All You Need to Know About Disneyland on Halloween
Spending Halloween at Disneyland is be one of the most unique experiences you can have.
In this page, we will go over what Disneyland is like on Halloween, and everything that you need to know.
How is the Park Different?
Halloween Decorations
The first thing that you'll notice before even entering the park, are the awesome Halloween decorations on top of the entrance.
Mickey & Minnie Mouse, along with Goofy are waiting to welcome you into the park.
There are pumpkins everywhere, and most areas in the park have made extra efforts to tailor towards Halloween, while still maintaining their original theme.
Is Disneyland Crowded on Halloween?
Yes. The cooler weather along with the Halloween theme, and limited time events bring big crowds to the park. In fact, October is one of the busiest times of the year for Disneyland.
Visiting on the weekdays will help you deal with lighter crowds. We've actually written a guide on the Best Time to Visit Disneyland.
Haunted Mansion
The Haunted Mansion is one of the most popular rides that Disneyland offers, and during Halloween the ride transforms into something different every year.
This keeps visitors guessing and always coming back for more, to see what it'll be the next time around.
In recent years, Sally from the Nightmare Before Christmas made an apperance in the graveyard scene of the ride.
Halloween Riding Tip
Most people will try to ride this during the nighttime to get the full Halloween (and scary) feel to the ride, but here's a tip, ride it during the day!
The ride itself is dark, so there's no need to wait until actual nighttime, as you'll have an almost identical experience.
Oogie Boogie Bash
Oogie Boogie Bash is a Halloween party that takes place at Disney's California Adventure.
Treat Trails
There are interactive treat trails, amazing character actors, and you'll even receive a trick or treating bag to gather treats (all of the treat trails will be shown on the park map).
If you're not a big fan of candy, there are healthier alternatives like crackers, chips, apple sauce and carrots.
Parade
The Frightfully Fun Parade is a great opportunity to catch your favorite villains, ghosts and even characters from the Nightmare Before Christmas.
What you absolutely don't want to miss is the head-less horseman making their way down the parade route around 8 pm.
Villanous
This nighttime spectacular show uses different colors, water fountain jets, lasers and even projections, along with songs.
It's stunning to see all of these things working together in synchrony.
Villains Grove
This 20 minute experience is another fan favorite as visitors will adventure through the woods and see multiple villains in their different (and spooky) environments.
In seemingly every turn, there's something new as you'll see popular villains including Dr. Facilier, Frollo, Scar, and the Wicked Queen.
Event Info
It typically takes place in September and October. In 2021, this event will be held on 25 separate dates.
It begins at 6pm and runs to 11pm.
You can purchase Oogie Boogie Bash tickets directly from the Disneyland site.
Fireworks
This is hands down one of the coolest experiences of the year.
Not only will Disneyland have firework celebrations, but prior to it, the actual castle changes colors, there's different animations over the castle throughout the show (such as spooky eyes over it at times), and many more things.
In recent years Jack Skellington (who looks incredibly real btw) lead, and was the star of the show.
On top of all of this, Halloween songs will play throughout the entire firework show.
It's just an overall very well though out celebration, and you can immediately tell how much work went into it. In fact, it's so good that we've attached a video of it below.
Halloween Merchandise
Interested in Halloween themed Disneyland merchandise? You can buy them directly from the Disneyland store.
Halloween themed merchandise such as pajamas, shirts, pants, mugs and even Disney ears can be found there.
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