Disneyland & California Adventures – Halloween Edition

At California, you can find the Disney Theme Parks located in Anaheim. There are two parks, California Adventures and the Disneyland Park. Both offer its own unique attractions, dining options and shows. I went to both parks back to back during my visit and averaged about 20,000 to 25,000 steps a day! Visiting during the Halloween season in October is really fun, as you get to experience Halloween themed events, treats and unique merchandise. Here were some of my favourite foods, rides and shows at Disney.

California Adventures

Attractions

My favourite rides were between the Incredicoaster at the Pixar Pier or the Radiator Springs Racers in Cars Land. Ariel’s Undersea Adventure and Monsters, Inc. Mike & Sulley to the Rescue in were also really fun rides too! The Toy Story Midway Mania! is a classic as well.

Halloween Treats and Eats

There are limited edition treats during special events like the Halloween Season. I tried the pumpkin spice churro which was so good. You can find it at the Buena Vista Street churro cart. The pumpkin spiced sugar wasn’t too noticeable in terms of flavour (pumpkin sugared or not, still a delicious churro) and the brown butter cream cheese was a sweet way to spice it up!

The Pumpkin Bundt Cake can be found at the Pacific Wharf Cappuccino Cart. It’s a pumpkin flavoured cake filled with dulce de leche and cream cheese frosting finished with a chocolate stem and mousse leaf. You can really taste the pumpkin flavour come through and it was a great dessert!

And while not a Halloween special, but I just have to mention how good the tacos were at the Cocina Cucamonga in Pacific Wharf. My favourite was the QuesaBirra, but the Pollo Asado and Al Pastor were also very good. I was pleasantly surprised at the flavours, as sometimes theme park food can be a hit or miss! I would highly recommend the tacos at your future visit. Also a tip when getting food is that rather than waiting in long lines (yes, long lines everywhere), but you can skip the lines if you do mobile orders on the Disneyland apps. You just have to pick a time slot of when you’d like to pick up your food, then when you are nearby, just select the “I’m here, prepare my order” button and your food will start to be prepped. You’ll get a notification when your order is ready and just pick it up at the window! I see so many people standing in lines waiting to order food, when you can literally skip the lunchtime rush!

World of Colour Show

This is a must see show if you’re visiting California Adventures. There are two showtimes, 9:00 pm and 10:15 pm. To see the show, you’ll need to enter into the virtual queue on the same day that you’re at the park. You can enter the queue for one of the shows starting at 12:00 pm. There is a reserved viewing area in front of the waters at Paradise Bay. In order to get a good spot to see the show, you should enter the reserved viewing area early, as spots for the show are first come first serve. The show takes place in front of the large Mickey Mouse ferris wheel and the Incredicoaster. It is truly a magical show filled with brilliant colours that project onto the beaming and dancing water. The music and story that is displayed gave me chills and left me teary especially during one of the scenes from Lion King! You have to put this show on your must do list if you’re visiting California Adventures.

Disneyland

Disneyland during Halloween time is so vibrant and festively filled with a bright fall aesthetic. There was festive decor all along Main Street and of course the giant Mickey Pumpkin! My favourite ride was the Haunter Mansion holiday which is the regular Haunted Mansion transformed into the Nightmare Before Christmas. Disneyland also isn’t complete with out trying some of their Halloween inspired desserts like the Pumpkin Mickey Beignets or Raspberry Rose Mickey Macaroon!

During special seasons, there are different shows that appear at the Disney Castle throughout the year. At Halloween time, they have a fireworks show called ‘Halloween Screams’ filled with ghost, Disney Villains and inspired by the Nightmare before Christmas. There are specific viewing areas in front of the castle that fill up really quickly, so be sure to get a spot early on.