A few thoughts about HalloweenTime 2014?

[Dream.Finder]

We just got back from Disneyland last night and we're already missing it terribly... but not the pouring rain we had. This past Monday was the only nice day. Lots of entertainment cancellations and we were rained out of our dinner ressie at the Big Thunder Ranch BBQ. We did manage to catch a Tinker Bell-less performance of Remember... Dreams Come True on Sunday night. Oh... and there was a fountain/mist screen malfunction during the 2nd showing of Fantasmic! that caused it to cancel. Just our luck... even a Cast Member gave us seating in the VIP area due to lighter crowds only to have the show cancelled on us. We just had bad luck on this trip, but still an enjoyable enough time. We're considering trying to take our next trip during the Halloween season at the resort. I've been to HalloweenTime a couple times in the past but that was many years ago. I have a few initial thoughts and questions.

If we buy both 5-Day Park Hoppers and a ticket to Mickey's Halloween Party, does that mean we could use the party ticket as somewhat of a seperate 6th day? Or do you have to use the party tickets in conjunction with a valid theme park admission day? What are the typical hours of the parties? When do they let you in and when does it close... after midnight (like 1 AM or 2 AM) or at midnight? How are the crowds? When do they announce the party dates? Are party dates early to mid October better as far as crowds go, opposed to parties closer (and on) Halloween? My birthday is on October 20th... we'd like to perhaps hit that while there, would the party dates during that time already be the most crowded dates? I'm just not all sure how the flow works. What kinds of happenings do they put on now-a-days?

We're thinking of booking from the 14th to 21st. Would these dates be a wise choice? Is there any time during October/HalloweenTime that is more adviseable for lower crowd levels? I've heard it can get busy during the Halloween season, regardless. If we are going with these dates, when (as exact as possible) would you expect the park hours and attraction refurbishment schedule be released? I just want to mark these dates down on my calendar to remind me to check this stuff out next time. How do the attraction refurbs typically look during that time? Similar to peak operation? Some closures? Lots of closures? What are the frequency of nighttime entertainment like the Fireworks, Fantasmic!, and World of Color? Would Remember... Dreams Come True be playing during that time or would it be Magical!? I remember reading that the Halloween Screams show is only presented during the Halloween parties. What else can we look forward to during the month of October? What about tours during this time? Anything worth the time and money?

We also wanted to *attempt* at staying at a Disney hotel during our stay but don't want to pay huge bucks for it. I was thinking of checking out SellOffVacations.com as we got a good deal for this past trip at the Best Western Anaheim Inn. I was thinking of trying to stay at the Paradise Pier Hotel as we've never even taken a peek at the inside of that one and it is the cheapest of the 3 hotels. The Grand Californian and Disneyland Hotel are out I think. We've stayed at the Disneyland Hotel before and it cost an arm and a leg... even when booking through AAA. Our primary reason for booking a Disney hotel would be the benefit of having EMH at both parks, every day of our stay. How do the rates at the Pier run? Especially during the month of October? Any ideas on how to drive down the price? The best idea I can come up with is to do what we did this time and, as I've said, book through SellOffVacations.com so we can get a combined flight and hotel rate. We thought this would be better than paying full flight fares and standard room rates. We don't have to worry about transportation though as we have no plans to visit anywhere else, so we'd just take the Disneyland Resort Express or SuperShuttle or something like that.

Outside of my questions... ANY TIPS OTHERWISE ARE WELCOMED!!

 

[Girimama33]

You can use a HP ticket as a 6th day if you wish.
Weekday parties (Mon/Tues) allow guests in from 3-11, Fri night parties allow guests from 4-midnight.
Party dates will be announced in June, tickets will go on sale in July.
I think the parties are too crowded personally, but opinions vary here.
The lowest crowds during Halloween time will be the last weekend September/early October weekdays. After the first weekend in October through the third weekend, the resort becomes very busy with Gay Days, AZ Fall break, Columbus Day, CHOC Walk, and UT Fall break.
Your choice of dates could be very crowded, or you could be pleasantly surprised.
Hours and refurbs will be posted 6 weeks out. Refurbs are usually light, but there may be a few.
F! and Fireworks will be on the weekends only (with the exception of HP fireworks). Not sure if RDCT or Magical will be showing.
They offer a Halloween themed tour during this time.
They don't offer too many onsite discounts during this time. They have no issues with occupancy.

I suggest searching this forum for the Halloweentime Superthread (I think the link is in the compilation sticky).

 

[crystal1313]

I can't answer a lot of your questions, but can answer some.....I went to the party last year for the first time. So fun! And yes, you could consider it a half 6th day. You don't need regular admission. Only a party ticket. I think times for the party were 6-11pm or 7-12pm. You are allowed in 3 hours prior to the party. So for a 6pm party, allowed in at 3pm and for a 7pm party allowed in at 4pm. Pretty sure they announced party dates in July last year. AP's get advance purchase. We went on a Friday. The next day was super crowded, but it was Columbus Day weekend and the CHOC walk was that Sunday. We are avoiding that weekend this year. I think the dates you picked sound great.

We LOVE the PPH! Only discount I know of is for AP's. Have you checked Cheaptickets? They usually have 20-25% off rates. It's pricey, but the EMH are worth it. View rooms are amazing!!

Tips: dress up for the party! So many wonderful costumes and so fun! You get tons of candy! The lines are deceiving. They look long but move faster than you think. Take tons of photos! Fireworks are amazing. Check out my trip report in my signature for photos!

 

[Dream.Finder]

Thanks for the responses guys! Anyone who can add anything in addition is welcome to do so.

 

[KCmike]

I'm interested in this as well. The last time we saw Halloween was back in 2007 for our FIRST ever time at Disneyland. My wife and I have an anniversary trip scheduled this year for Monterey and would love to add a Halloween party to our itinerary.

 

[figment_jii]

We did manage to catch a Tinker Bell-less performance of Remember... Dreams Come True on Sunday night. Oh... and there was a fountain/mist screen malfunction during the 2nd showing of Fantasmic! that caused it to cancel.

Welcome back Dream.Finder! I'm glad to hear that you had a mostly good time on your trip. I saw the same fireworks and Fantasmic!

If we buy both 5-Day Park Hoppers and a ticket to Mickey's Halloween Party, does that mean we could use the party ticket as somewhat of a seperate 6th day? Or do you have to use the party tickets in conjunction with a valid theme park admission day? What are the typical hours of the parties? When do they let you in and when does it close... after midnight (like 1 AM or 2 AM) or at midnight? How are the crowds? When do they announce the party dates? Are party dates early to mid October better as far as crowds go, opposed to parties closer (and on) Halloween? My birthday is on October 20th... we'd like to perhaps hit that while there, would the party dates during that time already be the most crowded dates? I'm just not all sure how the flow works. What kinds of happenings do they put on now-a-days?

As the PP have said, the party ticket has historically allowed you entrance into the park (DL only) three hours before the party started. I would assume it'll be the same this year. Unlike WDW's MNSSHP, the tickets for MHP clearly stated that the ticket was valid from three hours before party started. It's nice because then there is no question about when you'll be allowed in. The ticket is a stand alone ticket, meaning you don't need a regular park admission in addition to it.

The parties run from 6:00 to 11:00 pm on weekdays and 7:00 pm to midnight on weekend nights. The party dates will probably be announced sometime in early summer. The first information usually starts trickling out in mid-May when the AP newsletter comes out. Once the info is out, it'll be posted here on the Halloween SuperThread. Sherry E was hoping to start a new SuperThread, but you can look through the existing one to find lots of useful information.
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2959331&page=211

Almost all of the parties sold out last year. I thought they were crowded, but manageable. The party that coincides with Gay Days weekend is likely to sell out first, but they'll all sell out at some point if last year's trends continue this year (i.e., for the most part, no day of tickets).

We're thinking of booking from the 14th to 21st. Would these dates be a wise choice? Is there any time during October/HalloweenTime that is more adviseable for lower crowd levels? I've heard it can get busy during the Halloween season, regardless. If we are going with these dates, when (as exact as possible) would you expect the park hours and attraction refurbishment schedule be released? I just want to mark these dates down on my calendar to remind me to check this stuff out next time. How do the attraction refurbs typically look during that time? Similar to peak operation? Some closures? Lots of closures? What are the frequency of nighttime entertainment like the Fireworks, Fantasmic!, and World of Color? Would Remember... Dreams Come True be playing during that time or would it be Magical!? I remember reading that the Halloween Screams show is only presented during the Halloween parties. What else can we look forward to during the month of October? What about tours during this time? Anything worth the time and money?

The park schedule will be released about 45-days in advance, about the same as it is throughout the year. In terms of refurbs, it's hard to say how things will be at the end of the year, but I would expect that there will be a few. Something is almost always closed at any given point in the year.

I would assume that there will be relatively short hours on the weekdays (park closing around 8:00 pm) and longer hours on the weekends (midnight). DCA will stay open late on MHP nights. If you look through last year's calendar, if DL closed at 6:00 pm or 7:00 pm, that was a MHP night.
http://www.wdwinfo.com/disneyland/park-hours.cfm?month=10&year=2013

In terms of nighttime entertainment, mostly likely fireworks and Fantasmic will only run on weekends. WOC will be nightly. It'll probably be Remember by then (Magical usually ends its run with summer). Yes, Screams is only shown during the MHP nights.

In terms of crowds, I would think the busiest weekends are likely to be the one the coincides with Gay Days and CHOC walk. CHOC walk seemed to really up the crowds on Sunday, but might not have as much "spill over" effect. Gay Days increased the crowds throughout the weekend. Geemo has a calendar of events scheduled for 2014, so you can see what is scheduled (known or tentative) for the month of October.
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=3221444

 

[Dream.Finder]

Thank you for that very detailed response, figment_jii!

We were bummed about the Fantasmic! cancellation as it was our only shot at seeing the show. Well, not really because we could've seen the previous show at 9:00 PM, but we were heading back out to the parks from our hotel at that time and we were waiting for the later show for the least crowds. But just like I mentioned above, a very nice CM that was working the fireworks (after having a chat and hearing about our bad luck with the rain and cancellations), managed to get us in to the VIP section, dead-center for the 10:30 PM show of Fantasmic!, only to have it cancel on us half-way through! Just our luck. A super special viewing experience thwarted by a fountain malfunction...

... I wonder if those with the dessert packages got a refund?

 

[sandyandcalvin]

wdw has a better Halloween celebration. We've done both DLR and WDW with the grandkids. And we all agreed we had a better time at DW

 

[figment_jii]

Just our luck. A super special viewing experience thwarted by a fountain malfunction...

... I wonder if those with the dessert packages got a refund?

I don't know about the dessert package folks...I was kind of wondering if there were other issues with Fantasmic that contributed to the shut down half way through the second show.

Out of curiosity, when you saw the first show, did...
1) Kaa (the giant snake) appear during the Jungle Book sequence? The rafts with the monkeys went by, but no Kaa on the island. I thought it might be part of the reduced show if the weather had been bad, but the pink elephants danced, so I was less sure after that.

2) Did Ariel appear during the princess sequence? I only saw Belle/Beast and Snow/Prince during the second show.

3) Did Captain Hook swing behind the Columbia at the end of the sequence? He stayed on the ship (with Peter Pan) instead of swinging from side to side during the second showing.

 

[Amommy21]

Oct 16-17 is UEA so Utah schools are out. Some people refer to it as Utah Escapes to Anaheim and it is a busy week.

Using your Halloween party at a 6th day is such a great idea. You can sleep in, swim, shop or eat at Downtown Disney. The Halloween parties are a lot of walking and can be exhausting so having a leisurely day leading up to the big night is a great idea!

 

[Dream.Finder]

wdw has a better Halloween celebration. We've done both DLR and WDW with the grandkids. And we all agreed we had a better time at DW

You know, I've really been pondering this notion as well. My partner has only been to the Florida parks (pre-Animal Kingdom, I think) once at an extremely young age. Too young to remember it, for sure! But now, in my company, in recent years, the original Disneyland count is up to 2 trips. If I wasn't so itching to get out and finally ride the improved Big Thunder Mountain Railroad (as it has been closed for our past two trips, both last year and this year), I might considering taking a WDW Halloween trip more. The other reasons that Disneyland appeals to at Halloween is mostly because of Haunted Mansion Holiday, Ghost Galaxy, and Halloween Screams fireworks. I know my partner would love that and would all be new experiences or cool variations on previous experiences.

But... on the same token, I know a trip to WDW would have a whole bunch of new things to experience. I guess I'm just partial to Disneyland vacations (not only because of those Halloween updates), but because I can usually find hotel and flight packages well under $1,000, depending on how upscale the hotel I end up choosing is. With Florida, I know we'll need to at least be on vacation for a week and a half to two weeks, things will be more expensive, trying to get out to Universal Orlando will be a nightmare but I refuse to visit Florida without seeing the two Harry Potter areas. But, I do know that WDW's Halloween Party experiences are better. Well, at least the parade is for sure! Headless Horseman on horseback and Haunted Mansion butlers scraping their shovels on the ground? Yes, please!! I think Disneyland's take on the Halloween fireworks is better though.

I don't know... perhaps some of you can offer some prespective or ideas on what I should do. I don't want to end up spending a fortune. That's why my Disneyland trips are more common. Deals are easier to come by and are cheaper. Plus, the distance is shorter and the weather is more tolerable. I JUST DON'T KNOW!!

1) Kaa (the giant snake) appear during the Jungle Book sequence? The rafts with the monkeys went by, but no Kaa on the island. I thought it might be part of the reduced show if the weather had been bad, but the pink elephants danced, so I was less sure after that.

I actually didn't notice Kaa being gone. But that's probably because I was distracted by neon dancing monkeys up close on the waterfront. Haha! But yes, the Pink Elephants danced and Pinocchio and the other puppets danced as well.

2) Did Ariel appear during the princess sequence? I only saw Belle/Beast and Snow/Prince during the second show.

I can't remember, mostly because again, I didn't notice. But if you say Ariel wasn't there, I'd believe that. Due to how many things were going wrong.

3) Did Captain Hook swing behind the Columbia at the end of the sequence? He stayed on the ship (with Peter Pan) instead of swinging from side to side during the second showing.

No, Hook stayed up by the crow's nest and was flailing around on his stomatch to the soundtrack as he's supposed to be freaking out at the crocodile. We made the joke that this must've been a new Hook that was too scared to use the zip-line. Haha! Also, Tic-Tock, while present in the show, seemd to be motionless. He just scooted around the water with no-movement. At least, that's what I recall.

 

[figment_jii]

The other reasons that Disneyland appeals to at Halloween is mostly because of Haunted Mansion Holiday, Ghost Galaxy, and Halloween Screams fireworks. I know my partner would love that and would all be new experiences or cool variations on previous experiences.

In terms of Halloween experience, DLR and WDW are both a lot of fun. MK has a better party in some respects, but DLR has the ride overlays.

MNSSHP (MK's Halloween Party) has a far better parade. MHP (DL's Halloween Party) has more candy opportunities (almost everything is a treat trail with at least two or more candy bins per location). Both have character meet and greets, dance parties, and atmosphere. Fireworks are a toss up, but I give MHP's Screams the edge because Zero flies. This was my comparison of the two parties from a few years ago (some things have changed, but the majority is still valid):
http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=49493997&postcount=2159

None of MK's rides get a Halloween make-over, so both HMH and SMGG are unique to DL. SMGG is interesting, but it doesn't substantially change the ride. Some of the coolest effects are actually outside on the building. The in-ride effects go by so quickly that you might miss them if you're not looking at the right direction. HMH is a major revision of HM. If you're a fan of NBC, then HMH is great! I wasn't a fan initially, but it's grown on me. I do love the gingerbread house in the ballroom scene (it changes every year).

There really isn't much "Halloween" at any of the other parks at either WDW or DLR. You might find some pumpkin displays at the resorts at WDW, but that's about it. So, for the most part, Halloween is confined to the MK and DL parks.

If you do go to WDW, you also have Epcot's F&W festival running during October. F&W is one of my favorite experiences at WDW, so that's when I like to go. The best of both worlds is a short (weekend) trip to DLR for MHP and then a longer trip to WDW for MNSSHP and F&W.

 

[Dream.Finder]

If you do go to WDW, you also have Epcot's F&W festival running during October. F&W is one of my favorite experiences at WDW, so that's when I like to go.

Ohhh! The Food & Wine Festival... I've never been to that. I've heard great things. And I love good food. Eating Disney's many tasty dishes is probably one of my favorite parts of the parks. And WDW has tons of food experiences... hmm... I'm still undecided.

I guess the biggest reason I'm leaning to Disneyland for this Halloween is because I am trying to somewhat complete (or better flush/round out) my other half's Disneyland experience. Big Thunder Mountain Railroad is a big point for us. Like I said, we REALLY want to see this! We planned last week's trip to catch the re-opening but then the refurb got delayed again and we were so crushed. Seeing the trains run around the track was torture. That and we had awful weather and were rained out of our BTRBBQ reservation, which bummed us out even more! We love the food at that place!

Yes, I realize WDW has that attraction too and so much more new things to experience and in many ways improved on concepts of things we've already seen at Disneyland. WDW's Splash Mountain comes to mind off the bat. Florida's Haunted Mansion is a better experience IMO, especially now with all the cool updates. I've showed my partner the Max, Buff, and Melvin heads in Anaheim's Winnie the Pooh attraction, but all that does is make us wish we could visit the Country Bear Jamboree. Which we can at WDW! It's just that this would be our second Disney trip this year and we could afford a big splurge to WDW. And like I said, seeing Harry Potter is a must-do, which will add to the time off work and cost of the trip. I also love the seasonal attraction overlays of Disneyland and would like to share those experiences. It could be said that overlays like the Haunted Mansion Holiday really make the classic Haunted Mansion attraction seem brand new. It is just the fact that WDW would basically be an all-new experience (plus the Halloween season!) for my other half that makes it so tempting. But I am at war with myself because I have a soft spot for Disneyland and the things we're missing bugs me. Not to mention the Christmas season at Disneyland and the It's a Small World Holiday overlay... I've even never seen that one!

 

[figment_jii]

Not to mention the Christmas season at Disneyland and the It's a Small World Holiday overlay... I've even never seen that one!

If you weren't huge into seeing MHP, you could always come to DLR for the Christmas season. HMH is still running, as is IaSW Holiday. You'd miss out on SMGG, but that's small compared to IaSW Holiday and HMH! Oh, the choices!

 

[crystal1313]

I enjoyed Halloween time at the parks, but Christmas time is my all time favorite! Just sayin'

 

[Dream.Finder]

Ugh. I think we'll probably just end up at DLR for Halloween. Maybe WDW next year or something. My family is thinking about a big family trip to WDW at some point in the next couple years, so I guess we can just wait until everyone goes to go. And it's not just the US parks, I want to visit the ones overseas too!