Disney Part 2

I’ve been wondering how to word this for some time now. I’m still not sure. I’m likely in the minority. Perhaps my mother in law said it best, in regards to Disney’s Halloween setup. “I’m not sure what I was expecting, but I expected more.” When I think Disneyland, it brings to mind all the little touches, the little nuances that set the park apart from more standard parks. All the lights work on the rides, the place is CLEAN, there is no signs of being run down, ever effort is made to make every little thing as perfect as can be. At first glance, it would appear this had carried over to the Halloween celebration. The main gate decked out.

From Vacation 2013

Main street lined with banners and pumpkins.

From Vacation 2013

The center hub all planted in fall colors.

From Vacation 2013

Fantastic carvings denoting the different ‘lands’.

From Vacation 2013

….and then…it just…stops.

From Vacation 2013

Gone are the halloween flavors.

From Vacation 2013
From Vacation 2013

Sure, there are small sections where things are done up. Namely the Haunted Mansion, though technically this is ‘christmas’ decor.

From Vacation 2013
From Vacation 2013
From Vacation 2013
From Vacation 2013

Then, the superb job in 2 very specific sections of Frontier land. The Dia de Los Muertos tribute:

From Vacation 2013
From Vacation 2013

And the dedicated Halloween Carnival.

From Vacation 2013

Though I’m still not sure what a petting zoo has to do with Halloween…

From Vacation 2013

…it was the place to have the most Halloween centric fun.

From Vacation 2013
From Vacation 2013
From Vacation 2013
From Vacation 2013
From Vacation 2013

And then…it’s all just gone again… What was I expecting, what would I change? It’s funny I was stopped by a reporter and asked those very things. I’m still not sure, but I harken back to the local amusement park here does that could be translated easily to Disney. A tower of disney pumpkins?

From Halloween fun 2011

Photo ops?

From September 23, 2012

Simple Ghosts/scarecrows to fill in those blank spaces of grass?

From Halloween fun 2011

Pumpkins up in the trees and bushes?

From Halloween buildup 09

I don’t know, just something felt missing. Disney puts a lot of effort into their “Mickey’s halloween party”, to be sure. But this feels like a sleezy money grab more than anything else after watching the park transformation for this party. The guests with regular tickets get ushered out of the park 3 hours prior to what would be a normal closing time. The guests with the special tickets get allowed in early, but still only get what amounts to a half day at most in the park. Then the day following this party was the only time I’ve seen Disney anything close to resembling dirty as they clearly hadn’t had time to scrape up all the candy from the trick or treat the night before. To top it off. All that wonderful decor on mainstreet…just disappears at night thanks to missing and/or inadequate lighting. What’s the point of carving all those pumpkins if they’re not going to be lit well enough to see?

From Vacation 2013

1 comment

  1. Well, it looks like a fun trip. It seems Disney lacks the “bells and whistle” you were expecting. Heaven forbid they be scary! They have to be family friendly.

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