If you have never been to Disneyland during Halloween, I highly suggest it, especially during September. It is slow season so most rides have wait times under 20 minutes, with the few exceptions like Radiator Springs Racers or Space Mountain. The crowds are minimal which makes it great for slowing down and enjoying your walk from ride to ride.
As you come up to the entrance of the park you will see the jack-o-lantern versions of the fab 5(Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Donald, and Pluto). Once inside the park, all of main street is covered with fall colored decorations and pumpkins everywhere. There is also a giant Mickey jack-o-lantern near the Emporium that is a photo op and has Mickey's face on both sides so the lines to take pictures are not usually too long.
There are only two rides that are altered for Halloween, Haunted Mansion and Space Mountain. Space Mountain becomes Space Mountain Ghost Galaxy and features a red space ghost that chases you through space. I really enjoy the ride this way, but Si was terrified! He has asked to not go back on the ride until Halloween is over and it is back to normal. He says the ghost's face creeps him out too much. After dinner we headed over to the Haunted Mansion, one of our favorite rides especially during the holidays. They keep it decorated as The Nightmare Before Christmas until after Christmas time. They change the whole ride and it is so much fun, especially if you are a TNBC fan. The outside of the mansion is pictured here below and they have decorated the graveyard headstones with a lot of purple bows. The whole opening scene in the elevator is different. I took video of it and you can find it here. As you enter the hall way the pictures change from normal to creepy, as Si puts it. The pictures change to creepy pictures when Zero, Jack's ghost dog, flies through them. Once on the ride you get to see aspects of the movie come to life. I do not want to give too much of it away for those who are planning on coming to Disneyland during the holidays, so I won't say anymore about it. Below are some pictures of parts of the ride I really enjoyed. Some days the park hosts 'Mickey's Not so Scary Halloween Party'. It costs extra to go to this event ($63+) and the park closes early to the public on those days. I have never personally attended, but I have heard a lot of great things about it. Everyone gets to dress up in costume, they have trick or treating, a special parade and sometimes they have special fireworks(weather permitting). I found out some exciting news about the park over this weekend. We were walking around and noticed the construction walls around Finding Nemo were taken down, the tank was filled with water and they were test driving the submarines. I talked to a CM (cast member) the next day and they said that as of right now the re-open date for the ride is September 27th. That can change as problems or complications arise. I will try to keep you up to date on the official re-open day. Below is a picture I snapped because I was just so excited that you could see it! |