Scheduling the tour So I took my tour on October 1st (a Sunday) at 4:10 PM. I booked it about 3 weeks in advance and it was the earliest weekend tour date available for the season that wasn't already sold out. There were only two time options for October 1st, with the other being 4:00 PM. Each tour had a maximum group size of 15 guests total. The only way to book the tour was by phone, and I had to pay the full tour cost in advance. Despite having to pay at time of booking, I was able to apply my Annual Passholder discount - I was just instructed to bring my pass with me to the tour for Guest Services to verify. Regular theme park admission was not included in the tour cost, so if you're not an AP just be aware you'll still need to budget for a regular ticket to get you into the park for the day. While the booking process was easy, my biggest tip is be ready to book EARLY to secure the date and time you want. I believe the tour went on sale the second week of September this year. And of course as previously mentioned, be ready to pay in full at time of booking - Have your credit card handy when you call in, and your pass number if you're an AP and want to use your discount. Check in process Since my tour was later in the day, I decided to spend a little bit of time in Disneyland beforehand, getting to the park around noon. When I booked the tour, I was told to check in at the Tour Gardens Kiosk in Town Square no later than 15 minutes start time. I ended up getting there right as scheduled after doing a few rides, but the line was a little long so I'd recommend getting there to check in around 30 minutes ahead - I personally would have felt better had I gotten there a little earlier. And our tour actually started around 10 minutes late, since we had to wait for everyone in line to finish checking in! But overall it was a painless process in which they checked my photo ID and annual pass and then gave me a commemorative name badge and headset to listen to our tour guide. Highlights of the tour The tour took us around Disneyland park for nearly 3 hours, visiting almost all of the lands (the only part of the park we didn't walk through was Critter Country). The tour didn't include attraction experiences, but we were given a FastPass for Haunted Mansion Holiday to use at our leisure after the tour (in which I went and did right away afterwards!). That was a nice perk, as the standby time was hovering at 90+ minutes throughout the day. We spent some time looking at the Main Street windows, heard a story about the Headless Horseman, and also learned a few fun facts about the Haunted Mansion that I hadn't heard before. And while we were in New Orleans square learning those fun facts, we got a cake pop sweet treat! It was in the shape of a black rose and had an interesting dark chocolate raspberry flavor (I saved mine for after dinner later that day). But my biggest highlight and favorite part was actually the last stop on the tour after making a full circle of the park: Back in the Tour Gardens area we got to get up close and personal with two of the Haunted Mansion's hitchhiking ghost animatronics and take photos! The had a black light turned on in the room to give it an eerie vibe, and our tour guide gave everyone a lantern to take in for their photo as a fun prop. While I didn't get to spend too much time looking at them, it was still really cool to see them up close and take some fun pictures. Words of caution I did enjoy my Happiest Haunts Tour experience, but overall I can't say for certain I would do it again. It had a pretty slow pace throughout, taking the estimated 2 hour time closer to 3 hours because of breaks. And I think our tour guide was trying too hard to get everything right in his script, so there were quite a few awkward pauses. I was also hoping to learn more about the "ghost stories" of Disneyland and Disney films per the tour description on the website, although what they did cover was interesting. If you or anyone in travel party isn't able to spend much time on foot, I'd recommend taking it easy prior to the tour or reconsidering - There were a few people in our group desperately searching for places to sit during the 3 hour romp, and even I was starting to feel some foot pain as I'm currently in marathon training and didn't think I'd be getting another couple miles in from this tour. Comfortable, supportive sneakers are really the only type of shoe I'd recommend for this! And another thing to know ahead of time is that Disney was running these tours during a really busy time of day in the park - The flag retreat ceremony in Town Square was going on when we started, the second showing of the Soundsational Parade went down Main Street when we were in the castle hub area, and guests from all points of the park were trying to navigate around our group as the sun was going down. It just felt like a chaotic time of day, and it got difficult to hear our guide via headset in a few places. So just be prepared to follow closely behind the group (or lead the group, like I did a few times) and bring your listening ears like you're going back to school. While I mentioned I'm not sure if I'd do this tour again, I am looking into the other VIP tours the Disneyland Resort has to offer, including the Holiday Time at Disneyland guided tour dates that will be coming out soon. It was cool getting to see the park a little differently and feel like a VIP for an afternoon. You can find more about all the different tours running throughout the year at https://disneyland.disney.go.com/events-tours/vip-tour-services/, and remember again that reservations have to be made by phone and paid for in full ahead of time. Did you go on the Happiest Haunts Tour this year or in previous years? What did you think of it? Do you think I should take the holiday tour? Let me know in the comments below! Until the next post, see ya real soon!
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About MeA twenty-something alumni of the Disney College Program looking to help others plan the Disney vacations of their dreams! Living that Disneyland AP dream in SoCal. Archives
February 2018
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