October 2016 Trip - Excitement and Questions!

[hauntedcity]

Who's going in October?

My family and I are going to Disneyland the week of October 9, and there are a couple things we just...don't...get...

I know the 60th celebration is over, and I know the Halloween party is available on certain nights, but why aren't any Disneyland Park parades or fireworks scheduled? Do they really shut down all evening events if you don't want to pay for the party?

I'm also surprised that no discount packages have been announced. Discounts were available through September, and new stuff just got announced that starts at the end of October, but most of the month has nothing available for the Disneyland hotels. It's Value season, and crowds are expected to be low, so any ideas why no discounts? We are currently booked at the Candy Cane Inn, but for the right price, I'd move over to the Disneyland Hotel.

Other than those two confusing THINGS, I'm very excited about our trip! It will be the first time to DL for our daughters (10 & 7), who are familiar with WDW. I can't wait to show them the rides that are better in California (Pirates, Haunted Mansion HOLIDAY, Small World) and introduce them to the Disneyland-only attractions (Radiator Springs, Alice in Wonderland, Indiana Jones). This is going to be great!

Any other October suggestions for us? We will be there for 4 (FOUR!) days, but we'll be skipping the Halloween party. We won't have a car, but how crazy would it be to have Uber take us through the In N Out Burger drive through?

Thanks!

 

[jammyjam25]

Both Paint the Night and Disneyland Forever Fireworks ended with the conclusion of the 60th anniversary. Fantasy in the Sky fireworks are being presented on select non-Halloween party nights (essentially, weekends only) and Soundsational Parade is still running at DL daily, though I’m not sure at what times throughout the day.

 

[longtimedisneylurker]

Who's going in October?

My family and I are going to Disneyland the week of October 9, and there are a couple things we just...don't...get...

I know the 60th celebration is over, and I know the Halloween party is available on certain nights, but why aren't any Disneyland Park parades or fireworks scheduled? Do they really shut down all evening events if you don't want to pay for the party?

I'm also surprised that no discount packages have been announced. Discounts were available through September, and new stuff just got announced that starts at the end of October, but most of the month has nothing available for the Disneyland hotels. It's Value season, and crowds are expected to be low, so any ideas why no discounts? We are currently booked at the Candy Cane Inn, but for the right price, I'd move over to the Disneyland Hotel.

Other than those two confusing THINGS, I'm very excited about our trip! It will be the first time to DL for our daughters (10 & 7), who are familiar with WDW. I can't wait to show them the rides that are better in California (Pirates, Haunted Mansion HOLIDAY, Small World) and introduce them to the Disneyland-only attractions (Radiator Springs, Alice in Wonderland, Indiana Jones). This is going to be great!

Any other October suggestions for us? We will be there for 4 (FOUR!) days, but we'll be skipping the Halloween party. We won't have a car, but how crazy would it be to have Uber take us through the In N Out Burger drive through?

Thanks!

Prior to the 60th celebration, fireworks were generally restricted to Fridays-Sundays and holidays during non-peak times. They usually only ran nightly during summer, spring break, Thanksgiving week, and the two weeks including Christmas and New Year's, although maybe they ran more often during Christmas season come to think of it. Anyway, not having fireworks on weeknights is pretty normal for DL in the off-season.

I haven't looked at the schedule, but I would expect Soundsational parade to run at least once daily. I don't remember reading anything about it going on hiatus. Disneyland doesn't usually get their entertainment schedule filled in until 6 weeks out and not even that early lately.

If there aren't hotel discounts, I'm guessing they're not having any occupancy issues. October has Halloween parties and Gay Days. There are also some schools that have fall breaks (Utah schools are frequently mentioned on these boards with regard to October school break) and this may bring an influx of fall break visitors, value season or not.

I personally wouldn't get an Uber to go to an In 'N Out because living here is California, it's not that unique to me. I like In 'N Out though and have nothing against it. If it's important to you to get to try an In 'N Out burger and the cost of an Uber isn't an impediment to you, then I say why not? Only you can decide how much an experience is worth to you. Honestly, you won't really know until you've tried it.

 

[Angel141925]

I was looking on the schedule last night and they do have the soundsational parade one time a day and they have the fantasy fireworks on weekends only when there's not a Halloween party.

 

[Mrs. George]

We're going the 26th for MHP.

I would totally get an Uber for INO. I highly recommend a Neapolitan milkshake and the Monkey Burger (cheeseburger with french fries in it).

 

[Tigerlily75]

The calendar has been really slow to update. I arrive September 22, and only just today or yesterday did fireworks go on the calendar for the weekend nights I'm there. Things change each day I look. And the hours changed too. For one morning I actually changed my car rental pick up time based on the opening time, only for it change again the next time I looked.

Soundsational Parade, Frozen, etc is all running.

 

[jammyjam25]

Forgot to say that I don't think it's crazy at ALL to take an Uber to go get In-N-Out! There's one near enough to the resort that it shouldn't cost you much to do so. I'd contemplate doing the same if I didn't have a car.

 

[Angel141925]

Has anyone heard if Frozen is going to be up and running in late October? So far nothing on the schedule. Didn't know if maybe they were doing a refirb during October to be ready for the holidays.

 

[figment_jii]

At this point there haven't been any rumors that Frozen at the Hyperion will be going on hiatus. Most likely, they're still trying to decide on the show times/schedule, so the the calendar hasn't been updated yet.

 

[minnieralyks]

Don't have much to add, but wanted to say we'll be there the same week!

We're beyond excited for this trip as well. Almost a month away!

Is In N' Out really that good? I hear people talk about going there when they visit California, but we've never had it before. Maybe we'll have to change that!

 

[lilmissfoodie]

For the price, In N Out is excellent. If you like it spicy, try it w/ chopped chiles (off the menu item). The best part (IMO) about animal style is that the burger is fried w/ a mustard coating and that's where all the flavor is (not to mention the extra sauce).

 

[hauntedcity]

Thanks, everyone!
WDW is my Disney home base, so I didn't realize that nightly weekday fireworks and parades weren't the norm in Disneyland. I'm disappointed, because my wife and I saw Paint the Night last September, and were hoping to share it with our kids. Back when we made these reservations, I don't think Disney had announced the official end of the parade yet. The Soundsational was oooookaaaayyyy, but in Paint the Night, I finally found a parade that could top MSEP as my favorite. Oh, well. Since the Electrical Parade is returning to Disneyland, maybe Paint the Night will spend some time in Florida.

The family is still very excited for the trip. We are going to have to work around the Halloween parties, because we don't want to pay all that extra on top of 4 day hoppers. But I'm glad that we'll get to see World of Color.

As for In N Out Burger, it looks like there are a couple nearby, each within 10 minutes from Disneyland. That might just be worth an Uber. I always try and have a grilled cheese with grilled onions whenever I'm on the west coast, but this will be another first for the kids!

 

[Fire14]

I'll be there Oct. 12-18th. second trip for us to DL and a lot has changed. We are staying at PPH. I'd love to do a in and out burger run but I'd need to know closet location, and seeing a menu before hand would probably be good idea.

 

[Kymberleigh]

We're going the 26th for MHP.

I would totally get an Uber for INO. I highly recommend a Neapolitan milkshake and the Monkey Burger (cheeseburger with french fries in it).

I have never heard of this monkey burger! I'm going to California in November and now will have to try it!

 

[hauntedcity]

I'll be there Oct. 12-18th. second trip for us to DL and a lot has changed. We are staying at PPH. I'd love to do a in and out burger run but I'd need to know closet location, and seeing a menu before hand would probably be good idea.

I checked out Google Maps and found one to the NE about a 9 minute drive, and one to the NW about 11 minutes away.

In more exciting news, we will now have a rental car! After monitoring prices for months, we finally found one from a reputable company that wasn't crazy expensive.

Another question! We'll be arriving at noon on a Sunday. We'd like to spend the afternoon at a beach, and I see Newport, Huntington, and Laguna are all nearby-ish to Anaheim. Any strong feelings on which might be the best? We would probably just spend a couple hours, and maybe grab dinner before heading to our hotel. Or I guess it wouldn't have to be one of those, since technically we'll be going LAX > Beach > Disneyland.

 

[Kymberleigh]

I enjoy Huntington; it's beautiful, has a pier to walk out on, adequate parking, nearby restaurants...we've always loved it!

 

[cruisehopeful]

Another question! We'll be arriving at noon on a Sunday. We'd like to spend the afternoon at a beach, and I see Newport, Huntington, and Laguna are all nearby-ish to Anaheim. Any strong feelings on which might be the best? We would probably just spend a couple hours, and maybe grab dinner before heading to our hotel. Or I guess it wouldn't have to be one of those, since technically we'll be going LAX > Beach > Disneyland.

I like Crystal Cove State Park. It is on the cusp of Laguna and Newport. It's large and has a lot to offer. Tide pools, hiking, several paid parking lots and in the historic section there is a bar/restaurant on the beach (expensive) and a Ruby's hamburger and shake place on the cliff overlooking the beach. We've seen dolphins and seals playing around in the water there. http://www.crystalcovestatepark.org/