DVC Moonlight Magic at Disney California Adventure Park - November 14th

The event was announced in the October 2019 DVC Member Insider email which I received on October 3rd.



Last year the DCA event was a fiasco. We were staying at VGC so had no problems, but people were complaining about horrendous parking issues and incredibly long lines for food to use the vouchers. The lines for rides were also ridiculously long as there aren’t as many available rides in DCA as DL. We much prefer the DL MM events.

We are very local to DLR so we always attend the events, but I’m not sure I’d go out of my way (flights, hotel, etc) to attend this November at DCA. The only thing that might make it better than last year is that WOC is back up and running. A year ago there was absolutely no nighttime entertainment (WOC was broken/being refurbished all year) at the event which didn’t help the line situations at all. A trip to DLR is always amazing during the holidays, but this event by itself is likely not worth it.
We were there last November too, staying at VGC as well. We planned our whole trip around Moonlight Magic, and it sadly was the worst experience we had the whole trip. Lines for everything were terrible, and there just wasn't much 'special' going on at all. We wished we would have stayed in Disneyland and not gone at all.

Hopefully this year will be better for those of you who got tickets. Here are some things we learned: First off, and most important, use your food voucher right away, before the MM event time even starts. The lines may look long, but they will run out of items and the lines only get longer. Second, dress warmly in layers. I looked like the abominable snowman and I was still freezing (and we are from up north!). Third, don't wait in line for ice cream bars because those lines will die down.

Personally, I wouldn't plan a trip around a Moonlight Magic event again, at least not for DCA. But hopefully it will have improved from last year.
 


We have reservations for WOC 11/14. How will this event effect the crowds in the park and in general for the evening?
 


Does the park close at 9 to other guests? Park hours on Disneyland’s website say they are open until 10
DCA closes to day guests at 8pm that night. Then the party formally starts at 9pm but we get access starting at 6pm.
 
We were there last November too, staying at VGC as well. We planned our whole trip around Moonlight Magic, and it sadly was the worst experience we had the whole trip. Lines for everything were terrible, and there just wasn't much 'special' going on at all. We wished we would have stayed in Disneyland and not gone at all.

Hopefully this year will be better for those of you who got tickets. Here are some things we learned: First off, and most important, use your food voucher right away, before the MM event time even starts. The lines may look long, but they will run out of items and the lines only get longer. Second, dress warmly in layers. I looked like the abominable snowman and I was still freezing (and we are from up north!). Third, don't wait in line for ice cream bars because those lines will die down.

Personally, I wouldn't plan a trip around a Moonlight Magic event again, at least not for DCA. But hopefully it will have improved from last year.
The Nov 2018 event at DCA was a "one off" poorly run event. The 2016 event at DCA, the 2017 event at DL and the 2019 event at DL were each executed smoothly. Sorry to read of your disappointment but do try again. Don't judge the entire series of events by one bad experience.
 
The Nov 2018 event at DCA was a "one off" poorly run event. The 2016 event at DCA, the 2017 event at DL and the 2019 event at DL were each executed smoothly. Sorry to read of your disappointment but do try again. Don't judge the entire series of events by one bad experience.
I'm glad to hear that other MM events at DLR were better than our experience. We live far enough away that we have to fly, so it is difficult to attend them, especially with such short notice. Hopefully some day we will get another chance.
 
Like most here, we spend way too much money at Disney, but found a way to make November 14th happen as an add on trip:

2 flights from PHX 11,000 miles each RT to Long Beach and $22.40 (so...22K miles and $44)
Hotel Fairfield Inn 1 night 35K points and 75 cents
DV Rewards to cover meals, Trader Sam's and misc.
Date Night in DCA for Moonlight Magic...priceless
 
Last edited:
Like most here, we spend way too much money at Disney, but found a way to make November 14th happen as an add on trip:

2 flights from PHX 11,000 miles each RT to Long Beach and $22.40 (so...22K miles and $44)
Hotel Fairfield Inn 1 night 35K points and 75 cents
DV Rewards to cover meals, Trader Sam's and misc.
Date Night in DCA for Moonlight Magic...priceless
Nice! We went to the event in Jan and had a blast! Have fun!
 
I haven’t seen it in this thread, so here’s a heads up! I received my tickets plus a parking pass in the mail. It looks like check in will take place inside the park. Hopefully that will alleviate some of the craziness that I heard about last year.
 
I haven’t seen it in this thread, so here’s a heads up! I received my tickets plus a parking pass in the mail. It looks like check in will take place inside the park. Hopefully that will alleviate some of the craziness that I heard about last year.
They did this for the January Disneyland event. You got your wristband at the gate when they scanned your ticket and took your pic or if you had separate park admission there was a place inside the park to check in.
 
We've done the DCA November 2018 and DL January events and there was no comparison. The DCA event was a hot mess (don't want to get banned from boards for what I wanted to say...:ssst:), while the DL event was far less stressful. The check in and entrance was a breeze in January and it was an all around enjoyable time. We are hoping for the DL version of the event for DCA this time!

for what it's worth, I did notice that the time was cut by 1 hour this event...We end at 12am and not 1am. See every next week!
 
We've done the DCA November 2018 and DL January events and there was no comparison. The DCA event was a hot mess (don't want to get banned from boards for what I wanted to say...:ssst:), while the DL event was far less stressful. The check in and entrance was a breeze in January and it was an all around enjoyable time. We are hoping for the DL version of the event for DCA this time!

for what it's worth, I did notice that the time was cut by 1 hour this event...We end at 12am and not 1am. See every next week!
On the plus side the park closes at 8pm to day guests so they are doing that hour transition time.
 
For those who've done MM at DCA when WOC was showing (it was down in November last year), do you anticipate the Holiday World of Color to be shown at the event?
Thanks Mike
 
For those who've done MM at DCA when WOC was showing (it was down in November last year), do you anticipate the Holiday World of Color to be shown at the event?
Thanks Mike
The 2016 event was held in early November before holiday time started.
 

GET A DISNEY VACATION QUOTE

Dreams Unlimited Travel is committed to providing you with the very best vacation planning experience possible. Our Vacation Planners are experts and will share their honest advice to help you have a magical vacation.

Let us help you with your next Disney Vacation!





Top