Disneyland Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween California

What is Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party at Disneyland?  It is a separately ticketed event around Halloween from the end of September to October 31st where guests can celebrate special Halloween events after the park is closed for general admission.

Disney Villains Meet and Greet: The Disney villains can be surprisingly difficult to see on a normal day at Disneyland, not so at Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party.

Mickey’s Costume Party’ CavalcadeHalloween Dance Parties: These are a lot of fun! Party with Goofy at Piratepalooza (Rancho del Zocalo) or with Buzz Lightyear at his Intergalactic Space Jam (Tomorrowland Terrace).

You Can Wear A Costume: Disneyland usually doesn’t allow anyone over the age of 9 to wear a costume at any of their parks. Make sure it is tasteful. Disney has very high standards and will not let you in if you are wearing anything questionable!

Halloween Screams: A Villainous Surprise in the Skies Fireworks: This runs exclusively during the Mickey Not So Scary Halloween Party. As you would expect there are lots of references to Disney villains and Nightmare Before Christmas characters also featured.

Mickey’s Hide-and-Go-Treat Trails: There will be candy and healthy snacks available on these fun trails which aim to take guests to parts of the park that they don’t usually explore.

Access to Most of the Disneyland Attractions: Most of the Disneyland attractions are open for the Halloween Party. Particularly worth a visit are the Haunted Mansion Holiday (which runs from September 14th through January 6th 2013) and Space Mountain Ghost Galaxy.

This is a great time to see the special Halloween events, but don’t go expecting that the lines will be short for the attractions.  Sometime this can sometimes be the case, on busy nights tickets for Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party do sell out and there will be plenty of other guests in the park celebrating with you. Go for the Halloween atmosphere and not for the shorter lines. For most people though we would suggest that you really have to be a big Disney fan and be looking for a different experience. It is a great event but of course the costs do add up. We think it is something that you want to do at least once!

Event Prices : Advance tickets are $95 and on the day of $105 before the last week of October and after $120 October 27th and 31st.  Be aware that tickets do sell out in advance so it definitely is the best idea to buy before the date of the party.

You can buy tickets for Disneyland Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party at the park ticket booths or online at Mickey’s Disneyland Halloween Party.

We hope you have a magical time at Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party at Disneyland!

Goofy's Kitchen, Disneyland Hotel

Ladies and gentlemen, may I present Disneyland’s premier character breakfast Goofy’s Kitchen, located in the Disneyland Hotel. We came for breakfast and loved it! Lots of character interactions (Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Pluto, Chipmunks) all stopped by our table to say "hi". The food I thought was good too, I loved the Mickey shaped waffles and the desserts! We went during Halloween so they had festive desserts. I had a chocolate pudding with gummy brains and fingers. Also the peanut butter jelly pizza is really fun and actually really liked it! It was our anniversary so we got little cupcakes brought over that was above and beyond.

Eats
The best word to describe the brunch buffet is: extensive. It took me about 10 minutes just to photograph everything. There’s nothing repeated here, every available surface is covered with unique dishes ranging from customized omelets to peanut butter pizza to chicken fingers and entire island full of desserts. There’s just no way you can try everything, so be sure to look around first!

Overall
My first impression of Goofy’s Kitchen was that it was way better than Chef Mickey’s. The buffet was far more extensive, with a wide range of options you won’t find at Chef Mickey’s. The service was also great.

I'm hoping to go back again next year and will be going back to Goofy's Kitchen again for brunch for sure!

Royal Gorge Senic train Canyon City, CO

We took a train ride on the Royal Gorge Railroad. OMG! The views are nothing short of spectacular in the same fashion as the Grand Canyon. I suggest you take the early train as the later ones can get extremely crowded. Also, it can get pretty hot after the morning and even the floor of the open-air observation car gets hot because it is metal. This is a nice train ride through the Royal Gorge of the Arkansas River. The ride is 2 hours in total and you can see Royal Gorge Bridge 1000 feet above. The ride is also a one way trip so if you missed something in the beginning you can catch it on the way back. The conductor just moves from the front to the back of the train once you make it to the end of the track. They have multiple events throughout the year on the train to take part in. I think the murder mystery train ride sounds fun.

The views from the coach cars are limited to side views of the Arkansas River and walls of the gorge. If you want the best views you probably would want the Vista cars so you could also see the bridge above and possibly animal life. The dome car is the most expensive, the coach class is the least (but the windows are large).We loved the train ride and service. Don't worry too much about your seat assignment. You probably won't be spending much time in it, if any since you can stand in the open on the observation flat car.  Everybody has access to the open-air car to take those cool pictures, but it gets real cozy there as a result. Our car's host suffered from a malfunctioning microphone, so we did not hear the info about the scenery. So we spent most the time on the flat car, while our in-laws stayed in the coach area for the seating.  The menu items are a little spendy, but we were getting hungry on the way back to station so we decided to order burgers. They were ok and didn't have a table to eat from in the coach area. Served in a Styrofoam box. Next time I would probably eat lunch before the train. We also ordered a few drinks and they were good.

Have you done the Royal Gorge train? What was your favorite part?

Rapid City, SD

When most tourists visit South Dakota they drive through with a quick stop at Mount Rushmore, but what they don’t realize is that there’s so much more. Growing up in Rapid City we were able to see a lot more of the state and in this post I'm going to share some of my favorite things for a weekend getaway.

South Dakota Road Trip

Rapid City to Spearfish

If you plan on flying to South Dakota you’ll fly into Rapid City Regional Airport. Since we live in Denver it was just a 6 hour drive for us to get there.

Spearfish Canyon Scenic Drive

Make your way down HYW 385 North on the Spearfish Canyon Scenic Byway through the Blackhills for some epic views. There are several short hikes & waterfalls not far off the road that are worthwhile. There are 3 waterfalls that are easily accessed within a 5-minute walk. We visited Roughlock Falls, Little Spearfish Falls, and Bridal Veil Falls. Our favorite was Bridal Veil waterfall. There is a viewing platform right off the road. I think the best time to go up to Spearfish is in the fall. The colors are beautiful through the canyon in September and October.

Another fun thing to do while in Spearfish is go to D.C. Booth Fish Hatchery. Again really pretty to go in the fall but your family will enjoy going anytime of the year. Admission is free and open 365 days a year. The gift shop and museum is only open during the summer. You can feed the fish, so bring quarters for the feeders, all while learning the history of the area.

Other cities along the way to check out:

• Deadwood (Old gold town, now it's home to several casinos in historic buildings)
• Sturgis ( Sturgis Rally is a week long event usually the first week of August so keep this in mind when planning a trip to Rapid City, SD)

Mount Rushmore

A trip to South Dakota wouldn’t be complete without visiting Mount Rushmore. Head back down 385 on the Spearfish Canyon Scenic Byway. You will pass by Lake Pactola. Gorgeous reservoir and their is a campground if you wanted to stay the night after your drive down from Spearfish.

If you travel during the summer months it will be busy no matter what time of day so no need to rush. If you happen to be visiting during the evening try and stay for the evening lighting ceremony of Mount Rushmore. There is a cafeteria, otherwise Keystone few miles down the road has a few restaurants. Mount Rushmore is nothing short of amazing and if you are lucky you might see a mountain goat.

• Cars, Motorcycles, and RVs – $11 per vehicle
• Evening lighting ceremony of Mount Rushmore May 26, 2017 – Oct 1, 2017

Crazy Horse

Crazy Horse Memorial is the world’s largest Mountain Carving in progress. We personally didn’t visit. I went once when I was younger and now just look from the road at the progress. 

• $28.00 Per car – more than 2 people
• $22.00 = 2 people in car
• $11.00 = Per person
• $5.00 = Per person on motorcycles, or bicycles

Custer State Park

After exploring all the things to do near Mount Rushmore make your way to Custer State Park. It’s South Dakota’s largest and oldest state park. There are several scenic drives, hikes, over 1,500 free roaming bison, fishing, and much more. One of our favorite things in the park was driving the Needles Highway. The rock formations on the drive will blow you away.

If you want to stay right on the edge of the park check out Sylvan Lake Lodge. It has some of the best views of Sylvan lakes and the perfect location for exploring Custer State Park.

We highly recommend eating dinner at the Alpine Inn. The Alpine Inn only serves two things for dinner, filet mignon or a Spaetzle Primavera. We opted for the 9-ounce bacon wrapped filet for $13.95 and we weren’t disappointed. This place is a steal, for less than $50 we each got a 9-ounce steak dinner, dessert, drinks. If you visit during the summer expect there to be a line before dinner service even starts. Their lunch menu is much larger and specializes in European cuisine. My family loves getting the Rueben sandwich every time we go back.

Another favorite place is Prairie Berry Winery. Home of the famous Red Ass Rhubarb wine. Start your visit with a complimentary wine tasting and you can pick five to sample. Most of the wines they make are sweet but they do have a few dryer and full bodied wines as well. My favorites are the Red Ass Rhubarb, Strawberry Fusion, and Calamity Jane. Within past couple years they have really transformed the place and serve food and cocktails made from the wines. Last time we were there they made the Red Ass Rhubarb into a margarita, which I would have never thought to do but was really shocked with how delicious it turned out. They also did a blueberry lemonade with the Blue Suede shoes wine and was really impressed with that drink too. Both were refreshing, treat to enjoy on the patio with a flat bread pizza. We joined the Gen 5 wine club and get shipped four bottles of wine a month. Plus 20% off wine in the store when you shop. If wine isn't your thing they have a brewery next door, we haven't had a chance to go there yet.

Badlands National Park

On your way to the park make sure to stop at Wall Drug in Wall South Dakota. You will see sign after sign along I-90. It’s a great place to stop and have lunch before heading into the park.

The Badlands look out of this world. The park is 244,000 acres and is said to contain one of the world’s richest fossil beds. Apparently, even rhinos and saber- toothed cats, once roamed in South Dakota. Now you will find bison, big horn sheep, and prairie dogs. You will find several hiking trails and the sunset and sunrises are phenomenal in the park.

Have you gone on a South Dakota road trip? What would you add?