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This year Disneyland’s doing something a little different for Halloween. Sure, both parks are throwing the usual parties, but this time Disneyland has a little something special for the holiday on its website. Travel over to Disneyland’s Halloween Time and see what I mean.
The main focus for Halloween Time is the Disney Villains, which makes sense. The flash animation on the site rotates between each of the most popular baddies, and users can click on them to read a tidbit about the character. Then they can vote to crown their favorite with the Gooiest Apple Award.
But rather than awarding all of the accolades to just one villain, Disneyland’s created multiple categories for Gooiest Apple. Voting started much earlier than I expected (September 16, back when I wasn’t even thinking about Halloween), so a few awards, like Highness of Hissy Fits (shortest temper) and Sinister Stylings (best fashion) have already been handed out. A new category is introduced each week until Halloween, however, so there are still a few rounds left in which to vote.
This week, for example, the Lair of Scare category is up for voting. Users can go to the Halloween Time website and read each villain’s description of their lair, then decide which has the “spookiest, creepiest den of doom.”
Contestants appear to be the same for each round, and Disney’s brought out a few lesser-known villains to round out the pool along with the most popular baddies. The creepy characters include Cruella de Ville, Jafar, Maleficent, the Queen of Hearts, Ursula, the Evil Queen (from “Snow White”), and Captain Hook.
There are a few villains missing from the list that I’d include, but it’s nice to see one like the Queen of Hearts get some extra attention. That extra attention is what this year’s Gooiest Apple Contest is all about; last year the Disney Parks blog only asked readers to vote for which villain was their favorite, and predictably the ever-popular Maleficent won that one. The Gooiest Apple Awards allow some of the other villains time to shine, and they already have (for example, the Evil Queen won the Sinister Stylings category).
Voting for the Lair of Scare ends later this week, given that it started on October 6. Travel to Disneyland Halloween Time to cast your vote.
While you’re there, you’ll notice that a few Disneyland attractions also appear as you scroll through the various villain contestants. Disneyland’s using its Halloween Time website to promote the spooky seasonal changes to some of its rides.
Frontierland’s theme for Halloween comes from our southern neighbors; it’s holding a Dia De Los Muertos from now until Halloween. The Rancho del Zocalo will be replete with festive music and displays. The latter includes traditions associated with the day, such as decorating altars for the deceased with their favorite food and drink, marigolds, and sugar skulls.
The Tower of Terror over at California Adventure is an obvious choice to bedeck for Halloween. It’s picking up a Twilight Zone theme this season, dropping its riders into the fifth dimension while the ghosts that populate the hotel swirl around them.
Other events include the Haunted Mansion’s being decorated by the denizens of Halloween Town, and Space Mountain is rocketing its riders into Ghost Galaxy. On a less spooky note, the Pumpkin Festival is in full swing over on Main Street, U.S.A. And of course, in case any were wondering, the aforementioned villains will be wandering through the parks for a meet and greet (and also to lobby for Gooiest Apple awards).
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*(This image by Jeff Kern is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 License.)
