[Unlimited Bound Works] Mickey’s Halloween Party ’18 ~ Caliburn

It’s the most wonderful time of the year! Mickey’s Halloween Party is my favorite holiday tradition in Southern California. As Disneybounders, we can’t wear costumes in the parks. However, this is the one time during the year where you can dress up in costume and take over the park. I still remember the days when the Halloween party was held in California Adventure and the park was decorated in candy corn. Disneyland is now host to the annual Halloween party. It keeps getting bigger and bigger every year!

The Costumes

I ended up going with a group of cosplayers that did Fate series cosplay. Fate is a long running video game series and novels from Japan. The Fate franchise has had the most success in the United States with the mobile game (Fate Grand Order) and anime series (Zero, Unlimited Blade Works, etc). Characters are based off of mythological and historical figures; they are known as servants. Masters utilize these servants for the Holy Grail War.

Because the main protagonist is a female incarnation of King Arthur, I knew I had to cosplay as her for my next Disney Halloween Party.I went as Saber Lily, the younger version of King Arthur. Think of Arthur from Sword in the Stone, but all girly and whimsical.

Jared the Greek went as Sieg from Fate: Apocrypha (you can watch all of it on Netflix!). He is an artificial human who gains sapience and  becomes a master in the Holy Grail War.

 

The Party

Mickey’s Halloween Party is a celebration that invites everyone who loves the spirit of Halloween – dressing up, candy, and frightful fun – all with a Disney twist. The villains came out to stalk the park. A few had exclusive photo ops that you can only get during Halloween party. I was very happy to see Hades and Maleficent. Also, they had other Disney characters out that don’t do photo ops – Baloo, King Louie, and Terk were roaming around Adventureland.

Tunes from Nightmare Before Christmas, Florida’s theme music for Not So Scary Halloween Party, etc were playing around the main hub. Tomorrowland Terrace had a dance zone themed for the Pixar Pals. We got to see Pixar characters get on the dance floor – Jessie, Dug, and Mike Wazoski were getting their groove on.

As festive and family friendly as Halloween party is, there were some nice atmospheric touches to park attractions and lands that gave an aura of foreboding. Fog filled Frontierland’s Rivers of America, spooky sights were in Adventureland, and dark entities roared by Space Mountain: Ghost Galaxy.

The Parade

I did see the Halloween party parade once back in 2009 where it was pretty hokey; mostly pirates and princesses in neon colored costumes. It was more kiddie friendly and focused more on the costumes and candy side of Halloween. Frightfully Fun parade is a must see! The Headless Horseman roamed through the streets while an anxious Ichabod Crane was on the lookout for his life. This dullahan was certainly the head of the parade!

It was followed by Mickey and Minnie in their Halloween best rockin’ out to the “It’s Halloween” song. This song will be stuck in your head if you’re around the main hub! If you love Nightmare Before Christmas, you will see the mayor driving around followed by a Jack and Sally float. I was close enough to the ground to see Zero. My favorite set had to be the Haunted Mansion dancing ghosts and grave diggers. While the Haunted Mansion has the Nightmare Before Christmas timeshare, it was nice to see the OG mansion represented in the parade.

Finally, we had a gaggle of Disney’s most famous villains with the addition of Vampirina at the end.

The Fireworks

Halloween Screams fireworks was delightful! We ended up watching the fireworks from the Jolly Holiday bakery as we nomed on some Halloween treats. The fireworks was emceed by Jack Skellington. The best views are by Sleeping Beauty castle where you can see projections and pyrotechnics matching the fireworks routine. I liked the parts where they played homage to “Heffalumps and Woozles” and “Pink Elephants on Parade.” While we have seen this particular fireworks display from waiting in line on the Matterhorn a few years ago, this was nice to see while resting up between trick or treat trails.

 

The Trick or Treating

The main highlight of Mickey’s Halloween Party! Guests get a free bag. AP holders get a free commemorative 2018 button and postcard. If you wanted a larger bag, you could also get a tote at an additional cost. The bags were pretty cute this year. They had the current designs for Minnie and Mickey. This was enough to hold treats for two!

There were plenty of trails around Disneyland. A few major ones were at Big Thunder Trail and Star Wars Launch Bay. Candy ranged from Pirate’s Booty, standard chocolate, apple crisps, etc. Your mileage may vary per trail, but it’s a good mix and variety of candy. My favorite trail was at the Golden Horseshoe. Skeletons were playing cards and having drinks. A skeleton of a saloon gal was doing her thing on stage!

More on our Halloween haul:

 

And more shenanigans!

My character is supposed to hold a sword. I do have a series accurate sword for the character, but alas, as of this Halloween party, it was stuck in customs.
Holding onto my wig for dear life! This wig arrived on the day of Halloween party.Of course, one of my favorite things about Halloween Party is getting photos with Disney characters or characters bought by Disney. Here’s when we ran into Darth Vader.

 

Overall

Halloween Party is a fun treat. It is getting much more expensive every year. We were lucky to get a discount this year. Through the years I’ve been going to Halloween Party, there are two types of people – those who will focus on wearing costumes and taking advantage of short wait times (tickets are good from three hours before party start time – this gives you a lot to do in the evening hours!) and those who will focus on everything you can do at Halloween party that Disney doesn’t normally offer on any given day for regular guests. I spent a lot of my years going to Halloween party in the former category, mainly because most of my company were friends who did not go to the parks often. I spent tonight’s event with AP holders and we just took our sweet time enjoying that atmosphere Halloween party had to offer.

“Is Halloween party worth it?” I would advise planning in advance. The parade and fireworks are worth checking out. If you were to do the trails, I would recommend Golden Horseshoe, Big Thunder Trail, and Star Wars Launch Bay. Though the last two could change once Galaxy’s Edge opens in 2019. The lines are relatively short – if you don’t really go to the parks often, this is a good time to check out the park without major tourist crowds. While Halloween party does sell out, it doesn’t feel like a crowded summer’s day.

Many thanks to my cosplay friends for making this happen. It was nice seeing you again and also cool meeting new cosplay friends. I was very excited to have the opportunity of cosplaying from Fate at Disneyland. Maybe next year, Unlimited Bound Works will probably do Kingdom Hearts…who knows?!

So as I pray, Unlimited Bound Works.