**** The Official October 2014 - Disneyland Resort Thread ****

[DenaRox]

Oh my Goodness... stealing a post to say yay me!! I am no longer earning my ears, now I am a Mouseketeer. Wonder what my post status will be by the time we all actually take our trips lol

 

[RuthieT]

We will be there from October 14th-22nd and going two days in middle of trip to stay in San Diego

 

[DenaRox]

Welcome RuthieT - Look forward to hearing more about your planned trip

 

[ncarrier]

We're there Oct 4-12th with a split stay between the GC and DLH . So excited!! We've been to DL in Oct 2008 and Oct 2010, and WDW in OCT 2012 for our DD's birthday. Looking forward to finally seeing carsland!

 

[DenaRox]

Welcome ncarrier!!! So glad to have another October DISer to plan with!! I too am looking forward to Carsland!! well seeing as this is my first ever trip I am looking forward to EVERYTHING!!! lol but Carsland is right up there!

 

[scrappymel]

I am soooo excited to be going on my FIRST disneyland trip Oct 4-11!! We are staying at GCH with 5 day park hoppers and a halloween party. I am a DW veteran, but am CLUELESS when it comes to planning for DL It is driving me crazy that I cannot book ADRs since I am a plannerI am excited to read about all of your trips, and I am looking for all of the tips I can get.

OMG! this is so meeee! our 180 days has passed. i feel like i should be doing SOMETHING!

 

[jham]

October 14-20 at HoJos!

 

[scrappymel]

Hi, everyone!

I thought that those of you who are WDW/MNSSHP vets -- and are headed to DLR for the first time during Halloween Time this year -- may be interested in DIS'er figment_jii's helpful comparison of MNSSHP vs. MHP (Mickey's Halloween Party), posted in the Halloween Time Superthread last year.

thank you, sherry e! i'm super excited about jack sparrow's location at MHP!

 

[Karin1984]

Joining as well!

I will be flying solo from October 25-30 at Motel 6. A first timer to Disneyland Anaheim, in 2012 I went to Disney World, also for a solo trip and I'm a regular at Disneyland Paris (I'm from the Netherlands, it's a 4-5 hour drive).
I have to be in La Jolla, CA, the last day of October and I thought 'well, as I'm in the neighbourhood... why not go to the place where it all started?'

188 days to go and I have a hard time to control my enthusiasm on Facebook, so thank goodness there is a thread here

Looking forward to: Trying out all the new rides and comparing all the familiar rides to Disneyland Paris and Disney World. At least 1 Halloween Party. And just 5 days of Disney magic

 

[Sherry E]

thank you, sherry e! i'm super excited about jack sparrow's location at MHP!

You're very welcome, scrappymel!

Jack is a lot of fun at the Halloween parties. Some of the Jacks are better than others, but in general he is a great addition to the MHP.

Be sure to join us in the Halloween Superthread for Halloween Time discussion, details, planning and info -- feel free to jump in on the current one if you'd like (there is no need to have read the entire thread, which I think a lot of people mistakenly believe), and then join us in the new Superthread (which I am estimating I should have up and running by either the very end of this week or early next week). In the last couple of days we have already been chatting about the number of nights for the MHP vs. the number of nights and start date of MNSSHP. When Halloween Time begins we will have people reporting back on what's new or different for this year, usually with photos. People always report back about the first night of the MHP as well (crowds, treat stations, characters, etc.).

Finally, I will do a little Theme Week Countdown in the Halloween Superthread (similar to what I do in the Christmas/Holiday Season Superthread, but on a much smaller scale) that leads up to the start of Halloween Time, and that will kick off sometime in the summer.


Here are 2 Halloween Time podcasts I did with the DIS Unplugged team, from 2012 and 2013 -- listen if you have the chance (hopefully these links still work)! We chat about all of the things happening in the parks for the season, give tips, etc.:

Halloween Time Podcast & Call-In Show (featuring the DIS Unplugged team - and me!!!) 9/27/12

Unleash HalloweenTime -- 9/19/13 Podcast

 

[DenaRox]

Welcom to jham and Karin1984. So happy to have you here to share in the Disney Maddness with us

 

[momof6princesses]

There have been mixed reports on that in the past. At least one person said that she was able to do it that way and get the AP discount before activating the AP. Others have said that it is not allowed. I don't think you'd be able to order the MHP tickets online without an activated AP but you may be able to call the ticket phone number and try to do it on the phone, when actually talking to a CM. This question comes up every so often in the Halloween Time Superthread, and I'm sure it will come up again this year. I just posted more Halloween Time photos in the Superthread today! (In time for Easter!)

I guess I will wait and find out. Is there a Disney CC discount? Thanks for the help Cheshirecatty and Sherry E.

 

[Sherry E]

I guess I will wait and find out. Is there a Disney CC discount? Thanks for the help Cheshirecatty and Sherry E.

momof6princesses --

You're welcome!

You can get the same discount on the MHP tickets (for select nights) if you use a Disney Visa card (debit or credit) to purchase them that you would get if you used an Annual Pass. Also, Disney Vacation Club members can get that discount as well.

Tickets for the MHP will go on sale for the AP holders, Disney Visa Card holders and DVC members a short bit before they go on sale to the general public, but you don't have to buy your discounted tickets as soon as they go on sale to get the discounts. You can wait and get them whenever it is convenient, as long as they are still available and not sold out!

Typically, there is an online option for AP holders to order tickets, but the Disney Visa Card holders and DVC members have to order the tickets over the phone, by calling Disneyland's ticket line/phone number.



Also, a tip for visitors who will be staying onsite at one of the 3 hotels of the Disneyland Resort:

If there is an MHP night that you are interested in and, for some reason, it sells out before you are able to buy a ticket, it is a less commonly known fact that a small number of MHP tickets will probably be released to each of the DLR hotels on the mornings of the parties.

So, for example, if you had a date in mind but had to wait to buy the ticket and it sold out before you could get it, as long as you are a guest of one of the 3 DLR hotels you can probably get a ticket for that sold out night from your hotel's front desk on the actual day of the party you want to go to, first thing in the morning. You can't get a discount on MHP tickets on the day of the event, but if a particular date is really important to you and you are staying at one of the hotels it is a good back-up option!

 

[momof6princesses]

-- Also, a tip for visitors who will be staying onsite at one of the 3 hotels of the Disneyland Resort: If there is an MHP night that you are interested in and, for some reason, it sells out before you are able to buy a ticket, it is a less commonly known fact that a small number of MHP tickets will probably be released to each of the DLR hotels on the mornings of the parties. So, for example, if you had a date in mind but had to wait to buy the ticket and it sold out before you could get it, as long as you are a guest of one of the 3 DLR hotels you can probably get a ticket for that sold out night from your hotel's front desk on the actual day of the party you want to go to, first thing in the morning. You can't get a discount on MHP tickets on the day of the event, but if a particular date is really important to you and you are staying at one of the hotels it is a good back-up option!

Thanks again and great information. I hope we don't have that issue but since we are staying at GC it's good to know we have a back-up option! Maybe we decide to go a 2nd time and can use that method?!

 

[Oodalolly]

Checking in!

Oodalolly- Sept. 28-Oct. 3 Park Vue Inn

Here's a question. It looks like I've picked popular dates. I was just at Disney in March and it was sooooo crowded we could hardly move! We rode 12 rides in 3 days. According to mousewait the crowd index was 97! Anyway, I want to avoid that scenario ever again if at all possible!! Do you think October 5 -10 would be better crowd wise? Am I panicky for no reason? Or do I just need to suck it up?

 

[DenaRox]

Welcome Oodalolly! Glad to have you join. I am sure that one of the Disney vets will have an idea about typical crowd numbers. It sure is nerve wracking trying to guess what "might" happen months down the road.

 

[whoever]

We are starting to plan our trip right now. Four or Five nights at the GCH.

 

[Sherry E]

Checking in!

Oodalolly- Sept. 28-Oct. 3 Park Vue Inn

Here's a question. It looks like I've picked popular dates. I was just at Disney in March and it was sooooo crowded we could hardly move! We rode 12 rides in 3 days. According to mousewait the crowd index was 97! Anyway, I want to avoid that scenario ever again if at all possible!! Do you think October 5 -10 would be better crowd wise? Am I panicky for no reason? Or do I just need to suck it up?

Oodalolly --

It's kind of a toss-up. This is a common concern. (Try doing a Search of "crowds" in the Halloween at DLR Superthread using the Search this Thread feature and you will see in the results that the subject/mention/discussion has come up a lot.)

Even though the MHP will probably be starting on 9/26 (we're not 100% sure yet) and will draw in a lot of people that weekend, I tend to think the 9/28 - 10/3 dates might be slightly better than 10/5 - 10/10 (and 10/5 will be a bit crowded before the Gay Days attendees leave DLR).

I say this only because I know there are some schools that are out on break in the first couple of weeks of October, and the October crowds have picked up quite a bit over the last few years. In fact, in recent years a couple of the Fall discounts on the 3 DLR hotels have excluded the first couple of weeks of October and instead covered only the second half (with the exception of the days immediately surrounding Halloween) -- which would be because DLR anticipated larger crowds, and hotel bookings at capacity in the first half of October, so discounts were not needed to lure in guests.

I would stick with your planned dates, although I don't think there will be a drastic difference between your two choices of dates.

 

[Cheshirecatty]

Checking in!

Oodalolly- Sept. 28-Oct. 3 Park Vue Inn

Here's a question. It looks like I've picked popular dates. I was just at Disney in March and it was sooooo crowded we could hardly move! We rode 12 rides in 3 days. According to mousewait the crowd index was 97! Anyway, I want to avoid that scenario ever again if at all possible!! Do you think October 5 -10 would be better crowd wise? Am I panicky for no reason? Or do I just need to suck it up?

October is a busy time, but it will not be "Spring Break" busy!

There will be Gay Day events going on the 3rd through the 5th, but with your dates, it looks like you'll be leaving at the beginning of those.

The next week(5th--10th) will be October Break for many AZ schools.

We will be there that full week(like we are every October), and while it is busy, we have never thought it to be unmanageable, or too crowded to be there!

We love going in October---even though it is much busier than it used to be!

 

[pixiepirate]

Hi, DenaRox, thanks for starting this thread. I hope to pick up some good tips. My sister and I are doing the ABD Backstage Magic tour Oct 12 - 17th. We will be arriving at DLR on Oct 14th, staying a couple of extra nights and leaving on Oct 20th, staying at the GC.

We're hoping to attend MHP on the Friday, Oct 17th. We are flying so costume pieces must light and packable. We have costumes ideas, just have to wait to see if time and money will allow my sister to construct them.

When we were at DLR in early Sep 2006 they were just starting the Fall decorations. Can't wait to get there in October and see the full effect. It's my favorite time of the year. Oh, I really love your photo in the first post.