Halloween Archives - Laughing Lindsay

Disney World Halloween vs Christmas: Holidays Compared

August 12, 2026 By Lindsay Leave a Comment

With the holidays quickly approaching, I thought I would write a post comparing Disney World Halloween vs Christmas!

Disney World Halloween vs Christmas

I’ve seen lots of folks online wondering if they should plan a trip to Walt Disney World during the fall months to experience Halloween or wait to experience Christmas. Today, I’d like to help people decide which one is right for them by comparing Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party to Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party!

The Decor

Let’s start with the most obvious difference – the holiday decor! For Halloween, you can expect to see Main Street decked out in orange with lots of pumpkins! Plus, there’s fun character pumpkin wreaths around the park. For Christmas, there’s garland and Mickey wreaths. Don’t forget the huge tree at the front of Main Street!

For me, I think I prefer the Halloween decor because it’s unique. I can see Christmas wreaths back home and around town. However, you don’t see near as much fall decor or specialty fall wreaths around.

The Entertainment

I wrote a Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party Guide with Tips a few years ago and took a look at all of the different entertainment options at the party. From a parade to fireworks and special castle stage shows, there’s lots to see and experience. My Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party Review briefly touched on the entertainment at its party. However, it is very similar offerings at the Christmas party, with fireworks, a parade, and stage show too.

Again, I would pick Halloween for this one. However, I feel like lots of places offer good Christmas shows that the whole family can enjoy. Once again, I think it’s harder to find a good Halloween offering that is family friendly.

The Treats

Who doesn’t love to go trick-or-treating? I love visiting the Halloween party and coming away with a full bag of candy! It’s fun to go around the park and see what all goodies you can get! The Christmas party hands out cookies and drinks. I enjoy that too. However, I can eat several pieces of candy and only a few cookies. Full disclosure: the vast majority of candy and cookies typically come home with me to be enjoyed for days to weeks to come.

I think the candy has to win due to being able to enjoy several different pieces of it versus just a few cookies.

Outfits

Lots of folks dress up in costumes for the Halloween party. I enjoy sitting on Main Street and watching people walk by in their outfits. At Christmas, people wear a variety of Christmas outfits. Typically, it’s a Christmas shirt/sweater or pajamas. I think the Halloween costumes are more fun.

Ambiance

Halloween will get some of the catchy tunes stuck in your head “It’s really not so scary…. boo to you!”. However, there’s something special about watching it snow on Main Street! So, I’ll give Christmas this one.

Weather

Unfortunately, Halloween takes place during hurricane season. So, you will have to deal with the heat and potentially storms if you visit during Halloween. By Christmas, hurricane season is mostly over and it’s cooled down. I’ve got to hand this one to Christmas. Granted, it can be chilly at Christmas parties, but I’d rather deal with that than the heat of summer/fall in August.

Other Offerings

People can visit just for the parties, but they often visit the other parks on their trip. So, I will say that Halloween is mostly concentrated at Magic Kingdom. Epcot will have Food & Wine in the fall. Hollywood Studios may have a few Halloween treats and their character dining gets a Halloween layover. Animal Kingdom usually doesn’t do much of anything, but may get a few Halloween treats.

Christmas at Disney is a whole thing. Every park has special decor and events! Hollywood Studios has Jollywood Nights. Epcot has Festival of the Holidays. Animal Kingdom has the merry menagerie. Disney Springs even has specially themed trees! The resorts get in on the fun too with special trees and decor.

So, if you are wanting a full holiday experience, then you have to go at Christmas!

Should you visit Disney for Halloween or Christmas?

I love visiting Disney for both holidays. However, I’ve been hard pressed to find a comparable Halloween experience. Meanwhile, I love Christmas and can be happy with the offerings at lots of different places. So, I will vote for Halloween but just know that I don’t think there’s a bad answer here. You are going to Disney and it’s going to be great!

Goofy’s Kitchen Halloween Breakfast at Disneyland Review

October 8, 2025 By Lindsay Leave a Comment

On my recent visit to Disneyland, I was able to try Goofy’s Kitchen Halloween Breakfast! Here’s a look at that experience!

Goofy’s Kitchen Halloween Breakfast

Last year, I was able to do the Fall Brunch at this restaurant. So, this trip, I opted to book a breakfast time slot. Breakfast is a few dollars cheaper ($69 vs $74). Plus, I thought this would give everyone a good idea of the differences between the two meals.

The Characters

Even though I technically ate here last year, I got to see the characters in different costumes! Disney is continuing to use last year’s Halloween costumes at this meal. That’s great for anyone who didn’t visit last year or for anyone (like me) who didn’t get to see everyone in their costumes last year. Once again, I got to meet Goofy, Minnie, Chip, and Dale in last year’s costumes! Unfortunately, I missed out on seeing Pluto.

You get a picture with Goofy when you first arrive and it’s uploaded to your Disney account. Then, you see the other characters during the meal. I had several great interactions with the characters at this meal. In fact, I wore last year’s Disneyland Halloween shirt to this meal, which matched this meal’s vibe and costumes! Minnie actually noticed my shirt and was excited about it!

The Food

As I stated above, I booked a breakfast time slot. However, I have to admit I was a touch disappointed with the food this time. The waffles were as hard as a rock! I tried to cut an ear off and it was almost too hard to cut! The pizza was also tough and hard to cut or bite. I don’t remember what it was called, but there’s also a Mickey shaped egg thing. It tasted ok enough but was also tough. I’m guessing the food was left sitting out too long and got hard/tough.

The dessert spread was plentiful. Although, it’s still odd to me that they serve dessert at breakfast. The beignets/donuts were pretty good. I also liked the cinnamon roll.

Is Goofy’s Kitchen Halloween Breakfast worth it?

At $69, it’s a pretty pricey meal! Personally, given the quality of the food, I was disappointed in this meal. I think from now on I will just stick with brunch as I prefer those types of foods. Plus, it seems like that food might be fresher.

Clarabelle’s Enchanted Halloween Dinner Review

September 30, 2025 By Lindsay Leave a Comment

I’ve just returned from another solo trip to Disneyland where I got to experience the new Clarabelle’s Enchanted Halloween Dinner! So, here’s a review of that experience.

Clarabelle’s Enchanted Halloween Dinner

Clarabelle’s Enchanted Halloween Dinner is the newest seasonal character dinner meal at Disneyland Resort. It’s held at Storytellers Cafe at the Grand Californian Hotel during dinner only. During the morning hours right now, you can experience Mickey’s Autumn Adventures Brunch or Breakfast, which I was lucky enough to do last year. You can click that link to read my review of that meal.

I will start by saying that this turned into a really long meal. For whatever reason, they were running behind schedule. I wasn’t seated until 20 minutes after my reservation time. An hour later, I had seen only two characters! It took right at two hours to see everyone! I don’t know that I’ve had a character meal last that long since they are usually pushing you out the door. However, I did notice several people approaching the characters before they came to their table. If you are reading this, please don’t do that. The whole point of a character meal is that the characters come to your table while you are eating.

The Characters

The best part of this meal has to be the special characters! Let’s start with the fact that it’s headliner is Clarabelle Cow! I actually had never met her, so it was exciting to finally meet her. Also, I’m a sucker for Donald. So, I am happy to see Disneyland adding more Donald to the character meals. Daisy, Goofy, and Pluto are also at this meal.

Plus, I loved that the characters are wearing Halloween costumes! It was the perfect way to begin my Halloween trip to Disneyland!

The Food

Given the high price tag for this meal, I appreciated the various food options here. The standout items to me were the lobster ravioli and pumpkin bread pudding. The ravioli was the only thing I went back for for seconds. The salmon was also pretty good as were the mashed potatoes. The apple cider pork chop didn’t have as much of an apple cider flavor as I was hoping for. The chicken was a little dry. The vegetable medley was good but basic. The pumpkin cookie was fine. I actually liked the bat macaron. It features a peanut butter cream that I really liked. The chocolate cake thing was meh for me. A little one note.

Overall, it’s an elevated buffet meal. I think there’s something for everyone at this meal.

Is Clarabelle’s Enchanted Halloween Dinner worth it?

It costs $79 per adult, plus tax and gratuity to eat this meal (Kids are $42). So, it’s a really expensive meal. Plus, this experience ended up running long. So, I think those are important pieces of information to know before declaring this meal worth it or not. Personally, I enjoyed the food and loved meeting the characters in their unique costumes. So, it was worth it for me. However, it’s definitely a budget buster and time suck. I can see other folks determining it’s not worth it.

Solo Oogie Boogie Bash Tips

August 20, 2025 By Lindsay Leave a Comment

Are you considering taking a solo Oogie Boogie Bash trip? Then, here’s a post for you!

Solo Oogie Boogie Bash

Disneyland‘s annual Halloween party began on Sunday! So, you may be planning or contemplating attending this year’s event by yourself! If so, I have some experience that I can use to tell you about to help put you at ease!

My Experience

I attended the 2024 OBB by myself and had an excellent time! In fact, I may be heading there by myself again this year. 😉 Suffice it to say, I really enjoy myself at this seasonal party. I love seeing the park decked out in Halloween decor and getting to meet the characters dressed up for the occasion! I also love the parade at this party! Let’s not forget the treat trails and Villains Grove!

Last year, I had a light dinner and a peanut butter coffee to start my night! I relaxed around Pixar Pier while eating my dinner on a bench and people watched. Finally, at 6 o’clock the party began! I headed over to the plain treat trail nearby (the one without a character) to get a good start on filling my bag. Then, I hit up the Sid treat trail (which had a pretty good wait at that point in the night). I decided then and there to attempt to visit all 12 treat trails in one night.

Next, I enjoyed some snacks at the dessert party and watched the parade. I then beelined it towards Villains Grove before everyone else had the chance to head over after the parade. Then, I ran around hitting up the other 10 treat trails! Once I finished those, I decided to ride Radiator Springs Racers! There wasn’t much of a wait around the second parade and it was nice to see it at night.

After that, I was pretty tired and decided to call it a night. I headed back to the room with a bag overflowing with treats!

Tips for Attending by Yourself

Have an idea of what you want to do – I decided early on in the night that I wanted to attempt to hit up all 12 of the treat trails. So, that set the tone for the night. I ran around the park just to hit them all up.
Go fast or go slow – Being alone, you can move much quicker than when you have to wait for someone else or discuss plans. However, the opposite can also be true. You set the pace and you can decide to sit and rest for a bit. It’s up to you how fast you go.
Don’t be afraid – People are enjoying themselves and don’t care if you are by yourself. The characters won’t care either. Although, if you attend the dessert party, you will be seated with other single folks or couples.
Consult the map or app – Most of the party will happen after sunset. So, you may need to consult a map or the app to figure out where things are. It can be helpful to get an idea of what you want to do in the daytime and then try to find it beforehand.
Have fun! – It’s your night! Do what you want! Enjoy it!

Attending Oogie Boogie Bash Solo

I love traveling by myself. I get to enjoy things without worrying about someone else. It can get lonely at times, but there’s lots of opportunities to interact with other guests and the characters at this party. So, are you considering attending or have you attended OBB by yourself?

The Best Halloween Theme Park Events

August 13, 2025 By Lindsay Leave a Comment

It’s hard to believe, but it’s almost time for Halloween theme park events to begin for the year! So, I thought I would do a little overview of some of the various options for people who are trying to decide which one(s) are right for them.

The Best Halloween Theme Park Events

I will start this post by saying that the best Halloween theme park event is highly subjective. Not every event is for everyone. Before purchasing tickets to visit any of these experiences, I recommend you consider:

Location – If you don’t have the means to fly across the country, then maybe choose a smaller event closer to home.
Budget – Some of these experiences are included with a regular theme park ticket, but most are not. Don’t go into debt just to see something spooky.
Comfort with spookiness – I know that lots of people love the horror events. However, not every person has the capacity to endure muchless enjoy these events. There are loads of people and it can be sensory overload. Know your boundaries. If you don’t like being scared, then don’t go to a scary nighttime event.
Know your objectives – Do you want to be scared? Do you want some holiday decor and treats with some characters? Those are totally different events. Know what you desire from an event before buying a ticket.

Now, on to the actual events themselves.

Daytime Halloween Events on a Budget

If you have children, don’t want to be scared, and are on a tight budget, then I recommend visiting a SeaWorld or Busch Gardens for Halloween Spooktacular. I wrote a SeaWorld Orlando Spooktacular Halloween post a couple of years ago going over what you can expect at that event. Think fun sea themed characters and trick-or-treating. Plus, it’s all included with your daytime ticket! So, it’s easy on the purse. However, you will have to purchase a bag to trick-or-treat with.

Nighttime Scary Events on a Budget

If you are on a tight budget, I will once again recommend SeaWorld and/or Busch Gardens. In fact, you can enjoy Busch Gardens Williamsburg’s Howl-O-Scream with a daytime ticket! The other two locations require the purchase of a separate ($40-$50) event ticket. Another event that I haven’t attended but have heard pretty good things about is Knott’s Scary Farm. It seems like a good time on a ~$50 budget. Full disclosure: I’ve never attended any of these events and can’t vouch for the quality of them.

Nighttime Scary Events With a Higher Budget

These next ones are a little more expensive for a general ticket. However, it can get really expensive for skip the line privileges and private tours. I’m talking about Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Parks. Universal Orlando Resort and Universal Studios Hollywood both have HHN, but there are some differences. Hollywood’s tends to be smaller with fewer houses. However, it still has the same attention to detail as Orlando. They tend to share at least a few IP houses each year, however they each also have unique houses. I’ve never attended the one in Hollywood. However, I wrote a Halloween Horror Nights Solo Tips post as well as Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Orlando: Tips for Anxious Folks. I’ve even done a 2023 HHN Daytime Houses Tour Review. Personally, I attend HHN for the food and vibes. As such, I will probably only attend if there’s an IP that speaks to me.

Nighttime Halloween Parties

Finally, we come to the most expensive event tickets: Disney. There’s Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party at the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World and Oogie Boogie Bash at Disney’s California Adventure at Disneyland. I’ve already compared the two parties in a separate post: Disney Parks Halloween Parties Compared. However, suffice it to say these are nighttime events that aren’t scary. They are more about the characters, parades, and candy! At these pricey events, everyone (yes, even adults) can trick-or-treat around the park! I’ve attended both parties multiple times now and have enjoyed it each time! The worst things about these events are the crowds and prices.

The Best Halloween Theme Park Events

While I think Disney and Universal dominate the discussion on Halloween theme park events, they aren’t your only options. SeaWorld/Busch Gardens or even Cedar Fair parks can provide a more affordable alternative for the season. However, you can’t go wrong with Universal or Disney either. It really comes down to your individual preferences and situation.

So, what is your favorite Halloween theme park event?