Happy Friday the 13th everyone! Today marks the beginning of Halloween Time at the Disneyland Resort. What does that mean? Frankly, not much for Disney California Adventure. But it means a lot of fun for Disneyland Park. Today, the much-loved overlay, Haunted Mansion Holiday, reopens to celebrate its 13th year. We have been watching the installation of this attraction and will be updating this article later today with more pictures and a ride-through. Also on tap is Ghost Galaxy, the spooky overlay of Space Mountain. Back in the Big Thunder Ranch, we have the wonderful Halloween Time Carnival and a sprinkling of limited time magic goodies at different locations throughout the park. We will also be touching on a few of the other bits of news like more guard rails, the lack of Halloween in DCA and the Big Thunder refurb.
THE ARTICLE IS NOW UPDATED WITH PICS FROM BOTH HAUNTED MANSION HOLIDAY, GHOST GALAXY AND THE HALLOWEENTIME CARNIVAL AT BIG THUNDER RANCH. SCROLL DOWN FOR THE ADDITIONS.
It’s a big update that will continue to evolve throughout the day. We will be updating it with pictures and information about Haunted Mansion Holiday and Ghost Galaxy as the news comes in. So make sure to check back!
HALLOWEENTIME
My favorite time of the year at Disneyland is Halloween Time. So, for me, the magic begins today! There are tricks, treats and pumpkins galore in Disneyland park. Two major E-ticket attractions get their annual overlays, and festivities abound.
Approaching the gates of Disneyland we see the usual pumpkins adorning the main gates.
Main Street U.S.A.
Yellow and orange bunting and grinning pumpkins are clustered on every ledge and overhang along Main Street. It’s a wonderful display.
Limited TIme Magic
What is Halloween without a few sweets? Disney is not one to waste a marketing opportunity and here they take care of it in the form of pumpkin flavored treats and specialty dishes at select (see: Not all) food locations throughout the park.
- French Market: Fiery Meatloaf Sliders with Cajun House Chips and Grapes, Oreo Mousse Coffin Dessert and Haunted Mansion Holiday Souvenir Hot Mug
- Cafe Orleans: Pumpkin Beignets Served with Vanilla Cream Anglaise
- Royal Street Verandah: Pumpkin Fritters with Apple Cider Caramel Custard Dipping Sauce, Pumpkin Latte, Haunted Mansion Holiday Souvenir Hot Mug and Spooky Kooky Gingerbread Cookie
- Mint Julep Bar: Pumpkin Latte, Pumpkin Beignets, Haunted Mansion Holiday Souvenir Hot Mug and Spooky Kooky Gingerbread Cookie
- Frozen Lemonade Cart: Spooky Kooky Gingerbread Cookie
- New Orleans Square Popcorn Cart: Haunted Mansion Holiday Souvenir Popcorn Bucket
- Harbour Galley: Spooky Kooky Gingerbread Cookie
Unleash the Villains on Friday the 13th
There will also be a special kick-off night of sorts to start Halloween Time. Disneyland will stay open until 1 a.m. on Friday the 13th with 13 Disney villains meeting with fans around the park in the evening to celebrate. Below is the information Disney has released so far on the event.
Coming Friday, September 13, get ready to experience the most spine-tingling bit of Limited Time Magic yet at the Disneyland Resort! From 8:00 PM until 1:00 AM – a.k.a. the 13th hour‚Äö – the Disney Villains will be waiting for your arrival as they make their way to various areas of Disneyland Park. Come along for this devilishly delicious affair, on a night jam-packed with 13 dastardly Disney baddies and a host of fiendish festivities. It’s a one-time event you won’t soon forget, even if you try!
Last week, Disney detailed some of the offerings coming to this Friday’s special event. In Town Square and New Orleans Square, villains and dance parties will scare up some fun in the evening:
- Party Like a Villain Celebration in Town Square: Soak up a series of nefarious sights as a seething selection of the most infamous Disney Characters make a series of appearances.
- Unleash the Villains Dance Party, near New Orleans Square Railroad Station: Scare up an unforgettable time as a spooky Station Master unleashes the evil evening in tandem with a collection of detestable Disney baddies, including the Evil Queen, Captain Hook, Dr. Facilier, Judge Frollo, Lady Tremaine and the Queen of Hearts.
- Official Merchandise: Official “Unleash the Villains” tee, available while supplies last at the New Orleans Cart in Disneyland Park, as well as Tower Hotel Gifts in Disney California Adventure Park.
GHOST GALAXY – UPDATED INFO
Also returning is the wonderfully frightening overlay to Space Mountain, Ghost Galaxy. This week there was little indication that such a malevolent force was taking over in the distant galaxies, aside from one singular sign.
As expected there were no changes at all to the attraction overlay. The spooky spirit has once again begun to terrorize Space Mountain and tries to capture riders at every turn. This is such a fun, often startling attraction that really took us by surprise at its debut. We are glad to have it back.
HAUNTED MANSION HOLIDAY – UPDATED INFO
The wonderful Haunted Mansion Holiday is back and more beefed up than ever before. This year they have pulled out all the stops and really tried to make this year something special. Hanging from the columns at the steps of the mansion is a massive, bright orange banner that proclaims this to be the 13th year of Jack Skellington’s celebration.
What should you expect from the mansion this year? We attempted to find changes from the outside earlier this week, but to no avail. The pictures below were taken before the ride was opened to the public.
Outside the mansion it is literally covered, top-to-bottom, in the usual decorations. The one major addition is the bright orange banner proclaiming the celebration of 13 years of Haunted Mansion Holiday.
It is when one enters the stretching room that you see the first, arguably the most noticeable change. Yes, the original stained glass portraits are there, surrounding the upper portion of the gallery. But it is the ceiling, directly above guests that is now a brightly colored “stained glass” digital projection.
As the room stretches the projection continues to change in color. Soon spiders begin to scuttle across the surface. Then, at the big moment, the glass shatters, revealing a projected version of the tower. Gone is the large, static Jack Skellington head. Instead we are treated to a projection of a fully animated Jack dancing around the rim of the room. It’s a dazzling effect and very effective.
As we inter the portrait gallery we notice that the first painting is now of Santa on his sleigh. It then cross-fades into Jack driving the sleigh, with Zero flying by.
Everything else is pretty much the same at first glance.
The only other change is, of course, the large gingerbread house in the ballroom scene.
Overall the overlay has never looked better. Filled with secret little sight gags, 13 in all we are told. The sound this year seems a little more bumped up. The lighting usually starts off a bit wonky at the beginning of the run of this attraction, but it seems they nailed it right out of the gate. Nice work folks!
We now just get to wait to see what the Mansion looks like at night with all of the winking candles on every awning.
Big Thunder Ranch and the HalloweenTime Carnival
An alternative to the bright, garish tones of Haunted Mansion Holiday, the Big Thunder Ranch looks lovely in subdued tones of orange, yellow, red and brown.
The Halloween Carnival behind the ranch is nearly the same as last year, featuring games, meet and greets and the Conjure a Villain tent.
Big Thunder Mountain
Little has visibly changed on the carrot-colored spires of Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. The clearance Train has been moved down to the Rainbow Ridge area of the attraction that is just before the station.
Dia De Los Muertos
Lovely Dia De Los Muertos decorations have popped up in and around Ranch Del Zocalo, as has become the tradition.
King Arthur Carousel
The iconic King Arthur Carousel is under a top-to-bottom refurbishment that has enclosed the structure in scaffolding. It is nice to see that they are taking their time with this refurbishment that seems to be addressing every little detail.
Fantasyland Safety
The scaffolding in Fantasyland is slowly receding and we are seeing the first of the new safety railings along the rooftops in Fantasyland. So far? Not so bad.
Repaving Pinocchio
The entire Pinocchio lot is being repaved. This is the open-air lot just next to the Mickey and Friends parking structure.
Starbucks in DTD
The new Starbucks Location in Downtown Disney is coming along. The work appears to be substantial here and will no doubt be a very popular first stop for thousands of daily visitors.
It seems that Disney California Adventure is getting the short end of the stick this year when it comes to Halloween. There are subtle decorations here and there, but as of this writing, the only thing that we noticed were decorations in Duffy’s shop on Paradise Pier. Thankfully there will be some additional theme added to the Mad T Party and, if you are interested they are screening The Nightmare Before Christmas in the Muppetvision theater for one day for passholders.
MORE LIMITED TIME MAGIC FOR HALLOWEENTIME
Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas Screening for Annual Passholders
In celebration of the start of Halloween Time at the Disneyland Resort, Passholders can join Jack Skellington, king of Halloween Town, as he discovers Christmas Town in Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas.
Date & Times
Friday, September 13, 2013
7:00 PM and 9:00 PMEvent Details
- Registration and wristband distribution for the event will begin at 12:00 PM (noon) on the day of the event at the Muppet*Vision 3D Theater in Disney California Adventure Park.
- All participating Annual Passholders must present their active Annual Passport to the event Cast Member to check event availability and to register and receive an event wristband. Photo ID may be required.
- Registration must be completed in person at the Muppet*Vision 3D Theater on the day of the event only; no phone reservations or other registration will be accepted.
- This is an all-ages event. However, all participating Guests ages 3 and older must be valid Annual Passholders on the day of the event. Children under 3 may attend the movie screening as long as there is space available and they receive an event wristband during the registration process.
- It is recommended that all members of your party register together to help ensure that everyone receives an event wristband.
For assistance, you may contact the Annual Passport Member Services team at (714) 781-PASS (7277).
More information
Safety First at Jumpin’ Jellyfish.
The metal structures disguised as a children’s ride on Paradise Pier just got a little uglier. Yes the safety wave has hit Jumpin’ Jellyfish and the blue towers are now crowned with basic, blue safety railings which stick out like a sore thumb.
Don’t get us wrong. We are all for workplace safety where it is really needed. We love our cast members. But in a theme park, theme should also play a part. There’s a rampant rush to install safety railings on EVERYTHING in the parks. At what point will level heads say “Enough!”
DECORATIONS
Duffy has the lion’s share of Halloween decorations in DIsney California Adventure. Black and orange garland frames almost every shelf inside Treasures in Paradise, seemingly begging folks to stock up on all of the Duffy mercy and accessories and costumes.
MICECHAT PODCAST #11
Did you hear the Disney angels singing hallelujah? For a long weekend in August, all the Disney stars aligned during Disney’s big Comic-Con like event, the D23 Expo. Of course, MiceChat was there. We set up a huge booth and offered three days of Disney Celebrity meet and greets, giveaways, podcasts and more. But the big fish was Disney itself, who set up massive pavilions for Imagineering, Archives, Legends and more. In this show, we tie ropes around our waists and jump head first into the cave of Disney wonders. We make it back with quite a few gems to share. Oh, and this is the show where we make Dusty cry. It’s a touching moment and a reminder why so many of us are true Disney fans.
A big thanks to Disneyloon for his amazing photo support today. Are you ready for Halloween Time at Disneyland Resort? What’s your favorite part of the Disneyland celebration?
Happy Halloween Everyone. 😉
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