Halloween Throwback: How the Disneyland Resort Celebrated Halloween Time a Decade Ago

Halloween is tomorrow, and in honor of the spookiest night of the year, I thought it would be fun to look back at a couple of Halloweens of the past at Disneyland, and see what has changed over the last 10 years. The photos below are from 2010 and 2011.

Space Mountain Ghost Galaxy was pretty new back in 2010, having just opened the year before.

Unfortunately, the overlay hasn’t returned since 2018, so perhaps it is now permanently a thing of the past.

This fantastic Halloween Screams T-shirt was available during the show’s second year in 2010.

One thing that hasn’t changed all that much in the last decade is Haunted Mansion Holiday, which is still delighting guests every fall to this day.

Big Thunder Ranch closed forever in 2016 to make way for Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge. Every year, the Ranch would host the Halloween Roundup, featuring some impressive pumpkin displays.

 

Definitely my most missed part of Big Thunder Ranch was the Roundup and Barbecue, a delicious all-you-can-eat barbecue restaurant that while slightly pricey, was scrumptious every time!

Over at California Adventure, Disney tried out having Duffy the Disney Bear meeting guests in the park, and sadly he didn’t last.

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In 2011, Duffy’s meet & greet received a cute Halloween overlay.

Jumping forward to my visit to Mickey’s Halloween Party in 2011, back when the after-hours event was still held at Disneyland Park.

This glorious Mickey pumpkin has graced Town Square on Main Street USA every year since 2006.

Night falls and the Mickey ghosts mean it’s time for candy!

The fog around the Sailing Ship Columbia provided a really eerie atmosphere.

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The French Market hosted the Club Skellington dance party.

Long before the far superior Frightfully Fun Parade there was Mickey’s Costume Party, a parade mostly featuring small and reused floats and costumes from other Disneyland parades.

This particular costume came from The Lion King section of Walt Disney’s Parade of Dreams.

This costume comes from the Pinocchio section of the same parade.

The final float of the parade also was the final float for Walt Disney’s Parade of Dreams, and remains, albeit redone, as the final float for the Frightfully Fun Parade.

Disney Villains would meet guests across from “it’s a small world.”

Tomorrowland Terrace hosted Buzz Lightyear’s Intergalactic Space Jam, which had the dancers wearing these costumes from the Pixar Play Parade.

I hope you enjoyed this look back at Halloween of years past at Disneyland!

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Luke Manning
Luke is a fan of all things theme parks and self-proclaimed #1 fan of Joffrey’s Coffee, who lives in Kissimmee, FL