The Happiest Haunts Tour is a seasonal Halloween guided tour around the Disneyland Resort. This two-hour walking tour includes a photo op with two of the Hitchhiking Ghosts animatronics from the Haunted Mansion plus a reserved viewing area for the Halloween Screams nighttime spectacular.
This is a Disneyland Halloween specific tour and is only offered during the time of Halloween season which often runs the first week of September through Halloween each year.
Keep reading for our full Happiest Haunts Tour review including our thoughts on the reserved fireworks viewing area.
Disneyland Happiest Haunts Tour
Happiest Haunts Tour is a two-hour walking tour through Disneyland as a Disney tour guide tells Halloween-themed stories of the resort and other fun Disneyland facts.
The Disneyland Happiest Haunts Tour includes:
- A 2-hour walking tour across Disneyland Park
- A history of Halloween and Halloween tales specific to Disney experiences
- Expedited access to Pirates of the Caribbean
- Reserved viewing area for Halloween Screams, a nighttime spectacular
- A photo op with the Hitchhiking Ghosts—Audio-Animatronics from Haunted Mansion
- A Disney's Happiest Haunts Guided Tour Pin
- A Halloween-themed treat
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How to Reserve Happiest Haunts Tour
You can make reservations for the tour online on the Disneyland website up to 60 days in advance. Same-day bookings up to 20 minutes prior to the tour can be made on a limited basis and are subject to availability.
Guests are asked to check in 15 minutes prior to their reservation at the Tour Gardens on Main Street, U.S.A. which is located right next to Guest Services at the front of the park.
This has been an extremely popular tour so far because of the Hitchhiking ghosts photo op and the reserved fireworks viewing. I managed to get our tour reservation just two days prior as every date for our visit was sold out when I first began checking. Guests have to cancel 24 hours in advance to get a refund so this is the best time to start checking. I kept the tab open on my phone browser and just checked multiple ties a day until I got a spot.
Happiest Haunts Tour Price
Happiest Haunts Tour costs $110 per person or $93.50 for Visa Card Members. Disney Visa Card Members receive 15% off guided tours at the resorts. You will need to pay in full for the tour at the time of booking. Unfortunately, Disney gift cards cannot be used for guided tours.
There is a 24-hour cancellation policy otherwise payment will be forfeited.
Disneyland Happiest Haunts Tour Review
We experienced the Happiest Haunts Tour on a Saturday which means the reserved viewing for Halloween Screams would be for a night with fireworks included. During the Halloween season at Disneyland, fireworks are only shown Friday-Sunday nights and the show is projections only for the rest of the week. Because of this, the tour will be much more popular on weekends!
Video footage is not allowed on the guided tours at Disneyland but photos are welcome unless told otherwise.
Our tour began with the photo op with two of the Hitchhiking Ghost animatronics from the Haunted Mansion which are kept backstage behind the Tour Gardens area where you check in. This photo op is possible since Oogie Boogie replaces the spot of the Hitchhiking Ghosts during the Nightmare Before Christmas overlay Haunted Mansion Holiday.
The photo op will take place in the dark so that the ghosts are glowing as they do on the attraction. The cast member will give you a lantern to hold to light up your face. Wearing white clothes might help you stand out more in this photo op. You cannot take any pictures of the ghosts on your own, you only get a picture taken by the cast member on your mobile device, no flash is allowed.
This was a highlight of the tour for me as a huge Haunted Mansion fan. This seemed to be the consensus with our entire tour group as nearly everyone was dressed in either Haunted Mansion Disneybounding clothes or Haunted Mansion t-shirts.
After the photo op, the tour takes a circle around the park starting at Main Street and ending in New Orleans Square. The tour guide stopped along the way and told stories related to Halloween at Disneyland along with other interesting background information on the parks including the Haunted Mansion. For example, on our tour, she shared the story of how Disneyland began celebrating Halloween along with Walt Disney's roots of participating in local Anaheim Halloween events. Some of the facts shared were general Disney history while others were specific to Halloween.
Guests are given headsets with ear pieces so you can hear the tour guide as she speaks into a similar device with a microphone. As you walked, the headset would play Disney Halloween songs like Grim Grinning Ghosts or I Put A Spell On You from Hocus Pocus.
The tour included a stop at the Disneyland Halloween Tree and the tour guide tells the history behind the tree and then talks about the history of trick or treating. This is when you receive your Disney Halloween treat which is a Mickey Bat Cookie!
The tour ends in New Orleans Square and this is when you receive your commemorative pin and turn in your headsets.
The tour guide will then escort you through the Pirates of the Caribbean exit for front-of-the-line access to the ride. This is a great perk since Disneyland Genie+ is not offered for Pirates of the Caribbean and lines for this popular attraction can get long in the hot sun as the queue wraps through New Orleans Square.
You will then be instructed to return to the reserved viewing area for Halloween Screams later that evening which is the highlight of the tour many guests look forward to the most.
Happiest Haunts Fireworks View
The Happiest Haunts Tour provides reserved seating for the Disneyland Halloween Screams nighttime spectacular. The show is projections only Monday-Thursday but Friday-Sunday fireworks accompany the show. This is one of Disneyland's best fireworks shows and includes Zero (the dog from Nightmare Before Christmas) flying over the castle!
The viewing area is located in front of Sleeping Beauty's Castle right next to the area typically set aside for VIP tours, Club 33 members, and other important Disney guests. This means your view is nearly dead center in front of the castle making the view for seeing Zero fly over the castle and the projections perfect.
The viewing area for the tour opens at 8:30 and guests have until 9:15 to enter the space for showtimes that begin at 9:30. Guests will be lined up before 8:30 as many will try to get as far right in the viewing space as possible for a center view.
We arrived right at 8:20 and there was a line of about 10 groups ahead of us to enter the viewing area. The viewing area is so spacious that we were easily able to get a great spot in the viewing area as far to the right as we could to get a clear center view.
The reserved viewing area for the tour is in that little white box outlined on the screenshot above. The viewing area is all on the curb, to the left of the VIP viewing which is in the dead center of the curb in front of the Partners Statue.
The viewing area is up on the curb in front of the hub so you are a bit elevated from the crowds that will be gathered in front of you. This was a fantastic spot and we only had to wait an hour vs. the three hours it would take usually to get a castle-view fireworks spot this close. But even right up until 9, there was still plenty of space left in the viewing area so you could even show up later and get a great view.
I always prioritize a castle view when watching Disneyland fireworks shows since shows that have characters flying over the castle can only be seen from this location. I also prefer seeing the projections on the castle but these spots come with a big time commitment. You can read more about how to get the best seat for Disneyland fireworks in our guide.
Is Happiest Haunts Tour Worth It?
Due to the great view provided in the viewing area for the fireworks show, I say this tour is absolutely worth the price. In past years the tour used to provide viewing near it's a small world and if that was still the case, then I would say the tour is not worth it. But to move it to this prime castle viewing location? That makes the Happiest Haunts Tour worth it especially when you factor in the Haunted Mansion animatronic photo op, collectible pin, Halloween cookie, and front-of-the-line access to Pirates of the Caribbean. If you decide to do the tour on a projection only night for Halloween Screams (Monday-Thursday) then the view isn't quite as coveted as its easier to get a viewing spot on these nights.
The tour itself was fun but we are a family that prefers a faster pace around the parks so at times we were a bit antsy with the leisurely walk and listening to historical facts. We found ourselves looking longingly at the rides we walked past during this stroll but overall, it was still a good experience that we found worth it because of the Haunted Mansion photo op and fireworks viewing. On its own, I wouldn't book the tour otherwise as some of the facts shared were more general Disney knowledge and not always Halloween-specific nor anything I felt was exclusive Disney knowledge or wasn't already commonly known. You can read more about all the guided tours offered at Disneyland in our guide.
Because of the photo op with the Haunted Mansion ghost animatronics (which is such a cool opportunity for Haunted Mansion fans!) and the prime viewing area for Halloween Screams, I find the Happiest Haunts Tour worth it. If you compare what you might pay for reserved viewing for World of Color, you'll find the cost is about the same as the World of Color Dessert Party viewing. It's a similar concept in my mind except instead of a table to sit at, you get some other cool perks in your park day.
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