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!
