Disneyland Halloween weekend #5 - with Gram and Pop Pop

It's the weekend and we've got visitors! Gram and Pop Pop are here!
They didn't want to change our normal routine so on Saturday we all headed to Disneyland!

Wanting to make the most of our day, we left the house early and got to the park right at opening. Since Disneyland has Early Magic Hours, we all started our day in DCA. It's gotten to the point that Ian will ask which park has Magic Hours, and then say we're going to the opposite of what we tell him, plus the first ride we'll be going on.
As soon as we entered, I signed my parents up for MaxPass (a very easy thing to do from the Disneyland app) and snagged an 8:30am Toy Story Midway Mania pass.
Mater's Graveyard Jambooree was a walk-on!

The kids love it!

Being so early, the residents of Radiator Springs were out along the main road. We posed with Mater who had a very short line.

And then made our way over to see Lightning McQueen, also with a short line. As we were leaving ~8:15, both cars were heading back stage.

After a quick stop for a sour dough bread sample and a chocolate sample, we headed back to Midway Mania. It was 4 minutes before the 8:30am fastpass window opened up, so we decided to join the regular line.

We never come in this room (because we always use fastpass).

Ian was telling Pop Pop and Gram how much they would love this ride, and showed them how it worked.

After our first ride through, the standby line was showing a 40 minute wait. Good thing we have a fastpass!
Here Gram, this is the correct way to wear these glasses.

Our next fast passes aren't coming up for a little while, so we made our way around the back side of Paradise Pier. First was the non-swinging gondolas on Mickey's Fun Wheel.

And after that, the swings were a walk-on.

He loves this ride too.

While Ian rode the Jumping Jellyfish, I took Alli over to the Golden Zephyr.

The backdrop of Paradise Bay makes for a good family picture.
During our visit, we got quite a few comments on our Halloween hats.
From left to right, Halloween Pooh came from Disneyland Paris, Minnie Ghost came from Tokyo, the Zero headband I think was a regular release, the Pumpkin Mickey came from WDW, Scarecrow Mickey was from Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party, and my Fall Leaves Mickey hat is from Tokyo. Yes I enjoy collecting Disney hats.

Alli is happy to be with her Gram.

And Ian loves his Pop Pop.

Alli swapped hats with Gram and boy was she pleased with herself.

It's only 2 hours past opening but Ariel was still a walk-on.

Time to take our little monsters over to see a few more monsters.

Race you to the scare floor.

Outside the kids discovered Sulley painted on the ground.

And cast member Andrew was nearby and quick to hand out stickers to both kids.

With just a little more time before our fastpass, a ride on Francis' Ladybug Boogie was in order.

Gram and Pop Pop had a fun time riding the new Guardians ride.

T and I took the kids back into Radiator Springs to get some photos with some of the random new characters.

Our two parties met back up and found one more Radiator Springs resident who is dressed up.

It's Red the Fire Engine! He was being a little noisy, so the cast member asked if he could be a little more quiet. He was quick to comply.

Cheese!

Next we let Pop Pop and Gram use our FPs to take Ian on Radiator Springs Racers!

They won! Nice job in the driver's seat Ian!

While they were riding, T and I were running around the park grabbing lunch. The Studio Catering Co. is quickly becoming a favorite. The tacos are tasty and this time we tried something new.
I grabbed some Bacon Cheddar Ale soup in a separate bowl and it was great to dip the sourdough bread in.

My new favorite from the Studio Catering Co. truck were these nachos. That red pepper cheese sauce is delicious!

Obviously Nachos

Fried Blue Corn Tortillas with Red Pepper Cheese Sauce, Mojo Marinated Chicken, Chipotle Crema and Green Onions

Ian was very happy with his frozen Milano orange freeze.

After lunch it was time to use our fast passes for the Haunted Mansion. While T waited with Alli, who was asleep in the stroller, the rest of us visited Halloweentown.

Is the nutcracker supposed to be possessed? His mouth moves along with everything Leota says.

My best shot of the gingerbread house this year. The kids are really into Oogie Boogie, so they've loved seeing him in gingerbread.

Time to check the list. There's Joe! And Ian too!

I found my present.

Ian's was a little more difficult to find this year. Hidden in the back.

There's two Santa hats here. I wonder if Hatbox Ghost has one hat for each head. The one on the left belongs to Oogie Boogie. I'd guess the one on the right belongs to Jack Skellington.

Just as we were pulling up to Jack, the ride starts to slow down and we get stopped. Sweet! And it's in an interesting location too!

Did you know Jack Skellington has a 1 minute long spiel as you're passing by? Enjoy!

I love the addition of Sally to the Mansion this year. But I was wondering if there was a way I could get a picture of both of them together. At Tokyo Disneyland Sally and Jack greet you as soon as the ride starts. At Disneyland though, Sally only shows up in one place, and she's pretty far away from Jack.

Here's the best shot I've been able to get. You can see Sally in the background looking longingly at Jack.

And as we got moving again, I snapped a closer photo of Sally.

It's Oogie. I wonder what treat we'll have today.

Before the ride Ian was telling Gram and Pop Pop how at the end of the ride at the present, people pop out and scare you. I think it's only 1 in 4 or 1 in 5 chance to get it, but this lucky little boy managed to get exactly what he said.

After Mansion, Ian was excited to take everyone on Splash Mountain. As soon we scanned our Fastpass, the ride went down. The party behind us in line didn't even get to enter. We waited for a couple minutes, but after hearing them repeat that the ride was down for an in-determinant amount of time, it was time to try another ride. I asked the cast member at the entrance what would happen since we had already scanned our fast passes. He said that since we didn't re-scan at the 2nd stop, our fast passes would still be valid. Sweet!

Look who is awake from her nap!

Hi Disneyland Train!

Over at Winnie the Pooh, the cast members made special mention of Theresa hat. Asking if she made it herself or bought it, because they'd never seen one like it before.

It's time for your party Pooh! And almost time for Alli's too!

Immediately after the ride, Alli took off in a sprint to the candy shop. I think maybe T has been taking her here a few times while Ian and I are on Splash Mountain.

Inside we found them making Tigger Tails. No surprise that the kids wanted one.

Enjoy!

With Splash Mountain still down, we wandered towards Fantasyland. I wanted a group photo in front of the castle so we waited in line for a few minutes. As soon as it was our turn, the Pearly Street Band was also making their way through the castle. The show director shuffled everyone away from the castle forecourt, so the photo pass photographer took some pictures of us off to the side.

Ian got a real kick out of stealing Pop Pop's hat and becoming a pumpkin scarecrow.

Thanks to the Disneyland app, we learned that Splash Mountain was up and running again. Better hustle over there before all the other people with fast passes arrive en masse. There wasn't much of a line when we arrived. When we got off the ride, the fastpass line was backed up all the way to the Hungry Bear!