Written by Jessica Johnson and Sydney Paley
It’s the most wonderful time of the year! Yes, that’s right--Halloween Time at the Disneyland Resort is upon us. This year, the decorations have expanded to both parks for the first time in years. Sydney (whose text is in purple) and Jessica (orange) spent the last weekend at the parks to see everything new and welcome back our favorite spooky rides. Take a look at some of the new sights as well as some of everyone’s favorite returning sights!
Decorations
The Esplanade
Photo by Sydney Paley. What better place to start than the entrance to the parks? Since the decorations have expanded to California Adventure, it’s only fitting that the entrance receives a little Halloween flair as well. DCA has gone above and beyond, building a giant Oogie Boogie “tree” that greets guests as they enter the park. At first, I thought the sign was just that--a sign. As I got closer, though, I realized that the sign actually makes what can best be referred to as “spooky wind noises.” The day that I first saw the sign was overcast and a little chilly, which only added to the effect. I realized the next day, however, that Oogie actually talks! I was across the Esplanade going into Disneyland when I heard a deep voice echoing from across the way. I was too shocked to actually register what he was saying, but he really does greet guests!
Photo by Jessica Johnson. And of course, right across the way are the familiar faces of our Fab Five, Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Goofy, and Pluto depicted out of pumpkins and vines in their classic Halloween entrance gate to Disneyland. I always get ridiculously excited when I see this gate, as it always immediately signifies fall to me!
Disney's California Adventure
Photo by Sydney Paley. Buena Vista Street looks amazing! Like I mentioned with the churros, purple is my favorite color, and purple has stolen the show over on Buena Vista Street. There are purple banners everywhere, and Carthay Circle looks as classy as ever in white and purple. If you look a little closer at the top of Carthay, you might even see a surprise flying out of the top of it…
Photo by Jessica Johnson. At the end of Buena Vista Street is a hard-to-miss spooky spectacle indeed, for there, posed and reared up is the Headless Horsemen from the Sleepy Hollow legend. He carries a Jack-o’-lantern in his left hand and reigns in his stallion with his right, whose eyes glow red in the evening. Be sure to get a photo with this master of frights before it’s too late!
DCA’s main focus this Halloween season is very obviously Carsland. Radiator Springs? More like Radiator Spooks! (I’m so sorry. I’ll stop.) Just as Disney paid incredible attention to detail when building Carsland, they’ve done the same with their fall decorations there. Everywhere you look you’ll see Halloween puns, “monster” faces built out of car parts, and more. You might even get a chance to meet some of your favorite characters in their “carstrumes...” (I didn’t make that up! That’s the official pun!) I’m so excited to go back soon and get an even closer look at everything!
Disneyland
Photo by Jessica Johnson. Every autumn, Disneyland turns into a veritable cornucopia of color, lights, and festivities. This year is no exception. Catch classic sights on Main Street, such as the orange banners strung from every gas lamp, the themed Jack-o’-lanterns at the feet of Walt and Mickey at the Partner’s Statue, the pumpkins adorning every Main Street windowsill, and of course, the giant Mickey Jack-o’-lantern that always proves a must-do photo op!
Photo by Jessica Johnson. In Frontierland, the decorations continue in the form of the Dia de los Muertos decorations near the Rancho del Zocalo restaurant, and right across the way, the annual Halloween Tree, dedicated to Ray Bradbury. This is always a mesmerizing sight by night, so be sure to take a moment, read the plaque of dedication, and maybe take some amazing pictures beneath it!
Downtown Disney
Photo by Jessica Johnson. Downtown Disney went all out this year, with every planter filled to the brim with pumpkins! There are plenty of opportunities for your autumn photo needs!
Merchandise
There is some adorable merchandise this year for Halloween. I love the design of the Fab Five in their Halloween costumes this year. There are also some great themed Mickey and Minnie ears, bags, T-shirts, and honestly too much. My wallet always despises me this time of year, and this season will be no exception! Check out some other Halloween merch on the Disney Store website!
Food
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There are almost too many Halloween food options this year. There are Dreamsicle-flavored beignets, an Oogie Boogie popcorn bucket, a special Halloween Cocktail at the Cove Bar, a Bat Wing raspberry sundae at Clarabelle’s, a “Spokey Cone Macaroon” at the Cozy Cones filled with butterscotch and candy corns… Too see them all and make your game plan on which delights to partake in, click here! We’ve highlighted a few of our favorite treats below!
Photo by Sydney Paley. I’m ashamed to admit that I spent too many years of my life thinking I didn’t like churros. Since discovering earlier this year that I actually do really (REALLY) like churros, I’ve been eating a lot of them to make up for lost time. As soon as I learned that Disney was introducing a purple churro for Halloween this year, I knew that I was about to experience the greatest love connection since Will and Elizabeth. My favorite color and my new favorite food? It was almost too good to be true. On Saturday I set out to find one of these magical purple churros at my usual churro cart--the one in New Orleans Square--only to learn that that cart didn’t stock them. I finally found one the next day in DCA back by Grizzly Peak, so word of caution: not every cart stocks the purple churros. I plan to investigate further, but from what I can tell these violet beauties are only in DCA. They’re not flavored (aside from…”churro” flavor I guess) but they’re festive and oh-so-Instagrammable!
Photo by Jessica Johnson. [to the tune of “Christmas Waltz”] “Iiiiiitttt’s thaaaaaaat….time of year, when caramel apples abound, every smiling face seems to saaaayy… ‘Oh please eat me, and your wildest dreams will come TRUUUUUE!’” Okay, I might be going a bit overboard/anticipating Christmas already, but honestly, these caramel apples are delightful. And also, let’s not forget the amazing cake pop options this year: Jack Skellington, the poison apple, and a crescent moon with a bat! Goodbye, diet! It was nice knowing ya!
Attractions
Guardians of the Galaxy: Monsters After Dark!
Concept Art from Disney.
Every night from now until October 31st as soon as the sun goes down, Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission Breakout will turn into Monsters After Dark, a Halloween overlay with a brand new adventure! A monster (who will also appear in the upcoming Thor: Ragnarok) is released in the Collector’s fortress, and it’s up to ride visitors to save Groot! I haven’t yet had the chance to ride the attraction, but fully intend to be taking part in this sure-to-be thrilling experience soon!
Ghost Galaxy
Photo by Sydney Paley. Y’ALL. I AM SO HAPPY GHOST GALAXY IS BACK. I’ve loved Ghost Galaxy since the first time I rode it years ago, and I can honestly say that it is my favorite version of Space Mountain. I know that none of us really love spending egregious amounts of time in line for a ride, but I could stand outside Ghost Galaxy for hours and not get bored--as long as it’s night, that it. I LOVE the creepy effects projected on the side of the mountain. I’m a sucker for all things scary, so give me weird, distorted space-ghost screams and I’ll be a happy camper. Also, without spoiling anything for those who haven’t been on Ghost Galaxy, there is one part of the ride that STILL makes me jump every time I go on it (for those of you who have been on it, I’m sure you know which part I’m talking about)!
Haunted Mansion Holiday
Exterior of the Mansion. Photo by Jessica Johnson. YES! My favorite ride in Disneyland is back in full swing...or in swingin’ wake, as it were (I’m undoubtedly worse at these puns than Sydney is. Apologies.). Jack Skellington, Zero, Sally, Oogie Boogie, and other friends from Halloweentown have once again taken over the Haunted Mansion for the 16th year in a row, bringing with them a myriad of festive treats to celebrate both Halloween and Christmas. Looking for new decorations every year is my favorite thing, and of course, smelling the wafting gingerbread scent off of this year’s incredible Oogie Boogie-themed gingerbread house makes my holiday season complete! If you want to get on this ride the quickest, I recommend that you go for Park Opening and make a beeline straight for the ride. You’ll be on in less that ten minutes!
Oogie Boogie's Gingerbread House. Photo by Sydney Paley.
Character Meet and Greets!
No matter how old I get, I will always love seeing and meeting all of my favorite characters throughout the parks. There’s just something so magical about getting a hug from Pluto or a high-five from Chip and Dale! These moments are made even more magical when the characters are dressed for special occasions...and what more special occasion is there than Halloween? All of our friends are showing up dressed in their spooky best, and they all look great. I’ve been keeping a list of who is dressed as what, so here’s your helpful guide!
On Main Street, I saw Mickey as a Halloween Ringleader, Minnie as a witch, Donald as a pumpkin, and Goofy as a skeleton. Pluto has a Halloween collar on, and I haven’t seen Daisy yet. Dale was out by himself and didn’t have a costume, but he and Chip might have something they wear together. You’ll also find a plethora of villains out and about--this weekend alone I saw Jafar, Cruella, and the Red Queen! Meanwhile, on Buena Vista Street, I saw Mickey as a bat, Minnie as a flapper girl, Daisy as a witch, Donald as a little devil, and Goofy as a ghost!
Sally and Jack. Photo by Jessica Johnson. In New Orleans Square, be sure to visit the Pumpkin King and Queen of Halloween, Jack Skellington and Sally! They are always loads of fun to interact with and a very popular photo op!
Jessica and Sydney (pictured on the left in the foreground of image back to back wearing purple and blue dresses) posed with friends in front of the Main Street Mickey Jack-o'-lantern on Dapper Day Fall 2015, where they became friends.
Mickey’s Halloween Party may be entirely sold out this year, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t have an amazingly festive time if you didn’t get a chance to nab a ticket! As this blog has hopefully proven, there is almost too much to experience between the Parks this year, so go out to socialize and have a spook-tacular Halloween season!
