Mickey's Halloween Party and Halloween Time Superthread 2018!!

We had such a great time! It was a tad overwhelming trying to get a Parade, fireworks, treat trails, and some rides done in 8 hours. This was the only day we would be at the parks, but I feel good about what we accomplished. It was a little crowded on the walking paths, but the ride lines were mostly 5-10 minutes, aside from Haunted Mansion Holiday, which means most people weren’t on the rides but on the walking paths. Some of the treat trails had long lines, but they moved very quickly. We timed the river treat trail perfectly to watch the Cadaver Dans while we waited without really trying to. I am disappointed in the treats. We got so many of the same things and not very much candy, which was surprising after hearing over and over from tons of people how much candy you got. Aside from that, I was so pleased with how it went and I would totally do it again!

If you do use the GCH entrance please come back and share your results.

We asked 2 people before I came on here to ask and they said we could use them, but I was skeptical, so we asked the people at the front desk and they said we should go to the front gates. At the gate, they let us in with no problem, but the cast member there also told us we should have been able to use them at the hotel entrance. I have no firm answer, but I’m leaning towards yes, you would be able to. The last person we talked to said it with a lot of conviction so I think I believe him.
 
Regarding the candy, I noticed that a lot of the trails were composed of one candy station, one non-candy, and one carrot/apple station. If there was a forth station, it was either a candy or a non-candy station. The treat trails vary between parties (we went to some of the same trails on Wed and Fri and they were giving kind of different items, e.g., the Critter Country trail had 2 candy stations on Wed, but only 1 on Fri). By the end, we were skipping the carrot/apple station - not a huge carrot fan and after finding a bag of the apples in the bottom of the Halloween candy months later looking the same, I don't want to eat them).

Geemo, we got a bunch of Pirates Booty on Fri. It might just depend on which trails you go to or what non-candy item they're offering (Cheez-Its, grahams were also common).
 
On a different note, I have to figure out how to DYI/Disneybound my haunted mansion maid costume. The apron is waaayy too big. It swallows me, even if I pin it. I’m thinking about Just wearing the black dress, with the HM socks, and trying to find that maid headband...

Wish me luck!

Have you tried looking for a child's size apron? Many times I find that kids' sizes work even better for me than petite sizes -- and often the kids' sizes are less expensive, too.
 


We tried to two years ago after a late lunch at Earl and was told no. That year we were entering at 3 and I wanted to avoid the parade madness. I have no idea why they wouldn't let us. Maybe they can't scan party tickets there?
I just wanted to report back so others would know not to try it. They wouldn't let us use the monorail entrance with the Halloween party tickets. Here's what my experience was.

We showed up right at 3 to use the monorail because my husband wanted to ride it into the park. They told us they were currently closed and waiting on a train switch and it could be up to 30 minutes. After waiting a few minutes, trying to decide what to do, I asked if they could scan our tickets (from my phone) so I could make initial fastpass reservations while waiting. The man working said, sure and proceeded to scan my first ticket. When it spit out a Halloween party ticket, he said you can't enter here with the party ticket you have to go to the front gate first. I told him we would be able to enter California Adventure without first going in the Disneyland main gate, why couldn't we enter here and just get our wristband in the park? They insisted we couldn't. The lady said we had to go straight to the Disneyland front entrance and she would call ahead and tell them (?). It doesn't make sense to me, since there are places in the park to get the bands.

I then asked if he could scan my second ticket and he said no, they aren't allowed to. I just wanted them both scanned so I could get a fastpass while walking to the front gates since we were now even later. It was a frustrating start.

When we made it to the front gates, there were massive lines at all the entrance gates except the ones on the far right, which were the party special event gates. Good thing I knew from reading on here to go to the far right. (I'm not sure why so many were entering in the regular lines at that time, it was so backed up, all the gates at California Adventure looked bad too.) The CM at the gate we went through was confused about why the first ticket in my app said re-entry. I explained to her what had happened and she had to scan the hard ticket they had printed and then the other ticket from my app. She asked where the other ticket was and I said they wouldn't scan the 2nd one. So confusing.

I still don't understand what the big deal was with using the other entrance, but oh well. After we finally got it, we had a good time. Although I will say it didn't really seem like lower attendance in the park. It was good the treat lines were taking up so many people though, since it made most of the ride lines shorter.
 
We lucked into a great place to watch the fireworks. We decided to ride Astro Orbiter while the first parade was passing by which was fun. After the parade passed we were able to get into the street right near the front of the ride and kind of worked our way towards the center of the street. They had ropes up blocking the center area while the parade was going on, not sure why they don't let people stand up there while the parade is going. But anyway, the CM's told those of us that were near that area to wait while they removed the ropes then we could fill in the area. We ended up with a front and center view of the castle without much hassle. Of course we were soon surrounded by a huge crush of people. Great fireworks and projection viewing though!

This was the first party night, Wednesday, September 19 and the fireworks were late starting. My husband had just commented that there wasn't any wind so they should be able to have the fireworks, when they announced; due to unforeseen circumstances the fireworks have been delayed. Oh my gosh, I think everyone held their breath while the announcement was saying "due to unforeseen circumstances", thinking they were cancelled. You could hear the collective sigh when they said "delayed". I think they ended up being delayed about 20 minutes, although I'm not positive how long it was. My husband said they should have kept the rides open longer to make up for it, but of course they didn't!
 


I'll have a more detailed review of the Mickey's Halloween Party Dining Package from the Blue Bayou later this week (after I've had a chance to process the picture), but for those that are curious, the viewing area is at the end of Main Street, close to the Hub. It's basically the area between Jolly Holiday and the Plaza Inn (I don't recall the exact boundaries, but it's roughly the area in the red square). I would say the areas were mostly two to three row deep, with most guests opting to sit on the ground.
MHP_BB_Dining.jpg
 
I'll have a more detailed review of the Mickey's Halloween Party Dining Package from the Blue Bayou later this week (after I've had a chance to process the picture), but for those that are curious, the viewing area is at the end of Main Street, close to the Hub. It's basically the area between Jolly Holiday and the Plaza Inn (I don't recall the exact boundaries, but it's roughly the area in the red square). I would say the areas were mostly two to three row deep, with most guests opting to sit on the ground.
View attachment 353652
Looks like it's the same viewing area as the daytime plaza inn viewing for Pixar play parade.
 
I'll have a more detailed review of the Mickey's Halloween Party Dining Package from the Blue Bayou later this week (after I've had a chance to process the picture), but for those that are curious, the viewing area is at the end of Main Street, close to the Hub. It's basically the area between Jolly Holiday and the Plaza Inn (I don't recall the exact boundaries, but it's roughly the area in the red square). I would say the areas were mostly two to three row deep, with most guests opting to sit on the ground.
View attachment 353652
Thanks! We have the Blue Bayou package booked, but are still deciding if we want to do it or not.
 
Thanks! We have the Blue Bayou package booked, but are still deciding if we want to do it or not.
I don't think guests need to do the BB Dining Package to get a good view of the parade, especially if you're willing to watch the second parade. That being said, I really enjoyed the dinner (the Madame Leota Dessert - special for the package - was really cool) and it was worth it for my family.
 
I'll have a more detailed review of the Mickey's Halloween Party Dining Package from the Blue Bayou later this week (after I've had a chance to process the picture), but for those that are curious, the viewing area is at the end of Main Street, close to the Hub. It's basically the area between Jolly Holiday and the Plaza Inn (I don't recall the exact boundaries, but it's roughly the area in the red square). I would say the areas were mostly two to three row deep, with most guests opting to sit on the ground.
View attachment 353652
Looking forward to your report. Would also like to know which side you think is better.
 
In terms of the sides, I always prefer to be on the outside of any bend in the parade route. So in this case, because the parade is coming from IaSW, I would choose to be on Jolly Holiday side of the route. If you're on the Plaza Inn side, you won't "see" the parade until it's come around the Hub and is almost in front of you. On the Jolly Holiday side, you can see it as it approaches you from the Hub.
 
In terms of the sides, I always prefer to be on the outside of any bend in the parade route. So in this case, because the parade is coming from IaSW, I would choose to be on Jolly Holiday side of the route. If you're on the Plaza Inn side, you won't "see" the parade until it's come around the Hub and is almost in front of you. On the Jolly Holiday side, you can see it as it approaches you from the Hub.
Good insight - thank you.
 
:blush: You are so sweet. Thank you. It really was a fun time.

Pro tip: for the parade we nabbed a spot along Main St on a bench (near Tomorrowland). About 30 minutes before the parade, they moved the benches to the curb so there was literally no one in front of us and we got to stay on the bench. Right after the parade they ask everyone to move into the street for the fireworks. We moved right into the hub...well....the benches that were reserved for the parade (straight in front of the castle) become fair game and we were able to snag one for fireworks. We couldn't sit to see them but it sure was nice to sit while waiting.

Pro tip 2: trick or treat late; they offer double the candy from our experience. Handfuls after the fireworks v before.

Does anyone know if this happened the other party nights? Any other later arrival fireworks tips?
 
If our family isn't that interested in the parade and fireworks, would you still recommend getting a ticket for the Halloween party? We are typically all about rides and food when we hit the parks. Could we not just go to Disneyland on a non-party night and experience a lot of the same things? What things are exclusive to the party? With the parties all be sold out, makes me think the wait times during the party wouldn't be drastically different than a random weekday. Just daydreaming about going to DL next fall so I would love to hear some insight.
 
If our family isn't that interested in the parade and fireworks, would you still recommend getting a ticket for the Halloween party? We are typically all about rides and food when we hit the parks. Could we not just go to Disneyland on a non-party night and experience a lot of the same things? What things are exclusive to the party? With the parties all be sold out, makes me think the wait times during the party wouldn't be drastically different than a random weekday. Just daydreaming about going to DL next fall so I would love to hear some insight.

::yes:: If you are not interested in the parade and fireworks, they only things you'll be getting are candy and maybe more villains to meet. We went Saturday and the villains were out. The parade and fireworks along with Trick or Treating are the highlights for us. I think you could go another night and get the experience you are looking for.
 
Last edited:

GET A DISNEY VACATION QUOTE

Dreams Unlimited Travel is committed to providing you with the very best vacation planning experience possible. Our Vacation Planners are experts and will share their honest advice to help you have a magical vacation.

Let us help you with your next Disney Vacation!










Top