Did Oogie Boogie last night. I'm good for about 5 years. Now a lot of that (or maybe most of it) isn't the party's fault. But first I'll tell you what let me down about Ooogie Boogie. It's too short. At 5 hours its hard to get everything you want done especially if you have kids as they really have more like 3 good hours at the party. I kind of felt like what Joe day ticket holder must feel like when not having been to DL in years. Just kind of felt like we were rushing and that the odds were stacked against you. Which is a strange feeling for me as we have the regular park days down to where we're just experiencing the parks differently than the majority of guests.
Was a little let down with the lack of dining options. By 8pm it seemed like there were very few places to eat. We decided to eat at Flo's and had like 3 options to choose from. No turkey club, etc from the day menu. We also spent way too much time at Flo's but that's what happens when you're at the park with 6,4,3, and 2 year old. At a 5 hour event you really cant afford to spend an hour eating. With that said we managed to do pretty much do everything we wanted but it felt hectic. We did the Oogie Boogie, Ernesto De La Cruz, Maleficent, Dr. Facilier and Mother Goethel treat trails. We rode Goofys, Jumping Jellyfish, Maters, Webslingers from 3-6pm and rode RSR, Soarin, Luigis and Incredicoaster during the party. Incredicoaster at 10:45pm after the second parade and Soarin in the nick of time at 10:59pm. At this point all the kids were sleeping and were child switching or just sacrificing for one to party ride. Of course I found myself playing host again and catered to my non Magic Key sisters wants/needs which was why we didn't ride MAD.
The highlights for me were Villains Grove and Ernesto De La Cruz who was awesome! Love that eerie rendition of "Remember Me" they have playing too. I feel that all of the treat trails need to be on the level of Ernesto. Many of them felt lacking in atmosphere compared to him. Villains Grove was very cool but at this point was a little bit of a let down. I feel that its a tad overrated but I probably just took too long to see it. With that said, Its amazing what they're able to do with fog, projections, music etc. I feel that the party is missing a headliner or two. It needs a couple more experiences on the level of Villains Grove. The parade was a little bit of a let down as the kids were falling asleep or already asleep and I was coming down with whatever my wife was sick with last week. The headless horseman is cool but there was just way too much time in between him and the rest of the parade. In fact, it seems like there was always a little too much time between floats but I was also exhausted.
In the end im glad I did it for my son who had a blast and we got some great pics of my little girl who was turning heads all over the park as the Evil Queen. But I'm good.... for at least 3-5 years. I wouldn't recommend this party for anyone with kids 3 or under. The only reason I bought tickets in the first place was my wife’s FOMO because of my sister who goes every year. I don’t particularly care for Halloween or after hour parties. In fact, it was my first one.
There’s just nothing for me at these after hour events. Most everything I love about DLR can be found at Disneyland during the day when the sun is shining. We stayed at the Westin last night and went to Disneyland today and I had about 10x more fun than last night. Beautiful, crystal clear 75 degree day with a breeze. A nice late morning circle tour on the DLRR. Matterhorn, BTMRR, Peter Pan, Jungle Cruise etc. Sitting at the Plaza Inn umbrellas for lunch. Walking along the ROA up towards Splash with the jazz music playing and sun shining does something for my soul. In fact I always say if you didn't go to the west side of the park during the day (especially when the weather is beautiful) you didn't go to Disneyland. We just had a great time. It was also great that my son warmed back up to Matterhorn and BTMRR after deciding he was scared of them for the past year even though he rides Space Mountain all the time.
The Matterhorn was the ride of the day for me as it’s been a long time. It’s funny, we go to the parks like 2x per month but there always seems to be one or two big rides you haven’t been on in 8-10 months. I wouldn’t even bother with the TL track anymore. Rode twice today. Row 6 on the TL track and row 4 on the FL track. The latter felt about 10x less violent. Just a more smooth, pleasant ride and I find the track layout and ride sequence to be more fun. Row 4 was also quite comfortable. Might be the best seat of the 6. You’re in the middle of the ride vehicle taking less punishment on your body but still have some decent leg room.
hdclump.com
And, really, it is a very pleasant ride. And you’ll be one of the first to be able to report on the unique DL queue and rumored extra scene.
But yeah, I agree it's annoying. What's more annoying was when I went to WDW this past summer, and more than half the merch could be bought at Disneyland with "Disneyland" written instead of "Walt Disney World".
