Halloween at Disneyland 2017 Part 2

By Nick

Halloween at Disneyland 2017 Part 2
Sat. Oct. 28th, continued

Part 1 can be found here.

Following the hour long production of Frozen at the Hyperion Theater at Disney's California Adventure (DCA) we walked back to Cars Land to take in the neon and Halloween lights...

...and then made our way over to Disneyland, where we planned to catch the 9:30 fireworks.

My wife Barbie, me, and our friend Nicole

Being as it was an absolutely gorgeous Saturday night, and the last weekend before Halloween, and this is a locals park, it was absolutely jammed. I don’t think I’ve ever seen lines for photos and food like the ones I’ve seen here! It's sort of hard to see in the photo below, but there seemed to be a half hour line to get pictures in front of the Partners Statue of Walt and Mickey!

In case you’re wondering what that is on top of Sleeping Beauty Castle, it’s snow. Yep. More on that on a future installment.

We made our way to New Orleans Square where we planned on waiting in the relatively short 45 minute line for Pirates of the Caribbean, (Haunted Mansion was 100 minutes) and arrived just as Cast Members were telling guests it was down. So we thought we’d go and get beignets and mint juleps at the Mint Julep Bar.

That line seemed longer than the Haunted Mansion line!

Hop on the Disneyland Railroad? The crowd to get on that was 10 people deep.

Ooookay. We were tired, jet-lagged, and getting crankier by the moment. We made an executive decision to skip the fireworks.

We meandered through the New Orleans Square shops, checking out the decorations as we made our way out.

As we passed Pirates I noticed a stream of people walking through the queue quickly. It was opened, and uncrowded! We got on in 10 minutes, thus salvaging what had been a pretty rough evening!
In case you are unaware, Pirates in Disneyland is longer than in Walt Disney World (WDW) with several more scenes.

After getting back to DCA, we headed to the Cozy Cone for snacks, picking up a couple of Halloween themed Macaroons, with marshmallow stuffing and candy corns. It was good, especially if you like sugar. Pure sugar.

Barbie and I were crashing fast, so we said goodnight to Nicole and turned in for the night.

Stop back Friday for Part 3!

To hear me discuss this vacation, please check out The Disney Exchange Podcast Episode 152!

Happy Halloween!

Wordless Wednesday: Happy HalloWishes!

Photo Barbie:

Wordless Wednesday: Boo to You!

Photos by Barbie and Nick:

Wordless Wednesday : Scarecrows in The Magic Kingdom

Photos by Barbie:

Do It Yourself Disney Halloween Wreath

 

By Lisa Green 

 

I haven’t done a Disney DIY project since last Christmas and even though I find myself busier this fall than I ever thought possible (where’s the free time my empty-nest status is supposed to afford?), I had an idea.  I love Halloween!  I like to dress up and I love cute and creepy decorations.  So, I mad a new wreath over the weekend.

Maybe I should have called this post, “DIY Disney Halloween Wreath for the Lazy” or “Disney-inspired Halloween Door Décor for the Non-crafter” – basically, I made this wreath out of some things I had on hand and a couple of items I picked up at the local craft store (on sale, 40% off).  If you like it and want to reproduce it, here’s what you’ll need:

• Pre-made Halloween wreath from the discount store of your choice OR a plain orange, black, white, or purple wreath and 3-4 coordinating wide ribbons in a variety of prints/fabrics.  My wreath came with sparkly candy corn, white ribbon with black polka dots, some orange and black plaid burlap-ish ribbon, and some sprays in orange, black, and white.  It also had these very cool giant pipe-cleaners sticking out here and there in metallic Halloween colors.
• Halloween/seasonal sprays of your choice if your wreath is plain
• Christmas ornaments in two different, complimentary colors (to go with your wreath).
• Any banner or accessory you’d like to add – I added the orange, sparkly “Halloween” because it was also 40% off and ended up being about $3.
• Hot glue gun & glue

 

I wanted to add purple to my wreath so I bought some wire-edged ribbon in black with orange and purple spots.  Instead of bows, I just made some simple loops and wired the ribbon onto the wreath in a few random places.  I made Mickey ornaments out of purple and black Christmas ornaments in two different sizes – just like I do for Christmas (see that project here) EXCEPT – I made sure the hanger was in the back so I could wire them onto the wreath and the hangers wouldn’t show.

 

I’m not overly thrilled with the purple Mickeys because the ornament sizes weren’t as suitable as the black ones were (the head is too small or the ears are too big – however you look at it), but overall, for slapping together a few inexpensive items, I’m pretty happy with my new Halloween-themed front door decoration.

This article was originally posted on Lisa's Living a Disney Life Blog.
Lisa can be found on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/LivingaDisLife and on Twitter at @life_of_green

Please be sure to check out Lisa along with me and David Hodges on The Disney Exchange Podcast!   

Wordless Wednesday : Autumn on Main Street in the Magic Kingdom

Photos: Barbie and Nick

 

Wordless Wednesday : Magic Kingdom Train Station in Autumn

Photos: Barbie & Nick

Halloween on the High Seas: Our Disney Dream Experience

by Nick

Halloween on the High Seas is a new Disney Cruise Line experience available on most itineraries departing late September through Halloween.
Activities include Halloween-themed parties, decorations, and a variety of entertainment.

On this Halloween, I thought I would share our experience aboard the Disney Dream, October 12th to the 16th.

Upon entering the Dream on the 12th, we were greeted by a few Halloween touches.

 Please note the Pumpkin tree on the right side of the photo. 

It had not "bloomed" yet.

There are also small details around the ship, such as these jack o'portholes.

So you don't miss the events held throughout the days, you have a couple of very helpful tools. The Navigator is the paper schedule that is left in your cabin each evening, and there is also a convenient, easy to use app available for use onboard.

On the first evening, as we exited the live show, "Villains Tonight," we were given these "pumpkin seeds," but weren't really sure what for.

A short time later as we walked past the lobby, we caught the tail end of the Haunted Mansion's Caretaker asking for families to drop their pumpkin seeds in a cauldron.

He then led the audience in a chant, to bring the tree to life.

There was also a special showing of the "Nightmare Before Christmas", which was shown in 3-D with lighting effects and fake snow. The words to the songs were also on screen so we could sing along.

At the end, Jack Skellington himself rises from the stage, and proceeds to the outside of the theater for photos and autographs. I had been told by a friend he would be accompanied by Sally as well, but on this evening he was a bachelor.

By the next day, pumpkins had indeed sprouted on the tree!

This ghoulish display was in front of the tree.

Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Pluto and Goofy also made an appearance later in the day decked out in the Halloween costumes.

On Tuesday the 14th, Mickey's Mousequerade Party was held in the Lobby Atrium. Barbie and I dressed as Santa and Mrs. Claus on vacation. The Fab Five, joined by Chip and Dale invited guests dressed up in their Halloween costumes to dance and party!

Barbie sewed her dress and cap, as well as my shorts. 

She also attached the facial hair to the Santa hat.

There was also an over 18 party late that evening which we were too tired to attend.

Finally, on our last evening we were lucky enough to see the Pumpkin Tree in it's complete form, with the assistance of the Caretaker, and all of us.

There were also ghost stories very late in the evening up on Deck 11.

If you are a fan of Halloween, masquerading, ghost stories or just a fan of fun, I absolutely cannot recommend taking a Disney Cruise during this time of year enough.

Happy Halloween!