I have to start by admitting that I don't really care for the Nightmare Before Christmas. The story is a bit dark for me. I can't even say that I've watched it completely beginning to end without missing scenes. However Tim Burton also directed Beetlejuice, a 1988 movie that I still laugh through every time I watch it, so I was looking forward to seeing him in person.

Over this past year, I have had the privilege to be a member of Disneyland's Creative Advisory Council. Through the CAC, I met many of the people who worked hard to put the Nightmare event together and have been anticipating the event since, well, let's just say "for a while." Steve Davison, the creative force behind "it's a small world" holiday and the Believe! fireworks show, was the art director for the Nightmare overlay on the Haunted Mansion ride. (In my next life, I'm going to be the CEO of my own theme park and Tony Baxter and Steve Davison will have unlimited budgets to just do whatever they want.)

Through a string of serendipitous events, my husband and I were able to attend the basic event on Wednesday night and for all these reasons, I was happy to attend. I cannot tell a lie. When Disney announced that Tim Burton and Danny Elfman would not be attending the event, I wanted to back out. What was the point of spending $65 to ride a ride? But my husband Kevin (Doc Krock) and I made a commitment to be there, so on Wednesday afternoon I drove out to the grandparents' house to drop off the boys and then back to Anaheim to check out The Nightmare Before Christmas Event.

Checking in would have been fine if we had not had a little problem or two with the merchandise that we ordered (an item is shown above). I would rather have spent that 90 minutes eating dinner or walking through the park, but we couldn't so we didn't and it's over. Adrienne Vincent-Phoenix (who has a lovely first name and is a good friend of mine, but is a totally separate person from me,) goes through that story in another section for you so I'll just move forward.

After finally getting some food at Plaza Inn (because it was the only restaurant we found open,) we navigated through the park to quickly moving line into the Fantasyland Theater. Cast Members greeted us with Jack Skellington krispie treats on a stick (very cute) and I grabbed bottles of water and two cookies before taking my seat with several friends.

Remember how I have not really paid much attention to the movie? The opening song for the panel discussion meant very little to me. As new characters arrived on stage and the audience cheered, I turned to Kevin and said, "I guess I should've watched the movie before I came so I would understand this part." He nodded and smiled. Nevertheless, the music was fun and the dancing looked good to me. For a detailed description of the panel program, I defer to my vastly more knowledgeable colleague, Ms. Kruse, while I share my personal highlights here.

Despite canceling their live appearances, Tim Burton and Danny Elfman appeared and spoke from pre-taped video interviews. I found Danny's interview to be interesting and wished it was longer. After watching Tim Burton's piece, I was not as disappointed that he was absent, "you know"? Quirky movies are made by quirky people. Enough said.

I found the members of the live panel discussion very interesting. Earlier this year, I watched Steve Davison perform his one-man demonstration of the Believe! fireworks show. Watching him on stage as he described the Nightmare overlay on the Haunted Mansion, I could tell that Steve itched to jump out of his seat and act out the attraction for us. I wish I could see him do it, too. Maybe if I put that on my wish list for Sandy Claws...

As a Beetlejuice fan, I was happy to see Glenn Shadix (above) join the panel. Besides being the Mayor in Nightmare, Glenn was Otho in Beetlejuice. If you have seen Beetlejuice, you probably know why I love Glenn. I was disappointed that he was only asked one question during the panel discussion; the panel moderation left something to be desired. Catherine O'Hara provided voices for Sally and Shock in Nightmare and, like Glenn, costarred in Beetlejuice. If Sandy Claws had asked me, the moderation would have been tweaked a bit and Catherine would have been there, too.

Kevin noted that the video images that accompanied the panel discussion came straight off the DVD. During the panel discussion, one member mentioned material that has never been put on any special addition releases of Nightmare, but they did not have that footage to show us at the event. I needed to add this to my wish list.

After the panel discussion ended, we followed the crowd to New Orleans Square. The Haunted Mansion was magically lit with candles and Jack O'Lanterns while foggy mist filled the scene. Kevin suggested we tell readers to make sure and visit this attraction at night to fully appreciate it.

Remember how I don't really like the movie? I loved the overlay. To say it was awesome is an understatement. Without knowing or even caring much about the movie, I found the attraction was a fun mix of Halloween and Christmas. Meticulous care was given to details.

I refuse to divulge any details here because I was utterly charmed by several surprises along the way. To make the experience even better, our stretching room was graced with the presence of Maynard (below), the cast member well-known throughout Disneyland for his quirky charm. Could there be a better CM to greet us in the stretching room and then again when we exited our "black Christmas sleigh"?

I am compelled to share my most outstanding observation from the ride experience: As we walked through the gallery of changing portraits, I could not help but thinking that this overlay demonstrates everything that Disney does right. The Disney Parks have been criticized a lot lately, but seeing how awesome this attraction is just made me realize what a fantastic job the staff there can do when they are given the right budget. Maybe I could put a few more attractions overlays on my wish list for Sandy Claws..."Dear Sandy Claws, have you seen the roof of the King Arthur Carrousel in Fantasyland lately?"

After I exited the ride, I wanted to go back again. There are so many details to see! But the gate was now closed; 1000 guests had been efficiently moved through the queue of the Mansion. I approached two Cast Members near the Mansion gate, ever mindful of my primary job here at MousePlanet.

"I love this ride, it was great, but there is NO way I can take my 3-year-old on it. Will Rider Switch be available?"

I'm happy to report that the answer came back, "Yes." In fact, Disneyland has trained the Haunted Mansion Cast Members to be on alert for families. Cast Members will caution parents that the ride may be scary for small children.

With that, we had to leave, as we parted with our friends who continued on to find out about secondary merchandise opportunities and continued to the exit where we picked up our gift for the evening.

The magical question my editor posed to me was, "Was it worth $65 per person for a panel discussion, (even without Tim and Danny) and preview ride?" Kevin says "no," I say, "maybe." Even with Tim and Danny, I don't know that the experience would be worth $65 but if I was interested in this particular merchandise, or more interested in the movie, it probably would have been worth it.

I am admittedly frugal; I am not cheap, but I am careful about how I spend my money. If Kevin and I were a dual-income household or if we had a stronger passion for this movie, I am sure we would have felt more satisfied with the price level. Meanwhile, I gain a certain sense of satisfaction knowing that I was among the first to experience a preview ride through the attraction.

For this I admit that I am actually grateful to Adrienne Vincent- Phoenix and Sue Kruse for keeping their lips locked tightly even after seeing a sneak preview at the Disneyana Convention.

Sue Kruse tells you all about the ride

Sue Kruse offers another look inside!

Sue Kruse on the event show

Adrienne Vincent- Phoenix with the $200 perspective

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