HalloweenTime at DLR Superthread #4

[xxpinksaltxx]

Is the first day of Halloween (at Disneyland) also traditionally the first Halloween Party? We are suppose to be leaving on the 8th of September. Since we are traveling a long way (Australia), we are now considering extending our trip for a few days.

 

[mom2rtk]

Exactly! In light of recent events WDW may end up changing guidelines too. Like I said in my previously post I would rather my family be safe then wear/see costumes

We're just going to have to agree to disagree on whether banning costumes really does make people safer.

I don't know that it really will. Many, maybe even most, people won't even know there are these cuts until they get there and there are no fireworks, no costumes, etc... We here know about it because we all talk and scrounge around for info, but the general population of Disney guests are not necessarily on this (or other) board. We make up a very small percentage of visitors to Disneyland.

Last year I ran into quite a few people who were terribly upset that the parks were closing early for the party. I was thinking to myself, "how could you NOT know about this?" But, really, if they don't search out the info, they won't know. There may well be a lot of people who go on and purchase the party tickets without even reading the description, just assuming it will be the same as last year. I think that this is what Disney counts on when they make the changes, figuring the tickets will sell anyway...

Well, if people aren't paying attention and assume things are the same as last year, then Disney is really going to have a mess on its hands telling person after person at the gates that costumes are not allowed. Maybe they could set up a cart selling t-shirts and shorts out front.

My hunch, which would make me very unhappy, is that they will leave the policy as is, and people who read and research will pass on going in costume, but Disney will cave and actually allow those arriving in costumes to enter.

 

[AussieCaribou]

PhotoPass is now a single day price (and it's nearly $40). They no longer offer multi day passes. If you want multi days, you pay for each day...no discount.

They have also done away with the boarders and adds to the photos. Oh, and no CDs or other products.

 

[AussieCaribou]

Is the first day of Halloween (at Disneyland) also traditionally the first Halloween Party? We are suppose to be leaving on the 8th of September. Since we are traveling a long way (Australia), we are now considering extending our trip for a few days.

If you and your family have never been to a US Halloween party, it might be worth it (if there is a party on when you are going to be there). We just don't do dress up parties anywhere near a US Halloween activity!

My DD and I have attended the party once before and really enjoyed the crazy. Sadly, there will be a lot missing (like costumes) but it might still be culturally educational.

 

[PeachMom]

PhotoPass is now a single day price (and it's nearly $40). They no longer offer multi day passes. If you want multi days, you pay for each day...no discount.

They have also done away with the boarders and adds to the photos. Oh, and no CDs or other products.

That's too bad! We did the photopass plus a couple years ago for our family of 8 and it was the best way to document our 5-day trip! I especially liked it for getting all our ride photos.

 

[ChloroformSdxn]

The new photopass now doesn't include hard copies of photos. When we went at Christmas, the Photopass included our photos from Minnie's Breakfast. When we were there in May, I asked about it at the breakfast, if I got the one day pass would I get the Minnie Breakfast photo as well, and they said no. Which sucks, because otherwise I would have bought a photopass.

 

[mom2rtk]

If you and your family have never been to a US Halloween party, it might be worth it (if there is a party on when you are going to be there). We just don't do dress up parties anywhere near a US Halloween activity!

My DD and I have attended the party once before and really enjoyed the crazy. Sadly, there will be a lot missing (like costumes) but it might still be culturally educational.

We have done Halloween parties at both WDW and DL. I was skeptical going into the DL version last year about whether we'd be ok with a party that didn't have a Halloween parade. I remember telling my daughter half way through the first party that all the elaborate guest costumes made up for the lack of parade for me. It was one amazing costume after another. I would go without costumes if I hadn't experienced it before. But without the costumes, I probably would have to pass.

 

[mom2rtk]

The new photopass now doesn't include hard copies of photos. When we went at Christmas, the Photopass included our photos from Minnie's Breakfast. When we were there in May, I asked about it at the breakfast, if I got the one day pass would I get the Minnie Breakfast photo as well, and they said no. Which sucks, because otherwise I would have bought a photopass.

No hard copies is correct. But you are supposed to get the download of the dining photos if you purchase the daily package. Read down to the question on the one day Photopass Plus:

https://disneyland.disney.go.com/guest-services/photo-pass-service/

 

[mitsukoshi samurai]

I think the costume rules mean no masks over 14s

 

[tlovesdis]

Is the first day of Halloween (at Disneyland) also traditionally the first Halloween Party? We are suppose to be leaving on the 8th of September. Since we are traveling a long way (Australia), we are now considering extending our trip for a few days.

No. The Halloween parties don't start until the very end of September.

 

[GenGen22]

We have done Halloween parties at both WDW and DL. I was skeptical going into the DL version last year about whether we'd be ok with a party that didn't have a Halloween parade. I remember telling my daughter half way through the first party that all the elaborate guest costumes made up for the lack of parade for me. It was one amazing costume after another. I would go without costumes if I hadn't experienced it before. But without the costumes, I probably would have to pass.

I was pretty disappointed that they had Paint the Night parade instead of the Halloween parade last year as I had already saw PTN like 3 times already and because it's a Halloween Party you would expect Haloween type entertainment which makes it special since your paying to go to that party and only party goers get to see that parade. I also love the elaborate costumes! I saw a Buzz Lightyear last year that his costume was made out of the balloon animals balloons. It was amazing! I've never seen anything like it before!

 

[DisneylandDarling]

I was pretty disappointed that they had Paint the Night parade instead of the Halloween parade last year as I had already saw PTN like 3 times already and because it's a Halloween Party you would expect Haloween type entertainment which makes it special since your paying to go to that party and only party goers get to see that parade. I also love the elaborate costumes! I saw a Buzz Lightyear last year that his costume was made out of the balloon animals balloons. It was amazing! I've never seen anything like it before!

OMG! We must have been at the same party! I saw him too! It was incredibly elaborate!

We went to the first and second Halloween party last year. I think we saw him at the first one.

 

[mom2rtk]

I was pretty disappointed that they had Paint the Night parade instead of the Halloween parade last year as I had already saw PTN like 3 times already and because it's a Halloween Party you would expect Haloween type entertainment which makes it special since your paying to go to that party and only party goers get to see that parade. I also love the elaborate costumes! I saw a Buzz Lightyear last year that his costume was made out of the balloon animals balloons. It was amazing! I've never seen anything like it before!

I was pretty disappointed about them running PTN during the party as well. I wanted to see Halloween stuff, not things I could see any other day of the week.

We saw a family dressed as black and white Walt, Mickey, Minnie and Oswald. There was a group of women dressed as Vegas showgirls. And a family all dressed as different Disney villains. That was just so much fun to see the ideas people came up with that I can't imagine the party without it.

 

[GenGen22]

OMG! We must have been at the same party! I saw him too! It was incredibly elaborate!

We went to the first and second Halloween party last year. I think we saw him at the first one.

That's too funny... I was there at the party on 10/23/15. I wonder if it was the same one...lol. Maybe we will end up at the same party this year...

 

[GenGen22]

I was pretty disappointed about them running PTN during the party as well. I wanted to see Halloween stuff, not things I could see any other day of the week.

We saw a family dressed as black and white Walt, Mickey, Minnie and Oswald. There was a group of women dressed as Vegas showgirls. And a family all dressed as different Disney villains. That was just so much fun to see the ideas people came up with that I can't imagine the party without it.

I also liked the Oogie Boogie costume as well. And it was kinda sad we didn't get to truck or treat in Innovations too cuz that was pretty cool the year before. I have to say the year before was just so much Better.

 

[Kindermouse]

well on the bright side, I was really pushing my budget to afford the halloween party. Now I know that I don't have to. we are planning WDW October 2017 so we will just wait for a party that actually makes me feel like i'm getting what I pay for. I know others will disagree but having done the party before it its full glory, I feel like this years firework-less, costume-less party does not warrant the cost of the tickets.

We're just going to have to agree to disagree on whether banning costumes really does make people safer.

Maybe they could set up a cart selling t-shirts and shorts out front.

.

sounds like an idea inline with their recent company culture.

guy 1-"hey guys you know those rooms way far from the everything at our Caribbean Beach resort that no guest ever wants to stay in."

guy 2-"yeah, everyone hates those rooms"

guy 1-"well let's throw a bit or extra theming into them, call them a special room and charge more for them"

guy 2-"charge more for the rooms that everyone hates just because we give them a cool headboard or something...I love it"

or...

guy 1-"everyone is always complaining about having to stand up for world of color after a long day of walking and standing in line for hours to get a good spot"

guy 2-" we could do something to make it more comfortable for people. We are supposed to be all about creating the best possible experience. maybe we could add a seated section and it could an option for those that want to sit."

guy 1-"We could do that...but you know what would be better. instead of just improving the experience for free we could offer a cookie and some grapes on a shared plat..you know barely bother with it really..then call this extra value. Then we could make people buy tickets for this extra value seat."

 

[xxpinksaltxx]

AussieCaribou - we attended the Disneyland Halloween Party in 2013 and absolutely loved it. It was so much fun. At home, we are lucky to have maybe 2 kids knock on our door lol.

Tlovesdis - Thanks for the heads up , we might just add an extra day or two so we can enjoy the Haunted Mansion and Space Mountain. I think they will be closed when we arrive for overlays.

 

[BatBunny]

well on the bright side, I was really pushing my budget to afford the halloween party. Now I know that I don't have to. we are planning WDW October 2017 so we will just wait for a party that actually makes me feel like i'm getting what I pay for. I know others will disagree but having done the party before it its full glory, I feel like this years firework-less, costume-less party does not warrant the cost of the tickets.

We came to the same conclusion. We just feel the magic isn't there if they take away certain elements that Disney has been known for. Even if they do decide to allow costumes we'd rather just take in a Ducks hockey game instead; at least we know we'd be better entertained.

 

[Geemo]

Good news to those wanting to wear Halloween Costumes to a MHP.

I was speaking with the convention reservations CM today. I asked about the NEW policy regarding NO costumes for those 14 and older.
She looked up the new policy and said as she reads it, costumes are OK for those 14 and older. Just not masks.
The information listed in the age related sections are just fine tuning for the main Costume Guidelines.

Costume Guidelines
Before you brew up ideas for your next disguise—review our latest list of tips.
While we encourage creativity, we also value safety and good judgement. Please take a moment to read over our latest rules and regulations:

• Costumes must be family-friendly and may not be obstructive, offensive, objectionable or violent.
• Guests who dress like characters may not pose for pictures or sign autographs for other Guests.
• Costumes may not contain any weapons that resemble or could easily be mistaken for an actual weapon.
• Costumes may not contain sharp objects, pointed objects or materials that may accidentally strike another Guest.
• Layered costumes or costume props that surround the entire body are strongly discouraged and may be subject to additional security screening.
• Costumes may not reach or drag on the ground. (e.g. full-length Princess dresses).

For Guests Ages 13 and Under

Costumes and some masks may be worn, as long the mask does not cover the entire face and eyes are visible.

For Guests Ages 14 and Older

• Capes may be worn if the length does not go below the waist.
• Themed T-shirts, blouses, sweatshirts and hats are acceptable.
• Acceptable accessories include: transparent wings, plastic light sabers, toy swords and tutus. Headwear may be worn as long as it does not cover the face.
• Masks of any kind may not be worn.

Guests who do not adhere to these guidelines may be refused entry into, and/or removed from, unless his or her costume can be modified to meet the above standards.

 

[DisneylandDarling]

Good news to those wanting to wear Halloween Costumes to a MHP.

I was speaking with the convention reservations CM today. I asked about the NEW policy regarding NO costumes for those 14 and older.
She looked up the new policy and said as she reads it, costumes are OK for those 14 and older. Just not masks.
The information listed in the age related sections are just fine tuning for the main Costume Guidelines.

That would be awesome if they were allowed! I just wonder why they would say themed tshirts, sweatshirts, etc. specifically in the 14 and older guidelines if costumes were allowed for adults? It seems like the rules are very specific and almost say, "well you can't wear costumes, but you can wear themed tshirts etc."

Edited to add: I wonder why they didn't have the same wording as WDW if they are in fact allowing costumes for adults? The WDW guidelines are pretty clear on what is allowed for adults vs what is allowed for children.

I'm just worried that I'll show up in costume and be denied entry. It's hard to get a flat, across the board answer anymore. What one cast member says is allowed might not be what the cast members/security at the front gates say, know what I mean?

Not doubting you, Geemo. Just thinking out loud!