Halloween Time at Disneyland and California Journey has returned! The spook season tournament is again with frightfully a laugh reports and leisure all the way through the remainder of August, September and October 2024. This publish stocks what to anticipate and our reports with crowds, characters, and the digital queue for Haunted Mansion Vacation.
We’ve had a possibility to spend a while taking part in Halloween at Disneyland and DCA, and wish to percentage our enjoy so far. Something we must get started via noting is this publish may not be complete–we’re principally that specialize in what’s other as in comparison to remaining yr. And in truth, that’s no longer a complete lot!
Disneyland has taken a “don’t repair what isn’t damaged” mentality with Halloween Time, which is more than likely for the most efficient. Finally, take a look at our complete 2024 Information to Halloween at Disneyland Hotel if you want complete making plans recommendation and proposals for spook season. With that out of the best way, let’s dig into what’s new for 2024…
The massive information this is that Halloween 2024 at Disneyland begins in August–the primary time ever it has ever kicked off that early. The everyday cadence for Halloween is it beginning the primary Friday in September, every so often with a cushy opening at the Thursday ahead of that. That signifies that, following the historic trend, Halloween must have began on September 6, 2024. That’s overdue, however in step with previous precedent (together with 2019, when it began on September 6).
Disneyland is basically beginning Halloween two weeks early with the August 23, 2024 get started date. Whilst previous than ever at Disneyland, that is nonetheless later than the beginning date of Halloween at Walt Disney International (via virtually 2 complete weeks!) in recent times. There are positive to be lawsuits about this from diehard Disneyland fanatics who suppose it’s “too early” for Halloween. We strongly disagree.
From our standpoint, this all comes right down to call for. Halloween Time crowds had been getting worse and worse, to the purpose that mid-September till overdue October is among the busiest stretches of all of the yr. There’s a component of seasonality to this with fall breaks at West Coast college districts. A large a part of it, regardless that, is solely that Halloween continues to develop in reputation.
Positive, some Disneyland diehards will whinge about Halloween beginning in summer season, however that’s going to occur regardless. The truth is that Halloween attracts large crowds and Oogie Boogie Bash offered out in document time remaining yr. Including extra dates–each for Halloween as a complete and the laborious price tag birthday party–is solely the smart decision and an effective way to even out crowds all the way through spook season. It’s profitable for Disneyland and higher for visitors–a unprecedented win-win state of affairs!
Towards that backdrop, let’s flip to crowds.
This summer season at Disneyland roughly paralleled our fresh crowd reviews from Walt Disney International, apart from with upper numbers within the California parks. For the ones skeptical of those reported tendencies, the corporate itself has said as a lot, attributing it to an exhaustion of pent-up call for that’s lagging at Disneyland since California reopened later.
There’s by no means consensus on the subject of crowd reporting. (It’s higher at Disneyland than Walt Disney International, because the extra local-centric parks imply extra fanatics with weekly enjoy, somewhat than annually, which provides a a lot higher body of reference.) It doesn’t matter what the knowledge displays, there’ll at all times be individuals who declare the very same dates had been in reality the ‘busiest they’ve ever observed the parks’ or ‘least busy they’ve ever observed the parks.’ Except for vacation weeks, the ones responses occur just about with out fail.
We pop into Disneyland frequently, typically at least one time a week.
Those aren’t all-day visits since we’re riding in and likewise looking to steer clear of site visitors, that means going overdue and continuously leaving via round 6:30 pm (threading the needle between lacking site visitors and no longer disrupting child’s bedtime regimen). As a result of this, we additionally intention to do a weekend within the parks with a lodge keep about as soon as per 30 days (that still is helping refresh lodge evaluations).
We not too long ago did a long stretch in Anaheim for D23 Expo, which incorporated a couple of partial days at Disneyland. We additionally did a protracted weekend at Disneyland with a number of consecutive rope drop to park remaining days.
Anyway, our observations from the ones visits are that weekends proceed to be a lot much less busy than weekdays. There’s a very noticeable distinction between Sunday and Monday, with the latter being some distance worse. It’s in reality so obtrusive that there more than likely can be consensus in this.
There are a couple of causes for this. Magic Key Annual Cross blockouts at the weekends and tiered price tag pricing are the massive ones, which push other folks in opposition to the weekdays. In relation to August, in particular, there was once additionally the lifting of the summer season blockout in mid-August, which led to a small scale or localized model of pent-up call for has additionally simply performed out.
Los Angeles and Orange County faculties are already again in consultation–as is maximum of California and the West Coast–however there are nonetheless some stragglers. Finally, all of this explains why crowds have remained increased into mid-August, particularly on weekdays, at the same time as that is the guts of low season at Walt Disney International. All of that is in step with what we noticed remaining yr at Disneyland.
Ultimate yr, the early fall low season necessarily arrived proper now, which is more than likely the massive explanation why Disneyland moved ahead the Halloween season. Unfold out call for in order that mid-September via overdue October aren’t fairly so loopy, whilst additionally expanding crowds all the way through the low season.
In spite of the beginning of Halloween, what we just about noticed is that it’s nonetheless low season at Disneyland. Wait occasions had been low all the way through the day, with a crowd stage of one/10 and reasonable of 18 mins on August 23, 2024 in step with thrill-data.com. That’s actually low. The ones numbers made this the slowest day at Disneyland since February on a couple of days that, if I recall appropriately, had storms.
We utterly imagine this. This was once the least busy Disneyland has felt in a very long time (we didn’t discuss with on the ones February days) and there was once a time all the way through the center of the day when the longest wait time in all of the park was once half-hour. Even with an 18 minute reasonable, you’d be expecting Celebrity Wars: Upward thrust of the Resistance, Indiana Jones Journey, Matterhorn, and many others., to be neatly above that.
Looks like crowds weren’t a lot worse. Our worry was once that even with low wait occasions, there can be lengthy traces for meals and simply normal congestion given it was once the primary day of Halloween. Then again, that was once no longer the case. We ate so much of Halloween snacks (evaluations coming quickly), and not had any problems with traces–Cell Order go back occasions had been quick for the entirety apart from Bengal BBQ.
We’ve finished the Haunted Mansion Vacation digital queue a number of occasions because it debuted a month in the past, however haven’t but reported on it broadly, so now’s as just right of a time for that as any. It’s lovely simple.
Remember that the Haunted Mansion Vacation digital queue exists no longer on account of call for or experience reliability, however because of ongoing building of the bodily queue. Despite the fact that call for is moderately prime for this seasonal enchantment, it’s additionally a other folks eater. As a result of this, it’s typically moderately easy to sign up for the VQ, even lengthy after the park opens. I’m positive this may exchange deeper into September and past, however for now, it’s effective.
We joined the digital queue for Haunted Mansion Vacation within the early afternoon and were given a callback round 5:30 pm. The method was once easy however chaotic. Since there isn’t a lot room for even a go back queue–and the overflow spills out right into a walkway–Solid Participants had been operating round to get visitors checked in briefly. Our precise wait as soon as returning to the bodily queue was once like 5 mins.
With that stated, that is all in regards to the daylight hours. Friday was once indubitably ‘a story of 2 days’ at Disneyland, with a pointy distinction between crowds ahead of and after 5 pm. Once more, this isn’t an enormous wonder. It’s the standard dynamic at Disneyland given locals arriving after paintings, however particularly all the way through the Halloween season.
However, it was once stunning simply how dangerous traces had been–particularly to go into–all the way through the overdue afternoon and night. Above is a photograph of the Downtown Disney safety checkpoint–I’ve by no means observed this facet get this dangerous. That is at all times the “best possible” access level, so that you higher imagine it was once worse at the different facets. (As a normal topic, safety has gotten such a lot much less environment friendly over the past couple of months. The brand new gadget is terrible.)
It was once a equivalent tale to go into Mickey & Buddies, with a line of site visitors sponsored up the entire solution to the freeway. The remaining time we encountered anything else with regards to that, it took us virtually an hour to park. Expectantly there have been extra lanes open this go-round. Finally, all of this was once a pointy distinction to after we arrived at 9 am, which had no waits by any means for any infrastructure.
Having a look ahead, be expecting a equivalent tale for the impending week with a slight spike for the Exertions Day vacation weekend after which the Disneyland Halloween Part Marathon. That are supposed to be adopted via a retreat for the following two weeks in September, which shall be a good time to discuss with. Then issues will most likely get dangerous, for the explanations mentioned in our September 2024 Disneyland Crowd Calendar.
Day of week tendencies would be the greatest attention, adopted intently via Oogie Boogie Bash Halloween Celebration dates. That’ll reason some delicate disruptions to attendance dynamics, whilst additionally growing crowd discrepancies between Disneyland and Disney California Journey.
Talking of which, we’ll be attending the primary Oogie Boogie Bash and can record again on our enjoy at that. (For complete making plans main points, dates, and pricing about this difficult price tag tournament, see our Information to the Oogie Boogie Bash – A Disney Halloween Celebration.)
After all, Disneyland Hotel has new-for-2024 Halloween outfits for Minnie & Buddies! Mickey Mouse sports activities a skeleton-inspired go well with and Minnie Mouse and buddies will don playful patchwork patterns.
For every of the previous couple of Halloween and Christmas seasons, Mickey & Buddies had been getting new costumes every yr for his or her meet & greet appearances round The town Sq.. Those are an enormous hit with fanatics, and the costumes are typically actually just right for Mickey, Minnie, Daisy & Donald Duck, and particularly Goofy. (Pluto is provide, too, however normally simply will get a brand new collar.)
Talking of which, assembly the characters for Halloween is usually a tad tough. All of those meet & greets are in The town Sq., however the places aren’t obviously marked, the characters rotate, and maximum would not have PhotoPass. If you wish to meet them, your best possible guess is being in The town Sq. between 9:45 am and a couple of pm, which is when maximum of them seem.
We attended a media preview of Halloween Time at Disneyland and had been in a position to satisfy the characters of their new costumes all the way through that:
Megatron has now met Minnie and/or Mickey Mouse a number of occasions whilst wakeful. She’s very intrigued via them, apart from when she couldn’t care much less about them. This was once probably the most occasions when she was once very intrigued via them.
It indubitably helped that the characters were given inside of “grabbing distance.” She is a prepared fan of touching no matter is inside of her achieve, whether or not that be strings, zippers, chest hair, or–on this case–duck expenses and noses. The characters briefly stuck onto this, and taken their expenses and noses inside of her achieve. What perhaps they didn’t understand was once that the ones grabs serve a goal–striking the issues she’s gotten ahold of into her mouth.
One of the vital issues that they don’t inform you when having children is that their mouths are magnets, and regardless of how laborious you take a look at, it’s gonna occur. Clearly, you battle it and take a look at to forestall overseas gadgets from polishing off there. However I had this inaccurate perception ahead of having children that this could be preventable if simplest folks had been somewhat extra diligent. How younger and naive I used to be. Suffice to mention, I’ve one photograph of an open-mouthed Megatron inches clear of making direct touch with Minnie’s nostril.
Making plans a Southern California holiday? For park admission offers, learn Pointers for Saving Cash on Disneyland Tickets. Find out about on-site and off-site motels in our Anaheim Resort Critiques & Ratings. For the place to devour, take a look at our Disneyland Eating place Critiques. For distinctive concepts of items that’ll toughen your travel, take a look at What to Pack for Disney. For complete recommendation, seek the advice of our Disneyland Holiday Making plans Information. After all, for guides past Disney, take a look at our Southern California Itineraries for day journeys to Los Angeles, Laguna Seashore, and heaps of different puts!
YOUR THOUGHTS
Ideas on Halloween at Disneyland? What in regards to the new personality costumes for Mickey & Buddies? Will you be visiting the parks all the way through spook season? Doing Oogie Boogie Bash? Ideas at the post-summer slowdown in crowds at Disneyland? Predictions on crowds for September 2024? Assume subsequent month shall be roughly busy than August? For those who’ve visited remaining month, what did you bring to mind crowds and wait occasions? Do you compromise or disagree with anything else in our record? Any questions we will let you solution? Listening to your comments–even whilst you disagree with us–is each fascinating to us and useful to different readers, so please percentage your ideas under within the feedback!
