Mickey's Halloween Party

Mickey jack-o-lantern

There’s something very special about Disneyland at night: all the rides and places you know so well, during the day, suddenly become dark and mysterious after the sun goes down. Needless to say, I love the park at night, especially when it’s all dressed-up for the holidays.

Teacups ride at night

Last night, Tim and I went to Mickey’s Halloween party—an extra-ticket, after-hours event held at Disneyland most evenings in October. The party is also the only time adult park-goers are allowed to wear costumes, so most nights sellout quickly. We saw many princesses and Jack Sparrows, of course; but also an unexpectedly beautiful Ursula, Ariel’s nemesis from The Little Mermaid, as well as quite a few terrific Mad Hatters, a la Johnny Depp in the 2010 Alice in Wonderland reboot. Though we don’t do costumes, I did wear one of my Maleficent t-shirts, plus horns/ears—no surprise: Maleficent is my favorite villainess—while Tim wore his Disney “warm, crispy, crunchy” churros t-shirt. We fit right in.

Me, in my Maleficent ears/horns,

in front of Mickey ghost

When we entered the park, we each were given a shiny wristband to distinguish us from the hundreds of day visitors, who were being gently pushed toward the exit via several checkpoints throughout the park. Our first stop was the town square, where various Disney villains and villainesses were posing for pictures with their fans. The Maleficent line was too long—damn, you, Angelina Jolie!—but we did pose with Star Wars Storm-troopers in Tomorrowland. We enjoyed the 8:30PM Halloween parade down Main Street and practically ran from the Indiana Jones ride to the park’s hub, in order to catch the special fireworks show at 9:30PM.

Tim sneaked a couple of snaps 

of Maleficent

Close-up

 Although we had to pay—not even “cast members,” like Tim, get into the party for free—we decided it was a good deal because admission was limited, resulting in a lot less crowded park. The wait to pose with Maleficent may have been impossibly long, but the lines to get onto our favorite rides were relatively short. We had a great time.

Main Street train station covered in cobwebs

"Small World" exterior

With storm-troopers