A Halloween Adventure in Autism (11/7) Prayer Request for Catie (p.129)

Thinking ahead to December, 2011...


Plenty of room for a mom, a dad, two teenagers, a young adult and (perhaps) his girlfriend.


http://dvcnews.com/plugins/content/multithumb/images/b.700.500.0.1..stories.ssr.THV.SSR_V000.JPG


Kathy

Oh, Kathy I think a THV would be an amazing choice for a Christmas trip! We stayed in one just after they opened in June and they are great. It was amazingly hot and very buggy when we were there, I told DH it would be a much better destination in the cooler months. Plus it will seem almost like your own home. On the DVC boards they have a Christmas tree share, we participated a few years ago and it was so nice to have decorations. Take a look!
 
It looks like more than enough room. You sound so excited to go in 2011. I know you will plan a great trip!
 
Joe still hasn't tried a Dole Whip either - except a bite of mine, to which he said "no thanks!". He gets the citrus swirl. I do prefer the vanilla ice cream with pineapple juice over the pineapple/pineapple.

I forgot a gift on my first DIS meet as well! :headache: Flossbolna from Germany brought me some LOVELY items....and I was empty handed. :sad2: Hopefully our paths will cross again and I will bring her something extra special! :goodvibes Those shirts are very cute!!!


:laughing: I just "had to" fiddle with my countdown ticker some more! :laughing:

PoolRat pointed out that there will most likely not be any MVMCPs while we are there the week after Christmas, so I couldn't very well have a ticker with MVMCP on it, now could I??

Ugh. This is the longest countdown ticker I have ever posted!


Kathy

But, it's such a pretty countdown! :goodvibes

A Blast From the Past!

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Kathy

I remember those guys! Our playground had a giant Grimace bouncy thing...I loved it!

Thinking ahead to December, 2011...


Plenty of room for a mom, a dad, two teenagers, a young adult and (perhaps) his girlfriend.


http://dvcnews.com/plugins/content/multithumb/images/b.700.500.0.1..stories.ssr.THV.SSR_V000.JPG


Kathy

Joe was just talking about a THV when we bring our friends (which might be 2011 or 2012). They look beautiful! The only draw back I see is that they are far from the main buildings of SSR, so you'd just have to plan not to have to go there very often, which is easy enough! I love that they are 3 bedrooms for the price of 2. :thumbsup2
 


I think that would be an awesome place to stay! Perfect for a family of "big kids"!
 


I got to see some pictures when my friend Liz and her family stayed at the Tree House Villas. I so hope you get to do it!! :goodvibes
 
This has been floating around the boards...


http://www.stitchkingdom.com/disney-news/theme-parks/3d-sculpture-magic-kingdoms-fantasyland/


I wonder if the new Fantasyland will be completed by our next vacation...


Kathy

Very cool! Thanks for sharing! I can't wait to see what it looks like when it's done!

Just just made my heart skip a beat though! DH and I just talked last night about future vacation plans and because we're planning on going to the Caribbean with friends in 11 we weren't going to plan a trip to WDW that year! I have to get there soon after the refurb is done!!!! If it's complete mid 11 I have to plan a trip!

Thinking ahead to December, 2011...


Plenty of room for a mom, a dad, two teenagers, a young adult and (perhaps) his girlfriend.


http://dvcnews.com/plugins/content/multithumb/images/b.700.500.0.1..stories.ssr.THV.SSR_V000.JPG


Kathy

THV are definitely cool!! I think it's a great option for you guys!
 
Chapter Twelve: Happy Hallowishes!


Saturday Night
October 31,2009
The Magic Kingdom
Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party


Before I continue, I wanted to add a couple of things that I had omitted from the last update. First, as we were walking through Fantasyland, we came across this lovely photo-op of Cinderella’s coach. (I believe it was near the old skyway tower.) There was a bit of a line and the girls (mainly Tricia) balked when I suggested stopping for a picture of them standing in front of the coach. I suppose it really didn’t make sense to pose them here; after all, they were pirates, not princesses. Still, it would have been something special. I thought I would include a picture of the photo-op for any of you who may be attending the party with a younger and more princess-minded crowd:



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The second thing that I forgot to mention was that (free) Face Painting was available near Pete’s Garage in Toontown. Again, my group of party-poopers was not interested in this sort of thing.


Ah well, back to the update:


Together, the KathyRN and the Dreamer & Wisher families settled in to wait for Happy Hallowishes to begin. Nancy’s children, Abby and Ethan, were just thrilled with their Pirate-themed room at the Caribbean Beach Resort and they happily told me all about it. I recall that Ethan was particularly impressed with his pirate-ship bed! Ed and Ron spent a good deal of time talking about baseball, I gather. (Remember that Ed was missing a World Series game that night…Yankees vs. Phillies.) He was receiving regular updates, however, from his brother via text message.


Ed kept Billy near him during the fireworks out of habit… Billy used to be afraid of them when he was little… and put the squishy earplugs in his ears to dim the loudest booms. I’m thinking that he may not need them in the future, though. He seems to be tolerating fireworks better and better as he gets older. :thumbsup2



Sorry, Ron, you got chopped off a bit!

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I can't believe there are no pictures of us with Abby and Ethan! Hopefully Dreamer & Wisher has some on her report!​


We had a fairly good, if not directly head-on, view of the Castle from our spot on one of the paths leading away from the Hub, and also a lovely view of Main Street, USA, which was bathed in colored light for the party.




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The Castle, too, was eerily lit for the party.



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Soon the announcement was made that the lights would be dimming for Hallowishes. I tried to get Tricia to give me her camera, but she and Catie insisted that they wanted to take pictures, so I let them. Sometimes, it’s just nice to sit back and enjoy…




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Once again, I’d like to thank Kristine (tnkrbelle565) for sending me a CD copy of the MNSSHP music several months before the party. Billy knew the music by heart and I could see him laughing and jumping up and down as each Disney Villain came trick-or-treating and the Grim Grinning Ghosts came out to socialize…



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Catie, giving "The Hook!"

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After we had enjoyed Hallowishes, we decided to walk over to Frontierland, via Adventureland, to stake out spots for the 10:30 Boo-to-You Halloween Parade. Lots of other folks were doing the same. I was slightly annoyed to discover that “our” usual parade-viewing spot in front of the shooting arcade was already taken. With the second of two parades scheduled to begin in forty minutes, I thought that we would easily be able to find an open spot since we weren’t looking to view the parade from Main Street. I was wrong! The parade route was packed and the ropes hadn't even been put up yet!


We strolled along until we found a small piece of empty real estate in front of one of the shops. It seemed a good choice since there was a “hitching rail” that we could lean against and a stretch of raised wooden walkway the kids could use to sit on. Said children, however, became antsy after only a few moments of waiting and began making a pitch for “just one ride” before the parade. After a brief consultation, Nancy and I agreed to let the husbands take the three girls and Billy for a ride on BTMRR. Ethan chose to stay behind with the moms to help defend our turf! We placed our park bags and pirate hats in a line along the edge of the raised walkway and did our best to spread out.


The crowd began to build steadily and Nancy and I were just a bit leery when a family with several strollers stopped about three feet in front of us and proceeded to settle in, their children sitting down cross-legged on the ground. Very soon, however, CMs came along to place the ropes along the parade route and informed the family that they would have to move. Then they set up the rope directly across the spot where Nancy, Ethan, and I were standing! There we were, just as cozy as could be, with the hitching rail behind us and the rope in front of us! Nancy turned to me and said, “Kathy, I think this rope is going to be our best friend!” ;)


Now that we had our parade turf marked off we passed the time talking about our trips. The clock slowly ticked closer and closer to ten-thirty and we began to wonder if the rest of the gang was going to make it back in time. Even though I had read that the best time to go on rides was during the parades and fireworks, I had given Ed the GAC to use “just in case.” I was sure that our kids wouldn’t be the only ones who would prefer riding BTMRR to sitting around waiting for the parade to start!


Shortly before ten-thirty, the hubbies and kids made it back…smiling and talking excitedly about how much fun it had been to ride Big Thunder in the dark! But... did they think to get any pictures?? Um, no. :rolleyes:



Any minute now, the parade would begin! The only questions were…

Would there be time to get those all-important snacks before the parade?

Would we be able to catch the Headless Horseman with our cameras?

And where, oh where, does a pirate lass put her change when she has no pockets in her costume??
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Kathy
 
Wow, how great to score rope-side seats for the parade!

Daniel used to be the same way with fireworks, I clearly remember the day he excitedly turned around in the MK and proudly announced he watched it without plugging his ears. Now he loves them!

Hope we won't have to wait too long to hear about the parade. :rolleyes1
 
Sounds like you guys found perfect seats! Don't you hate it when someone comes up and jumps in front of you when you were obviously waiting there longer?!?! :confused3 :headache:

Can't wait for our parade pictures!! popcorn::
 
I love that Cinderella's Coach photo op. Beautiful!

Ariana also adores the fireworks now but I still remember absolutely sprinting towards the exits while trying to cover her ears as much as possible and apologizing to anyone around us for her terrorized screaming! :scared1: What a site we must have been!

Thankfully the family that was asked to move on didn't just try to back up in front of you!
 
Great updates. I've been busy the last few days and was surprised to see 2 updates.

You know your TR feels sooo different than your other ones--in a good way. I guess not having AR relieved a lot of additional stress.

I'm seeing your TR through a parent's perspective and it's interesting to see what parents sacrifice for their kids. It may be "criss-crossing" the park when it goes against any Disney planners nature, but your simple submission to their whims is refreshing.
 
Neither did I!! :lmao: I will definitely need your holiday touring tips!

I will deliever...I am sure I'll make some newbie mistakes too...but this way you won't ;)






(Who remembers the Hamburgler? How about Grimace?)

I DO I DO!!!!

I have pictures of me as a kid playing at Ronald McDonald land...I remember at a b-day party for my sister posing under a picture of the Sheriff guy and when I got up I bumped my head horribly under his big bun head...and they had this huge Grimmace cage like thing that you would climb into and hold the bars (it was like being in his body) and skake and he'd move and you would bounce off the metal bars...Oh things were quite safe in the 80's :rotfl: I will scan the pictures soon...I just saw them at my Mom's and post them for your ammusement :laughing:


As we sat there, resting and finishing our treats, we saw an older couple pass by and they were wearing the most amazing costumes. They were dressed up as ghosts from the banquet scene at the Haunted Mansion! She was wearing a formal gown with long gloves and he was wearing formal evening clothes. Their outfits were torn and covered with a white powdery substance that made them look old and “ghostly,” and they were wearing white makeup and powdered wigs. They looked amazing. At first, Tricia said she thought that they were CM’s from the parade, they looked that good. I’m sorry I couldn’t get their picture, but the girls had put their cameras away and at the time I was pretty busy trying not to get dripped on.

AWESOME...that would have been too cool to see.

MNSSHP Newbie Mistake Number Four: I didn’t bring a little gift to our DIS-meet!

Ok I wrote this down...:thumbsup2


(Ip-Dip: Person who does something stupid while at Disney.)

and I added this to my Diser word dictionary



Do you know those foam “We’re Number One” signs that fans wear on their hands and wave at games… the ones made from that Nerf-like material? Well, these folks were wearing big foam costumes like vests over their clothes and each one was a piece of Mickey’s classic outfit….a white glove, the red shorts, and the black ears hat! Tricia and I laughed as they passed by.


“They’re only missing the shoe!” I said. Just then, along came the yellow shoe, running to catch up with the rest of the group! We laughed again; to see that shoe running after them seemed particularly humorous at the time. What great costumes!

I am just loving all the costume descriptions! So glad to hear a few people do go all out!


Here is a picture of the shirts that I took when I finished making them.
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these are awesome you are too sweet and clever!

A Blast From the Past!

mcdonaldland.jpg

:rotfl: and I loved the you tube commercial from mrsksomeday...I was a wee 11 yr old in '85


Catie, giving "The Hook!"

disneytrip2009tricia1154.jpg




very cute


There we were, just as cozy as could be, with the hitching rail behind us and the rope in front of us! Nancy turned to me and said, “Kathy, I think this rope is going to be our best friend!” ;)

;) very good

And where, oh where, does a pirate lass put her change when she has no pockets in her costume??
shocked-1.gif





:lmao:

good one...can't wait for more! and now you have me seriously considering maybe we really need to do MNSCHP when the kids are still little...when to fit it in though? :confused:

Scrappie
 
What a great location for the parade! SCORE!!!

Glad to hear everyone enjoyed BTMRR in the dark too!
 
Sounds like a great spot for a parade, I can't wait to hear how your group liked it! I just love the Hallowishes music - I'm glad Billy loved it so much too!
 

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