Techtite's Shows & Parks Reviews!

"I remember what I said last year: the only downside was that it was probably the only year they would offer such an event. That opinion is not changed... This was not that event."

---from the review

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A Goody Bag that would lead to a response like..."Goody!" I know I ranted on and on in the review, about the little red drinking cup --the sole item in everyone's "goody bag"-- though it's an insult well deserved. Where do I begin to describe how many ways they could've made a better goody bag; I don not know! How about something as simple as some candy; I mean, if you want to treat us like kids and give us a plastic kiddie cup on the way out, why not give us some candy inside the cup? Second, how about those cool Haunted Mansion Movie Trading Cards...? In the parks, every purchase made in The Haunted Mansion Store is given a trading card related to the upcoming movie. The trading card you're given is totally random...so why not give all cards, as a set, to everyone leaving the 999 Happy Haunts event? They're giving away the cards in the store, after all; why not give them all, as a set, to US?!? This is one of many little ideas that shows how easily this event could've been so very, very, very, very, very much more!

The 999 Happy Haunts Ball, 2003

(Disney World's Haunted Mansion, October 29th, 2003)

A Techtite Preview

What a difference a year makes! When a Disney event was so flawlessly handled, like The 999 Happy Haunts Ball, 2002, only to turn into a parade of errors the very next year; the only thing "spooky" is in how much was changed in just one year's time; changes that should never have been made. Whoever was responsible for last year's event was obviously no longer in charge. If they were: what...happened...?

On the one hand, the majority of the event was the same. The idea was to have a bunch of Haunted Mansion fans come to Disney World's Magic Kingdom on October 29th, 2003, and go to a specially reserved night just for them, including: an auction for Haunted Mansion memorabilia, a chance to order limited edition merchandise unavailable in stores, and in particular, enjoy an "exclusive" night at the theme park, with various rides in and around Haunted Mansion open just for them. Yes, this was all the same this year (well, close enough). Yes, "The Headless Horseman" rode his horse down Liberty Square every 45 minutes or so, same as last year (and still a cute touch). This is the good news. If you want the full "good news," please read my review of the Happy Haunts Ball for 2002. There's too much space needed here for the bad news!

Now, I'm all for a mistake here and there --"little bumps in the carpet", if you will-- even when attending a $pricey$ convention package. However, there were so many flaws with this event --some errors before it even started!-- I don't know where to begin. Here's the biggest among them:

1. Registration was not at Magic Kingdom's own Transportation/Ticket Center this year, but at "Coronado Springs" resort. Now, just to be clear here: the idea was to have a Haunted Mansion event. The Haunted Mansion is at the Magic Kingdom theme park. This theme park has three resort hotels within a monorail's distance (four if you count Wilderness Lodge, by boat). If you wanted a fair "middle grounds" for registration, for a Magic Kingdom themed event, that would irrefutably be the Transportation/Ticket Center. Coronado Springs...? That's out in the boonies of Disney World property. If you bought merchandise, you had to find some way to lug it all the way back from Coronado Springs. This was very poorly planned.

2. Unlike last year's event; this event was sold as three separate packages: Ezra, Phineas, and Gus (the three Haunted Mansion "Hitchhiking Ghosts"). This would've been a smart idea, had the packages been for three separate nights. They weren't. All three packages were for the same event. So basically the people who paid the most got practically the exact same merchandise, experience, and opportunities as the people who paid least. The only real difference in these packages is another gripe entirely...

3. The priciest package had only one noteworthy asset: an opportunity to eat dinner "inside" the Haunted Mansion. Before your mouth waters at the very thought; please note that The Haunted Mansion isn't a real mansion, and the only place an "indoor" dining experience could occur is within the cramped foyer entranceway, and the two stretching "elevator" rooms. If you disagree with me feel free to say so, though if you ask me, this was too much expense wasted, for a mere 30 of the 1,200 people invited to this event. This was a whole lot of expense, for under three percent of all convention guests.

4. All itinerary --be it for "Phineas," "Gus," or "Ezra"-- was sent via e-mail. While a spin doctor would say "Good; that means expedited receipt of all itinerary," keep in mind: it also means procrastination. It took forever for Mr. E-mail Guy to send any pertinent information for this event. Given how $free$ e-mail is, it's surprising I was sent merely three e-mails in all, in six months time...and even then, all e-mails were "tentative information"!

5. The merchandise was not half of what it was last year. Last year's event had (among other things) a lenticular pin of the "Master Gracey" portrait in the foyer of the ride, placed in a diorama-style wooden case with a glass front, with an inner case made to resemble the foyer of the ride. This was clearly a labor of love for the artist responsible. Again; that was last year, not now. This year had more affordable items that paled in comparison.

6. ...and that's if you got such items at all! Yes, limited edition merchandise means random selection --I know that-- which means luck-of-the-draw for an edition of, say, 500 pieces, offered to as many as 1,200 conventioneers. However, the random selection was very suspect this year. Many consumers complained at how few items they received at all, while resellers seemed to be walking away with everything they ordered! Strange...

7. The event itself...? Disappointing. Thunder Mountain and Splash Mountain were closed; the two jewels in last year's Happy Haunts Ball crown, second only to the Haunted Mansion itself. Yes, Haunted Mansion was open, as was Pirates of the Caribbean, though the long walk in between made it all the more apparent how little was actually open at all.

8. Dessert time!...and again, one must compare this year's dessert with last year's. The "dessert gift" that conventioneers took home last year was a magnificent piece of culinary art: a white chocolate skull, which opened on top to reveal a dozen peanut butter cup "eyes." This year's take-home dessert gift was...a vanilla cookie!

9. With limited rides, limited food selections, and an auction held elsewhere (at Coronado Springs), there just wasn't enough to actually do at this event. Last year I remember:

   1. food stations that were inside the restaurants, with well lit tables (YES!) and larger selections of food

   2. Thunder Mountain and Splash Mountain open

   3. A silent auction in The Hall of Presidents, with a far nicer selection of bid items than this year's auction

   4. ...oh, it was a better event. Trust me.

10. This all led to a parting gift that was, for all intent, a child's plastic picnic cup. Last year, the parting gift was a wooden and resin sculpture of the logo for the event, which even lit up! This year's parting gift: a red, plastic, Dixie drinking cup. Okay, maybe it wasn't a Dixie brand cup, though that's basically what it was: a red plastic cup with the event logo on it. Thanks for coming. Goodbye!

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It was the little plastic cup that was the final straw for this event critic. It would've been different if they gave these cups for free at dinner, as a lark, with an option to keep them as souvenirs. Instead, there were coupons (yes, coupons) handed out during registration, promising this wonderful parting gift, insisting that we take this coupon to the event, "or else," in order to get a "wonderful" gift. This gift was a bag with a tiny cup inside. That was strange.

I remember what I said last year: the only downside was that it was probably the only year they would offer such an event. That opinion is not changed. If they want to have another event like the 999 Happy Haunts Ball for 2002, I'm all for it. I'd love to attend an event like that one again. This was not that event.