Disneyland Goes Full Villain Mode This Halloween With Yzma, New Menus

Disneyland Resort has leaned hard into its villain side this fall, rolling out new character debuts, themed menus and a reshuffled after-hours party lineup for Halloween Time 2026, which opened Aug. 21 and runs through Oct. 31 at the Anaheim resort. The changes touch everything from treat trails to fireworks, and they come with a price tag that has some longtime attendees taking notice.

Chief among the additions is Yzma, the scheming sorceress from Disney Animation's *The Emperor's New Groove*, who made her official face-character debut at this year's Oogie Boogie Bash along the Grizzly Peak treat trail, according to Los Angeles Times. She's the only brand-new villain character added to the after-hours party's lineup this year, per Disney Parks Blog. Oogie Boogie Bash itself, the separately ticketed evening event hosted at Disney California Adventure Park, is an after-hours affair where the character Oogie Boogie is perched above the park gates, surrounded by giant bats, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Record Number of Party Nights, Rising Prices

This year's Oogie Boogie Bash spans a record 33 select nights running from Aug. 18 through Oct. 31, with tickets priced between $139 and $199 per guest, according to WDWNT. Popular dates have reportedly sold out within weeks of going on sale, the outlet notes. The event also grants a rare exception to Disney's usual costume rules — while guests 14 and older are typically barred from dressing up inside the parks, Disneyland allows adult costumes during the party, per the same outlet's reporting.

Construction at Disney California Adventure forced a bigger shake-up this year: the long-running Frightfully Fun Parade and World of Color – Villainous have both been dropped from the party lineup. In their place, Oogie Boogie Bash now features Madame Leota's Swinging Wake, a Haunted Mansion-themed street party, according to the Los Angeles Times. Guardians of the Galaxy — Mission Breakout also gets a seasonal twist during the party, transforming into Monsters After Dark after 2 p.m., per the Times.

Villain-Themed Menus Roll Out Resort-Wide

Disney's food and beverage team builds new seasonal treats every year, themeing offerings around each land, its characters and seasonal flavors, the Los Angeles Times reports. This year that means a run of villain-inspired dishes: Smokejumpers Grill is serving villainous wings with gochujang sauce and ghost pepper ranch, Flo's V8 Cafe has mango-habanero chicken strips, and Cozy Cone Motel offers a slow burnin' mac and cheese cone with spicy red pepper cheese sauce. The Plaza Inn is serving a villain-style red velvet cake alongside its Plaza Inn Villainous Cake, made with raspberry jam and black ganache.

Sweeter options remain in the mix too. The Golden Horseshoe has a new apple pie sundae featuring a full slice of apple pie, ice cream, salted caramel, cinnamon streusel and a cherry, while Harbour Galley offers freshly baked pumpkin cookies and Schmoozies serves a pumpkin pie Mickey shake topped with golden creme-filled cookies, according to the Times.

Family-Friendly Halloween Still Anchors the Season

Beyond the villain-centric additions, Halloween Time keeps its family-friendly entertainment intact. Mickey's Trick and Treat, held at the Disney Theater in Hollywoodland, features Mickey Mouse and friends in Halloween costumes performing music, dancing and a not-so-scary story aimed at younger fans, per the Los Angeles Times. Disneyland spokesperson Arielle Harris told the outlet that Halloween Time is a favorite for many people — and her personal favorite — adding that Mickey's Trick and Treat is an interactive dance show with the bonus of air conditioning.

Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse and their friends also debuted updated 2026 Halloween outfits in Town Square, featuring harlequin motifs, frilled collars and cuffs in a palette of orange, yellow and black, according to Disney Parks Blog. Pumpkin Mickey remains a popular photo opportunity along Main Street, U.S.A., the Los Angeles Times notes, and the resort is also running Pluto's Pumpkin Pursuit, an $11.99 map-based scavenger hunt for 13 character-themed pumpkins across both theme parks and Downtown Disney, running Aug. 21 through Oct. 31, according to WDW News Today.

Haunted Mansion Holiday and Nighttime Spectaculars Return

Haunted Mansion Holiday has returned to Disneyland, decked out in decor inspired by Tim Burton's *The Nightmare Before Christmas*, including a gingerbread display inside the ride, per the Los Angeles Times. This year's ballroom gingerbread house took the resort's pastry team more than 20 days to build, weighs nearly 300 pounds and features three animated elements, according to a Facebook post detailing the build. Guests cannot eat the display, the Times notes, though the pastry team makes a new real gingerbread house for the attraction every year.

Halloween Screams has also returned as a nighttime spectacular, featuring Maleficent and Ursula the Sea Witch alongside fireworks and projections of ghosts and Disney villains, according to the Los Angeles Times. The show followed a brief 10-day entertainment bridge, when Disneyland Park ran Paint the Night and Wondrous Journeys from Aug. 10 through Aug. 20 before Halloween Time officially launched, per Disney Parks Blog.

Día de los Muertos Celebration Returns With Coco Ties

Plaza de la Familia has also returned to Disney California Adventure Park, running through Nov. 2. Inspired by Pixar's *Coco*, the celebration brings the cultural traditions of Día de los Muertos to the resort, according to the Los Angeles Times. The Storytellers of the Plaza de la Familia — Celebrate the Musical World of Coco! is performed at Paradise Gardens Park, while the Paradise Garden Bandstand features mariachi music, the Times reports.

A Bigger Economic Picture

The villain-forward push comes as Disney leans into premium, after-hours experiences to court high-spending adult visitors — a trend Forbes says is driving record revenue growth across Disney's Experiences segment, from evening events to fine dining to merchandise tie-ins like the 2026 Disney x Posh Peanut Halloween collection, according to Forbes. That spending shows up in Anaheim's broader numbers, too: the city drew a record 26.5 million visitors in 2025, generating $6.8 billion in direct spending and $10.4 billion in total economic impact, according to Visit Anaheim. Disneyland Resort alone supports nearly 78,000 regional jobs and $8.5 billion in local economic activity, per the same report.