Haunted Mansion celebration at Disneyland

Two weeks ago we tried to get over to Disneyland to celebrate the Haunted Mansion's 50th, but ended up turning around because it was too crazy busy. Now we're back and it's time to try again. 

During the drive to the park I was playing music from the Haunted Mansion, both the original version and the Holiday version with music from Nightmare Before Christmas. From the backseat Alli suddenly got really excited about an Oogie Boogie car. Uh huh, right Alli.

Whoa! There really is a car with Nightmare stuff on it. Great job spotting it Alli!

In a surprising change from last week the parking situation was a breeze. The overpass was open and there was zero wait for a booth attendant. We parked and then walked over to Downtown Disney. The first security entrance was really backed up, like 12 people deep. We gambled and went to the security entrance near the Disneyland Hotel and found zero lines!

Because of the D23 Expo I wasn't sure if it was going to be super busy or empty. Too early to tell at this point, but I'm cautiously optimistic.

The lines to get into the park weren't too terrible, but it still took over 10 minutes to get inside. I really wish there was an AP only line. Either that or a better way to deal with the tickets that need a photo taken.

I don't want to wait too long to go on the Mansion, so it was our very first stop. Zero line!

Alli is loving her Santa Jack hat.

It's not often you have such an empty stretching room.

Once we got to the loading area, Ian just started singing "Grim Grinning Ghosts". He would sing the Thurl Ravenscroft lines, and I sang the backup lines. It was a fun duet.
For now, we're still small enough to squeeze the four of us into one Doom Buggy.

As soon as we exited, the kids saw the gift stands and Ian and Alli immediately found their stuffed counterparts.

Even Theresa found a little Zero.

Ian really really wanted to go on Splash Mountain.

And Alli really really did not want to go. Instead she rode Winnie the Pooh twice with Theresa.

And Ian and I got soaked on Splash.

The Disneyland Roses are in full bloom right now and their perfume is filling the area around New Orleans Square. I still remember the fun Cultivating the Magic tour we took with a bunch of our friends a few years ago.

If that bottom rose would get a little bigger, this would have been a candidate for a Mickey head. And if you'd like to purchase Disneyland Floribunda Roses for your garden, you can still find them at Jackson and Perkins.

Time to ride Big Thunder Mountain! This is the Fastpass line? Why is it so backed up?

They're getting bigger and more brave. Normally I'll put an arm around them on rides like this.

Ian didn't want me to hold on to him at all and he kept his hands in the air the whole time. Alli told me she kept her eyes open the entire time (normally they're closed for the blasting section).

Tradition to touch the buttons along the lines for Gadget's Go-Coaster.

Both of them.

And they still love exploring the other things scattered around Toontown. Like Donald's Boat.

Goofy's playground. Ian is in there somewhere.

Ian is tired...

Over on Roger, Alli and I spun around as fast as we could.

It's 10:59am. Why aren't they open for lunch yet?

20 seconds later, they're open.

I forgot that they actually announce that characters are coming out. Fanfare music plays and a character comes walking out of the Toontown City Hall building. It's Donald!

Hey kids, the pizza's here!
Ian - Why isn't there a Mickey head on it?
That's a good question Ian. They had a Mickey Mouse head made out of different sized pepperoni's last time we got one from here.

While Ian finished 3 of the 4 slices of pizza, Alli really wanted to ride Big Thunder again. Just me and her.

And once again she's showing her braveness. Not only did she keep her eyes open the whole time, but she also kept her hands in the air! At the end of the day she said she's changing her favorite ride from Soarin to Big Thunder Mountain. High praise indeed!

Ian really wanted to ride pirates, but because of reasons he had to jump out of line.

So it's me and Alli on the ride.

Sigh... And you though flash pictures were bad. How about a spinning Buzz Lightyear toy going on throughout the ride. I made the comment "Come on, don't let him play with it during the ride." And the response was "He's using it as a nightlight." Lovely.

At the end of the ride, Alli told this bird he needs to go back to the Tiki Room.

Before we go, I want one more ride on the Haunted Mansion. Just before it changes over to my favorite incarnation of it, Holiday Haunted Mansion.

My hat is an interesting one today and I was trying to figure out if it's supposed to be representative of anyone on the ride. Maybe the guy in the top picture frame?

And a ghost will follow you home.

Okay, just one more ride. Buzz had an immediate fastpass available and Alli had expressed an interest in riding it earlier.

And this is a good time to point out that the ghosts on my hat also glow in the dark.

Get Zurg, Alli!

On our way out, we stopped by the Disneyland Hotel looking for any Haunted Mansion photo ops. Their entrance backdrop has been changed to the stretching room portraits.

The kids watched Mickey cartoons while T and I relaxed on the couches.

And played with the interactive tables. Putting a puzzle together.

Success!

Well I had a fun day at Disneyland today. I was worried about the crowds from D23, but on Saturday at least, they didn't materialize. It was a very pleasant day, crowd-wise, at Disneyland.