee? Can't buy same day online it says and it wasn't sold out last night.

Thanks

 

[SueTGGR]

Another question about the area where the Halloween Roundup is...Last year there was a photo op with Mickey and Minnie in costume back there, did you see something like that this year @ the Party?
Thanks,
Sue