Entrance Gate decor!

Babes in Disneyland has posted a number of articles on HalloweenTime at the Disneyland Resort in the past, but since the season has officially begun as of this week, I thought it would be a great reminder to all of you who are considering going… this is a GREAT time of year to visit Disneyland! 

Why? Well here is what I think the Top 5 Best Things about HalloweenTime at the Disneyland Resort are:

5. Ride & Character Make-Overs: It’s such a fun change to see Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Pluto, Donald & Daisy all decked out in their Halloween costumes – they look so adorable (and it kind of makes me want to dress my kid up in a “Vampire Mickey” costume, rather than just reguarly Mickey!) Plus the make-overs of the Haunted Mansion and Space Mountain, add a little extra excitement to the classic attractions. It makes you excited to ride them for a new reason!

Yummy image from DisneyParksBlog.com

4. Holiday Food & Treats: I’m a sucker for new menu items and food offerings, especially limited-time-only ones. I’ve been drooling over some of the HalloweenTime treats that I’ve seen headed to the parks (or, already there I guess!). One of my favorites at ChristmasTime is their perfectly soft and spicy gingerbread man, and for HalloweenTime they have a SpookyKooky gingerbread cookie – which looks to be the same (but with a frosting skeleton painted on, pretty cute idea). Furthermore there are specialty “Gore”met apples, pumpkin beignets with vanilla creme dipping sauce, and pumpkin fritters with a caramel apple sauce (oh heavens!), fried apple burrito (what!!!!!), candy corn cotton candy, and the delicious pumpkin flavored coffee and espresso drinks, plus SO much more! Personally, I’d go to Disneyland for the food alone!

3. Crowd Control: One of my more beloved reasons to visit Disneyland during the fall is the change in attendance – with school back in session crowds are much more manageable and wait times shorter. Just stay clear of the weekends. It can get a bit more crowded the closer it gets to Halloween.


2. Weather Perfection: While the heat of the summer months can deter some folks from enjoying the parks to their full potential, sending you back to your cool hotel room or the pool in the middle of the day – the weather in SoCal in the fall is perfection. It’s still gorgeous,sunny, and warm, but the blazing heat is gone. Not to mention that the autumn the foliage is absolutely lovely.

Beautiful fall colored flowers, and the  pumpkins glow at night – so pretty.

1. Halloween & Fall Themed Decorations: I saved the best for last. The HalloweenTime decorations and extra theming give the Parks an extra special touch of magic. I want to stop and admit right now that Halloween is not my thing. Honestly, I could skip Halloween altogether and not miss it at all. That said, I LOVE HalloweenTime at Disneyland! Like, it rivals my love for Disneyland at ChristmasTime (and Christmas is my favorite!). First and foremost, I love that nothing is scary or creepy (other than the noises coming from Space Mountain… they are very loud and can be a bit intimidating for young kids, but nothing other than that…) The decorations are soooo well done – I love the giant Mickey pumpkin, as well as all the other cute and creative pumpkins throughout the park. The theme feels more like a celebration of autumn I suppose, but the jack-o-lanterns, Trick-or-Treating at Mickey’s Halloween party, and characters in costume add in the Halloween to it all. When my family is deciding whether to go to Disneyland during HalloweenTime and ChristmasTime, it is always a very hard choice – we usually end up rotating between the two. 

This was our first visit to Disneyland in the fall, when HalloweenTime was brand new. (And yes, I was preggers that trip.)

And 1 year later – baby Liam playing on a ToonTown pumpkin.

What do you love about the Disneyland Resort at HalloweenTime? Will you be going this year? For more information check out our other posts about Halloween at Disneyland here (2013 info), and here (Mickey’s Halloween Party info), and here (Lisa’s Top 5 from last year!). We will have a lot more Halloween coverage to come!