Disney's Haunted Mansions Around the World

Tomorrow night is Halloween when streets all across the United States will be haunted by costumed kids seeking candy from strangers. It never seemed like an odd tradition to me until we moved overseas and tried explaining it to our international friends. Kids thought it sounded fantastic, and adults thought it was irresponsible. We tried once in Malaysia to organize a friendly, American trick-or-treat excursion with limited success. This is our second year back in Texas, and my children are excited to be back out there going house to house in search of treats. Let's hope that the flash flood and tornado watch we're under right at this moment ends before then. At the rate the rain is coming down, it's going to feel like Venice here soon, and we'll have to trick-or-treat via canoes.

Even though we couldn't always celebrate a traditional American Halloween, we could always rely on getting a little spooked at Disney's Haunted Mansion ride.  Variations appear in Disney parks around the world. I'm not a gal who likes her haunted houses scary, so the Disney version strikes just the right balance between goofy and less-than-terrifying for me.The rest of the park may be cheery and happy, but the mood and cast members are a somber lot at the Haunted Mansion.

Happy Halloween Expat Style

The Green LEGO Ninjago, Shy Guy from Super Mario Brothers and Space Girl

Whew! I've just wrapped up our Halloween festivities, and it's been a lot of fun. No, not all the kids are asleep, yet. They're still hyped up from all the excitement.

Malaysia doesn't celebrate Halloween very much. No one goes door-to-door through a neighborhood collecting candy from strangers. A few restaurants had Halloween brunches, there's a Halloween kids disco this upcoming Friday at The G Spot, and one mall was swarmed by trick-or-treaters this past weekend. 

It takes a lot of planning and creativity to pull off an American-style celebration. Last year, our first Halloween abroad, we trick-or-treated en masse to a few condos in our complex who had agreed ahead of time to hand out candy. Let me tell you, cramming 25-30 people into two elevators was more excitement than we really wanted. This year, we were inspired by Facebook posts from people mentioning trunk-or-treats and decided to try something along that line. (In Malaysia, you would call it a "boot-or-treat," but that doesn't have the same ring to it.) We rented out the recreation room in our complex and asked others to help out by hosting activity tables -- no car trunks for us -- or bringing food and candy. A few locals asked to be included since they are, to quote them, "very interested in experiencing this American holiday."

The preparations started a few weeks ahead of time with trips to the store. Cold Storage had a few very expensive bags of Halloween candy imported from the USA. Does US$11 for 10 ounces of Candy Corn M&M's sound pricey to you? Another store called Young Ones had a few decorations. Most of our decor was cut up black plastic bags and poster board or cutesy items I shipped over from Texas.

All in all, it's like how I picture the  American Halloween retail experience back in the 60's. We had our pick of angel, devil, fairy, ghoul, witch or pirate costumes. Nothing identifiable from any movies or TV shows was on the racks. And all the masks are the hard, molded plastic type with holes for the eyes and an elastic around the back to hold it on your head. My girl went with a hand-me-down outfit from her costume box, and my boys made their own. That green Ninjago hood you see -- it's a T-shirt pulled over his mouth with the back flipped over his head. He cut out pieces of green felt and safety pinned it to his shirt for extra snazziness.




A room with glass walls, tropical climate and no air-conditioning = A very sweaty Halloween

I think it's interesting that Singapore, just to the south of Malaysia, has a much bigger Halloween celebration. My Texas friend there expected over a thousand people to come by her home. She lives in an area with lots of Americans, so Singaporeans head to those neighborhoods on October 31. We were there last Saturday and were mesmerized by the number of people roaming Clarke Quay in costume. Many of these were dressed as zombies. I saw a couple zombie tours with one regular looking guide waving a glow stick and leading a pack of the undead down the sidewalk. Our restaurant was staffed entirely by zombies! Yet, we managed to ward off all attacks and made it back to Penang with our brains intact.



Where are those Bennet sisters when you need them?

Happy Halloween! Have fun trick-or-treating and have a piece of candy for me.








What's Halloween?

Halloween is the first major American holiday that we've spent overseas. While it's not unheard of in Malaysia, I can definitely attest that it's not the major, major event that it is in America. There was a smallish display at the grocery store stocked with super expensive imported candy ($22 for 55 fun-size pieces) and an assortment of devil's pitchforks, witch hats and fairy wings. Not a single licensed character costume was in sight. No Disney princesses, no superheroes, nada.

I had hoped that we could jump into some other expat's established Halloween celebration, but I heard a lot of "Well, we tried something last year and it didn't really work out." If you think about it, trick-or-treating involves a community. For Thanksgiving or Christmas, we can host a celebration and invite people over. But for Halloween, you have to convince others to open their doors to you.

Luckily for me, my friend who's also a newcomer to Penang decided to organize something. We found ourselves having to actually explain Halloween. One Australian friend asked, "What exactly do you do? What do you hand out? What do the kids wear?" When you have to lay out all the details (kiddos in costumes hyped up on free candy), it sounds a little crazy. Thank goodness a few other families decided to join us in our night of madness.




How many kids can you cram in an elevator?

A friend told me that she used to go Guising on Halloween as a kid growing up in Scotland. There, a simple "Trick or Treat!" would not do. Kids had to sing a song, tell a joke, or say a poem to earn their candy. I kind of like that tradition.

Since running to Costume City or Target was not an option, we made our own costumes. I haven't figured out where a craft or fabric store is, so we had to use whatever materials we could scavenge from around the house. What's the best way to handle this? I delegated it all to my dear hubby. ("Hey Andy, I'm going shopping. Oh, and by the way, do you mind making the kids' costumes while I'm gone?" And then I quickly slipped out the door.) He did a great job. Maria's costume was kluged together from a Tae Kwon Do jacket and paper pockets attached with safety pins. Brad offered up his prescription glasses for her to wear.

Dr. Fennel from Pokemon Black and White

Brad had wings made of cardboard from our many shipping boxes. He spent the entire evening making sure he didn't poke some little kid in the eye.

Pokemon Latios and a Poke Trainer

Clark had the easiest costume of them all.

Cowboy Tex

When you live in a high-rise condo tower, trick-or-treating takes some logistical planning, especially if you have a security card that only accesses your floor. I jokingly suggested they should walk up all 32 flights of stairs. Instead, we crammed 25 kids plus a few parents into the 2 elevators and went around as one big group. The kids were at my door for all of 3 minutes, and I was done with handing out treats for the evening. After visiting the 8 or so condos that handed out candy, we all gathered to have a Halloween dinner together. For once, my kids don't have the hordes of candy that comes from visiting 20+ houses, but they still had a ton of fun.

This post is part of Friday Daydreamin' at R We There Yet Mom? Check it out for more around-the-world travel inspiration.