Halloween Event Review

The report entails a review of Mickey’s Halloween party event that I attended recently. This was the first time that I attended this special event. It was interesting that one could enter the parks even some hours before the beginning of the event, which was a good option for those who wanted to avoid traffic. The sole intent of attending this party was to take pictures with my favorite characters: Mickey and Minnie. At exactly 3 p.m., my friend Jack and I had already arrived at the event.

We came earlier so that we could avoid the traffic that was anticipated. At this time, there were a few people who had already arrived for the event and, therefore, the lines where the workers were handling treats, snacks, and candies were short. I spotted Mike and Sulley, but they were distant from where we were standing.

Most of the people had dressed in Disney and non-Disney costumes which were very attractive and appealing. There was laughter, while others talked in low tones. Everyone was happy that the long-awaited day had finally come. We served ourselves candies as well as other snacks that were available. Since we wanted to taste everything that was being offered, we also went for the apples, carrots, cranberry chews, and sun chips. Among all these, cranberry chews were the best. We wanted to have more of them, but the lines were getting longer, so we had to move on. What caught my attention, however, was how the parks had been beautified with Halloween decorations. For instance, in the Disneyland, the Haunted Mansion and Space Mountain had been transformed, and one could easily establish that they were suggestive of ghosts. They were frightening. Carseland had also been dressed in a unique way, while most of the rides represented the Guardians of the Galaxy.

We headed straight to the Main Street, U.S.A., and precisely to the entrance of the train station where there were photo sessions. Characters present here were Dr. Facilier, Gaston, Evil Queen, and Maleficent. These were rare characters, thus taking a photo with them was considered a privilege. I, however, never managed to take a photo with any of them since I was afraid of the large crowd, with everyone struggling for attention. Back at the Main Street, U.S.A., however, the Queen of Hearts and Captain Hooks were taking pictures with people and also signing autographs. We, therefore, managed to take a photo with them since they kept on moving and suggesting who to take pictures with. Again, we moved to Walt Disney World Railroad, but it was crowded, so we left for the Orleans Square to listen to Cadaver Dans’ performance.

My hope of finding Micky had not died since we continued wandering around knowing that our efforts will pay out. We were happy finally to locate a line where Mickey was taking pictures with other fans. This time around, we anticipated waiting even if it meant the whole night of staying in the line to take a picture with Mickey. After all, this was the main reason why we were there. I guess this was not one of our favorite nights since when we were almost approaching where Mickey was, having waited for more than one hour, thunder and lightning started. Soon it started raining, and both Mickey and Minnie had to move further from us. The cameras and all the equipment had to be protected from the rain. Thus, all the photographers left.

Everything changed from this instance. Most of the rides closed down, and the few that remained became crowded. The waiting time increased from 20 minutes to approximately one hour. To make it worse, the remaining rides kept breaking down and all the food carts were closed down. All the fireworks, equestrians, pre-parade headless, as well as popcorn, churro, whip, and corn dog carts were all shut down. This is in addition to reducing the treat line to only a few. At this time, we were all wet due to the heavy rain. We, however, felt that we had had enough, and therefore leaving was the only option that we were left with. There was nothing constructive that we could do even if we continued staying.

The event was generally entertaining. However, there were some instances which did not meet my expectations. For example, one could only be allowed to take a little of the candies as the bags were already full with other stuff like graham crackers. Furthermore, the Halloween themes, parade, and fireworks were interesting, but the view was not very clear. Apart from the attractive decorations on the Rivers of America and the Main Street, most parts of the park were not decorated. I also missed taking photos with most characters due to the long lines as well as waiting time. Additionally, the lightning and the rain ruined the rest of the party as both characters and photographers had to leave. This implies that Disney shuts down and cannot control the activities in the event that it rains, which was very disturbing.

This, however, will not stop me from attending another event next year. I hope that there will be the incorporation of a contingency plan that will address the weather issues. This is because the entire event was shut down due to the rain, and I felt like I did not receive the value for my money. Note that even after the rain had paused, the event did not pick up. There was, for example, a complete shutdown of the food carts. Even the treat carts that had remained were disappointing as there was nothing to offer. This explains why there were no lines at all.

Furthermore, the most significant identifiers (“perks”) of the event like, for example, the characters, parade, and photo pass lost meaning, as they could no longer be found when the rain started. One would not expect this to happen. given that the event was huge and people had even begun booking as early as in April. Note also that it was costly under this circumstance, since little was offered. Last but not least, I felt like the customer service was deplorable, and something has to be done about it. For instance, why were we paying both Halloween party tickets and regular admissions when it was only the later that was required? Also, consider that parking had to be paid separately. We were even faulted by the travel company for making this mistake, yet I initially inquired about the two-ticket issues. Our resolution of having them listen to the recorded audio was all in vain. In as much as we love this event and we are always waiting for one to be organized, such issues are red flags, which if not addressed, will see the numbers of people reduce significantly in the coming years.

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