HM's Holiday layover is supposed to open today! Has anyone been? Notice any changes?
HM's Holiday layover is supposed to open today! Has anyone been? Notice any changes?
The park is not even open yet! So long as it doesn't start raining, I will go tonight.
I'll be there tonight too. I was there on Monday and the outside overlay was up, looked about the same as last year.
Disneyland AP since 1994, WDW CSR Aug 2010
Are large crowds expected tonight since it will be the "unveiling" of the official Halloween season? I'm trying to decide if I should go tonight or wait until next week...
I don't think it will be that big of a crowd IMHO. The parks have been very quiet the past couple of weeks, so without the major tourist crowd, it's just locals hitting the park after work to check things out. It might pick up around 5-6pm. A lot of people are convinced it is going to rain and have probably planned to go tomorrow or Sunday instead. My MIL was going to chicken out on me for tonight and I had to beg, she didn't want to be out in the non-existant rain storm.
Disneyland AP since 1994, WDW CSR Aug 2010
Originally Posted by DizneyMommy
I don't think it will be that big of a crowd IMHO. The parks have been very quiet the past couple of weeks, so without the major tourist crowd, it's just locals hitting the park after work to check things out. It might pick up around 5-6pm. A lot of people are convinced it is going to rain and have probably planned to go tomorrow or Sunday instead. My MIL was going to chicken out on me for tonight and I had to beg, she didn't want to be out in the non-existant rain storm.
Last year it was VERY busy on the Friday nigth that they opened HHM.
They even extened the operating hours from 11:00pm to midnight. They wait was about an hour too for HHM
Yes, but there were also other factors that made that entire weekend a nightmare. LAUSD had a major 3 day weekend that weekend and caused insane lines, on top of another major thing - cheer comp maybe? I can't remember what it was right now, but it was huge. Last year it was a week later - Sept 29 - too so hopefully with the other problems not an issue, plus the impending rain, hopefully *fingers crossed* it won't be all THAT bad.
Disneyland AP since 1994, WDW CSR Aug 2010
Was at the park this morning. It was getting pretty crowded as we came back to hotel to rest. Overheard cast members saying that with the change in weather (was expected to be bad, now expected to be good), they are expecting huge crowd tonight and likely closing time will be extended an hour to midnight.
Didn't ride HM yet, have fast pass in hand for later. Line has bee quite long all morning.
Wow. Fastpass for HM on the first day. It must be crowded.
That for the info and let us know how the crowds are.
We were there this morning and it was crowded! We left around 11:30 b/c we thought that maybe talk of bad weather would keep everyone away. We saw them open the gates to HMH and it was pretty bad. We ate, did some shopping and left. It is never easy to predict a slow day anymore is it? Most of the time I completely caught off guard by how busy it is or pleasantly surprised by how slow it is.
July 17, 2012- Xavier turns 5 & Disneyland turns 57!
Thanks for the info!
They added a loop.
Ah that will never get old.
I just got back. I spent a couple of hours at Disneyland this afternoon. The line for the Haunted Mansion wasn't bad at all when I was there (probably about 15-20 minutes) so I went on.
I've never seen the Halloween decorations before, so I don't have any basis for comparison with other years, but I thought they did a great job. Very cool to see the changes to the stretching gallery, and the huge creepy Christmas tree in the banquet hall. I think the singing heads in the graveyard were my favorite change.
The candy corn farm thing at DCA is cute but kind of pointless--mostly just a big, cartoony thing blocking the view of the fountain--and I didn't see much else there in the way of decorations. But they sure did a nice job at Disneyland.
"Mr. Toad's Wild Ride is the best! Anything that sends thousands of children through the gates of Hell and calls it family entertainment is okay in my book."
HM did not appear to open right at park opening- from what I could tell it was about an hour late. It was 25 minute wait and we had got FP for it and walked on with FP.
I have never seen the overlay and it was VERY COOL. The detail and additions was awesome. We FP'd again and are going back this evening. The clouds are rolling in now so we will see if the weather holds up.
I laughed tonight as the fastpass line was out the gate, yet the standby line looked empty. wasn't really so of course since it winds around, but it looked really funny to see people in the fastpass line running out the gate with the FAST sign above their head. I took a picture.
As for the candy corns, did you notice the coconuts in the trees have been replaced with candy corns?! LOL. I thought that was a nice touch. That and Goofey in his skeleton costume.
I was in the park last night from 4 until about 9pm. It was pretty danred empty considering it was a Friday night and Halloween started. I did not notice anything way different in HMH, but you know it has been so long since last riding it that the whole thing could be different and I would not remember.
HMH was barely a 20 min wait and everything else in the park was either 10 or 15 except of course Nemo and PP. Nemo looked to be about 45 minutes. We rode HMH, grabbed dinner and took it over to Woody's Roundup to decorate a pumpkin (though we passed on the green cookie icing!) and then went to check out the Nemo line. We passed the parade route and realize the parade was coming and there were tons of open front row seats so we stopped for that. Then we hopped on the monorail, up in the drivers cabin, and took a round trip cruise. The park just did not look crowded at all. By then it was almost 9, so we stopped at BRB for milk and *gasp!* No Line! We left just in time, about 7 minutes out of the parking garage it started pouring and we saw lightning on the way home.
Disneyland AP since 1994, WDW CSR Aug 2010
i have not been on it yet - but two things that usually change is the message that the spider has written across the busts (prior to boarding your doom buggy) and the gingerbread house in the ballroom is usually different...
"[Disneyland] has that thing - the imagination, and the feeling of happy excitement - I knew when I was a kid." - Walt Disney
The lights on those were out last night, so we could not see what they said. I remember thinking it was odd that they were not on because you can't read it when the lights are off.
There were several suits in that hall when we went, checking things out and taking notes. Maybe they rushed to finish and they have some minor touches to finish.
Disneyland AP since 1994, WDW CSR Aug 2010
Here is a link to the picture I took last night around 10 PM. I thought it was just a funny site to see the FAST Pass line sticking out of the gate, and he standby line looks empty.
http://cartwrights.smugmug.com/photos/198806073-L.jpg
I rode it today and only noticed a couple of minor changes. As others have said, it's been a while since I rode it last, so they may not be actual changes, but they seemed new to me. The messages by the busts say Noel and Ho Ho Ho (which is what I remember from last year, but I could be wrong). There was an additional Venus Fly Trap plant between the coffin and the wreath on the right hand side in the hallway. The gingerbread house was more elaborate and had a bunch of moving parts (very cool!). Did characters always pop up at you when you pass the mirrors at the end? If so, did they shoot blasts of air at you? That was cute! And the Jack crossing over the moon as you go up the escalator is done differently as well. It's a projection over a much bigger moon rather than an actual figure going around the moon.
One important note is that HMH FP is no longer on its own system. We had a FP for HMH and tried to get one at Space before our time opened up and it said we already held a FP for HM. So plan accordingly!
I realize it's for Halloween and all, but it's still weird seeing Christmas stuff in September.
I missed that one... we got a half eaten gingerbread cookie in our mirror, and the people next to us got a stick of dynamite - but it was done just like the hitchhiking ghosts appearing as we passed the mirror, didn't really pop up and no air. Maybe they added that after the first night?
Disneyland AP since 1994, WDW CSR Aug 2010
nope - Lock Shock and Barrel have been around since the 2nd year of HMH. They don't appear in every window. The deal is this - Oogie Boogie is spinning his wheel to see what prize you win (normally the three ghosts together). On the wheel are some prizes - half eaten cookie, dynamite, etc. and a "?" Well, when you pass a mirror you get your prize - and the "?" is one of the three kids shooting something at you..
"[Disneyland] has that thing - the imagination, and the feeling of happy excitement - I knew when I was a kid." - Walt Disney
Looked the same, we rode Saturday. We were headed that way Friday night and when I saw the lines coming out the gates and down the walkway, decided to wait.
Disneyland IS the Happiest place on Earth!
I still hate the way they load the ride. I know they do it for time purposes, but since we were at the very end of the group going into the lobby and elevator, it meant we missed pretty much all of the spiel in the lobby and most of the spiel in the elevator before everything starts.
I loved the new gingerbread house and table decorations. There are a lot more creepy gingerbread men everywhere. My husband noticed the one where his different body parts are on different plates. The gingerbread house is really more of a crank toy this time, with a crank on the right side and a head bobbing up and down in the middle. Too funny. Still want to be stuck there for a while so I can see everything.
There was a lot of talk about how they'd handle the attic with all the changes to HM, but I think they did a good job. I still need to get a better look at all the wrappings.
I could swear I read somewhere that they were bringing back the ghoulash to French Market. They have a couple of themed desserts (some served in the Zero bowls from last year), but that was it. The menu remains otherwise unchanged. I was really disappointed. They have no gingerbread house in there at all, but the decorations are also of creepy gingerbread men. That must be the theme for this year. So why not sell creepy gingerbread men you can eat?
I guess I have a glitch in my matrix.
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