This vacation was years in the making. I wanted to do Disneyland at Halloween time and the Oogie boogie bash back when Calli was playing high school soccer, but due to soccer season being during the fall we could never make it work and then Sadie started playing soccer and then she was cheering and there just was never a good time until now. We decided to do Disney, DCA, Oogie Boogie and Universal Studios Halloween Horror Nights.
However, actually getting the Oogie boogie bash tickets was no easy task. The first day they went on sale, Adam and I were on trek, so I left instructions for Levi, who is our Disney techie-go to guy. He kept us posted as the queue went on and on and on all day until it finally crashed, and they had to postpone sales for another couple of weeks. On that sell day I was home and so both Levi and I jumped on first thing in the morning to try for Oogie Boogie tickets again and it is a good thing that Levi got onto because he got them while I was still in the queue. Dates were selling out fast. We couldn’t get our first choice or our second choice, but we did get our third choice. By the time I got out of the queue all the dates were sold out. We were very thankful for Levi and that he was able to score the tickets. Once we got those, it was game on. We decided at the last minute to add an extra night and drive down the night before and so we switched our hotel from Cambria to the Element. The Element was a really nice hotel. It was within walking distance, had breakfast in the morning and we had a family suite. The only con was that it only had one bathroom for seven adults, but we made it work and I would definitely stay there again.
Let the count down begin!!
Costumes for Oogie Boogie! Oh my goodness, I had a blast planning this one!
Sadie (birthday girl) got to be Cruella!
Day 1 - Tuesday, September 19, 2023
As soon as everyone was off work, and Mati had arrived from Provo, we met at our house. Had pizza, jumped in the cars, and drove to California getting to our hotel at about 11 PM California time. We unpacked and got into bed ready for an early day the next morning.
Disney Trivia on the ride down via FaceTime.
Arriving to our hotel. It was all decked out the holiday and so cute!!
Day 2 - Wednesday, September 20, 2023
We woke up, bright and early and headed down to breakfast before walking to Disneyland for rope drop. While at breakfast Levi got a phone call from his brother saying that his grandma had just passed away. This was unexpected and we wondered for the first couple days if they would need to cut the trip short and head home, but all was well. The funeral would be the following week. They were able to stay and after a few tears, they had a great time. She had fallen a few days before that and spent some time in the hospital so thankfully they had gone to see her before leaving. The following day Matias got the call that his grandpa had passed. He was 100 years old, and Mati was waiting for the call. He was thankful to be with us rather than home alone and thankful for the distraction. So, it was a little bit of a crazy start to our trip, but everybody made the best of it, and we still had a fantastic time.
We made our way through security and through the gates just in time for rope drop. Using our Genie+ we instantly hit. Indiana Jones, Haunted Mansion, Thunder Mountain, Pirates, Rise of the Resistance, and mobile ordered from Tianna‘s Palace to get their lemon stuffed beignets. We then did Matterhorn and walked through the new Toon Town. On our way we found Peter and Wendy’s tree. (Another check off my bucket list) We then rode Small World, the Railroad all the way around the park and Buzz Lightyear. We then went over to California adventure where we did Guardians, Talk to Crush, Beasts Library, Incredicoaster, Webslingers, Little Mermaid, and then checked in to our reserved spot for World of Color. It had been a few years since I had seen it and it was fantastic. Everyone loved it. While at World of Color we mobile ordered soup in loafs to eat afterward. After dinner we walked though the new San Fransokyo and Car Land and then back over to Disney and rode the new Mickey ride in Toon Town. I’m so glad we went later in the day when the line wasn’t too long. The ride was cute but not worth a long wait or a lightning lane.
Leaving the hotel for our walk to the park.
View from the intersection of our hotel.
We made it!!
Soo sooo cute!
I saw a post of these heading to the park on a trailer on the freeway a few weeks ago. So cool to see them all set up!
Security time!!
Cute Mickey and Minnie in their costumes.
The famous Mickey Pumpkin on Main Street
Main Street!
Of course, the leprechauns house at Disneyland. Had to show Matias all the things!! It was so fun having a newby with us this time!!
Indiana
Lightning Lane for Thunder
I spy “Fresh Baked”
I lost my sunglasses on our first ride of the day so I bought some new ones at Adventureland Bazaar and Mati didn’t wait to buy him a Goofy hat. Which he wore proudly for the rest of the trip.
Pirates!!
Checking out Tiannas Boutique. Another bucket list.
Spotted “Hey Insiders” on our way to Galaxy’s Edge. They were so nice!
Rise!!!
Photo Pass with the Millenium Falcon
Spotted Pocahontas on our way out!
The new Tiannas Palace. So cute. Looked just like her restaurant in the movie!
Lemon filled Beignets
Ate our beignets on the way to our Haunted Mansion Lightning Lane!
First of many!!
Adventureland Treehouse!!
100 year celebration!
Peter and Wendy’s hidden tree!
Disney Geeks
Favorite Bathroom
Small World…
With grandma
New Toon Town
New Ride!!
Railroad around the park!!
Tuckered out
Lunch at Pizza Planet!
Ate it in one of favorite spots for cool air, tables and never busy!!
Time for some Buzz Light Year!!
Heading to DCA!
Another Photo Op!!
Guardians monsters after Dark was so fun!!
Pyms Kitchen
Webslingers
Little Mermaid! Some famous girl that Calli, Sadie And Gentry were geeking out about. She’s friends with. David Dobrick.
Fam Favorite…soarin’
Incredicoaster!
World of Color!
So, so good!!
San Franskyo
Cars Land after dark
Carthay Circle
Oogie Boogie!!
Back to Disney! Encanto projections on Small World
Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway!
The Queue was adorable!
Stroll through Toon Town!
Day 3 - Thursday, September 21, 2023 Sadie‘s birthday and Oogie Boogie Bash
We were able to
sleep in and just take it easy for the morning. We got up, ate breakfast and
then Calli and Sadie went for a run around
the outside perimeter of the parks. (they are training for the St George
Marathon) We celebrated her birthday with a cake that I had ordered and had delivered from a local bakery. We opened presents and then we got in our
costumes for the party. Around noon, we walked over to Downtown Disney. (we got so many comments as we walked around, it was so fun, plus it was a breeze spotting each other all night long in our matching shirts) We spent a couple of hours walking through the shops and ate lunch and had a shake
at Black Tap (another bucket list item) and then made our way to the Grand
Californian Hotel where we walked around there and then lined up around 2:45pm (avoiding the long lines at the gates) to get into Oogie Boogie Bash. It was a breeze. Once
inside it was fairly busy with the mix-in crowd of regular guests that leave at
6:00 and Oogie boogie Bash guests that enter at 3:00. We took the opportunity
of a couple photo ops before heading to Cars Land and riding Mater and Luigi’s.
Then rode Goofy’s Sky school. We had about an hour before the party started so
we grabbed a churro and rested to get ready for the bash. The Oogie boogie bash was awesome. I had read and
researched and planned and had a game plan all planned out so we could fit
everything in that we wanted to during the timeframe we had and we DID it plus
more. We did all 12 treat trails (Actually
13 because we did Oogie Boogie’s twice) The 9 villains were Sid, Yokai, Agatha, Oogie Boogie,
Ernesto Del La Cruz, Cruella, (being Cruella and dalmatians, we got called out
on the Cruella trail) Madame Mim, Mother Gothel and Judge Doom. We got sooo much candy. We kept filling our
small, trick-or-treat bags that they gave us at the gate and dumping it into
bigger, Oogie Boogie backpacks that I had made. We had full
backpacks by the time we all left. In between the treat trails as we would pass
rides along the way, we’d jump on. We hit Incredicoaster, Radiators Springs
Racer, Guardians-Monsters After Dark, Monsters Inc, and Soarin’. We also
watched the parade, snapped a picture of the Sanderson Sisters and made it to Villains
Grove all by 10:30pm. We still had about a half hour and could’ve hit a couple
more rides but we were so tired and had an early day the next morning so we
called it a night and walked back to our hotel and tucked ourselves in bed.
Oogie Boogie did not disappoint. It was fantastic and something that I would
most definitely do again. My mother heart absolutely loved watching my kids on
the treat trails with their little trick-or-treat bags and in costume trick or
treating. Sadie was the star of the
night with her Cruella outfit and her birthday button she got lots of attention
all night long and was in the spotlight all night long. My favorite picture from
the night was Sadie with her “puppy entourage.”
Our game plan:)
It worked Perfectly...thanks to one of my Disney Influencers.
Celebrating Sadie’s Happiest 23rd Birthday in the Happiest Place on Earth!
Trying on her running vest she got from Calli!
Her cute cake!!
Stopping traffic as we walk to Downtown!
Puppies at Security
Converse!!
My girls!!
100 years of The Disney Company!
The whole crew!! Our shoes matched our collars!
Lego Store
Adam in converse is just about the cutest thing I’ve ever seen!
Lunch at Earl of Sandwich
The Monorail
Black Tap Shake
The Grand California!!
Coco Cake!
Lined up!
Just Cruella!!
Entering Oogie Boogie!
OOGIE BOOGIE BASH 2023
Maters
Luigis
Sadie and her puppy entourage!
Coco display!
Let the party begin!!! Sid
Incredicoaster!
Yokai
Radiators!
More Treat Trails!
Agatha
Adam keeping everyone hydrated! Haha!!
Monsters Inc
Sanderson Sisters
Ernesto Del La Cruz! He was awesome!!
Parade time!!
Headless horseman led the parade!
Guardians!!
Cruella
Oogie Boogie
Mother Gothel
Madam Mim
Judge Doom
Villians Grove
Love it!!
Walking back!
Still skipping after a long day and night with my Oogie Boogie backpack!
Day 4 – Friday, September 22, 2023
Adam, Gentry and I woke up early and rope dropped Fantasy Land. Snow White, Pinocchio, Storybook
Canals, Alice in Wonderland and Matterhorn again. Mobile ordered Beignets, met up with Mati and Levi and
hit up Jungle Cruise, and Winnie the Pooh. Met up with Calli and Sadie and rode Finding Nemo, Star Tours, and Indiana
Jones again, before heading back over to DCA. We rode Guardians for the 3rd
time, but this time being the original. We did some shopping and walked our purchases back to the hotel, took a quick nap and stacked genie + Went back to Disney and rode Smugglers run, Pirates again and Thunder Mountain again. Went back to DCA for Soarin’ again and Animation Academy. (Another bucket list
item. This is a hard one to get to when everyone just wants to run, run run,
but I am sooo glad we took the time to do it. It was just so much fun!
Definitely the highlight of the day!! While the kids stayed to ride
Incredicoaster again, Adam and I went and grabbed spots on Main Street for the
Fireworks and Projections. So fun! We grabbed dole whips and sat down to rest
before hitting our last ride. We had a genie+ for Matterhorn but before we
could go on it, it closed so we got to chose between a handful of rides to use
it on. We chose Indiana Jones. Wow! What a great few days. I couldn’t believe
how much we had accomplished. Again, we dragged ourselves back to the hotel and
fell into bed.
Every trip! Haha!
Just a couple Disney die hards rope dropping fantasyland!
Penny Arcade 1901 penny! The year Walt was born!
Another bucket list!
Alice!
Storybook!
Club 33 on the way to get the Beignets
I-spy Indiana Jones at Jungle Cruise
Just a bunch of adults on Winnie the Pooh!
Finally got a picture of the the Critters from Bear Country…kinda!
Quick stop for treats from Pooh Corner! Loved the churro toffee!
The sword!!
Nemo!
Pirates drop!
Indiana!
Just ears and Guardian!
Walk through Galaxy’s Edge after Smugglers Run!
Animation Academy!!
Wall-E
Mine
Gentry’s
Adam’s
Sadie
Animation Studio
Beasts Library
Fireworks and Projections!
Zero flying through the sky!
All worn out! Waiting for our last Lightning lane!
Goodnight!!
Day 5 – Saturday, September 23, 2023 –
Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios.
Again, we got to sleep in and have a slow easy-going
morning. We got up, had breakfast, got ready and drove the hour to Universal
Studios. We got to the boardwalk around 12:30pm and walked through the shops
and ate lunch. Then made our way to Universal Studios for our 2:00 check-in. We
did a day/night pass where we could do normal attractions before the Halloween
horror nights started and already being in the parks we had early access to
those. We went straight to Harry Potter World and hung out there and walked
around and explored for a couple hours. We went on both of the rides, drank
butter beer, and then we went down to the lower lot and got in line for the
Stranger Things haunted house. Being fans of the show, we all loved it. Then we went right to the exorcist house. After
we did those 2 houses, we noticed that the ride lines were super short so we jumped
on The Jurassic World ride, and the Mummy ride, got ice cream, went to Super Mario World and then back to
Jurassic World before going upstairs to the Terror tram ride. We did the tram
which wasn’t all that fantastic. After the tram. We did another haunted house
and walked through Harry Potter World again after dark with the dementors and
the death eaters, and then we walked through a couple of the scare zones, on
our way out. We could’ve stayed till 2 AM, but again, we were so tired that we
left at about 11. We got back to our hotel at midnight and zonked out.
The chocolate emporium!!
Went inside and checked it out!!
Candy Store. These were made out of Jelly Bellies!
The most sugary cereal I’ve ever seen!
Universal!!!
Harry Potter World!
Hogwarts Express!!
Hogmeade and Diagon Alley!
Hogwarts!!!
It was huge and so awesome!!
The Que for the ride “Forbidden Journey” is through the castle which was sooo cool!
Entrance to Dumbledors office
The different houses current standings
The portrait hall with talking portraits
The sorting hat!!
The Pensieve
Fat Lady Portrait
The great hall
The ride was awesome!!
The post
The three broomsticks
Butter Beer
Olivanders wand shop!
Book of Monsters
Dog weed
Playing with Mati’s wand around Hogsmeade
Hagrids House
Hippogriff
Flight of the Hippogriff Ride
Heading to the Haunted Houses
Getting nervous!
Stranger Things!!
Jurassic World ride #1
And #2
So fun!!
Ice Cream at Scoops Ahoy from Strangers Things!
Super Nintendo World!
It was awesome!!
Terror Tram
Bates Hotel
The doll from the horror film “Megan”
And props from the horror film “Five Nights of Freddy’s”
Harry Potters World after dark
Back to the hotel…Definitely looks like 7 adults have been living here!
Day 6 – Sunday, September 24, 2023
Woke up, went to breakfast, packed up and headed out
about 10:00am California time and 11:00am Utah time. We stopped at Raising Canes
in Vegas and then got home around 5:00pm. It was so much fun! So many Disney Bucket List
items got checked off on this trip annd so many awesome memories made! Until next time Disney!
We got pounds and pounds of candy from Oogie Boogie! This was just Adam and I’s!
My favorite souvenir!!! So excited for this monorail to run around my Disney Christmas Tree!!
