Boo! Oh, I didn’t mean to frighten you prematurely. Time has drawn nearer to that spookiest of nights, and this week we’re bringing a treat straight from Jack’s Sandy Claws sack. Along with photos from Mickey’s Halloween Party, the tiki birds are singing again and an animation studio has moved into World of Disney…
World of Disney
World of Disney reopened after its re-imagining this past week. The theme is intricate, but one thing it is not is blatantly obvious. The basic story is that the space is a former animation studio that Walt’s original animators worked in. Stephenie has the full explanation in her article, CLICK HERE to read that.
There is a lot of new merch to find at the new World of Disney, including the special Mickey Mouse Club inspired collection.
There are a ton of Mouseketeer products but I think they’re going to have trouble keeping everything in stock. This year’s Christmas merchandise has taken over the middle portion of the store. For a temporary setup just for the holidays, the decorations are pretty fun.
I’m a big fan of some of the newer parks-inspired merch.
Regardless of if you notice all the details that allude to the animation studio story, the store is brighter, simpler, more open, and plenty more dynamic in its decorations. Much of the theme-specific decorations are “magical” in that they animate in some way. Examples above include the giant ear hat, the wall projections, the floor projections, and the Sleeping Beauty Castle “painting,” but there’s a whole lot more to see. While it’s not as whimsical as I would like to see from Disney, the new World of Disney has its own charm and character.
For the full scoop, I urge you to CLICK HERE and go read Stephenie’s article on both Walt Disney World and Disneyland’s re-imagined World of Disney stores. It’s a fun read, she’s broken down all the little details!
The Tiki Birds Perch Again
The birds tell jokes, the flowers sing, the tikis chant, and it is air conditioned! I was happy that the Enchanted Tiki Room returned last week because this weekend was bananas at the Disneyland Resort. We’ll get to that, but let’s take a tour.
The addition of an ADA-compliant ramp is a much-needed one and it looks pretty good. I don’t necessarily understand the affinity for the restrooms that were removed, though. I used to clean restrooms at Disney for a living, restrooms are not special places even if they’re tucked away.
Now let’s all sing like the birdies sing…
Mickey’s Halloween Party
It’s Halloween-lo-ween ev’ry body! Let out a scream, hooray it’s Halloween!
I attended Mickey’s Halloween Party on Friday and found it to still be a treat with very few tricks (that is, as long as you don’t get rained out like the previous weekend). This should be the last year of residence for the party at Disneyland, as it’s expected to move to Disney California Adventure next year to make way for Star Wars: Galaxy Edge crowds.
If you missed my story on our Instagram, I’ve embedded part of it here. The full story is available as a highlight on our Instagram page. Give it a follow to watch future real-time stories of events!
I feel like the projections on Small World could use a bit more dynamic pieces, it’s mostly static. This and Main Street still remain the only two places that have projections even though the Matterhorn is set up for it (at least on the front side). I still say make it Bald Mountain or a big graveyard.
One of my favorite little things is the monster that lives in the old Nature’s Wonderland tunnel. It’s not quite as menacing without the fog, though.
There seemed to be a theme that I could sum up to “more of the same, with a few things missing.” What’s available is still great, but a couple things were missing or slightly changed this year. For example, I didn’t see Patches the scarecrow at all this year which is sad. A treat trail was dropped in Frontierland and Mickey and Minnie now meet in that space at Rancho Del Zocalo. That means that the Golden Horseshoe is the only space with a physically themed treat trail; Zocalo had several skeleton pirate decorations that were nowhere to be seen.
Changes were minor and even without Patches, entertainment is still strong. If you haven’t stopped to watch the Cadaver Dans set, it’s plenty worth the time.
And while we’re talking about entertainment, the big stuff is the Headless Horseman, Frightfully Fun Parade, and Halloween Screams, which are all still as incredible as always. I still think the parade is one of the best parades at Disneyland.
New this year was the addition of Vampirina. The party guide made it out to be that she’d get her own special thing, but she’s only giving the boot to Gaston to be shoehorned into the villain float. Now, I don’t watch Vampirina, but I know she’s not a villain. This seems like a character who could anchor a new section of the parade, maybe along with Vanellope since the Wreck-it-Ralph sequel is coming out soon. They gave her lines which is great, but most people are already leaving before they get to see her and she feels extremely out of place.
When the parade eventually moves to DCA more floats need to be added. Even just one or two more floats would really crank up this already great parade.
Jack Skellington and Zero lead the wonderful Halloween Screams which retains its projection enhancement from last year.
Great fireworks, fun projections, and some neat effects.
I’m wondering what will happen to this show when the party moves out of Disneyland. Will this fireworks show just be played every night and replace Remember…Dreams Come True for Halloween Time? Or will it just be retired? Remember, this fireworks show is nearly a decade old. We’re also expecting to see a Halloween World of Color at DCA next year, how will that affect things? Let us know what you think in the comments.
This is the second year I feel like I’ve gotten a little more out of Knott’s Scary Farm than Mickey’s Halloween Party. While I love the party, it doesn’t do a whole lot different in terms of experience than a normal day at Disneyland. I usually go with family so I’m not sure I’d ever go alone. Scary Farm starts at $44, which is more than half the price of an MHP ticket. I feel like the move to DCA might enable Disney to do something different to match that $125 price. I don’t expect Hong Kong Disneyland’s Maze of Madness to show up anytime soon, but I think walkthrough attractions that immerse you in a more whimsical Halloween theme like Nightmare Before Christmas isn’t too far of a stretch and would certainly make it more worth it for me. There’s plenty of empty space at DCA to do it.
Let us know in the comments what will make the party worth the high price for you.
This and That
The Disneyland Resort was very busy this weekend. It felt busier than I would’ve ever expected for a regular weekend in October. Security lines took almost an hour (I was very late for a dining reservation), constant gridlock plagued all parts of the resorts even beyond the parks (walking through World of Disney was certainly uncomfortable), and all FastPasses were gone before 5pm.
It's 5pm and there are no Fastpasses available at the Disneyland Resort. Interesting sights include the FastPass return line for Indiana Jones and Pirates meeting. Hug your favorite cast member today, they've been trying hard to keep the magic flowing #Disneyland pic.twitter.com/ufbyoIEwdt
— MiceChat (@MiceChat) October 21, 2018
The state of Disneyland this weekend is usually something only reserved for the holidays in December, it should be surprising for a seemingly normal weekend in October. I say should because this has become the new normal during Halloween Time, I’ve visited other days this month where it was like this. Now, I’ve been told that Utah students had Thursday and Friday off this past week for the Utah Education Association (UEA) conference, which is lovingly called Utah Enters Anaheim by those involved. It certainly felt like the state of Utah showed up all at once.
An interesting thing I noticed on multiple occasions were different attractions having lines that were touching. Here I saw the Indiana Jones Fastpass line nearly touch part of the standby line for Pirates. The Pirates standby line also did its usual wrap all over New Orleans Square, nearly touching the Mansion one. I’m glad that Pirates has opted to not use their FastPass system, I can only imagine how difficult it would’ve been able to move through the area if it was active.
Another interesting sight was the FastPass line for Splash Mountain going all the way to the bridge into Critter Country. Pooh even had an extended queue.
Speaking of Splash Mountain, it was 91° in Anaheim this weekend, so let’s cool off real quick.
I’m happy to see that the lighting improvements have mostly stuck around. Earlier this year it was like riding a horror overlay it was so dark.
Halloween may be wrapping up next week, but Jack and the gang will be sticking around until January. That means there’s plenty of time to see Sandy Claws.
The refurbishment around Center Street looks great.
Disney’s created treat guides for Halloween Time, but oddly enough I’ve yet to find one since September. Regardless, I did get a chance to try the Haunted Firehouse Chicken Sandwich at Carnation Cafe. It’s a big slab of fried chicken with a Red Pepper Coulis, White Cheese Sauce, Crispy Pancetta, and Arugula on Yellow Bread. The cast members were quick to say that it was NOT a spicy sandwich as a lot of guests were confused by the orange color of the sauce. If you love Carnation’s chicken and want something different, I recommend it.
I also stopped by the Bengal Barbeque to try their Spiced Ham Musubi. As someone who makes a lot of musubi at home, it didn’t blow me away. For $7 I’d say you’re getting a better deal from the normal menu.
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Thank you for reading everyone! Let us know your thoughts about the Halloween party and World of Disney down in the comments below.
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