Video Killed the Trip Report Star: A Little Halloween Magic (Western) Complete!!

[nenner1]

Originally Posted by TotallyAngelic

Absolutely love your photos of MNSSHP .... and the kiods are so brave going up close to the old hag like that .. braver than me for sure I love the expression on your son's face in the first photo with the hag! He's really weighing her up.

LOL, yeah I have no idea what they were discussing. Sarah wasn't going near her with a 10 foot pole though!

Originally Posted by verygfy

So jealous you got to see the hag!! I have the same pics as you in regards to the seven dwarfs and Cinderella's carriage. Those two lines were insane especially for such an empty park!

Yeah that was great luck! I initially wanted to do more character pics but the lines were really so bad everywhere. (It was a very busy party by the end of the evening) But since we knew we'd get a lot of the same opportunities on the cruise we opted instead to just enjoy the park and other aspects of the party. There is just no way to do it all in one night for sure!!!

Originally Posted by stitchgal

just started reading...can't wait to hear more!

Thanks Amy! Sorry we never got to meet! Hope you all had a fantastic time.

[TheDisneyGirl02]

I love your poncho on Splash! I wear one too!!

Loving this part of the TR.

[anewmac]

Originally Posted by nenner1

After a quick photopass pic at the castle, we headed in the direction of Adventureland. First stop: Dole Whips!

still never had one... lol

Yes, I know I look like a dork in my poncho. I am the water cannon magnet on Splash Mountain. If you ride with me, you WILL get soaked, guaranteed. This time was no exception, I still ended up with a wet butt.

E's usually our magnet but my hair always gets splashed so for the rest of the day i look like trash and pics are bad cuz its the 1st ride we go on.

Dusk over the Rivers of America (is it called that at WDW or just DL?)

I thought both parks called it that,... so i looked it up pretty interesting.. a lil Disney lesson
At Walt Disney World the Rivers of America is similar to its California counterpart.
At Disneyland Paris the Rivers of the Far West is home to Big Thunder Mountain.
At Hong Kong Disneyland, there is no Frontierland, so the Imagineers merged the Rivers of America with the classic Adventureland Jungle Cruise attraction. Jungle river rafts now travel around the Rivers of Adventure, encountering similar situations as in the Jungle Cruise attraction, but on a much more open river and exposed to the elements of Adventureland. In the middle of the Rivers sits Tarzan's Treehouse, which can be reached by River Rafts.
Several steamboat and ship replicas sail the many Rivers.

Disneyland - the Mark Twain Riverboat and the Sailing Ship Columbia
Walt Disney World - the Liberty Belle Riverboat
Tokyo Disneyland - the Mark Twain Riverboat
Disneyland Paris - the Molly Brown Riverboat (sidewheeler) and the Mark Twain Riverboat (sternwheeler)

The obligatory stockade pics. I love seeing how my kids have grown through the years looking at these photos.

Ha, we have those to at the parks, are is the sword in the stone, and the fountain at CA Adventure

The MK at night is so lovely, especially with the festive lighting. Too bad my camera doesn’t do it justice.

oh thats how mine is takes horrible night pics I hate it.

We soon found why the park was so empty. Everyone (and I mean EVERYONE) was in the massive 7 Dwarves line. It would have been a cute photo, but man that line was hours long, so we skipped it. I decided this would be good enough for us. (I could always photoshop us in, ya know!)

To the cloud lol.. I downloaded it but havent tried it out .

[myelton01]

Can't wait for more!

[podsnel]

It looks so pretty during the day!! We missed our chance to see it like that- we went to Cape May right as we checked in to BCV & then went to the park- I think we got there around 8? Anyway....

LOVE your pic w/ Sarah at the Stockade- adorable of BOTH you girls. I hope the crud is improving. I am STILL doing laundry- how about you??

And what video??? There is film of our dancing escapade?? Oh, THAT'S gonna be funny!! I am the world's WORST group dancer- as I am sure Savannah will tell you. Even at that dance, which is the easiest one! This is going to be good....

[nenner1]

Originally Posted by TheDisneyGirl02

I love your poncho on Splash! I wear one too!!

Loving this part of the TR.

Oh.... well if you do it too than we are totally the cool ones!
Isn't MNSSHP the greatest! We had a blast!!! SO glad I was able to talk Ron into it (I think he is too!)

Originally Posted by anewmac

still never had one... lol

LMAO, they don't have them out there?

E's usually our magnet but my hair always gets splashed so for the rest of the day i look like trash and pics are bad cuz its the 1st ride we go on.

Yeah on a normal touring day we do it early too. And since we like to go in Jan/Feb its usually ice freakin cold.

I thought both parks called it that,... so i looked it up pretty interesting.. a lil Disney lesson
At Walt Disney World the Rivers of America is similar to its California counterpart.
At Disneyland Paris the Rivers of the Far West is home to Big Thunder Mountain.
At Hong Kong Disneyland, there is no Frontierland, so the Imagineers merged the Rivers of America with the classic Adventureland Jungle Cruise attraction. Jungle river rafts now travel around the Rivers of Adventure, encountering similar situations as in the Jungle Cruise attraction, but on a much more open river and exposed to the elements of Adventureland. In the middle of the Rivers sits Tarzan's Treehouse, which can be reached by River Rafts.
Several steamboat and ship replicas sail the many Rivers.

Disneyland - the Mark Twain Riverboat and the Sailing Ship Columbia
Walt Disney World - the Liberty Belle Riverboat
Tokyo Disneyland - the Mark Twain Riverboat
Disneyland Paris - the Molly Brown Riverboat (sidewheeler) and the Mark Twain Riverboat (sternwheeler)

Ah thanks- very cool, Like that PSA...the more you know! :shootingstar: LMAO!!!

For some reason this made me think of One Man's Dream and your naked pirate cherubs- or were they dwarves? LOL. Did you know they are totally redoing OMD, that would suck if they take out your nekkie lil guys!

Originally Posted by myelton01

Can't wait for more!

More to come in a couple of hours or so! YAY!

Originally Posted by podsnel

It looks so pretty during the day!! We missed our chance to see it like that- we went to Cape May right as we checked in to BCV & then went to the park- I think we got there around 8? Anyway....

What a bummer we didn't find eachother that night! We'll just have to make up for lost time!!

LOVE your pic w/ Sarah at the Stockade- adorable of BOTH you girls. I hope the crud is improving. I am STILL doing laundry- how about you??

OH YEAH, there is still a lot to do. Sarah had more than two loads of just her clothes!

And what video??? There is film of our dancing escapade?? Oh, THAT'S gonna be funny!! I am the world's WORST group dancer- as I am sure Savannah will tell you. Even at that dance, which is the easiest one! This is going to be good....

Yes, and it's so cute!!! I promise you look great! I also have video Sarge doing his lap dance at MQ, the only bummer is that is back to us was for most of it and we couldn't see his bra until he turned around!

The only video I didn't get was the sailaway countdown, I was obviously so excited I didn't realize I hadn't pushed record. I can't believe nobody has that~

Hope you are all ready for more, it's coming this morning/afternoon!

[jns]

looks like a grea party cant wait to see more
lovely photos

[nenner1]

Originally Posted by jns

looks like a grea party cant wait to see more
lovely photos

Thanks so much!

Here you go! LOL!!!

[nenner1]

By this part of the evening, the party was in full swing and crowds had grown considerably in the seemingly short time we were in Fantasyland. We decided our plan of attack at this point would be to retrace our steps back through Liberty Square, Frontierland and Adventureland hitting all of the ToT stops located there now that they were open, before crossing the hub to Tomorrowland and Toontown. As we entered Liberty Square we could see the parade lineups were already getting thick, so we decided to try and snag a spot to see the first parade.

I saw what looked to be a lone front row spot so I approached and asked if it was taken (of course, it was). But as we moved back into the path I looked across and there was a whole empty rope by Liberty Tree Tavern. We asked the CM if it was OK to stand there- couldn’t imagine why no one had yet! And he said it was indeed a parade viewing area. SCORE! As soon as we settled in the area around us filled fast. We did have to wait quite a while for the parade to start, but for this one it was totally worth it for the front row view. The girls enjoy their front row seat:




Before we knew it the Headless Horseman announced the beginning of the parade:

(VIDEO, click image to play!)




Frontierland/Liberty Square isn’t the best spot for filming the parade or photography since it is so dark. This is a fantastic parade, the pictures don’t really do it justice!




Alice and the Mad Hatter:





The Fab Five (or Four) float:






Pirates ahoy!!





We had the first of our camera battery problems right at this point. Prior to the parade a CM had come up to our area and asked that when Jack Sparrow approaches that we go wild and something special would happen. So I thought maybe he would walk over to us or something. Sure enough right then my batteries went. I changed them frantically but when I looked up the pirates were gone. I asked what Captain Jack did that was special, and apparently he did nothing. He was up at the mast of the second ship float so he wouldn’t have come down or anything. So I guess that whole “special” thing the CM was saying was just to fire us up. Ah…well it worked, I guess!


In any event what turned out to be my favorite part of the parade was next- the grave diggers/graveyard followed by the Haunted Mansion float!
Gravediggers are awesome- you can see the sparks fly at the end! I know the lighting is horrible but I think the way all of the flashes briefly illuminate the diggers makes it all the more spooky!(click to play)

VIDEO (Click image to play)













Being at the front is really cool! It feels like the dancers and entertainers are performing just for you! Sorry ladies, I was not quick enough to snag video of the thrusting Cowboys in their tight pants.
(love this one! Ha ha!)




Here come the “bad” guys!




Pluto and Goofy dole out the treats!










What a wonderful parade! So glad we took the time to watch it! As the crowds slowly dispersed we hit the Firefly Ray’s ToT station in LS, then headed with probably a lot of the crowd to the Haunted Mansion. The wait was only about 5 mins, The ghost sitting outside was quite funny!




After we exited the Haunted Mansion we ran into the “Dead” Dapper Dans and stayed to be serenaded for a couple of songs.




Then I was finally able to meet the first of our cruise meet buddies- Vikki (figmentnnemo) and her friend Jen at the Trading Post. After a quick chat and delivering her lanyards (more on those later), we headed our separate ways to Trick or Treat. Our goal was to hit all the candy stops in Frontierland and Adventureland and then exit out into the hub for Hallowishes. We really had to move to get it done.

***Continued in Part 2***

[nenner1]

***Continued from Above***


As we were going through the Splash Mountain ToT trail, I got a text from my girl Ellen (podsnel). She was also in the hub for Hallowishes and we booked it to get through the Pirates ToT stop and Hakunka Ma-TREAT-a ToT stop and over there to try and meet up with her. We made good time through Adventureland, but try as we might to move our way through the hub to the Rose Garden where she was at, it wasn’t to be. Crowds were thigh to thigh thick in the hub and we got about halfway through when the lights went out and Hallowishes started. As disappointed as I was to not make it over to her, we did end up in a great (if crowded) spot for viewing.

Hallowishes was spectacular!








As you can see here, Sarah really enjoyed it!!!



After the fireworks, we continued to try and meet with Ellen and her family but they had moved along by then. Right by the castle though we ran into fellow cruisers Janice and Linda, which was a nice surprise! We didn’t expect to see them at MNSSHP! Following that , we moseyed on through Toontown for more treats. We went through the ToT stop at Minnie’s Country House. I probably should be ashamed to admit that was the first time any of us had ever been inside. (And it will likely be the last as the Fantasyland Project moves forward to suck up Toontown as we know it). After that, with no lines on Barnstormer, we decided to see if Sarah could ride. She was tall enough but we didn’t know if they would let her since she wasn’t yet 3 (and was easily identifiable as such since we had paid no admission for her, she had no wristband). Luckily we had no issues with them allowing her to board and we were thrilled that she was not scared, but loved the “choo-choo!” She yelled “Yay! Choo-Choo! Yay!” throughout!

First roller coaster ride!



Although Sarah would have enjoyed riding Barnstormer over and over, we still had quite a bit of ground to cover. Next stop (or not really a stop) was the Alice and Mad Hatter’s Trick or Treat Trail.






Along the pathway from Toontown to Tomorrowland there were several candy barrels to stop at and fill our bags, which were now quite full. So full, in fact the handles on my bag and Savannah’s bag had broken and we had to double up bags.

Of course when the ToT trail emptied out right at Space Mountain, temptation of the 5 minute line (no line, really) was too much to resist. Both Ron and I took turns riding with the kids. This was the first time we got to experience the new techno/rave meets Dance Fever soundtrack. I, for one, am not a fan. Half the time you couldn’t hear it, and when you could for me it just didn’t have a futuristic or space feel. I would have much preferred more star tunnel music, even if they had amped that up a bit it would be better than what it is now, but I digress. It is still as great of a ride as ever!

After that, and speaking of raves, we spilled out right into Stitch’s Dance Party. At first I didn’t want to stop by, but Goofy, Pluto, Stitch and Chip & Dale were out dancing, which is of course an instant kid magnet. Not being immune, mine were drawn right into the force field.








As it turns out though, they had a blast! They danced and hula hooped and generally ran around like banshees. The funniest thing had to be when Brendan tried to give Goofy a high five and got dissed! LOL! (I’m sure it was due to Goofy’s limited peripheral vision) check it out:

VIDEO (click image to play)




Sarah made this “Hidden Mickey” all on her own and with no prompting from us:




When we could finally drag the kids away from the dance party, we took a spin on the PeopleMover (formerly TTA) and Buzz.






Even more candy!!! The bags are really full at this point!





It was already 10 minutes to midnight! We did manage to succeed at our goal to hit all of the candy stops, of course the parade and fireworks, and we got a whole lot of rides done too. Our feet were aching, our candy bags bulging, and this trip was off to one heck of a start!




Not soon enough, indeed!






Oh but we aren’t done yet, right after you exit the turnstiles there are more candy barrels! My absolute favorite candy they handed out during MNSSHP was found only here- little Werthers. But they weren’t hard candies. They were yummy soft caramels and chocolate covered caramels. So delish!
All three kids fell asleep on the way back to the hotel. We collapsed into bed as soon as we arrived back at 1:30 AM because we had a full fun day in Cape Canaveral/Cocoa Beach the next day!



PS: here is the final candy shot! This is really a lot of candy. Several pounds for sure!!! (And yes, we had eaten quite a bit of it while still in the park!)!




Coming Next: Cocoa Loco

[podsnel]

Ok- I think most of the night I must have been steps away from you- when you were meeting Janice I was right in the hub, and I knew you were there, too, but I couldn't find you!! Oh well...we made up for it later, i guess!

Love Savannah's pic dancing- excellent with the hula hoop! And I agree- the Grave Diggers are a huge highlight- I just heard on the podcast that they don't have them in DL's parade. Too bad for them!

Great Hallowishes pics! Sometimes it's good to get stuck, I guess!

Oh, and I wish someone did have a sail away vid- being that we MISSED sailaway, due to our little jaunt to the infirmary at the beginning of the cruise...

[anewmac]

ohh my that was a lot of candy! Maybe next yr we will do this instead of trick or treating around the hood!

Looks like a fun time! loveing all the videos too

Oh and ya we have Dole Whips here ive just never got one LOL we have MNSSHP too i just meant i never do the appriviations correct LMAO (you know me and my spelling LOL)

[myelton01]

Ok, I think you have officially decided it for me. We are going to MNSSHP next year even if DH doesn't want to! It looks like such fun and I KNOW he would love it if he would just give it a chance. We also have a beach day planned for Saturday before our cruise leaves, so I can't wait to see how this day went for you!

I have to admit, I thought of you and your Mickey Tie Dyes today as my girlfriend and I were shopping at Jo Ann Fabric. We almost got the dye to make ours, but opted out since my DS is growing like a weed and I'm not sure what size he will be in by next year.

Thanks for the latest update! I check in every day to see if you, fastpacks or sarge have written any more.

[Cheryl726]

Great update! Your night at MNSSHP looks great! I was wondering the time of your parade pics and pics after, then realized what you wrote, you're lucky that your kids seem to do well, my younger DS gets tired easy and is not fond of fireworks!

Looking forward to reading more!

[nenner1]

Originally Posted by podsnel

Ok- I think most of the night I must have been steps away from you- when you were meeting Janice I was right in the hub, and I knew you were there, too, but I couldn't find you!! Oh well...we made up for it later, i guess!

Thats for sure!!! Hee hee!

Love Savannah's pic dancing- excellent with the hula hoop! And I agree- the Grave Diggers are a huge highlight- I just heard on the podcast that they don't have them in DL's parade. Too bad for them!

Great Hallowishes pics! Sometimes it's good to get stuck, I guess!

Ha! Yeah we ended up dead center. But the pic you sent me on my phone seemed to almost have the same perspective so you couldnt have been too far away! So close, but yet so far....

Oh, and I wish someone did have a sail away vid- being that we MISSED sailaway, due to our little jaunt to the infirmary at the beginning of the cruise...

OH YEA! I totally forgot about that!!!

Originally Posted by anewmac

ohh my that was a lot of candy! Maybe next yr we will do this instead of trick or treating around the hood!

Well it is more expensive but a lot more fun!

Looks like a fun time! loveing all the videos too

Oh and ya we have Dole Whips here ive just never got one LOL we have MNSSHP too i just meant i never do the appriviations correct LMAO (you know me and my spelling LOL)

O I know!

Originally Posted by myelton01

Ok, I think you have officially decided it for me. We are going to MNSSHP next year even if DH doesn't want to! It looks like such fun and I KNOW he would love it if he would just give it a chance. We also have a beach day planned for Saturday before our cruise leaves, so I can't wait to see how this day went for you!

Well you probably won't be disappointed. We did go to the beach! I've got some great pics!!!

I have to admit, I thought of you and your Mickey Tie Dyes today as my girlfriend and I were shopping at Jo Ann Fabric. We almost got the dye to make ours, but opted out since my DS is growing like a weed and I'm not sure what size he will be in by next year.

I know what you mean-it's best to wait! I was just looking back at some pics and I can't believe how fast they grow!!!!

Thanks for the latest update! I check in every day to see if you, fastpacks or sarge have written any more.

Yeah between the three of us- and hopefully Ellen will chime in too when she fininshes the latest Dis Moms epic on the WDW TR boards-it will be almost like you were onboard with all of us!

Originally Posted by Cheryl726

Great update! Your night at MNSSHP looks great! I was wondering the time of your parade pics and pics after, then realized what you wrote, you're lucky that your kids seem to do well, my younger DS gets tired easy and is not fond of fireworks!

Looking forward to reading more!

Thanks so much for reading!! Yes, this night things went well. I think because there was so much excitement and so much to see and do that Sarah did not get too overtired (or at least did not realize it) on this night. It did become a problem on the boat, however.