Halloween Party Advice - Characters?

[starlitsinger88]

Hello all!

I am SO excited to be going to the Disneyland Halloween party this year. We're going earlier in October, so hopefully it won't be too crowded.

I am a bit of a character stalker, and one of the main reasons I wanted to go to the party was to have the chance to see costumed characters and more rare characters. What are peoples previous experience with characters? Where do you recommend going to see these characters?

Also, are the rides such as haunted mansion and Star Tours themed during the day? Or only during the actual party? What about characters such as Jack and costumed Chip and Dale?

[skiingfast]

During the days Villains are out for the whole season, it's best to visit them outside the parties when lines are shorter. The same goes for Space and HM with thier layovers, the whole season ride them outside the party.

At the party regluar, classic characters wear costumes. During the party many other characters some are rare. Who exactly will be there may be different this year than in the past.

This thread discusses some about the Halloween Only Characters.
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2810380

[specialks]

Skiing gave you pretty much everything. I will say the lines were REALLY long when we went last Oct. They give you a map for the party that shows you where the special characters are and the trick or treat stations are. I don't think you can do it all. The lines are just too much. I think you should itemize your characters by importance and hit them in that order. If you make it through all, then good job. We tried to hit all the treat stations but wanted to see the fireworks from the hub and had to miss 1-2 treat stations. We skipped all characters because the lines were insane and my girls wanted the treats more than the characters.

[starlitsinger88]

Thanks for those answers, guys!

I would especially love to see Jafar, Sally/Jack, evil stepmother and sisters, Dr. Facilier, Caption Hook and Smee, Gaston... well... everyone!

Do they have photo pass people at all the stations? or should I be worried about bringing a nice camera for night time shots?

[skiingfast]

Originally Posted by starlitsinger88

Do they have photo pass people at all the stations? or should I be worried about bringing a nice camera for night time shots?

That is a good question. I know most have PP Photgraphers but can't say that every characters does.

[laura&fam]

Thank you Specialks for the info on long lines. I've never been before and hadn't heard you had to pick and choose. It's always good to know what to expect. Are the characters and treat stations there all the way to midnight?

[specialks]

Originally Posted by laura&fam

Thank you Specialks for the info on long lines. I've never been before and hadn't heard you had to pick and choose. It's always good to know what to expect. Are the characters and treat stations there all the way to midnight?

I had listened to the podcast and they also found that you kind of had to pick and choose if you planned on doing the parades and fireworks. We did both, so I expected it. If you plan to miss those 2 big time eaters, you could probably hit all the characters and maybe some treats along the way. It's hard for me to say, but the night really flew by. I can't remember if everything stays open the full time because we headed to the hub for fireworks. I'm pretty sure they all stay open. Some of the characters had shorter lines that others. Minnie & Mickey seemed HUGE, but it could just be the way the line was lined up along the back of Frontierland. We didn't see all the character line-ups.

Also, for those that like special characters, you should consider becoming a Disney runner...they have special characters out in the parks during the runs. The trick is being fast enough to wait in the long lines and keep above the minimum 16 min mile. I ran the Tink and saw Smee and Hook together for the first time ever in the parks. They have a lot of "partners" for photo ops during the runs like in the MHP. (ie Hook/Smee, Tarzan/Jane, Pocahontas/John Smith, Rapunzel/Flynn)

[KateDrake]

I've noticed that lines for characters and Trick or Treating are VERY long at the start of the party, but tend to taper down after the parade and fireworks. We went on a Tuesday night last year, and it was practically dead after the fireworks. Being the "bad parents" that we are, we used that time to hit Princess Fantasy Faire, which we'd been avoiding the entire trip. At 11 p.m., the wait was only 15 minutes, and our kids were still hyped up enough to enjoy meeting the princesses

If characters are your priority, I would skip the Trick or Treat stuff at first and hit the character spots, which you'll find on your Halloween party map. You can then go back to the treat stations later at night (after the fireworks) and still collect plenty of goodies. I have always been kind of underwhelmed by the Trick or Treating to be honest. Yeah, they give you a lot of candy, but it really isn't that special. It's just CMs passing it out from large bins, so it's fun, but certainly something you could leave until later and hit when the lines are shorter. And it's not like each station is unique in some way, they are all pretty much the same, just in different locations.

You might also have luck waiting until later to see the characters, but if they are the thing you are most excited about, it may be best not to chance it. I'm not sure how long some of the rarer ones stay out.

[chrissiecutie]

Originally Posted by KateDrake

I've noticed that lines for characters and Trick or Treating are VERY long at the start of the party, but tend to taper down after the parade and fireworks. We went on a Tuesday night last year, and it was practically dead after the fireworks. Being the "bad parents" that we are, we used that time to hit Princess Fantasy Faire, which we'd been avoiding the entire trip. At 11 p.m., the wait was only 15 minutes, and our kids were still hyped up enough to enjoy meeting the princesses

If characters are your priority, I would skip the Trick or Treat stuff at first and hit the character spots, which you'll find on your Halloween party map. You can then go back to the treat stations later at night (after the fireworks) and still collect plenty of goodies. I have always been kind of underwhelmed by the Trick or Treating to be honest. Yeah, they give you a lot of candy, but it really isn't that special. It's just CMs passing it out from large bins, so it's fun, but certainly something you could leave until later and hit when the lines are shorter. And it's not like each station is unique in some way, they are all pretty much the same, just in different locations.

You might also have luck waiting until later to see the characters, but if they are the thing you are most excited about, it may be best not to chance it. I'm not sure how long some of the rarer ones stay out.

So the trick or treating & characters go all night?? I had just assumed that these stopped with the fireworks/parade began.

Perhaps a good strategy then is to hit up a few trick or treat stations & your "priority" characters, do the parade & fireworks & then go back for more trick or treating/characters. But now I'm wondering how I'll fit rides in here... Oh geez...

[KateDrake]

Originally Posted by chrissiecutie

So the trick or treating & characters go all night?? I had just assumed that these stopped with the fireworks/parade began.

Perhaps a good strategy then is to hit up a few trick or treat stations & your "priority" characters, do the parade & fireworks & then go back for more trick or treating/characters. But now I'm wondering how I'll fit rides in here... Oh geez...

I'm not sure if they ALL stay open all night, but at least a few of them do. We did last year at DLR and the year before at WDW, and both had characters and Trick or Treating open through the end of the party. So if you are trying for specific characters, you might want to double check how long they'll be there.

The one thing I've really noticed at both is that the lines for rides are generally pretty short. I think maybe because so many locals go to the parties, and they want to focus on getting candy/seeing characters? I'm not sure why. But my strategy would be to hit your priority characters first, do some rides, and find a couple of Trick or Treat trails. If you did every trail, you'd have an entire duffle bag full of candy, and the kids in our group ( 5 kids ages 1-6) were all fine with a just a couple of handfuls, so we bailed on that and did rides until it was time for fireworks. Then we saw the later parade by IASW, and hit Fantasy Faire. The park was pretty dead by that time, but the princesses were still gracious as ever! And there were several other characters still out as well. I think the best idea is to skip the first parade, and see the second, because the first one is mobbed.

Anyway, as you can see, I have no firm strategy! This is just all based on musings from my experience! Whatever you decide to do, I'm sure you'll have fun

[laura&fam]

Originally Posted by KateDrake

Anyway, as you can see, I have no firm strategy! This is just all based on musings from my experience! Whatever you decide to do, I'm sure you'll have fun

I appreciate your musings. For someone who has never been it really helps!

[MissItAlready]

We're looking forward to attending for our first time too! I can't wait to see all of the villains!

[I❤MICKEY]

Wishing we weren't going on the first night so we could take advantage of everyones experience. Especially since this is the first time we will be there for the party. I guess I'll just have to share the 411 with everyone else.

Our goal is to see characters too. My boys are nuts about the characters.

Originally Posted by KateDrake

I think the best idea is to skip the first parade, and see the second, because the first one is mobbed.

My boys could definitely stay awake for the second parade so your idea would be great for us if we could see characters. Are the characters out during the parade? I thought there were no meet and greets during the parades because Disney tries to ensure that the characters aren't two places at once.

Also, are the characters where they normally are during the parties. For example Pooh and gang are normally by the Pooh ride. Can we expect they will be there in their halloween costumes?

[KateDrake]

Originally Posted by I❤MICKEY

Are the characters out during the parade? I thought there were no meet and greets during the parades because Disney tries to ensure that the characters aren't two places at once.

Also, are the characters where they normally are during the parties. For example Pooh and gang are normally by the Pooh ride. Can we expect they will be there in their halloween costumes?

Hmm, I am not totally sure on these. We used the first parade to do rides, because the lines are always shorter then. So that could be a good strategy... I'm not sure if the characters are at their greeting places during the parade. I'd never heard that about Disney trying to be sure they aren't in two places at once, but that makes sense!

Most of the characters who you see everyday in the parks are in Halloween costumes (Pooh as a bee, etc.). Some of them are in their normal areas, like Storm Troopers by Star Tours, but others are in weird places, like Goofy and Pluto in pirate costumes at Rancho del Zocalo. Or Minnie and Mickey as a witch and vampire by Big Thunder Ranch. Kind of random, but the map will tell you!

Sorry, I'm really not an expert, but I'm happy to offer any help I can!

[starlitsinger88]

All these answers are great! I'm thinking that we'll hit our top choice characters, later parade and fireworks, and then more characters and maybe some candy afterwards. We're spending a good amount of time in the parks during the day, so I'm fine getting the rides done some other time. Maybe we'll hit Peter Pan and Big Thunder after the fireworks

When are the maps given out? I want as much time as I can to plan for the characters (villains!!!) that'll be able to see!