This year marked the first Mickey's Halloween Treat event at Disney's California Adventure. Not much information was provided about the event when it was first announced, only that it would featuring special activities, spirited music and delicious food. It was originally scheduled for October 21, 22, 28 and 29, but after quickly selling out two more dates were added, October 27 and 30. Each night's event would take place after the park's closing. Tickets were $20 for general admission, $15 for annual passholders who purchased them online. Parking in the Mickey and Friends lot was included in the purchase price. I wasn't sure if it was going to be anything more than a trick-or-treat event but it sounded like fun so we got tickets for Saturday, October 22.

We got in line at DCA for the event around 6:45 p.m. for the 7:30 p.m. start time of Mickey's Halloween Treat. There were only about four lines when we showed up but they indicated that they'd be opening all the turnstiles so everyone quickly filled in and we were fairly close to the entrance. You could see some of the decorations being taken out and put up, such as a banner across the Golden Gate Bridge. You could see all of the various lighting effects on the Sun Icon as well.

They let us in at about 7:25 p.m. After entering through the gates, a cast member handed each of us a trick-or-treat bag with ads for Chicken Little on one side and The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe on the other. You could bring this bag to the 13 stations around the park to get candy. Be sure to grab a special Mickey's Halloween Treat map on the way in to find out where everything is happening. The map also has a page where you can collect 13 Halloween stickers at each of the stations.

Kathy and I first headed towards Paradise Bay. There were a couple of scarecrows with microphones hanging out in front of the Bug's Land entrance commenting on passers by. Down on the waterfront, you could see a giant jack-o-lantern projected on the Mickey head of California Screamin'. We stopped there for a little while so that I could get some pictures.

We were both hungry so we decided to get dinner at Pizza Oom Mow Mow. We seemed to beat the crowd in there as quite a few people came in after us. Only a few food locations were open around DCA -- Pizza Oom Mow Mow, Burger Invasion, Award Wieners and Taste Pilot's Grill. There were some outdoor vending carts too to get snacks at.

We made our way around the Bay. It was getting a little busy by that point. We eventually wound up near the Cove Bar, where they had a photo location set up with the Disney Princesses. The line was fairly long, towards the entrance to Paradise Pier near Ariel's Grotto. It was nice that they didn't rush kids too much in trying to get pictures despite the long line.

Over near the Lucky Fortune Cookery, Mickey and Minnie had a photo location. Mickey was dressed up like Zorro and Minnie was a Candy Corn Princess or something. Very cute outfits. A band was playing on the stage nearby -- sounded like a game of musical chairs or something was going on.

By the time we made our way through the wharf area back towards the Performance Corridor, I was surprised at how much more busy it had become. I had heard that the event was limited to 5,000 people but it seemed busier than that. It's possible it's because everyone was out in the walkways instead of on the rides, most of which were open. There were long lines at most of the trick-or-treating locations, at the photo ops, etc. Be prepared to wait in them if you are going.

We went back towards the Entrance Plaza to take some pictures of the Sun Icon with its changing colors. It was a pretty cool effect. This whole front area had cleared out so I went back and got a couple of pictures of the banner they had put up on the Golden Gate Bridge.

We then headed to the Hollywood Pictures Backlot, which seemed fairly busy. A lot of the villains were hanging out back here. They had a jack-o-lantern projected on the giant blue sky backdrop near the Hyperion Theater.

We went back to the Entrance Plaza for more pictures of the Sun Icon. A band was playing the whole time right in front of it ... lots of Halloween-type songs. In fact, the speakers throughout the park ran a short loop of Halloween songs, which helped set the mood, though they were a little loud. From our vantage point in the Entrance Plaza, we could see the fireworks from Disneyland over the Golden Gate Bridge.

Our night was quickly coming to an end. They announced that we could say goodbye to the characters near the Sun Icon. Eventually, the characters paraded to the area and sang and danced some sort of "Trick-or-Treat" song. It looped quite a few times before ending. And then the evening was done.

If we had kids, this would be an ideal event to take them to for Trick-or-Treating. Though we didn't stop for any, there seemed to be lots of candy being handed out at the 13 stations around the park. The stickers were a nice hand out too. Lots of Halloween projections on the ground and buildings around the park and those balloon people blowing in various locations.

There were the pre-set photo locations, such as the Princesses and Mickey & Minnie, but also lots of characters to meet throughout DCA. There were entertainment cast members dress up in different costumes and even members of custodial had Halloween hats on.

It was very much a non-scary event, which is perfect for younger kids. Everyone seemed to be having a good time. I saw a number of Captain Jack Sparrows, a couple of Roger Rabbits and lots of people dressed up like characters from Alice in Wonderland. Both kids and adults alike were dressed up. Some people were wearing masks, which I know they weren't supposed to. Others had their faces painted.

Speaking of faces painted, I think that was one of the activities that were going on around DCA. They also had mask coloring and other activities. There seemed to be a lot to do. Rides, such as California Screamin', Soarin' Over California and Tower of Terror, were running with few people riding them. As I mentioned, a few eating locations were open as were a few of the stores.

It was a really fun night. It seemed to go by really quickly. I can only imagine how tough it would be to see everything if you had to wait in all of the lines. It was far busier than I expected but it was manageable.

Hopefully, they'll continue to do this as an annual event, especially if they keep the costs down. We'd certainly do it again.

- Story and photos by Matthew Walker
Posted October 26, 2005

E-mail Matt at matt@startedbyamouse.com, discuss this article in the StartedByAMouse.com Disney Discussion Forums or use the Talkback feature below.

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