Happy Haunts Gather

Happy Haunts Gather

 

As a Trick-or-Treat bonus here are some banners

celebrating the Happiest 999 Haunts on Earth.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

From all 999 Happy Haunts

have a Happy Halloween

 

 

not so Frightening Fridays Final

not so Frightening Fridays Monday

Let's conclude our look at Halloween Time at Disneyland Resort.

Review part one here.

Review part two here.

Review part three here.
Review part four here.

Review part five here.
 

Welcome back to Halloween Time at the Disneyland Resort.

Today we wrap up our Halloween visit at Disneyland.

So let's take part in Mickey's Halloween Party. (select nights)

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Earlier this month I had the opportunity to take part in Mickey's Halloween Party, and had a super night. Come along as we explore some of the offerings at this very popular annual event.

 

Entry into the park, early in the evening, was a challenge.
Signs reminded guests about costume guidelines.

 

 

As the day guest began leaving, a flood of people, the party guests began arriving.

 

The rush of leaving guests and arriving party goers made for a bit of a bottleneck.

Mickey Ghosts greeted arriving guests



Light projections on the pavement created atmosphere

Different decorations, including Ghost Mickey and light projections greeted incoming party guests. They looked good in the twilight hours, but really came to life after dark. (Video below)

 

 

My first stop of the night was a ride on Ghost Galaxy.

I even snapped a pic of the ride.

 

Is that what was chasing us?

 By the time I got off the ride darkness had begun to arrive.

A spider seems to have taken up residence above Star Traders



Pumpkins spin on the ground

Phineas & Ferb had a trick-or-treat line inside Innoventions

Crossing the Hub toward the west side of the park I came across

 another Ghost Mickey, and a few other characters...

 



Mickey is much better looking after dark.

 

These "scarecrows" were a hoot.

I could have stood there all night.

 

The Castle had a spooky glow. Music filled to hub for twilight fun.

 

Next, I was off to Frontierland.

The Halloween Tree was lit up for the night.



Piratepalooza, a dance party, was in full swing at Rancho Del Zocalo.

 

 

The Rivers of America were filled with fog and eerie music.

 

 

The trail behind Big Thunder Mountain was also "creeped out".

 

Fog and creepy lighting filled the pathways.

 

 

Trick-or-Treat trail across the park had long lines.
 

While on the west side of the park I got a ride in at

Haunted Mansion Holiday. Another visit from Jack Skellington

would come along later in the night.

 

 

As I headed back to Main Street for the parade I spotted another light projection, in front of Pirates of the Caribbean and in Frontierland, photo and video below..

 

 

 

Finally, after criss crossing the park, it was time to sit down for

Mickey's Costume Party parade. Enjoy the video below.

 

 

That was fun, but the highlight of the night is of course is

the very special showing of Halloween Screams fireworks.

 

 

Wow, how fun was that!

 

The whole night was a lot of fun. Trick-or-Treat lines were very full all night, but the variety of the candy was pretty good. I only had to trade away a few of the candy bites that I got.

 

One last little treat at the end of the night was a visit from the villains.

The villains wanted to say goodnight to all the guests. They chose the train station for a stage.

 

 

Such a fun night. Now it's time to go home and count my candy.

 

 

 

 

A Very Merry DCA Christmas

A Very Merry DCA Christmas

 

 

As we slowly close the book on Halloween, let's look forward to the next major holiday at the Disneyland Resort.  Christmas has always been one of the biggest and most magical times at Disneyland park. Over the past decade millions of park quests have been able to experience the Christmas Parade, attractions like Small World Holiday or Haunted Mansion Holiday, Reindeer Roundup at Big Thunder Ranch and the very popular "snow" on Main Street.  Disneyland has always commanded huge crowds to celebrate Christmas.

 

 

But this year The Merriest Place on Earth may just be making a move across the plaza. 

 

"This summer, the eagerly anticipated additions of Buena Vista Street and Cars Land opened to excited Guests as part of a major expansion at Disney California Adventure Park. Now, those popular areas will undergo a spectacular holiday makeover, meaning that The Happiest Place on Earth Just Got Merrier." - StichKingdom.com

It seems that Disneyland's sister park Disney California Adventure is beginning to come into its own. This past summer completed a Gazillion Dollar make-over, starting on Paradise Pier and ending with two new streets full of trolleys and race cars. The attendance numbers started shifting, and crowds that once packed the narrow walkways of Walt's original park suddenly shifted over to the wider corridors of the one time parking lot. So, it's not surprising that Disney is putting a lot of effort and money into making this newly popular park a rival for the title Merriest Place on Earth.

 

“For this first holiday celebration, we imagined that all the businesses on Buena Vista Street got together like a chamber of commerce to bring the community together,” explained David Caranci, Manager of Resort Enhancement. “It becomes a matter of civic pride to decorate the street and stores and to erect a huge, 50-foot-tall Christmas tree in the heart of the city as a spot for everyone to join in singing carols.  “Even Mickey and his friends will sport a retro look — how they appeared in the 1930s — to match the rest of the theming on Buena Vista Street. We’ll also have wonderful vintage toys for display under the huge Christmas tree. From a tin robot to a blimp — all sorts of hidden surprises from that time period.” - StichKingdom.com

 

It appears that Buena Vista Street will look just as jolly as Main Street.

 

Cars Land is celebrating its first Christmas season as well, in an enchanted creative partnership between Resort Enhancement, Pixar Animation Studios and Walt Disney Imagineering. “We all came up with some very imaginative answers to the question, ‘How would cars celebrate the holiday season?’” said David.  Look for Snowy the Snow Car, a brand-new automotive holiday friend. He’s the Cars Land version of a snowman. “We have all fallen in love with him already because he is just so endearing,” said David. A nice photo next to this whimsical, seven-foot fellow might be just the thing to include with your holiday cards this year! - StichKingdom.com

Even the residents of Radiator Springs will be getting into the act.

 

I can hardly wait for all of the new holiday additions to Disney California Adventure.  Not only will Buena Vista Street and Cars Land be decorated but we will also be able to celebrate in Hollywood Land, a bug land and special surprises on Paradise Pier.  Apparently the "little sister" across the plaza has more up her sleeve, and is ready to show off her new holiday outfit.  I've got my cameras ready.

 

For the complete article quoted in this post go here.

 

Look back here later next month for more articles on both

Disneyland and DCA for the holidays. Happy HoHoHolidays.

Halloween Postings



 

The final Halloween posting for not so Frightening Fridays will be postponed. However, just in time for the big night itself, the final post will arrive - like a headless horseman riding through the night. Monday, Oct. 29th I will be posting all the fun of Mickey's Halloween Party. Events include the trick-or-treating, Mickeys Costume Parade, and Halloween Screams Fireworks.  There will be lots of photos and video to look forward to.  See you next week.

Hong Kong Halloween

Halloween Hong Kong Style

 

 

Continuing our look at how Disney celebrates Holloween in its other parks,
today we get an article from the Disney Parks Blog
about some of the celebrations for Hong Kong.

 

 

 

Click here (or photo) for the full article.

30 - 31- 32..

33

 

Just to wet your appetite...

 

Coming early next month. A visit to the elusive private Club 33.

 

What really lies behind this door?

 

 



not so Frightening Fridays 5

not so Frightening Fridays

Let's continue looking at Halloween Time at Disneyland Resort.

Review part one here.

Review part two here.

Review part three here.
Review part four here.

Welcome back to Halloween Time at the Disneyland Resort.

This week let's do some traveling.

We will travel into space & then across the esplanade.

 

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We begin our travels in Tomorrowland with Space Mountain:Ghost Galaxy.

This seasonal overlay to the classic Space Mountain is back.

 

 

The concept behind this "ghostly" addition is sound. Take an already popular attraction, that millions of guests have ridden many times, and add a mildly scary twist for the season. But, does it really have the proper affect? Let's explore and find out.

 

Your first impression that something is different about the ride starts outside.

 

 

If you listen carefully you will hear that the normally quite outdoor line queue area

has some eerie music playing, setting the tone for something ominous to come.

 

 

As we enter the internal queue area we hear the familiar spaceport sounds.

But listen carefully and you will hear the eerie music undertones.

 

As we proceed down the ramps towards the spaceport we even

see/hear the normal safety message. So nothing to worry about, right?

 

 

As we approach and enter the spaceport all seems to be normal.

 

But while waiting on the ramp we notice something...

 

 

The spaceport monitor, normally showing the spinning planet below

seems to have a glitch. But is it really just a glitch or something more sinister?

 

While I would love to provide on-ride video of Ghost Galaxy it proves difficult

to get stable and clear shots of any of the ride, since it is primarily all dark.

 

However, to give you an idea of what happens,

here is a breakdown of the ride experience.

 

As you leave the spaceport dock all is normal.

As the launch sequence engages you enter the launch tunnel.

Normally you see pulsing lights, propelling you forward.

This time it's pitch black. No lighting at all.

On the launch ramp, normally pulsing with power,

we get a lightning/electric shock affect - something is wrong!

At the top of the launch hill we see our first glimpse of the Space Ghost.

As we complete the launch sequence and begin our journey

the ominous soundtrack forebodes what is to come.

While the entire ride is primarily in utter darkness

we do encounter the Space Ghost along our journey.

At specific points we see a ghostly skeletal hand reach for our rocket.

At other moments we are chased by the actual ghost or spectral image.

The soundtrack swells and crescendos at the final tunnel

where we get our final "glimpse" of the ghost in the flashes.

Then, suddenly, we have made it safely back to the space port.

 

So, does the overlay accomplish its goal.  Sort of...

 

If you are a regular visitor to Disneyland or have ridden Space Mountain before then you know what normally happens, and therefore the Space Ghost affect are a fresh and new take on a classic attraction.  You will recognize where things are different from your standard experience and may appreciate the subtle changes. You may notice the spooky exterior music and the creepy glitches in the monitor inside. You might even detect the different soundtrack and ghostly affects and understand the fact that your normal rocket ride through space has been "hijacked".

 

But if you haven't been to Disneyland or have not ridden Space Mountain in the past you might not even realize that this is an overlay and not the standard experience.  That's not to say that this scenario is a bad thing, just a different result than what may have been intended by the imagenears. I have ridden Ghost Galaxy several time this season and always hear cheers and whoops from riders after we exit the rocket.  Not all of these guest are first timers to the mountain, but even if they are this is still a thrilling rocket ride in "Disney Space". So it works either way.

 

Final Note: In the night hours, after dark, we get to see ghostly colors and projections on the outside  portion of Space Mountain.  This adds another layers of foreboding that is not present during the daylight hours.  I hope to have some clear photos of that in our last update, just before Halloween.

 

*******************************************************

 

Next we travel across the entry plaza to Disney California Adventure.

 

In honor of the new Tim Burton film, Frankenweenie, the lobby of the Animation Building has been transformed into a little show area featuring some of the props and actual sets used in filming this stop-motion creation.  Guests can get up close and even interact with some of the displays.  It's a cool way to see the magic behind the movie.

 



A quick bio and background of Tim Burton

 

Figures and props from the movie

A schoolroom setting from the film.

 

The attic set. Complete with interactive lights.

 

 A kitchen set. Breakfast anyone?

 

 



In addition a 3-D trailer is being shown in the Muppet Theater.

 

 

And, as a special treat there is a lot of cool movie related merchandise

available at Off The Page, the gift shop attached to the exhibit.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Come back next week as we start to wrap up our look at Halloween - Disneyland style.

We will creep back into Disneyland for the first half of our look at Mickey's Halloween Party.

 

Disneyland Paris Spooktacular - part one

Halloween in Paris

 

 

Since the month of October is all about Halloween, and each Friday here on the blog I am posting all about the festivities at Disneyland Resort, I thought we might take a look at how Disney does Halloween in other parks around the world.  Since I don't have the time or money to travel around the world doing all the research, I will be pointing you to articles & posting from other Disney Fan Sites that do it for me. So without any more delay...

 

 

I share with you part one of an article currently posted on MiceChat.

This is a fascinating look at how Disneyland Paris is celebrating the spookiest time of year.

Enjoy!

 

click photo to read article



not so Frightening Fridays 4

not so Frightening Fridays

Let's continue looking at Halloween Time at Disneyland Resort.

Review part one here.

Review part two here.

Review part three here.

Welcome back to Halloween Time at the Disneyland Resort.

This week we venture into New Orleans Square.

Haunted Mansion Holiday is of course the event that inspired Halloween Time at Disneyland.

One of the most iconic attractions at Disneyland is the Haunted Mansion.  It is, of course, one of the final attractions to have direct oversight by Walt Disney himself.  The attraction, once planned as a walk-thru Haunted House, has become a classic. Millions of guests have entered the stretching room and boarded a "doom buggy" for a trip into the mansion. Legions of fans can quote Leota, sing all the lyrics of "Grim Grinning Ghosts" or point out each of the 99 Happy Haunts. So, with a massive fan base and a long standing history, how do you re-imagine this classic?

 

Thankfully the Disney Imaginears found a spectacular way to bring new life to this classic.

 

With the inclusion of Tim Burton's Nightmare Before Christmas into the Disney film vault a perfect cross-branding was created.  What if Jack Skellington from Nightmare came to the Mansion and brought Christmas with him?  The first year of this idea had Disney Executives holding their collective breath. Would fans like it?  Would park guests understand the concept?  How would it play out to have a movie overlay on/in a park attraction?  Fast forward several years...

 

Fans have not only embraced the concept, they have taken the character of Jack Skellington to a new level of fame.  Park guest not only like it, they buy up millions of souvenirs. Not only does the overlay work out wonderfully, it has sparked other concepts for attraction overlays in the rest of the park (Ghost Galaxy?).

 

 

So this Halloween season let's go for a ride on this years version of Haunted Mansion Holiday.

 

 





Next week:

Ghost Galaxy & Frankenweenie