Should we buy a Halloween park ticket or a regular ticket on day #2 (of 5) at DLR?

[micheluvscorgis]

We are taking our first DLR trip this 10/14-10/19/12. We arrive early Sunday (14th), which should give us a solid 1/2 park day and our only chance during our stay to catch Fantasmic. I know we will for sure do park hopper tix as well on Tues (16th), Wednesday (17th), and Thursday (18th). In the name of saving $, I am wondering about the best strategy for Tuesday (15th). I noticed that the 15th is our only chance to catch the Halloween party...and I read somewhere on the Halloween Party Superthread that if we buy Halloween Party tix, they will get us into the park at 3:00 (3 hours prior to the party, which starts at 6:00).

So what do you think about my strategy? I'm thinking it may make a lot of sense to buy four park hopper tix for Sunday (10/14) and Tues (10/16) through Thurs. (10/18). Then, on Mon. (10/15) we can recover from a rocking' first day and a late night at Fantasmic the night before, go to a character breakfast and maybe check out downtown Disney and very likely the Paradise Pier (where we are staying) hotel's pool. We will buy Halloween party tix on Monday (10/15), and then at 3:00, we can go to the party, catch some rides, etc.

Since we have never been to DLR, I'd love to know what you all think about this strategy. Is it practical? Is my understanding about the 3:00 entry to DL with the Halloween Party ticket accurate? Thanks for your feedback!

-Michele

 

[cari12]

Having a similar dilemma. We are there Oct 14-20 with 5 day hoppers and are trying to decide if we should just take in DTD and DLH pool on Sunday or go to the parks for F! and the fireworks (from F! seat). If we go up the park then we would not go Monday morning and just go at 3:00pm for the Halloween party. However, I am having a little trouble with waking up our first morning at DLH and not going to the parks! Could make for a long day waiting for 3:00pm to come around. There's lots to do but the excitement to get to the parks would probably have us watching the clock all day. What to do?

 

[theluckyrabbit]

You could do a character breakfast (maybe make a later reservation so that you can get some rest for the party and also make the day go by quicker) on the morning of your party day. Storytellers, Surf's Up with Mickey, and Goofy's Kitchen are all outside the parks. That way you will get some magic, great pictures, and have fun without needing a ticket to go into the parks.

 

[Eeee-va]

The very cheapest option would be to just upgrade to a 5-day hopper ($15 each???) and skip the party. The drawback--besides missing the party--is that Disneyland will close at 6 and many people will go over to DCA, making that park ridiculously crowded. Disneyland will start the process of getting crowded at 3 PM. But you COULD get to Disneyland at opening, leave before 6, and then just have a relaxing evening away from the parks.

But assuming you want to do the party, buying 4-day hoppers and using your party ticket for your party day (skipping the parks otherwise) is the more economical option. That's probably what I'd personally choose, mainly because I love costumes and the party is the only time I can wear one at Disneyland.

Jenksdj's idea below is a good one and not very pricey, depending on your party size. I'd suggested the 4-day hoppers because I thought it was $25/ticket to upgrade, not $15.

 

[jenksdj]

OR for an extra $15 per person, just add a day to your 4 day PH tickets and enjoy the park all day and the Halloween Party all night That would be my choice!

 

[RavenRequiem]

We're in a similar situation. We're taking days 1 & 2 in the parks, Day 3 is for Character Breakfast in the morning and a restful/shopping daytime. We're hitting DL for the Halloween party that evening and will have 1 more park day later in the week. That way we have some recovery time built in as well.

 

[Mary09]

I had a similar dilemma, and had decided to just get the 5 day hoppers and decide on the party when we're there IF there are tix still for sale. But I showed pix of the party from this site to my daughter this weekend and she said, "We can skip that." I didn't even tell her it was about $250 more. She's not into characters or parades, though.

Will DCA be a mob scene those nights? I was hoping people might do the 'just party tix' instead, for the most part, so it wouldn't be all that bad at DCA. It wouldn't be a bad night for us to chill at the hotel and watch the party fireworks from our room, either.

 

[tamiandryan]

We are taking our first DLR trip this 10/14-10/19/12. We arrive early Sunday (14th), which should give us a solid 1/2 park day and our only chance during our stay to catch Fantasmic. I know we will for sure do park hopper tix as well on Tues (16th), Wednesday (17th), and Thursday (18th). In the name of saving $, I am wondering about the best strategy for Tuesday (15th). I noticed that the 15th is our only chance to catch the Halloween party...and I read somewhere on the Halloween Party Superthread that if we buy Halloween Party tix, they will get us into the park at 3:00 (3 hours prior to the party, which starts at 6:00).

So what do you think about my strategy? I'm thinking it may make a lot of sense to buy four park hopper tix for Sunday (10/14) and Tues (10/16) through Thurs. (10/18). Then, on Mon. (10/15) we can recover from a rocking' first day and a late night at Fantasmic the night before, go to a character breakfast and maybe check out downtown Disney and very likely the Paradise Pier (where we are staying) hotel's pool. We will buy Halloween party tix on Monday (10/15), and then at 3:00, we can go to the party, catch some rides, etc.

Since we have never been to DLR, I'd love to know what you all think about this strategy. Is it practical? Is my understanding about the 3:00 entry to DL with the Halloween Party ticket accurate? Thanks for your feedback!

-Michele

We are going the exact same dates!
1. Sunday (14th) is a marathon park day, and will be the only F! and Fireworks day. Plus the only day the CA stays open late enough to see Cars Land at night and in the dark.
2. Monday (15th) we will jet down to Huntington in the morning and hang at the beach and get lunch at Fred's! Then in the afternoon cruise over to DL and do the Halloween Party. We decided 3:00-11:00 is still 8hrs in the park and didnt want to add a day to the 3 day hoppers.
3. Tues and Wednesday we will just do the regular park hours.
4. Drive home Thursday

 

[chrissiecutie]

I think that's a great plan!

We are doing the Halloween party only on our 1st day because we are driving to Anaheim from Legoland. So will take the time to rest, swim, etc before heading to the park at 3pm.

Our other 2 days, we are just doing a 1 park per day tix because I anticipate needing a full day & the parks close so early (8pm) that it didn't make sense to spend the extra money on a park hopper when we probably wouldn't have a chance to use it.

 

[Mary09]

We are going the exact same dates!
1. Sunday (14th) is a marathon park day, and will be the only F! and Fireworks day. Plus the only day the CA stays open late enough to see Cars Land at night and in the dark.

While DCA closes at 8, WOC starts at 8:15 Tues & Wed, so you'll be there later. I imagine the lights of CL are on after, and you can stroll through on your way out, maybe? Also sunset is around 6:15 those days, I think. So you should have time before WOC.

 

[disneyfaninaz]

We have done that before. We just bought the Halloween Party ticket for one of our days and used the day to sleep in, have lunch at Bubba Gumps and shop around Downtown Disney. Then, we went into the park at 3:00 with our party tickets for the rest of the evening. It was a nice break for the few days we were there.