What is Halloween Like?

[Rockchalker]

We are going for our DS's 4th birthday October 17 though October 23.

This will be our first October trip to DLR. We have done several WDW October trips.

We booked the family suite at the HoJo (with the Entertainment rate) as we were checked out on 3/11, so that is taken care of.

What kind of crowds can we expect?

Do they have special fireworks?

Please tell me they will have Mickey's Not So Scary, we all love that!!

Will Small World be open?

Do they have more villians roaming around?

Does Fantasmic normally operate on the weekends?

[lola2009]

We went last Oct ( first time in Oct) and it was sooo much fun.
Crowds were not bad.

CA does Mickeys Trick or Treat party which is a separate ticket.There's trick or treating, different characters are out. Capt Jack Sparrow, Lady Tremaine, Queen of Hearts, and lots more I cant think of right now.

Last year they did a Firework show "hosted" by Jack Skellington, which I loved.

I think small world may have been open, we didnt ride it that trip.

And yes fantasmic should be running.

[StarTourist]

Historically, when does the Haunted Mansion get closed down for it's Haunted Mansion Holiday/Nightmare Before Christmas overlay? When does it normally re-open?

[MammaSilva]

HM traditionally goes down shortly after labor day for the overlay and is usually open by the end of Sept/1st part of October and stays thru the Christmas holiday.

They don't do a halloween overlay for iasw but they did for Space Mountain.

[fairestoneofall]

Halloween is one of my favorite times at DL! The crowds aren't bad during the day and the parks are decorated so cute!

I would really recommend Mickey's Trick or Treat Party. We did it last year and had a total blast! The kids got tons of stuff and there were a lot of characters that you don't normally see roaming about.

I absolutely LOVE LOVE LOVED the Halloween Fireworks last year. They were amazing and I sure hope they do them again.

I can't remember for certain about IASW or Fantasmic! It seems to me that F! goes dark right around Labor Day.

[SigalTchelet]

I was there last October 3rd. I loved the decorations, and Haunted Mansion and Space Mountain. Just a forewarning-I think 1st weekend in October is always Gay Days, so it was really crowded. I am thinking that the weekends will always be more crowded during the school year and less crowded during the weekdays, in October. Have a good time!

[mechurchlady]

You are going the week before my birthday. You will miss the annual Gay Days and Utah days. The parks will have Halloween treats, characters, and decorations. It will be not too crowded compared to summer. Do the paid event as you get tons of candy and treats, meet and greets, a parade and lots of fun. I love that time of year. I think you will have lots of fun and it should not be too crowded. Take him in costume if you wish. I had so much fun last year.

[ChurroGirl]

What kind of crowds can we expect?

We go every year at this time! The crowds are lovely, not to crowded and lots of "leg room".

Do they have special fireworks?

As of last year they now have a special Halloween Firework show that is so!! Much fun. Jack Skellington Hosts it!

Please tell me they will have Mickey's Not So Scary, we all love that!!

Yes! Last Oct was our first time doing the party and it was so much fun! I believe it is 30-40$ a person and the party is held in DCA

Will Small World be open?

Yes

Do they have more villians roaming around?

Does Fantasmic normally operate on the weekends?

This time of year is the only time I have ever seen The Big Bad Wolf actually walking around. And over by ISAW they section it off and rotate villians, Jafar, The Evil Queen, Lady Tremain, The Queen of Hearts, Cpt. J Hook, etc.

F! is on the weekends only so that Sunday the 17th if you go into the park you should be able to see it!

And as a matter of fact if you look at my avatar that is my dad and I at the Mickey's Not So Scary Party! We went as a Mickey baseball team

[CMHusband]

Fun. but I thought it was pretty crowded. If you remember there were some days where they closed the entrance down in October due to reaching capacity. The overlay for Space Mountain was Sooooo Popular!

[TowerofTerror]

very fun time of year go do the mickeys trick or treat at dca its an adventure that a private event thats a seperate admisson and is worth going to like Mechurchlady

[stan4d_steph]

Check out these other threads for more information on Halloween.

[Hannahbelle]

You will LOVE it RC!!!
I hope they do the Fireworks again. They were great!!!

[thebigcheese]

We were there the week before Halloween last year and it was busier than we expected especially at night when the fireworks, which were awesome and even when the late Fantasmic showing was happening, which was very awesome. It seemed like everyone was out watching the shows with us. Get your spot early for either show. Other than that the days were wonderful and the weather was great. Everything was decorated for Halloween and we had our pics taken with Jack and Sally. We had never seen them before. One of our favorite times to go for sure.

[daveywest]

We were there last year for Halloween weekend. Parking was a nightmare when people started showing up for the trick or treat party, but you shouldn't be dealing with that staying at HoJo's. Actual Halloween night was pretty calm over at DL, but that may just have been the result of better staffing on the weekend.

You'll get the chance to see characters rarely seen at the trick or treat party, and get all the candy you care to get. They were running Fantasmic on the weekends, and the special holiday fireworks also brought in huge crowds. We only got on space once in 4 days due to the incredible lines for the haunted overlay.

We missed SW by a couple days, but your trip earlier in the month should be good.

[Rockchalker]

Thanks everyone! I cannot wait! I have already started saving for the trip!

[cookie7762]

I will be heading down for september 18 and 19 and I am wondering what exactly to expect. From what I understand, most of the overlays with be done, and a few refurbs will still be in progress. It is technically the start of "halloweentime". Can I expect the entire halloween-ification process to be completed?

What should I expect of park hours? I tried looking on the website, but no schedule is up yet.

I know that the halloween fireworks are supposedly going to be open to the ToT folks only, but will there be other evening shows? Alternative fireworks? WOC? Fantasmic? Will ToT party be offered at this time? Should I expect early closures?

Just trying to get an idea of what is to come. Any tops would help!

[3Princesses1Prince]

Halloween season starts Sept. 17 this year so all the Halloween stuff will be up and going for your trip (minus the Halloween Party). The Halloween Screams fireworks are supposed to be shown for the Halloween Party only (which doesn't start until Oct 1) but we really don't know what they will do the other nights.

[CariBelle]

Can I expect the entire halloween-ification process to be completed?

What should I expect of park hours? I tried looking on the website, but no schedule is up yet.

I know that the halloween fireworks are supposedly going to be open to the ToT folks only, but will there be other evening shows? Alternative fireworks? WOC? Fantasmic? Will ToT party be offered at this time? Should I expect early closures?

Just trying to get an idea of what is to come. Any tops would help!

I would expect most of the decor to be up, they still might be adding small touches but since Halloweentime starts on Sept. 17th this year that weekend should be in full swing. As for hours, I would expect the park to be on almost full operating hours for the weekend, maybe 8-10 or 8-12? But you'll really just have to wait and see when Disney posts them online. You will probably had the regular fireworks, Fantasmic!, and WoC on weekends, but that's a guess again.

[valorycabrera1971]

I'm so exited for you , I will traving in OCT for the Halloween events, I just can not wait.

[jsilkey]

We will be there with you....we will be there the 16th to 21st of September. It is time for dining reservations in a couple days...I really hope they post the schedule!!

[3Princesses1Prince]

We will be there with you....we will be there the 16th to 21st of September. It is time for dining reservations in a couple days...I really hope they post the schedule!!

Not likely since at most they only have been posting 6 weeks in advance. But Disney Dining may be able to give you an idea on park hours.

[Michael24]

I've only been to Disneyland twice during October (2003 and 2007), but I just wanted to say the atmosphere created by all the decorations is great. I loved all the stuff they had up, from the giant piece of Candy Corn replacing the "A" in the "California" between the parks to the Mickey Mouse pumpkins along the main entrance to (of course) the exterior of the Haunted Mansion. Yeah, Disneyland at Halloweentime just looks cool.