We went to the party last night 10/8. I apologize in advance for typos as I’m typing on my phone.
This is my 6th year in a row doing these parties. While I had a great time I will be disappointed if they don’t move the party back to
Disneyland next year. That being said, I find these parties a great value for the money and even if they kept it at DCA I will go again!
Arrival: arrived at parking garage at 4:50. Through security, tram, front gate and , getting wristbands AND waited in line to take a picture by the headless horseman all by 5:10!!! No joke! I just checked the time stamp on my photos.
Weather: I live about 20 minutes from the park so I’m familiar with local weather. While we were lucky I’m all too aware that for future party guests i would not count on ANYTHING until the day of the party as far as weather is concerned. This holds true for everyday in so cal FYI ha ha. I wore jeans and a T-shirt and was comfortable the whole party. I’m a wimp and am all always cold. I brought a light jacket but didn’t really need it. High for the day , just for everyone to gauge their own experience was 81, low of 61.
Ride lines: walked on the swings, Goofys sky school, and the swinging wheel of death. 10 minute waits for IC and TSM. Felt like a long wait for soarin and really regret taking so much time on this ride. Probably onky waited 20-30 minutes but we have been in this ride a million times, shouldn’t have wasted party time. RSR showed 20 minute wait times. We headed over and it went down. Went it came back up, line was 60 minutes, very disappointed. Guardians was close to walk on all night. Overall, less rides that I wanted to ride, longer lines than previous parties. I was disappointed
Parade: exactly like last year, except for the totally random addition of the chesihire cat at the end. Weird. I love this parade. I hope it stays the same forever. I love love love the grave diggers and the headless horseman! Found a seat less than 5 minutes before the parade by the Hyperion theater. Right on the curb. Awesome.
Treat trails: love love love the immersive treat trrails. My daughter (9) thought it was the coolest thing ever. Really cool. As for how much candy they hand out....who cares? You can walk through ten times if you want. I think we got 20 pounds of candy. I will not be buying any candy to hand out for Halloween because we have soooo much!! My ENTIRE backpack was completely full and I had two bags I was carrying. My neck and back hurt today!
Descendants dance
again my daughter is 9. This was the highlight of her night. She was so happy I thought her head was going to explode. I thought it was lame but I’m 40, lol.
We missed WOC and the walkthrough at redwood creek trail. Super disappointed about missing both of them. I say it every year.....I really need two nights at these parties. I feel so rushed and even though i felt we hit everything very strategically, we still missed two big tickets items! And we stayed until almost the end. By 10:30 my daughter was almost in tears she was so exhausted. We did way over 20,000 steps and after a full day at school she was just beat. So was I!!
Food: missed all the special treats!
Characters: saw some weird characters out that I didn’t even recognize, this is not something we are interested so sorry no information on them!
Overall, we had a lot of fun. It’s a really special tradition that I have done with my daughter every year, sometimes with a group and a few years just the two of us. The past parties at Disneyland have just gotten better and better. The projections on Main Street and the cadaver dans are phenomenal and we missed it dearly this year. The whole atmosphere at Disneyland is just so much more immersive. And there are so many more rides that we have always walked in every ride, including the headliners liken Space mountain. So DCA disappointed a bit. The immersive treat trails were a major positive but with the move over to DCA I thought that all the regular treat trails could have been a little more decorated and not just a line to get candy. But a positive was the long parade route, it allowed for easy seating without wasting party time. Definitely worth the money but i do hope they move it back next year!