Happy October! For a lot of people, this month officially marks the start of the Halloween season. But for Disneyland, we’re already halfway through it. September brought new characters, lots of Oogie Boogie Bashes, and a new celebration to the resort. Let’s dive right in.
HALLOWEEN TIME BEGINS
It’s spooky season at Disneyland, California Adventure, and Downtown Disney. Oogie Boogie is standing guard over the California Adventure gates, and pumpkin versions of Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Donald, and Pluto watch over Disneyland’s entrance.
The resort is fully dressed up with its Halloween decor, with pumpkins, cobwebs, and bats scattered throughout the various lands. But the biggest headline this month? The arrival of new characters during this year’s Oogie Boogie Bash. My personal favorite: Ernesto de la Cruz from Coco.
 Source: Disney Duo Adventures
Fan favorites like Mother Gothel, Maleficent, and Cruella de Vil attend the parties too. But another newbie to this year’s lineup: Bruno from Encanto! While he’s not exactly a villain, he does inspire fear in his young nieces and nephews until Mirabel helps heal the family rift. Here he is with some of the voice cast and production crew during an Oogie Boogie Bash this month.
 Source: Disney Animation
D23 TEASES NEW EXPERIENCES
This month, D23 returned to Anaheim for the first time since 2019. And as per usual, the parks panel was perhaps the most highly anticipated part of the event (at least for us Disneyland fans!). This year’s announcements included more teasers for the Toontown transformation, new details about Splash Mountain‘s new theme, and some reveals of new entertainment offerings.
 Source: MouseInfo
To see the full recap of what’s coming, check out my D23 recap here.
DISNEY+ DAY
September 8 brought a new “holiday” to Disney Parks around the world. In classic Disney synergy fashion, the resort celebrated Disney+ Day, promoting the popular streaming service. Subscribers got access to exclusive merchandise, and all resort guests had the chance to participate in extra character meet and greets, stop by photo stations, or sample blue treats like specialty churros and cocktails.
 Source: Disney Parks Blog
I wasn’t at the resort on Disney+ day, but I had the chance to chat with some of you on social media and most expressed a reaction of…”meh”. It didn’t seem to generate much interest on social media either – but to be fair, it had the unfortunate timing of occurring the same day as Queen Elizabeth II’s death. We’ll have to see if the resort makes this an annual celebration, or if it was just a one-time thing.
OTHER UPDATES
A highly anticipated offering will become a major part of your future Disneyland Trips. MagicBand+ will be available on the west coast for the first time. Starting “this fall” (no specific date), you’ll be able to use this wearable band as your park ticket, to redeem lightning lane passes, and to participate in interactive features around the resort. We don’t have too many details yet about the launch date, differences between Walt Disney World’s version and this one, or costs – I’ll keep you updated on the blog as we learn more. But for the time being, you can check out the Disney Parks Blog teaser announcement here.
As Disneyland starts to roll out its holiday season offerings this year, the resort has confirmed Merriest Nites will not be returning in 2022. I’ll have a blog post with the full lineup this year very soon.
And finally, September brought the first of the resort’s D23 announcements into Disneyland. Eudora’s Chic Boutique (featuring Tiana’s Gourmet Secrets) opened its doors on the 20th. The New Orleans Square shop sells a mix of clothing and accessories with kitchen supplies and home goods.
 Source: Scott Gustin
Halloween (and Christmas) is my favourite time to visit the Disney parks. I was very fortunate that one of my visits coincided with Mickey’s Halloween Party, which was said to be ‘sold out’ but which my dear, late friend who lived in LA said was worth trying to get a ticket for, just by turning up at a ticket box at the park on the night (and telling them I was from Australia!) Well, it worked! After that I sought out similar events, including in WDW and Disneyland Hong Kong when I was visiting them. I love the costumed kids and adults and the atmosphere in the decorated parks.
I totally agree! September – December is just so, so fun at the parks.