Mickey's Halloween Party {Trick-or-Treating at Disneyland}

We kicked off our Halloween celebrations with trick-or-treating at Disneyland during Mickey's Halloween Party. It was so. much. fun!!! Seriously, we made some of our most favorite memories at Disneyland ever, which is saying something considering how often we go :). We've been to Disney during Halloweentime before but this was our first time trick-or-treating. Disneyland is already decked out for Halloween -- Jake loved all the "Mickey puhkins" and "Mickey ghosts" around the park -- but they turn it up a notch for Mickey's Party. It is just such a well-done event.

Since it was our first time trick-or-treating at Disneyland, we figured it was only fitting to come dressed as the Mouse family. That is, Mickey and Minnie Mouse.

The upgrades from regular ol' Halloweentime include fog over the Rivers of America, purple/green/spooky lights throughout the park, dimmer lights on Main Street and cobwebs projected onto the storefronts and the castle, pumpkins projected all over It's a Small World and Halloween music playing on the speakers. There are lots of little touches throughout the park; for example, the walk from Frontierland to Big Thunder Ranch is done Haunted Forest style, with spooky lights and music and fog, but minus the creepy people you'd find at a Haunted Forest. Later at night, there is a Halloween show at the castle and lots of fireworks. And the best part is that the classic Mickey characters all dress up, too.

And the trick-or-treating itself? Insane. So. Much. Candy. We didn't even try to get very much candy but still somehow ended up with enough candy to hand out at both our house and my mom's on the real night. Disney has treat stations set up all around the park that you just go up to and walk away with a handful at each place, and then they have "Treat Trails" where you get in line and pass by 4-6 treat stations along the way. The park maps had markers where all the treats were AND had a list of what characters would be where, and they were there all night long. It was fantastic. Jake was so sweet, saying trick-or-treat and profusely thanking the cast members: "gank oo, gank oo, gank oo!" Also, the ride lines? Tiny. So great. 

We went early to try to meet Mickey in his formal attire -- that matched Jake and Matt -- before he got dressed up for Halloween (the characters wear costumes, too!). Mickey was sweet and called a cast member over to make sure Jake got special treatment. They walked along holding hands and Jake got to be one of very few kids that got a picture with him. And then later that night, when we saw Mickey and Minnie, they seriously spent five minutes just hugging Jake and giving him kisses and high fives. They were so great and Jake was in HEAVEN with "Mickey and Mimmie." He blew them kisses when we left and talked about them all night and it was the cutest ever.

Jake is really into Toy Story right now and was excited to meet "Boody."

The only long line of the night was to meet Mickey & Minnie in their Halloween costumes. This is how Jake handled the wait...

This is how Jake watches fireworks -- with his hat covering 99% of his only-slightly-opened eyes, and his mom's hand protecting him. Hahaha

Saving the World

Introducing Baby Hulk.

My little brothers decided to be the Avengers for Halloween this year, and we couldn't resist having Jake join in as the Hulk. Naturally, we accepted the role as his handlers -- S.H.I.E.L.D. agents (Colson and Hill, to be exact). And, naturally, I took way too many pictures of the night so we ended up with a little slideshow. But seriously, how can you resist a tiny little Hulk trick-or-treating? It was so adorable.

At first, Jake didn't quite grasp the whole candy-collecting concept. Instead, he'd fish candy out of his bucket, attempt to chew on it for a second, and then purposefully drop it on the ground and say "Uh Oh!" He caught on pretty quick, though, as he watched the big kids do their thing. In no time at all, Jake was carrying his own bucket and running up to the doors (as often as we could put him down without getting ditched by our fellow avengers). Every once in a while, Jakey decided he needed a break and would take a seat on the nearest porch step. A few seconds later, he'd pop up and jump right back into the festivities. Jake grabbed his own candy, said "thank you" in baby talk, ate said candy through the wrapper, and squealed excitedly all night long. He was killing us with his cuteness.

Meanwhile, everyone else played up their characters perfectly. Matt even gave the avengers official S.H.I.E.L.D. orders, which the little boys loved. The roster: Captain America (Kaleb), Iron Man (Josh), Thor (Gabe), The Incredible Hulk (Jake), Black Widow (Heidi), S.H.I.E.L.D. agents (me, Matt, and my mom).

I hope you all had a very happy Halloween!