There’s a version of adulthood that convinces men in their late twenties and thirties that theme parks are something you age out of, that the group trip should be a golf weekend, a cabin trip, a Miami weekend. But walk into Disneyland Resort in Anaheim during Halloween Time, running now through Oct. 31, and that theory falls apart within the first hour.

What’s actually there is something closer to a curated, adult-appealing experience dressed up as a kids’ attraction: moody lighting, genuinely good food, live music, and just enough hype to make a group chat’s “who’s in” message turn into an actual itinerary.

Start with the ride that actually earns a seat on this list: Guardians of the Galaxy – Mission: BREAKOUT! at Disney California Adventure Park, which packs in genuine free-fall drop sequences and different storylines each time through. During Halloween Time, the attraction gets a late-afternoon “monster makeover” into Guardians of the Galaxy – Monsters After Dark, picking up moments after the original storyline as Rocket realizes he’s accidentally left Groot behind inside the Collector’s Fortress.

The Fortress goes dark, alarms sound, and flashing lights and creepy sound design signal that creatures have escaped their cages, a legitimately tense buildup before the drops start. This is the one to hit more than once; it’s fast, it’s loud, and it gives the group something to compare notes on immediately after getting off.

Cars Land brings the interactive, photo-friendly energy. During its Haul-O-Ween takeover, Radiator Springs becomes “Radiator Screams,” and the fun isn’t just riding; it’s hunting. Guests can spot 30 “car-achnids” scattered around the land, including an eight-legged spider-car built from a repurposed prop at Flo’s V8 Cafe, which makes for one of the better group photos you’ll get on this trip.

Mater and the rest of the resident cars show up in their own “car-stumes,” Mater as a “van-pire,” Lightning McQueen as a superhero, Cruz Ramirez as a pirate, and the land’s two family rides, Mater’s Junkyard Jamboree and Luigi’s Rollickin’ Roadsters, get reworked into Mater’s Graveyard JamBOOree and Luigi’s Honkin’ Haul-O-Ween, complete with Halloween remixes of “Monster Mash” and “Purple People Eater.” It’s the kind of low-stakes, high-laughs stretch of the day where the group ends up narrating everything to each other in real time, which is half the fun of doing this together instead of solo.

Then there’s the part of the trip that turns into the actual dinner conversation: the drinks and food. Plaza de la Familia, the resort’s tribute to Día de los Muertos inspired by Pixar’s Coco, runs through Nov. 2 in Disney California Adventure Park and turns Paradise Garden Grill into a real destination stop: order the Oogie Boogie Burrito, and don’t skip the marigold margarita, a wine-based lime margarita finished with a marigold and orange sugar rim that’s as good in a photo as it is to drink.

The new Coco Lantern sipper adds another shareable, photograph-first option at multiple locations across the resort. Live mariachi at the Paradise Garden Bandstand and a traveling troupe performing songs from the film, including Remember Me, turn the whole plaza into something closer to an actual night out than a theme park meal.

For the group that wants the full after-dark version of all this, Oogie Boogie Bash – A Disney Halloween Party runs on select nights through Oct. 31 as a separately ticketed event, and it’s the single best-suited piece of the season for a 25-to-40 crowd. Costumes are a vibe, crowds thin out, and unlimited Disney PhotoPass digital downloads are included, meaning every genuinely good moment of the night, costume reveal included, actually gets captured instead of lost to someone’s blurry phone photo.

The new “Madame Leota’s Swinging Wake” street party turns Disney California Adventure Park into a full haunted block party, with appearances from villains including Yzma, Ernesto de la Cruz, Maleficent, and Hades, plus the Headless Horseman making evading runs through the crowd on horseback. It’s the kind of night that gives a group permission to actually dress up and be a little theatrical together, drink in hand, camera-ready.

What makes all of this worth the flight or the drive isn’t any single ride or drink; it’s the shape of the day itself. A Disneyland Halloween trip with your closest friends gives you built-in structure: a reason to start the morning with coffee and a plan, a free-fall drop to hype each other up for, a margarita worth ordering twice, and a night out that ends in costume instead of just a group photo at a bar. It’s low-stakes in the way a good trip should be, and high-reward in the way that actually matters: jokes, shared drinks, a story you’ll all tell for years.

Photo Credit: Disney