Halloween Time has begun at Disney California Adventure Park and Disneyland Resort. With it comes seasonal Halloween overlays for three rides in Disney California Adventure Park.
What’s that you say? It’s still summer? Is this some spooky trick? Nope, Disneyland Resort is starting their seasonal Halloween celebration quite early this year. The official kick-off was August 22, 2025, but the Oogie Boogie Bash after-hours parties started even earlier on August 17, and the parks’ transformations began even before that! Apparently Halloween Time is so popular at Disneyland Resort that they have pushed the dates to make room for everyone who wants to join the fun.
This seems to be a growing trend, and Disney California Adventure Park started running three ride overlays in mid-August, so we thought it would be helpful to look at those overlays in a dedicated posts. Maybe you want to know if they will be too spooky for your little ones or you just want a peek at what to expect. In any case, here is a look at how three Disney California Adventure Park rides transform for the summer… err, Halloween.
Which Three Disney California Adventure Park Rides Change for Halloween?
The three Disney California Adventure Park rides that get all dressed-up for Halloween time at Disneyland Resort are: Mater’s Junkyard Jamboree, Luigi’s Rollickin’ Roadsters and Guardians of the Galaxy – Mission: BREAKOUT! The first two on that list have relatively straightforward changes, but the third is kind of in a category of its own, so stay with us as we explore these Halloween tricks… or treats?
Mater’s Junkyard Jamboree Becomes Mater’s Graveyard JamBOOree
During most of the year, Mater of the Cars franchise hosts a little tractor dance party at Mater’s Junkyard Jamboree in Cars Land. You hop in the trailers on the back of some anthropomorphic tractors. Then you get swung wildly around Mater’s junkyard while he sings some really goofy songs. It’s a short ride that usually makes all of us giggle, because its just carefree silly fun.
This is also what happens in the seasonal Mater’s Graveyard JamBOOree. During Halloween Time, you still swing around behind tractors while Mater sings silly songs. Only now, the songs have Halloween themes and so does the additional decor around the attraction. It’s a little change of pace, and both the decorations and lyrics are pretty clever.
Scare Factor for Mater’s Graveyard JamBOOree at Disney California Adventure Park
If you have little ones (or big ones) who find the decorations around Cars Land too scary, they probably will not like this ride either. But if they can handle the general Cars Land Halloween Time vibe, this will most likely be fun for them too. Just remember that there is a minimum height requirement of 32” with either version of the ride. Additionally, the swinging motion can send little ones banging around the ride’s bench seat, so we like to put a cushioning arm around our smallest co-riders. No one in our family has gotten motion-sick on this ride, but it is… swingy.
Luigi’s Rollickin’ Roadsters Becomes Luigi’s Honkin’ Haul-O-Ween
Just down the street from Mater is Luigi’s “Casa Della Tires,” also in Cars Land. This is the usual home of Luigi’s Rollickin’ Roadsters. The idea behind the ride is that Luigi has gathered with his cousins for some singing and dancing. You climb into one of the titular roadsters, and together you swoop and spin around the big open “dance floor.” The song and your dance pattern vary, and this is a sweet little ride.
During Halloween Time, Luigi’s Rollickin’ Roadsters Becomes Luigi’s Honkin’ Haul-O-Ween. It stays mostly sweet, but Luigi mixes things up with some Halloween themed songs and decorations. Again like Mater’s, the song lyrics are more silly than scary spooky and the decorations more clever than frightening.
Scare Factor for Luigi’s Honkin’ Haul-O-Ween at Disney California Adventure Park
As with our previous entry of Mater’s Graveyard JamBOOree, the seasonal decorations at Luigi’s Honkin’ Haul-O-Ween take the same approach as the other Halloween decorations around Cars Land. Imagineers have taken car parts and used them to create some really ingenious themed Halloween decor: spiders made from hoses, orange traffic cokes with faces like jack-o-lanterns and tires with eyes. We think the effect is more fun than spooky, but your little ones may disagree. If they like the Cars Land decorations, they should be fine with Luigi’s Honkin’ Haul-O-Ween. If they do not… well they probably will not get far enough into Cars Land to try Luigi’s anyway.
There is lots of spinning in both versions of the Luigi ride, but we do not tend to knock around in the cars in the same way with Luigi as we do with Mater. The motion is spinning and turning and not the whipping effect that happens behind the tractors at Mater’s. Still, there is a minimum height requirement of 32” for all version of the ride.
Guardians of the Galaxy – Mission: BREAKOUT! Becomes Guardians of the Galaxy – Monsters After Dark
And now we get to the oddball of the three Halloween rides at Disney California Adventure Park. (A descriptor I think the Guardians themselves would appreciate. There are a few things that set Guardians of the Galaxy – Monsters After Dark apart from the two Cars Land rides.
The first and most simple difference is that the ride is in Avengers Campus rather than Cars Land. More significant is the second difference: Guardians of the Galaxy – Monsters After Dark is a ride overlay that runs for only part of the day. At the time of writing, the standard Guardians of the Galaxy – Mission: BREAKOUT! runs from park opening until 2pm. At 3pm, the attraction switches to Guardians of the Galaxy – Monsters After Dark, which operates until park close.
In the standard ride, Guardians of the Galaxy – Mission: BREAKOUT! you are helping Rocket Raccoon free his friends from “The Collector’s” citadel. This storyline involves commandeering a gantry lift and a walkman, and the ride involves big drops. The soundtrack is fun and lively, and the visuals are kind of goofy mayhem. While the ride mechanism is that same as the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror that was previously in this space, what always strikes me about this ride is how much everyone seems to be laughing in between the screams. It’s just fun!
By contrast, Guardians of the Galaxy – Monsters After Dark is mostly just screaming. Rocket tells you that monsters from the collection have escaped and he is using you as a distraction while he frees his friend Groot. The ride and storyline are darker and the music matches the mood. So I suppose the third difference is that the changes in this ride are more substantial than in the two Cars rides: the plot, visuals and music have all changed for Guardians of the Galaxy – Monsters After Dark.
Scare Factor for Guardians of the Galaxy – Monsters After Dark
In the opinion of everyone in our family, the Halloween Guardians of the Galaxy – Monsters After Dark is all around scarier than the standard ride. There are even physical signs in front of the ride warning families with young children that the ride may be frightening to them.
We think the change in music is largely responsible for the change in mood (the plot and visual are hard to follow when you are free falling anyway). What strikes me most is—again—how you can hear people laughing during the standard ride but not so much during the Halloween version. Luckily, if you prefer one over the other, you can plan to visit during the time of day that version is running.
Keep in mind that the height requirement for this ride (in both iterations) is a minimum of 40”. Disneyland also lists it as being dark, loud, scary and having big drops. We would agree with all of those classifications. This is a really awesomely themed drop tower; do not ride it if you (or your tummy) do not like the sensation of free-falling.
If you have a child who is on the edge of trying this ride for the first time, definitely go with the standard Guardians of the Galaxy – Mission: BREAKOUT! before trying Guardians of the Galaxy – Monsters After Dark. For one of our kids, this ride has been a favorite since age 5, but we know adults who will not ride it.
A Non-Ride Attraction Just for Halloween
Mater’s Graveyard JamBOOree, Luigi’s Honkin’ Haul-O-Ween and Guardians of the Galaxy – Mission: BREAKOUT! are all special Halloween Time ride overlays, but there is one more attraction in Disney California Adventure Park that also transformed for this season.
Starting on August 17, the Disney Jr stage show that was happening in Hollywood Land switched over to the Halloween themed Mickey’s Trick and Treat. Mickey, Minnie, Donald and Goofy join a human host for a high energy show with dancing, singing, projection effects and bubbles. Oh, and candy.
Scare Factor for Mickey’s Trick and Treat Show
We saw lots of very young kids at this show, and none of them seemed to have a problem with it being too spooky.
The characters propose telling scary stories, but they interrupt themselves with funny additions before anything actually gets creepy. In fact, the script does a good job of talking kids through anything that might seem like it is about to get scary. The characters and host are in Halloween costumes, and there are some spooky images projected, but they all have a cartoonish look. There is lots of singing about candy.
If you think your child may be frightened by this show, we suggest talking to a cast member before the show begins about how and where you can exit mid-show. This show can get packed, so it’s nice to have a plan in place.
Other Halloween Time Changes at Disney California Adventure Park
So, that covers the three Halloween-themed attraction changes at Disney California Adventure Park. There are also plenty of Halloween decorations around the park as well as some special character costumes.
If you are really into Halloween, take a look at Oogie Boogie Bash – A Disney Halloween Party. That is… you may want to take look at it for future years, as all of the 2025 dates have now sold-out. Oogie Boogie Bash is an after-hours hard ticket party with special entertainment, exclusive characters, attraction access and trick-or-treating. Tickets typically go on-sale during the preceding summer.
For the highest concentration of Halloween fun during regular hours, we suggest heading over to Cars Land at any time of day. Radiator Springs becomes Radiator “Screams” and the decorations are charmingly clever. Plus, the characters are cute in their costumes and you can catch those two special ride overlays. If your little ones find the decor a little intimidating, you are probably better-off visiting during daylight hours (even though Cars Land at night is spectacular).
And Another Special Fall Offering
Finally, there is one more unique seasonal offering at Disney California Adventure Park from August 22 to November 2, 2025. That is when Paradise Gardens Park turns into Plaza de la Familia to “celebrate the everlasting bonds of family and the spirit of Dia de Los Muertos.”
Special offerings include a musical show based on the film Coco, a Memory Wall and Mexican Arbol de la Vida, crafts, photo opportunities, and of course, themed decor, food and merchandise. This whole area looks spectacular in the fall, and it is worth checking out even if you miss the Coco show.
When Do Halloween Ride Transformations Happen at Disney California Adventure Park?
Officially, Halloween Time at Disney California Adventure Park in 2025 began on August 22 and runs through October 31. In reality, much of the Halloween additions started before that. The Oogie Boogie Bash parties started on August 17, and the Halloween-themed rides started early as well.
The seasonal changes for the winter holidays are scheduled for November 14, 2025 through January, 7, 2026, so we do not expect the Halloween changes to linger.
Thanks for reading this post on Halloween changes to Disney California Adventure Park rides.
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