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creepykingdom · 7 years

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Episode 133 / Creepy Day 2 Halloween Time at Disneyland

SHOW NOTES:

On our second Creepy Day of 2017 we take a look at all of the Halloween offerings this year at the Disneyland Resort! Including all of the brand new Halloween fun at Disney California Adventure and a review of this year’s Mickey’s Halloween Party!

REVIEW: (by Melissa A. Camacho)

It’s amazing what a little lighting and fog can do to get you in the Halloween spirit. At this year’s Mickey’s Halloween Party at the Disneyland Resort, both Disneyland and Disney’s California Adventure were decked out in fall and Halloween decorations. And for the first time ever, your ticket to Mickey’s Halloween Party allowed you into either Disneyland or DCA prior to the main event. In this review, I will be covering both parks and also giving you tips on this year’s party.

For those of you who have not heard of Mickey’s Halloween Party, it is a separate ticketed event that happens on select nights starting in mid September to Halloween at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim. At this event, the park is closed early for regular attendees and the park is transformed into a full blown Halloween Party. Complete with a trick-or-treat candy trail, a dance party, Disney Villain appearances, the Frightfully Fun Parade and the Halloween Screams Fireworks; not to mention everybody is allowed to come in costume. Each year, this event sells out, and this year was no exception. So for those interested in attending next year, I highly recommend buying your tickets early.

We start off at Disney’s California Adventure. If you want to get a head start on your spooky day, take advantage of the early entry park-hopper and enjoy what DCA has to offer for the fall season. Early entry to either Disneyland or DCA starts three hours prior the main event. Unfortunately, I missed early entry this year (traffic coming up from San Diego was unusually bad) but, I was at DCA a few days earlier so I’m happy to report my take on the park on a regular day.

Before you even enter the park, you are welcomed by Oogie Boogie on top of the DCA entrance. As a huge fan of The Nightmare Before Christmas, I was already sold. I have never been into DCA around this time of year, so walking into Buena Vista street and seeing the vintage purple banners and bats immediately put a smile to my face. Going in farther, there is an epic Headless Horseman statue that exhales out smoke through its nostrils. It also makes noses and and lights up as the day goes darker.

Another new and bigger thing at DCA for this Halloween season is Cars Land’s Haul-O-Ween layover. Now, I am not a huge Cars fan, but this themed section of the park is my favorite. So adding a dash of spooky made it 10x, better in my opinion. There were car parts that created spider webs and ghouls. Many of the signs had creepy layovers which referenced classic Halloween and horror movies. Not to mention the perfectly themed treats they offered there which have been featured on numerous videos and instagram accounts by now. Luigi's Rollickin Roadsters had new music for your cars to dance to. And Ramone's House of Body Art was Day of the Dead themed complete with an altar for one of it’s characters. As a Mexican-American, it was really refreshing to see my culture being represented as genuinely as possible, considering the context of the land. I enjoyed it. My tip for this section of the park is to arrive at sundown. That’s when all the neon gets turned on and the whole environment feels different. Still cute, yet spooky.

Continuing with our trend of Day of the Dead, there is a Coco experience near Paradise Pier that features activities, music, dancers, folk art and food inspired by the Mexican tradition and movie. When I went to DCA a few days prior, I did not get to experience this part of the park myself, so I can’t give a first hand account of this seasonal experience. But, thanks to the internet, you can view all the colorful displays they have up.

Another new thing that DCA offers this season was Guardians of the Galaxy: Monsters After Dark, ride layover. Right out of the gate, the Guardians ride is noticeably different. The lights and projections on the building are different and kind of creepy. The story of the ride also changes, as you are now trying to help Rocket save Groot from the space monsters that have been let loose. I also felt that there were way more drops in this incarnation of the ride, which I highly enjoyed. The cool thing about this version, is that it’s not an all day layover. So if you want the little ones to enjoy the original, ride it during the day. My tip if you want to experience this scary version, is to ride it at or after the sun sets. It’s a digital layover so it gets converted in a short period of time.

Overall, the three hours you have at DCA will be enough time to look at all the new decorations and maybe ride a few things. Now onto onto Mickey’s Halloween Party at Disneyland.

I have attended this event for the first time last year and I immediately fell in love. If you’re a fan of Halloween and all things Disney, then this is the event for you. My boyfriend and I Disneybounded as Oogie Boogie and Jack Skellington, respectively. The one thing I love about Mickey’s Halloween Party is the small crowds. There is practically no wait for any of the rides. Another thing that makes the event so different is ambiance of the park. It immediately puts everybody in good creepy mood.

As huge Disneyland fans, we all know that Disney spares no expense when it comes to their seasonal decorations. Besides the cute fall leaves and pumpkins on main street and other parts of the park, Disney bumps it up a bit for their Halloween party. The colored lights turn on, the spooky sounds creep up and fog covers Rivers of America as the Cadaver Dans start making their way down on a raft. If there’s one section that screams out creepy Disney, it’s New Orleans Square by Rivers of America. If that’s not your thing, then I suggest taking a stroll down the newly opened Big Thunder Trail. If you’re coming up from the Frontierland side, keep an eye out for the creature that lives in the old train ride tunnel. I honestly don’t remember if that was there last year, but it really freaked me out. The sound effects and lighting in that little section made me feel uneasy. Which looking back… still freaks me out just thinking about it. I still don’t know what that was suppose to be and no Google search is helping me. So if you’re brave, go check it out.

Besides my irrational fears of things unknown, the majority of the event was amazing. If rides are your thing, as they were for me and my boyfriend, I highly suggest riding Space Mountain Ghost Galaxy and Haunted Mansion Holiday. These rides have seasonal layovers that really put you in the Halloween (or Christmas) spirit. As some of you might know, each year the gingerbread house in Haunted Mansion Holiday is changed. And this year, it features a humongous Oogie Boogie gingerbread man. Again, I am a sucker for this guy, so I loved it. Biases aside, I wish the doombuggies would move slower at the ballroom scene just so everybody can see and appreciate all the little details of the gingerbread houses. Especially considering that it is all real gingerbread and sweats. While Haunted Mansion Holiday is less scary once Jack takes over, in my opinion, I can’t say the same for Space Mountain’s layover. So if your children get easily frightened, I say skip Ghost Galaxy. I think it’s a bit loud and the projections might be too scary for your younger counterparts.

Now it’s not a Halloween Party without costumes and candy. While you see your usual and more traditional costumes, there are some that certainly stand out. Maybe it’s the Disney magic that sparks people’s creativity or the photo opportunities that the park offers. Either way, some people went all out. I only captured some spooky ones, but there were plenty more varieties that people dress up as too. While you people watch, I suggest taking advantage of the treat trail that spans the whole park. I personally didn’t stop at all of the candy spots, but I got enough candy to fill my Zero popcorn bucket. When you first enter the park, you are given a treat bag and a map of the treat trail. At some stops, there are healthier and allergy friendly options for the trick-or-treaters.

I am not one for Parades or Fireworks, but for this event, I try my best to make some time to watch it. First is the Frightfully Fun Parade. Before the parade begins, the Headless Horseman makes his way down on a real horse holding his pumpkin head. Then parade begins. The floats are given as much detail as the regular parade floats but better because they feature spooky characters and Disney Villains. The parade itself is rather short but cute for what it is. They run it twice throughout the night. Now for the fireworks, I highly suggest either being in front of the castle or in the middle of main street. Both the castle and main street have projections casted on them. I was on the side of the castle closer to Frontierland and still had a decent view. Like I said before, I’m not much of a fireworks person, but this one sold me with the theme, projections, synced fireworks and pyrotechnics. If you ever attend Mickey’s Halloween Party, I suggest finding a good spot and watching it at least once.

Overall, Mickey’s Halloween Party is defiantly one of my favorite events to attend at Disneyland. I’m an annual passholder and I will gladly pay the extra money to attend this event. It has the perfect mix of Disney and creepy. I give this year’s event a five poison apples out of five poison apples rating.

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PICTURES: (By Melissa A. Camacho, Little Nikki, & James H. Carter II)