To do or not to do Mickey's not so scary Holloween Party?

[Kids for Disney]

First time to Disneyland!! We have been to Disney World several times. So, we will be going to Anaheim California Oct 5th-7th. We already have season passes that we can use for Knotts Berry Farm. We are planning on going to Disneyland parks on 6th and 7th.

I need some help trying to decide what we should do on the 5th. We will get to Anaheim at 1:00 pm.

Which one should I choose and why?
1. Go to the Holloween Party
2. Go to Knotts Berry Farm
3. Go to Knotts Berry Farm for a couple hours then head to the Holloween Party at 3:00 pm.

Is 2 days plus Holloween party going to be too much? I don't like to repeat too many things in one trip.

Kids are 15, 12, and 10 years old. Any help will be appreciated!

 

[Mysteryincorp]

Knotts will be pretty empty on the 5th so you could probably get a lot done and the head over to Disneyland for the party but keep in mind traveling on the freeway at tha time will be slow going. Also, plan for at least an hour getting in and out of each parks . you could arrive at Knotts at 1pm spend four hours or so, hit the road around 5ish hopefully through the the gates of Disneyland at 6ish and enjoy the party until 11pm. I'm exhausted just thinking about it.....

 

[Kids for Disney]

Thanks Mysteryincorp!

 

[holtrp]

We did the halloween party on Halloween night in 2014. It was a very exciting party and worth the price of admission. It was crowded though, more so than the other days we were there. I think the park opened to halloween party guests at 4PM, even though the party didn't start until 6 or 7. I am also pretty sure Knotts is only like 6 miles from Disneyland, so maybe a 20 minute trip through city traffic? I probably wouldn't even bother with the freeway if it is that close.

 

[agamble]

Where are you coming from? Are you going to suffer from Jet Lag? You want to be able to get to the parks at a good time in the morning, so being out until midnight may not be a good idea if your time is messed up. I wouldn't do both Knotts and the Party. I would choose one or the other.

 

[Niltiac]

Regarding your last question, I don't think two days and a party is too much, even if you don't want to repeat many rides, as long as your family enjoys a wide variety of rides, shows, character meets, etc. You could spend the entire halloween party doing things that don't overlap with regular days (trick-or-treating, meeting villians, watching the cadaver dans, fireworks). But if your family is only interested in certain types of rides and are not into character meets and shows, then that might be too much park time.

I'm not familiar with Knotts so I won't weigh in on which is a better option, but I agree that Knotts and a halloween party after a day of travel sounds like a lot, especially if you plan to be up early the next day.

 

[kwdw]

Totally depends on if you are changing time zones or not. The party is worth it if you haven't been - - but only if you are awake to really enjoy the whole thing. If traveling from the East Coast, for example, midnight is 3 am and I doubt anyone in your group is going to wide awake and happy at that time.

If you have NO time change and you aren't getting up TOO early - I'd just head to the party on the 5th - nothing else. You can get in starting around 4pm. Get settled in your hotel and eat a table service meal before the 4 pm party entry time - and it should be a great day.

 

[Kids for Disney]

Thanks Everyone! I was also concerned about the time change! We will be in Phoenix about 5 days before we head over to Disneyland. Not sure how we will feel! We live in Eastern Time Zone.

 

[tarheelalum]

Have you considered Knott's Scary Farms?

 

[IBLarsen]

We went to the Halloween Party a few years ago and it was a lot of fun and worth it once. It was super crowded and I don't feel like we got much done, but we have kids who wanted to meet the characters in their costumes (long lines) and do the trick or treating, which is why we did the party. I think we only fit in one ride that evening. So if you are worried about overlapping, it's really a different experience than normal days. If you are only about the rides, don't waste money on the party. I can't imagine 2 days plus the party ever being too much, we have done 3 days in the parks and feel like we don't even get to do everything we want in that time. We feel like with 4 days we can take our time and enjoy, fit in parades and shows and fireworks.

 

[cruisehopeful]

You already have passes for Knott's. I'd just go there and not bother with coming back for the Halloween party. I've been to the Halloween party twice and thought it was a waste of money. My travel party was adults and teens.

 

[riostoker]

The Halloween Party was a bit of a mixed experience for us. The kids (ages 8, 12, and 14) loved the trick-or-treating. It was fun seeing both party-goers and characters in costumes. The decorations were great, and the short lines for rides were a real treat. On the downside, the party specific things like trick-or-treating, meeting the villains (who are rarely seen in the parks), and meeting the characters in costume all had very long lines. It was a strange mix of crowded and not crowded. If you wanted to meet Malicifent or Cruella de Vil, your wait was well over an hour, yet if you wanted to ride Space Mountain Ghost Galaxy, your wait might be just 10-20 minutes. The Halloween Party is definitely a great way to ride lots of the popular rides that usually have long waits. Splash Mountain and Pooh were both walk-ons. The main goal for us though was the more Halloween-specific activities, and those were all more crowded than I had anticipated.

Am I glad we went to the Halloween Party? Definitely. Would I go again? Not sure. I think you have to go with the right expectations. You are not going to meet every villain. You may not meet any villains unless you are willing to spend a lot of your evening in line. You are not going to see every character in costume. You are going to have to battle bigger crowds at times than you feel like you should given the price you paid for the ticket.

 

[Kids for Disney]

Thank you all for your different thoughts on the Halloween party! My kids do not like really scary things. I did not realize they had Knotts Scary Farms. Is the Knotts Scary Farm something they have during the week? It says they close at 6:00 PM Oct 5th. We would be going to the Halloween party for the rides, shows, and candy! Kids don't seem to be into the characters.

 

[DnA2010]

The Halloween party was a let down for us- we went last year...we weren't interested in candy (we did do some treat trails and get the other option) but were looking for more differences between a regular day at the parks- we enjoyed the fireworks but would have loved a Halloween parade. The Dans were also great but the character lines were so long and the park was wayyy more crowded than we expected.

 

[Niltiac]

We would be going to the Halloween party for the rides, shows, and candy! Kids don't seem to be into the characters.

Well that's kind of good and bad news. The good part is that if you're not into characters, then you can skip most of the long lines and crowds at the party. My experience at the party last year (the only time I've gone) was that it seemed very crowded out in the walkways, but not in ride queues. We never waited in line for candy more than 1 minute (just skipped the lines that looked busy) and the ride lines were fantastic (walked on IJ, in fact we got to stay on for two rides because no one else was waiting to ride). And in the "shows" category you have the cadaver dans and the fireworks which are both exclusive to the party.

But the not so good news is that if you're going to the party for rides it will be 'more of the same' when compared to your other two days. Other than lines being shorter the rides are the same. Also, like I said it feels very crowded in the walkways, and with it being dark I found it very aggravating when I got separated from my group with my phone dying. Charge your phones and choose a meetup location, for sure!

One more thing, if you decide to do the party, I suggest riding the Halloween-y rides (Space Mountain and Haunted Mansion) on your other days. I didn't wait in those lines but it looked very busy at Haunted Mansion and I suspect a lot of people wanted to ride it during the party in the spirit of the holiday, but they don't have FP during parties so you're better off riding those during the day.

 

[Kids for Disney]

Thank you ! I was afraid of it being nothing new. What is cadaver dans?

 

[Niltiac]

Thank you ! I was afraid of it being nothing new. What is cadaver dans?

The Dapper Dans is a barbershop quartet that usually performs on main street. During the party, they are the Cadaver Dans (dressed up like zombies, basically). Last year they were on a raft floating over the rivers of america (which was covered in fog) and they were singing Halloween-themed songs. I'm hoping they'll be on the river again this year, but I don't know if the construction would interfere with that. I wouldn't think so since the front half of the river isn't drained. They're not out all night, but I think there's a schedule they give you so you can make sure to catch them.

 

[Kids for Disney]

Thanks Niltiac!

 

[tarheelalum]

Thank you all for your different thoughts on the Halloween party! My kids do not like really scary things. I did not realize they had Knotts Scary Farms. Is the Knotts Scary Farm something they have during the week? It says they close at 6:00 PM Oct 5th. We would be going to the Halloween party for the rides, shows, and candy! Kids don't seem to be into the characters.

Knott's is most likely closing at 6pm so it can turn into Knott's Scary Farms. I think in October it will be running 7 days a week. It is a lot of fun. Much better than Disney's Halloween party for kids your ages and adults. You can see tons of footage on youtube about Knott's scary Farms. Its also cheaper than Disney's Halloween party.