Tiny Oranges – Fresh, fun blog for OC moms

I have been to Halloween Time at Disneyland the past two years and it is one of our absolute FAVORITE family events for a spooky good time! Starting today, through October 31st, the park is decorated in ghoulishly delightful Halloween decor and has lots of fun in store for the whole family.

Mickey’s Halloween Party, a separate ticket after hours party, has become an annual highlight of Halloween Time for trick-or-treating families and will take place in Disneyland park on 10 special Monday, Tuesday and Friday nights: Sept. 30 and Oct. 3,7,11,14,18,21, 25, 28 and 31.

Tickets purchased in advance for Mickey’s Halloween Party are $49 most days, while tickets purchased on the event days are $59.  All tickets to Mickey’s Halloween Party on Friday, Oct. 28, and Halloween Night, Monday, Oct. 31, are $64. Tickets are available at Disneyland.com/halloween.

Mickey’s Halloween Party invites children to wear their costumes (and adults too!) and trick-or-treat at the resort. Disneyland + costumes and trick or treating? Could it get more fun for the kids?!

This fun party features Disney villains, Mickey Mouse and his friends also in their costumes, along with the seasonal transformations of Haunted Mansion into Haunted Mansion Holiday and Space Mountain into Space Mountain Ghost Galaxy.

Highlights of Mickey’s Halloween Party include:

* Newly themed dance parties

* New character photo locations

* The special opportunity to play in Disneyland for three hours before the party starts

* Trick or Treating – candy and healthy treats ­- in the ultimate Disney neighborhood

* The “Halloween Screams” fireworks spectacular

* “Mickey’s Costume Party” cavalcade, performed twice nightly

* Main Street, U.S.A. in Disneyland is transformed for the Pumpkin Festival. More than 300 pumpkins will be on display and none of them are the same!

* Visitors to Big Thunder Ranch in Frontierland will find ranch animals, pumpkin carvers, Halloween décor and activities for youngsters.

* And much, much more!

I can’t more highly recommend this event for the entire family and now that they also offer you the opportunity to arrive and play in the park up to 3 hours prior to the party starting, it is a fabulous opportunity to get a long afternoon and evening of fun at Disneyland!

Have a great weekend everyone!

See you back on Monday!

[Photo credit: Disney]

If you have never been to Disneyland for the holidays before it is one of those things you have to put on your “must do” list with your family because to sum it up in one word, it is just simply magical! I know that Disneyland is ALWAYS magical, but there is just something extra special about how they celebrate the holidays that makes the resort sparkle with holiday cheer going on now through January 2nd, 2011.

My family was invited to go on the opening holiday weekend and as you can imagine, my 4-year-old Emma was just a tad bit excited.

First stop per her request?

it’s a small world of course, which is her favorite ride in the entire park. The ride is transformed for the holidays with darling holiday decorations in each country and upbeat “jingle bells” playing as you float through this wonderland. Impossible to not immediately be in a good mood on that ride!

And at night they have 300,000 glittering lights on the outside!

Second stop per Emma’s request?  Santa! Yes, it would be our first time to see Santa for the season and she was antsy to get her gift request in.

In Frontierland they have a  Reindeer Round Up with REAL reindeers and adjacent is a cozy little cottage where the kiddos can wait in line to see Santa.  Emma was mesmerized looking at Santa’s real reindeers.

Then we headed over to wait in line to see Santa.  Even though it was a crowded Saturday afternoon, we only had to wait 10 minutes to get to the front of the line. I guess someone wants the Barbie house with an elevator that she saw at her friend’s house.

After our Santa visit it was time for the parade, so we grabbed seats and waited for the special “A Christmas Fantasy” parade.  This is by far my FAVORITE parade!  It is just so cute!  The characters wrap gifts, bake holiday treats and prepare for the arrival of Santa Claus. It’s a great combination of holiday themes but they still include appearances by the princesses and all of our favorite Disney characters!

And you can’t miss the famous Haunted Mansion Holiday where the the traditions of Halloween and Christmas collide.  The ghoulish but well-meaning Jack Skellington from the film “Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas” has come to Haunted Mansion to transform it with his skewed vision of the holidays.

All around you there is holiday decor – the whole park is decked out for the season and at the beginning of Main Street, U.S.A there is a beautiful, ginormous Christmas tree! Other holiday highlights include sparkling icicles on Sleeping Beauty’s Winter Castle and a fabulous presentation that unfolds throughout the evening in three acts, each of them featuring a touch of winter snow on Main Street!!  The finale of the show includes the legendary “Believe … in Holiday Magic” fireworks show, AMAZING which ends with a sentimental rendition of “White Christmas,” and a  snowfall swirling down on Main Street, U.S.A., “it’s a small world” Mall and New Orleans Square.

For California kiddos not used to the snow, this is quite a scene to behold!

And I didn’t know this fun fact!  Guests are able to book guided holiday tours that provide entry into “it’s a small world” Holiday and Haunted Mansion Holiday, reserved seating for the Disneyland “A Christmas Fantasy” parade, a keepsake remembrance, and entertaining information about the history behind Disneyland holiday traditions.  For information and reservations guests can visit Disneyland City Hall or call 714/781-4400.  Wouldn’t that be fun?

And the holiday fun continues over at Disney’s California Adventure where the park celebrates the season with fanciful park-wide decorations and lively entertainment!  We walked over to California Adventure in the late afternoon and it was so cute to be greeted with candy cane striped CALIFORNIA letters!

And this decor on the Golden Gate bridge…

We actually haven’t been to California Adventure that many times, so each time we go I am floored at everything it has to offer. Our first stop was to check out Soarin’ Over California.  If you can believe it, we have never been on this ride before as my daughter was always too small.  We were SO happy to find out that the height requirement was 40″ and Emma is measuring in at about 40 1/2″. Just made it! But then the wait was 55 minutes and we didn’t have time to wait.   So, next time around the first thing I would do would be to go get a FASTPASS.  On Twitter, people couldn’t believe I haven’t been on this saying it is the BEST ride, people’s favorite ride. Next time for sure.

The hit of the day for my daughter at California Adventure were the rides over at Paradise Pier!  This time her favorite was the newly enhanced Silly Symphony Swings.  The minute she got off that ride she yelled “we have to go AGAIN!!!!!!” And we did!

Here are a few of the holiday festivities in store for you at California Adventure!

* “a bug’s land” transforms as Flik and his bug buddies spread giant Christmas lights and oversized ornaments throughout their realm.

* Santa Claus will greet guests on the boardwalk near Ariel’s Grotto on Paradise Pier.

* “World of Color” nighttime water spectacular, which brings its own brand of after-dark magic to the Paradise Bay lagoon.

*“ElecTRONica” nighttime street party will put guests of all ages “on the grid” and into the environment of the new Walt Disney Pictures feature, “TRON: Legacy.”  “ElecTRONica” parties take place Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, and nightly from Dec. 17 through Jan. 2.  “ElecTRONica” will continue into spring 2011.

And SO SO SO MUCH more!

Click HERE for information on the holidays at Disneyland and click HERE for information on Disney’s California Adventure!

And a very happy holiday season to YOU my friends!

Disclosure: My family was provided with complimentary tickets as a part of a special media event! Thank you Disneyland for creating a day of memories for our family!

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{Most photos courtesy of Disney!}

I couldn’t think of a better way to celebrate the 1st day of the spookiness month of the year than with a trip to Disneyland for Halloween Time and Mickey’s Halloween Party this past Friday night!

And, it truly was a boo-tiful night!   Warm, balmy and perfect for dressing up Tinkerbell (aka. my 4 year old Emma) and heading over to the best trick-or-treat party in town!

Halloween Time is a special time at Disneyland Resort where Disney villains  invade Disneyland park along with Mickey Mouse and his friends in Halloween costumes now through Oct. 31.

We were fortunate to be invited to attend Mickey’s Halloween Party {a separate-ticket event that moved to Disneyland this past year from California Adventure.} The party  invites adults and children to dress up in costume and trick-or-treat at the resort.

Mickey’s Halloween Party is a  nighttime celebration that takes place on Tuesdays and Fridays in October (5, 8, 12, 15, 19, 22, 26 and 29) plus Halloween night itself, Sunday, Oct. 31.  Click HERE for more info and to buy tickets.

Tickets purchased in advance for Mickey’s Halloween Party are $49 most days, while tickets purchased on the event days are $54.  For Oct. 31, all tickets to Mickey’s Halloween Party are $59.

The moment you walk through the gates, you are greeted with fun “party music” that permeates throughout the park giving the feel of a REAL Halloween Party!  I also loved seeing Main Street U.S.A. decked out for the Pumpkin Festival where some 300 pumpkins are on display.

Main Street U.S.A and the Pumpkin Festival…

The word I think of to describe this party is ENERGY! And I was feeling the vibe!  In fact, I might have been spotted mouthing the words and dancing with my daughter on our way to Autopia {past the Tomorrowland dance party} to “I Gotta Feeling” – and I have to say, in the words of the Black Eyed Peas, it WAS a “good night!”

Although it seemed like there were a lot of people, once we got in to the official party at 7pm the first 3 or 4 rides we went on had a wait of 10 minutes or less, surprisingly quick lines (bonus!)

Mickey’s Halloween Party Highlights include:

* Trick or Treating in the ultimate Disney neighborhood, with even more treats along “Mickey’s Hide-and-Go-Treat Trails” – so much fun for the kids to get a few treats early!

*  New dance parties – at Tomorrowland Terrace and the French Market – with super fun music!

* The “Halloween Screams” fireworks spectacular, hosted by “Master of Scare-omonies” Jack Skellington (presented exclusively for guests of  Mickey’s Halloween Party) – AMAZING! One of the best fireworks displays I have ever seen!

* New surprises in “Mickey’s Costume Party” cavalcade, performed twice nightly

* Character photo locations featuring Mickey and his pals, princesses and other favorites

* The opportunity to arrive three hours before the party starts to play in Disneyland – YAY!  More time to enjoy the magic of the park!

And highlights of the Disneyland Halloween season include the return of Space Mountain Ghost Galaxy– the thrillingly “haunted” version of the popular Tomorrowland attraction. The experience begins as a typical Space Mountain adventure, but suddenly launches voyagers into a haunted section of the universe.  Ghosts appear out of the starry darkness and swirling galaxies of Space Mountain, reaching out as if to grab guests as they speed through space.  The exhilarating drops and curves of the journey are punctuated by piercing screams, creepy sound effects and haunting music.

…and the longtime favorite Haunted Mansion Holiday, in which Halloween and Christmas collide for an attraction inspired by “Tim Burton’s Nightmare Before Christmas.”  Jack Skellington returns to provide plenty of surprises as they celebrate the holidays in their unusual style, with some special spooky surprises in this year’s design.

Visitors to Big Thunder Ranch in Frontierland will also find ranch animals, pumpkin carvers, Halloween décor and activities for youngsters, all presided over by Sheriff Woody.

And meeting Disney characters is easier than ever as Disney villains gather to plot Halloween mischief at “it’s a small world” Mall in Disneyland, while other characters in spooky attire greet guests in Town Square, Main Street, U.S.A.

Here is one of my favorite funky pics I captured walking over to the Haunted Mansion.  The spooky smoke spilled out over the water.  It was SO cool {and very Halloween-esque!)…

And the FIREWORKS show was U-N-B-E-L-I-E-V-A-B-L-E!   Talk about a show with a WOW factor!   Spooky fun for everyone!  Great music & a flying ghost….

Here’s an iPhone pic…

In the end, we had a ghoulish good time and my little Tinkerbell was so wiped out from all the fun, she was asleep before we pulled out of the park.  This party is something unique and definitely a MUST visit for the entire family. Your kids will absolutely love it!

For tickets and information visit: www.disneyland.com/halloween.

{Disclosure: Complimentary media tickets were provided.}

We all know Disneyland is in the business of making dreams come true and this year’s “Give a Day. Get a Disney Day.” program is helping dreams come true in more ways than one!

Volunteer a day of service in 2010 to a participating organization and get one day admission to the Disneyland Resort, FREE!

There’s no better time to help make a dream come true for others and get the opportunity to volunteer together as a family.

Click HERE to get started

And, while we are on the topic of Disneyland, the popular 2fer Tickets are back for Southern California residents.  Buy one admission ticket to a Disneyland Resort theme park from 01/05/10 – 04/12/10, and come back within 30 days to visit the other park for free!

Click HERE to buy your 2fer tix

{Congratulations!  The Newport Beach Stroller Strides winner is…Liss!}

As a local mom blogger, my family was invited to a special event to experience the Holiday Season at Disneyland this past Saturday, and without doubt it is the Merriest Place on Earth!  From now through January 3rd, there really is no place like Disneyland to see the holidays shine any brighter.

There are so many things to mention, I don’t even know where to start!  The highlight of the day for Emma(now 3 1/2) was our visit to the Reindeer Round-Up in Frontierland. Outside Santa’s cozy cottage, there were REAL reindeer!  Inside, Santa was sitting by the fire to take pictures with all the kids.  We even spotted Mrs. Claus too!   We first peeked in the exit so she could get a glimpse of him.  He saw her watching and waved and said a little “ho! ho! ho!”  just for her.  She had stars in her eyes she was so excited.   I was surprised it only took about 20 minutes in line.  When we were leaving, my husband’s comment was, “that was a REALLY good Santa!”

My absolute favorite was  “it’s a small world” holiday.  I got to see the ride through the eyes of my 5 month old (her first trip to Disneyland!) and I don’t think anything could compare to the look on her face as we made our way through in that little boat!  The ride is completely decked out for the season and merry Christmas carols play for you to sing along to.    You can’t help but leave that ride with a HUGE smile on your face!

My husband’s favorite of the day was the “Haunted Mansion Holiday” – his favorite ride as a kid.   It’s a nostalgic one, isn’t it?  Every time I get on that spooky elevator, it brings back childhood memories of visiting Disneyland!   The ride is decked out in holiday spookiness and a snowy graveyard.

We also caught the “A Christmas Fantasy Parade“, complete with dancing reindeer, another live Santa and many Disney characters dancing and singing in Christmas themed floats.   I watched some of the audience’s reaction when Santa came by waving, and I have to say, even some adults looked like they had stars in their eyes!

We also saw the hand clapping, foot stomping new show called “Tiana’s Showboat Jubilee“ – a Mardi Gras-style parade and show on the Mark Twain Riverboat in Frontierland.  So cute!

Throughout the park, there are tons of holiday decorations, with the highlight being Sleeping Beauty’s Winter Castle and the gigantic Christmas tree inside the main entrance.

We tried to hold out for (what I hear) is the most AMAZING, SPECTACULAR, BEAUTIFUL part of of the holidays at Disneyland – the “Believe…in Holiday Magic” fireworks show which ends with a rendition of “White Christmas” and a snowfall – but after 9 hours both girls were pretty wiped out.   Next year FOR SURE!

Here is a sneak peek of some of the magical holiday fun to be had right now at the Merriest Place on Earth!