Haunted Mansion 50th Anniversary event

[OrangeBirdFan]

Anyone purchase the small blindbox vinyl and want to trade? I have a female opera ghost that I'd love to trade for Constance.

 

[wingednike]

Overall, I had a lot of fun. I got the bag I wanted and that is 95% of my happiness.
Was it worth $300? No. I think a fair price would have been $150-$175. If the hours were from 10pm to 1 am, I think this would have been more of a homerun.

However, I haven't visited Disneyland since October of last year and don't see a visit there in the near future. I loved having the opportunity to try some of the seasonal treats. Since the treats were "free", I tried some that I wouldn't have. I brought Ziploc bags and an extra water bottle to store the treats. I took a small taste and stored the rest for later. Some hits for me were the midnight julep, the seafood boil, and The Bride churro.

I attended the 40th and these two events are completely different. I like both but the 40th really felt like an EVENT. To be fair, I don't remember any other rides being offered for that one besides HM.

 

[Halloweenqueen]

We are here. Edited. Update in later post.

 

[Halloweenqueen]

Duplicate

 

[Halloweenqueen]

Statue gate continues. Edit: story clarification. Husband is back with the whole story. So my husband was talking to the manager and she was saying how the boxes look the same and even the open editions are sold out. They are talking when a family is pulled next to them to go through their merch bags. Guess what? The open edition one they purchased was a limited edition. The manager explained and made the swap. They are thinking a lot of the limited ones went to folks who purchased open editions. Eek! And what are the chances this would happen when my husband complained? What are the chances???? Sounds like Disney has a big problem on their hands. That was some magic right there! Enough with my drama. Time for a nap. I’ll be the lady with peacock feathers in my hair tonight. Come say hi if you see me!

 

[Halloweenqueen]

Any word on the park ticket working today for the folks who went last night?

 

[ShirleyFilms]

To those who attended last night: Would you recommend any order of events? Is it necessary to queue up for the 1am event (13th Hour Awaken the Wake) immediately upon entering the park? Or is there time to ride rides before that happens? Did you need/want to be in the front for it?

Also. What about the other timed events? Are they worth the effort to attend? (3am: Happy Haunts Spirited Soiree, appearances by Madame Leota on the balcony)??

Are any of the rides any different than normal (other than the Haunted Mansion)?

Just trying to get the most our of our time this evening. Thanks!

 

[OrangeBirdFan]

Do the characters meet pretty much continuously or are there timed sets? And if there are sets, does anyone have any details?

Also, are all three riverboat cruise offerings pretty much the same or is there a better time to go?

Thanks!

 

[FrazierFamily]

Not sure if anyone already verified this. Tonight is still not sold out. They are selling tickets for full price.

Had a CM tell me it’s really just a merchandise party. I was shocked with how much they agreed it was worth the money and not as good as it could/should have been.

 

[GeneralTso]

Absolutely no line getting credentials or picking up merchandise this afternoon. Sailed right in and did extra shopping while there. Still no line. Staff ready to help and plenty around. Even artist signing was a breeze.

 

[SusieQ93]

To those who attended last night: Would you recommend any order of events? Is it necessary to queue up for the 1am event (13th Hour Awaken the Wake) immediately upon entering the park? Or is there time to ride rides before that happens? Did you need/want to be in the front for it?

Also. What about the other timed events? Are they worth the effort to attend? (3am: Happy Haunts Spirited Soiree, appearances by Madame Leota on the balcony)??

Are any of the rides any different than normal (other than the Haunted Mansion)?

Just trying to get the most our of our time this evening. Thanks!

So, it was kind of confusing last night, but from how they were handling crowd control, it didn’t seem to me that there was an option to just go to rides and not the show. They corralled everyone into a holding area by the Mark Twain and then had us walk as a group to get spots on the Rivers of America. It didn’t seem like the rides were even open yet, but I did want to watch the show, so I didn’t go check or anything but pirates didn’t look open yet. Also all the rides except HM were walk-ons, so I wouldn’t worry about rushing to the rides. I enjoyed the show. Was it the most spectacular night time show I’ve seen or anything? No. But I still enjoyed it. We had a pretty good central spot behind some shorter people right at the railing and I was glad we were where we were. It’s mostly performers in the show, not a whole lot of special effects, so I think a good spot is important. We saw other entertainment just as we were walking around. Didn’t try to time it or stop for too long, just because the time was going fast, but we did see Madam Leota, Cadaver Dans, etc. I wouldn’t worry about staking out a spot or anything for that stuff. They were up on balconies so easy to see. You can just decide if you feel like watching as you’re walking up. Someone else mentioned the food lines being shorter at the beginning which I think is likely true. The popcorn they were serving last night was gross IMO. Wish they’d just done regular Disney popcorn which I think is delicious - this had a weird cheddar flavor (and normally I LOVE cheddar popcorn. The flavor was just off. The churros were good. So I’d recommend churro instead of the popcorn, then you can get a different dessert. It’s kind of weird to be eating in the middle of the night - not usually a time I’m hungry, so the food just wasn’t worth the wait to me so much - but I wanted to get it since it was included in the price. No other attractions were different. Our Jungle Cruise skipper really seemed like she didn’t want to be there - to do it again, I wouldn’t have bothered with that.

 

[ShirleyFilms]

Thanks, Susie! Very helpful info.

 

[SusieQ93]

Thanks, Susie! Very helpful info.

Oh! Also, definitely go line up early for entry to the event. Last night the line was crazy long. We got in line right at 11:30, and there were already lots of people lined up. I want to say there were maybe 200 people ahead of us. It didn’t take too long for the line to wrap around and way down to La Brea bakery (maybe further, I couldn’t really see where it ended). They didn’t let us in until 12:30, so I wouldn’t have wanted it to line up too much early, maybe 11:15 would’ve been good.

 

[Halloweenqueen]

Thanks, so helpful!! Surprised with the mandatory show. Wonder if they allow folks on the POC bridge or River Belle?

 

[wingednike]

Thanks, so helpful!! Surprised with the mandatory show. Wonder if they allow folks on the POC bridge or River Belle?

They didn't yesterday. Cast members were blocking Pirates and the other walkways. Once the show was done, everyone scattered. Biggest tip I have is to know what you want, study the map, and head straight to your goal. The food places took about five minutes after the show to get up and running. I almost left to head somewhere else but was glad later I stuck it out. The lines never lessened after that point.

Someone wanted to know about the light up headband that was featured in the Disney Parks Blog. They had them last night in the space between the Nightmare/mansion store and Pieces of Eight.

Have fun tonight!

 

[hopemax]

Riding one ride after the show then getting our primary food item worked great for us.

 

[billyjobobb]

At the hotel for about an hour before we go back. To the person who asked about what might be left.... at about 7 tonight just about everything was available. The event pin and some of the shirts were either sold out or limited. We got the clock pin that some said wasn’t there last night. It is massive and thick. Looks so much like a jumbo pin!

 

[Halloweenqueen]

Multiple long lines tonight. Can’t wait!

 

[SusieQ93]

Multiple long lines tonight. Can’t wait!

The crowd will disburse after the show, it won’t feel crowded. Just make sure you make a beeline toward Frontierland and the second queuing area by the Mark Twain once you get into the park. People will probably be distracted by the performers on the balcony once you get into Frontierland, go around all that and get in the queuing area - you can still see the performers from over there if you aren’t too far back.

 

[OrangeBirdFan]

Rumor has is that club 33 is going to have some sort of Haunted Mansion tiki mug (s) release tomorrow. If someone with access is willing to help a tiki and Haunted Mansion super fan out, I would massively appreciate it.