Disney's Happiest Haunts Tour

[AussieCaribou]

Hi everyone,

I was hoping that someone will have done the tour (or at least will have soon) and could answer a couple of questions.

I am really interested in how the tour is run. I know that you no longer ride any attractions but where do you walk to take up the time?

Also, do they use headphone sets on the tour?

Thank you,

AussieCaribou

 

[allsaintsatx]

I'm also wanting to find out! I already purchased my tickets though! We wanted to do it anyway, and there's only 2 tours a day for 15 people each, so I got a little worried it would sell out and went ahead and bought them at the 30 day mark. But...

I spoke to a CM about the tour a few days ago and she told me she had done the tour already - must have been like a cast-only preview as it didn't start until yesterday. She said that we would love it, how fun the tour was and that there was a small detour during it but she didn't want to tell me what it was cause she didn't want to ruin it, but she said we would think it was really cool! So now I REALLY want to find out about it! Haha! Spoil away!

 

[cruisehopeful]

There is a small mention in the bottom of this post. http://www.disboards.com/threads/just-got-back.3543561/
I was a bit surprised that they went to the Tiki Room, but I'll wait to hear from the OP to hear what all they did.

 

[Minnie Sue Oz]

And another waiting for news! We only have a 2 day window as we arrive on the 29th from Australia! Hoping to do the tour on the 30th. I really need to know what's involved before I part with my dollars though as I am a doom buggy disciple and there's not much I don't already know about the Mansion! If it includes anything backstage though...............I'm so there!!!

 

[AussieCaribou]

And another waiting for news! We only have a 2 day window as we arrive on the 29th from Australia! Hoping to do the tour on the 30th. I really need to know what's involved before I part with my dollars though as I am a doom buggy disciple and there's not much I don't already know about the Mansion! If it includes anything backstage though...............I'm so there!!!

Minnie Sue Oz, same here. My DD and I are 'home' 4 to 8 October, so we have already purchased our tickets (that midnight call on a work night is killer but they only have 30 spaces a day...ticketing CMs suggest that once the 'awesomeness' of the tour gets out, the tickets will be gone in minutes, so keep that in mind when your day comes close).

I am a huge Haunted Mansion fan and I'm going figuring that I will know the info that they give...but I think it will still be worth it. I'm looking at it like the Train tour at WDW. When I went, I had been a founding member of the Carolwood society (a society dedicated to Disney train history). Often our guide asked me to clarify things (mostly dates) and when I was talking with my hubby after, he thought that I must have really found the tour a disappointment. I loved it. Why? I got to play with one of the trains...I got to sit in the engineers' seat, and I got to take photos up close...couldn't have been happier.

On a side note, can't wait to hang out with the engineers this year at Disneyland! Getting to play on those trains is a dream come true!!!

 

[cruisehopeful]

ticketing CMs suggest that once the 'awesomeness' of the tour gets out, the tickets will be gone in minutes, so keep that in mind when your day comes close).

Hmm, then maybe I should book and and cancel later if it doesn't sound as fun after reading some trip reports.

 

[AussieCaribou]

Hmm, then maybe I should book and and cancel later if it doesn't sound as fun after reading some trip reports.

Beware...the tickets are non-refundable!

 

[AussieCaribou]

Alright guys, I have some info from a person who attended today. He's a Disney historian specializing in the Haunted Mansion.

There is a side trip to get a bit of behind the scene magic (um...it's not that magical and has nothing to do with the HM...as someone else already reported, you do experience the tiki room...).

It sounds like this tour is now a mixture of general Disney history and a bit of info about the seasonal decorations.

people are enjoying it but it's best not to think of it as a Halloween tour.

 

[Daisybell911]

I wish I could find out for sure. We are here now and I'd go if I could hear a good report. (Of course, if it isn't sold out)

 

[allsaintsatx]

Behind the scene magic at the Tiki Room?!?!?! Seriously? That sounds amazing! I'd take behind the scene magic at custodial and probably be pretty stoked!!

 

[Astylla]

Alright guys, I have some info from a person who attended today. He's a Disney historian specializing in the Haunted Mansion.

There is a side trip to get a bit of behind the scene magic (um...it's not that magical and has nothing to do with the HM...as someone else already reported, you do experience the tiki room...).

It sounds like this tour is now a mixture of general Disney history and a bit of info about the seasonal decorations.

people are enjoying it but it's best not to think of it as a Halloween tour.

This is pretty accurate as someone on a FB group posted it's mostly about the history of HM and how it came to be with some Disney history mixed in. It makes me sad because last year's tour was SO AMAZING I couldn't wait to do it again..but oh well.
You really can't gop wrong with a tour but it's not as Halloween themed as I would prefer and we did ours during dusk/night which added to the whole experience too.

 

[S. Lopez]

I did the tour on Friday - I've never done a tour at Disneyland so I had no expectations going in. We mainly walked around the park and the CM gave info about the park (with a Haunted House twist) as we walked. We did see a mechanical flower from the Tiki Room up close and then had a Mickey cookie - then we went in to the Tiki Room to watch the show. We ended the tour on the side of the Haunted Mansion where we received a fast pass for the ride and a commemorative pin. Because the park was so crowded it was hard to concentrate on what she was saying...and a lot of times random people would ask her questions (where's the bathroom - where's the line for FP, etc.). I don't know if I would do it again.

 

[Astylla]

I'm so disappointed that this years tour is so...generic. I think Walk in Walts is much better even without seeing the apartment.

I'll have to do a write up of last years because it was so good this just makes he sad for those going expecting a Halloween experience.

 

[alvernon90]

We did the Halloween tour four years ago, and we pretty much hated it, but back then there were lots of rides as part of the tour (Haunted Mansion Holiday, Matterhorn, Tower of Terror, Space Mountain, Big Thunder, and I think others). The tour was done in the evening, so it got dark while we were on the tour, and they tried to do it as a show.

The tour itself was horribly cheesy, made worse by the fact that a tour pitched toward children (at least in its level of sophistication) was almost entirely adults who were WAY WAY into the whole thing. Felt weird. When the tour guides left us behind at Matterhorn, we were pretty disappointed that they came back to find us -- we thought we were free, but we had to keep going. Eventually we told them we were quitting the tour and not following them anymore, and they gave us a FP by way of apology.

Hard to believe they have made the tour even more lame than it was back then. At least then it was a way of getting on rides during a crowded time with no waiting. Well, except when we waited around at Matterhorn for the tour guides to realize they had left us behind, and when we waited at Space Mountain because part of our tour group made one of the cars overweight and had to get pulled off the main track.

 

[cruisehopeful]

Bumping to see if anyone else has any Halloween Tour trip reports for this year.

 

[AussieCaribou]

We are taking the tour on Wednesday. I will try to find a minute to review it after we go.

 

[cruisehopeful]

We are taking the tour on Wednesday. I will try to find a minute to review it after we go.

Looking forward to reading about your experience!

 

[AussieCaribou]

So, here's my review...as spoiler free as possible.

The tour lasts about 90 minutes. There are no behind the scenes sections.

The tour is the story of the Haunted Mansion. It uses Disneyland park as the pages of a storybook to tell the story. The history is comprensive and the sideline to the Tiki Room does make sense.

We enjoyed the tour (DD who is 17 and I). However, if you have read either the unofficial guide to the haunted mansion by Jeff Baham or the official guide by the Disney imagineers, you will gain no new knowledge.

The name badge and collectible pin are amazing.

Will I go again? If it is left as it is, no. But I am glad that I did it.

 

[allsaintsatx]

So, here's my review...as spoiler free as possible.

The tour lasts about 90 minutes. There are no behind the scenes sections.

The tour is the story of the Haunted Mansion. It uses Disneyland park as the pages of a storybook to tell the story. The history is comprensive and the sideline to the Tiki Room does make sense.

We enjoyed the tour (DD who is 17 and I). However, if you have read either the unofficial guide to the haunted mansion by Jeff Baham or the official guide by the Disney imagineers, you will gain no new knowledge.

The name badge and collectible pin are amazing.

Will I go again? If it is left as it is, no. But I am glad that I did it.

Agreed 100%. We did it on the 9th at 11am with Tiff as our guide (she said it was her first tour ever and she was great!) We haven't read those books so, to us, it was very informative (no spoilers but all the stuff we learned on Main Street was pretty cool, especially the sign) and that pin? Wow! So cool!

I did learn some extra stuff beyond the tour script, but it was by asking questions. Nothing major (like I said, I only knew about 45% of the HM stuff Tiff talked about on the tour) but just some tidbits. Also, the tour ends in a roped off section next to Splash Mountain, so I was able to get some good shots of Splash with no water in it! And, because of the area, some different angle shots of the side area between HM and Splash that has new mausoleums in it (we had a long after-tour discussion with the guides as to what's there now and what happened to what was there before).

And the CM handing out the HM pins said there were only 2500 made. One person's pin broke right after she received it, so we all joked that now there's only 2499 pins!

The best part, for me, was the guide. She totally made it. And the CM at the Tiki Room, and who also handed out the pins, was also great and very informative. They told us they were self described Disney Nerds and they were so excited to be doing a tour. Worth the money for sure, but maybe a "one and done" unless they mix it up a little.

 

[Nonsuch]

A detailed (spoilers) tour review (part of a trip report) on another board.
The review is quite negative, although the remainder of the post (and most other posts from this person) are very positive.