Halloween Time at Disneyland is Here

Halloween Time at Disneyland Resort: When the spooky season sweeps into view again, you can bet that Disneyland will gleefully go all out on the seasonal-churro, pumpkins-everywhere, Jack-Skellington-inside-the-Haunted-Mansion front. The delightful dates? Sept. through Oct. 31. The haunted haps? Plentiful. Vampirina of "Disney Junior" is a new character in 2018, so stop for a photo, or make for Guardians of the Galaxy — Monsters After Dark. Don't forget Mickey's Halloween Party, on select nights, too. It's got a separate ticket, so read all now. 

Tall Ships Festival: You don't need to travel back, via a time machine, to 1820 to see a colossal vessel of yore. Just make your way to Dana Point Harbor, from Sept. 7 through 9, where a number of mast-majestic boats will be dropping anchor, setting sail at sunset (on Sept. 7), and engaging in mock cannon battles. Oh, and there shall be tours, too, which might make anyone give a hearty "arrrr." There are to-dos on terra firma, like chance to sip craft beer or dine at a Mermaid Breakfast. This centuries-gone-by, on-the-waves spectacular is presented by Toshiba; check tickets and times.

LA Food Fest: Summertime is still here, for another fortnight, ish, so don't bid the mondo eats-oriented outdoor extravaganzas bye just yet. This biggie, one of the titans of SoCal's vibrant, unfussy, future-forward food scene, will spread out at Santa Anita Park, creating an atmosphere of noshery, hobnobbery, and general good-timing. What food pros are showing? Egghausted, Oak Smoke BBQ, Mexvegana, Yuca's Tacos, and Super Smash Buns are but a few of the tasties on the tasty-brimming roster of good bites and drinks. Be there on Sept. 8, but ponder getting your ticket first, okay? Yes.

Old World Oktoberfest opens: Whether you're more of a Wiener Dog Race aficionado, or a brat buff, or a lover of fine foams, or a scholar of the Chicken Dance, matters not. Well, wait, it does matter, for finding such quintessentially Oktoberfestian sights and scents and sounds doesn't always happen during other parts of the calendar. So rejoice, for Old World in Huntington Beach's long-running Oktoberfest kicks off the classic oompah-pah-pah-ing on Sunday, Sept. 9, with several select September and October dates to come. Raise a stein, and a schnitzel, and proceed to Chicken Dance the day away...

Original Lobster Festival: So you've been sadly bib-free all summer long? Even as you consumed messy and delicious foods? That can all change in the most buttery of ways should you find your bib-loving self at Rainbow Lagoon in Long Beach from Sept. 7 through 9. The Maine lobsters are steamed, but go for lobster sliders or lobster-on-a-stick if you're looking for a quirkier way to consume your crustacean. Also? Music is part of the party, and lots of other goings-on that have that late-summer flair, so nab your ticket, the entertainment line-up, and where you'll first tie on a bib pronto.