As a Latino family, Dia de los Muertos is near and dear to our hearts. It felt good for this special day to be recognized at the Disneyland Resort.
For the first time ever, I got to experience Mickey’s Halloween Party at the Disneyland resort. This Southern California native has been to the park hundreds of times over the years, but I’ve never had the chance to visit during their special, separate-ticket event.
It was awesome and my girls had a blast.
One of my favorite things of the night (and there were many) was the inclusion of Dia de los Muertos. Located in Frontierland, Disneyland has carved out a space to display colorful, larger than life catrinas and calaveras, papel picado, and altars since 2007. Because of Dia de los Muertos’ close proximity to Halloween, it often gets lumped into the holiday, complete with the ghoulish connotation. That couldn’t be further from the truth.
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Dia de los Muertos is a celebration of life. According to AZ Central, “It was a ritual the indigenous people had been practicing at least 3,000 years.” In Mexico, remembering the souls of loved ones who have passed before us, people would flock to the nearby cemetery where they would decorate the gravesite, bring food, candles and flowers in honor of their loved ones who have passed away. It’s supposed to be a joyous time. Here in the U.S, Dia de los Muertos has transformed into a largely cultural event that includes, art, sugar skull face painting, altar building, danza, music and sculpture.
I didn’t celebrate November 2nd as a child but now that I’m a mother of six, I make this day very special for us. We fully participate in the day by supporting our local Dia de los Muertos event, we paint our faces, we decorate our home, we make arts and crafts inspired by this day and we read books about it. This is why I’m always excited to see the display at Disneyland. Southern California has a huge Latino population, and many of us are dedicated Disney fanatics–Dia de los Muertos is near and dear to our hearts. It felt good for this special day to be recognized.
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My girl’s fully understood the importance of this day and this display at Disneyland. It was great to take a minute away from the fun Halloween festivities of the evening and respectfully observe this powerful cultural event.
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This display will be up until November 3. If you’re interested in buying tickets for Mickey’s Halloween party, then hurry! Tickets will go fast.
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Disclosure: This is not a sponsored post. However, I did receive complimentary entry into the park. All opinions are 100% my own.
