After experiencing Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween parties in both Disneyland and Disney World, as well as Boo Bash last year in Disney World, this year I finally got to experience Disney California Adventure’s Oogie Boogie Bash!
Where do I start? I finally got to wear and premiere my Oogie Boogie costume I’ve been holding back all summer and finally cross this costume off my bucket list after wanting to do it for years but never finding a costume I was satisfied with to suit my style. I hope you love it as much as I did bringing to life. I shot it earlier this summer and have been impatiently holding back the photos so I’m very excited to finally be able to share them.
Let’s start with the main event of the Halloween party, the treat trails and characters.
In past Disney Halloween parties, the candy stops were one line per cart giving out candy. At OBB, the candy stops were called treat trails and rightly so. They had multiple carts throughout one line, each one giving out different candy or treats (apple slices, carrots, grapes, chips, etc) and in the middle or end of each trail were almost always a character to see. I got to see Sid from Toy Story, Madam Mim from The Sword in the Stone, Oogie Boogie, Agatha from WandaVision, Mother Gothel from Tangled, Cruella, Maleficent and last but not least, the star of the show, Ernesto de la Cruz, whom I visited twice because he was just so good and swoon-worthy. Honestly I could have stayed there and watched him all night. He was the most impressive because of how well they did his mask to make him look straight from the movie and I love how personal and interactive he was with the audience beyond just singing and standard phrases. The only characters I missed was Dr. Facilier (because time ran out and he was in the parade at the end of the night so there was a slim chance we could have caught him post parade before they closed off lines), Minnie, Daisy and Clarabelle as the Sanderson sisters and Kingdom Hearts Mickey (I skipped this because the lines were known to be notoriously long and I’m not a crazy fan of Hocus Pocus or the Kingdom Hearts video game to begin with so I’d rather not steal a spot in line from someone who actually wanted to see them), and the unofficial characters Hercules and Ping who sometimes make appearances at the parties. There were also other characters around as photo stops only and not part of treat trails so I didn’t really want to stop because their lines are much longer because people want to take their time with photos. The treat trails move much faster as they want to keep people moving through. And despite moving fast, the character interactions were still top notch and uniquely personal. I really appreciated that they gave out more than just candy as well. The fresh fruit is a nice touch. You could also easily fill your bag within visiting just 2 treat trails. At a certain point, I had to start refusing candy because my bags were getting too full, and yes I said bags, lol. I had a few bags and even put them on my friend’s stroller and we were still overflowing with candy. I’m not even sure why I trick or treated since I don’t really eat candy. My husband thoroughly enjoyed it as he was eating candy out of his bag all night and we were still overflowing no matter how much he ate.
When it comes to the rides, all the wait times were much shorter during the party than during normal operating hours, since the party is limited to party ticketholders only, and most people wanted to focus on Halloween exclusive events. We took advantage and rode some rides but I tried to not make this a focus as I wanted to do the party exclusive stuff. We did a balance of everything and I feel like this worked out well since I did get to see pretty much all the characters I wanted and still had ample time to visit Villains Grove. What is Villains Grove? It’s a unique walkthrough with no characters but rather focuses on lighting, music and projections to immerse you into that eerie atmosphere of Disney’s darker side. It was very well done and beautifully haunting to walk through as if you’re in the dark part of a villains solo act. The candles were my favorite part as they set the mood beautifully.
We were also able to get a decent spot to watch the parade come through thanks to some very sweet cast members that helped us as we kept going back and forth trying to find a good spot and meet up with friends. I was excited to finally see the Mayor in his cute little car. I wish they did a meet and greet for him because I would love a picture with my favorite Nightmare Before Christmas character. I enjoyed all the villains spotlighted in this parade, especially Hades and Dr. Facilier. They deserve more showtime and love in the Disney parks. My husband found Frollo inappropriate and a little too rapey to be joining the crew, which when I think about it, he’s right. The Hunchback of Notre Dame is a much darker movie than people realize. It would’ve been really nice to see Esmerelda dancing around instead. I loved Ursula, Lady Tremaine and the stepsisters joining in the parade. I do wish there were more characters and a few more floats though. I feel like I can never get enough. I wish it was a little longer.
I enjoy that Disney Halloween is “not so scary” since I love Halloween but there’s only so much my heart can take when it comes to jump scares and in your face spooky walk stuff. Don’t get me wrong, I did enjoy Halloween Horror Nights at Universal when I used to attend, but my throat and energy at the end of the night was always crazy from all the screaming since I’m a person that scares easily from all the jump scare stuff. I enjoy the good, clean fun at Disney Halloween events. I don’t know if that makes me boring or lame especially since I don’t even have kids to blame it on, but hey, it’s my cup of tea and I really enjoy it. I love dressing up and seeing all the costumes and unique characters that come out during the event. I would definitely say Oogie Boogie Bash is one of the exclusive holiday events worth your time and money. Tickets sold out for these parties the day it went on sale and rightly so. I also feel like in comparison to Disney, Universal is becoming ridiculously overpriced for what you get. Even their front of the line passes aren’t worth it anymore. I’m glad to have experienced HHN when it was less crowded and the lines were more organized and moved better, but I don’t think I’ll be going back anytime soon. Actually Universal in general has soured for me in recent visits due to their lines and crowds. I can barely get a good photo of anything when I’m there anymore. Disney reigns supreme for now.
We spent an evening at Oogie Boogie Bash, and then one park day at DCA to experience the park itself separate from the Halloween stuff, and then one day at Disneyland. I wish I could say I got a lot done but my hubby started feeling under the weather halfway through the trip so we had to retire early on the park days. Luckily, we have done a lot of the rides already in the past and we got to ride the Haunted Mansion Nightmare before Christmas overlay which was my main focus. I got to see the Halloween fireworks too, but unfortunately with Disneyland being a smaller park and lately the parks are more crowded than usual, so there wasn’t much room in the parks to get a good spot. We weren’t able to see the projections on the castle well to pair with the fireworks. I feel like next time, I should spend the extra money and get reserved seating to see it front and center for the fireworks and the Fantasmic show. You live and learn. It just means at one point I have to come back, right? Although I honestly don’t know when I’ll be back. California is quite the trek and it’s hard for the hubby to deal with a long plane ride so we may not be back in Cali again for a few years when the parks get yet another big update. It was also our first vacation away from our baby boy Banh Mi, and I really did miss him during the week. It’s annoying becoming a pet parent, lol. The anxieties you feel worried about something back at home. We might stick to Disney World for the next few trips since I don’t mind the road trip down to Florida and back. The funny thing is I did enjoy how close Disneyland and DCA are to each other, and even in the individual parks themselves, I appreciated how close everything was to each other so we didn’t have to walk too far to get to another ride. And at the same time, it made me appreciate Disney World for how spacious it is and how much more room we have when looking for a good spot for fireworks. We were there a little over an hour early and it still wasn’t enough. At Disney World, I can get up close front row still within the hour, and there’s much less obstruction. The fireworks are also bigger and there’s more going on in the sky so it looks much more impressive. Although because Disneyland is smaller, their fireworks feels more intimate since they’re so up-close to us. I could go on. There’s pros and cons to each. In the end, I appreciate that getting my photos done at Disney World is much easier than Disneyland.
I do have to say that Disneyland’s characters will always reign supreme to Disney World. They just have an edge having more unique characters, but also more unique and fun experiences. All the characters we met during our breakfasts were more interactive and fun. We had breakfast at Storyteller’s, Goofy’s Kitchen and the Plaza Inn. The food is nothing spectacular; just your standard overpriced Disney breakfast buffet but you know you’re not there for the food. You’re there for the experience and the characters I would definitely say, do not disappoint. I also appreciate that they include your photos at the dining experiences complimentary to your photo pass. Although at the same time, again, I don’t really ever recommend their photo pass. They’re ok, but it’s hit or miss. Most of the time, I feel the photos you can take on your own phone or camera are better. It’s hit or miss if you get a good photo pass photographer who gives you the goods and makes sure you don’t have harsh shadows and the photos are framed nicely. But this is why I always prefer my own photographers when taking photos in the park. I highly recommend it because your photos will come out much better.
In the end, I have to say I did miss Disneyland after 3 years of being away from it. It has a different charm, unique to its origin park. And at the same time, this trip also highlighted to me all the things I need to appreciate about Disney World that I’ve been spoiled with, in the past trips I’ve made since covid times. Disneyland annoyingly feels like a much busier and crowded park because of how much smaller it is. But that also is another consequence of covid times. Had the pandemic not occured, I feel like the crowdedness of the park would’ve been less. Disney has only grown in popularity and attendance because of it, unfortunately. I wish I could say I look forward to when the crowds will die down and I can enjoy the parks again like in the past, but I don’t think that’s happening anytime soon. Until then, I just have to learn to plan my visits more strategically, especially during the holiday events, which is when I always want to visit because birthday season and unique park decorations. Honestly I should find other places to visit but alas the chokehold this mouse has on me for the time being, lol.
So after all is said and done, would I still recommend it? Absolutely. 😅 Don’t @ me.
