Disney Dining At Home: Halloween Special

When things might not be quite the same as previous years, what better time than now to start some new family traditions this Halloween?

Today, we are going to bring more of that Disney dining magic home with a spooky season makeover that will make your Halloween fun and exciting, even if you can’t go trick or treating. If you aren’t celebrating All Hallow’s Eve, then feel free to try out my earlier Disney Dining at Home guides for the Blue Bayou or Coral Reef.

Normally, we would look at a specific restaurant, however, today we are going to mix and match different Disney experiences to create your mysterious dining event at home.

Plan Your Menu

Just about any of your family favorites can be given a ghastly overlay with a few tweaks and decorations. One thing that always fits in without much extra work is a dip. A hot and cheesy spinach and artichoke dip or freshly made guacamole; they all taste fabulous and look great with their bright green colors.

Hollow out a large bread bowl and use the insides as scoopers for the dip or get some blue corn chips to use for a spookier feel.

Flashback to last year in the parks: Jackie shared the Springs Street Tacos Food Truck that offered Chicken Adobo Nachos made with blue corn tortilla chips, chicken adobo, toasted pumpkin seeds, dried cranberries, lime crema, and a zesty pumpkin-cheese sauce.

If you are feeling adventurous, try and recreate this one at home.

When you are ready to add that Disney flair to your dinner table, spend some time during the day trying your hand at the following candy apple recipes that Disney Parks Blog shared earlier in the year.

Need more inspiration? Have a look through these mouth-watering seasonal treats from Disney Parks Blog and Halloween recipes from Disney Family. From Pumpkin Soup to Jack Skellington cookies, you are sure to find something on this list to suit your family.

Set the Scene

It’s no surprise that your room will be dimly lit for this experience. Skip the electricity and opt for candles or carved pumpkins to cast the spooky shadows around your room.

Take your inspiration from the Disney Family website with this collection of pumpkin carving templates. My personal favorite is the Cheshire Cat.

Embrace the dark side. If you can safely tint your lighting with a purple covering over a lamp, or colored light bulbs, then use them to cast some uneasy lighting around your room. Take advantage of any foliage you have outside to create an earthy, fall table runner decoration.

If you find yourself stuck for lighting, you can add to your pumpkins with a few cheapie sets of battery-powered fairy lights. Here in Australia, you can find them for about $2 each, so this is a very low-cost way to add sparkle to your space and keep things a bit more magical (and less scary) for any little ones.

Thread them in, out, and around your pumpkin to avoid using a candle as well!

*Photo by Łukasz Nieścioruk on Unsplash*

Create the Ambiance

I like to take my family dinners a little over the top and cater to all of the senses. Make sure you can hear the mystery in the air with the full ride soundtrack from The Haunted Mansion, or a simpler Halloween ambiance soundtrack. You can find scarier sounding ones, but as a Mum (yep, I am sticking with the Aussie spelling on that one!) I try to keep things on the lighter side.

Looking for a more elegant take on the evening? Try the lobby music from Tower of Terror for one hour of old-world Hollywood magic.

Still expecting trick or treaters? Add some music to your entryway with the Singing Busts of the Haunted Mansion. This one would drive you crazy inside due to its repetitive nature, but it would be a great way to greet guests if you were planning on putting out some contact-free candy for anyone that stops by. Make a loop or playlist to keep it going.

Settle in with a Movie

If you’re missing out on the usual fun of Halloween, this might be a good time to relax with a family movie, and there are plenty on Disney+ to choose from! Here are a few choices for your evening:

Hocus Pocus
The Nightmare Before Christmas
The Haunted Mansion
Toy Story of Terror
Halloweentown
Twitches
Spooky Buddies
Zombies

However you decide to spend your Halloween, I hope you have fun, stay safe and enjoy your time with close friends or family.

* Feature image credit: Aiden Craver on Unsplash