Disney’s Halloween Time returns to the Disneyland Resort from September 25 – November 1. It’s festive and frightfully good fun! My friend Kristin really loved this last year – she thought it was better than the Christmas holidays!

There are a couple of new things this year:

Space Mountain Ghost Galaxy – the Space Mountain attraction gets its own Halloween makeover this year – with a new soundtrack, sinister sound effects, and spooky new visual effects. “Escape the clutches of creepy cosmic creatures lurking around every corner. Sounds like great fun to me!

Halloween Screams Fireworks – Yes! Disneyland gets its own new Halloween-themed fireworks show, which will be shown every night during Halloween Time. The fireworks are hosted by Jack Skellington, Master of “Scare-omonies”. Villains such as Ursula, Maleficent, and Oogie Boogie are scheduled to appear, and Jack’s dog Zero will make his flying debut over Sleeping Beauty Castle.

And of course it wouldn’t be Halloween at Disneyland without the return of Haunted Mansion Holiday and the Main Street Pumpkin Festival, with over 300 uniquely carved pumpkins decorating the shops on Main Street.

Big Thunder Ranch Halloween Roundup replaces Woody’s Halloween Roundup, but Jessie and Woody will still be making appearances and there will be crafts for the kids. The Celebration Roundup and Barbecue will still be in operation, and Miss Chris and the gang will add some Halloween-themed songs to their repertoire.

Goofy’s Candy Corn Acres returns to Disney’s California Adventure, where Goofy has planted all kinds of candy corn in Sunshine Plaza – everything from candy corn grapes to candy corn tomatoes and pumpkins and carrots! This display is whimsical and fun and always makes me smile.

Mickey’s Trick-or-Treat Party returns to DCA for 12 nights in October. Guests can dress in costume and go trick-or-treating at over 20 locations within the park. More information on the party is available on our Mickey’s Trick-or-Treat Party page.

Disney villains will be out and about in both parks, as will the Disney characters, dressed in their Halloween costumes.

There will be special Halloween treats available at both parks:

Chocolate Mickey Halloween cookie
Pumpkin muffin with cream cheese frosting
Pumpkin spiced latte
Caramel apple cider
Pumpkin pie
Pumpkin cheesecake

And special menu items at restaurants and vending areas in New Orleans Square:

French Market:
Jack Skellington desserts
Zero’s Ghostly Ghoulash
Haunted Mansion Holiday travel mug
Haunted Mansion Holiday spoon dessert
Haunted Mansion Holiday gift with dessert purchase

Cafe Orleans:
Halloween Time Demitasse: duo of beignet with espresso

Blue Bayou:
Halloween Time Demitasse: pumpkin-spiced cake with cinnamon cream cheese

Outdoor vendors:
Haunted Mansion Holiday travel mug
Haunted Mansion Holiday popcorn bucket
Halloween popcorn scoop

And of course there’s lot of special Halloween merchandise available, too – limited edition pins, pumpkin Mickey ears. costumes, etc.

Also returning is the Happiest Haunts Tour. This takes places at 4:30 and 4:45 p.m. daily. Guests will hear about Halloween more from the villains’ point of view, and also have the opportunity to experience four attractions: Tower of Terror, Space Mountain Ghost Galaxy, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad and Haunted Mansion Holiday. New this year, tour participants also receive access to an exclusive viewing area for the Halloween Screams fireworks show. A 20% discount is available to Disneyland Annual Passholders as well as Disney Visa cardholders and AAA members.

Disney has put up a really cool interactive Halloween website this year – in addition to information on all of the special activities in the parks there are also on-line Halloween games, crafts such as masks and pumpkin patterns, and even a treasure map for a treasure hunt to do on your park visit. In the Videos section, I find the commercial, which features the villains enjoying Halloween Time, quite entertaining. http://www.disneyland.com/halloween

This is one of my favorite times of year at the Disneyland parks – don’t miss it!