There is nowhere more fun to be for Halloween than Disneyland.  Every nook and cranny is decorated with leaves, pumpkins, and fall colors.  Their Halloween overlay is nearly as extensive as their Christmas overlay.  Consequently, the park is more busy in the fall than it used to be.  Busy or not, this is still one of my favorite times to be at the park.  I love the trademark “Disney attention to detail” and it is such fun to see all the ways the Autumn theme permeates the park.  So here is a photo diary of some of the fall fun at Disneyland.  These three larger than life characters adorn the front gates.

Along Main Street, Jack-O-Lanterns adorn every window and rooftop.  At the top of Main Street, there is a huge pumpkin.  I forgot to get a picture of the one this year, and now looking back, I realize it is different this year.  This year the huge pumping glows and flickers inside as if lit by massive candles.

There are many spooky characters roaming the park in honor of the holiday, like Captain Hook, the Evil Queen, the Queen of Hearts, and Jafar.  It is difficult to track these guys down any other time of year.

 

Even the restaurants are decked out.  Here are a few pictures from the Big Thunder Ranch BBQ, which, by the way, has delicious food and fun live entertainment.

Of course, nowhere in the park is more decked than the Haunted Mansion.  From mid-September to the end of the Christmas holidays, the normally spooky Haunted Mansion becomes a tribute to The Nightmare Before Christmas.  My little “nephew” kept saying “It’s Christmas and Halloween!”  with awe and amazement.  And that is exactly what it is.  An odd combination, to be sure, but Disney manages to pull it off.  I love both versions of the Haunted House (the original is from my childhood), but this one is more light-hearted and imaginative.  This is one line I don’t mind waiting in, simply because a lot of the fun is seeing all the decorations.

 

 

I actually have a few questions about all of this.  Maybe someone out there knows the answers:

1.  Where on earth do they store all this stuff?

2.  How many people does it take to decorate all of Disneyland?

3.  How long does it take to convert the Haunted Mansion to The Nightmare Before Christmas?  

4.  And lastly, why can’t I live there?