Party of 10 at Disneyland for Halloweentime!

MacMama0930

I've Found My Laughing Place
Joined
Jul 31, 2016
Here is a brief trip report:

Monday 10/10: We arrived at DLH around 4:00pm (we made pretty good time, in about 4 hours). Explored the hotel and downtown disney, activated our new APs, met up with my sister and her family, ate dinner at Rainforest Cafe. So...Rainforest was kind of cool, but it didn't exactly do it for me. It was so unbelievably chaotic and crowded in the gift shop/lobby area where you have to wait to be seated. And then one in the actual restaurant is so dark I couldn't hardly see the menu, and again, just really loud. And after we ordered, we waited almost 30 minutes for our food to arrive. We were tired from driving and the kids were hungry, so the wait seemed like FOREVER!

We called it a night pretty early so we could be up at 5:00am to catch EMM. Loved the hotel by the way. Our first time staying and hopefully not our last! Check in was easy and the kids saw Goofy straight away, which was nice for them.

Tuesday 10/11: EMM started at 7:00 and we were at security by 6:20am. We weren't the first ones there but maybe only 20 people back? We kicked off the morning with Peter Pan, which was cute (first time for mostly everyone). We had a great touring plan (thanks to yours truly!) and we were able to hit all the rides we wanted to in the morning. We walked on Peter Pan, Snow White, Mr Toads, Pirates, Haunted Mansion, Matterhorn, etc. We had 10:30 reservations at the Plaza Inn for Breakfast with Minnie. It was hectic, for sure, but once we got all of our food and sat down, it was pretty sweet. We were seated right at the outer fence outside so we got to people watch and one time the Snow White queen came and peered her head over the fence and told my daughter to bow. It was a neat little interaction. The characters were slow to come over to our table, so our interactions were limited but we did see them cruising around and that was cool enough. We did a couple more rides (that we had fast passes for) and then returned to the hotel for pool time. The pool at DLH was awesome. The monorail slides were a total hit with the kids! And there were lifeguards everywhere!! Having been witnessed to a child drowning before, I'm normally hyper paranoid with my kids around water, but I felt much more at ease at the hotel. It was great. While the kids rested I ran back into the park and pulled Indiana Jones fast passes. The return time was around 5 or 6pm so we went and did that after rest and stopped in at Jolly Holiday for sandwiches and soup. It a lovely meal. Simple but good and sitting outside, we got to take in all the lights in the park; it was really beautiful.

Wednesday 10/12: EMM started at 8am at DCA. We were the first people in line! This was our first EMM here at the park so it was quite anti-climatic to have us all get into the park, only to be stopped at a rope. We had no idea they did this! But again, we right at the front at rope drop time. Our plan was to head to RSR. I gotta tell you, I was super annoyed with the amount of runners. We were power walking, for sure, but I try to teach my kids to follow the rules. If everyone ran, it's be dangerous for everyone. The rule is there for a reason! So we definitely weren't first in line for RSR, but we were close and got on within a few minutes. It was our first time; and it was super fun! Next we did Soarin' which we all LOVED. I thought it was so well done!! I never saw the California one, so nothing to compare it to. We had another great morning. Did ToT and Screamin multiple times. Did Goofy sky school and the swings and whatnot for the littles. We knew we wanted to take a nice long afternoon break because this was also our party night!

Mickey's Halloween Party was great!! Short lines, great ambiance, fun music. We didn't do any treat trails though, which I'm a little disappointed about now, but the rides were top priority. We headed towards Main Street around 7:45pm and found an awesome spot curbside for the first parade. I think it was a fluke because most of the curb was filled up but this area right out in front of Refreshment corner, I think. I think people didn't realize you could sit there. There was just a big open space so we asked a CM and he said, yep, go for it! Our whole party fit in right there. The parade was supposed to start at 8:20, but it ended up being pushed to 8:50pm. I think they are doing this so there isn't a large gap in between the parade and the fireworks. So we waited longer than we would have liked but once the parade started, it was great. Loved the music and the whole thing. It was really fun. And then, we got to get up and move into the middle of the street and had a PERFECT view for the fireworks. My parents were blown away. Which was touching. My dad hasn't been to Disneyland since he was 8 years old. So his mind was blown most of the trip. The fireworks show for the party is just unbelievable! SO, so well done! The kids were exhausted at this point so we went back to the hotel and got ready for another early morning!

Thursday 10/13: EMM at Disneyland was 7:00am. We did a lot of the same touring we did on Tuesday, with a few changes. Scored a Zero popcorn bucket. As I walked through the park, I got countess comments on it. It's so cute. Took another long afternoon break.

Around 3:30pm, we entered DCA and utilized some FP I pulled during the kids rest time back at the hotel. Then we checked into Ariel's Grotto for their latest lunch time for a character meal (4:40pm). I seem to remember having a better experience there last year but the food was still good and our waitress was super friendly. My sister couldn't decide between the two soup selections and so the waitress just brought out both for her. We sat outside, and the whole vibe was relaxing. The weather was perfect during our trip. Stayed in the 70's the whole time. The kids desserts were so cute!! (Hopefully I can post some pictures soon). We ventured off to do a few more things and then we did the WOC Dessert Party. This event was first class all the way. We all felt so special. They make the whole experience wonderful. I wasn't really into the desserts but I knew that going in. I was paying for the seat. The kids cups were great. I had a glass of champagne and then a cup of hot chocolate. At the beginning of the show, someone standing in front of us (towards the very back of the standing areas) put his daughter on his shoulders. She was wearing Mickey ears and I was looking at her silhouette against the colors of the show. To me, it looked beautiful and touching. The people in front of us, however, immediately went and told a CM and that CM went and asked the dad to take her dad. I had mixed feelings right then. I obviously I understood the cost associated with the experience. When someone is spending that kind of money, they should have a great view, but I'd be lying if I didn't feel bad. First of all, it was a small group of maybe 3 grown women in front of us. The little girl was probably 4 years old. In my heart, I wanted HER to see the show. Again, I get it. It wasn't something I would've complained about, but I understand it. But to be honest, it felt a little too pretentious. It's not like this little girl was taking up the entire view. I don't know...like I said, mixed feelings about that. But the whole experience was amazing. Again, my parents were blown away, and my kids and niece and nephew were in awe. It was just beautiful. And totally worth the cost.

Friday 10/14: EMM at DCA was kind of a bust. At rope drop, we were informed that RSR was down so people were scrambling trying to figure out what they should do, including us. My sister took one for the team and spent her MM in line for Frozen Fast Passes, since we wanted to see the 11:35 showing since we had to get on the road. Frozen was underwhelming and we dealt with one woman's bad attitude that kept our group from sitting together. I think maybe we were kind of "over it" at this point. It had been a long few days. So maybe we were partly to blame. Ate breakfast at Flo's. Cars Land is just so cool. It's nice to just sit there and look around.

We left the park after Frozen and let the kids do Ridemakers and Build a Bear in DTD. Then we were on the road.

It was a trip I'll never forget. I LOVED it. Already planning our December trip.

For some reason this week was insanely busy. Touring plans listed the park at 10/10; the CMs had no idea why the crowds were that crazy. While it was crowded, I still felt it was managable with the right touring plan. I'm hoping it's a little less busy next time we go, but I know if it is, I'll know how to deal with it. I'll definitely stay on side again for that MM. It was essential in getting good rides in. We may even try the Grand this time around.

I'll try to attach pictures next!
 


I realllllllly realllllllllllly want to stay at DLH. I love reading great reviews on staying there! Your pictures are super cute! Thanks for sharing :thumbsup2
 


Great pictures! Sounds like you had a pretty good trip! I am hoping to stay at the Disneyland Hotel someday. :) I think that week ended up being so busy partly because much of Arizona was on Fall Break, as well as Utah schools having an extra break as well. I'm not sure if I'm up to WoC during our upcoming trip. (If they ever finish posting the holiday entertainment...) We did it last time, a few years ago, and it was wonderful, but it was also pretty stressful. We'll have to see. Did you buy just one day of PhotoPass, or the whole trip?
 
Great pictures! Sounds like you had a pretty good trip! I am hoping to stay at the Disneyland Hotel someday. :) I think that week ended up being so busy partly because much of Arizona was on Fall Break, as well as Utah schools having an extra break as well. I'm not sure if I'm up to WoC during our upcoming trip. (If they ever finish posting the holiday entertainment...) We did it last time, a few years ago, and it was wonderful, but it was also pretty stressful. We'll have to see. Did you buy just one day of PhotoPass, or the whole trip?

My sister and I "shared" the one week photo pass. I felt like photographers were hard to come by though...
 

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!





Latest posts

Top