Went to Disneyland a few weeks ago and Disney’s HalloweenTime is Back in full swing! Main Street is a kaleidoscope of fall colors. There are pumpkins everywhere throughout the park including a 12 foot high Mickey ‘jack-o-lantern’. Candy and caramel apples are available to satisfy any sweet tooth. Toy Story’s own Woody and Jessie put on a themed show at the Big Thunder Ranch Halloween Roundup. Of course the main attraction is the Haunted Mansion, which is transformed into a Tim Burton ‘Nightmare Before Christmas’ theme. It’s a great time and right now the weather is a little hot, but still very comfortable. Only trouble is the crowds are pretty large. If you are planning a trip, might want to go during the week when the crowds are slightly less than a weekend.

Just one of the abundant fall displays throughout the park.

This large Mickey Jack-O-Lantern greets guests who walk down Main Street.

Enjoy a delicious fall feast in Big Thunder Ranch’s Halloween Roundup.

A band of skeleton (Calaveras) Mariachis next to Big Thunder Railroad.

Jack Skellington has taken over Disney’s Haunted Mansion.

This year we threw our second annual Halloween party. There were more decorations, more guests, more music and certainly more desserts! Take a look at some of our pictures from this year. (Click each of them to enlarge the view).

I’d say it was a success, but it wasn’t easy. I learned a whole lot about what to do and what not to do for a Halloween party. Now let’s start with decorations. If you want to throw a party you just need a few decorations to theme your place. Of course you can get as elaborate as you want (which I totally encourage). Buy strings of candy corn orange lights because they are really bright and throw them around some windows. You can also get a package of (fake) autumn leaves and sprinkle them around the house. Buy a few pumpkins (real or plastic) to represent Halloween. If you want to make your house a little more scary, then buy a scary mask, stuff some clothes with sheets to fill them out and prop your scary man up on a chair. Here are a few suggestions on other great decoration ideas that we used this year. Read more »

Can you believe it…after all that planning, preparation and fun its all over. Halloween 2009 is now just a sweet memory. I hope all of you had a great time doing whatever you did. I wound up working my butt off to finish all the decorating and cooking just minutes before my guests arrived. It was a hell of a lot of work, but we did it. And I had a great time. Without further ado, here are some pictures from our Halloween party. (Click on them to see the whole picture).

These couple of ghouls have gone wild. Notice the flicker bulbs in the hanging lamp. These very effective props were bought from Party City. We wrapped the walls in Scene Setters to give the look of a cold dungeon. The man sitting in the chair began as a scarecrow, but I found a great prop laboratory switch. When you switch it down, it lights up as if its electric and a man screams. So this became our electrocution chair. I’m planning on working on this prop to escalate it for next year. Finally the staircase provided a perfect spot for the Hanging Haunted portraits from my previous blog.

Our fog machine zombie was a big hit. We also had the soundtrack to the Disneyland Haunted Mansion playing in the front yard. I think the adults loved it even more than the kids. This year was small but very effective. Next year, I plan to expand the yard haunt and add a few more tricks. You might wonder why I go through so much trouble? The payoff is the expression on the kids faces. I remember seeing awesome yards when I was a kid and I never forgot them. They were so creative and fun to me. So maybe I can do that same thing for someone else, and leave that lasting impression. After all, it helps to preserve the traditions of our favorite holiday. HAPPY HALLOWEEN everyone!