It's that time of year again. When -- on special nights -- WDW's Magic Kingdom undergoes this extraordinary transformation and becomes the place where "Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party" is held.
Photo by Jeff Lange
It really is a special kind of night. A night where creatures that you never thought you'd see in a Disney theme park -- like the Headless Horseman from "The Adventures of Ichabod & Mr. Toad" -- wander free.
Photo by Jeff Lange
Where -- as part of the twice-nightly "Boo to You Halloween Parade" ...
Photo by Jeff Lange
... some of the 999 ghosts that you see in "The Haunted Mansion" magically appear on Main Street U.S.A. Here you see some of the dancers from that attraction's ballroom sequence ...
Photo by Jeff Lange
... followed by the Hitchhiking Ghosts from the end of the ride.
Photo by Jeff Lange
Okay. Let's be real here for a moment. You & I both know that these aren't the "real" ghosts that you see in that Liberty Square attraction. They're just cast members who are dressed to (sort of) look like the AA figures that appear in that theme park ride.
Me personally, I wasn't all that impressed with the Hitchhiking Ghosts that were featured in this year's "Boo to You Halloween Parade." I don't think that (in spite of the impressive wigs, make-up and costumes that these cast members are wearing) they actually captured the characters' likenesses.
Photo by Jeff Lange
But -- then again -- it's hard to complain about a parade unit that features something as fun as the Haunted Mansion's precision grave digger drill team ...
Photo by Jeff Lange
... who regularly received applause from the guests who were standing along the parade route for their elaborately choreographed routines.
Photo by Jeff Lange
But you want to know what's truly cool about Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party? The WDW guests who attend this event are also allowed to come in costume. And -- as you can see by the photos below -- some people who come to this party really go all out.
Photo by Jeff Lange
Now this is how the Hitchhiking Ghosts are really supposed to look. Not to mention their not-so-lovely companion ...
Photo by Jeff Lange
... The Bride from the Haunted Mansion's attic sequence.
Now how impressive were these fan-made costumes? So impressive that cast members who worked at the really-for-real Haunted Mansion that night insisted on having their pictures taken with these guests in their costumes.
Photo by Jeff Lange
Appropriately enough, these pictures were taken right at the stroke of midnight. Just as the Haunted Mansion was shutting for the night, as yet another edition of "Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party" drew to a close.
Photo by Jeff Lange
You know, people sometimes ask me why I spend so much time at the Disney theme parks. It's the times like this -- where cast members & guests come to make a truly memorable moment -- that always make me " ... hurry back, hurry back ..."
Anyway ... I just thought that I'd share these truly unique photographs with you. And speaking of things that I've got to share ...
In addition to being JHM's official photographer & archivist, Jeff Lange also produces a best-selling series of Disney theme park DVDs. Lange's most recent title is his 3-disc "Trick or Treat" set that commemorates the Magic Kingdom's "Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party." For further information on this DVD as well as all of the other titles in Jeff's catalog, please follow this link.
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