This is the One Disneyland Halloween Offering That May Be Too Scary For Kids

Disneyland is known for being a family-friendly vacation destination, with attractions and entertainment appealing to guests of all ages. Even during the Halloween season, the offerings are never truly “scary” but are rather slightly spooky, highlighting Disney villains and Halloween icons like ghosts and pumpkins with a playful undertone. Disneyland's very mild Halloween celebration is certainly a far cry from some of the more intense Halloween offerings like Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Hollywood and Knott's Scary Farm at Knott's Berry Farm.

Halloween at Disneyland comes with some fun offerings like themed treats, fun attraction overlays, special entertainment, and more. From the elaborate holiday overlay Haunted Mansion Holiday to the fun nighttime spectacular Halloween Screams, there are plenty of things to do and see if you are visiting during this popular time of year. However, there is one attraction in particular you may want to think twice about if you are visiting with kids. This is the one ride overlay that is an outlier from the rest of the Halloween offerings in the sense that it may be a little too scary for little ones.

Keep reading for the one Disneyland Halloween offering you may want to skip if you're visiting with kids!

You May Want to Skip This Disneyland Halloween Ride

There are plenty of things for kids to enjoy during the Halloween celebration at Disneyland, which is starting early this year in August. Families can enjoy some fun themed Character Dining at Goofy's Kitchen Halloween or a new seasonal offering at Storytellers Cafe, participate in the scavenger hunt Pluto's Pumpkin Pursuit, dance along to “Mickey's Trick and Treat” show in Disney California Adventure, and more. While there may be some elements of the Halloween celebration that could frighten younger kids, the celebration is very lighthearted overall.

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There is one ride, however, that I would suggest skipping, especially if your kids haven't experienced it in its regular version. One of the best Disneyland rides at the resort, the Guardians of the Galaxy ride in Avengers Campus, gets a spooky and dark twist each evening during the Halloween season. Every day starting at 3 pm, the ride becomes Guardians of the Galaxy – Monsters After Dark.

The premise of the ride is that after the rescue of the Guardians of the Galaxy, baby Groot was left behind in the Collector's Fortress—which is now crawling with horrifying monsters after all of the cages have been opened. Rocket returns to save Groot and enlists the help of guests, who act as bait for the monsters. Upon entering the queue, you can already tell that something is off with spooky red lighting, sound effects, and glitching video feed and hand-scanning process. Kids will likely already be terrified by the ominous atmosphere by the time they reach the loading area.

While the premise of the ride is already pretty horrifying for kids, the monster primarily featured in the drop sequence scenes is pretty scary-looking on top of all of that. The creature from Thor: Ragnarok, Surtur's Fire Dragon, terrorizes Rocket and Groot (and riders) throughout the ride. There's also a jump-scare of a loud sound at the end as the gantry is returning to an unloading position that never fails to catch me off guard!

Guardians of the Galaxy – Mission: Breakout! can already be an overwhelming experience for kids as is given the intense drops, so adding this scary layer to it can easily push it beyond the realm of comfort. A lot of what draws people to this ride is the upbeat tone and positive energy in the gantry as you groove along to the attraction's great music. The tone of Guardians of the Galaxy – Monsters After Dark, however, departs pretty significantly from the regular ride. Last year when riding this version of the attraction, I was sad to see some really scared kids who were screaming and crying when they got off. Parents will know their child's comfort level best, but generally, this may be a ride you want to avoid if you're visiting with younger kids. It's understandable to think that no ride is really going to be that scary with how family-friendly the rest of the Halloween celebration at the resort is, but this one may be the exception.

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This is not to say that we don't love this Guardians of the Galaxy ride or its overlay—we think it's really fun, and it's a great perk that you can book Lightning Lane reservations for the attraction twice in one day because Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission – Breakout! and Guardians of the Galaxy – Monsters After Dark are listed as two separate rides in the system. If you're wondering how to structure your day for a visit during the Halloween season, you can read our Disneyland Halloween touring strategy guide for tips on how to see all of the highlights.

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