This is my second year participating in the Disneyland Halloween Half Marathon Weekend. Last Year,…read moreI did the half marathon, this year, I did the 5k! Disneyland's Halloween Half Marathon was from September 4-7 at Disneyland Resort in Anaheim California. This is the second year for the Halloween themed runDisney event. Next year though, the runDisney event will not occur due to the planned construction at Disneyland Resort There are a few different events that are hosted. 5K - (Friday) - Theme was Ursula the Sea Witch 10K - (Saturday) - Theme was Cruella de Vil Half Marathon - (Sunday) - Theme was Maleficient If you complete both the 10K and the Half Marathon, you received the special Pain & Panic Challenge medal! There is also the kids races and the yoga session! Each distance does receive it's own themed medal! Bib pick-up was at the Health and Fitness Expo at the Disneyland Hotel. You could pick up the bib, pre purchased merchandise, and shop at the expo hall between September 4-6. I ended up buying [2] pairs of Disneyland Halloween themed brook shoes and several Halloween runDisney shirts/pins! Logistics: On the race day for the 5k, I arrived around 4:15 at the Mickey & Friends parking structure. From there, I went through the security check. The 5k started inside Disneyland. There are a variety of different corals for the races. I started in the last corral, but luckily, I was able to get two different character pictures in the race! The weather was perfect too! It was around 65 for race morning. The race started at 5:00 A.M, but by the time I started at my corral, I didn't pass the start line until 5:25 A.M. The 5k went through both Disneyland and California Adventure theme park. The race ended towards Goofy's Fly school in DCA. The race was amazing. It was all decorated for Halloween. Before you started the race, there was a pre-show, lights, and some fireworks! It was such a amazing time!

We utilized Belle's Enchantment for our 5 year old's birthday party, and the quality of the…read moreprincesses was top-notch. We were very satisfied with the service! What was great: - Party packages were clearly communicated and pricing was upfront. - Communication for booking and day-of process was seamless and easy. - They allowed us to change princesses and have some flexibility in our booking depending on how many RSVPed. - The princesses that arrived were SO TALENTED. They sang, they were SO good with the kids, they could face paint. Everyone was thoroughly impressed. - My little birthday girl was thoroughly enchanted and loved all of the activities. The actresses got bombarded by all of the little princesses the minute they entered our party venue, and they immediately got down and connected with them. - They were running a few minutes late, but that was clearly communicated and they stayed later to make sure that we got our full allotted time. A few things to note: - This company operates entirely on Instagram, so you book and communicate via DMs on Instagram - Payment was requested via Venmo - The contract was very clear with what was expected (chairs and tables needed, etc.). It was just sent the day before, so would've loved it a few days prior! The only thing negative that I have to say is that the booking process included suggested tip amounts and the option to tip ahead of time. I don't mind that they gave me the option to tip ahead of time so I could do it via digital payment vs. cash the day of. However, the tipping culture is just what rubbed me the wrong way. We ended up tipping over the suggested percentage because we were happy with the service. I just don't like people telling me what to tip! I feel like that goes against the concept of a tip. Anyway, off my soap box now. ;) This is a great small business that does great work. My daughter was so happy, and we were happy as a result. Thank you!

We had the chance to meet Moana and she was lovely!!! So kind and sweet to my kids who were star…read morestruck and shy. They left smiling though and kept talking about her for days!!!

I had a horrible experience here yesterday 8/14. I had my 3 year old daughter who was 42 inches and…read morethen my one year old son. First off, I didn't realize that we couldn't stand and hold my 1 year old. That's okay had to strap him in. Waiting at least 5 minutes for it to start and he starts whining. They are staring at us. Then proceeds to say. No crying on the carousel and told us he has to get off. CRAZY. He would have been fine once it started. They had a problem with us because then it was my daughter. Who's tall enough to ride on her own. Demanding me to stand next to her when we paid for her ticket because she is big enough to ride it herself. I wanted to start screaming at this point because ANYTHING we did they had a problem! Horrible experience. Made kids upset. NEVER AGAIN. Bad people running this who don't understand children.

On the back of Target at the Irvine Spectrum Center there's a carousel one of two in Irvine. I…read morewould say my favorite is at the Great Park. But when the child wants to go on carousel at that young age. You can't say no!! The lady running the ride, I'm not sure if she had a bad case of "carouselitis" or if she was auditioning for the role of Grumpy Cat, but this lady had a face that could rival a bank vault. I mean, even cute kids saying hello couldn't crack that expression. But hey, we're here for the ride, not a stand-up comedy show that's what the Irvine Improv is for. But hey, for only $3 per child, who can complain? And here's a golden nugget of information: if you're an adult accompanying a child under 40 inches, you get to ride for free! Talk about a deal that'll make your inner child jump for joy. Just make sure you're ready to stand next to your pint-sized companion, because you don't want to be that adult squeezed into a kiddie seat. Trust me, it's not a good look.

I grew up in a family that went to Disneyland every year during the summer. After all this time, I…read morehad never visited the park during the Halloween season. So I decided to check out their Oogie Boogie Bash. This event was created in 2019 to be a separate admission ticket on specific nights at Disney California Adventure Park. The park closes early to the general public to allow Oogie Boogie Bash ticket holders to enter at around 3pm. Once all of the general public guests have left, the Fall festivities begin at 6pm. The Oogie Boogie Bash includes special entertainment, character encounters and immersive treat trails with lots of free candy. I've been to special Disney events like their annual Lunar New Year celebration in the past and thought they did nice job with this one. Oogie Boogie is the main antagonist of Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas and who they name this event after. They do a great job with the Halloween decorations at Disney California Adventure Park. When you enter, you are given a trick or treat bag that is filled with candy by cast members at specific locations. My bag was overflowing when I left. Because the event is limited capacity, I enjoyed the shorter wait times. I also tried a couple of special food items that were created just for the Oogie Boogie Bash. For merch, I picked up a glow-in-the-dark t-shirt at one of the gift shops. I enjoyed walking through the Redwood Creek Challenge Trail because they transform it into an atmospheric walk-through experience called Villains Grove. One of my favorite things about the Oogie Boogie Bash is the character encounters. Many of the characters that you can meet are some of the more rare Disney villains like Dr. Doofenshmirtz (Phineas and Ferb), Ernesto de la Cruz (Coco), Agatha Harkness (Marvel), Syndrome (The Incredibles) and Hades (Hercules). I had some fun having a little banter with the Judge Doom character from "Who Framed Roger Rabbit". It was fun to see all the kids (and adults) dressed up in their Halloween costumes. People are so creative these days with their outfits. Toward the end of the evening was the special Frightfully Fun Parade starring Jack Skellington. I bought the dessert party reserved VIP-seated viewing for the parade that comes with complimentary beverages and a box of sweet and savory treats. My box was filled with freeze-dried fruit, gummy worms, a blueberry ooze cake, salted caramel macarons, mini cupcakes, sugar cookies and other fun stuff. The parade wasn't very long but entertaining. Overall, I enjoyed my first Disney Halloween experience. The Oogie Boogie Bash is pricey (it's Disney), but a fun event to check out. It was actually nice being at the park during the evening hours and having less people to deal with. Oogie Boogie Bash has a special night just for D23 members.

Background On Oogie Boogie Bash: On select nights in August, September and October, you can wear a…read moreHalloween costume and join the Oogie Boogie Bash at Disney California Adventure Park. The park transforms into a family-friendly, spooky fun after-hours event filled with tricks and treats! Tickets: Separate ticketed event. People can start coming in at 3pm. This event usually gets sold out. Tickets now range from $139 to $199. It gets more expensive when it gets closer to Halloween. You can check out their website for Oogie Boogie Bash. https://disneyland.disney.go.com/events-tours/disney-california-adventure/oogie-boogie-bash-halloween-party/#tab-panel-dates-0 Prices for September: Tuesday, September 1: $139 Thursday, September 3: $159 Sunday, September 6: $169 Tuesday, September 8: $159 Thursday, September 10: $159 Sunday, September 13: $159 Tuesday, September 15: $159 Thursday, September 17: $159 Sunday, September 20: $169 Tuesday, September 22: $159 Thursday, September 24 $159 Sunday, September 27*: $169 Tuesday, September 29: $159 Prices For October: Thursday, October 1: $179 Sunday, October 4: $179 Tuesday, October 6: $169 Thursday, October 8: $179 Sunday, October 11: $179 Tuesday, October 13: $169 Thursday, October 15: $179 Sunday, October 18: $179 Tuesday, October 20: $169 Thursday, October 22: $179 Sunday, October 25: $189 Tuesday, October 27: $189 Thursday, October 29: $189 Saturday, October 31: $199 Time: 6:00 PM to 11:00 PM. Enjoy 5 hours of mischievous fun! Due to having work the next day, we decided to leave around 10pm. Wait Time/Long Lines: The most notable ones that have long lines are: World Of Color Trail (Sanderson Sisters), Grizzly Peak Trail (Yzma and Maleficent), and Villains Grove (Opens at 9pm). So pick your poison of which trail you want to start off with first. We decided on Maleficient. We decided to forgo Even though we did wait for 5 minutes in line, we felt that we could tackle other trails to make use of our time before watching the headless horseman and Madame Leota's Swinging Wake party. So we left the line. Location: Located though out Disney California Adventure Park. Entertainment: 1) Halloween street party: This season they don't have the parade. Thought it was pretty cool. Haunted mansion theme. Loved the music that they played. It was very catchy. 2) Enjoy Halloween-themed park rides like Mater's Graveyard JamBOOree, Luigi's Honkin' Haul-O-Ween and Guardians of the Galaxy - Monsters After Dark! We didn't do any of the holloween themed rides. So don't have an opinion about them. 3) Blazing The Candy Trails (There's 10 trails to trick or treat and you can go more than once! We didn't do World of Color Treat Trail (Sanderson Sisters), Yokai Treat Trail (San Fransokyo) , nor Syndrome (close to Bing Bong's Sweet Stuff). We did Oogie Boogie (animation building), Maleficent (grizzly river run), Agatha trail (Avengers), Dr. Doofenshmirtz from Phineas and Ferb (Hollywood Land Inside Disney Jr. Building), Buena Vista Treat Trail (Near the entrance), Radiator Springs Racers, and Villains Grove. Love them all, but the ones we went more than once were Agatha Trail (3 times) and Radiator Springs (2 times). They had the turkey sausage sticks and gold fish crackers with some in a shape of Mickey! :) 4) Headless Horseman: He was alright. Wished the horse could do more stuff than walk around. Having the horse trot and prance around would be a nice touch. :) Oogie Boogie For Thought: Might be a one and done due to how much it costs to trick or treat at Disneyland. I did have fun seeing Oogie Boogie and the headless horseman. :)

The Baseline: For a theme park, quality experiences must be provided, fun amusement attractions be…read moreavailable, immersive environments must be established, and safety must be a top priority. Attraction: This is a room off the Animation building hub where you are free to draw animations and play around with exhibits (very interactive). I have come here post-Animation Academy to finish my drawing and pencils/paper is provided. If you want a special made souvenir from your Disney vacation this is a good place to spend a bit of time. Also the building has central air (cool for the summer/warm for the winter). My only ding is that part of the attraction is closed and I do not know what they are refurbishing in the old Beauty and the Beast area. Queue: No queue. Walk in and have fun. Staff: There is at least one Disney cast member there to assist you and answer questions.

After the Animation Academy, my husband and I visited the Sorcerer's Workshop. It's right next to…read morethe Anna and Elsa Meet and Greet! Inside the Animation Building are other activities such as Turtle Talk with Crush and the animation Courtyard. The Sorcerer's Workshop was really cool! You'll see hands-on exhibits of the animators art. You'll see still images turn into motion! It's quite magnificent! We saw a few stations with Goofy and Mickey! We spent about 20 minutes inside the Sorcerer's Workshop! It was also nice to take a break from some of the rides and cool down in the AC! It was really hot out!

My boys loved Camp Snoopy's Off-Road Rally, a cute little kiddie ride at Knott's Berry Farm, with…read moremini Peanuts-themed Jeeps going around a track. The line was relatively short, and the ride was pleasant enough, despite the bickering it produced between my sons. They developed strong opinions in line about the color car they wanted to ride, and argued vigorously about their preferences--one wanted red, the other blue. I was set to have them ride different cars, with me riding with the three-year-old, but they decided at the last possible second that they would ride together. There were two rows of seats per vehicle, and only one steering wheel, in front. I had the privilege of riding in back and refereeing the constant struggle for the steering wheel. I made them agree to take turns, on pain of leaving Knott's, and called out for them to switch every several seconds. This actually worked, and we all enjoyed the ride with minimal heartbreak and bloodshed. I'd recommend the Off-Road Rally to anyone with kids who like to steer.

The Carrusel de California is a charming ride! Built in 1896, this classic merry-go-round was…read moreoriginally installed at Hersheypark before coming to Knott's in 1955 and then being renamed in 2023 during Fiesta Village's renovation. It is one of the world's oldest working carousels and still plays music from its antique band organ! The beautifully-painted panels featuring monastery scenes add a unique, storybook touch, and the exotic menagerie of wild animals ranging from lions to ostriches - far beyond just horses - makes it especially fun for kids to pick their favorite. The carousel offers a nostalgic, relaxing break in the middle of the park and is absolutely worth a spin. PRO TIP: The inner two rings of animals move up and down, and the outer ring animals remain stationary.

Guardians of the Galaxy is an insane ride that I feel like if you are scared of drops, you probably…read morenot go on it because it is intense! I thought it would just be one drop but no it was multiple ones that made me personally super scared. But I still enjoyed it and also the inside of the places that you have to wait in line had a lot of cool items to look at! I especially like the cute dog in the spacesuit!

MY FAVORITE RIDE AT DCA (Disney California Adventure)!!!…read more I've heard there's six different songs for the ride and each one has a different ride sequence. I haven't been on all six. The ones I have been on have all been excellent! I love the drops and rises and the music is fun! The line is usually very long, so be prepared to wait when you want to ride Guardians! During Halloween, the ride is changed to Monsters After Dark and it's just as fun and playful as the regular ride. I love it!! Xie Xie!!!