luvflorida
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Feb 28, 2003
We attended the October 12th Halloween party, the one that got rained on, and I have to say, we were pretty disappointed. The rain really put a damper on things, in more ways than one. Obviously, nobody can control the weather and you just have to roll with it and try to have as much fun as possible, but what a bummer.
We got to the Parks around 4:30 and the lines to get through security were looooooooooong! But at least it hadn't started to rain yet, so we didn't get wet while waiting to get in!The party was part of a 40th wedding anniversary trip for my husband and me. There were eleven of us (us, our kids and spouses, and our grandkids) attending the party.
Here are my thoughts on the
CONS: The rain! The weather caused the parade and fireworks to be cancelled. Some of the rides were down due to the weather and many of the treat trails had to be relocated to covered areas. We had two strollers with us, but it was still difficult to keep the little ones from getting wet. By nine o'clock or so, some of our family decided to call it quits and head back to our hotel, while the rest of us were determined to stick it out till the end.
PROS: The beginning of the party, before the rain hit! One of the first things we did, after taking a lot of photos of everyone in their costumes, was to catch the train to ToonTown. As we were waiting on the platform for the next train, Mickey Mouse was standing on the other side of the wrought iron fence. He came over to us and interacted with the grandkids, which they loved. This was our two-year old granddaughter's first trip to Disneyland and she was SO excited to "play" with Mickey! Mickey also got a big kick out of our adult daughter and her boyfriend. They were dressed as Belle and Gaston, however SHE was Gaston and HE was Belle! Mickey Mouse went over to them and bowed before them. It was awesome! LOL!
They got a lot of comments and compliments on their costumes all throughout the evening.
Ride lines! Many rides were walk-on, no wait, especially toward the end of the evening.
Treat Trails! Some had long lines, but the lines moved quickly. Everyone ended up with a TON of candy. The grandkids had the best time following the trails and reaching each candy station. They really enjoyed this aspect of the party. We came across a few character meet and greets that they also enjoyed- Star Wars characters and Toy Story characters.
Final thoughts: Did we have fun at the party? Yes, definitely. Do I feel it was worth the price of the tickets (especially for eleven people) No, definitely not. Too many rides were not operating and there was no parade and no fireworks. It was difficult trying to get around in the rain, trying to run for cover here and there, and getting soaked in the process. The idea was to be able to do and see things during the party that we wouldn't have been able to do on a regular park day. Again, I know it was unfortunate that it happened to rain that night, but it was disappointing. I feel we did make the best of the situation, though. Would I consider attending a party in the future? Probably not, and not just because of this year's experience.
Would I go to Disneyland (or WDW) at Halloween time again? Yes, definitely! Thankfully, the two days we spent at both parks (Saturday and Sunday) were wonderful! We got a little bit of rain Saturday morning, but other than that, the weather was fine. We loved seeing all the Halloween decorations and sampling various Halloween treats. I didn't feel as though the parks were all that crowded, and with MaxPass and FastPass, we managed to do a ton of attractions. Everyone in our family that rode the Incredicoaster LOVED it! I'm not a coaster person, but I did go on Soarin' four times!
We also experienced some of that Disney magic on one of the nights. Some of us stayed for the later Fantasmic show, but we didn't have fastpasses or priority seating, so we walked around to the area by the Haunted Mansion looking for the standby viewing area. We weren't sure where the viewing area was, so my daughter asked a cast member, standing by a roped-off area, where the standby area was. The cast member turned to another cast member standing nearby and asked her: "What do you think? Should we do it?" And the other cast member replied: "Yes, I think we can provide a bit of Disney magic for these people." So they opened the rope and let us in to a reserved area with chairs. We thanked them and proceeded to a row of seats with a perfect view of the show!
We got to the Parks around 4:30 and the lines to get through security were looooooooooong! But at least it hadn't started to rain yet, so we didn't get wet while waiting to get in!The party was part of a 40th wedding anniversary trip for my husband and me. There were eleven of us (us, our kids and spouses, and our grandkids) attending the party.
Here are my thoughts on the
CONS: The rain! The weather caused the parade and fireworks to be cancelled. Some of the rides were down due to the weather and many of the treat trails had to be relocated to covered areas. We had two strollers with us, but it was still difficult to keep the little ones from getting wet. By nine o'clock or so, some of our family decided to call it quits and head back to our hotel, while the rest of us were determined to stick it out till the end.
PROS: The beginning of the party, before the rain hit! One of the first things we did, after taking a lot of photos of everyone in their costumes, was to catch the train to ToonTown. As we were waiting on the platform for the next train, Mickey Mouse was standing on the other side of the wrought iron fence. He came over to us and interacted with the grandkids, which they loved. This was our two-year old granddaughter's first trip to Disneyland and she was SO excited to "play" with Mickey! Mickey also got a big kick out of our adult daughter and her boyfriend. They were dressed as Belle and Gaston, however SHE was Gaston and HE was Belle! Mickey Mouse went over to them and bowed before them. It was awesome! LOL!
They got a lot of comments and compliments on their costumes all throughout the evening.
Ride lines! Many rides were walk-on, no wait, especially toward the end of the evening.
Treat Trails! Some had long lines, but the lines moved quickly. Everyone ended up with a TON of candy. The grandkids had the best time following the trails and reaching each candy station. They really enjoyed this aspect of the party. We came across a few character meet and greets that they also enjoyed- Star Wars characters and Toy Story characters.
Final thoughts: Did we have fun at the party? Yes, definitely. Do I feel it was worth the price of the tickets (especially for eleven people) No, definitely not. Too many rides were not operating and there was no parade and no fireworks. It was difficult trying to get around in the rain, trying to run for cover here and there, and getting soaked in the process. The idea was to be able to do and see things during the party that we wouldn't have been able to do on a regular park day. Again, I know it was unfortunate that it happened to rain that night, but it was disappointing. I feel we did make the best of the situation, though. Would I consider attending a party in the future? Probably not, and not just because of this year's experience.
Would I go to Disneyland (or WDW) at Halloween time again? Yes, definitely! Thankfully, the two days we spent at both parks (Saturday and Sunday) were wonderful! We got a little bit of rain Saturday morning, but other than that, the weather was fine. We loved seeing all the Halloween decorations and sampling various Halloween treats. I didn't feel as though the parks were all that crowded, and with MaxPass and FastPass, we managed to do a ton of attractions. Everyone in our family that rode the Incredicoaster LOVED it! I'm not a coaster person, but I did go on Soarin' four times!
We also experienced some of that Disney magic on one of the nights. Some of us stayed for the later Fantasmic show, but we didn't have fastpasses or priority seating, so we walked around to the area by the Haunted Mansion looking for the standby viewing area. We weren't sure where the viewing area was, so my daughter asked a cast member, standing by a roped-off area, where the standby area was. The cast member turned to another cast member standing nearby and asked her: "What do you think? Should we do it?" And the other cast member replied: "Yes, I think we can provide a bit of Disney magic for these people." So they opened the rope and let us in to a reserved area with chairs. We thanked them and proceeded to a row of seats with a perfect view of the show!