Disneyland is a premier destination for Halloween — if you know what you’re getting into. Here are 5 things to know about Disneyland at Halloween include ride changes, decor and special events like Mickey’s Halloween party!
Disneyland at Halloween is AMAZING! Be sure to get your tickets at a GREAT price so that the price doesn’t spook you. I love using Get Away Today and they have just booked my next Halloween trip to Disneyland!
This post is part of my Disneyland Tips page — check that out for ALL The best tips, and don’t miss my Christmas at Disneyland post.
Disneyland’s Fall Decorations
If you love fall decor, Disney has that COVERED. We’ve actually never gone in the fall or any other “season” before. I love all the imagination they show.
There are pumpkins and fun additions everywhere you look. It is seriously SO cute and magical!
I heard they’re doing more effects over at California Adventure in CarsLand — looks VERY fun!
Disneyland Halloween Special Events
Disneyland Halloween Special EventsThey do have special events. There are more villains, and sometimes free face painting. So, keep your eyes open for special Halloween-Only events!
Disneyland Halloween Ride Changes
When they say overlay — that means the whole ride changes. And often that is VERY fun. I had prepped my 5-year-old, who isn’t prone to love scary things all about the Haunted Mansion. We have the Disneyland parks soundtrack and we’d listened to the Haunted Mansion soundtrack.
Turns out the Nightmare Before Christmas overlay changes the music, and basically the entire thing.
It is not like the regular Haunted mansion at all.
They are incorporating overlays more into California Great Adventure as well. Radiator Springs will become Radiator Screams, for example. Sure, it’s just “over” what is normally there — but it’s totally different. FYI. VERY cool, but totally different (which also makes it more popular).
Disneyland Space Mountain Halloween Overlay — Ghost Galaxy
Sometimes the overlay isn’t great — Ghost Galaxy overlay of Space Mountain was NOT appreciated by our family. I get they’re trying to make a more grown-up attraction, but my 5-year-old was horrified and kept her hands over her eyes the whole time. That Ghostly figure you see there was pictured time and time again on the ride. It swipes at you, makes horrible sounds.
No one liked it, but I liked it even less because I ignored the signs that it might be frightening. It is (it’s hard to know since they also say Snow White is frightening). I wish I hadn’t taken her.
She wouldn’t go on the ride again and was super scared to do it, even at age 8 when it wasn’t Ghost Galaxy.
FYI, the music is totally different, and the projections and light effects are also altered. I went once without Paige and I liked it more than I did the first time, but I still missed the old Space Mountain.
I have a whole post about the scary rides at Disneyland, but just be aware that some of the rides change over the holidays. You can also get my printable list of the rides and what “scare triggers” they have.
Disneyland Halloween Party
Disneyland Halloween PartyThey have Mickey’s Halloween party on select nights and you should plan for it to be CROWDED. The party is full of events, parades and fireworks that are only available to special event ticket holders. We decided not to pay the extra 300 for that night so my kids could get a lot of candy, but the events sound really fun. The park will have the normal people there, but at 3 or 4 the extra ticketed crowds come in and it gets ludicrous.
Looking to avoid crowds — check out my post on the best times of the year to visit Disneyland.
Wearing Halloween Costumes at Disneyland
with Disneyland’s Halloween party, a lot of people dress up.
BUT, who knew that costumes meant skanky. Not always, there were a lot of really imaginative ones that I LOVED — but one bad apple spoils the whole bunch, sometimes. To quote Jimmy Fallon, “ew.”
I think Disneyland is working to make costumes more family-friendly. Hopefully, they’ll make some headway there. 🙂
Btw, looking for tips on packing — I have a whole post on what to pack for Disneyland.
If you’re looking for Disneyland tips — be sure to check out this page!
We had a great time, I’m so glad we went at Halloween. There’s so much to see. It’s almost ENTIRELY family friendly (our bloody ghost friend from Space Mountain is an exception) which I love. There isn’t a bunch of bloody demons. It’s still Disney. We love Halloween in our family, and Disney does our kind of Halloween!
If you’re considering a Disneyland trip — try out Getaway today (affiliate link)! You can save $10 by using the coupon code CURLS10.
AND, if you want to spend your time wisely, do NOT miss my Disneyland Day Planner sent right to your inbox:
Don’t miss my other Disneyland posts:
Disneyland Backpacks
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Best Disneyland Restaurants for Families
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Crowded at Disneyland: What to do to keep it magical on busy days
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Best Time of Year to go to Disneyland: All Four Seasons
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Recent Disney Changes
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Disneyland Tips for Families: Multiple kids can enjoy the day!
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Gael says
I’m an annual pass holder from Jacksonville, and in my opinion one or two immodest costumes is better than tourists normally wear during the day at Disney. We love the Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party, but it doesn’t fit into our budget every year. Last time we went they didn’t do anything special with Space Mountain, but I’d love to see that. Many FL residents like to go to Universal because it’s scarier, and I imagine feedback has been to do more to bring in Halloween spookiness. Space Mountain, being a thrill ride that many kids are scared of seems a great choice. I remember going with my little kids, but they are older, and Disney has to appeal to all ages. It’s OK for a ride to be too little kid or too adult. I’m glad you had fun! I like reading your blog and agree with you on just about everything and think you’d fit right in with my friends, but maybe I see Disney in a little different light.
Hilary says
Gael — I am totally on board with them making Space Mountain scarier, I guess I just wish I had not taken my 5 year old on it. That’s mostly what I wanted to convey with that paragraph. I still would’ve gone on it and loved it — just not with her. It’s so hard to know what is ACTUALLY scary and what’s “Snow White” scary — does that make sense? I’d love to come to FL someday. We love Disney!
Stephanie says
This is great! We are going to Disneyland next week and I don’t think I’ll be taking either of my boys (3 & almost 5) onto Space Mountain. I’m so glad I read this because my older one gets scared very easily and will hate this. We have another family member with us, so we will be utilizing the rider swap and single rider lines for this one!