Is the Halloween party worth it?

[JessL]

Hoping one of the people who have spent time at Disneyland during Halloween season can share some advice.

What do you get if you buy tickets for the Halloween party that you wouldn't see or get if you were just a regular person in the park on that day? Is it worth the extra money to do an additional day just with the Halloween Party tickets from whatever time that lets you in? To be clear, this wouldn't actually be on October 31 - it would be earlier in the month.

TIA

Jess

 

[losfp]

We did it in 2012 and loved it. Having said that, I'm not sure we would do it again if we were there at that time in a future trip.

What do you get that you normally wouldn't?

- Adults get to dress up. Normally only kids are allowed to come in costume.
- Extra characters, particularly villains
- Trick or Treat stations. Not great value as you have to queue up and then half your bag is @#$@#$ tootsie rolls
- Extra halloweenie entertainment
- special halloweenie parade and fireworks

We used it to get a 6th day on top of our 5 day pass. Certainly not worth the trouble if you already had tickets for day entry.

 

[AussieCaribou]

Took my DD last year. We LOVED it! She's a huge character fan (she was 14 when we went) and we spent most of the time getting photos with the characters and doing the trick or treat trails (WAY TOO much lolly for two!!! and no tootsie rolls).

She nearly had kittens when she met Clarabelle Cow and had Donald and Pluto sneak up on them and photo bomb her photos. And I had the best time with Mickey and Minnie (I was dressed as 'Suitcase and a Dream' Mickey). Minnie almost left with me! LOL. My DD dressed as Shock (purple witch from Nightmare Before Christmas) and she had the BEST time with Jack and Sally - Jack warned her to stay away from oggy boggy and the others of her gang. So the character interaction is insane. We saw 24 characters, did 6 Trails, and rode the Eticket rides. Oh, and saw the fireworks...you have to see the fireworks if you go.

The non-Halloween themed rides had minimal weight times (most were walk on). The two 'big rides' - Haunted Mansion Holiday and Ghost Galaxy - were about 60 minute waits...we skipped GG and did that the next day with fast pass..but waited for HMH - given DD's costume.

Most of the characters (except Mickey/Minnie and Jack/Sally) were about 15 minute waits. M/M was about 30 mins and J/S was about 45 mins.

Hope that helps.

~ AussieCaribou

 

[Kristin5]

We went last year too and had a blast. It was pretty busy, but so much fun to see everyone dressed up. I put a token hat on that I bought in the parks that day (I'm not really a dress-up person), but DS loved being spider man for the evening. There was such great interaction with the characters, and the lines for treats moved really fast. And no tootsie rolls! I am a Reece's peanut butter cup addict and so asked for those at every station - it was funny, because one of the teenagers we were travelling with kept telling the cast members not to give me any, so of course they just piled in more! Yummy! And the fireworks were spectacular (we had a front row position - DS was tired so we got there reasonably early and he was able to have a little rest).

I think that because Halloween isn't really celebrated here, it's fun to see how they do it in the USA, and how involved they get. So I'd recommend for you to do it. In saying that, we've done it once, so probably wouldn't do it again.

 

[Tashinwdw]

I think it is worth it because its something different. The Park has a totally different feel to it and you cant help get caught up with the Halloween spirit. Especially as we dont really celebrate it here. I took my four kids but unfortunately it was just as all the jet lag caught up with them. DD then 13 fell asleep on the bus ride over there and their enthusiasm did not match mine so after about 4 hours we left. I was disappointed, but they did say they enjoyed it but was just really tired. We are going again this year but only the two girls want to go, the boys are hanging back at the resort with their dad.

The rides we did go on we walked straight onto, the lines for characters and the trick or treat stations were long but they moved really quickly.

 

[coco392]

We did it last year at wdw. was fun because Halloween is not something we do at home .gave us a chance to dress up and muck around
lots of lollies.
great parade
lots of rare characters

but would I do it again. no, once was enough.

Christmas on the other hand I would do every year.

 

[DeanW]

I would say Yes!

Back in 2012 I did both the Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party and Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party and they both just add a whole new dimension to the Disney experience.

We plan on doing the same this year and have added a night in Anaheim to the start of the trip so we will be trick-a-treating on both coasts.

Im excited to see the Disneyland Version.

 

[newkie]

I hope it's worth it, otherwise I just spent all that money for no reason! :lol:

I'm super pumped just to be there for the atmosphere, I don't care if we don't get to do much in the way of rides, as long as we don't miss out on the Haunted Mansion

 

[WaltDaddy]

Totally worth it and IMO, better than the Xmas party

 

[cola]

I think it's better than the Christmas party too, though the Christmas party is pretty special.
Well worth it

The Ultimate Happy Haunts tour with the AAA discount isn't much more than the Halloween ticket and includes a lot of extras plus going over to DCA for Tower of Terror. You get bits of food at various locations (candy apple, giant candy corn cookie, some fruity drink, some chocolate), a special pin, escorted onto the big queue rides, get lots of stories. I think with the AAA discount last year it was only about $20 extra?

 

[WanderlustNZ]

I think it's better than the Christmas party too, though the Christmas party is pretty special. Well worth it The Ultimate Happy Haunts tour with the AAA discount isn't much more than the Halloween ticket and includes a lot of extras plus going over to DCA for Tower of Terror. You get bits of food at various locations (candy apple, giant candy corn cookie, some fruity drink, some chocolate), a special pin, escorted onto the big queue rides, get lots of stories. I think with the AAA discount last year it was only about $20 extra?

Unfortunately the word over on the Disneyland boards is that the Ultimate Package won't be offered this year. A person has rung about 3 or 4 CMs and they have all given the same message.
I suppose someone could wait to see if that changes, but I'd be a bit nervous about tickets selling out in the meantime.

 

[TulipsNZ]

I have no idea if it's worth it yet but am so excited to be doing it. We are never likely to be at DL again and if we do make it back I doubt it will be at Halloween. I love parties and dressing up, I love the idea of seeing the villains and that the park will be open till midnight. We are not going to the park that morning but will do a character breakfast and then a traditional pumpkin patch (Irvines) so we are making a real Halloweeny day of it

 

[WendyTJ]

We are going for our first trip to DL and are 'doing' the Halloween thing. So I too am hoping it is worth it

 

[Meemoo]

The Halloween Party starts in September right?

 

[TulipsNZ]

The Halloween Party starts in September right?

The first party is on the 26th, it is sold out online but I have been told there are a few tickets still available by ph.

I think the next one is the 30th? Then there's one on the 3rd Oct but that one is sold out too.

All the date are on the first page of the big Halloween thread on the main Disneyland board. You only really need to read the first page to get all the info.

 

[Meemoo]

We did the Halloween party at Aulani last year which was very well done, and not too busy. Trick or Treating around the resort and a party in a special area just for guests with games to win prizes for kids and characters in costume. We also decorated pumpkins Really fun experience for us who never really do Halloween, not in any similar measure anyway!

So next year when we go I might try the Halloween Party at Disneyland. Does it seem as crowded as when DL is open to the general public?