Believe it or not, we are in a mad dash leading up to Disneyland’s busiest days of the year. Halloween parties will soon begin and will be followed immediately by Christmas. Over the last several years, Halloween and Christmas have become such popular times at the resort that they generally out perform the summer season. If you’ve wondered why Disney introduced demand-based pricing this year, this Halloween and Christmas season should prove to be a definitive test as to whether higher prices can help manage overcrowding on traditionally high-crowd days.
With the Holiday crush (both Halloween and Christmas) nearly upon us, now is really your best time to drag your bodies to the resort and enjoy the Halloween decorations and attractions. In today’s update, we’ll show you what Halloween looks and tastes like at the resort. Plus, there are refurbishment projects, construction, and general park updates to share. This is Halloween . . . .
Halloween Time
The spooky season is really more sweet than scary at Disneyland. There are other parks you can attend for the real frights (our Universal Studios Halloween Horror Nights coverage is HERE). And the crowds show up in droves to see Mickey and pals in their Halloween outfits, ride Haunted Mansion Holiday and Ghost Galaxy, sample the Halloween treats, and take home bags of Halloween merchandise.
The Mickey-pumpkin decorations have returned to the light posts of Main Street this week.
Chip and Dale are dressed as Bobby Cops. The moment they saw the camera they started hamming it up. Love these little guys.All the re-piping is complete at the train station on Main Street. The planters now reflect fall colors as well.
Also hamming it up was Goofy, who is dressed as a skeleton. Rather than step, he made a big deal our of the big jump over the curb.Exhausting!Having trouble figuring Mickey’s costume out. No fangs, so I’m guessing he’s not dressed as a vampire. Is this Dr. Jekyll? An English gentleman? Bob Cratchit dressed for Halloween? Mickey looks good, just not sure what character he’s supposed to be.We really love these Halloween decorations, but they’ve been here for more years than we can remember. Would you like to see these go to another park so Disneyland can get something new?When we first posted images of the Main Street decorations, these lamp post decorations hadn’t been installed. Many of you commented that you missed them. Well, they’re back!Every building on Main Street has some sort of pumpkin decoration.Like a scene straight out of Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds, the watch store on Main Street has regained its murder of crows!Truly clever decoration and a nice change from the look outside the store on Main Street.
In Frontierland, the tribute to “Halloween Tree” writer, Ray Bradbury, has returned. It looks great by day . . .
And amazing by night.
Zocalo Park is all decked out for Dia De Los Muertos. Would be great if they expanded these decorations through more of Fantasyland.
The Poison Apple Mugs sold out early last year. Get them while you can.In New Orleans Square, you can get butterscotch flavored beignets! Ummmm. They are seriously going to have to roll me home at the end of the Halloween season.You can get a special Halloween Time Pulled Pork Hotdog at the Hungry Bear.You can get that awesome poison apple mug with a sundae in it at the ice cream parlor on Main Street.Even the balloons are themed for the holiday. Cobwebs cover the outer shell of the Mickey balloons.
Our secret weakness are the treats. Well . . . perhaps not too secret. I can barely buckle my pants this time of year. Disneyland should really open a gym!
Mummy cake pops with marshmallow ears.
Dia De Lost Muertos treats. It’s a lot of work to decorate these. We watched at the Marceline decorating window in Downtown Disney and the crew was hard at work making these and the other treats. They are meticulous with the decorating.Look how awesome those skull cake pops look. Again, all hand decorated.Apple dearie?Many of the shops are carrying packaged Halloween treats. Dipped pretzels, candy corn, etc.
The vintage Halloween decorations in the candy store on Main Street are really delightful.
And, of course, the merchandise is Halloween themed this time of the year. How else can they get you to buy more than one Mickey Mouse plush?
Hey, that looks like the same outfit Mickey is wearing on Main Street. Perhaps he is a vampire after all.and Duffy has the same outfit as Mickey.
Those socks are fun.Yep, Mickey’s a VAMPIRE!
Here’s why you need a glow in the dark shirt when you visit Disneyland . . . many of the rides use blacklight and that will make your shirt glow like crazy, even after you leave the ride! Here’s a stupid human trick. When you park hop, get a hand stamp and rub the wet invisible ink on a friends face. When they go through the dark rides, they’ll look ridiculous. It’s a fun trick. WARNING: choose your friends wisely so you don’t get punched in the face when you rub ink on their face. 😉
Of course, there’s even more Halloween to be had during the day, both the Haunted Mansion and Space Mountain have popular Halloween overlays. And then there’s Mickey’s Halloween Party on select nights. The Headless Horseman and a brand new Halloween Parade have been added to the party line-up this year. Are you planning to attend? MiceChat is holding a meet-up for Mickey’s Halloween Party on October 10th.
MiceChat Mickey’s Halloween Party event – October 10th. Please buy your own tickets directly from Disney for the October 10th Halloween Party (Now sold out online but you may still be able to snag a ticket by calling Disney to purchase). Then sign up for MiceChat’s event list HERE to be notified about event meeting times and locations. It promises to be a night filled with candy, friendship, headless horsemen, scary parades and fireworks!
Speaking of the Halloween Parties, Disney released this video they called “fun,” which describes the costume guidelines for this year. There are different rules for those 13 and under and those 14 and up.
Disneyland
Wait . . . there’s more . . . Disneyland has a lot more going on right now than Halloween. Really!
Season of the Force has been replace by . . . Tomorrowland. Though the big signs at the front of the land were not removed (we are assuming that Season will be coming back), they did replace the insert with a classic Tomorrowland logo. It looks great and has a fan friendly retro look.Looks like it belongs. Also makes us notice the lack of activity on the Peoplemover track. Oh Peoplemover, why do you torment us so?The Dark Side/Light Side banners have been replaced with blue and orange-ish Tomorrowland banners.
There’s some work going on at the Buzz Lightyear entry and Fastpass.
You can get your fastpass next to the Star Tours machines.Why am I showing the big broken Orbitron? Is it fixed? Nope. I wanted to point out that the Season of the Force lighting is still up on the platform. More evidence that the campaign (or something like it) is probably returning sooner rather than later.
Ghost Galaxy is doing well, but the waits just aren’t as long as Hyperspace Mountain.I never see more than a handful of people waiting for Path of the Jedi. Movie attractions like this one just aren’t repeatable. They need to keep this space up to date. With all the Star Wars movies, shorts, animated series, etc. it should be easy for them to rotate various Star Wars content through this facility.Much of the Season of the Force content remains open and available to guests. Launch Bay is still alive and open to guests.More popular than ever.They are also still serving Galactic Grill fare at Tomorrowland Terrace.
The Season of the Force banners have been removed. They’ve left the banner stands up with nothing on them.
The Peter Pan facade remains under scrims, but the ride is still open to guests.
The castle has lost its 60th banners and swag, but the shiny rooftops remain until the Christmas snow tops are installed.
The cake decorating tips and S&M straps will be removed soon enough.The Rivers of America is a major construction zone. Of course, the back of the river is drained and is being rerouted and rebuilt. On the island, lots of things are under renovation with no big changes expected. Fantasmic will return next summer with some major show revisions.
fences have been placed around the dragon pit on the Fantasmic stage.There are lots of great reasons to ride Big Thunder Mountain . . . it’s an amazing ride . . but it’s also a great place to see how the Star Wars construction is coming along.
You can also catch a glimpse of the future where Big Thunder Trail dead ends.
The Columbia is being rigged for the Fantasmic changes coming next summer.
Have you ever taken time to look at all the beautiful details in the Fantasmic fastpass area?
refurb work has been completed on the water tower at the New Orleans Square train station.
But the buildings at the South end of the station remain under wraps.Learn the language of the teletype kids. We hear it’s the future of communications.
Hubba hubba. Nice legs Minnie.Minnie in her Breakfast at Tiffany best.
Jack and Sally are doing a meet and greet near the exit of Pirates of the Caribbean.Indy was down for a few days last week.
Something is missing here. . .The ornate sign for Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln has been removed while the attraction is closed for renovations.
Plenty of Diamond Anniversary merch remains available on Main Street (particularly the expensive stuff). We hear that the Florida discount stores are swimming in Disneyland 60th Anniversary merchandise.
I could have put the following photos of a special merchandise opportunity into the Halloween section, but it was just too . . . well . . . scary . . .
These dolls have soulless eyes which will haunt me in my sleep.
California Adventure
Although Disney has been advertising Halloween in “Both parks” on TV, there’s really not much Halloween in California Adventure, other than merchandise and treats. However, DCA is offering Passholder Appreciation Days as well as the final drop celebration for Tower of Terror.
60th Anniversary banners in the esplanade were replaced with California Adventure banners. While they look just fine, it does seem a bit odd that they reverted to the same old banners that were up before the 60th instead of promoting new shows and attractions. For example, this would be a great place to promote the Frozen Musical, final drop for Tower of Terror, Halloween Time, and the upcoming Food and Wine festivals.
Grab your suitcase and your dream and let’s take a look around DCA.
Sorin’ was running a very long line for an off-season week day. However, one of the theaters was down at the time.This is the super long Fastpass return line.The store at the exit of Grizzly River Rapids has construction wall up on the front porch. Although it may look closed, it isn’t.
The World of Color dessert package takes up quite a bit of space. For $79 you’ll get a plate of desserts, a seat for WOC, and you won’t have to wait an hour to jockey for the best spot for the show. However, WOC has not been selling out anyway, so you can almost always score a fastpass without needing to pay for a special package.
At some point recently they must have painted or replaced this sign, because it looks vibrant again.AP Days at Paradise Gardens.
Get a free button and to take a picture of yourself in front of an AP Days poster.They also give out an in-park quest.This particular quest is all about . . . shopping.
The truck is so cute and there’s free bread inside.Yes, this is the lamest attraction at DCA.But it’s still worth a look from time to time. Free bread . . . right?!
FIllmore’s is going through a major refurb. And although the front of the building is behind construction walls . . .
From the back (by Ghirardelli), it’s completely open to your view.
The dome was never open for you to enter. However, they appear to be installing refrigeration for the outdoor vending location. Doesn’t it seem like there would be much more that they could do with this space?
A stage was set up for a special Thursday night party for Cast Members. The party celebrated long term employees. I believe that Oscar (from the Carnation Cafe) is the longest serving cast member (nearly 60 years). He’s been in the park since the days of Walt Disney himself.The lines for Radiator Springs Racers may seem long at an hour on a week day, but that’s not bad at all for this popular attraction.
Have you ever wondered how the cars at Luigi’s are powered? At the end of each dance, the cars back up into a very specific formation which lines up with these plates embedded in the ground. They recharge the batteries in the cars. Neat!You are going to see a lot of this building for a while. While the attraction will close in January for a conversion to Guardians of the Galaxy, the park is currently offering daytime entertainment from the Silverlake Sisters and an all dark nighttime ride-through they are calling “Late Checkout”. While the Silverlake Sisters will only be performing through Halloween, Late Checkout will continue until the ride closes on January 2nd.This is a photo opportunity.This was another dance area set up for that Cast Member party last week.Although Fastpass sells out within an hour or two of park opening every day, they’ve yet to expand the number of daily performances of this popular new show.
More AP Days on this end of the park as well. You can get a free small bottle of water here, get a button, and wait in line to meet a character.
I like the sound of these. While I can’t have any dairy, tater tot nachos sound yummy. Have any of you tried them?
This is the long line to meet a character. And it’s not rare characters either. Last time I peeked in, it was Goofy in there.
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The whole Hollywood Pictures Backlot area is ghost town at the moment. Aside from Monsters Inc, nearly everything else back here is closed.
The old Mad T-Party stage is empty and unused.The former Muppets theater (now the preview theater) isn’t showing anything.The didn’t even put new signage in the display boxes. . . they simply turned the Pete’s Dragon graphic inside out. Yikes.The old Millionaire building (Frozen play area) remains closed as well.Aside from the tiny photo op for AP Days, the old Hollywood and Dine sound stage remains closed as well. All those rumored changes can’t come soon enough.Here’s a missed opportunity. They’ve apparently decided not to remove the old Mad T-Party decor. The round disk is a screen. At the very least, they could be using it to promote AP Days.Or perhaps just warn people that this area is closed.
There’s some new merchandise at DCA right now which celebrates the park. We haven’t seen much DCA specific merchandise in a long time, so this is a welcome change of pace.
Lots of diamonds left to get rid of.New Hortensia ear hat. Who’s Hortensia? She’s Oswald’s rarely seen girlfriend.
love, love, love these. Attraction themed merchandise is always fun.
With Tower about to drop out of the attraction line-up at DCA, take a moment to stop into the Starbucks on Buena Vista street (The Fiddler, Fifer and Practical Cafe) and look at the Silver Lake Sister tie-in. Dottie, Dorthy, and Ethel are a fictional 1920’s sister act who played the Tip Top club at the Tower of Terror and now run the F,F&P. Oh how we wish that there were an actual club just like that at the top of the tower.
Downtown Disney
There are a few interesting things going on in Downtown Disney as well.
Something new appears to be going into the space next to Starbucks.
The construction on the sides of the bridge in Downtown Disney is for the installation of pipes through the planters.
Shooting through the scrim here. Use your imagination.Disney would like to tear down the old House of Blues and redevelop this whole area of Downtown Disney.A couple of Disney folks just happened to walk through the area with their construction map.
Very interesting artwork from David Lozeau.
Quicksilver didn’t make it. The windows are blacked out.The West facade of World of Disney is behind scrims.The inside remains open.
At the Disneyland Hotel, the Diamond Celebration logo remains on the Sorcerer’s Hat.
I really like the artwork at the Disneyland Hotel. Each of the towers and the convention center have their own unique style. Let’s look at the lobby of the Fantasy Tower.Lots of Mary Blair artwork.And awesome concept art.
Imagine a Mad Tea Party with a show scene in the middle.Or a bumper boat attraction.
Refurbishment Round Up
With the busy summer season over, there’s a lot of work going on in the parks. Here’s a quick look.
Disneyland:
Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln is closed until September 30th.
The decorative elements and sign on the Opera House balcony have been removed for refurbishment.
A remodeled Rivers of America with the Sailing Ship Columbia, Mark Twain Riverboat, Tom Sawyer’s Island,Davy Crockett’s Explorer Canoes and Disneyland Railroad will reopen next summer (2017) as well.
Disney California Adventure:
Twilight Zone: Tower of Terror will close January 2nd to become “Guardians of the Galaxy – Mission: BREAKOUT” next summer.
Ariel’s Undersea Adventure is closing for a legthy refurbishment September 6 through 29th
Goofy’s Sky School will conduct a brief refurbishment from September 26th through 28th.
Star Wars Land Construction
And last, but not least, here is our weekly look at the progress of Star Wars Land. Located predominantly in what used to be the backstage area of the park, this new land will have entrances from Critter Country, Frontierland and Fantasyland. Here’s what the area looked like before, and what we expect the layout to look like when complete.
Looking toward Hungry Bear. A walkway will be built along the river. This new path will snake up between the restaurant and the river and make its way to the far West end of Star Wars land.This is where the walkway will go.
The big news this week is the appearance of the wire forms for the rock work at the North end of the River.
See the big gray rhino laying down in front of that grove of trees?It’s actually a pile of wire forms which will become rock work around the North end of the Rivers of America.
At the tip of the river is the new Fantasmic dock area. This structure will be hidden by rock work.
Behind the Fantasyland Theater, you’ll see a retaining wall. The train will pass through this area and reconnect with the ToonTown station.
For more news and photos on Disneyland’s Star Wars project, check out the latest edition of MiceChat’s Star Wars News from Darth Daver!
Upcoming MiceChat Events
October 1st – MiceChat Knott’s Scary Farm Halloween Haunt Event (close to sold out, get your tickets now)
Join us in the fog for a night of spooky treats and VIP experiences. For one low price, you’ll get an all you can eat BOO-ffet dinner, early entry into the event, tours, meet and greets with Knott’s creatives, front of line for the mazes, VIP seating for shows, Skeleton Key access and a night of fun with your mice pals at the haunt which started it all. We have a VERY limited number of tickets available this year, SIGN UP NOW – HERE
October 10th – Mickey’s Halloween Party @ Disneyland
Join the MiceChatters for a not so scary Halloween event on Monday October 10th. Please buy your own tickets directly from Disney for the October 10th Halloween Party. Then sign up for MiceChat’s event list HERE to be notified about event meeting times and locations. It promises to be a night filled with candy, friendship, headless horsemen, scary parades and fireworks!
November 3rd and 4th – New York Meet-ups and events
The MiceChatters invade NYC in November before their New York to Puerto Rico cruise. We’ll be seeing Aladdin and Cirque Du Soleil Paramour as well as taking a city tour. If you are interested in any or all of these activities, please contact [email protected] for more information.
Get Disneyland Wait Times with Mouseaddict
Get Mouseaddict Here You can keep track of the wait times and even where in the park people are
See Ya Real Soon
Thank you for joining us today. Each week we’ll feature different photographers and commentators (often more than one). Today’s MiceChat Disneyland Update was shot and assembled by Dusty Sage, with additional photos from Beth Castles (Halloween) and Darth Daver (Star Wars).
Are you a member of the MiceChat Sunday Meet-up Facebook group? If you are interested in meeting up with fellow theme park lovers in the parks, please be sure to follow this group: MiceChat Sundays in the Park. And please follow the MiceChat Facebook Page for news and updates from the Disneyland Resort and beyond:
That’s it for this week’s Update. Are you a photographer? Do you love the parks? Would you like to contribute to the Disneyland Update or other MiceChat columns? Contact Dusty Sage: [email protected]
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