10 Reasons to Visit Disneyland Paris for the Halloween Season 2016 (w/Photos & Video)
Hi everyone!
We spent nearly 2 weeks in the Disneyland Paris area for the Half Marathon Weekend (which I will write about soon) and the kickoff of the Halloween season. In 2014, we visited during a similar time frame and I was just taken so much by the way Disneyland Paris celebrates Halloween – I wish I could be there for it every year. The one downside is that the season runs only about a month (from October 1st – November 2nd, 2016). Here are 10 reasons to visit Disneyland Paris for Halloween 2016!
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We will have our Mousesteps Weekly YouTube Show #203 covering much of Halloween at Disneyland Paris posted next week and our Disneyland Paris 2016 YouTube playlist will continue to grow over the next couple of weeks.
Halloween season activities are included in a park ticket or annual pass. Except for a special Halloween night ticketed event (Mickey’s Halloween Party), everything is included for guests during the season. That includes the Mickey’s Halloween Celebration parade/cavalcade, character meet and greets, live entertainment and even Haribo candy handed out during meet and greets. Our annual passes only cost $250.00 USD each for the most expensive Dream pass, so it’s an excellent value (prices on annual passes are rumored to increase this year, possibly significantly).
Dr. Facilier and Lady Tremaine in It’s Good to be Bad with the Disney Villains show.
Halloween decorations are abundant and not just on Main Street. – Ghosts, pumpkins, photo ops and more line Town Square to the hub, and more decorations can be found in Frontierland and by Pirates of the Caribbean in Adventureland. There are fun photo opportunities and ghost sounds that make Main Street a festive place to be! And check out the brambles behind Sleeping Beauty Castle both during the day and at night.
Mickey Mouse pumpkin in the hub.
One of the Main Street photo ops.
Pumpkin display at Pirates of the Caribbean.
It’s playful & villainous fun wrapped up in one holiday. – Mickey’s Halloween Celebration Parade is fun for all ages, with the show It’s Good to be Bad with the Disney Villains bringing out more of the villainous vibe. Meet and greets go either way as well, and I’ll talk more about that. There really is something for everyone at Disneyland Paris for Halloween!
Gaston performs with other villains.
Halloween Character Meet and Greets are Plentiful – Kids of all ages can enjoy meeting Mickey & Minnie, Stitch, Goofy, the Cheshire Cat and other playful Disney characters. But the villains also come out to play, and those include Maleficent, Jafar, Dr. Facilier, Cruella DeVil, the Evil Queen and many more. On nights where It’s Good to be Bad with the Disney Villains didn’t play (it still does during the day), the villains took over Town Square for an hour in the evening. Check with City Hall or a character attendant if visiting during this season. This was one of my favorite activities during the event. We have more character videos here.
Mickey’s Halloween Celebration is a parade not to be missed – I’m not sure whether to call this a parade or cavalcade, but it is a buoyant celebration of the autumn season. The song and performers are geared more toward the harvest season over Halloween. If you’ve seen the autumn segment of Mickey’s Royal Friendship Faire at Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom in Florida, you have heard a modified version of the Disneyland Paris parade song Vive la Vie, which is one of my favorites. Characters in the parade include Donald and his nephews Huey, Dewey and Louie; Mickey & Minnie, and Clarice with Chip and Dale.
It’s Good to be Bad with the Disney Villains show is so very good. – There are actually two versions of this show, one with French being spoken by the characters and one with English spoken (the shows are also different, with some different characters in each). The songs can go either way in language, and include “Boo to You” and other recognizable songs to those who have attended Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party at the Magic Kingdom through the years. The shows are about 7-8 minutes each (and are especially gorgeous at night), and include the castle fountains in the background. And after the shows are over, there are meet and greets with the characters – similar to the Villains Mix & Mingle.
Town Square villains are so. much. fun. – I’ve already mentioned this briefly, but there is nothing quite like watching the Queen of Hearts running after guests or the Hag running away from them. It is a terrific setting for evening meet and greets on nights they are there.
Anastasia and Drizella have fun in Town Square.
The Queen of Hearts runs after a guest.
Maleficent meets at her brambles again this year – This year (as opposed to 2014), the characters are more spread out for guests to meet them. In 2014, the villains met in a relatively small area behind the castle, around the brambles. Starting in 2015, Maleficent rules this area herself. Guests can line up for the popular villain for much of the day.
One dissapointment? Merchandise. There isn’t much for Halloween, not even an adult shirt. If you are looking to shop for Christmas, though, you are in luck – just like in 2014, there is plenty to choose from in many shops. Christmas merchandise comes out early, I wish I had more room in my suitcase. There is a lot of fun merchandise to be had, different than what can be found here in the United States parks. But I’d still love to see a little something more for Halloween, it’s such a popular holiday at Disneyland Paris.