Oogie Boogie decides on your prize at the Haunted Mansion Holiday
If you're a Disneyland fan, I highly recommend the Happiest Haunts walking tour. It is a bit pricey at $64 per person (does not include park admission; discount available for APs), but it was SO BUSY at Disneyland on Sunday that it was worth every penny to not have to wait in lines.
Hunting for paranormal activity in California Adventure
The tour begins with your Ghostbuster-esque guide explaining his ghost hunting equipment and handing out an EVP (electronic voice phenomenon) device to each person. The devices are really just headsets so that you can better hear the guides, and they don't work that well - I ended up hiding mine in my purse until the end of the tour.
The “ghost noise” hunt took us to the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror in California Adventure where our group filled an entire elevator. After the ride our second guide – a haunting lady - took over and a told us a few stories about the origins of Halloween. Each guide had a distinct personality and they were VERY dedicated to their characters. Taking this tour will get you on Tower of Terror, Big Thunder Mountain, Space Mountain, and Haunted Mansion Holiday. I felt a little guilty about cutting in front of the long lines, but a friend said he was loving all the hate he was feeling since he paid so much for it – ha!
A Dio de los Muertos display in Frontierland
The guides kept switching off, bringing a different feel to each part of the tour. Some of it is a little corny, but it’s always fun, and NO LINES! There’s about an hour between the end of the tour and the start of the verbosely-titled "Halloween Screams: A Villainous Surprise in the Sky!". There is a special fireworks viewing area roped off for the tour guests. They call it an obstructed view since there are trees in front of the castle, but not having to camp out to catch a glimpse of the ghost dog is worth a lesser view. The fireworks were really cool – huge plumes of fire shoot from the castle, Zero hovers around in the sky, and all the best villains come out to play. The music was a little cheesy, but it is Disneyland, so cheesy fireworks music is to be expected. The castle looked lovely painted in spooky light – possibly my favorite fireworks experience yet.
Blinking necklaces identify the tour
The tour promises a haunting keepsake for each guest of the tour. Our first gifts were crazy blinking green necklaces – I think we wore them so tour members could easily be found in the crowds, but they also worked well for making little kids beg their parents for a toy. At the end of each necklace is a “Ghost Relations” key that looks like it might fit a door at the Tower of Terror Hotel. Later we were also given a note of thanks from our guide, and a marshmallow rice crispy treat in the shape of an apple (though it really looked more like a pumpkin or a tomato). No picture, because I devoured mine for breakfast the next day (a healthy choice).
My key and invitation to the fireworks
If you want to see the Disneyland and California Adventure parks decorated for Halloween, but you don’t want to spend hours in line, I recommend this tour. It is about 3 hours long with no food or restroom breaks; go prepared. Call Disneyland to book your tour. We made our reservations about two weeks in advance.
It was a fun tour indeed. I especially enjoyed the paranormal activity in my headset. Or was it static? Nevertheless, totally worth the price for front of the line access!
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