Trip Report- MNSSHP and F&W... FINALLY

[whitfamily]

Ok, so I finally sat down and wrote out a trip report from our last trip to the World for MNSSHP and Epcot F&W on my blog. Thought I'd post it her as well. I am sure my wife will chime in and add more information along the way!
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So yet again we made a trip down to Walt Disney World. The main focus of the trip was to take the boys to Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party, but the break from the hectic work and school schedule was nice.
We arrived on Thursday October 30th and spent two nights at Port Orleans- Riverside using our Annual Passholder discount. The offer was actually very good as the cost ended up being less than any of the hotels in town. We had always wanted to stay at Port Orleans, and for a Moderate Resort found it to be a great place. Unfortunately many of the pool features were shut down, so that was a little disappointing.

We spent our first day relaxing before my wife's parents arrived on Saturday to join us. We bounced around Animal Kingdom for a while and got to ride Expedition Everest several times. We also spent time doing the Maharajah Jungle Trek, both of the boys loved seeing the animals. The characters were also out in full force at Camp Minnie and Mickey dressed in their Halloween attire. The rest of the day we spent around Port Orleans and caught a showing of "Wishes" at the Magic Kingdom.

Saturday was a busy day. We woke up early and did the good ole hotel swap, moving over to our DVC room at Animal Kingdom Villas. We had to wait a few hours to get our room, but it gave us enough time to see the animals and grab a bite to eat. Around 1pm our room was ready for check-in, a one-bedroom "value" room. For those unfamiliar with DVC, that just meant our room was slightly smaller than the normal one bedrooms. We didn't notice a big difference and loved our view of the pool area at Jambo House.

That evening was Halloween. So, after a quick nap the boys threw on their costumes and we headed out to the Magic Kingdom for a good time.

Since this was a special ticketed event the park crowd was relatively small. The event included trick-or-treating for the kids, a special show featuring the Disney villains, the "Hall-o-wishes" firework display and the "Boo-to-You" parade. The entire night was a great time. Cast Members seemed a bit stingy on candy and those lines could be long at times. However, the parade was great and I personally think the "Hall-o-Wishes" show is the best Disney firework display I've ever seen! I'd recommend going to anyone, but if you can avoid Halloween night you should.


The next day we hit the Epcot Food and Wind Festival. My In-laws seemed to enjoy this event. They took in a wine tasting seminar and grabbed a few glasses of wine from the international vendors all over the park. I of course hit the beer tent area and had a good German brew. For the kid's we took them to the Nemo area for the first time on top of the normal rides we hit. Both of them loved the Crush the Turtle show. I was amazed at how he interacts with the kids in the audience and was left, as always, wondering how Disney does it.

That evening we had dinner at Chef Mickey's. The food was amazing, especially for a buffet. It also seemed like a new character was coming by to visit our kids every 10 minutes or so. Both of them absolutely loved the experience, especially our two-year old who kept jumping up and down every time a monorail car passed through the Contemporary. After dinner we took advantage of the Extra Magic Hours and hit Hollywood Studios... they place was dead!

Monday was a relaxing day. Did Animal Kingdom and Magic Kingdom again. There were absolutely no crowds, so we didn't have to wait for any rides. We also carved out some time to head back to the hotel and let the boys do the water slides.

All-in-all the trip was great. The halloween party was a great experience and the vacation came at just the right time for me. Our next event to check off is the Christmas party, but that may have to wait a few years.
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[gojoe]

Thanks for the post. For some reason I find myself smiling as I read trip report. Well the good ones anyways. Thanks again for the smiles.