Halloween On Buena Vista Street (at Disney California Adventure)

The shops and windows of Buena Vista Street at Disney California Adventure are charmingly decorated for Halloween Time.  I love the classy, retro feel, making for an October worth ogling.

Halloween Time At Disneyland Resort 2017

For our Countdown to Halloween 2017, Tulgey Wood offers the October Guidemaps for both Disneyland Park and Disney California Adventure. For the first time, Halloween Time has taken over Disney California Adventure, primarily on Buena Vista Street and in Cars Land, and it's a lot of October fun.

Connecting The Dots For Trick Or Treat Time

The Harvey comics are a rich source of Halloween fun. Even aside from the supernatural characters (Casper, Spooky, Wendy the Good Little Witch) that were a to-be-expected tie-in, the Harvey roster boasted several child stars who too were naturally interested in the horrific holiday. Here's Little Dot, obsessed with polka-dots just as Little Lotta was preoccupied with food and Richie Rich was always ported having fun with cash and jewels. While another trick-or-treater is scared off by the ghost, Little Dot seems delighted, not frightened. And why should she be scared? The emerging phantasm is plastered with Dot's favorite decoration, polka-dots.  This cover of Little Dot Dotland (no. 16, cover dated 1965), so enchantingly evocative of a fun evening of trick-or-treeing, is part of the Countdown to Halloween 2017. Be sure and check back through October for more spooky season shenanigans.

Happy Huey, Dewey And Louie Day

Today marks the 80th anniversary of that terrific trio, Huey, Dewey and Louie. As they made their October 17, 1937, debut not on the movie screen but in the Sunday comics (their "Unca" Donald was the star of the Silly Symphony Sunday comic strip at the time, drawn by the future artist of the Donald Duck strip, which debuted just a few months later in February 1938), it only seems appropriate to feature the ducky triplets on a comic related item. So here's the cover of Walt Disney's Comics and Stories #315, drawn by the masterful Carl Barks. This Halloween-worthy cover was among the last drawn by the great Barks. Under his writing and drawing, the nephews had long since evolved from troublemaking tykes into level-headed adventurers, but they never lost their prankish side, their proclivity for which coming in handy for the spooky season—This issue is cover dated December 1966, meaning it was most likely on the stands for Halloween—and for the Countdown to Halloween 2017. When you are done gazing upon this spooky (to Donald at least) story, waddle on over to D23.com to see a new article written by me all about Huey, Dewey and Louie.  Click here for a free view of the article about Donald's nephews.

A Dragon! A Dragon! I Swear I Saw A Dragon

As mentioned earlier, the D23 website is throwing a Fanniversary celebrating Epcot at 35. When Epcot (or EPCOT Center as it was originally called) opened on October 1, 1982, one of the most popular elements to emerge was Figment from Journey Into Imagination. This delightful dragon has ever since been a fan favorite. If you've ever wondered why Figment wears that yellow-and-red sweater, it's because Kodak, the original sponsor of the attraction, wanted their signature colors to be incorporated into the character. Does Figment fit into our Countdown to Halloween for 2017? Of course--he is a monster of sorts, being a dragon.

Minnie Welcomes Some Suspect Trick Or Treaters

for the Countdown to Halloween 2017, here's another charming seasonal cover from the Disney Catalog. These wonderful covers, and indeed the Disney Catalog itself, are much missed. The storytelling graphically achieved in this delightful Disney art makes for a merrier Halloween Time.

Meet The Munsters

Back here, Tulgey Wood presented the Addams Family on the cover of TV Guide—so it's high time we gave TV's other classic monster family their day in the sun (or in the full moon). This TV Guide cover is from July 1965, a year after the previously featured Addams cover. Though there certainly was Addams Family merchandise, it seems to me there was more Munsters memorabilia. At any rate,  Herman and Lily, TV's creepiest charming couple (in color), are here just for Countdown to Halloween 2017.

It's A Puzzle, Scooby-Doo

Ever since its debut on CBS in 1969, Scooby-Doo Where are You! and the many iterations that followed has provided plenty of Halloween-esque horrors, even though the Mystery, Inc gang usually uncovers (or unmasks) the terrifying threat to be a decidedly down-to-earth plotter. As with all Hanna-Barbera hits, Scooby-Doo has been heavily merchandized, resulting in such spooky season-worthy treasures as these two vintage puzzles.  

Good Grimace, Bad Grimace

One of the most enduring of the McDonaldland characters is the Grimace, Ronald's good-natured if dimwitted pal. We're so used to seeing Grimace (pictured below on one of the delightful McDonaldland "Action Glass" premiums from my collection) as a friendly, helpful, huggable sidekick that it's easy to forget that he's a monster. And yes, he's a friendly monster, but that was not always so. Grimace was introduced into the McDonaldland family of characters in 1971 as the Evil Grimace. (I think there's even a commercial where the mailbox at his cave says "E. Grimace.") This purple monster started out as even more of a monster, complete with an extra pair of arms that enabled him to snatch up many milk shakes (officially known as Triple Thick Shakes) from the children, just as the Hamburgler stole hamburgers. Soon, however, the Evil Grimace morphed into lovable, non-evil Grimace (which is still a monstrous type name when you stop and think about it) and lost his extra arms in the process. Mad Matt at one of my favorite sites for Halloween fun (and other terrifically written madness), Dinosaur Dracula, reports on the strange evolution of the Grimace. Unfortunately, Dinosaur Dracula is not part of the Countdown to Halloween blogathon, which seems a shame because I think the Countdown was how I discovered the site several years ago. At any rate do visit this very special site (but be aware the site contains strong language and other material that may be unsuitable for young and sensitive readers).  And also visit the many bloggers who are part of Countdown to Halloween 2017.

Trick Or Treat Masks, Disneyland Records Style

65 years ago today, on October 10, 1952, Walt Disney's Trick or Treat was released to theaters. Over the years there have been several tie-ins with this classic cartoon. One of the best came over twenty years after the animated shorts: an LP album from Disneyland records. One of the best (and most unique) elements of thus album were the two masks included, one of a jack-o-lantern, the other of the cartoon's star (sorry, Donald), Witch Hazel. To discover more about this animated film favorite, be sure and click here to see Did You Know? 8 Frightfully Fascinating Facts About Trick or Treat, written by Jim Fanning (that's me) for D23.com. Full of fun facts and fascinating photos (there's even more about the LP record album), this D23 article is a fun way to celebrate this spooky step along way to October 31st, as the Countdown to Halloween 2017 continues.