First DL trip Halloween party dilemma

v3rs3

Mouseketeer
Joined
Jan 28, 2014
My son and I be going to Cali for the first time in Sept :cool1:and planned to do 2 day park hopper 9/19 and 9/20, but I see that 9/19 will be a Halloween party night. I'm not sure what I should do now. :confused3


What are your opinions?

Go those two days and head over to CA in the evening?
Go 9/18 instead of 9/19?
Get Halloween party tickets AND 2 day parkhopper and maybe do 2.5 days at DL?

We've been to Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party at WDW before. It was a lot of fun. I keep thinking we may just do 2.5 days at DL, but there is so much I want to do in California. Is the Halloween party at DL a must do? Do they let you in a certain time like a WDW?
 
The Mickey's Halloween Party ticket is valid starting 3-hours before the party (it listed as part of the ticket's fine print). The party starts at 6:00 pm on 9/19 (Wed), so the ticket would be good from 3:00 pm for both DL and DCA (it's a park hopper ticket). The party has an exclusive parade, fireworks show, character meet & greets, entertainment, and trick-or-treating. It's closer to MNSSHP than MVMCP, but all have some similar structure/elements. I really like MHP, especially the fireworks and the parade. You can also get a ton of candy, especially if you wait until the later half of the party to go trick-or-treating (the lines are usually shorter).

If you can swing it, I would probably opt to do full days on the 18th and 20th, and then get MHP tickets for the 19th. You'll miss out on the morning of the 19th, but you'll get some park time before the party starts and then the 5 hours of the party. They have not yet posted the schedule for mid-September, but DCA doesn't always have long hours on weekdays. Last year, it closed at 8:00 pm on the night of the first party.
 
I actually think MHP is a little better than the MNSSHP at WDW, and that was before they added the actual parade. If you like Halloween I think you'll have fun with it.
 
I am going to Disneyland for the first time in September as well! I am doing 2.5 days. The first day is a Halloween Party day and I can enter the park at 3 PM. Then we're doing 2 days with Park Hoppers. I've heard Halloween at DL is so much better than WDW, so that's why I decided to do the party.
 


I thought I heard the Halloween decorations are better at Disneyland, but that the party itself was better at WDW. Maybe I'm remembering that incorrectly?
 
While I think it's subjective as to which party is better, it seemed like WDW used to have the edge because of the Boo-To-You-Parade and the Hocus Pocus Stage Show. Boo-To-You is a full length parade and included the Headless Horseman. Previously, DL had the Cavalcade, a mini-parade, and no Headless Horseman. Two years ago, they introduced the Headless Horseman and the Frightfully Fun Parade, so while Boo-To-You is still a longer parade, the Frightfully Fun parade is a big improvement over the Cavalcade. DL still doesn't have anything quite like the Castle Forecourt show. Both parties have fireworks (although, I like Halloween Screams better because of Zero) and trick-or-treating (DL is more generous with the candy because each treat stop is actually a trail, whereas there are only a few treat trails at MK), character dance parties, and meet & greets.

In terms of decoration and other Halloween offerings, DLR has expanded the Halloween decor and offerings to both parks. I think the big difference used to be the overlays (HMH and SMGG). WDW has announced some attraction overlays for this year (Mad Tea Party, Pirates, Space). So I think MK is trying to increase their Halloween season offerings to meet some of the calls for seasonal overlays (like DL, but without the long downtime associated with the HMH conversion).
 
While I think it's subjective as to which party is better, it seemed like WDW used to have the edge because of the Boo-To-You-Parade and the Hocus Pocus Stage Show. Boo-To-You is a full length parade and included the Headless Horseman. Previously, DL had the Cavalcade, a mini-parade, and no Headless Horseman. Two years ago, they introduced the Headless Horseman and the Frightfully Fun Parade, so while Boo-To-You is still a longer parade, the Frightfully Fun parade is a big improvement over the Cavalcade. DL still doesn't have anything quite like the Castle Forecourt show. Both parties have fireworks (although, I like Halloween Screams better because of Zero) and trick-or-treating (DL is more generous with the candy because each treat stop is actually a trail, whereas there are only a few treat trails at MK), character dance parties, and meet & greets.

In terms of decoration and other Halloween offerings, DLR has expanded the Halloween decor and offerings to both parks. I think the big difference used to be the overlays (HMH and SMGG). WDW has announced some attraction overlays for this year (Mad Tea Party, Pirates, Space). So I think MK is trying to increase their Halloween season offerings to meet some of the calls for seasonal overlays (like DL, but without the long downtime associated with the HMH conversion).

I agree, but I think the number one thing I liked about the DL party over WDW was the weather. It just doesn't feel like Halloween when it's 95 degrees! At DL they had fog rolling over the Rivers of America, and the Cadaver Dans came out of the fog on one of the rafts. I think it's just too humid to do that at WDW. I absolutely agree that the DL fireworks are better as well. I have not seen the parade as I went before that started, but even without that I gave DL the edge. That's just my take.
 


What makes the fireworks better at DL? I didn't think they could ever compete with WDW, given their need to comply with Anaheim rules. Just an assumption that I'm happy to be incorrect about.
 
What makes the fireworks better at DL? I didn't think they could ever compete with WDW, given their need to comply with Anaheim rules. Just an assumption that I'm happy to be incorrect about.
They are much better than we saw at the world, but everything is subjective, is it not.

Jack
 
What makes the fireworks better at DL? I didn't think they could ever compete with WDW, given their need to comply with Anaheim rules. Just an assumption that I'm happy to be incorrect about.

Well, I don't know what it is, but in general I'd say the fireworks at DL are superior to WDW. I remember for Halloween Screams, there seemed to be more pyro, and of course Zero gets to fly. It may be that the fireworks at DL are lower in the sky, and therefor closer to the crowd. They just seem more...more (one of the few things at DL that does versus WDW). Now, a show like Happily Ever After really upped the game, and I would say that's better than the regular show at DL - however, Disneyland Forever and Together Forever are both beyond it. So, HEA compared to Remember...Dreams Come True, I'll give it to WDW. The Halloween show was no contest though.
 
I agree, but I think the number one thing I liked about the DL party over WDW was the weather. It just doesn't feel like Halloween when it's 95 degrees! At DL they had fog rolling over the Rivers of America, and the Cadaver Dans came out of the fog on one of the rafts. I think it's just too humid to do that at WDW. I absolutely agree that the DL fireworks are better as well. I have not seen the parade as I went before that started, but even without that I gave DL the edge. That's just my take.
I'm also not a huge fan of the humidity at WDW, but it didn't really impact my enjoyment of MNSSHP. For me, I didn't mind the warm weather at MNSSHP (in terms of making it feel like or not like Halloween), but the t-shirts and shorts for MVMCP was odd! :rotfl:

What makes the fireworks better at DL? I didn't think they could ever compete with WDW, given their need to comply with Anaheim rules. Just an assumption that I'm happy to be incorrect about.
I don't know that the Anaheim rules impact what firework can be used in the show themselves. Mostly it seems to impact when they can present the show. For me, DLR's shows seems more immersive, but I haven't seen Happily Ever After yet. I like that Halloween Screams has fireworks (both high and low ones from the castle), Zero flying multiple times and going back and forth, the projection globe, and the projections on the castle. It just seems like there is more happening during the show.
 

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