Mickey's Halloween Party at Disneyland
This morning I hopped on a plane in Salt Lake City, eager to get myself back to California for Mickey's Halloween Party at Disneyland! My plane touched down at the Santa Ana airport right on time, and Seanie and Jeannie were there to pick me up. After checking into our hotel and enjoying snacks and adult beverages at Trader Sam's, we changed into our Halloween costumes and hit the park for
It was so much fun! Jeans was dressed as Buzz Lightyear, I was dressed as Woody, and Seanie had managed to dig up a Rex t-shirt to join in the fun. The park was decorated for Halloween, with carved pumpkins all over Main Street and ghoulish lights everywhere. In Fantasyland, a dragon glowered while out in Frontierland a strange light spilled out from behind a boarded up tunnel. Fog machines gave dark corners an eerie aspect that was perfect for a little Halloween madness. They even had mist rising up over the Rivers of America, setting the stage for a positively ghoulish performance.
The number one thing that Jeans and I wanted to do was get pictures with some of Disney's iconic villains, so we waited in line to stand with Cruella de Vil, Dr. Facilier, Hades, Lady Tremaine and Cinderella's stepsisters, and Maleficent. It was an AWESOME line-up. I think that the only villain we missed out on was Jafar, who walked away from the photo area only a few minutes into his shift.
Cruella
Dr. Facilier
Hades
Drusilla, Lady Tremaine, Anastasia
The Mistress of All Evil
I also got to go trick-or-treating for the first time in at least ten years. When you walked in the entrance gates, cast members were handing out little bags. Scattered throughout the park were mini trick-or-treating trails, usually with four stations where more cast members would give you candy. (They also offered healthy alternatives like carrot sticks, goldfish crackers, and granola bars.) Somehow, Seanie managed to get waaaay more candy than me, even though he was constantly snacking on his chocolate bars. I mean, I guess he managed to go on a few extra candy trails while we were in line, but I wonder if some of the girl cast members gave him extra candy 'cuz he's cute.
There was a special Halloween parade. It wasn't terribly exciting - cast members dressed in various random costumes. It almost looked like they'd rummaged through the Disney costume department and grabbed whatever they happened to find. But there were a couple of dressed up face characters - Mickey dressed as a vampire, Minnie dressed like a witch, that sort of thing.
Of course, you couldn't have a Halloween night at Disneyland without fireworks, so Jack Skellington "hosted" the show. The fireworks were timed to some of Disney's most villainous music, like the "Night on Bald Mountain" sequence from Fantasia and The Haunted Mansion ride's theme song. My favorite segment was a beautiful instrumental version of "Hellfire", from The Hunchback of Notre Dame, that had perfectly choreographed fireworks and even blasts of fire shooting up toward the sky.
There were two performances by the Dapper Dans - transformed into Cadaver Dans for the occasion - on the Rivers of America. The first one we happened to overhear as we were eating dinner at Cafe Orleans; the second one started right as we were walking by, so we rushed down to the water's edge to snag a picture and listen to them sing.
Of course, we also rode rides throughout the park, and shopped. It was really a delightful evening. We stayed until nearly midnight, when even the magic of Disney and Halloween combined couldn't fight off the exhaustion that comes from being on your feet all day. (Especially me - my feet were killing me by the end of the night. Those boots aren't made for walking.)
It was so much fun! Jeans was dressed as Buzz Lightyear, I was dressed as Woody, and Seanie had managed to dig up a Rex t-shirt to join in the fun. The park was decorated for Halloween, with carved pumpkins all over Main Street and ghoulish lights everywhere. In Fantasyland, a dragon glowered while out in Frontierland a strange light spilled out from behind a boarded up tunnel. Fog machines gave dark corners an eerie aspect that was perfect for a little Halloween madness. They even had mist rising up over the Rivers of America, setting the stage for a positively ghoulish performance.
The number one thing that Jeans and I wanted to do was get pictures with some of Disney's iconic villains, so we waited in line to stand with Cruella de Vil, Dr. Facilier, Hades, Lady Tremaine and Cinderella's stepsisters, and Maleficent. It was an AWESOME line-up. I think that the only villain we missed out on was Jafar, who walked away from the photo area only a few minutes into his shift.
Cruella
Dr. Facilier
Hades
Drusilla, Lady Tremaine, Anastasia
The Mistress of All Evil
I also got to go trick-or-treating for the first time in at least ten years. When you walked in the entrance gates, cast members were handing out little bags. Scattered throughout the park were mini trick-or-treating trails, usually with four stations where more cast members would give you candy. (They also offered healthy alternatives like carrot sticks, goldfish crackers, and granola bars.) Somehow, Seanie managed to get waaaay more candy than me, even though he was constantly snacking on his chocolate bars. I mean, I guess he managed to go on a few extra candy trails while we were in line, but I wonder if some of the girl cast members gave him extra candy 'cuz he's cute.
There was a special Halloween parade. It wasn't terribly exciting - cast members dressed in various random costumes. It almost looked like they'd rummaged through the Disney costume department and grabbed whatever they happened to find. But there were a couple of dressed up face characters - Mickey dressed as a vampire, Minnie dressed like a witch, that sort of thing.
Of course, you couldn't have a Halloween night at Disneyland without fireworks, so Jack Skellington "hosted" the show. The fireworks were timed to some of Disney's most villainous music, like the "Night on Bald Mountain" sequence from Fantasia and The Haunted Mansion ride's theme song. My favorite segment was a beautiful instrumental version of "Hellfire", from The Hunchback of Notre Dame, that had perfectly choreographed fireworks and even blasts of fire shooting up toward the sky.
There were two performances by the Dapper Dans - transformed into Cadaver Dans for the occasion - on the Rivers of America. The first one we happened to overhear as we were eating dinner at Cafe Orleans; the second one started right as we were walking by, so we rushed down to the water's edge to snag a picture and listen to them sing.
Of course, we also rode rides throughout the park, and shopped. It was really a delightful evening. We stayed until nearly midnight, when even the magic of Disney and Halloween combined couldn't fight off the exhaustion that comes from being on your feet all day. (Especially me - my feet were killing me by the end of the night. Those boots aren't made for walking.)