This is a big weekend for Halloween parties and pumpkin picking. Are you ready for the big night?

Towns across America will be having carnivals, hayrides and fall festivals. Check your local listings for some fun weekend staycations in your area — or better yet, take a drive up the freeway and see what’s cooking in another town!

Our area, luckily, includes Disneyland. They do Halloween right.

This post is part of UpTake’s Friday Family Series. If you would like to see your family vacation photo here please submit it via the contact link in the sidebar, subject line: Family Photo.

Photo: Whit Honea

If you ask Linus Van Pelt he will tell you that the Great Pumpkin is a fan of the quaint and sincere pumpkin patch. He may be right, sincerity is nice, but so too the big and grand. Enter Disneyland. They are fans of pumpkins of unusual size. Also, rodents.

That’s right, I just combined Disney, Peanuts and the Princess Bride into three sentences. Impressive, isn’t it?

This post is part of UpTake’s Friday Family Series. If you would like to see your family vacation photo here please submit it via the contact link in the sidebar, subject line: Family Photo.

Photo:  Whit Honea

The day was not crisp. In fact, it was rather warm. There was a light rain in the afternoon. It could have passed for spring.

The end of September was the winding down of whirlwinds and the precipice of a free fall into holiday excitement and the trappings thereof. We decided to blur the line all the sooner.

We took a trip to Disneyland for Mickey’s Halloween Party and suddenly fall was in the air.

The event requires a separate ticket, but don’t fret — admission to Mickey’s Halloween Party actually allows ticket holders to enter Disneyland a few hours prior to the park closing (the Halloween event happens after the park is closed) so that they can enjoy a bit more of the magic. For dates, times and pricing please visit Disneyland.com/halloween. (Walt Disney World offers Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party)

While kids are able to wear costumes to Disneyland whenever they please (assuming it also pleases their parents), adults are usually not allowed to do so. I know, we’ve all seen some adult characters in the parks, but that’s actually their normal thing. Don’t judge. The beauty of Mickey’s Halloween Party is that everyone can dress up, and they do! Read More »

It’s beginning to look a lot like Halloween! If you live near (or plan to visit) Disneyland between now and Halloween make sure to check the schedule for Mickey’s Halloween Party. It’s scary fun (not really scary).

I’ll write more about this later — I’m still in a sugar coma at the moment.

UPDATED: Link above is to full coverage.

This post is part of the UpTake Friday Family Series.

Photo: W. Honea