All We Want Is To Spend Halloween With Mickey! w/MiniTR Oahu Makapu'u Lighthouse 9/13

[DisneyKid4Life]

It's amazing how seeing a little one in a ride line like ToT can make a person feel silly for being scared. Good on him for conquering the Tower, even if it did leave him a little shaken. He's braver than I would have been.

I agree about Monsters Inc, but Rozz at the end sure is a treat.

 

[khaleesi]

I'm dizzy just reading about all those spinny rides. I. Don't. Spin!

I have never been on Aladdin's carpet ride or the teacups. And as an adult I have never gone on Dumbo. It's entirely possible I went when I was a child and not smart enough to know better. On our family trip, I was dragged on Astro-Orbiter and had serious concerns that I would NOT be okay!

I'm so excited for you that your DD enjoyed the coaster!!!! My issue with coasters is not so much fear of the ride itself but they way they make me feel.

I love that the other people on the ride told you what a trooper your DS was on ToT!! And look at how inspiring he is. Hehe.

Love the parade pictures!

AND... Star Wars costumes!

 

[DaveinFallsChurch]

Great update - the parade looks really fun!

The characters in the Monsters Inc ride look really well done, but definitely appear to be kinda static which is a disappointment

Great job by your son putting on a brave face and making it through ToT. We had a very similar experience our trip and I made FP+ for it, but my daughter just wouldn't go on it. She fully admits it is for the ghost part and not the dropping - that part she would enjoy. Granted we might not have been able to go on anyway due to dinner running so long (but I am getting way ahead in my TR at this point). Still kind of a bummer as, like you, ToT is one of my favorite rides - but you gotta do for your kids what you have to do

Yeah, sometimes just have to roll with it. We won't be visiting DHS in October since it's a short MNSSHP trip so will have to wait until next May before I get on ToT. Since I'm taking the kids by myself I really hope DD changes her mind about the attraction and decides to go on it. Otherwise, I may once again have to skip it.

It's amazing how seeing a little one in a ride line like ToT can make a person feel silly for being scared. Good on him for conquering the Tower, even if it did leave him a little shaken. He's braver than I would have been.

I agree about Monsters Inc, but Rozz at the end sure is a treat.

He's definitely braver than I was at his age or even when I was DD's age.

Oh yeah, totally forgot to mention Roz at the end! Probably because I failed to get photo of her?

I'm dizzy just reading about all those spinny rides. I. Don't. Spin!

I have never been on Aladdin's carpet ride or the teacups. And as an adult I have never gone on Dumbo. It's entirely possible I went when I was a child and not smart enough to know better. On our family trip, I was dragged on Astro-Orbiter and had serious concerns that I would NOT be okay!

I'm so excited for you that your DD enjoyed the coaster!!!! My issue with coasters is not so much fear of the ride itself but they way they make me feel.

I love that the other people on the ride told you what a trooper your DS was on ToT!! And look at how inspiring he is. Hehe.

Love the parade pictures!

AND... Star Wars costumes!

Oh I'm so excited about the Star Wars costumes! I posted a photo of the kids wearing them today on my FB page! They look pretty decent. Now I have to find something I could wear.

 

[DaveinFallsChurch]

As promised, here's the last installation of our DCA day ending with World of Color!

As the parade ended I received a text from Brenda (emmysmommy). We had made plans to have dinner together at Carthay Circle. She and Emily made it to Carthay’s so we picked up our stroller and made our way over there. It was so good to finally meet them! I think Brenda and I had been following each other’s TR for over a year and a half so it was a lot of fun to talk with her and Emily in person. Lots and lots of Disney talk ensued during dinner. DS was a little shy at first. Brenda and Emily brought gifts for the kids and myself which was extremely thoughtful of them. The kids loved every single item that was in their gift bags and enjoyed having Brenda and Emily as company. DD even declared that we should take a vacation trip with them! Good food, good company, Disney talk. A recipe for a delightful dinner! This despite DS requiring three trips to the restroom during the meal (a 4 year old trademark) and DD was starting to fade in sleepiness near the end of the meal. Of course when their scoops of ice cream came out that perked both of them right up. DS devoured his scoop then when our server came by again asked her for “another GIANT scoop, please!” The server indulged him by bringing him TWO scoops of ice cream.

After dinner we said bye to Brenda and Emily. Hopefully we’ll be able to see them again in the near future. We strolled over to Radiator Springs to get a glimpse of the night time scene, photos of which I already shared with you in the first post. The kids wanted to squeeze one last ride in so we opted for Mater’s Jamboree because, you know, I hadn’t been on a spinning ride in over 6 hours! While we were waiting in line, a couple of sweeper CMs came by and gave the kids some stickers which they loved. One of the CM’s name tag said “Mickey” as his first name so I made a comment that it was a nice name to have in these parts.

We finally bid farewell to Radiator Springs. It was time for the last event of the day. World of Color. Our Carthay Circle dinner was part of a World of Color viewing package which meant that there was a reserved section for us within the viewing area. If you’re not familiar with WoC, there is a specific viewing area along Paradise Pier for this show. Unfortunately, the space Disney carved out is not large enough to accommodate everyone in the park on a given day. So you either have to get a paper FP in the morning to secure your entry into the viewing area or you could do what we did and do a dining package that includes WoC viewing. I think you can still view parts of the show from outside of the viewing area but my understanding is that they have obstructed views and are not the most ideal and very removed from the action so you can’t get the full experience. Even with a FP ticket to enter the area, people start lining up 90-120 minutes in advance to try to get the best viewing spot within the area. The dining package patrons have their own reserved sections within the area and you may not have to line up as early but if you still want the best viewing spots people will camp out well ahead of time. I guess this is similar to the Fantasmic viewing situation in DHS only the capacity is smaller and there are no seats. It’s kind of a mess if you ask me and a source for heartburn for planners like myself.

We really didn’t think the kids would do so well with a long time of sitting around and doing nothing before WoC which was one of the reasons we decided to visit Carsland one last time before heading into WoC. We eventually arrived about 35 minutes before show time after making one final pit stop at the restrooms. As suspected, most of the good spots were gone but we still managed to find a spot at the top of a short stairway giving us an elevated vantage point. We set camp there with the kids sprawling out with their new toys and goodies that Brenda and Emily had brought them. Thank goodness for these because the kids had no problems entertaining themselves while waiting for the show to begin which gave me time to set up my tripod in an out of the way nook and get my camera ready.

Before I hit you with a barrage of photos from World of Color, I should give you my impression. I. LOVED. IT. This came as bit of a surprise to me because I was fully prepared to be “Meh” about the whole experience. Between the wait and the stress that went into finding a suitable viewing location, and the photos and Youtube videos I had seen, my expectations weren’t very high. Granted that every thing I read online raved about this show, I just didn’t think I would be wow’ed by a water projection show. The Bellagio fountains were just okay in Vegas. I’ve never been a fan of Fantasmic partly due to its over-reliance of water projections of clips from movies and I was expecting something similar. Boy, was I wrong.

I’m pretty sure a lot of you may have the same reaction to the photos I’m about to share as I did when I saw photos before the trip – looks nice but not sure if it’s worth all of that wait time. I’m going to say that the photos and videos just can’t come close to watching it in person. I think it’s the immersive nature of the show that really makes the difference and why 2 dimensional depictions just doesn’t cut it in describing what it’s like to be standing there and feeling like you’re right in the middle of all of the colors and water swirling around you. In fact, if you’re up in the very front section you indeed will get wet. It’s also probably why watching this show further removed and outside of the viewing platforms doesn’t give you the full experience as well. At one point in the middle of the show, DW and I spontaneously looked at each other (I think it was around the time the Brave segment started) and almost said at the same time “This is so amazing.” We’ve never before agreed like that over a Disney show. And the kids? They stood still the entire time. Well I ended up lifting up DS and holding him in my one arm so he could see better while my other hand clutched on to the remote shutter of my camera.

Ok, enough gushing about WoC. Here come the photos.

Introductory portion with the WoC theme song playing.





Then we move into a series of segments devoted to a Disney film. Starting off with The Little Mermaid.





I think one of the reasons why photos don't do this show justice is because the animated projections on the water are very difficult to capture on camera. Because it's still a night show, you still need a slightly longer shutter time and you end up with a bit of motion blur for the projections. Once I realized that I really limited my shots to those with minimal animation projections or those with stationary landscape projections which is why there'a s lot of scenes missing in my album. Ok, end of shop-talk





One of my favorite parts. Wall-E.





Yep, Aladdin.









There was an extended period of applause from the crowd at this point as everyone showed their appreciation for Robin Williams.



Brave.



Pocahontas......



......and Colors of the Wind.





Next up, Pirates of the Caribbean. They incorporated a lot of real fire/flame bursts during this portion which I failed to capture. Lots and lots of red/orange coloring.





Somehow I don't have any photos of the Toy Story portion. Oh well, moving on to the finale with the giant wall of colorful water.





Once the show ends, the following two scenes are maintained as guests exit the viewing area.





And with that, we capped off an unbelievable day at DCA. It was a long and jam packed day but we left the park happy and light on our feet. Well, at least until I had to return the stroller at the park gates then carry DS who had fallen asleep on my shoulder allllllll the way back to Paradise Pier Hotel – believe me my arms and legs felt like lead by then. But, we had an absolutely wonderful time and the kids made a lot of memories.

We eventually reached our hotel and got our car loaded up by 10:30pm and were on the freeways for our late night drive to San Diego. I had to keep DW awake so to make sure I wouldn’t fall asleep. The 4 hour sleep I had the night before was rapidly catching up to me once we got on I-5. We arrived in our San Diego hotel at 12:15am and everyone crashed in bed. We didn’t wake up until 9am the next morning. I’ll end the DCA portion of these mini-TR with what the first thing DD said when she woke up in our San Diego hotel.

DD: “Awww. I’m sad that we drove down here to San Diego last night”
Me: “Why?”
DD: “I would have liked to have stayed in Disneyland longer.”

Yep, she’s turning into a Disney addict like me. Of course, once we took her out to the pool and beach later that morning she changed her mind and decided coming down to San Diego was a great idea!

So that ends the DCA portion of our mini trip report! I’ve got more coming up ahead about our Oahu and San Diego stays. Probably won’t be as extensive and in detail as my DCA report was but will highlight some of our favorite experiences including: an awesome luau, beaches, beaches, and more beaches, Pearl Harbor, the San Diego Zoo and Balboa Park, and last but not least a little tour I put together for myself visiting a couple of locations on Oahu’s North Shore that were used for filming the TV show Lost.

 

[DisneyKid4Life]

So glad you met up with Brenda with the added bonus of Emily in California. I obviously don't have to tell you how amazing they are. They really do make you feel like you've known them for a lifetime. It's kind of the thing to do in Disneyland too, the prime meet and greet.

I'll tell you Dave, I kind of wish the night time shows at Disney weren't as good as they are so I could feel ok missing them. But, alas I can't. It feels like such a bad use of time to spend just finding a spot and then waiting. But as God as my witness, it is always worth it.

My feeling on WoC was identical. Lots of rave reviews, but every video I saw looked meh. What's the big deal? If there is one show where seeing it in person is critical, it's this one. Because nothing will prepare you for it. Nothing. The Pirates section (which I'm glad to hear remains) blew my socks off.

 

[LuvEeyore]

So glad you met Brenda and Em. Your world of color photos are beautiful.

 

[emmysmommy]

Hi Dave! Pardon my tardiness! I received the bat signal from Rob.

I have to say that as many times as I've been to DCA and seen WoC I have never seen it so magnificently as your photos! Just amazing. My favorite part is the Pirates segment but I'm sure that's due to the pyro effects. The entire show is so well done. I'm glad that you hung in there and enjoyed the show.

I particularly love the shot of the golden zephyr swing in motion.

Thanks again for inviting us to have dinner with you and your family. It was a special treat! You DD was adorable when she asked if we'd vacation with your family some time. Of course we'd love to as well. Too cute!

 

[afwdwfan]

Great updates. I'm glad that your DS was brave enough to try TOT... just too bad he didn't want to go again with you.

The Pixar parade looks like a really good one. I'm looking forward to seeing it. I'm glad the information from the CM didn't steer you wrong.


And World of Color. Wow. Great pictures. Sounds like a real headache. I knew they had FP, but I didn't realize how difficult it was to get in there. We might have to look into one of the dinner packages or something too. Either way I know this is definitely something we have to see!

 

[TheMaxRebo]

What a great mini-TR Dave! Awesome that you got to meet up with Brenda and Emily ... that must be very cool to just instantly being able to gush about Disney with a (in person) stranger and it not be weird

Seeing WoC is definitely on my bucket list - while your pictures are great I am sure they don't do the show justice

 

[MEK]

I have to do my comments in two parts. I worked last night and I'm still a bit sleep deprived.

Your DS really IS the man for conquering his first time on ToT! Way to GO!!!!

That Monsters Inc. ride is just too cute. I've seen pictures of it before and its something I really want to ride myself.

I love the parade. How great that you were able to see Crush and then sneak right out the back in time to get fabulous pictures. I love all your pics!

 

[MEK]

WOW! What a wonderful, busy, fun filled day.

I have heard over and over again that WOC is amazing. I enjoyed your pictures and hope to see it for myself someday.

Love that you had dinner with Brenda and Em. How lovely!

And I can't believe you drove to San Diego that evening. I guess if you had stayed at DL another night it would have been really hard to tear the kids away the next morning!

 

[DaveinFallsChurch]

So glad you met up with Brenda with the added bonus of Emily in California. I obviously don't have to tell you how amazing they are. They really do make you feel like you've known them for a lifetime. It's kind of the thing to do in Disneyland too, the prime meet and greet.

I'll tell you Dave, I kind of wish the night time shows at Disney weren't as good as they are so I could feel ok missing them. But, alas I can't. It feels like such a bad use of time to spend just finding a spot and then waiting. But as God as my witness, it is always worth it.

My feeling on WoC was identical. Lots of rave reviews, but every video I saw looked meh. What's the big deal? If there is one show where seeing it in person is critical, it's this one. Because nothing will prepare you for it. Nothing. The Pirates section (which I'm glad to hear remains) blew my socks off.

I hear ya. Carving out previous time to stake out good viewing spots for fireworks and shows can be quite stressful knowing that you could be doing other fun things instead. WoC was definitely worth it. Boo to You, Wishes, and Hallowishes are all worth it too. Beyond that? Maybe not so much. But I would like to try to watch Festival of the Lion King from the first row seats one of these days. Hmmm, maybe I should add that to my October wish list.

Yes, it was wonderful getting to spend time with Brenda and Emily! Hoping to see them again soon.

So glad you met Brenda and Em. Your world of color photos are beautiful.

Thank you!

Hi Dave! Pardon my tardiness! I received the bat signal from Rob.

I have to say that as many times as I've been to DCA and seen WoC I have never seen it so magnificently as your photos! Just amazing. My favorite part is the Pirates segment but I'm sure that's due to the pyro effects. The entire show is so well done. I'm glad that you hung in there and enjoyed the show.

I particularly love the shot of the golden zephyr swing in motion.

Thanks again for inviting us to have dinner with you and your family. It was a special treat! You DD was adorable when she asked if we'd vacation with your family some time. Of course we'd love to as well. Too cute!

You sure it wasn't the Mickey-Ears-Signal?

Thanks again for the kind words about the pictures! The Golden Zephyr photo gives me a chuckle every time I look at it because the woman sitting in the back row appears as though she's giving me the look "Why are you taking our picture?" Either that or she's feeling a bit queasy.

Hope we get to see each other soon! Maybe in WDW? I may also be visiting San Diego in May for a conference and if I do you can bet there will be a side trip up to DLR

Great updates. I'm glad that your DS was brave enough to try TOT... just too bad he didn't want to go again with you.

The Pixar parade looks like a really good one. I'm looking forward to seeing it. I'm glad the information from the CM didn't steer you wrong.

And World of Color. Wow. Great pictures. Sounds like a real headache. I knew they had FP, but I didn't realize how difficult it was to get in there. We might have to look into one of the dinner packages or something too. Either way I know this is definitely something we have to see!

Had some really good info and tips from the CMs on this trip. Can't say that's been the norm from our previous Disney trips.

I would definitely recommend the dining package for WoC. They had a separate viewing area for the Carthay package and another one for Ariel's Grotto/Trattoria. We did the Carthay package and our viewing area looked pretty solid from any location. Don't know about Ariel's/Trattoria viewing area. In the general FP viewing areas, I can definitely see certain spots being not as ideal. But yes, absolutely worth the wait! And I'm not the usual type to stake out spots for show viewing so far in advance.

What a great mini-TR Dave! Awesome that you got to meet up with Brenda and Emily ... that must be very cool to just instantly being able to gush about Disney with a (in person) stranger and it not be weird

Seeing WoC is definitely on my bucket list - while your pictures are great I am sure they don't do the show justice

It was so much fun with them. Yep, instantly start gabbing about Disney with someone meeting for the first time. Only on DIS

I have to do my comments in two parts. I worked last night and I'm still a bit sleep deprived.

Your DS really IS the man for conquering his first time on ToT! Way to GO!!!!

That Monsters Inc. ride is just too cute. I've seen pictures of it before and its something I really want to ride myself.

I love the parade. How great that you were able to see Crush and then sneak right out the back in time to get fabulous pictures. I love all your pics!

That parade was so photogenic! I'm going to guess based on what I've seen so far that the new Festival of Fantasy parade is going to be just as fun to photograph in October.

WOW! What a wonderful, busy, fun filled day.

I have heard over and over again that WOC is amazing. I enjoyed your pictures and hope to see it for myself someday.

Love that you had dinner with Brenda and Em. How lovely!

And I can't believe you drove to San Diego that evening. I guess if you had stayed at DL another night it would have been really hard to tear the kids away the next morning!

That was exactly my reason for driving down that night! It wasn't so much for the kids but for me. I knew that if I woke up the next morning at Paradise Pier Hotel I would have a hard time not going to Disneyland.

 

[DaveinFallsChurch]

I thought I would post a few mini-TR posts about the rest of our amazing summer vacation trip. We’re now just under 50 days to go for our October Halloween weekend in Disney and I need to relive some of the awesome moments in Oahu and San Diego to get me through the craziness that is work.

As I was planning out my itinerary, I spent some time researching spots in Oahu that would be a great to watch and photograph the sunrise. The North Shore where we stayed for the first three nights didn’t afford much ideal spots because, well, we were facing north. So I focused my search that were relatively close by Kahala Resort which is where we stayed the second half our visit to Oahu. One of the locations that caught my eye the Makapu’u Lighthouse Trail.

A lot of research went into mapping out my plans which worked out perfectly in the end. I woke up at 4am. My wife and kids were still sound asleep and they were fine making this crazy outing by myself so early in the morning. As I left the comforts of the well lit streets of Honolulu and entered the curvy dark roads along the southeastern coast and cliffs of Oahu, I got a little anxious at the unfamiliarity and took the turns slow. Finally I reached the entrance of the access road to the parking lot of Makapu’u Lighthouse Trail where the gates were down. I found out ahead of time that the parking lot doesn’t open until 7am so I was prepared. I parked our rental minivan along the side of the road. There’s an alcove right by the gates that provided plenty of room to park and tuck my vehicle in enough that I wasn’t too worried about oncoming traffic accidently clipping my rental.

I got out of the car and immediately was struck by the beautifully star-studded sky. Being a city dweller, I rarely get to see such awesome views of the night time sky. No light pollution here. In fact, I was so distracted by the sky and the stars that I hadn’t noticed the other vehicle that was parked right by the gate and its occupant cloaked in the darkness that when she said a friendly hello as I walked by I nearly jumped in surprise. If I ever get another chance at this, I would like to perhaps arrive another 30 minutes earlier to see if I can capture the stars at the top of the trail.

It was about a 30 minute trek up the paved trail with mild to moderate steepness. Overall, it was a fairly easy hike especially if you take things slow and take breaks along the way. I made a non-stop trek up there because I wanted to get up there at least 30 minutes before sunrise time so that I could catch some of the dawn colors of the sky. Most of my hike was done in pitch darkness and I was thankful for downloading a flashlight app on my smartphone the night before, another benefit of having researched this. I am absolutely sure that this trek would have been a lot more difficult and nerve wrecking without a light.

As the light of dawn slowly crept across the sky I finally arrived at the viewing platform by the top of the trail and surprised to find a group of tourists already there sitting and waiting patiently. Fortunately there was still an unoccupied corner on the platform where I set up my tripod with a narrow footprint and got my camera ready. I enjoyed the serenity of the moment. For the next 20 minutes I just stared out into the horizon watching the slow changes in the colors of they sky with nothing but ocean wave sounds filling my ears. As more light became available it was apparent that there was a layer of clouds on the horizon which would obscure the sun during the first few minutes of its ascent. There were enough breaks in the clouds that I kept waiting for the sun to peak out between them. About 10 minutes after sunrise, it did and I was able to capture it on camera.

An absolutely gorgeous and stunning scene. Full size image is available on my webpage at: http://goo.gl/IOISNY

 

[khaleesi]

Yay for getting to meet Brenda and Em! Sounds like you all had a great time!

The pictures from World of Color look incredible!!! I think I've read that WoC was at least part of the inspiration for the Color Run. Sounds like something I was absolutely love.

But... as much as I love all things Disney... THIS picture makes me weak in the knees.

This is STUNNING. I love lighthouses... I love water... and I love sunrises. I'm in total awe. WELL DONE!!!! (As opposed to my editing skills... not sure what I messed up to get this to quote wrong. Weird.)

 

[DaveinFallsChurch]

Yay for getting to meet Brenda and Em! Sounds like you all had a great time!

The pictures from World of Color look incredible!!! I think I've read that WoC was at least part of the inspiration for the Color Run. Sounds like something I was absolutely love.

But... as much as I love all things Disney... THIS picture makes me weak in the knees.

This is STUNNING. I love lighthouses... I love water... and I love sunrises. I'm in total awe. WELL DONE!!!! (As opposed to my editing skills... not sure what I messed up to get this to quote wrong. Weird.)

Thank you so much! It was a beautiful sight and was well worth the trek up the trail!

And I'm certain that you will enjoy World of Color!

 

[LB1122]

What a fun fun a quick trip to Disneyland...super jealous as I have not been since highschool

So super close to your October trip (as are we not that I am counting or anything). I have heard that wait times for Anna & Elsa at the party are not even close to the day time so hoping that si true as we are bringing a mini Elsa so this is a must wait line for us

As always amazing photos..love the Cars at night ones

 

[TheMaxRebo]

What an absolutely beautiful photo Dave! I love how it just shows the vastness of the world (almost feels like you can see the curvature of the Earth on the horizon).

I also love the juxtaposition of the Sun with the lighthouse - almost like God is saying "You call that a light?"

Sounds like a nice little adventure too - and having a little quiet time/solitude before taking in such a breathtaking moment probably only enhanced it.

 

[afwdwfan]

Great picture! It looks like the payoff was well worth the research and getting up at 4am.

 

[princess_momma]

Your pictures never fail to take my breath away! The ones from World of Color and Hawaii are just spectacular! You are a wonderful artist. Thank you for sharing your pictures with us!

 

[MEK]

Oh wow! That is a gorgeous picture! The perspective is just so beautiful!