Harmless Halloween

For Christmas this year, Steve and I went to Disneyland to attend their Halloween Time celebration. In other words, the trip to the park is the big present that won't be under the tree this year. There will be other presents, of course (I always require a gift of socks to keep my feet in style), but the blow-out gift was a visit to Anaheim's favorite neighbor.

The tickets cost a little more than regular, but for admission from 4 p.m. to midnight, it was worth it. You get a wristband when you first come into the park, and at 7 p.m., anyone without one is politely told the park is open only to guests of the special event, and asked to leave. By 8 p.m., the crowds had pretty much thinned out.

The evening was actually the suggestion of Chuck and Jeff, a couple we met recently. And it's not a bad deal: by the time they deck out the park for the Christmas season, the crowds are unbearable. This was one of the few times I've been to Disneyland when I wasn't harangued by huge crowds or platoons of baby strollers.

Jeff was very much into going in costume. He went as a spider (as shown here) and Chuck went as an exterminator. Steve went in his orange "This Is My Halloween Costume" T-shirt, wearing a "Welcome to Mooseport" hat with plush stuffed antlers (a remnant from my days at the Reporter). I went as a tropical depression, wearing a Hawaiian print shirt with a pocket full of prescription bottles. (Steve's concept, not mine, but I think it was genius and it shows how much he loves me that he let me use it.)

The park was decked out with the friendliest scary-looking decorations, heavy on the smiling Jack-o-Lantern theme; there were fog machines churning all over the various lands and special spooky lighting. Lots of folks were in costume and there weren't a lot of kids in attendance. Those that were seemed extremely well behaved, and there were lots of security to make sure the Happiest Place on Earth stayed that way.

Best, though, there were trick-or-treat stations throughout the park. When you got your wristband, you were also issued a trick-or-treat bag, and these stations, designated by a Mickey "ghost," had three or four cast members (as Disneyland workers are called) dumping great handfuls of candy into your bag. If one worked at it, I'm sure you could earn back at least half your admission price in candy. It was good stuff, too: Reese's cups, Snickers, Crunch bars and the like.

When we first entered the park and walked up Main Street, there was a parade about to begin. Chuck had suggested having dinner, and I pointed out this was a great time to do it, because everyone was sitting on the street, waiting for the parade. So we stopped in at the Main Street Pavilion and had pot roast and chicken dinners: good cafeteria fare at the usual exorbitant prices.

The best part about the evening, though, was that Jeff and I love going on the fast rides, and Steve and Chuck hate them. So, after dinner Jeff and I went on Space Mountain, while Steve and Chuck rode on Peter Pan. Hitting Space Mountain before 7 p.m. was a big mistake, though, as we spent a good hour and some standing in line there. But we did make friends with a troupe of lady pirates right ahead of us. I got a picture of them posed in front of the spaceship just before we boarded the ride.

After that, we all met up, and decided to go on the new Star Tours ride. (All except Chuck: It seems Steve is not averse to the bumpy-jiggly rides, just the plunging, whipping, twisting, free-fall dropping kinds. Chuck is more loathing of fast, erratic movement and heights.)

Star Tours is really just the same format with a new movie. It is in 3-D now, which improves some of the zip and zap of the experience. The animatronics of the droids in the waiting areas are much smoother, and there are some pretty cool imaging affects added (like a security screening of the folks in line). While we were on the ride, Chuck browsed the gift shop at the exit (something that keeps him occupied for long periods of time).

There was the mandatory Halloween parade and a really great fireworks display, which was actually more of a multimedia display. (Their branding of Halloween is Jack the Pumpkin King from "Nightmare Before Christmas": I really love the movie but hate what Disney has done with it in branding the park).

The other mistake we made was going on the Haunted Mansion ride, which was totally packed, even in the evening. It was dressed out so as to be totally unrecognizable (Christmas in Halloweenland), and not really worth the wait. All was not lost, though, because Jeff spotted not one, not two, not three, but four trick-or-treat stations between the Haunted Mansion exit and the back entrance to Fantasyland. My personal booty nearly doubled, and by the time we reached the Dumbo ride and the carousel, all bags were groaning with goodies. (FYI: Dots are Jeff's favorite.)

And, after the hours we spent in the park on our feet, our dogs were barking, as well. The youthful child within me was considering riding Small World, Alice in Wonderland, the Matterhorn Bobsleds or the Monorail, but the throbbing in the bottoms of my feet were suggesting giving up the ghost (how appropriate) and saving the final foot-wear and tear for getting out of the park and back to the car. My three compatriots, all of whom had stopped for a lavatory break, seemed to concur, so we strolled through Fantasyland and the entrance to Sleeping Beauty's castle, where I got this final shot of evil, the villainess from the film Walt referred to as "a moving painting."

As we walked back down Main Street, we stopped in the China Shop (which is now a Christmas store with a couple china pieces around the edges) and got the annual Christmas ornament: a small, grinning, sparkly Cheshire cat from "Alice in Wonderland."