Credit: DisneyNow that Disneyland and Universal Studios Hollywood have the ability to reopen in spring 2021, we wonder if the theme parks will be able to scale their operations up enough by Halloween in order to hold their annual hard-ticketed Halloween events.
Could we see Oogie Boogie Bash and Halloween Horror Nights return to Disneyland and Universal Studios Hollywood this year? Or will we see something different?
Related: Universal Hollywood Gets Pass Members Excited For Reopening
Both parks are holding their own ticketed events before they officially reopen. Disneyland’s event is A Touch of Disney which is being held inside of Disney California Adventure, and Universal’s event is Taste of Universal and is held on the upper lot of Universal Studios Hollywood.
Both Disneyland and Universal Studios Hollywood will be able to reopen for Guests at the earliest in April due to the loosened reopening guidelines set by the State of California. While neither park has set a firm reopening date, both have said they are moving quickly to set one, with Disneyland Resort targeting a late April reopening and Universal Studios likely reopening around the same time.
Since this article was originally published, Disneyland announced a reopening date — read more here!
Once the parks reopen, will they be able to hold hard ticketed special events for the spooky season this fall, like Oogie Boogie Bash and Halloween Horror Nights? Fans hope so! Last year, both events were not able to be held as the doors to the parks remained firmly closed. However, if we compare what Universal and Disney did in their Florida theme parks during Halloween 2020, we may get a clue as to how they will handle Halloween in their California parks in 2021.
At Walt Disney World and Universal Studios Florida, Halloween was still celebrated in the parks, which leads us to believe that the same will happen for Disneyland and Universal Studios Hollywood. Despite Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party and Halloween Horror Nights being canceled, both Disney and Universal showcased characters, special food items, merchandise, and more for their Guests during the Halloween season.
At Universal Studios Florida, the theme park opened a total of three of their world-renowned haunted houses for Guests to experience during normal park operating hours. At Disney World, they offered special character cavalcades which featured floats and character appearances from their Boo-to-You Halloween parade, normally only seen during the seasonal Halloween party.
While it seems that the Orlando theme parks are on track to host their Halloween events this year, with the severely delayed reopenings of Disneyland and Universal Studios Hollywood they may only be able to hold reduced offerings instead of full-ticketed events.
However, there is also a chance that with pandemic-era restrictions continuing to loosen, vaccine rollout in California, and new guidance from the CDC, Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, Orange County, and Universal Studios Hollywood in Los Angeles County could be allowed to successfully host Halloween events like Oogie Boogie Bash and Halloween Horror Nights by this fall.
Disneyland and Universal Studios have not yet made comments on their hard ticketed Halloween events as they are both working diligently on the safe and smooth reopening of their theme parks.
Fans will have to sit tight and see if either California theme park is able to hold full Halloween events a few months after reopening this spring, or if they will opt for the lighter Halloween options that we saw in the Orlando parks last year!
Would you like to see Oogie Boogie Bash and Halloween Horror Nights return to Disneyland and Universal this year? Let us know in the comments!