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9/02/22 - Disneyland Resort - Halloween Time Opening Day
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9/02/22 - Disneyland Resort - Halloween Time Opening Day

Hello Everyone!

Halloween Time 2022 kicked off at the Disneyland Resort on Friday. I was on the fence about going due to the heat wave that is underway (temps were in the mid 90s) and that I was going to be in Anaheim next week for the D23 Expo. I opted to go and it was hot, but not unbearable. Some clouds rolled through in the late afternoon which made it much more pleasant to walk around. Throughout the afternoon the crowds were extremely light with no waits at most attractions so you could duck inside the air conditioning to cool off.

Thoughts and Observations:

  • I had good parking luck today. I drew a spot near the escalators on Mickey level of the structure. So it was quick parking and exiting. And the short walk to the stairs was a great change compared to my recent spots.
  • This was my first time using my new Inspire Magic Key Pass since my Dream Key expired right after my last visit. I ran into no problems with the renewal process. Only minor thing is I was told at parking that the Inspire receipts are not printing out yet, which seemed odd, but did not really matter and caused no delay. I had no issues for park entry.
  • My good luck continued with my choice and timing for attractions. I only experienced four Friday, three at DCA and one at Disneyland. My total wait time was under 20 minutes and I did not use any Genie+ system. I did use single rider for two of them though which saved me some time. At DCA I walked right onto Soarin, lucking out and kept strolling all the way to the load area and was given the last two spots right before the safety video started. WEB Slingers I used single rider and walked right into the preshow and then right onto the attraction, no waiting at all. Over at Disneyland Rise of the Resistance looked to be under the 45 min posted time and it turned out to be 13 minutes from entering the queue until the briefing room. To round out my attractions I used single rider for Radiator Springs Racers and walked right on. Only thing slowing me down were the two people in front of me trying to finish their beverages vs getting out of my way.
  • Noticed ice was a challenge in some spots again Friday. Bought lunch at Flo's but they would not give you ice (in water or by itself) so I had to walk to the Wharf to ask for ice then back to eat my meal. Also noticed at Coke Corner ice disappeared from the water in the later afternoon (not 100% if it was just melted or if they were not distributing).
  • The floral Mickey Mouse at the entrance to Disneyland has been changed for the Halloween Season. Mickey looks similar to recent years, but the grass around him has been changed to artificial turf to help with the water conservation. Overall it looks ok, I think it should look better as it ages a bit, the turf is still rather new looking. I was kind of surprised they did not switch to a squash display or something else like they have in the past vs flowers to save a little more water.
  • Halloween Time 2022 is underway through Oct. 31st. The offerings are on par with recent years at both parks with decorations, entertainment, food and beverage offerings. As I walked around I saw most of the offerings, the one exception being Haunted Mansion Holiday.
  • Haunted Mansion Holiday on its first day back is always slightly challenged. They transition happens quickly and it takes the attraction a few days to get back into smooth operation normally. Friday was no exception with some early downtime. The Genie+ guests would back up and the standby queue would grind to a near halt. Wait times jumped around from 60-120 minutes. Even the return queue was backed up quite a ways several of the times I walked by. The worst being in the evening when it went toward the Splash Mountain bridge.
  • Mickey and Friends feature new Halloween Costumes at Disneyland this year. They wear them on Main Street as well as during the Mickey and Friends Cavalcade. So you have a couple opportunities to see them. While not as easy to get photos as the COVID photo set ups it was still not that hard. I thought the new costumes looked great and guests were really enjoying them. Goofy as the tree is my favorite with Mickey close behind.
  • As the sun sets the Disney Villains take over the stage in Tomorrowland for a dance party from 7-11pm on weekend nights. This event follows the same format as previous ones with two or three characters joining a DJ on the stage. The DJ goes through some dance moves and plays a couple of songs. I stopped by a couple of times and saw a good mix of characters and a healthy crowd enjoying themselves.
  • Halloween Screams has returned in the evenings for Halloween Season. On weekend nights the show includes fireworks, weeknights it is just projections. Main Street USA had guests lining up hours before hand and if you wanted to be in the hub it was busy. Further down Main Street you could find space a few minutes before show time without too much hassle. The show seemed about the same as previous years. It is not one of my favorite shows, but the crowds always get into it.
  • At Disney California Adventure things were status quo with Cars Land, Buena Vista Street and Paradise Gardens offerings. No noticeable changes during the day time. I did not visit after dark, I opted to spend that time at Disneyland
  • DCA will be hosting the after hours Halloween party again this year. They have already started to set up photo locations for the event in a few spots and the first party is not until next week. I found this to be very bad show. They are photo backdrops, why were they not designed to be brought out right before the party? Why are they out all the time? This really impacts the feel of the areas and is not good show.

Here are some recent posts to the Geek's Blog:

Disney Related Press Releases

Be sure to check out the picture update that goes with this Geekspeak column, it can be found in our Disneyland Resort Pictorial Update section

Trip logs and mileage reports are in the Park Miles section.

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