I love Mickey’s Halloween Party at Disneyland!

If you don’t have tickets to Mickey’s Halloween Party already then this info is for next year because this event sells out every year! Plan ahead and be ready to buy your tickets early so you don’t miss out on this “not so scary” good time.

Why do I love it?

I love it because it’s Disneyland first and foremost, and I love Disneyland. If you don’t love Disneyland it’s still good for the kids and fun for the adults. The fireworks show, exclusive to Mickey’s Party is very high on the list. It’s hosted by Jack Skellington with a special appearance by Zero. It stars all your favorite villains. The fireworks show only happens once per night so slip it in between candy stops because you don’t want to miss it! The real reason to go to this party is for the costumes! People go all out. The family costumes are the best!

There are other reasons to go

The candy is name brand candy but there are also healthy snacks like carrots, apples, graham crackers and more. Bring an extra bag (or 2) for all the goodies you will collect along the treat trails (there’s a special AP trail for Annual Passholders).

There’s more…

There is also a Frightfully Fun Parade and the riding of The Headless Horseman. The lines for the rides are short because this is a ticketed event with a limited number of people. There are photo ops galore! SO MANY characters are out mingling with the crowd but beware the villains are out in mass too.

A few more things

You can enter the park earlier than the party starts. I suggest you get checked in to Mickey’s Halloween Party as early as possible. The party closes at different times on different nights so check the schedule. At the end of the night on your way out take a minute to check out the characters who gather to put on a show along the steps of the railroad.There are lots of candy stops but the best ones I found that had lots of candy and very few people in line were…

• The Star Wars Launch Bay in Tomorrowland
• Right next to the Mickey and the Magical Map Amphitheater, across from It’s a Small World
• The back passage that connects Fantasyland to Frontierland
• The pathway next to the Hungry Bear Restaurant, along the river
• Near The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh ride

I hope you go

I hope everyone gets to go at least once in their life! So much fun!

The second day of Midsummer Scream was a blast!

We were blown away by the first day of Midsummer Scream’s frights and thrills. We came back to check out more on the second day and still could not get enough! So much fun!

Hall Of Shadows

We were so impressed by all the great scares in the Hall of Shadows but a few of them really stood out to us.

One for the Donnie Darko Fans

We liked Opechee Haunt Presents: The Donnie Darko Experience Fan Tribute quite a bit! This was pretty faithful to the film and had 2 really great scares in it that were simple, but very well done. We totally saw the rabbit at the end of the hallway and knew he was there but that long moment as we walked up to where he was with anticipation was perfectly satisfied at the exact right second where we thought “Is he going to do anyth?… AGH!”. The loud sound with the strobe light hit at just the right time. We were super impressed because this mini-haunt was put on by a band of teens!

The Haunted Lodge

Camp Calavera presented by Scareventures was really good! A lot of detail, great “campy” dialog and an assortment of good scares! We would really like to see their whole haunt sometime.

Trick ‘r Treat

Trick ‘r Treat Fan Tribute, presented by Murder House Productions was by far the best mini-haunt we saw. They had an incredible level of detail that we simply did not see in any other maze. One detail in particular were the sconces on the wall that flickered and were triggered to extinguish with a POP at just the right moment was SO impressive! They also used scent in their maze and it really added another immersive layer to the whole experience.

Seance: The Nightmare Begins

Seance: The Nightmare Begins, presented by The Dreich Society had a great setup at the beginning of their maze with a little twist where they picked out one unsuspecting victim from our group to start the fun. The guy out front promised us a special magic trick in the maze that we would be a part of that had never been done in any other haunt. We were very delighted to see that they used the exact same effect that once premiered in The Fright haunted attraction, way back in 1999. The Fright  had a room you entered that was meant to be an elevator where it would “transport” you to another level. The Dreich Society setup had us enter into a room while it was rotated into a different position, giving us the illusion that they somehow changed the maze outside when we walked out. Pretty cool!

Universal Studios Halloween Horror Nights

We were waiting all day for the Halloween Horror Nights panel with bated breath. It was certainly a fun time listening to how both parks in California and Florida do HHN so well. The story about how Creative Director, John Murdy’s greatest fears were cotton balls and pop-sickle sticks was thoroughly entertaining. We were excited to hear how Trick R Treat was going to be a big part of this year’s HHN (a maze AND a scare zone). But of course all we could think about was Stranger Things! They only gave us a little tease, like all the trouble they’ve gone to to create The Upside Down with their show-accurate version of those little spores all floating around you. We simply can’t wait to see this in real life! 

Midsummer Scream 2018 Was Magical!

Midsummer Scream 2018 happened this past weekend and it was all the Halloween magic a fright fairy could have wished for!They are in their 3rd year an the convention crowds have grown so large it’s hard to believe there could truly be enough stuff for everyone, but there is.Midsummer Scream has everything on your Halloween wish list waiting for you. There are a variety of things for the Halloween or horror lover in your life. There are panels about attractions, panels about movies, shopping, workshops, demos, fashion shows, kids activities, themed bars, and the crown jewel; The Hall of Shadows. If you weren’t done at the end of the day there was also an after party Saturday evening which required a separate ticket.

Shopping

So much shopping a ghoul could go broke! Too many vendors to list here! I would recommend saving time to look around at all the great stuff and money to spend, because you will want to.

Panels

My favorite panel was for the film Elvira: Mistress of the Dark 30 year anniversary. Cassandra is delightful and Elvira is the Queen of Halloween.You can’t catch them all so you have to choose wisely. You also have to get in line at least 30 minutes early for the popular ones.  The attraction panel that I gave me goosebumps this year was Horror Made Here by Warner Brothers Studios, Hollywood. Their special offering of horror is on its 3rd year. I have to say I haven’t been yet, but after hearing the details, I will not be missing it. Midsummer Scream panels are great! There is no room for improvement when it comes to the “who” and there’s no question “why”. The “how” needs help. The lines were disorganized, the crowds were not well managed. When we were let into the room nobody seemed to be assisting so not all seats were completely filled in on all panels. I heard that people were turned away because there weren’t seats due to this problem. Exiting was a nightmare, trying to swim through the crowd, waiting to get in to the next panel along with the group leaving in such a small area felt impossible.

Hall of Shadows

It was much bigger this year. There were a few vendors here that looked great on the dark. This year was chocked full of so many amazing mini mazes. The highlights in my opinion were Donnie Darko which was done entirely by teenagers and Trick-r-Treat which had several details that pushed this house way above the others.

The after-party

It was full of fun lighting and great tunes. There was a costume contest and the costumes were good and creepy. The bartenders took forever! One thing that went wrong here was that the lines for drinks were ridiculous. I hope they fix this in the future because as much as they charged for drinks they can afford more bartenders. The best part of the after-party though was just down the hall from the ballroom where we thoroughly enjoyed the live commentary of the classic original, Child’s Play with the director himself, Tom Holland.Overall Midsummer Scream did not disappoint. I can’t wait for next year!

Midsummer Scream blew our minds this year!

Tons of exhibitors and so much crazy Halloween & horror stuff; it was horror fan’s dream! Midsummer Scream made all our nightmare daydreams come true!Our biggest surprise was the newly expanded Hall of Shadows. They doubled the space and made great use of it! Not only did the Hall of Shadows include several mini-haunts, the hall also had a wide assortment of exhibitors and vendors that really look best in the dark. Everything from LED shirts & masks to amazing projection effects!

A full blown Scare Zone!

This year, Six Flags Fright Fest put in a whole Scare Zone, chalked full of their very talented actors, including their amazing stilt walkers!

Knott’s Scary Farm

We were thrilled to find out that Knott’s Scary Farm will be adding a new original maze this year called Forsaken Lake. This new maze will be located underneath The Silver Bullet coaster. It will take on a Gothic, New Orleans style theme. The promo video really set the tone for something very fresh with a classic feel from Knott’s- we are so excited to see it in the park, this year!We are off to the party tonight, starting at 8 pm, and then it’s a whole day’s worth more, tomorrow! We are looking forward to the Universal Studios Halloween Horror Nights presentation. We can’t wait to see what they are doing this year!

Be sure to come back and see more from us in the coming days on our blog!

We will have reviews on much more of what we saw today, including the vendors and the amazing mini-haunts!

My favorite of the southern ca theme park Halloween events is Knott’s Scary Farm. There are many reasons to love this event. The rides stay open, the shows are entertaining, the scare zones creepy, and the mazes are impressive.

Knott’s Scary Farm is Super Popular!

The event gets packed. Really. Really. Packed. I recommend the Frightlane pass for this reason alone. If you can’t afford the extra for front of the line passes get there early. Make sure you are parked plenty of time before the event begins. My tip is if you can go on a Sunday, the crowds are lighter.This year things are a little different. Knott’s Scary Farm has decided to drop the skeleton key. This makes me sad because I loved the skeleton key souvenir keyring that came with the skeleton key package. Also the standalone rooms they “unlocked” last year were both inventive and unique.You can still get the Frightlane pass (this gets you to the front of the line for the walk-through) now it will include front of the line on all the rides too. This is a bonus if you love the rides. Though I do like the rides, they are not the reason I go to the Halloween event. I personally would rather have more mazes for my money.

Knott’s has one thing no other Halloween event has! Elvira, Mistress of the Dark!

If you love Elvira, and who doesn’t? You should really try to make it this year. This year will be Elvira’s last show at Knott’s Scary Farm. I have caught the show the last couple of years and it is worth the cost of the event just for this show. I don’t know how they will replace her! This year’s show was fun and felt a bit nostalgic. You could call it a tribute to the decade that birthed Elvira Mistress of The Dark. I won’t say much else because I don’t want to give too much of this amazing show away. I will tell you there is plenty of eye candy for everyone and I will warn you the first few rows are a splash zone. My tip here is if you plan to wait for the 2nd show get there early because this show fills up fast!

On to the mazes…

Trick or Treat Lights Out

This year this was my favorite maze. It’s the same maze as previous years with an added bit and a little twist. Everyone is given a flashlight going in. These flashlights are special; they flicker, turn off, and bonus surprise they turn to UV. I did this maze twice.

Infected

This was previously my favorite maze. It is still close to the best. What makes it so good? Shooting freaking zombies. Ok not real zombies, people dressed like zombies, but close enough. You are given a gun and are led through an apocalyptic land where the infected need to be shot by you. What they don’t do here that they should explain is what your numbers on the gun are. My guess was that the k was for kills and s was for shots fired but, because there is not a key, I don’t know. This is hurting my competitive heart. Still a lot of fun though! 

Pumpkin Eater

There were some good moments here. I almost believed I was in a pumpkin. A missed opportunity would be a pumpkin smell. (Scents are something they are doing at other parks but not at Knotts yet)

Toothfairy

Here I get very uncomfortable. This has a lot to do with my recurring dream where my teeth are falling out than the maze itself though. There are some good scares and creepy sets in this maze.

Dark Ride

New this year was Dark Ride. It’s supposed to be a walk through a broken down carnival ride. I loved the concept here. I look forward to its evolution in the future. This year, however, it fell flat.

Paranormal

This is a good romp through a haunted asylum. If you have to choose which mazes to hit I say put this one on the list! 

Shadowlands

One of the most unique maze themes ever! Here we walk into a town full of samurais, spirits, demons, and even a red light district. It flows well and truly feels as though you are wandering through a town in the Shadowlands. This ranks as my 3rd favorite maze but others in my party said this maze was their favorite. It’s in the top 3 for sure.

Voodoo

I liked this one more in previously. The flow was opposite from last year maybe this is why. I feel if I had missed this maze I wouldn’t have missed much.

Red Barn

You just stepped into your hillbilly nightmares. There were some good scares here. I actually saw someone get so scared they fell down. If you can make you should.

Timber Mountain

This is not technically a maze but they themed it out and threw in some scares this year. So don’t miss it!

And the Scare Zones…

Fiesta de Los Muertos

Not as scary as some of the other zones but very much worth it. The area of the park used for this scare zone is perfect for this theme. Again the costumes and makeup are amazing.

Ghost Town

I love it. Maybe not as great when it comes to the scare actors in this area. I let it slide because the already themed western area of the park and the fog makes up for it.

The Hollow

Creepy pumpkins and scarecrows. I liked this one. The scare actors costumes here got to me a little. Very expressive costuming and makeup.

Carnevil

This is the best of the scare zones. I am not creeped out by clowns but this zone gives me a reason to be. Again the midway goes perfectly with this theme.

Universal Studios Halloween Horror Nights, this year was simply spectacular. They managed to jam pack so many of my absolute favorite horror icons, all in one amazing night of fun!

If you plan on going to Universal Halloween Horror Nights this year, here is our advice:

• Don’t go on a weekend or the last few days of October, if you do, absolutely get the Front of the Line pass.
• Get the early entry pass because…
  • You can enjoy Harry Potter and some of the other rides that will be closed later
  • This is your chance to have a beer or two before the drink limits are set (you will be limited to two 12oz beers during the event)
  • You can get early access to most of the mazes, right when the event starts and avoid the lines
• Start with The Shining, right when the mazes open (at the bottom of the park) then hit Ash Vs Evil Dead, Saw, & American Horror Story WAY down the hill, in the backlot- the lines will be very short
• Try to go for Insidious and then back up to the upper level of the park for the rest of the mazes- as the night wears on, the lines will only get longer
• Do the Terror Tram last, but before 11:15 PM, when it stops running.
• Once you get all the mazes in, enjoy the rides for the rest of the night
• Don’t eat the grilled cheese sandwiches from the taco truck– Trust us!
• And be sure to read HHN’s Before You Go page!

Universal Halloween Horror Nights, the only place you will get to see your favorite horror icons come to life!

The thing that makes HHN so unique is that it is the only place you will get to see your horror favorites brought to life by the very studio that created them! The real movie pros are bringing you a professional and realistic touch that you simply won’t find anywhere else. HHN’s attention to detail is uncanny. We were especially impressed with the maze “sets” which look just like what you’ve seen on the screen. The lighting was noticeably better than years past. The props and effects were all top-notch. HHN also did a great job putting in some fantastic distract-and-scare spots throughout all of the mazes.

Horror isn’t pretty, but immersive smells shouldn’t pull you out of the experience!

We felt that HHN fixed this one (almost). The immersive scents were SO much better! We have always loved the “good” added smells in the mazes and we appreciated that the offensive ones were toned WAY down! For the record, we don’t think there’s anything scary about smells that make you want to run out of a maze and vomit- last year there were a couple that were really this bad. There was the smell of dirt went walking through the underground tunnel in American Horror. We smelled a hint of pine when we were walking through Ash vs Evil Dead. And The Overlook Hotel had just the right blend of aromas to make you believe that you were really in a hotel.

In no particular order, here are the mazes and briefly what we thought of them…

The Shining

This one was the best out of all the mazes! It really felt like we ventured right into The Overlook Hotel. They had all the details nailed, right down to the chromatically psychedelic carpet! We may be a bit biased here because it’s arguably one of the best cinematic masterpieces, in its own right, aside from the horror aspect, but HHN did an amazing job on this one! All of the “Jack” jump scares were really good. The old photos on the wall and the “make Jack a dull boy” typing that you actually walk through were especially nice touches.

Ash Vs Evil Dead

Probably our all-time favorite horror franchises- it was something special to see the Evil Dead world come to life! The detail in this one might have actually been the most impressive, especially the cabin. As you approach the cabin, it almost feels like you are really outside and once inside, it’s just like you are in the original Evil Dead movies! Old Henrietta, in her fruit cellar, at the end looked fantastic!

American Horror Story: Roanoke

We really liked this maze in how it captured most of the elements from the last season of Amercian Horror Story. Especially impressive was how much the actors in the maze looked just like their counterparts in the real show. The scents were great in this one. You could smell hints of pine in the woods and an unmistakable moist earth smell in the underground tunnel. The scents definitely made the immersion of the experience seem much more real.

Saw

The Saw franchise is a sinisterly fun one to watch with nail-biting anticipation met with over-the-top ways to murder someone. There were a lot of familiar elements in this maze and again, the detail was quite amazing but we didn’t find anything that really built that suspense that you would expect. We really wanted to see someone panic in one of Jigsaw’s traps for just a little while before they were ripped in half. They did have something like this in a couple of places, but it never built up the suspense needed. They really should have played up the video screens you watch of the victims in the traps much more before you get to the actual room where the horrible deed is done. Still, a pretty good maze, none the less.

The Horrors of Blum House

This was a great maze and a little odd, too. First of all, it was quite long because this was a maze that spanned three different films from the same production company, Blum House. So the odd thing was that it featured Happy Death Day which, at the time of when we went through the maze, the movie wasn’t out yet. It started with The Purge, which was interesting and certainly gave us an uneasy feeling as we ventured in. Even not knowing the context of the Happy Death Day portion, we were thoroughly impressed with the elaborate set details. The impressive thing on the last portion of the maze, Sinister, were some of the effects, including disemboweled people on a stage/table and a great robotic jump scare.

Insidious

Have to admit that we haven’t seen this movie but the jump scares were pretty good. The voice over of the old woman is super creepy. The monster with the crazy eyes and absurdly long ultra menacing fingers was especially terrifying! And yes, we agree, Tiny Tim’s Tiptoe Through the Tulips works very well in a maze to add a very special kind of unnerving.

Walking Dead

A permanent attraction at Universal Studios, but still necessary to mention as part of the whole HHN experience. First off, what makes this walkthrough so great is that the line cue is practically like a maze, in itself. We wish all haunted attraction walkthroughs would take advantage of the captive audience that is waiting outside of the maze like this. This is the haunter’s chance to immerse the crowd into another world. This is where you build up the suspense while possibly entertaining everyone at the same time. If done right, the line can be almost as good as the maze.The authentic detail throughout this attraction is unparalleled. The set scenery is practically real (at least if you touch it, it feels like it is). The robotic zombies and effects throughout are really, really good. Our only complaint on this one is that it’s just too short! Maybe that’s because we are HUGE Walking Dead fans!

Titans of Terror

This maze was a lot of fun, bringing together three of the most classic horror icons out there. Freddy, Jason, AND Leatherface! Lots and lots of detail in this one. That’s probably because HHN has done some variation of these horror villains many times, over the years. It’s great to see the references to Camp Crystal Lake, the boiler rooms, and meat hooks, all in one place. If you grew up in the ’80s, this is your maze! There was a lot to distract your eyes so, in turn, there were plenty of fantastic jump scares.

Titans of Terror Tram, Hosted by Chucky

So much fun! Be sure you get on the tram in time to do this one! Chucky from the ’80s horror hit, Child’s Play was the perfect little terror to set up the awesome backlot experience! The Terror Tram is so unique because you get to walk through the areas that normally the tram drives through, earlier in the day. When you first get off the tram, you have to make your way through a band of Chuckys with chainsaws. Then you get to walk right through the original Bates Motel set from Psycho and up the hill where the house is, as you are assailed by Leatherface and Jason.There’s a special photo-op at this point where you can wait to have your picture taken right on the porch of the actual Psycho house! A truly one-of-a-kind experience! Don’t pass it up! After the Psycho house, you have to make your way through a barrage of Freddys that look very convincing and offer up some very good scares.

Scare Zones

A quick mention about the scare zones. This year, they were much better. We like the one at the entrance with the go-go dancers, Hell-O-Ween, and we REALLY liked the one at the bottom of the hill, in the backlot, Urban Inferno. They are great to just hang out in and watch others get scared.Overall, we had a great time! We hope our guide will help you get the most out of your night if you go. Let us know in the comments below, what you think.

The Disneyland Resort has a special treat this year for Haloween fans. Both Disneyland and California Adventure are both decorated to the hilt. This made this year’s Mickey’s Halloween Party even better!

It’s not just about Mickey’s Halloween Party!

Before going to Mickey’s Haloween Party that day, we decided to spend some time in Disney California Adventure Park and take in some of the new Halloween themed sights and sounds. So awesome to see a giant Oogie Boogie looming over the California Adventure entrance. Imagineers did a fantastic job on this one, it looks like the whole entrance was built like this to start with. The Halloween decor is everywhere; in the windows, regal purple Halloween banners, and even an amazing Headless Horseman statue, just outside the Carthay Circle. And the Carthay Circle Theater itself is billowing bats out of its tower. If you’ve got some time, grab a Caramel Apple Smoothie (only available in the fall) over at Schmoozie’s and try a Sea Witch-Themed Cocktail at the Cove Bar.

The three main Halloween themed things we wanted to hit up in California Adventure before the party were:

• Luigi’s Honkin’ Haul-O-Ween
• Mater’s Graveyard JamBOOree
• Guardians of the Galaxy – Monsters After Dark

Luigi’s Honkin’ Haul-O-Ween was really fun. They created all new original Halloween songs that go with the dances. Mater’s Graveyard JamBOOree also had all new songs that were thoroughly entertaining to listen to. Both rides had the original voice actors record the new songs, of course. But what was really exciting was the new Guardians of the Galaxy – Monsters After Dark!

I really miss The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror but the Guardians of the Galaxy ride is awesome, too!

Guardians of the Galaxy – Monsters After Dark was fantastic! The entire ride, even the setup in the holding area with the animatronic Rocket is different. Rocket asks “What are you still doing here? All of the monsters that were being held captive by The Collector have been let loose!” And Groot’s in trouble, but don’t worry, Rocket has a great plan to use you as bait for the monsters so that Groot can escape. The new song created specifically for the ride, Monsters After Dark, was fantastic! It had the same exact feel as the Guardians of the Galaxy films and went with the whole experience perfectly. It also felt like the whole ride was MUCH longer than the other songs you get in Mission Breakout. The video was great, certainly a bit scarier aliens this time, and still very fun to watch. The production value was exactly the same as Mission Breakout which makes me think that they probably had already shot the Mission Breakout and Monsters After Dark scenes with the actors at the same time. Fantastic forward thinking, Disney!

Get in line at the right time!

Monsters After Dark only starts to board at 5 PM so you have to time this one just right. FASTPASSes are not available to the ride until they shut it down temporarily for the switchover, around 4-4:30 PM. The line just for the FASTPASS is long and doesn’t have any guarantee that you’ll get to ride it in time to still make it over to Mickey’s Halloween Party by 6 PM (most likely you won’t). So we decided to just stand in line around 4:30 PM, shortly after they closed the doors to the ride to let the last of all through who were riding it for the regular Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission Breakout. It worked perfectly! We got to ride it by 5:30 PM and made it over to Mickey’s Halloween Party just before 6 PM.

Mickey’s Halloween Party Is Tough To Get On The Guest List

So here’s the thing about Mickey’s Halloween Party, if you haven’t bought tickets to it already, you are totally out of luck in getting them for this year. In fact, you practically have to already be an Annual Passholder (or a Disney Chase Debit Cardholder), sometime before next July, in order to be able to buy them in advance for next year. Passholders and Disney Chase Debit Cardholders get a few days, first dibs on Mickey’s Halloween Party tickets, around the end of July. They sell out faster and faster each year!We were lucky enough to get ours in plenty of time. Yes, it is pricey, but yes, it is totally worth it. Disneyland goes all out bringing you a hauntingly good time with plenty of décor in the park, but at the party, you get some really fun exclusives.

Here are the best parts of Mickey’s Halloween Party:

• You get to dress up in costume, even if you are an adult
• A limited number of patrons are allowed in the park so wait times for rides are very quick
• Candy, lots and lots of candy!
• Ghostly fog and lights in New Orleans Square, featuring the Cadaver Dans
• Disney Villains at Villain’s Square
• The Real Headless Horseman rides down Main Street
• Exclusive “Frightfully Fun Parade” Hosted by Jack Skellington
• Exclusive “Halloween Screams Fireworks” Spectacular

At 6 PM, you can’t get into Disneyland unless you have your special ticket. At the entrance, they give you a wristband. Anyone still inside of Disneyland there for a regular visit is asked to leave the park and are not allowed on any of the rides. They actually clear out Adventureland and Frontierland completely and won’t allow the Mickey’s Halloween Party patrons in until sometime around 7 PM. This is a perfect time to head straight to Tomorrowland and Fantasyland to do a few rides over there first. Be sure to ride Space Mountain Ghost Galaxy while you are over there. The candy lines open just a little after 6 PM, so if you are lucky, you can catch one of these early on, before the lines get long.

Take advantage of the short lines for the rides!

You will find yourself waiting longer in a candy line than a ride line. So if candy isn’t your thing, or if you’d rather try to grab some at the end, instead, go for it. We were able to get plenty of candy right up until the party closed for the night; they didn’t run out. Try to get in a few rides and take some fun pictures while in costume, in the park (because any other time, it’s a no-no).Besides riding Space Mountain Ghost Galaxy, you will certainly want to be sure to ride the Haunted Holiday Mansion. Disneyland does a fantastic job changing the Haunted mansion over each year to always make it feel like its own ride. They keep adding in new things each year and always have a different gingerbread house in the ballroom.

Lots of tasty treats for all good ghouls & boys

The candy is all individually wrapped major brands of candy but at each station, they also offer healthier alternatives, too! We especially like the dried apple slices! We loved spending our time in line eating our treats which was a great way to save a little money on buying food. But if you are going to buy some food in the park, we highly recommend the Bat Wing Raspberry Sundaes.If you are lucky enough to go this year, we hope you find some of our tips here helpful and also hope you enjoy the party as much as we did!

This year we kicked off the Haloween season with Six Flags Magic Mountain Fright Fest, and we were delighted to see some great improvements!

What are the best things about Six Flags Magic Mountain Fright Fest?

As a whole, Magic Mountain does a great job adding a good scare to their park, but here’s what we think sets them apart from other theme park Halloween events:

• They have the best scare zones of any park. Their use of stilt walkers is fantastic; they already look very ominous from afar but aren’t afraid of getting close to you. All of the actors know exactly how to get amazing screams out of all the patrons in the park.
• The next best thing about those scare zones is the makeup. Out of all the parks, I’ve honestly seen some of the best makeup at Magic Mountain, but usually, you only see this in the scare zones.



• Another bonus is that beer and wine are served throughout the park and not only that, Magic Mountian just added the all-new Club 6-Foot Under Pub; a real bar for the adults!

Not that it makes Fright Fest any better or worse, we wanted to make note that Six Flags Magic Mountain had a much more noticeable security presence throughout the park than we’ve ever seen in previous years. We never saw any sort of altercation, other than a couple of folks cutting in line. I’m not so sure so much security was necessary, but I’m all for the deterrent that it creates. I certainly felt safe, suffice it to say.

So what were the not so great things about Six Flags Magic Mountain Fright Fest?

• There are just 7 mazes and a some of them feel a bit short, to boot.
• The maze lines are long (even though we went early in the month when they have been historically shorter at those times).
• The restrooms in the park need some serious attention.

The best way to enjoy Six Flags Magic Mountain Fright Fest

• First, consider getting a Gold Membership because…
  • It’s only $14*/Month
  • Free parking (Save $20)
  • And then also get a Deluxe Dining Pass because…
    • They are currently at a discount ($86.99)
    • You get a cup for this year and next, if timed just right, you can use the meal pass for next year’s Fright Fest, too**
    • Discount for Goulish Grub at the Pub (normally $24.99, only $14.99 with Dining Pass)
    • 20% off merchandise
• Get there around 4 PM or earlier!



• Get maze wristbands from the gift shop at Samurai Summit, just down the hill from the Dead End maze or the gift shop by the Aftermath 2 maze to avoid the line for them at the front
• Be waiting for the 3 mazes at the front to open at 7 PM, get there about 6:45 PM.
• Chupacabra seems to never have a line, go for it anytime
• The line for Willoughby’s Resurrected is usually fast, consider going for it anytime
• Enjoy the scare zones and rides then go for Dead End and Aftermath at the end of the night

Is it worth getting the Express Maze Pass?

If you plan on going anytime in October, I would say, yes. It will cost you $32.99 but if you are only going for one night this year, you will need it to be able to do all of the mazes.*Approximate price. Membership pricing on their web site changes often, depending on the season.**If you go late October this year, you can go early October next year, still within your year of the meal pass being valid.

Even after packing in another day of Midsummer Scream 2017, there was still not enough time to see it all, but what we managed to catch was some really great stuff. (Be sure to check out what I posted about day one.)

Halloween Horror Nights Presentation

The presentation for Universal Studios Halloween Horror Nights got me beyond excited! They announced that they were bringing Ash Vs Evil Dead to HHN as a full fledged walkthrough haunted attraction. Can I say, “Groovy!” The original Evil Dead series is probably my all time favorite horror franchise. I simply can not wait to see the monsters in this maze that will “swallow your soul!”The good news didn’t end there. HHN will also be bringing us a walkthrough of one of Stanley Kubrick’s greatest works, The Shining. Kubrick’s The Shining is probably the best film adaption of any Stephen King story, bar none. You will now get to walk on that amazing, and oddly unsettling, hyperchromatic mosaic-style hotel carpet, yourself! (Yes, they even replicated the carpet!) Just a small handful of the behind-the-scenes photos they showed the audience, made my face melt.

Midsummer Scream Mini-Haunts

I was able to get through most all of the mini-haunts on day two. One, in particular, I found very interesting in that it was sitting on wheels. HallowEve Designs had a 44-foot trailer setup as a ready-to-go haunt called Cold Storage. Yes that’s not a lot of room and it was pretty short, but they really did pack a lot into that trailer. The video effect with zombies behind a door, trying to get through, was really fun. They did a really good job giving you a lot of details to look at, to distract your attention, and get a good scare. It’s still not quite the same as a full sized walkthrough but I think it would be great to rent 1 or 2 of these to add to your existing haunt location (perhaps in the parking lot) to give your patrons some more options.Another take on this idea of bringing the haunt to you was Immersive Parties’ Mutation Analysis Center. This was a zombie apocalypse style walkthrough that was built to be torn down and setup quickly with many of the effects built into the structure and ready to go. It was actually much more effective at getting some good scares vs some of the other mini-haunts. It also had a lot of great detail.

And the best mini-haunt…

My favorite out of all of the mini-haunts had to be The Maritime Horror by The Haunted Rose. The facade on the front of this haunt set the mood, and then some. The unique theme of a fishing dock was very original. Thick fog, rolling into the bay on a dark and ominous night; of course, that would be creepy and scary, but I’d never thought about how that would make such a good theme. I was so surprised to find out that these guys are backyard haunters. They have a haunted house in Whittier, CA that doesn’t even charge (although donations are welcome)- they just do it for fun!The first room of The Maritime Horror was great at setting the mood with a mutated fish man chopping a dead fish in front of you on his cutting board. The “blood” (water) spurted all over our group which was a great shock and a good laugh.  There were lots of great original makeup effects throughout, but the thing I kept nerding out on was that all of the stone felt real. Nothing felt like styrofoam. The stone walls, the columns, all of it was done with (I’m guessing) some sort of mortar/plaster sprayer. That one detail made everything seem so much more immersive and believable. I tried to do that effect on several of my own haunts and could never pull it off right; these guys nailed it!

Midsummer Scream Exhibitors

There were a ton of great vendors there but a few of them really caught my eye. I was especially impressed with Jasper Anderson’s creations from ChickenProps.com. Jasper has managed to create some projection effects that I really thought were every bit as impressive as something you might see at Disneyland. The Ghoul was particularly remarkable. Not only was the disembodied head talking, it tilted his head around, as well. Jasper has created a way to add something very dramatic to your haunt on a tight budget.But if you do have a big budget for your haunt, you can always pick up a custom Frankenstein Lab Machine from Das-Machina.com. These authentic looking devices will certainly make any mad scientist lab come to life. The plasma globes and radio tube-style lights are mesmerizing to watch. You might spend $2000-$4000 on a machine but they are built to last and would look great in any man cave in the off-season.

There was so much more!

What you’ve read here is just the tip of the iceberg. Come back to thefright.com/ for more articles coming your way regarding Halloween Horror Nights, Knott’s Scary Farm, Six Flags Fright Fest, and much more.

If there was anything I can say about the first day of Midsummer Scream is that there’s just not enough time to experience everything I wanted to. It’s all so good and there’s just so much happening at the same time.I found myself having to choose carefully what I wanted to see. I’ll do my best to run down some of the highlights and will post in more detail about what I found at the event soon.

Twilight Zone Tower of Terror Presentation

I was very saddened to learn that Disneyland was re-theming the Tower of Terror last year. It took some adjustment, but I do actually like the new Guardians of the Galaxy ride, and at the same time, I miss the old Hollywood Tower Hotel badly. It was such a treat to get to see the original Imagineers that brought this unique ride to life talk about how it was created. My favorite part was the funny story Mark Silverman (the uncanny Rod Serling impersonator, heard on the ride) told about getting into an actual hotel elevator with some strangers and start into his lines behind their backs as the elevator doors close- “You are stepping onto an elevator and into another dimension.”

Knott’s Scary Farm Presentation

Knott’s had a lot to say about their new mazes but the most shocking announcement came from the Mistress of the Dark, herself. Everyone in the crowd was elated to watch Cassandra Petterson (A.K.A Elvira) walk out on stage and tell us all about her upcoming show, only to then tell us that it will be her last one at Knott’s Scary Farm!I was happy to hear that they will include 13 mazes this year at Knott’s Scary Farm and an all new type of haunt that will include flashlights that “mysteriously” stop working as you try to find your way out through the darkness. They announced that they were changing the way the Fright Lane Passes will now allow front-of-the-line passage to all the rides at Knott’s, as well.

Hall of Shadows

I wasn’t able to go through too many of the many mini-haunts setup at the event but was impressed with what I did see. At the entrance were some really great cemetery scenes that set the mood very well. I was especially impressed with a grave that appeared to have somebody in the ground, shifting the earth around trying to escape- a very convincing animatronic effect.The Gorelesque Peep Show was captivating. It wasn’t a whole lot of scare, but it certainly set an interesting mood. I found myself really getting caught up in the mystery of the characters they presented. In a full sized haunt, this would be a fantastic way to set things up for the rest of the maze.There were some great scares inside of the metal mini-maze made by Unhallowed Productions. I also enjoyed a surprisingly good scare out of an escape room preview from Dead Zone 805.

Exhibitors

There was so much to see on the exhibitor floor. I was really blown away by the replica props made by New Rule FX. They had everything from stage glass bottles to cast iron skillets that you would swear were real until you touched them. It was great to see AtmosFX in action as well as some other electronic effects vendors. It was also great to finally meet Kaci, the Homicidal Homemaker, who also happens to live in the same town I work in.

And on to day two…

The Fright will be attending Midsummer Scream 2017! This will be the first event of the year for us and we couldn’t be more excited! We are looking forward to meeting many of the industry pros that will make this year’s haunted attractions terrifying. This year, Midsummer Scream will be held Saturday, July 29th, and Sunday, July 30th at the Long Beach Convention Center.

There’s so much we look forward to seeing!

Certainly, a few of the presentations we will want to be sure to catch are…

• Beyond the 5th Dimension: Creating The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror
• Knotts Scary Farm Official Presentation
• Six Flags Magic Mountain’s Fright Fest
• Queen Mary’s Dark Harbor

Midsummer Scream 2017 has so much waiting for all the horror and Halloween enthusiasts!

Suffice it to say, we are also anxious to see some of the 14 mini-haunts that are part of the Hall of Shadows. This special area will give us a sneak peek at what many of the Southern California haunters have in store for us, this Halloween season.There’s also a “Screaming Room” featuring a collection of different original horror shorts. Along with this are also escape rooms, special performances, and horror themed experiences.Special guests at the event include Cassandra Peterson (aka Elvira, Mistress of the Dark), Sid Haig of House of 1000 Corpses fame, cosplayer LeeAnna Vamp, and an absolute ton of industry pros that create the frightful fun we crave.On top of all of this, there are some interesting looking workshops that we hope to check out that show you how to do everything from homemade tombstones to projecting ghosts in your living room.Oh yeah, and let’s not forget about all of the exhibitors that will be there to sell us their wares. We can’t wait!

I discovered a pleasant surprise with the Haunted Mansion FASTPASS this summer.

New FASTPASS Reminder for the Disneyland Haunted Mansion FASTPASS

I was recently at Disneyland and was fortunate enough to try out the new FASTPASS system at Disneyland. This is a much-needed upgrade to an almost 20-year-old system! It has remained virtually the same since 1999 when Disneyland first introduced the system. Back then, they hoped it help with the lines and allow their guests to have more time to shop and buy food instead of standing in line. It did help with that some but over the years, Imagineers have learned that the system was not nearly as efficient in its goal as it could be.If you have ever used the FASTPASS for a ride at Disneyland, you know that you have to walk all the way over to the ride, then come back to the ride much later to redeem your pass. You often find yourself walking all the way from one end of the park to the other, just to get and redeem your FASTPASS. Disneyland learned that many of its guests were spending a lot of time walking all over the park, just to ride rides, instead of spending money on merchandise and food. On top of this, the FASTPASS holders were adding to the enormous and unnecessary foot traffic all over the park. On heavy days, the traffic can be so bad that it can take you an hour just to make your way from one end of the park to the other.

So what’s the improvement?

The new FASTPASS system now lets you scan your park entry pass or annual pass and the ticket you receive is now simply a reminder of your return time, instead of being your actual FASTPASS to get you on the ride. When you go to redeem your FASTPASS, you now scan your park entry pass or annual pass at these really cool looking scanners, at the FASTPASS entry.

Why scan the park entry passes and annual passes?

The whole reason for this is so that Disneyland can also utilize the new MaxPass, a premium FASTPASS experience. The MaxPasses are going to be sold for $10 per pass, per day and will allow you to use the Disneyland app to schedule your whole day of rides in the park. My assumption is that you will be able to load multiple passes (everyone in your party) onto one device and only need to scan that device once per redemption. There are also going to be add on options for annual pass holders to purchase the MaxPass for the whole year.

There are a couple of things this new system changes and it took me a while to get it.

• When you reserve a FASTPASS slot, the system now knows immediately when you redeem it. Therefore, another slot opens up.• Because you no longer get a ticket, you can no longer give them away to other guests. No chance to “pay it forward” to other guests when you know you have to leave the park before your FASTPASS return time. This is kind of a bummer but because of it, it takes more people out of the mix.

So what makes new FASTPASS system so awesome for the Haunted Mansion?

So now, certain rides in the park that have very fast line queues to start with have very quick FASTPASS return times. Like literally 2-3 minutes after you get your pass! What’s crazy is that you can get a FASTPASS, immediately redeem it, ride the ride within a few minutes and then go get another FASTPASS for the very same ride right away! That’s because now, the system knows you just used up your last FASTPASS. You can ride the Haunted Mansion on a fairly busy day 3, 4, 5 times in a row without hardly waiting at all!I’m guessing that when the MaxPasses are added into the mix these return times will get a little longer. Hopefully not by much, though!On rides that are more popular and/or rides with slower line queues, FASTPASSing them will force you to wait until that FASTPASS return time and it will also prevent you from riding rides with the quick return times, over and over, consecutively. (Until the time stated on the bottom of your reminder. Usually, this is quite a bit sooner than your currently held FASTPASS return time.)For now, the list of rides, other than the Haunted Mansion that have these fast return times are Roger Rabbit’s Car Toon Spin, Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Goofy’s Flight School, and California Screamin’.

So why are there still people in line? How is this still working?

The thing that took me a while to understand was that all of those people that were standing in the regular line for the Haunted Mansion were only there because they had used their FASTPASS reservation for one of the more popular rides in the park. My kids and I were able to ride a whole bunch of rides in the park many more times than we used to on a super busy day, in the summer. What a fantastic improvement!I definitely plan to add the MaxPass to me and my kids’ Disneyland Resort Annual Pass, so long as it is reasonable. Even for just one day, on a busy day, $10 is well worth the extra cost. What a dream it would be to practically walk on every ride on a busy day and spend the rest of the time enjoying the park!