Halloween Time at the Disneyland Resort has arrived! Below, you’ll find everything you need to know about the Halloween season, including information about ride overlays, entertainment, specialty foods, surprise andditions and much more. We’re live from Disneyland today to bring you the latest Halloween info, and we’ll be updating this article throughout the day. Here is your guide to Disneyland’s Halloween Time 2023!
SURPRISE: Don’t miss the Rolly Crump Candle Man added to the Haunted Mansion. See below!
The Halloween season at the Disneyland Resort runs from September 1 through October 31 this year. While much of the offerings remain the same from previous years, this is also one of the most popular times of the year to visit. Without further ado, let’s look at Halloween Time…
Disneyland Halloween
Throughout Disneyland, you’ll find that Halloween has taken over. Here’s a quick overview of what you can see in the park.
Disneyland Halloween Decorations
Starting from the front gates decorated with pumpkin versions of the Fab 5, and continuing through Main Street, pumpkins and jack-o-lanterns are a major aspect of the Halloween displays in the park. The Main Street Pumpkin Festival is always a highlight of the season.
This year, the Mickey floral is just the standard classic Mickey. The accessory flowers in the accompanying swirls are Halloween-colored marigolds.
Last year, the Mickey floral featured our pal in a bandit mask. We’re a bit disappointed that it’s just standard Mickey this year, but maybe that might change mid-season.
The Jack-O-Lanterns on Main Street are always fun to look at. There’s so much character to each one!
Of course, the main jack-o-lantern is the giant Mickey-shaped one in Town Square. This is a very popular photo location, and there are a couple of dedicated PhotoPass photographers stationed there on either side.
All along Main Street, you’ll see orange and yellow bunting from the buildings and fall décor on the lampposts.
Many of the shop windows on Main Street have a Halloween display. These displays range from silly to spooky, and they’re all quite detailed.
The Plaza Point Holiday Shoppe has been decorated with fall time décor as well— including dressing the Children of the Corn Victorian children dolls as little nature sprites.
While Main Street is the most decorated area in Disneyland for Halloween, there are also a few other places that get decorated for the season. You can find more Halloween spirit in Frontierland.
And also keep an eye out for the homage to author Ray Bradbury with the Halloween Tree. There are pumpkins and lights strung up all throughout the tree in front of the Mercantile shop.
Haunted Mansion Holiday
Jack Skellington has wrecked the halls of the Haunted Mansion along with his pals. The mansion has been transformed into the seasonal overlay that will last into 2024. I hope you’re ready to have Jingle Bells stuck in your head for the rest of the year!
Our favorite one-eyed cat statue has a new treat this year, a skeleton fish biscuit!
Haunted Mansion Holiday is largely the same attraction that it has been for the last few seasons, but one element that is always new is the bespoke gingerbread house in the banquet scene. This year, the gingerbread house has its own creepy resident.
One other new element we spotted is a clever homage to Disney Legend Rolly Crump. In the attic scene, there’s a little Candle-Man figure that comes from Rolly’s never-built Museum of the Weird.
Haunted Mansion Holiday is a fan-favorite overlay, as proven by our poll results. And while we personally think that it runs a bit too long through the last part of the year, guests overwhelmingly think that the current setup through New Year’s is perfect.
Here’s a full ride through of Haunted Mansion. See if you can spot the candle man!
Mickey & Friends in Halloween Costumes
This year, Mickey and his friends are sporting all-new costumes for the holiday. We imagine that guests will want to get lots of pictures of all the new costumes, so here’s a sneak peek of what they’re wearing:
The whole gang is wearing a collection of fun outfits this year. They’re a lot spookier than last year’s silly ones.
You can get a closer look at each character below:
Halloween Screams
One of the downsides of fall at Disneyland is nightly fireworks end with the start of the season. However, there is a nightly spook-tacular that takes place with projections and special effects: Halloween Screams. On the weekends (Friday-Sunday), the show will be enhanced with fireworks— weather permitting, of course.
The fireworks-added version of this show is one of our favorites of the year. That said, you can likely expect additional crowds during the weekends as people flock into the park to view the special version of Halloween Screams.
This show is spooky but not scary, so it’s a lot of fun for guests of every age. Are you also a Halloween Screams fan?
Disney California Adventure Halloween
Across the way at Disney California Adventure, there’s plenty of Halloween spirit to be found as well. With a variety of decorations, attraction overlays, and of course, the Oogie Boogie Bash parties, there’s a lot to be found. Let’s take a look at Halloween at DCA this year.
Oogie Boogie and his tortilla moon once again tops the entry to DCA as the mascot of the Halloween season.
Buena Vista Street
All along Buena Vista Street (and into Hollywood Land), you’ll find all sorts of Halloween goodies. There are plenty of pumpkins, bunting, and decorations to be found. While Disneyland is decked out in orange and yellow, Buena Vista Street is awash in purple and black.
You can’t miss the Headless Horseman statue located in front of Elias & Co. At sunset, there is a special moment where the statue “comes to life” and brings in the Halloween spirit around Carthay Circle as the trees light up in purple.
Bats fly out of the belfry of Carthay Circle, and at night, there are projections on the facade.
Radiator Screams
Over in Cars Land, the residents of Radiator Springs have redecorated the town with a complete Halloween overhaul. We LOVE what Disney does with Cars Land at Halloween; it really is Disney creativity and design at its best.
The land has extra telephone poles installed for the season just to make the grinning traffic cones above the street possible.
Two of the attractions in the land get a seasonal overlay: Mater’s Graveyard JamBOOree and Luigi’s Honkin’ Haul-O-Ween. Both of the attractions have special decorations and music just for the Halloween season.
The whole land has nods to Halloween, with every imaginable surface decorated in some way.
And don’t forget to stop by the ofrenda at the Ramone’s Body Shop in honor of Doc Hudson.
One of our favorite elements of Cars Land’s Haul-O-Ween is the seasonal redesign of the Cozy Cones. They’re delightfully spooky and charming.
Around the land, be sure to keep an eye out for Lightning McQueen, Mater, Cruz, and Red dressed in their Halloween car-stumes.
Guardians of the Galaxy — Monsters After Dark
There’s another aspect of Halloween to enjoy that is geared to the more mature side of things. After 4pm each day, Guardians of the Galaxy adopts a scarier overlay complete with creepy creatures and a nighttime transformation. It’s still the same ride we know and love, just with a bit more thrill to it.
DCA Halloween Time – Plaza de la Familia
A concurrent but slightly separate celebration for Dia de los Muertos is taking place alongside Halloween. Both Disneyland and DCA have an homage to Dia de los Muertos with ofrendas, decorations, and entertainment. Plaza de la Familia starts at the same time as Halloween and runs a few days after the main season ends; Plaza de la Familia is available from September 2 – November 2.
Dia de los Muertos at Disney California Adventure
The bulk of the celebration takes place at DCA, specifically in Paradise Gardens. Here, you can take in the festivities through a myriad of activities.
Here, you can meet Miguel from Coco and look at the ofrenda for Miguel’s family.
You can also leave a personal message on the Memory Wall. This is a really heartfelt touch to the celebration.
You can also celebrate with the Mexican Arbol de le Vida (Tree of Life).
You won’t want to miss out on the live entertainment that shows off the vibrant culture of Mexico with music from Coco, folklorico dancing, and Mariachi music.
And for the young ones, there are arts and crafts that are available.
Dia de los Muertos at Disneyland
At Disneyland, there are also a few other festivities that celebrate Dia de los Muertos. In Zoacalo Park in Frontierland, there is a display of a trio of musical skeletons amid decorated in a traditional style with items found in an ofrenda.
And while she isn’t necessarily part of the Dia de los Muertos celebration, you can also meet Mirabel from Encanto nearby.
And of course, you can enjoy traditional Mexican flavors at the nearby Rancho del Zocalo Restaurante.
Dia de los Muertos at the Grand Californian Hotel
This fall, the Grand Californian Hotel’s Great Hall Cart has a selection of delectable foods themed to Dia de los Muertos. You can find the snack stand in the hotel lobby near Hearthstone Lounge.
Oogie Boogie Bash 2023
The after-hours Halloween party at DCA, Oogie Boogie Bash is completely sold out for 2023! The specially ticketed event will run for 25 select nights from September 5 through October 31.
During the party, guests can enjoy a special Halloween parade and plenty of treat trails featuring several new characters. Be on the lookout for Minnie, Daisy, and Clarabelle dressed as the Sanderson sisters from Hocus Pocus, Madam Mim from The Sword in the Stone, Mother Gothel from Tangled, Bruno from Encanto, and Ernesto de la Cruz from Coco. Be prepared for character (and candy) overload!
Plus, the highlight of the event is a walk through the eerie Villains Grove.
Trevor produced a great video of the first Oogie Boogie Bash, which will be mostly the same for this year:
Here is our coverage of last year’s Oogie Boogie Bash:
Oogie Boogie Bash Scares Up Halloween Fun at the Disneyland Resort
Specialty Disneyland Halloween Food
With any holiday at Disneyland, there is a whole team at work bringing a tasty aspect of the holiday into the parks. For Halloween this year, the menu has shaped up to focus on the sweet and spicy aspects of the holiday with a wide array of various eats and treats. There is a lot that we’re looking forward to trying— particularly the Graveyard Banana Funnel Cake.
There is a LOT of seasonal food this time around, so we put together a separate article with all of the Halloween-inspired goodies. Take a look at the full lineup below.
Disneyland Halloween 2023 Food Guide – Tons of Treats to Try!
Disney Parks Halloween Merchandise
Disney merch fans, now is your time to celebrate. Halloween is one of the occasions where Disney pulls out the stops when it comes to merchandise. This year, there are a ton of new options to enjoy.
If you’ve been eyeing the miniature Mickey Pumpkin decoration for the last few years, it has returned with a new lighting setup. The pumpkin is extremely popular and can sell out, so if this is something you’re hoping to have, you should make it a priority to check the shops as soon as possible.
There are also a handful of collectible items for the season as well, including sippers, popcorn buckets, and drink holders.
For a comprehensive look at the Disney Parks Halloween merchandise collection, be sure to check out the article below.
Downtown Disney Halloween
Not heading into the parks? There’s still quite a bit of Halloween to be found in Downtown Disney. Many of the shops feature Halloween merchandise, and restaurants have specialty food.
And there’s also an opportunity to keep your eyes open for hidden character pumpkins throughout Downtown Disney with Pluto’s Pumpkin Pursuit. From September 8 through November 1, you can search for specially decorated pumpkins around Downtown Disney. And if you opt to purchase a game board for $9.99, you’ll be entitled to a “spooky surprise.”
This is a fun activity that doesn’t necessarily need to cost anything— you can participate in finding all the themed pumpkins even without purchasing a gameboard.
Halloween Time Beyond Disneyland
There’s always more Halloween to be had at the Disney Parks. You can find out more details about how Disney is celebrating Halloween in the article below:
Halloween Headquarters: Disney Parks Halloween Events, Menus, Tickets & More
Disney Parks Ticket & Travel Offers!
You can snag the latest Disney travel deals from our partners at Get Away Today – INCLUDING THE NEW CALIFORNIA TICKET OFFER:
The new California ticket offer is even cheaper if you get it from MiceChat and Get Away Today than those offered by Disneyland directly. The new 3-day ticket comes with options to add park-hopping, Genie+ and options for week-day only or weekends included.
Not a California resident? We have great deals for you too!
Check out the latest offers for Disneyland, Walt Disney World, Universal Studios, and Knott’s Berry Farm, including new low hotel rates, extra days and nights for free, special perks, and a “4-Park Magic Ticket” to Walt Disney World:
- Disneyland California Resident Ticket Offer – HERE
- Book Discount theme park tickets, hotels, and exclusive packages – HERE
(MiceChat works with Get Away Today to provide you with the best theme park travel deals and we may make a small commission on any sales made through our links)
Let’s Hear from You
Are you excited that Disneyland’s Halloween Time 2023 has arrived? Will you be making a trip to the resort to see all the Halloween goodies? Will you be attending the sold-out Oogie Boogie Bash? Let us know in the comments below!
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