Many
moons ago, I outlined a vision for a Disneyland Park going as
hard (if not harder) for Halloween as it typically does for
Christmas—unique decorations throughout every land, seasonal area
music loops, nighttime attraction overlays, live entertainment, the
works. None of it has actually come to pass, of course, but Halloween
remains a highlight of the year, both at the Disneyland Resort and in
the larger culture.
So
now it’s the other park’s turn.
Like
its older sister, California Adventure does a fair amount for Spoopy
Day already, but there is tons
of room for improvement, in terms of both refining what is there and
adding more. One interesting aspect here is that the Halloween
offerings only really kick in at nightfall, which is...certainly
thematically appropriate! I might just let that stand.
Conversely,
the one thing I find pretty irritating is the designation of Oogie
Boogie as the park's official Halloween mascot. There's nothing wrong
with a Halloween mascot per se,* but not only are there no specific
links between California Adventure and The Nightmare Before
Christmas or its characters,
they don't actually do
anything with this supposed mascot. His silhouette appears over the
entrance gates and there are occasionally booming announcements in
Ken Page's fabulous voice. That's it. There's no Oogie meet-and-greet
tucked into an unassuming corner, no Oogie-based attraction overlay
or stage skit.
So
if we must have a mascot, then a) it should be a character with some
legitimate connection to the park (such
as perhaps?) and b) you should be able to tell
that they're the mascot.
Anyway,
let's get to the land-by-land breakdown. I admittedly have fewer
solid ideas for this park than for the other one, mostly because...I
was already an adult when California Adventure opened. I didn't grow up
thinking about it; it doesn't live in my bones the way Disneyland
does.
But
let's see what I can do.
