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

[deejdigsdis]

Hi - first off apologies if this query has already been posted - I tried a search first - really!
We are planning a trip to DL later this year and hope to check out the Halloween fun. We don't have this holiday in a big way in New Zealand so DS's (8 and 11) are very keen to get into the dressing up and of course, US candy!
As we will be in California for 2 weeks, I'm wondering if there is anyway we can divide our visit to DL to take in both Halloween AND then later, Christmas?
I know the Christmas stuff takes at least a week to go up - can anyone give me an idea if this would be possible - say if we visited Oct 30th, and then came back around Nov 11 - would the Christmas theming be up by then?
TIA
Sarah

Like Sherry said, you will definitely see some decor crossover. This is what we saw on October 26th last year.

Halloween Banner/Snow on the Castle:

Christmas Candy Corn/Halloween Trick-or-Treat Bags in Candy Palace:

 

[RedRosie]

Thanks for the info SherryE!

 

[Sherry E]

Thanks for the info SherryE!

You're very welcome, RedRosie!





(Oh, and I always get a kick out of seeing those photos that deejdigsdis posted above - the holiday 'crossover' photos! It's a true case of holidays colliding, but just sort of out of necessity. If DLR were to ever actually promote/advertise a crossover period of time in which both Halloween and Christmas decorations could be enjoyed, it would probably suddenly jump from being a 'slow' time of year to being super busy!)

 

[Sherry E]

Bump...and a boogie!

 

[Saskiwi]

We've booked!! We are now at Hojo's Oct 21 - Nov 5 - earlier than we had planned but we got quite a few Entertainment book rate days this way
So not expecting to see very much "Christmas crossover" now - but that's okay - the more I read about Halloween at DL and MHP, the more I think that will be plenty for the kids to take in!
We will just have to save Christmas for our next trip!

A couple more queries for you Halloween vets: I'm a little confused about the fireworks over this period: are the Halloween fireworks ONLY on the nights MHP is on? Or are they every night during the 'Halloween at DL' period?

Also is Fantasmic! showing on nights when MHP is on? I would imagine that would be a logistical nightmare...so I'm guessing not? But is F! on on non-MHP nights? We missed F! last time we visited in 2009 (- it was getting a major overhaul, so the boys have never seen it. DH and I last saw it in the 1990s!!) - so it would be great if we can catch it this time round.

Thanks for all the replies so far!

 

[Sherry E]

We've booked!! We are now at Hojo's Oct 21 - Nov 5 - earlier than we had planned but we got quite a few Entertainment book rate days this way
So not expecting to see very much "Christmas crossover" now - but that's okay - the more I read about Halloween at DL and MHP, the more I think that will be plenty for the kids to take in!
We will just have to save Christmas for our next trip!

A couple more queries for you Halloween vets: I'm a little confused about the fireworks over this period: are the Halloween fireworks ONLY on the nights MHP is on? Or are they every night during the 'Halloween at DL' period?

Also is Fantasmic! showing on nights when MHP is on? I would imagine that would be a logistical nightmare...so I'm guessing not? But is F! on on non-MHP nights? We missed F! last time we visited in 2009 (- it was getting a major overhaul, so the boys have never seen it. DH and I last saw it in the 1990s!!) - so it would be great if we can catch it this time round.

Thanks for all the replies so far!

Yay for booking your dates!!! It feels good to have the dates set and reserved, doesn't it? And yes, if you can get Entertainment Rates for more days during that time frame then why not take advantage of it?

I think there are some good reasons to start with a Halloween trip and work up to a Christmas trip down the road. One of them is that if the kids have neither experienced Halloween Time nor Christmas time at DLR, then starting them out with a Halloween trip is a good way to kind of see how they do with the extra sensory overload and stimulation beyond the norm at DLR. Christmas at DLR is done on a much bigger, grander and more extensive scale, so to start with that may have been too much at first.

You will definitely see the beginnings of the holiday touches going up in the 2 parks (that's what I call "Phase 1" of the Christmas transformation), but you won't see the parade or the nighttime Winter Castle or IASW Holiday, etc. (Phase 2) or the hotels' decorations (Phase 3). So you will absolutely get some crossover decor to enjoy - no question about that. It's just a matter of how much will be up by 11/5. I'm not sure if any of the Christmas trees will up yet, but there will be decorations going up, little by little.

The Halloween Screams fireworks are only shown at the MHP on MHP nights. In 2009, those fireworks were shown to the general public every night but last year DLR changed things and made them party exclusives.

There will be regular fireworks on non-MHP nights.

As far as I know, Fantasmic was not shown during the MHP. Last year was the first time the MHP had been in DL in recent years, so DLR may tweak some things as time progresses. I think Fantasmic will at least still run on weekends/Saturdays and Sundays (remember the MHP is on Fridays, Tuesdays and a couple of Mondays). They pump fog into the Rivers of America for spooky effect on MHP nights!

 

[Sherry E]

In this entertainment schedule (and park hours) from October 2010, you can see exactly what was running on which nights, in which park. I imagine it will be a similar schedule this year.

 

[Saskiwi]

Thanks for clarifying that Sherry!
We have booked a Disney-view room at Hojo and last time we loved watching fireworks from the balcony on nights when we weren't in the park, so good to know we will be able to do that again!

And looking forward to seeing Fantasmic after all these years! We have got ourselves 14-day passes, so will have plenty of time to pop into the park in the evenings to see that, plus WoC etc.

Now to plan family Halloween costumes that will travel easily!!!

 

[Sherry E]

Thanks for clarifying that Sherry!
We have booked a Disney-view room at Hojo and last time we loved watching fireworks from the balcony on nights when we weren't in the park, so good to know we will be able to do that again!

And looking forward to seeing Fantasmic after all these years! We have got ourselves 14-day passes, so will have plenty of time to pop into the park in the evenings to see that, plus WoC etc.

Now to plan family Halloween costumes that will travel easily!!!

You're welcome! You'll definitely be able to see fireworks and Fantasmic at some point during the 14 days! That is for sure! Maybe not on MHP nights, but at some point! And WoC should be running every night since DCA is not involved in the Halloween festivities anymore (that we know of).

 

[BELLEDOZER]

I'm sorry if I haven't been as many pics lately. I've been very busy, and dealing with a geriatric greyhound with health problems. While the bulk of the Halloweentime decorations are on Main St, you can touches of it in the most unexpected places, such as the first pic taken at the Pieces of Eight store in NOS...



Looking for Nemo??



And lastly the HM at night...

 

[BELLEDOZER]

Bump!!

 

[yoda75]

if this has been answered before sorry, but how soon after halloween do the halloween decorations come down.

 

[Sherry E]

if this has been answered before sorry, but how soon after halloween do the halloween decorations come down.

yoda75 - Basically they begin to come down immediately after Halloween ends, and it may take a day or two beyond that point to get them all down. So I would guess that overnight from 10/31 to 11/1 this year, much of the Halloween decor will be gone. The Christmas decor is much more extensive and involved - and the holiday season begins on 11/11/11 this year, we think - so Disneyland has to start the process of transforming the park for Christmas time even before Halloween Time is over. The Halloween decorations are not as extensive and don't take as long to take down, but there will be a bit of 'crossover' - where you may see some Halloween decor (like pumpkins around the Partners statue) at the same time you see the 'snow' magically appear on the Winter Castle.

 

[Bert Chimneysweep]

hey guys sort of the same question

We are planning to visit both parks and the Party on the friday before halloween on our trip from the UK to LA.

We are undecided on whether to return after Halloween as we are only over for 8 days. Would we have any chance in seeing some of the christmas decoration if return that week?

 

[Sherry E]

hey guys sort of the same question

We are planning to visit both parks and the Party on the friday before halloween on our trip from the UK to LA.

We are undecided on whether to return after Halloween as we are only over for 8 days. Would we have any chance in seeing some of the christmas decoration if return that week?

Bert Chimneysweep - Okay, let's see. So the day you are planning to visit DLR and do the Halloween party is October 28, correct? That's Friday. So if you came back to the parks after Halloween, do you know which date it would be? You said you only have 8 days. Would your 'return day' to DLR be something like November 4th-ish or November 6th-ish or later than that? Or, let's put it this way - what's the latest possible day you could return to DLR in November?

The holiday decorations will begin to slowly go up immediately after Halloween ends on 10/31 - even slightly before that. New Orleans Square will be one of the first places to get its decor - the Mardi Gras masks. Holiday merchandise will begin to appear.

I'm just not sure how much of the decorations will actually be up in the first few days of November beyond NOS. With each day, more things will go up.

If the holiday season officially begins on 11/11/11 this year, Disneyland will have to hustle to get the bulk of everything up in 11 days (from 10/31), so there may be more stuff put out in early November, and if you were to arrive on 11/4 or 11/6 or somewhere in that range, you'd see quite a bit of decor.

If the holiday season begins on 11/18, however, I don't think you would see too much in the first few days of November. So the actual date you are able to return may make all the difference in how much you see.

 

[evedein]

Planning DL trip in time for Halloween Party. Got overwhelmed trying to read 150+ posts. I need to find out the cost for non-AP adult ticket for the Halloween party. Also, does anyone know if there is a DVC discount for the Party? If so, how much is it?

 

[Sherry E]

Planning DL trip in time for Halloween Party. Got overwhelmed trying to read 150+ posts. I need to find out the cost for non-AP adult ticket for the Halloween party. Also, does anyone know if there is a DVC discount for the Party? If so, how much is it?

Hi, evedein! Welcome! I'm so glad you joined us.

Good grief - no need for you to read all 150+ posts in this thread! I can understand how that would be overwhelming. That's something people only do if they have the time or interest.

I try to keep as many links and information in the very first post of this thread as possible so things are always easy to find, and I update it with specific season details when we get them. Liza (funatdisney) has a specific post in this thread just about the Halloween Party. But we don't mind answering questions at all - if we know the answers, that is! There are a lot of seasoned Halloween Time visitors here who are able to tackle questons.

About the party....DVC members can get the same discount that the AP holders get, as I recall. Disney Visa holders should also be able to get that same discount.

Otherwise, the tickets will go on sale to the general public (or anyone without an advance purchase discount) on July 1. I'm not sure if those prices will be $59 (like the day of event prices) or a little bit less?? Probably a few dollars less. I don't think we know that for sure yet, though - it hasn't been officially announced. All the info I see about the Party on any website is more or less laid out like this (from the wdwinfo.com site):

Mickey's Halloween Party at Disneyland Park - Ticket Prices

September 30, October 3, 11, 18 & 25, 2011

•Advance Purchase $TBA
•Tickets purchased the day of the party $TBA
October 7, 14 and 21, 2011

•Advance Purchase $TBA
•Tickets purchased the day of the party $TBA
October 28 & 31, 2011

•Advance Purchase $TBA
•Tickets purchased the day of the party $TBA
All Dates

•Ages Two and Under: No Charge



Annual Passholder Advance Ticket Prices

September 30, October 3, 11, 18 & 25, 2011

•Advance Purchase $44.00
•Tickets purchased the day of the party $59.00
October 7, 14 and 21, 2011

•Advance Purchase $59.00
•Tickets purchased the day of the party $59.00
October 28 & 31, 2011

•Advance Purchase $64.00
•Tickets purchased the day of the party $64.00


Event Times
Tuesday Nights — 6:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m.
Friday and Halloween night — 7:00 p.m. to 12:00 p.m.

So I guess that we will know the prices you need on July 1st, or maybe right before that.

 

[Bert Chimneysweep]

well we have decieded we are going visit for the 2nd time on our holiday on 1st November as well now as we leave LA on 3rd

If some of the christmas stuff is up then it is wonderful if it isn't then we will still have fun

 

[Sherry E]

So now I am in a quandary....

This year is going to turn out to be a whirlwind of activity for me, with many visiting friends and little side trips and things like that. I've got a Catalina Island trip (the free birthday offer they have going on this year and next) and some friends rolling into town next month. Another friend asked me to meet him in Las Vegas in August. Then, there are other friends with planned DLR trips coming into town in November and also when I go to DLR for the holidays.

Money is not on my side for all of this activity, mind you. Never mind the fact that my head is spinning from all of the potential plans.

I already have 7 nights booked at the PPH for my annual holiday DLR trip (late November/early December). I actually don't have to put any money down on that reservation until I check in, so nothing has been paid so far...and I might cut off a couple of nights. But the rate is too great to not make it a long trip, so I might keep it at 7 nights.

BUT, yesterday I received a PIN code for October (everyone make sure to try the "Saved Offers" trick on the DLR website that I have spoken about on the DIS before - it works!). This PIN is not nearly as awesome as the rate I am using for the PPH later in the year, but it's still too good to pass up.

This PIN I received is only good for bookings between October 16 - October 31. That's a very narrow, 2-week window. $163 for the PPH, $247 for the GCH and $186 for the DLH. I have to book the room by July 20 if I decide to use it.

I had been planning all along to make some sort of DLR Halloween trip - either for a day (and hit the MHP while I was at it) or for a couple of days at most. But I had wanted to go at the beginning of the Halloween season and not in mid-to-late October.

Still, how can I pass up a good PIN code for the hotels during HalloweenTime? Better yet, I don't even have to book more than one night if I don't want to - the PIN is good for 1-night stays and above. So, technically, I can still save the 'big' trip for the holiday season and plan a short Halloween trip to fall on a night when the MHP is taking place - probably 10/18 is what I would choose - stay overnight at one of the DLR hotels, spend some time in the parks the next day and go home.

I just don't know if I will be able to swing it with all of this other 'stuff' that's popping up for me this year. If I didn't stay onsite, I would just go home at the end of the night.

I must ponder this a while!

 

[OregonMickeyLover]

Sherry, I say go for it (easy for me to say, lol)! When you get a good deal like that, it's pretty difficult to pass it up, even if it's just for a couple nights. Are these PIN offers only for pass holders?

So my vote is for you to book it, but I can also see why you're hesitant. There will aways be more offers. Good luck with your decision!

Traci