Another Quick Trip Just to make sure (new Jan 5)

[connorsmom911]

The Pre-trip chapter…

Cast

Tracey – me, turning 35 on the trip, Disney lover
::cop: Derek – dh, 30, not so much of a Disney lover, but he tries, and I’m slowly converting him
Connor – ds, 3, not coming on this trip (yeehaw, just the grown-ups!!!)

So, here we are again. Some of you may recall my first trip report (see the link in my signature) where a quick Disney trip in April 2006 saved our marriage. We had some bumps in the road after we got home, but things were running along rather smoothly, and we were basking in our newly renewed love for eachother and our family.

But of course being me, and being a total Disney nut, it didn’t take long before I was in Disney withdrawal and wanting to go back. After all, the trip in April had only been 3 nights, it was rushed. And then there was those park hoppers burning a hole in our pockets…hmmmm. The best possible thing I did when planning the last trip was purchase 10 day non-expiring hopper passes with the waterpark plusses. It was a fairly good deal, as the hopper and plusses options were a free add-on with the package deal in April. I knew we would only use 3 days of the passes, and the remaining days would be saved for the next trip, planned for 2010, our 10th anniversary. That was always the plan, we had decided on our honeymoon in 2000 at CBR that we would travel to the world every 5 years. Well, the plan deviated a bit when we hijacked my sister’s nursing convention at CSR in late 2004, but that was close enough to 2005. The trip in April was not planned, but was a wonderful spur of the moment vacation that we desperately needed. Looking back on it, even after the credit card bills arrived, I wouldn’t trade it for the world.

Honey? My 35th birthday is coming up. Don’t you think it would be great to take me away, just the two of us? Yes we don’t have the cash, yes we don’t have any vacation time left from work, yes I haven’t even asked my mom yet if Connor can stay with them.
Fresh off the natural high of vacation, dh was up for going anywhere except Disney. His view is that there are so many other places in the world to see, why do we always have to go back to Disney. But it’s my birthday sweetie, honey, lovie…boy, I really know how to lay it on thick. Fine, look into it and give me a dollar figure. My goodness, he didn’t say no, I better strike while the iron is hot. So off to the computer I go, DIS boards here I come!

Now here was the dilemma…the trip needed to be short and cheap. I grabbed the calendar and looked at the week before my birthday. If we timed it right, I would only have to take off 2 nights and dh would have to take off a night and a day. Doable as we’ve both worked a lot of overtime and have time in the books to take the time. Luckily we both have jobs where that is usually an option. My mom agreed to look after Connor for the week. He’d be in daycare during the day anyway, and it was only 4 nights. She just wasn’t going to mention it to my dad. We’ve always had this little philosophy with the men in the family…we don’t outright lie or anything, but sometimes the less they know, the better (hehe). We definitely can’t do a deluxe resort, and I’m not really crazy about doing a value, but I priced out Pop Century and put a hold on a room. Then just for kicks I wandered over to the DVC board and glanced at the rent/trade board. I posted just for the heck of it to see what would happen. I got several replies within a few days, and even though I have read all the tips and pointers about renting, I e-mailed one poster in particular even though she only had 3 posts. I’ll admit, price was the kicker. 3 nights in a studio at OKW would be less than the room at Pop! OMG!

Then it was all about the details. This person had never rented before, they had always used up all their points, but this year they had a few points left over. I asked about a contract, she said it wasn’t necessary, she would make the reservation during a conference call and I’d send a deposit, then the remainder 45 days out. We exchanged e-mails back and forth, told eachother about our families etc. while I was waiting for dh to confirm he could get the time off work. By the time I finally called her to make the reservation, I felt comfortable with her and I think she felt comfortable with me. The reservation conference call went smoothly except that our last night there was no availability so we were put on a waiting list. I made a back-up reservation at Pop just in case, but I was fairly confident that the 3rd night would come through. This was early summer, and the trip was planned for the end of October. We also added the dining plan. I sent off a money order for our deposit and a few weeks later our confirmation showed up in the mail.

I ordered our tickets for MNSSHP for our first night (our first time!!), made ADR’s for Boma for dinner, Kona for breakfast and my birthday lunch at Le Cellier. As soon as the flights were released on Southwest, I booked them at a decent price, but over the next few months, I watched the dings faithfully, cancelled and rebooked and ended up saving $118 on the airfare. Hmmm, another trip? Ok, I’m getting ahead of myself.

We waited to see whether our 3rd night would come through. The member we rented from was heading to the world on their huge family reunion trip at the end of July, so she sent a message to another family member to contact me while they were gone if it came through. We didn’t hear anything while they were gone, but then I got a quick e-mail from her on their layover on the way home that yes indeed our night had come through. Things were coming together perfectly, and by this time, dh was actually getting excited. We went through our plans for what to do each day, and added our requisite night before the flight in Buffalo. Then I noticed on the DIS Canadian boards that one of our local tv stations was going to be broadcasting from WDW while we were there and were looking for extras to be in the morning broadcast. I thought this would be cool, and dh agreed so I sent off an e-mail, and they sent us back an itinerary. They would pick us up at our resort on 2 of the mornings at 6:30am. Ouch! Didn’t really like that, but hey, I’m a DIS-er and I was planning to be at the parks at opening anyway, so this would just be a little earlier right? And we wouldn’t need to worry about driving and parking and all that. I debated cancelling the rental car from Alamo and just taking Magical Express, but because we were planning to eat at a few resorts, it just seemed easier with the car. Boy that last trip when we rented a car for the first time really jaded us. I don’t think I’ll ever totally rely on Disney transport again. I’ve been spoiled.

So with all the planning in place, we counted down the days to the trip, our first real getaway as a couple since Connor was born. We decided not to tell him we were going to “Mickey’s House” without him, since he had been talking about it and asking to go back. We just said we were going on a plane. Once we had the confirmation that we were going to be on Breakfast Television, we told my mom to let him watch it while we were gone and he would find out that way. Hopefully he wouldn’t hate us forever.

Up next…on our way to Buffalo and it’s all about the Pringles.

 

[Disney owl]

Great start

 

[aGoofyMom]

See what happens when they split us up at work?!?!?!
The start has been posted for days & I didn't know, and I haven't been able to ask about it on shift.
Ok you were going to do this last night so I expect more tonight. At least to hold me over until after the holidays!

Great start bud!

 

[scrap4u]

Great start! Can't wait to read more!

 

[connorsmom911]

Dh started to get really excited about our trip a few days before, while it was sinking in to me that we were leaving Connor for the very first extended length of time. I know I had nothing to worry about because he was staying at my parents, and my mom had looked after Connor for a year when I went back to work. They live really close by and Connor has a wonderful relationship with them. Plus my sister is a nurse and is our power of attorney and Connor’s guardian should anything tragic happen to us. But still, I’m sure every parent goes through this the first time they travel without the kids.

Dh was supposed to work nights before we left, but decided to take some out of his bank and come home at midnight so he wouldn’t be so tired and we could leave earlier for Buffalo. Boy, for someone who was sick of going to Disney, he was sure becoming an eager beaver!! I had packed all the suitcases after Connor went to bed, including our matching “Our first MNSSHP” t-shirts (that dh was oh so excited to wear…NOT!) so everything was ready to go at the door for the next morning. We all got up, showered and packed up the car, took Connor to daycare and gave him extra hugs. All his teachers were in on our trip and were great at reassuring us that everything would be fine. So I tried not to cry, gave Connor one last squeeze and we got in the car. Off to Buffalo.

This was by far one of the best parts of the trip. It takes us just over 2 hours to drive from home to Buffalo, crossing at Fort Erie. We talked and laughed and planned and reminisced, and laughed some more. This was something that was sorely lacking in our marriage up until our last trip. We laugh more now and it really does make a difference. We had talked about adding another member to our family and had been trying for a few months, no pressure, just kinda seeing what would happen. We had problems getting pregnant with Connor and had started going the infertility route, had a month with drugs before we got pregnant on our own with him. This time around I knew it would take a while, but I didn’t want to go through the stress of the testing and constant monitoring again. We talked a lot about this on the way to Buffalo, what our family might be like, about taking two kids to Disney…the weather was sunny, beautiful, and the drive was just awesome.

It took a while to cross the border because there seemed to be quite a lot of lines and customs officers were checking a lot of cars, having people open trunks and such, but when we finally pulled up it was smooth sailing. The customs guy just asked where we were headed and for how long, then waved us through. Our plan was to do some shopping at Walden Galleria, Borders and Target. I had a few lists of Christmas gifts to get and we just wanted to have a leisurely day. Again it was perfect. Being a Monday, the mall was deserted and we got through it pretty quickly, buying some clothes for Connor, some bath stuff for me, jeans for dh and some Christmas gifts, but we didn’t go overboard. We actually got out of the Disney store without spending a dime!!

After the mall, we decided to venture to Target to pick up the Pringles. Yes, we have Pringles in Canada, but there are flavours that we don’t have. For instance, on the trip in April, we fell in love with Sweet Thai Chili and Loaded Baked Potato, the latter dh enjoyed so much that he brought back a few cans to share with the guys at work. Well, on this trip, he actually had orders! So we needed to fill the orders, preferably in Buffalo so we could leave them in the car and they wouldn’t take up valuable luggage space. At Target, we toured the store and got the items on my list, but alas, no Loaded Baked Potato Pringles. Never fear, my mom and sister had just been here last week and got some at Walmart down the road, so off we go…only to find one can on the shelf, ONE! I told dh to ask someone if they had more in the back, but again, no. So he bought his ONE can of Pringles. By this point, we are both starting to get hungry, so I voted to take a break from shopping and get some supper. My obvious pick was Olive Garden. We used to have Olive Garden in Canada, and my whole family were big connoisseurs, even though the closest location for us was a 45 minute drive. So when they closed down all the locations in Canada, it became an even more special treat to eat there when we were in the US. This time was no exception. A little wine, a great meal and I was ready to hit Borders across the street. Dh was still stressing about the Pringles, so much that he even asked the waitress where another grocery store was. I was trying not to laugh, but to appease dh, I told him to drop me off at Borders and he could try K-Mart next door. I had a pretty long list for Borders, plus who doesn’t love a bookstore, so I was planning to spend some time in here. No sooner had I picked up the first book on my list, when dh shows up empty-handed…no Pringles. Now this is really starting to get comical. I was being pressured to finish up my shopping, so no usual browsing for me, but after such a wonderful day, I was ok with going along with the new plan. With directions in hand, we headed up the road to another grocery store, where yet again, no Loaded Baked Potato Pringles. Another Target store yielded nothing again. Now it was starting to get late and we had an early morning flight, so I stared longingly at dh and he relented. No Pringles in Buffalo.

At least we weren’t too far now from the hotel, so we called it a night and checked into the Sleep Inn next to the airport, not our usual pick, but I had read rave reviews on the DIS boards and was really looking forward to the “make your own waffles” offered at breakfast in the morning, starting at 4:30, earlier than most hotels. No airport food for us this time!! And a king size bed…what could be more perfect! The shower was kind of interesting…big enough for 2, so we had to try it out! We ended up having a fairly early night and a pretty good sleep. The waffles were great, and it was nice to see a lot of airline employees eating breakfast there too. If a hotel is good enough for them, it’s probably a good sign of good value. I would recommend this hotel to anyone travelling out of Buffalo. We checked out and headed over to the airport, parking in Long Term and took the little shuttle bus up to the terminal, checked our bags and then headed over to the security line. Wow, we had never seen anything like this at Buffalo! It was packed, lined up right back to the check-in counters, and moving really slowly. We saw some people trying to politely cut the line because they were going to miss their flight. People were very accommodating, because the TSA doesn’t care if you miss your flight, they have to do their job. I think most people made it, and we didn’t have long to wait at the gate before our boarding started either. I made for a very quick morning, and soon we were on our way to Orlando.

Up next…we manage to get out of the airport without the meltdown, but it doesn’t take long.

 

[Cass]

Loved reading all about it

 

[Backstage_Gal]

Hi Tracey, great to see you back. Loved your last trip report1

Hope all went well!

 

[connorsmom911]

I guess I better get another instalment up here. Dh informed me last night that he has signed up with his own screen name on the DIS and is about to have his say on the trip report that I’m writing. Apparently I’m not quite remembering things accurately. This should be interesting…

So where was I? Ah yes, the arrival.

I love flying SW, as many of you gathered from the last trip report. I’m sure one of these days we will get stuck with a less than perfect flight, but so far we are 8 for 8. They are quick, efficient, and even early on a number of our flights! This time was no exception and we were a few minutes early into Orlando. Then it was just the unbelievably long wait for the luggage to arrive. Once all our luggage was gathered we headed out to the rental car area. Now if you recall our last trip, this is where things got ugly. Not this time! I learned my lesson! I not only got a pretty decent deal when I booked online, but I also checked-in online to bypass the line-ups. Dh wasn’t so sure about this as we passed the rental desk and headed out to the parking garage, but again I just gave him that look…you know the one…the “honey, when are you going to realize that I am the goddess of all things Disney, that I am the uber-planner?” He just shrugged and gave me the “I’ll believe it when I see it” look in return. But when we got to the parking lot, picked out our SUV, packed all the luggage in, drove to the check-out and sailed right thru with a quick check of id’s, he did smile. I think he may have even mumbled something along the lines of “Ok, ok, you did good”.
OMG, somebody take a picture! We made it out of Orlando Interantional Airport without fighting!!! We’re sailing along down the south service road, onto the toll route and headed to Disney!! Oh no, wait, we’re still on the hunt for the Pringles….
Yes, that’s right. Forget Disney. We can’t stop now! We have to locate and secure the Pringles. So we make our first stop at Super Target. Getting out of the car we both realize that it is a bit nippy out for Florida. We’re used to having to change into shorts as soon as we get off the plane, but we’re both still in jeans and I was wishing for my sweater. It was snowing slightly when we left Buffalo that morning, but little did we know we landed in Orlando on a morning of record cold temperatures! I started commenting on the cold, but dh would have none of it. “Shush! We need to focus!” He just shushed me!! I tried hard not to giggle. We head into Target and I spy a Starbucks…yum. Honey, go on, I’ll catch up. I don’t even think he heard me…so focussed on his Pringles. I ordered a Grande Caramel Frappucino and headed of in search of dh, only to find him wandering towards me totally dejected…obviously no Pringles. I laughed out loud. He pretended to wipe away tears.

We made the rounds of the store…but only wound up buying some toys for Connor for xmas and stopped to grab a pizza for lunch. Then it was off to Walmart to get bottled water and some Disney souvenirs…and hopefully Pringles. Otherwise I was going to start getting grumpy as this was eating into the trip! We managed to find a parking spot in the very busy parking lot and headed inside. Dh was on a mission now. He grabbed a cart and headed straight to the snack aisle. I followed, trying to keep up with dh’s determined pace…which is tough to do as he is 6’5” and I’m only 5’4”…and lost him briefly. When I rounded the corner at the snack aisle, there was dh practically jumping up and down like a kid in a candy store, squealing like a little girl! Success! Mission accomplished!! Houston, we have lift-off! He’s found the Pringles!!! Thanks goodness.
Not wanted to take a chance at never finding them again, he actually loaded up the cart with over 2 cases! Cleaned them right out! 26 cans of Loaded Baked Potato Pringles! The clerk at the cash must have thought we were nuts! But at least we could NOW get on with the vacation…Disney was waiting!

A few t-shirts, snacks and yes, a trunk full of Pringles, we finally made our way to Disney. Only problem was the noon time traffic and my directions. I had printed off directions from the airport, but was also going off a bit of memory from the last trip. Dh likes to drive and just have me tell him what lane to get in and where to turn. Usually I have this downpat, but in my haste, I didn’t get a detailed enough map from Walmart to OKW and I was having to “best-guess” the lane changes and turns, which slowly started irritating both of us. I missed a turn and then realized I hadn’t, then finally we started nit-picking and well, you know where that goes. By the time we pulled into the parking lot at OKW, we were almost in a full-on fight. Read the last trip report…this is just the way it is with us.

So check it wasn’t that fun, and unfortunately we had a CM in training who wasn’t overly efficient or quick, so we were both just getting frustrated. Unfortunately timing was lousy, because dh had gone out of his way to arrange for a birthday basket to be delivered to me and instead of bringing it to the room on my birthday, they went and got it at check-in and handed it to me. I tried to cheer up and I was surprised, but somehow the mood between us killed what should have been a wonderful moment. Bummer.

Finally, almost 30 minutes after arriving, we finally headed to our room, keys in hand. Unfortunately there were no rooms ready near the main buildings, but we both needed to just get in a room and regroup, so we took what was available. I’m glad we had a car, because I can’t imagine having to walk everywhere or wait for a bus just to get around the resort. It was beautiful mind you, but when your only there for 3 nights, time is of the essence and you can’t dawdle! Both of us instantly realized how quiet and relaxing this resort was though, and the walk up to our room was so peaceful, we were instantly calming down. Our studio was on the 3rd floor and as soon as we stepped inside we were instantly aware that we weren’t in Kansas anymore…I mean not at a Value resort anymore. The studio was big, roomy, open and airy, especially with the balcony door open and the wind rustling in the palm trees outside. I couldn’t believe the size of the bathroom!! You could have a party in there! Once we had brought in all the suitcases, dh gave me a hug and I knew we were “home”…at least for a few “rented” days.

Up next…Our 1st MNSSHP!

 

[aGoofyMom]

Now if you recall our last trip, this is where things got ugly. Not this time! I learned my lesson! I not only got a pretty decent deal when I booked online, but I also checked-in online to bypass the line-ups. Dh wasn’t so sure about this as we passed the rental desk and headed out to the parking garage, but again I just gave him that look…you know the one…the “honey, when are you going to realize that I am the goddess of all things Disney, that I am the uber-planner?” He just shrugged and gave me the “I’ll believe it when I see it” look in return. But when we got to the parking lot, picked out our SUV, packed all the luggage in, drove to the check-out and sailed right thru with a quick check of id’s, he did smile. I think he may have even mumbled something along the lines of “Ok, ok, you did good”.

You will help me with this right?

“Shush! We need to focus!” He just shushed me!!

No Comment... these guys say it all!

I followed, trying to keep up with dh’s determined pace…which is tough to do as he is 6’5” and I’m only 5’4”…and lost him briefly.

Only briefly? Good job!

When I rounded the corner at the snack aisle, there was dh practically jumping up and down like a kid in a candy store, squealing like a little girl!

Where is that video camera when you need it???

The clerk at the cash must have thought we were nuts!

You 2? Nuts? Nah...

Unfortunately timing was lousy, because dh had gone out of his way to arrange for a birthday basket to be delivered to me and instead of bringing it to the room on my birthday

He worked very hard on it!

they went and got it at check-in and handed it to me. I tried to cheer up and I was surprised, but somehow the mood between us killed what should have been a wonderful moment. Bummer.

I couldn’t believe the size of the bathroom!! You could have a party in there!

After the shower comment in the second installment - I won't ask!

Great updates!

 

[connorsmom911]

The plan was to have a nap or maybe a swim before we ventured to the Magic Kingdom, but after we finished unpacking and took turns showering, it was pretty much time to head out. It was all that time wasted on the hunt for the Pringles, I tell you! We were taking the bus to the MK tonight so as not to have to fumble for directions late at night. I packed a bag with jeans and a sweater knowing that it was going to cool down tonight and I suggested dh do the same, but he didn’t listen to me. Well, at least he actually agreed to wear the custom shirts I had made (thanks to julia & nicks mom!!) for our first Halloween party! I admit, we probably looked a little strange, but I thought it was cute. I had lime green mickey heads on the back with my DIS name, but no one stopped us. We waited a few minutes at the bus stop, but it was so nice and peaceful just sitting and taking in the beautiful landscaping of the resort. Once the bus arrived, we enjoyed the seemingly short trip to MK and soon we were walking towards the gate, all decked out for the Halloween festivities of the night. I knew from prior planning that our tickets for tonight would allow us entry at around 4pm so we would not have to use a day off our hoppers. All that was left to do was pick up our tickets at Guest Relations and join the rest of the party goers who were already lining up to get in. Promptly at 4 the line began to move and we were allowed into the park and given our souvenir “trick or treat” bags. They are fairly small, about 6x8 but enough for adults who are just there for the fun (yeah right!) and they made a cute souvenir.

We headed up Main Street and into Tomorrowland where our first stop was Buzz Lightyear. This was to be a dual to the death. I was prepared. I had done my homework. I knew secrets that dh didn’t. I was going to kick his butt! We got our requisite pictures in the line with Buzz and then we each got into our separate cars and prepared for battle. I quickly started racking up the points as we travelled through the rooms and then as luck would have it we stopped. I kept my finger on the trigger aimed at a “special” target, and my points skyrocketed. Once we started up again and got to the end of the ride, dh turned to me to brag about his score and I smiled with a smug little smile. I didn’t double his score. I didn’t triple his score. No, I beat him ten fold!!! Yes!!! I did a little happy dance on the way out , singing and chanting “I kicked your butt, I kicked your butt!!!” It was a total triumph and dh was obviously dismayed. He’s not used to losing to me, especially at “shoot em up” target type games. He’s the one with the firearms licence, not me. But then I am the DISer…and

Dejected, dh skulked over to look at the Buzz Lightyear merchandise carts and we picked out a few new pins for Connor. To cheer him up I suggested we ride Space Mountain, something we didn’t get to do on our last trip. Connor is just too young yet and neither of us are interested in doing the baby swap only to ride alone, not as much fun in that. So with no munchkin in tow this was going to be perfect! I couldn’t remember the last time I rode this, I think it was my first trip to Disney, and dh hadn’t ridden since he was a kid, so we were both anxious to ride again. I was a little nervous, but with little to no line-up there wasn’t much time to worry and chicken out before we were loaded in our space ship and away we went. I think it was the first real drop I started squealing and laughing so hard and so loud…it was totally awesome. Dh couldn’t stop laughing at me the way I pretty much screamed through the whole thing. I was still laughing all the way through the exit line.

We were both starting to get a little hungry so our next stop was Cosmic Rays for burgers. Don’t ask me why, but we loved these burgers on our last trip and it was an easy pick again for this time around, and we weren’t disappointed. Dh went off to find us a nice quiet cozy spot in the back while I loaded up at the toppings bar…mmmm, fried onions and mushrooms. We had a wonderfully romantic meal as the sun was going down tucked into the back corner of the restaurant. After dinner it was off to do more rides. Dh convinced me to do Stitch’s Great Escape (not too thrilling) and a re-match of Buzz (I let him win that time to stroke his ego a little ) and then a quick bathroom stop to change into my jeans as it was starting to get chilly. We also called home to talk to Connor and remind him to watch us on tv in the morning to see where we were. Then it was another trip on Space Mountain. Again, I screamed and laughed the whole ride. Once we exited the ride into the shop, we stopped and got temporary tattoos together (Tink for me and Grumpy and Buzz for dh) and then headed off towards Fantasyland. We missed the first parade on purpose to catch the rides without waiting and we were not disappointed. There were no lines at all! We stopped at Mickey’s Philharmagic and enjoyed the show, took some pictures of the castle and dh trying to get the sword out of the stone and then headed over towards the Haunted Mansion.

But before we got there, I begged dh to go on It’s a Small World with me. He fought, he resisted, but eventually caved because there was no line. He hates this ride and the sadistic singing dolls and “that song”. I hadn’t ridden it in years. On Connor’s first trip it was closed for the big refurb and last trip dh convinced Connor not to ride it so it was 2 against 1 and I lost. This time though, I wasn’t going to miss it. I really like the redo! The colours seem so much more brilliant. I snapped picture after picture to show Connor for next time. This will be a staple ride on all trips from now on if I have anything to do with it!

Then finally, the piece de resistance…The Haunted Mansion. A must-do on any occasion, but much more so during the Halloween party. It was so eerie with the lighting and the mist in the dark. I tried to take a picture, but it didn’t turn out. And the ride tonight lived up to the hype…it did seem a little extra spooky! Now with the big ticket rides out of the way (we weren’t keen on getting wet and cold on Splash, and BTMRR could wait for tomorrow), wasn’t it time to do a little trick-or-treating? We started in Liberty Square, back-tracked through Fantasyland and into Toon Town, down the Mad Hatter’s pathway (where we ran into the longest lines of all!!) and then made our way back over to the hub to stake out our spot for Hallowishes and our mini-DIS meet in front of Crystal Palace. This is a really good location to watch the fireworks because there is very few people or obstacles in the way. Hallowishes was great for a change, but I still like the regular Wishes show better. I looked around after the show for all the lime green but to my dismay we didn’t find anyone! I had really looked forward to meeting my fellow board junkies but I guess it was not to be. I think dh was secretly glad because we could just carry on with our evening.

We then headed into Adventureland to finally ride the new and improved Pirates of the Caribbean. So much new detail, we rode it twice, and did some more trick or treating in Adventureland. By this time dh was starting to really regret not having long pants to change into, it was getting rather chilly, but we still had a parade to watch. We actually stumbled upon a perfect location to watch right at the edge of Adventureland/Frontierland where the parade starts from. There were a few people waiting at the rope, but I actually stepped up on a curb by the fence and dh stood behind me, trying to get warm. The parade was the absolute highlight of the party it was that good. The pirate ship float had a “Captain Jack Sparrow” that you could swear was Johnny Depp! And the haunted mansion float with the cavalcade of grave diggers stumbling behind with their shovels kicking up sparks on the pavement was incredible! Earlier in the evening a CM had commented to us that the parade song would stick in your head worse that “It’s a Small World” and he was right. I was humming it the rest of the trip.

After the parade, I was totally hyped to keep going, but dh was freezing. It was cold, I had to admit, and considering the ungodly hour we were scheduled to get picked up in the morning, we decided to call it a night…well, with a few more trick or treating stops…and just one more ride on Pirates. We enjoyed the walk back down Main Street with the themed lighting and décor, and headed to our bus stop where we did have to wait for the second bus, but at least the body heat of the people in line kept dh from turning into a popsicle. Who knew we’d be this cold in Florida!?!?

I'll try to post some pictures of the party soon. I would highly recommend this to anyone!! It is totally worth the ticket price when you consider how much of the Magic Kingdom you can get done in a few hours.

Up next…Hi Connor, guess where Mommy and Daddy are!

 

[Backstage_Gal]

Hi Tracey, so great to see you posted an update.

I am anxoiusly waiting for the next installments - great job