After being late for the party (fashionably late?) I decided to walk over to Avengers Campus to see how busy it was with no boarding groups and the supposed "lower" crowds. Along the way I stopped at my first treat trail with Dr. Facilier.
Spolier alert: it was busy. Spider-Man had a 45 min wait. Guardians After Dark 50 min. This would be a recurring theme all night.
While in AC, I did get the chance to see Agatha, who was perfectly cast. Throughout each photo op line there were several spots to get candy. After 4 of these trails, the little bag they gave me when I entered the park was full. It was never in short supply at this party.
After Agatha, I got a good spot to watch the parade over by the entrance to AC. I had seen the parade before at Disneyland when the Hallowen party was there. It's not as good as Boo-to-You, but it was fun to see any Disney parade after years of not being able to.
I tried to see if the lines for rides were shorter right after the parade. No such luck.
Instead I went to two more treat trails in nearby Hollywoodland, the ones for Oogie Boogie and Cruella. Both were well done, but the experience was very assembly line. Anyone who stopped to take pictures was told to keep moving. With huge lines, it was the only way to keep them from taking forever to see these characters.
I then managed to see most of Halloween Screams, the fireworks show in Disneyland proper, from Buena Vista Street. I couldn't hear that show's soundtrack, but they were playing Disney villain songs in DCA anyway so it oddly fit.
Villains Grove was next, with a massive line to get in. It was a unique experience for sure. Not a "house" in the HHN sense, but still an "attraction" of sorts with great light and fog displays. Like the treat trails, there wasn't much time to stop and absorb the scenery due to the crowds. It felt like it was over quickly.
After this I went to Starbucks to get some food because, again, long lines to do so elsewhere. I don't know why the ice cream store was closed, seems like a no-brainer to keep it open during the event.
I managed to see the Headless horseman one last time before leaving, which was a little over 3 hours after I got in.
To recap, I did the following:
- 4 "immersive treat trails"
- Frightfully Fun Parade (seeing the pre-parade twice)
- Villains Grove
- took some pictures
- saw the other park's fireworks
- NO ride, due to long lines
This was also the more expensive Saturday night party. I don't think it was worth it. I had already spent time in DCA prior to this, so rides were not a priority and the crowds made this less enjoyable too (I'd say this event was oversold). The event needs more party-exclusive offerings to justify the price. In 2019 there was a special version of World of Color. As I said in another thread, there needs to be more entertainment of that caliber, and/or maybe another walk-through attraction. What was there was good, it just needed more.
