Disney parks: A not-so-scary Halloween celebration
Most theme park Halloween events go for the jugular with sneak-attack haunted mazes, nightmarish scare zones, and other scream-worthy shenanigans. Some even push PG-13 boundaries with graphic gore. The Disney parks, however, tone down the terror and keep the seasonal proceedings family-friendly. In case there was any doubt, Florida's Disney World calls its event Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party.
The nighttime event is held on select dates through October 31 at the Magic Kingdom. It requires a separate ticket from daytime admission to the park. Prices vary and run as high as $105 per person — which is at least a bit scary. Visitors, including adults, are encouraged to come in costume, and Disney doles out candy at trick-or-treat stations throughout the park. Mickey and the gang don Halloween costumes as well.
Special features include Mickey's Boo-To-You Halloween Parade. The procession of floats includes booable baddies such as the evil queen from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Disney re-themes the fireworks that explode over Cinderella Castle with a Halloween overlay and calls the show HalloWishes. The Mouse also trots out the witches from its under-the-radar 1993 live-action film, Hocus Pocus, and gives them a "Villain Spelltacular" stage show.
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Many of the park's rides and attractions are open for Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party. Most appropriately, they include the interactive scavenger hunt, Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom, and the real-time, "live" animation comedy show, Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor. Of course the classic Haunted Mansion will open its hallowed (or is that hallow-eened?) halls as well.
Disney World's Hollywood Studios park isn't marking Halloween with any kind of special event, but its Twilight Zone Tower of Terror certainly caters to the spirit of the season. On the other side of the country, Disney California Adventure will celebrate Halloween with its own version of the Tower of Terror. It takes on special significance this year, as the park will be shuttering the Hollywood Tower Hotel in early January. To mark the occasion, Disney will be offering extra-scary lights-out rides after dark. (Fear not, fans of the haunted elevator attraction. It will reopen later in 2017 with a "Guardians of the Galaxy" makeover.)
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The Tower of Terror celebration is part of what the Disneyland Resort calls Halloween Time. (You might think the company that coined Boo-to-You, HalloWishes, and Spelltacular could have come up with a name that is a little more, er, spooktacular.) It also runs through October 31. Unlike Disney World, which charges extra for its Halloween event, the California parks include some of its not-so-scary features with general admission.
At Disneyland Park, the Imagineers add an overlay of The Nightmare Before Christmas to the original Haunted Mansion. Jack Skellington, Oogie Boogie, and other characters from Tim Burton's quirky film join the attraction's usual gaggle of ghosts. For its annual transformation of the beloved ride, Disney renames it Haunted Mansion Holiday. It includes a surprising number of new and modified set pieces and is quite well done. Because the movie is a mashup of Halloween and Christmas, the park offers the "Nightmare" version of the ride straight through the yuletide season.
The iconic Space Mountain also gets in on the Halloween fun. By changing out the onboard audio soundtrack, incorporating projections of apparitions onto the indoor ride's domed ceiling, and making other modifications, Disney transforms the coaster into Space Mountain Ghost Galaxy. And in Frontierland, visitors can ogle a skeleton display in honor of the Mexican take on Halloween, Dia de los Muertos.
Also on select nights through October 31, Disneyland will offer its own separate-ticket nighttime event. Starting at $79 if purchased in advance online, visitors can score an invite to Mickey's Halloween Party. While it isn't explicitly stated in the name as it is at Florida's Magic Kingdom, the Disneyland party will also be not-too-scary. Like its Disney World counterpart, it too will feature trick-or-treating, Halloween-themed fireworks, and a roundup of creepy Disney villains. To kick off Disneyland's Frightfully Fun Parade, Mr. Toad's buddy, the Headless Horseman, will ride down Main Street U.S.A. Hmm. That sounds like it could push the needle on the not-too-scary-ometer.