Happiest Haunts Tour Review- Disneyland (2023)

The 2023 Halloween season starts September 1 at Disneyland. And we know you are planning to go because Halloween Time is the best time to visit Disney. While you’re there, check out one of the special tours. Here’s our Happiest Haunts Tour Review at Disneyland for 2023.

I make no secret that I love Disneyland, Halloween, and all things spooky Disney.

Halloween 365 is essentially the No-Guilt Disney tagline.

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Happiest Haunts Tour Review at Disneyland

When I decided to travel to Disneyland for Halloweentime I knew checking out all things spooky was necessary!

And I did this tour in 2016- and loved it- so I wanted to know if it changed since that was a few years ago.

The good news: it totally changed from the Haunted Mansion theme to a more Halloween-centric theme, with a hat tip and mention of the beloved Haunted Mansion ride.

Here’s everything you need to know about this tour, including our answer to the question: is the Happiest Haunts Tour at Disneyland worth it?

How To Book the Happiest Haunts Tour

You can start making reservations for the Happiest Haunts Tour 60 days in advance.

Halloween Time is September 1 to October 31, 2023, so reservations are now open for tours in September and October.

Call (714) 781-TOUR (8687) to make reservations.

You’ll get this nametag when you check into the tour.

What Happens on the Happiest Haunts Tour

First, you need to know what this tour is all about.

It changes every year which makes this a tour you may want to revisit time after time.

For 2023, the theme seems to be general Halloween stories with a Disneyland tie-in. Without giving too many spoilers, you’ll hear the lore behind Jack-O-Lanterns, Trick Or Treating, the Headless Horseman, and more!

Is the Happiest Haunts Tour at Disneyland worth it? Here’s what you get when you take this tour.

Happiest Haunts Tour Details

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
Enjoy a 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

The tour will run every day and will cost $93.50 per person.

happiest haunts tour hitchiking ghosts — You get a picture with the Hitch Hiking Ghosts on the Happiest Haunts Tour in 2023.

2023 Happiest Haunts Tour: Is It Worth It?

We started the tour promptly at 2 p.m. and started with the Hitch Hiking Ghost pictures.

I was geeked about this option as a fan of The Haunted Mansion.

But… if you love photos, know this one won’t turn out as cute as you want. It was disappointing due to the lighting, but also understandable due to the effects of the animatronics.

Are you ready for this?

Giving “Tooth Whitening Ross” from Friends vibes. Alas, it’s still a cool moment from the tour.

Afterward, we went down Main Street as our tour guide filled our ears with background information.

In an effort to preserve the magic, I’m not going to give all the details away, but I’ll give some basics, so you know what we experienced.

We made a few stops where our guide shared stories to get us into the Halloween season. some were familiar, some were brand new, and some history of Halloween Time at Disneyland was shared.

You wear an earpiece and this transceiver around your neck to hear all the Guide’s stories and instructions.

Our journey took us from Main Street, U.S.A. to Fantasyland to Frontierland and finally through New Orleans Square.

We had a stop that included a sweet treat and ran into a few characters along the way.

Pocahontas stopped and chatted for a bit about midway through the tour.

I don’t think any of those character interactions were planned but wanted to point out that Disney Magic is live and well, even when on a structured tour.

The last thing we did on the tour was receive a tour-specific pin and a ride on Pirates of the Caribbean. And yes, we did get to skip the line for this. The tour has perks!

Why Should You Pay $90 For The Happiest Haunts Tour? The Fireworks View Is Possibly Worth It

Was the tour spooky and creepy? No. Interesting and entertaining? YES!

The tour offered a lot of Disney history, especially as it related to Halloween and local Anaheim offerings. As someone who loves the story of Walt, Roy and the creation of Disneyland, I was into all of it!

But I was really into the reserved section for the fireworks later that night.

I hate spending a lot of time camping out for a spot for parades or fireworks when there is so much to do at the Disney parks. If this is you, you may love this tour just like I did.

Not only did we get walked on to a popular attraction, a treat, a pin, a special photo op, and a ton of cool stories during this tour, but we also scored a front and center castle location for the fireworks.

We were instructed to return to this location between 8:30 and 9:15 to check in for our fireworks viewing.

When I walked up to the check-in spot around 8:30, the hub area was already packed with families camping out.

So, walking into the reserved section and easily getting a prime viewing location was golden!

Protip: Check the Fireworks Schedule Before Booking The Happiest Haunts Tour

Unfortunately, I did not realize that there were not going to be fireworks that evening. So this is something important to know about Disneyland: after Labor Day, the fireworks schedule is modified.

You will get fireworks on the weekends (Friday through Sunday night), just not on most weekdays (holidays may be excluded).

But you will still get the castle projection show, including seeing Zero fly around the castle each night.

Here are some of the photos I took from the location, and I gotta say: the Happiest Haunts tour was worth it for this viewing spot!