It’s Halloween Time at the Disneyland Resort and everything’s coming up pumpkins. With the festivities comes the Main Street Pumpkin Festival, the wonderful Ghost Galaxy layover of Space Mountain, the classic Haunted Mansion Holiday overlay of Haunted Mansion, the Halloween Carnival in Frontierland, Dia De Los Muertos, The Halloween Tree, and tons of delicious fall goodies though out the parks. But that certainly isn’t all, there is plenty to talk about at the Disneyland aside from jack o’lanterns. The Finding Nemo Submarine voyage is nearly ready to open again after a 9-month refurbishment. There is some work being done on the drawbridge in front of Sleeping Beauty Castle. In Fantasyland a change to the Frozen Meet and Greet leaves some guests in the cold while the Outdoor Vending cart location near the old Skyway station is getting refurbished. That’s not to mention the Mark Twain in dry dock and the new “seasonal flavor” smoothie at Schmoozies in Disney California Adventure. We end things with a trip to Ghirardelli to find out what deals they have going on for Halloween Chocolate. Delicious!
But first, a special offer for our readers at the Anabella Hotel in September. If you are headed to Disneyland this month, take a look and give the Anabella a call:
- MiceChat readers get a special 20% discount when they ask for the “MiceChat” special rate.
- PLUS, during the month of September, in addition to the 20% discount, Micechatters that call in and mention code “B42” receive breakfast for two each day at the beautiful Tangerine restaurant.
Guests must call Anabella directly at 714-905-1050 to reserve their rooms and must mention “MiceChat” and “B42” to receive both offers.
*Offer not available September 7-10 and September 24-27.
Halloween Time – September 12 to October 31, 2014.
Today marks the beginning of Halloween Time at the Disneyland Resort. Let’s take a look at the offerings as the celebration kicks off. Offering a family friendly version of the holiday, Disneyland captures the charm and fun, complete with villain meet and greets, pumpkin carving and crafts. Although, it must be noted that Disney California Adventure has been all but left out of the fun this year.
Main Street U.S.A. Pumpkin Festival
On Main Street, the candy corn colored bunting is up and the pumpkins are out for the Main Street Pumpkin Festival. Swaths of orange, yellow, red, amber and a host of other fall colors are strewn throughout the area in a festive display. You can practically taste the candy corn by walking into Town Square.
Town Square features the same huge Mickey Pumpkin as years past. The plantings around Town Square, including the area around the flag pole, are filled with autumn tones.
The Disney dudes return to Disneyland to celebrate the 45th anniversary of the Haunted Mansion and ponder the upcoming enhancements to the Fantasyland dark rides. As Disneyland prepares to celebrate its 60th anniversary, there’s lots for us to talk and speculate about. So, join Doug, David and Dusty as we take you for a walk in the park. It’s an amazing audio adventure. Then, we’ll transport you to Scare LA, where Disney Legends Bob Gurr and Alice Davis have a few things to say about the amazing Haunted Mansion. Be sure to stick through for the very end of the show for a special surprise!
Disney Showcase
Pay no attention to the construction scrims, Halloween merchandise awaits you on the other side.
Starbucks Market House
Over at the Starbucks, the fall flavors are all being served. Mmmmmmm Pumpkin Spice Latte.
At the Hub, or rather the Walt and Mickey statue, the character pumpkins are all out and the mums are all planted.
Haunted Mansion Holiday
Jack Skellington has officially moved into the mansion and will remain until early January. These pics were taken Wednesday, prior to the reopening of Haunted Mansion Holiday. Check back later today as we update this article with photos from the opening day of Halloween. What surprises does Jack have in store?
Everything looks great and this should prove to be a popular attraction for the holidays yet again.
Ghost Galaxy
The spooky overlay of Space Mountain opens today to terrify and thrill park guests.
By today the ride was up and running, scaring guests once again.
Inside they have altered the lighting in the boarding area. An eerie green hue permeates. It’s a simple but effective change.
The Halloween Tree
Wonderful decorations abound in Frontierland. One of our favorite little traditions is the Halloween Tree, based upon the Ray Bradbury story. We are thrilled that Disney continues to offer this charming little tribute.
Dia De Los Muertos
You can also observe Dia de los Muertos with a traditional skeleton display in Frontierland. We’ll have photos to share with you shortly.
Halloween Carnival at Big Thunder Ranch in Frontierland
The Halloween Carnival has returned to Big Thunder Ranch. Visit a side-show tent to conjure a villain. The meet and greet opens today along with the rest of the Halloween festivities. Also featured in the area are fall games, pumpkin carving, and crafts for kids.
Conjure a Villain
Over at the villain tent, they have the same show as before. However, outside they now have a French Gypsy entertaining the crowd as they wait. Why is she French? It doesn’t matter. She is hysterically fun!
Inside the tent it’s the same show as last year. Wonderful as always, although short. In all fairness it’s just a meet and greet.
Happiest Haunt Tour
If you want to take your Halloween experience to the next level, Disney is offering a Happiest Haunts tour.
Discover the thrills and chills of the Disneyland Resort on the Disney’s Happiest Haunts Tour that takes you on lively adventures through both parks.
Mickey’s Halloween Party
Mickey’s Halloween Party runs on select nights from September 26th to October 31st. Tickets range from $66-$77 depending on the night. Annual Passport discounts are available.
Opera House
Now on to regular park news. It seems that Disney finally thought the better of having Miley Cirus’ portrait hung in the Opera House. They have replaced her with a pair that is far more deserving.
Castle Work
There appears to be some maintenance work happening at the drawbridge of Sleeping Beauty Castle.
ODV Cart work
Don’t get your hopes up about anything happening at the old Skyway station just yet. The work happening at the foot of the stairs is simply refurbishment for the infrastructure of the outdoor vending carts.
Frozen in Line
Disney has trotted out a new FastPass system of sorts for the wildly popular Frozen Meet and Greet in Fantasyland. The popular meet and greet has consistently garnered 2 hour waits.
In order to see Anna and Elsa, you must arrive at the meet and greet location to receive a return time. Guests are given a return time anywhere from 10am-7:20pm. The tip here is to get there when the park opens as the passes tend to run out within 90 minutes. Unfortunately now, if you don’t have a ticket, you cannot see the frigid duo.
Refurbishments
Aside from Nemo and the Mark Twain, there are a smattering of other refurbishments coming to the park at the end of the month.
Mark Twain • November 28th
The Mark Twain Riverboat is closed for a major 3 month refurb.
Roger Rabbit’s Car Toon Spin • September 22-24
Matterhorn Bobsleds • September 22-24
Indiana Jones and there Temple of the Forbidden Eye • September 16-18
Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage • Through September 26th
The subs will soon be returning to motion on September 27th. How much was done during this epic downtime? We shall see when the ride reopens. Suffice it to say that the vessels appear to have been left untouched and we know that the problematic lagoon still leaks. Let’s hope that they surprise us when the attraction reopens with fixed and upgraded props and projections. Who knows, perhaps they’ve used this epic down time to fix the angler fish scene (the one which has never worked).
Here we are in Disney California Adventure where hardly a stick of Halloween can be found. Except for in the stores of course.
Seasonal Smoothie
With a season that lasts all year Oranges are the perfect seasonal smoothie this Halloween season. Stop by Schmoozies for a citrus-filled treat.
Light Crowds
The days before Halloween Time have become a wonderful off season. Just take a look at the barometer for crowds in DCA.
Radiator Springs Racers
Speaking of Racers, misters have been installed above the sun drenched portion of the queue near the boarding area. They are very nicely done and fit perfectly with the theme.
On the ride, all is currently green and lush.
Now, if they could jet get those tipping tractors to work consistently.
They have also removed the exit gate from the end of the exit path.
RotGate!
The Gazeebo issue on Paradise Pier continues, as the structures remain behind walls while Disney deals with the wood rot.
Duff-less
Poor Duffy. It is with heavy hearts, that we report that the cute little bear that was supposed to steal the hearts of Americans just didn’t catch on like merchandising had hoped. His meet and greet has been removed and there are only a few vestiges of him remaining in the store.
Ride Refurbishments
There is only one planned refurb on the books for Disney California Adventure at the moment. The Golden Zephyr will be closed September 17th through 18th.
Ghirardelli
Ending the update on a sweet note, Ghirardelli has a bunch of wonderful Halloween chocolate for sale Get it while it’s still there folks.
That wraps up our epic update on Disneyland’s Halloween Time festivities and park goings on. Join us next week as we visit another one of Southern California’s amazing theme parks to bring you the latest news and info. Until then, we’ll see you In The Parks.
Don’t miss out on any of the upcoming MiceChat events. Gumball Rally, Sip and Nibble, Amazing Halloween events and more (scroll through the list below):
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