French Market/HMH promotion (food and coin)

[cstephens]

I was looking forward to seeing French Market's new HMH-related food promotion this year. Here are descriptions of the two new items. I don't get the connection between Lock, Shock and Barrell/trick or treat and sweet and sour. The dish didn't sound or look particularly interesting to me, so I was disappointed. I'd really enjoyed the chicken six feet under and bowl of bones from previous years. The husband had the lasagna and said it was ok but the vegetables were cooked beyond recognition.

Instead of a patch promotion this year, they have a coin promotion. It's still 13 weeks for 13 different coins. You get a coin for each single $30 purchase, after tax and discounts. The coin comes in a little plastic pouch, with a color picture on the front that has the mansion in the background left and Zero flying in front of it and Santa Jack on the right. It's got the "Nightmare" banner in orange at the top, with HMH in yellow right under that and "2005 Disneyland" at the bottom middle. The one side of the coin that will remain the same has HMH 2005 across the top, with the mansion to the left side and Santa Jack examining a snowflake in the middle and Disneyland at the bottom. This week's coin is of Jack, with "The Nightmare Before Christmas" across the top, Jack's name at the bottom, and a picture of Jack in front of the hill curl in the middle. I actually like the other side of the coin better. I'll try to get pictures up in the next couple days.

The French Market has also had a gingerbread house themed to HMH. The first two years, it was identical to the gingerbread house on the dining room table in the ballroom. Last year and this year, they've dispensed with that. This year's French Market piece, while nice, is actually quite uninspired, imo. Here's a picture.

And for good measure, here are my thoughts on this year's HMH, in spoiler tags.

Spoiler:

Some people aren't happy about it, but I actually like that Leota isn't floating for the holidays. There's so much to see in that room anyway.

Changes that I noticed:

There seem to be more pumpkins outside with the scarecrow in the queue area, but he wasn't lit last night.

Did the knight next to Zero always have a pumpkin head? That seemed new to me, but I wouldn't swear to it.

My favorite part usually is seeing the new gingerbread house in the ballroom sequence, and this is my favorite of all. I can't even remember what the house itself looks like, but on the front is the wreath monster, moving arms and all, and one of the arms is picking up a slice of cake. Another arm has a gingerbread man in his hand.

There are a stack of pumpkins in the attic that I don't remember seeing before.


Things from previous years that I like still having:

The creepy kids singing fa la la la at the end of the stretch room, especially if you're lucky enough to be there when it's quiet enough to hear them.

The band is still outside the first window in the changing portraits hallway.

Oogie is still there with his cymbals and as an ornament on the tree.

The library with the swirling books! I love that!


I forgot to look and see if the hitchhiking ghosts are still there, and I forgot again on Sunday because I was so preoccupied with seeing the wreath again.

One other thing that's new - Jack at the end of the ride (as you go up the moving [or not] walkway) next to where Sally is sitting is now a video instead of a shadow cutout as he flies across. I don't remember the bonedeer legs moving before - they do now, and Zero's nose is lit up. It all looks really cool.