The pastry team at Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa spent more than 800 hours building a Nightmare Before Christmas confection for Halloween Time. Disney detailed the season’s hotel lineup on Monday, covering decor, character dining, spa treatments and a trick-or-treat trail for overnight guests at the Grand Californian, the Disneyland Hotel and Pixar Place Hotel.
The Grand Californian Confection
On Spiral Hill, Jack wears his Sandy Claws suit as he holds hands with Sally in front of a glowing moon, while Zero floats near his doghouse among tombstones and jack-o’-lanterns. On the far side of the moon, Oogie Boogie holds up a pair of dice across a graveyard from the Mayor, who shows his worried face from one angle and his smile from another.
The whole display took 140 pounds of fondant, 175 pounds of chocolate, 150 pounds of powdered sugar, 105 pounds of rice cereal and 38 pounds of marshmallows.
The Disneyland Hotel’s Mickey Pumpkin
The Disneyland Hotel has its own sweet display near Goofy’s Kitchen: a 5-foot Mickey Mouse jack-o’-lantern sitting on a pile of smaller star-carved pumpkins, with 13 hidden Mickeys worked into it. A team of three Cast Members spent more than 240 hours building it from 120 pounds of fondant, 60 pounds of chocolate, 55 pounds of rice cereal, 30 pounds of marshmallows, 20 pounds of powdered sugar and 10 pounds of butter.
The hotel is also showing Haunted Mansion displays built around the four doomed souls from the attraction’s stretching room, plus a photo spot at a set of wrought iron gates.
Pixar Place Hotel Gets Monsters, Inc.
Pixar Place Hotel is carrying new seasonal artwork of Mike, Sulley, Boo and other monsters in Halloween costumes, which Disney calls the hotel’s first-ever Halloween transformation. Disney artist Brett Snodgrass created the designs and worked closely with Pixar to keep the characters true to their established looks. He said the project took “two years of development.” The artwork joins the rest of the resort’s decor for the season that opened at Disneyland in August.
It starts at the entrance, where a “Trick or Scream!” mat sits in front of doors decorated with more doors, candy-grabbing tentacles and Boo peeking through a window. Inside, monsters in Halloween costumes step out of doors on the lobby’s walls and columns, including Roz holding a candy bowl labeled “Take One Only,” a wizard, a witch and a two-headed monster dressed as a flying saucer. A glass tower in the lobby has been turned into a giant eye above an open, toothy mouth.
Higher up, a band of artwork runs around the lobby with made-up monster candy brands, including Bog Water Taffy, Smelly Beans, Sludge Brownies, Carasmell Chews, Candy Horn, Rubble and a Raccoon Bar billed as “totally tasteless.”
Character Dining And Spa Treatments
Storytellers Cafe at the Grand Californian is running Mickey’s Autumn Adventures at breakfast and brunch and Clarabelle’s Enchanted Halloween Dinner in the evening. Goofy’s Kitchen at the Disneyland Hotel has a Halloween buffet at breakfast, brunch and dinner, with the characters in seasonal outfits. Other hotel restaurants, including The Sketch Pad Cafe at Pixar Place Hotel, are adding seasonal menu items.
Tenaya Stone Spa at the Grand Californian is offering Halloween hair, makeup and nail looks inspired by classic Disney characters, along with the Wicked to the Core foot treatment, a warm caramel-scented soak followed by a candy apple sugar scrub.
What Overnight Guests Get
Hotel guests can join the complimentary Halloween Time Treat Trail by picking up a wristband, goodie guide and treat bag at the Front Desk. A professional pumpkin carver will give demonstrations at the Disneyland Hotel on select dates from October 13 to 31, and guests can decorate faux pumpkins on select October weekdays at the Disneyland Hotel and Pixar Place Hotel.
For anyone still booking, Disney is offering up to 20% off select stays of three nights or longer at the Disneyland Hotel, the Grand Californian, Pixar Place Hotel and The Villas at Disneyland Hotel for visits from October 11 through December 18. Halloween Time runs through October 31.
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