Halloween Time at Disney California Adventure: 2017 Recap

Disney California Adventure, Anaheim, CA

So... the unique circumstances of my travel schedule this year plus the late-by-one-week-relative-to-previous-years start of Halloween Time at the Disneyland Resort meant that I never really had time to truly document the autumn holiday decorations en masse this year.  Instead, I had to cobble together a few visits to photograph the various scenes, and by the time I was in a position to edit them, I was in the thick of visiting dozens of haunts all around Southern California.

All of that which is to say... we never covered the expansion of Halloween Time this year from Disneyland Park over to Disney California Adventure.  But given the fantastic Halloween overlays that came to Disneyland's sister park, we'd be remiss to exclude them entirely.  So even if this is belated, today, we're going to take a look at the Halloween attractions and aesthetics featured at DCA this year.  Buckle up.  We've got over a hundred photos detailing most of the fantastic decorations and attractions!

Buena Vista Street

The Halloween spirit was immediately noticeable this year right from the front gates.  A Nightmare Before Christmas' Oogie Boogie served as host to all who strolled through the Streamline Moderne admission gates, streching out over the turnstile canopy with a dramatic facade.  Little touches, like a jack-o-lantern replacing the "O" in "C A L I F O R N I A," made for a cute effect.

Once inside, a bevvy of bats and purple banners and bunting marked the spooky tone of Buena Vista Street, all leading up to an eerie Carthay Circle, where the Carthay Circle Restaurant tower literally had bats coming out of the belfry, and a dramatic Headless Horseman statue stood in the middle of the circular planter behind the Storytellers Statue. 

Nightfall really brought Buena Vista Street to life, as the area was transformed into a purple-hued wonder, with thousands of cool toned twinkle lights castling quite a Halloween glow upon the area.  There was even a nightly lighting ceremony of sorts to change the ambiance, conducted around dusk each evening.  It made for quite a sight!

Something different sprung up across the Esplanade in September.

Halloween TIme invaded Disney California Adventure, starting with Buena Vista Street.

Oogie Boogie's fluttering bats were everywhere, and so was a purple cast.

The Carthay Circle Restaurant tower had a dramatic exodus of bats.

Nearby, a Headless Horseman statue provided a great photo op.

The infamous villain of Washington Irving's timeless story made an imposing sight.

But also one that many guests wanted to take pictures with.

No surprise, really.  It was quite photogenic!

The Buena Vista Street storefronts were also decorated with Halloween displays.

These were more similar to past year's displays.

But still added to the ambiance.

There were some pretty appealing wares too.

A mixture of regular and holiday souvenirs.

It added to the festive atmosphere on Buena Vista Street.

By night, Buena Vista Street was transformed.

Nighttime at Halloween Buena Vista Street was cast in a deep purple hue.

It definitely felt distinctively spooky.

Hell for white balancing on cameras, though.

It certainly created a different ambiance all around Carthay Circle!

The tower took on a creepier feel by night.

But not too creepy.  There was still a touch of whimsy.

Even more dramatic at night was the Headless Horseman statue.

The green lighting on it gave an ominous vibe.

And if it was photogenic by day, it was even more dramatic by night!

That was last month.  This area is a Christmas tree now for the winter holidays.

It will be another ten months before the harvest moon rises again--with Oogie Boogie along with it!

Hollywood Land Gets Monsters After Dark

Hollywood Land didn't specifically have any overlay for the land, but it did feature a Halloween flavor for the recently revamped Guardians of the Galaxy Ride.  Normally "Mission: Breakout!," at 5pm each day, this former Tower of Terror transformed into Guardians of the Galaxy: Monsters After Dark.  Serving as a sequel to the Mission: Breakout! attraction, guests followed along as Rocket, Starlord, and the gang went back into the Collector's Fortress to save a left-behind Baby Groot before all the savage creatures released by the breakout could get them.  Call it Guardians of the Galaxy - Heavy Metal Edition.  This experience was a thrilling and stupidly fun alternate that had guests waiting for hours to have a ride.  It speaks to the versatility of the ride system, and after all the hoopla over a most obnoxious looking building (which I still maintain to be the case), the actual ride experience did turn out to be an improvement over the old Tower of Terror.  Also, at night, the lighting package for the building occasionally gave way to something a little more sinister looking and turbulent.   

How fitting for Halloween... monstrous on the outside, but fun on the inside!  And a bit of [eye] candy [on the building] after dark!

Guardians of the Galaxy - Mission: Breakout!

We spent months covering it, and it was one of the strongest reaction-prompting subjects on our social media and comments interactions this year.

By late afternoon, though, the Guardians of the Galaxy ride was transformed by a sinister Halloween overlay.

Guests could begin lining up for Fast Passes specifically for Monsters After Dark prior to 3pm, and the ride itself would undergo a switchover between 4 and 5pm.

That changeover provided the mechanism for initiating the Halloween overlay, which was programmed into all the lighting and show sequences.

The exterior lighting was changed too, in order to showcase a more intimidating presence.

It was impressive to see so much effort devoted to a holiday alternate debuting just months after the redesigned regular version!

The interior of the Monsters After Dark overlay was quite red.

You know, because red equates with danger.

The same Easter eggs in the regular Mission: Breakout! could be seen, but just under this warm saturation.

On the big screen, signs of trouble played out.

The Collector's artifacts seemed safe, though.

No damage here... yet.

But certainly some recognizable items from the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Inside the Collector's office...

There were little trinkets scattered about.

Before long, Rocket showed up to give the lowdown on what was happening.

It seems that in their haste to break out, the Guardians of the Galaxy left behind Baby Groot!

Now they had to go back and save him, while avoiding all the monsters that had been set loose within the Tivan Collection.

Sounds like a dick move to leave Groot behind like that, in all that danger, and then coerce guests into joining a dangerous rescue mission!

But, alas, such was the game.  Monsters everywhere within the Guardians of the Galaxy attraction!

Coco at Paradise Pier

Paradise Pier celebrated the Halloween season with a preview of the upcoming Pixar film, Coco.  I'm personally not sure if this will be a one-time thing to cross-promote the film, or if the Día de los Muertos environment will return in the future as California Adventure's version of celebrating the Mexican Day of the Dead.  But it made for a lively backdrop and a balance to the Día de los Muertos at Zocalo Park across the way in Disneyland's Frontierland.  And though this was exclusively movie-geared, the actual displays were pretty charming and carried a similar amount of educational value, explaining the significance of the holiday.

Over at the boardwalk part of Paradise Pier, things were set up festively for a Día de los Muertos display.

This was in honor of the upcoming Pixar film, Coco.

There was a nice photo op backdrop.

A fancy set outlined the world in which Coco takes place.

And some of the characters of the movie were introduced.

The whole set was quite beautifully done.

And although the primary objective was to promote the Pixar movie, there were some educational components.

You know... as long as you were willing to read.

I never had a chance to photograph these, but the Coco overlay also included live musical performances and a mini-show tied into the movie.  It was nice to see the effort put into this sort of corporate synergy, which was certainly appropriate as a seasonal and short term overlay!

"Haul-O-Ween" at Cars Land

The most sensational Halloween Time overlay came in Cars Land, which celebrated "Haul-O-Ween" with a bevvy of visual gags and puns that provided an autumn version of their popular "Carsmas" overlay.  All up and down Radiator Springs, the various tenants unfurled their spookiest Halloween decorations.  The Cozy Cone had the "Brakes Motel," while Fillmore's had little ghostly boos around.  Flo's V8 Cafe was taken over by spiders, while Ramone's had a Día de los Muertos "sugarcar" aesthetic and an ofrenda inside to the late Doc Hudson (spoilers!--pun intended). 

The rides had Halloween changes too.  Mater's transformed his junkyard into a Graveyard JamBOOree, while over at Luigi's, the cars swayed and danced to a Honkin' Haul-O-Ween.  Radiator Springs Racers itself was in a normal configuration, but at night, the warm tones of Ornament Valley turned into rainbow spectrum of colorful rocks with an eerie, emanating vibe!

Indeed, Haul-O-Ween was a huge hit, showcasing the charm and silly wit the Imagineers have shown repeatedly capable of throughout the park.  This and Carsmas provide Cars Land with a huge back-to-back holiday haymaker that should continue to attract crowds for a while!

For Halloween, Cars Land took on a bit of a beastly feel.

All throughout Radiator Springs, residents unleashed their Halloween-inspired more monstrous sides.

Adorable auto grill grave stones provided a charming touch.

Mater's featured new holiday-themed songs, including some that were Halloween alternates of regular songs.

The details went all around.  This mummy tractor was quite adorable.

Much like Cars Land's Christmas overlay, "Haul-O-Ween" featured a large share of automotive puns.

The scene at Ramone's was quite cultural.

Inside, an ofrenda for Doc Hudson was on display.

This amounted to a Día de los Muertos altar for the dearly departed.

The details were quite rich.

Remembering the Hudson Hornet's past achievements.

It was quite well done!

Luigi's Rollickin' Roadsters also had a Halloween overlay.

Similar to Mater's, the ride itself had the same motion sequences.  The music just had more of a spooky tone.

On the side, the famous Horn-O-Plenty showcased Cars Land's harvest blessings.

The Cars character meet-and-greets were also specialized.  Vampire Mater provided a dashing subject.

Around back by the Cozy Cone stalls, a special Halloween display could be found inside the Cozy Cone main office.

Named, of course, after the infamous Normal Brakes.

Lightning McQueen also wore a Halloween costume for his photo ops too.

Naturally, he was a superhero.

Apparently one who ignored Edna Mole.

Cars Land was full of little details that reinforced its automotive iteration of Halloween, such as these battery spiders and chain webs.

Flo's was not spared either.

Many dining venues at DCA also had special Halloween Time menus.

The scrumptious pot pie was my personal favorite of the season!

Fillmore's Taste-In had some pretty groovy Halloween theming.

These little car ghosts were so cute!

And by night, the scene became more tubuleerie.

Jack-o-lantern barrels, anyone?

The scenes weren't limited to Radiator Springs.  Out in Ornament Valley, the rockwork was spectacular too!

The rocks at night maintained a cool and rainbow spectrum.

This was quite the opposite from the usual Cars Land night lighting.

But it was quite gorgeous!

The Courthouse made for quite a monstrous appearance after dark.

After the refrains of "Sha-boo" around dusk, the nighttime lighting effects would include projections and other special effects.

More "spiders" scattered about.

A "sugarcar" in front of Ramone's.

It was quite charming.

Luigi's had orange-wall tires.

Meanwhile, Flo's bore host to a spooky "carachnid."

It was still magnificent, though!

And Lizzy's Radiator Springs Curios also found itself with some Halloween dressing.

Strewn about were cobwebs and dangly things.

Not to mention a "zombie car" that had somehow wrapped itself through a tree!

Over at the Cozy Cone, the cones themselves transformed into ghostly visages.

Trunk or treat! Though I think "truck or treat" would have been the more analogous pun.

The breadth of detail of "Haul-O-Ween" was very impressive.

The movie posters at night.

And the revamped welcome sign proved to be a popular photo op for guests up until after park closing.  It only emptied out upon the security sweep!

California Adventure provided the stage for the largest Halloween expansion across the Disneyland Resort since Halloween Time was incorporated as a promotional event.  With two lands receiving full overlays and Halloween touches seen in other parts of the park, fall at DCA proved to be a new and popular and renewed source of interest and attraction.  And that is all in line with the Disney parks strategy for the next upcoming years--stack California Adventure with a lot more amenities and enticements to bring crowds over, so that once Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge opens, and Disneyland is overrun with hordes of eager Star Wars fans, DCA can serve as an effective and fulfilling overflow.

Of course, it will take more than just overlays and seasonal events to solve that overall dilemma.  Capacity will have to increase too, which means future expansion.  But even that appears to be in the works, based on recent Disney comments on items such as expanding the Marvel presence in California Adventure and the Pixar Pier transformation (which, as misguided as it is, technically represents an attempt at capacity increase).

But back to Halloween Time coming to California Adventure.  I absolutely loved what the park brought in its first foray into embracing the Halloween spirit.  The charm and cuteness of all the decorations was refreshing and exciting, and I certainly can't wait for this to return next year!