Mickey's Halloween Party at Disneyland is awesome indeed

September 29, 2017

After ___ years of being an über Disney fan (at my age, it starts getting embarrassing just throwing out numbers), it's a wonder that I've never done any hard ticketed items at any of the Disney parks on either coast.  Well, it was going to change this year.

Why?  Because I wanted it to.  And because I was suffering from post-WDW withdrawal, and I haven't had an AP to Disneyland in years since I refuse to pay over a thousand dollars for what used to cost me $200 (okay, it was $200 in like, 2002) and I was missing Disney quite desperately.  So Johanna decided that we were going to go for my birthday because she's awesome.  It was super expensive - for a Friday night party, it was $105 per person - and they completely sold out!  She purchased our tickets the day they came out - and all the party tickets sold out in a week or so.  Nuts!!!  My friend Elisa looking into going with us, but by then the tickets were sold out - fortunately, she is an AP, so she got to spend a few hours in DCA with us.  Our main goal in DCA was to get on the Mission Breakout! ride that slaughtered our beloved Tower of Terror (sob!).

Because we are old, we decided to make a whole day of it rather than just taking off from work early and hitting the parks after working almost a full day.  Johanna and I opted to take the entire day off of work - we slept in, and she picked me up at 9:30 for breakfast at Steakhouse 55 in the Disneyland Hotel.  I LOVE their breakfasts there.  They have fantastic options, and while they're not cheap - considering you're dining in a steakhouse that charges Mastro prices at night - it's pretty reasonable!

We had thought to wander Downtown Disney or catch a movie before the party (we can enter either park 3 hours before the party's official start, which on a Friday is 7 pm, so we had to kill some time before we could enter starting 4 pm), but as we are edging towards the elderly status, and knowing we had to power through the party until  midnight - I opted to use a free Hyatt night at the Hyatt House down the street so we'd have a place to relax before the party and a place to crash afterwards.  Yes, I live within a 10 minutes drive (literally, door to door), but we could park the car once - relax in an air conditioned room, walk to the park, walk back then sleep!  So much easier!  And I honestly think it's because we had a place to rest and relax that enabled us to stay for the whole party.  It was tiring!  I ended up walking about 20,000 steps that day and I slept like a rock!

For once I didn't take photos of food porn - but trust me, it was delicious.  Johanna got the American Breakfast with all the things, and I got steak and eggs - a NY strip that was a phenomenal way to start the day.  We wandered around DTD for awhile after breakfast to work it off, then headed over to Hyatt House.

I used my free night to book a standard room - which is a king bed with a sofa bed - no kitchen.  When we arrived, he said it wasn't ready yet, but it was on the fifth floor.  I didn't care what floor it was on because we weren't going to be looking out the window - I just wanted a room, so I asked if they would let me pay for an upgrade to a room with two beds.  The guy said yes, and didn't even charge me!  So we ended up being upgraded to a studio with 2 queens - a full kitchen, which was greatly appreciated but went unused and a living area!  We ended up sprawled on the large sectional couch for hours watching Bones, the greatest procedural show evah!

Elisa ended being able to join us around 3 pm and spent $10 to park her car at the HH so we could walk over to Disneyland together.  It's about a 10 minute walk, and going to and from Disneyland, we were always in a crowd of people since Harbor Blvd by the park is lined with hotels, motels and restaurants, so there are always people walking up and down the street, but not in a creepy way.

We headed over and got through security - and Elisa went into DCA first to secure her fastpass for Mission Breakout!  Johanna and I went to Starbucks first to grab something to drink to while away the time, and when it was about 3:48 pm, we got in the super long ass line to get into DCA. Because many many many partygoers had the same idea.  I guess we're not geniuises?  (Sob!)

currently the only one rocking mouse ears...that didn't last for long!

Poor Elisa waited for a million years (or like, 38 minutes) for us near the entrance.  When we finally got into DCA, we opted to 1) buy Mickey ears (I already had my super awesome Haunted Mansion themed ears that Johanna got me to match my HM dress I decided to wear to the party instead of a real costume) and 2) get in line for my dearly departed ToT.  Elisa cornered a CM when she got a FP to see when we could line up for the ride.  Said CM was very confused and kept telling her that the ride shuts down at 4 to be reskinned to Monsters After Dark and the gates reopen at 3:30 for guests to line up and the ride is reopened at 5pm.  Elisa had to keep asking when we could line up and she kept saying "well, as I said, 3:30" -_-  4:30 lady!  4:30!!

Anyhoo, we got the BEST EARS!!!  Elisa got these super freaking awesome fascinator Mickey ears (I didn't know they made those!) and Johanna totally rocked the bling in her sequined silver ears that matched her nails!  We swaggered through the park like we were made of awesomeness.

We managed to get in line just before 4:30 for the ride, and we ate all the chocolate coins that Johanna had bought - but once the ride opened, the line moved so fast! 

Okay, I haven't even been on the regular version of the new ride yet, so story wise, I was a little lost (I looked it up on the internet AFTER I went on the ride) - but it was surprisingly fun!  And dare I say...MORE fun than ToT????

The ride pattern was much different than ToT - which despite their millions of combinations, always felt kind of familiar - and the technology now is much better.  Also...the ride was (or felt) much longer.

Here's someone's go pro video of the ride:

This was sooo much fun!  I'd do it again...except for lining up for it again.  There were too many people in line after us (and it got longer) and we had stuff to do!  Like go see Cars Land that was all dressed up!

I was NOT on it with the photos!  The place was ADORABLE, and total photo fodder, but my old brain totally was farting out, and I didn't manage to capture just how cute and detailed everything was.  So here are some photos from the magical internets from people who can take much better photos than me:

I am SOOO dumb.  I didn't realize these were spider webs (but I wasn't standing beneath where the pattern is this obvious). It wasn't until I passed by Flo's the THIRD time I realized the chains were actually webs.  Doh!

By  now, we were hungry.  My old go-to place was Taste Pilot, right next to Soaring Over California.  Well, this park has changed a lot in the last 4 or so years.  Not only is it not Soaring Over California anymore, like WDW, it's Soaring Around the World (or something like that).  And it's not Taste Pilot's with their tasty, tasty ribs anymore.  It's called Smokejumpers Grill.  What???

(below, more photos I borrowed from the internets)

goodbye old friend I didn't know went away

One of my favorite things about Taste Pilot's was the toppings bar.  You could basically make yourself a side salad with all the delicious leafy lettuces, sliced tomatoes, onions, pickles, jalapenos, and sauces they make available.  For real.

Fortunately, while they change the name, menu, prices (oh Lord they're so much higher now), and decor, my beloved toppings bar was still here to stay!

So...apparently, Condor Flats is no more (RIP) and this is now the aviation part of Grizzly Peak.  Okay...sure...

the only picture I took inside.  I didn't even take pictures of the food!

I ordered a bacon cheeseburger.  At first, for $12.99, I was underwhelmed...however, once I turned around and reacquainted myself with my long lost beloved toppings bar, I perked up - because before me was a smorgasborg of deliciousness awaiting my sad little burger.  Seriously, it came out pretty flat...but that's because they expect you to pick and choose your own toppings and customize it however you want.  Is it pricey?  Yup, but I really enjoyed it!

I loaded mine up with jalapenos and thousand island dressing and got a vat of ranch for my french fries.  Bliss!!!  There wasn't a lot of talking while we were eating because it was delicious (if messy) and we were hungry!  We had to go and actually wash our hands in the bathroom later, because just wiping is insufficient when you've dripped dressing and burger juice everywhere.  

Thus satiated, we decided to do the Racers, so we go into the single rider line as the regular line was NINETY MINUTES LONG.  Dude.  I don't wait 90 minutes for anything.  Not even food.  They told us the wait for single rider was about 35 minutes long, but I honestly think we waited shorter than that.

It was so much fun to look at everyone's costumes.  I LOVED the family themed costumes.  Some were simple, some were super crazy elaborate, but it's so cute how the parents worked hard to come up with something they could all do together.  

As always the ride was fun - Johanna and I even ended up in the same car!  Except upon exit, they diverted our car to the disabled area.  Well, we didn't know that, so we stood around like lumps waiting for Elisa, who was literally a car or two behind us.  She also didn't know we got diverted, so she also stood around the usual exit area like a lump.  So the three of us just stood like dumb lumps, until we decided to head out AT THE SAME TIME and ran into each other on the ramp.  And it was all, "where were you??!!" on all sides 😄😄😄😄  Seriously, Johanna and I stood there for probably close to 5 minutes before we realized there were wheelchairs all around us and there was a line of people in wheelchairs and scooters to get onto the ride and wondered if maybe this wasn't the standard exit for everyone.  Hmm...

Anyhoo, it was about 7 now, so we bid adieu to Elisa (sob!) as she walked back to HH all by herself (double sob!) and Johanna and I got in line behind a super duper fobby family ALL dressed like Wonder Woman (a very popular costume this year), even the dad.  Mom and dad were wearing WW red t-shirts, capes, and the wrist cuffs, while the little girl had the whole get up. Mom had the lasso of truth too.  They were so excited, they couldn't stop taking photos of each other.  

we didn't want to line up to take a photo with the giant pumpkin, so we ghetto selfied it

They gave us gold wristbands that said "5th" and September 29, 2017 on it - because we're the fifth party this year.  I'm assuming that each party has a different colored wrist band, so it's easy to tell them apart.  Everyone got the wristband on the left wrist so for the first hour or two, everywhere we went it was "wrists up!" to make sure that it was just party goers left at the park.  Our first stop was Starbucks for a mug, then the lockers to store said mugs and other assorted goods we've purchased.  Then we headed over to Tomorrowland for Space Mountain Ghost Galaxy...until we reached Star Tours and hopped on that first instead.  It was right there!  And there was no wait!

After Star Tours we wandered through Star Traders (probably my favorite store in Disneyland) and then hopped onto Space Mountain.  The wait was about 15 minutes - but so much fun!  And also, SOOOO much better than Orlando's lame jerky version of the ride.  From there we did Matterhorn (when did they improve it?!  The yeti was awesome!) and Small World.  Because the Frightfully Fun Parade was starting from that side of the park when we got off of Small World, we hopped onto the train (which we almost never do) and watched the updated Grand Canyon and dinosaur diorama that was still fun and even more awesome.  There was lightning!  And lava! 

Small World was all dark except for this part...which was cool, but weird. 

The parade was making its way down Main Street when we got off the train station there - and though there were lots of people watching the parade, but you know what?  We still easily got through the crowd towards the hub for where we wanted to watch the fireworks!  Well, we didn't want to get too close so we could appreciate the scope, so we stopped just north of Coke Corner so we could see the castle projections but still get a good view of the fireworks.  I've never seen Halloween Screams before, but I enjoyed it - I love Zero!  

I didn't take any video or photos, but the internets has ALL the things!

The fireworks were on at 9:30, and the next parade and Headless Horseman was on starting on 10:20, so we had almost 50 minutes in between to do something - so we did!  We hopped on Indiana Jones (the new effects!), were rebuffed by the lack of funnel cake at the Stage Door Cafe (sob!) and ended up sitting on a bench in a hub just by the VIP reserved section for people who bought dinner packages to catch the parade.  The view was fantastic!  And because we got there early, we got a bench to ourselves and could see the parade approach.

I took some horrible photos.  But I don't care!

but first, an obligatory selfie while waiting on our bench.  We spread out enough on our bench that none of the late people asked to sit with us.  Maybe it was our resting bitch faces too?

The one thing I really wanted to see was the Headless Horseman.  He didn't (or the horse didn't) gallop so much as meander up Main Street.  The horse was just puttering along - and not in straight line.  There's a guy by the horse who seems to be the one corralling him - but it was like the horse was just going for an evening stroll.  Still, it was fun and different 😊

Considering we literally walked up and found a seat on an awesome bench, we got a pretty good view.  It wasn't straight on but it was still a great vantage point to see the performers and the details of the various floats.  

the puny red arrow = where we sat
the yellow line = reserved seating for people with dining packages

it's blurry Mickey!

it's the crazy mayor!

hello fuzzy Jack Skellington!

awesome Haunted Mansion ballroom dancers!  so clever!

I think my favorite float is the Haunted Mansion one.  They had the ballroom dancers, the grim grinning ghosts, and the groundskeeper.  Also, the house was high tech!  The windows kept changing and it was fun to watch.  The only thing they were missing was the sad skinny dog.

The voodoo guy from The Princess and the Frog.  Meh, not one of my favorite cartoons.

hello creepy Ursula!

The super villains float!  They had almost all the things - the evil stepmother, the wicked stepsisters, Queen of Hearts, Captain Hook, and random bad guys from that crappy Notre Dame movie.  

super fuzzy Cruella and Hades...love connection!

Snow White's mean stepmama

it's Murphy's little cousin!

Now I'm not a parade person.  I usually skip them.  But considering we were paying over $100 for the party and the parade is one of the big exclusive things about it - I felt obligated to watch.  And I also wanted to see the Headless Horseman.  But I liked it!  It wasn't very long (a pro for me, but a con for others), the characters and floats were interesting and fun, and it was entertaining.  So I'm glad I watched it.

We had about an hour after the parade was over to power through some rides before the park closed at midnight.  The ONE thing I really wanted to do?  Uh, Haunted Mansion.  Duh.  Do you see my awesome ears???!!!  Also, I wanted to do Big Thunder Mountain Railroad because they added in some cool effects (the dynamite scene) that MK's version doesn't have yet.

From the hub we headed to Frontierland and hopped on BTMRR first (it was almost a walk on - it was like, a 7 minute wait), then headed over to Haunted Mansion.  They had a posted 25 minute wait, but I think it was faster because the line never stopped moving.  It also helped that there was no FP's issued during the party, so ALL the lines moved at a pretty quick clip.

 scarily fuzzy and out of focus picture!

In the spirit of the season, I will scare all by inflicting my poorly focused and super fuzzy pictures on the internet!

We hit Pirates on the way out (NO WAIT AT ALL), but were stuck in bumper to bumper traffic on the boats.  I have no idea why as most of the boats were half empty.  😕

I loved all the mist they were pumping over the Rivers of America.  It was so atmospheric, especially when the Cadaver Dans were performing on the barges.  I wish we had time to just stay here for a bit and enjoy the ambiance, but there were so many things to do!

By the time we exited Pirates, it was 11:58 pm.  We slowly followed the (not so big) crowd out and walked back to Hyatt House with a crowd of people.  Old people, young people, kids, and strollers.  Even though it was after midnight, we never felt unsafe.  ON THE STREETS OF ANAHEIM YO!

Even though I didn't spend any money (thank you Johanna!), I think this party is totally worth it.  It's only 8 hours in the park, but for 5 of those 8 hours all the lines are almost non-existent and you get to walk on the rides.  There are shorter lines for food, drink, souvenirs, parades, and rides - and the fireworks crowd wasn't bad at all!  Disney does the details well, with great ambiance, entertainment, and super nice and friendly staff.  And bonus - adults get to dress up in costumes (not us though, we're lame) and it was so much fun to see the little kids in costume and the family costumes were awesome too.  We liked it so much we decided we're doing this again next year.  And because we are old lazy ladies - we can only do this if we get a room nearby to veg in and fall into a coma in after the party.