This is Halloween! This is Halloween! Halloween! Halloween! Halloween!
Halloween is my absolute favorite holiday. Costumes, Candy, and Disney galore! My mom and I have been going to Disney's Not So Scary Halloween Party for fourteen years (crazy right?!) and every time, we go all out! We don't take costumes lightly. If you are being Madame Leoda, you must wear a table and get on your knees for every photo. If you are the Mayor from Nightmare Before Christmas, you bet you're getting a three-foot-tall hat to top it off! No questions asked, we are always the best group. (A fact confirmed unanimously each year by all party goers, characters, and even cast members!)
This year, we decided to be a little *spunky*, so we went to (drumroll please) DISNEYLAND'S OOGIE BOOGIE BASH!
My mom was Oogie Boogie and I was Lock!
Surprisingly, not as many people dressed up on this West Coast, giving us an easy win. At Not So Scary, if you aren't dressed up, you look out of place - so it was kind of strange that there weren't any rockstar groups. Other than nobody being in costume, I loved this party more than Not So Scary (I'm so sorry, WDW). The park was completely re-decorated for Halloween. For example, in CarsLand, Mator was dressed up as a vampire and Lightning McQueen was dressed up as a superhero.
Plus, their Trick-Or-Treat-Trails were totally awesome! Each candy line had about six stations, giving out an assortment ranging from delicious grapes (I'm not joking, they were delicious), Sun Chips, pretzels, candies and GoGo Squeeze's! And to make it even better, there were amazing sets at every line, each one housing an amazing villain. Oogie Boogie, Cruella, Dr. Facilier, Mad Hatter and more.
My favorite was Cruella's and I believe my mom would concur. Her set had mannequin's with her fabulous dresses-in-progress, her beautiful designs strewn across the stage. She had a magnificent replica of the dalmatian dress from the movie as well as the cane. We fangirled so hard.
Another great line was Sid's. Sid, the "evil" kid that tortures toys for fun, had his own "Sid Show Circus." There were toys lined up with dynamite strapped to their back just like in the movie. He was hilarious, yelling at everyone in line for not staying to watch his show.
But the fun doesn't stop at candy.
There are amazing rides, including but definitely not limited to, the Incredicoaster, Inside's Out Emotional Whirlwind (kudos to whomever created the name),Toy Story Mania and - over on the Disneyland side, at Haunted Mansion.
Even though it's at Disneyland Park (so you can't see it at the party), The Haunted Mansion Ride was fantastic! They completely re-did the ride to be Nightmare Before Christmas themed. From the graveyard to the Hitchhiking Ghosts, everything was Nightmare themed!
The stretching room photos are now pinnacle moments from the movie. In the Graveyard, Zero and Jack are there to greet you, Sally is hiding behind the tombstone with her deadly nightshade, and the singing statues are now the pumpkin's from Jack's Lament. Even Madame Leoda's room had tarot cards representing each character. I was absolutely geeking out! I wish they could leave it like that all year. (N.B.C. really deserves its own ride.)
Last but not least, the dessert party and parade! Oogie Boogie's dessert party was so cool! You have seats reserved for guests of the party to watch the parade; desserts and drinks included with the fee, and a spectacular view. Just make sure to get there a little early so you can get a table right up front. I had the special punch; it was a sour drink that I don’t quite know how to describe other than a sour pink lemonade (I could be completely off, so don't hold me to it) and my favorite one of the 6 desserts was the chocolate mousse. There also was a red velvet bundt cake, gummy worms, a (really good) chocolate cake pop, an orange-and-black Rice Krispie roll and a raspberry mini streusel (also very good.)
As far as parades go, I'd say this one was pretty cool. They had all the great villains! (Hades and Doctor Facilier both had really good floats and they deserve it, because they are the best villains OAT) And they had the grave diggers from the Haunted Mansion (also my favorite part of the Halloween parade). One thing I'd like to point out is that they didn’t use the Boo To You, song which was kind of sad.
It's also worth mentioning that the decorations and holiday fun weren't confined to one park! Disneyland had it's own decor and Halloween themed firework show, all of Downtown Disney was decked out with colorful pumpkins, and even the hotels were set up for fall.
While we were at the Grand Californian, they had a giant Oogie Boogie statue and even a dessert cart that sold all of the speciality treats you could get inside the park.
I have to mention how cool it was to shoot for the event with the Disney Creative Team! Both our photographer (Crystal) and the Creative Director (Greg) were super enthusiastic and loved cosplay! They took such great care of us and made the party that much more special.
We also worked with Juliet, who is a Ravenclaw like my mom - she took our park wear photos and they turned out to be some of our favorite Disney pictures ever!
Over all, Disneyland does a spook-tacular job at Halloween and I would be delighted to go back! Thanks for having us Oogie!
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