All hail the Pumpkin King! Fans of Tim Burton’s spooky festive film The Nightmare Before Christmas might recognise hints of Halloween Town at Disneyland during October as Jack Skellington the Pumpkin King and co. arrive for a special after-hours event.
The Oogie Boogie Bash, hosted by ‘monster of scare-e-monies’ Oogie Boogie – the rather groovy antagonist of the 1993 stop-motion film – will give guests exclusive after-dark access to new spooky-themed attractions and interactive experiences, while a band of popular Disney villains, like Cruella de Vil (101 Dalmatians), Shadow Man (Princess and the Frog) and the Evil Queen (Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs), roam around the park causing mischief.
Visitors will be able to get up-close with Jack at fan-favourite attraction the Haunted Mansion, which has been given a macabre makeover for the special event. Sally, Oogie Boogie and other characters from the film will also be dropping by to wish visitors ‘season’s screamings!’.
Jack and Sally will also star in a special spooky street parade, one of the highlights of the evening. Proceedings begin with the eerie Headless Horseman of Sleepy Hollow riding through the park’s pumpkin-bedecked streets before the Pumpkin King arrives with the residents of Halloween Town in tow – plus an all-star lineup of Disney’s more nefarious characters.
Other attractions of the evening include Villains Grove, a bewitching walk through an enchanted forest, the DescenDANCE, a disco featuring the offspring of Disney villains who star in the Descendants films on the Disney Channel, and Villainous!, a stage show about a 9-year-old girl whose trip through a magic mirror leads her to realise there’s a little villain in all of us – a conclusion she reaches with the help of a few famous Disney antagonists.
The Oogie Boogie Bash will be running at the Disney California Adventure Park on select evenings from September 17 to October 31, 2019. Tickets for the event, starting at $110, are on sale now. The California park isn’t the only Disneyland to host Halloween events, with spooky attractions and exhibitions also popping up in the Paris and Orlando iterations.
Elsewhere, Harry Potter fans can spend Halloween at Hogwarts as part of a special event at London’s Warner Bros. Studio Tour, while travellers looking for a more authentic Halloween break should consider a getaway to one of these scary Halloween destinations.
