Pretty sure the second we found out we were pregnant my husband and I looked forward to Disneyland with Olivia. We thought last year we’d go but with all the shutdowns we just skipped it. I saw on TikTok that the park was decorated on October 31st for Halloween and then on November 1st it switches over to Christmas.
After I booked everything, we found out about the Disneyland Oogie Boogie Halloween party. I waited in an online queue to get tickets and we added that on to the day before we arrived. The whole booking, registering, and reserving system at Disneyland right now is awkward. It took us several tries to get everything we wanted.
The New Westin Anaheim Review:
We had a terrible experience several years ago at the Disneyland California Hotel so I went on the hunt for a bit nicer hotel that was within walking distance. The New Westin Anaheim wasn’t even open yet when I booked but it looked nice so I went for it. I knew we were staying a week so I wanted a larger room for us to spread out. A bathtub was a necessity so Olivia could bathe each night. I also wanted a view of the park and a short walk. That is a lot of requests!
The Westin Anaheim fit all of that perfectly! We went with a Park View Suite with a FULL balcony. The spacious room had a full bedroom, 1.5 baths, living room, and dining room. Perfect for all three of us.
The hotel itself was gorgeous and sparkling new. The room was amazing BUUUUUT we did have to wait 4 hours for our room to be ready! There went my whole plan to get into the park early and feed Olivia. We ended up having lunch at Puestos. A super yummy Mexi-Cali restaurant inside the hotel. We all loved it. GET THE POTATO FLAUTAS.
Then we headed down to CVS to get a few things I forgot. And, then we waited… and waited… and waited. Eventually, around 3 pm, the hotel put us in a temp room so Olivia could nap. It was nuts. The room wasn’t ready until about 4:30 pm. Check-in is at 3 pm and we requested a noon check-in. Wasn’t happy about the check-in process at all. When we finally got to our room I quickly put Olivia’s costume on and got us out the door for the Oogie Boogie Bash.
A few notes… the room was totally worth it but know that fireworks are only on weekends so if you are staying on a weekday know that you won’t get a show. The view is from the living room and bedroom both have balconies.
Disneyland Oogie Boogie Halloween Review
The Disneyland Oogie Boogie Halloween bash is a party Disney throws at the California Adventure park each year with some special treats! They have it on weekends throughout September and October and on Halloween. It was amazing. I’m so glad we did it. Here is why…
Parade of Villains and Villains experiences and trick-or-treat trail.
I was surprised at how small the crowd was on the first day. This spot is usually packed and it was totally empty for a good 5 minutes but of course, my husband took forever to take the picture so we ended up with a crowd behind us!
The special Villains Parade was so much fun. Disney only pulls out the villains during Halloween so many of these characters are never seen. Many of the villains had their own spot inside the trick-or-treat trails making the experience even more fun.
The Oogie Boogie Halloween parade was so cute.
Mickey and Minnie lead all the villains to a fun dance party. We lucked out and kinda ran into the beginning and didn’t even have to wait for a front-row seat! When a cast member saw we had a little one they found us a prime seat so Olivia could watch it all. She loved it. I put a video up on my Facebook page. Pop over here to watch it.
The trick-or-treat trails were a really unique experience. We went through half a dozen or so small trails created throughout the park that had candy stations and villains. The amount of candy they gave Olivia was nuts! For every one piece of candy, they gave us they gave her 5. She made out. It will take a year for us to go through it all. A few other treats handed out were apples, grapes, chips, pretzels, stickers, tattoos, and craisins. The park even gave us small trick-or-treat bags and maps when we first entered.
**A quick tip** Bring a large bag to dump into. The bags they gave us were tiny and they fill them up for the small kids on every trail! We dumped it into a large tote bag before Olivia went down the trails. After the third, my husband and I stopped even having them put anything in our bags because of the amount of candy they were giving Olivia. It is a lot of Disney adults so when a pre-schooler comes through the staff gets extra excited.
Halloween at Disneyland
The next day we went into Disneyland Park for Halloween. Olivia decided she was done with costumes but wore a Spiderman mask all day. The decorations were gorgeous. Pumpkins everywhere and just full Halloween magic! The park was much more crowded than the day before. It is the only day, as an adult, you can wear a costume inside the park. So it was packed with Jedi cosplay.
Early in the morning, from about 8-noon, the park wasn’t that bad, and wait times to go on lines were well under 30 minutes for all rides. I even go a spot on the new Star Wars ride in the virtual line super easily. At noon though, that park fills up!
Everything went from a 15-20 minute wait to well over an hour. Olivia wasn’t thrilled about waiting in line for so long and neither was I. Without fast passes available it was kind of annoying. But, we did get in all the rides we wanted with the longest wait at 80 minutes for the Haunted Mansion.
The Halloween firework show was incredible. Again it was all of the Villains. The Villains popped up in a light show across Main Street with fireworks exploding above the castle. We found a bench at the top of Main Street with a great view. It was awesome.
November 1st at Disneyland
We went into the park the next day super excited for the Christmas switch over….. it didn’t exist. LOL! TikTok lied. All of the pumpkins were gone but they were not replaced with the snow or Christmas decor I hoped for. It was still a lot of fun. We went in around noon and only planned on riding a few things. Dumbo and the carousel again. Plus, check out all of the fun seasonal food. It was a fun day but by then we were tired and went home a bit early. The park was still pretty crowded.
California Adventure
Our last day was in California Adventure. We all agreed this was the best day. Avengers, Spiderman, Disney Junior, and fun food! Again, I got lucky and got onto the virtual line for Spiderman. We started our day there.
Olivia recently got into all things Spiderman due to the new Disney Junior show. Her excitement in line was contagious to all the Disney Adults around us. She wore her Ghost Spider hoodie and a Spiderman mask the whole time. Every adult in line played along with her shooting webs and they even pushed her to the front of the displays so she could see everything. It was a really special experience. The ride was incredible and if you ask her she will say that and Dumbo was her favorite.
Dia De los Muertos at Disneyland
The movie Coco plays non-stop in our house. The Dia De los Muertos display and parade became something we all looked forward to. It did not disappoint. We ended up sitting in the restaurant and having cake when all of a sudden the parade walked by! Talk about a perfect movement. Miguel and his family stopped to take pictures with families and the mariachi bands played songs from the movie.
Avengers Campus at California Adventure
Ok, Disney outdid themselves on this one! The food experiences, the surprise Black Widow and Captain America show, and the rides blew us away. We just sat down to eat when Black Widow appeared on the roof of Headquarters. We did not know they did shows! I put a video up on Facebook here to see. So incredible.
Overall, we had the best time. We plan on going to the Oogie Boogie Halloween bash again next year but on an earlier weekend. I think we stayed one day too long. The Westin ended up a perfect location to stay and relax. I think next time we go I’ll plan a day off in the middle so we can use the pool. We had breakfast there one morning and it was delicious. The trip was perfect.
See more of our California Adventures here.
