Bottomless Pit vs Food and Wine 2013....Commence the Shenanigans!

[Chellymouse]

This is trip 2 of 3 of our "2013 visit all of the festivals at WDW year" DH had his Surprise SWW trip back in May (which also allowed us to attend to final week of F&G festival at Epcot) and now (nickname courtesy of my DSIL) the Pit is back to take on F&W and this time, our friends are joining us! It was a little short for an Oct trip, but never fear....a 10 day trip is near!

A quick history.....our friends took their DD when she was 4 (8 years ago in the Hades that is WDW in Aug) and vowed to never go again. Then their DS came along (he will be 5 this week) and well.....as long as we didn't go in August! The plan was to go over fall break, however, long after the trip was planned and booked, our friends found fall break was moved. So....she missed 4 days of school instead of 1...oh well! It's not like Disney isn't educational right? I should mention our friends live next door to us!

Allow me to introduce our cast of characters!
Me-I'm Chellymouse and would live at Golden Oak or SSR if I were independently wealthy...unfortunately, I'm not!
DH-aka "the Squatch" aka "Donald Duck" he loves the duck...he says he "tolerates the mouse"
Our friends:
Rich-aka "Grumpy" who is his fave Disney character
Charity-aka "Doc" someone has to be the voice of reason on this trip
Caleigh-aka "Merida" if Merida had blonde hair...these girls could be twins and finally....
Chase-aka "Monster" If it were possible to cross Stitch and the Chipmunks...that would be this little guy! We all call him monster....even had it put on his stroller, which some folks thought was funny and other folks were giving us funny looks!

Now that you're up to date...its' time to Commence the Shenanigans!

It's Wed Oct 9th and DH and I had an 8am flight and our friends had a 5:30pm flight (with an unfortunate pit stop in Atlanta) so DMIL spent the night and very kindly got up at 5:30 to take us to the airport and make sure I had some Starbucks....our smaller regional airport has lousy coffee and no SB Don't get it!

DH and I checked in, went through security, where the TSA agents actually had a sense of humor, boarded our plane and for us, landed in Orlando about 25 minutes early....which was great until we had to wait nearly 15 minutes to get off the plane because the person responsible for moving the jetway was nowhere to be found. We finally got off the plane, made our way to ME and were happily along on our way pretty quickly. We landed at 10am and pulled in to SSR at 11:10am. No complaints here! We had done online check in so I stopped to pick up our packet and confirm we were indeed in Congress Park (we were) and found our villa was ready. I sent DH to Bell Services to pick up our groceries and I stayed behind and found the slowest CM on earth to put our friends tickets on their cards. (I'm so looking forward to Magic Bands next month! we just received our instructions for them) Finally, I went out to meet DH and found our favorite bellman Mark had us today!! Mark so kindly drove us (via golf cart) to 2216 Congress Park and helped bring all of our stuff in! We said "see ya later" to Mark, put groceries away, grabbed the park bag and supplies and were out the door. Just as we walked up to the CP bus stop, the MK bus pulled in and soon we were on our way! Got to MK and had to make a pit stop at Guest Services to get our PAP (thanks for the sale last year DVC) renewed, pick up our MNSSHP tickets and renew our TIW pass. Finally, we in the park, only to stop now to pick our FP+ lanyard. We stopped in the some of the shops because Main St was packed for some reason and I had to make a purchase. Yes, I bought a non-food item first! I could not pass up the Malificent ears! The Pit was way past needing a feeding so we stopped at Casey's (nuggets for me, dogs for DH) then we had to stop for a picture!

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Had a Dole Whip then off to POTC! After POTC, we had some popcorn (ok the Pit had popcorn) then grabbed at FP for BTMRR and gee, guess what...found that Splash Mtn was again....broken! I really think someone needs to get Brer Fox and Brer Bear under control! We then headed over to see the 999 happy haunts then back to BTMRR. DH and I agreed that we would not be spending all day at MK as we had planned to graze the F&W festival and the park was busy so we decided to head out and over to Epcot!

up next....the Pit vs F&W round 1! and our friends (finally) arrive!

 

[Chellymouse]

Day 1 evening:
We hopped on the express monorail and transferred to the Epcot line and arrived at Epcot ready to take on the world!
We stopped for a quick pic:

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We made a quick stop to grab our festival pins and were unpleasantly surprised that passholder pins were completely gone and no more were coming. We checked to see if there were any FP left for TT, but alas, there were not, so we stopped in at the festival welcome center to pick up our passports, walk around and check out the food displays. Here are a few of the displays from the festival center

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Now for the first round....The BP vs F&W.....(cue the Rocky theme)
DH and I made our way over to WS to start our tour! We actually had a plan, we had decided to eat the heavier foods (it was actually only about 82 degrees and pleasant) since we had decided not to make any "real" dinner plans.
First stop: Brazil where the crispy pork belly and Carnaval Moscato were both most excellent! We then made it over to Argentina where we had the beef empanada and the skewer along with a glass of the malbec and again, we were not disappointed! It is now time to stop at Mexico where the Rib eye taco was quite spicy and tasty! I was too scared to try the habanero-mango margarita We stopped for a quick pic before we stopped at China!

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China is always one of our favorite stands and this year was no different. 2 of our favorite drinks, the happy lychee and the kung fu punch were soon consumed along with an order of potstickers and the very weird silk ribbon mango ice cream. Still not too sure about that ice cream! Singapore had the most excellent piece of Mahi Mahi I think I've ever had! I probably would have gone back for seconds had DH not reminded me that we 26 other countries to try and only 6 days to do it! We also tried the curried chicken which was also a winner! Since Africa was right next door, I grabbed the berebere beef which was spicy and delicious! DH was in the mood for beers so he stopped at brewer's collection for a flight while I grabbed the blue cheese and fig tart from the cheese stand. The nicest thing I can say about that tart is "yuck" it tasted like sweat socks that had been fermenting in the desert sun for at least a year. Needless to say, I didn't finish it! After the beers (I had some too...love the grapefruit beer) we stopped next door to Germany where I had a wine flight, DH grabbed a beer flight and we split a pretzel roll bratwurst and apple strudel. By now, the pit was feeling on the "full side" and my cell phone was threatening to call it quits if it didn't get on a charger so we decided to stop in the Chase lounge in America. We were very pleased with the lounge. We enjoyed some much needed waters..........and charged my phone. Our friends were now actively traveling and we wanted to make sure they could get ahold of us. We also watched some of Sugar Ray's act. I'm pretty sure they just kept playing the same song over for about 20 minutes!

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My phone was charged and we headed over the Hops and Barley stand so DH could get his chocolate stout and the pit dined on the griddled lobster tail. Wasn't the best lobster tail in the world, but it was good. Florida local was right next door so we stopped to get the grass fed beef slider (which was most excellent) and the Hurricane sangria for me and the Belgium style white ale for DH. We strolled over to Japan and picked up a teriyaki chicken roll which left quite a bit to be desired and some sake which was tasty! Maybe we were supposed to have the saki before the teriyaki? We were feeling "saucy" and our friends should have been on their layover so we decided to call them. They didn't answer (and later asked us if were "drunk dialing"...who us?) so we decided to eat and drink some more! We came around to Hawaii and grabbed a pork slider and an Aulani Sunrise! Both were very tasty! We then made our way to Scotland where DH tried some scotch (it tasted like gasoline to me!) and I tried the banoffee tart...oh heaven was that tasty! We then stopped at the craft beers stand and that is where (as though we didn't know this already) we confirmed that WDW truly is the most magical place on earth! DH and I were both carded for our beers!!
Oh was that funny! When we finished laughing and grabbed our beers, I decided to try Terra. No offense to anyone who chooses to be vegan, but yuck is again the nicest thing I can say! I decided that since the food was so bad last year, I would try the watermelon juice....oh the foulness! By now, it was nearing the time for Illuminations and WS was getting pretty busy we decided to start making our way out. I grabbed this pic!

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It was EMH tonight, but since our day started at 5am (following a night of being too excited to sleep) we would check the wait for TT (which actually was only 20 minutes) so as any good people would do, we got in line for TT!
TT is always fun and we were getting off as Illuminations was wrapping up. We stopped at Mouse Gear and picked up autograph books for Merida and Monster then we headed out to the bus stop of course, stopping for a photo!

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Thankfully the bus was running quickly and we were back to SSR in no time. We got home and, as usual, tripped over all of the luggage (we brought theirs with us so they wouldn't have to go to baggage claim as their plane was landing after 10pm), put their luggage in their room and unpacked our luggage. We had t-shirts made for all of us (pics to come) so we put the t-shirts, everyone's buttons and the kids' autograph books arranged on the table in their room then decided to go ahead and grab showers. By now, their plane should have landed so we were starting to get nervous. Finally at 11pm they called. Of course there were shenanigans in Atlanta, they got on the plane, then had to get off the plane because the wrong flight crew was on the plane, then had to get back on the plane. We got them to ME and within 20 minutes they texted to let us know they were on the way! DH and I walked up to the carriage house to pick up the stroller and our friends. They finally arrived just a few minutes before midnight and boy was Monster wound!! There were no bellman around so thankfully, they didn't have a ton of carry ons so we hiked it back home. They were very surprised to see their "welcome gifts" and soon everyone was settled and heading to bed!

Up next...our first full day at the world with our friends, breakfast with stitch, a busy day at MK and more shenanigans!

 

[Chellymouse]

It's Thursday and time to get this party started! After a very early morning and a very late night, it's another early morning! We had breakfast with Stitch at 8:50am so DH and I were up at 7:30am and our friends were up a little before us (hey, there's more of them!) and while DH and I were prepping coolers, Monster's "mobile" (aka the stroller, which was called everything but this week) and our friends park bags ready, we rolled out of the villa at 8:05am. Not too bad for our mangy bunch! We gave our friends a little tour as we headed up the street and although we had planned to cab it over to the Poly, we lucked out and were able to get a bellman! (I would much rather pay the bellman than a cab company) and we arrived at the Poly at 8:35am. We checked in and got our pics (this is where PP+ comes in handy, especially when sharing it with another family) and as soon as we had finished our pics, our beeper announced it was time for breakfast! I should mention we were all starved!

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Our friends had never been to Ohana and they were very impressed! Everyone loved the Stitch juice (the 6 of us put away 4 carafes of the juice!) and the food was delicious! Monster brought his copy of Lilo and Stitch and both Lilo and Stitch signed his movie for him! Both Merida and Monster loved the parade and they both participated! The characters were just plain awesome right down to Pluto throwing Monster's autograph book pen at him across the table to Grumpy and then trying to eat Grumpy! Here's a few pics from breakfast!

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After everyone was full, and the shenanigans were stopped, it was time to head to MK. We hopped on the monorail and I couldn't resist repeating the "Please stand clear of the doors, por favor mantangenase alejardo des las puertas" Merida has now decided I'm nuts (like she hasn't known this) and soon we are arriving at MK. We got in the park, put Monster in his "ride" and DH made a pit stop and got our group to POTC, while I ran for FP to meet Razpunzel. Monster has decided this is now his favorite ride ever and doesn't want to do anything other ride POTC and meet Rapunzel. We coaxed him away from POTC (and a meltdown in the gift shop because he wasn't allowed to buy anything yet) and over to BTMRR, which he absolutely loved! Now he's decided that he wants to ride the train and Pirates and that's it! After BTMRR we went over to HM....there was some protesting from Monster, but eventually he agreed to go and ended up enjoying it! We then subjected our friends to IASW where we proceeded to let the children know any bad behavior is punishable by repeated rides on IASW. Now DH and Grumpy have decided they are going to sing the song until Doc and I threaten them with swimming with the gators! We had just enough time so we rode the carousel and then...it's time....Monster gets to meet his girlfriend in person! I should mention that Monster is in love with Rapunzel and I have watched Tangled no less than 100 times with that kid! While in line, Merida was practicing her curtsy and Monster could hardly contain his excitement and then...it was time! Monster really played it up and left with not one, but both cheeks plastered in lipstick, which he refused to wash off!

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After meeting his Rapunzel, I had grabbed FP for Under the Sea and after a quick pit stop, it was time for Under the Sea. By now, the kids were getting hungry so DH and Grumpy grabbed them some food while I escorted Doc over to Starbucks (she's an addict!) The kids finished their lunch and Doc and I took them on the Speedway (first time ever for me!) while DH took Grumpy to a smoking section oh well, to each his own bad habits! The guys also grabbed FP for Buzz so after the speedway, Monster wanted to see Stitch. Probably wasn't the best choice, however, he found the chili dog burp the funniest thing in the world. Monster had to pose on our way to Buzz!

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It was now time for Buzz so we did Buzz with DH beating the pants off me as usual and now it was time for DH and I to head home to get ready for MNSSHP. Our friends came home with us for a little break.

Up next....dinner at ESPN.....MNSSHP for us and shenanigans for our friends!

 

[SSRmonkey]

Yay! I've been waiting for you, Chellymouse! It sounds like you had a lot of shenanigans. And you know how I love shenanigans!! I'm glad you got Dole Whip number one, I wonder with all the sampling at F and W ifyou will have room for another... Can't wait to hear more!

 

[Chellymouse]

Yay! I've been waiting for you, Chellymouse! It sounds like you had a lot of shenanigans. And you know how I love shenanigans!! I'm glad you got Dole Whip number one, I wonder with all the sampling at F and W ifyou will have room for another... Can't wait to hear more!

SSRMonkey, the only way we could have had more shenanigans would have been if you and were Koala were there! although, your mom and dad may not have approved of the sheer quantity of adult beverages consumed! The pit was definitely full at times!!

 

[SSRmonkey]

I think Koala and I would have been a bad influence on Meridia and Monster. We do lots of things that are non kid approved...including consuming adult beverages. After reading tonight's installment, I am off to find a snack.

 

[Chellymouse]

Thursday...the second half!
We arrived home and everyone took some time to just relax and cool off. it was pretty warm during the day! DH and I showered and changed into our first costumes, DH was going to be the hatter and I had found a tasteful Jasmine costume (Jasmine is DH's favorite princess!) Now we had a problem...the plan was to go to ESPN for dinner which we usually just cut through Epcot, however, since DH and I were dressed, we didn't figure we'd be able to do that so, we loaded Monster into his mobile and our group headed back up to the carriage house and for the second time in one day, called for a cab. We were not so lucky this time and actually had to wait for a cab, but we made it over to ESPN. We had a great meal that included Monster and Grumpy starting a spit wad fight at the table! The kids wanted to play in the arcade so after the bill was paid, DH and I left to head to the bus stop to go to MK and our friends played in the arcade, spent some time on the Boardwalk then tried to go Epcot. I say tried because they said there were a few too many people who were obviously overindulged and they said the lines for the rides were pretty long so they headed back to SSR and spent a quiet night in the villa. DH and I spent the next 2 hours in line to see Jack and Sally (only an hour of that was during the party though!)

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We had decided to spend the evening getting some pictures and trick or treating since we were coming back the following night! We did score quite a bit of candy! Unfortunately, Jasmine had a horribly long line all night so I we didn't get a picture of me with her (much to DH's dismay)

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We also stumbled across Brer Rabbit, which is actually a character we have never seen. Brer Rabbit was in the spirit of shenanigans and actually swiped skittles from DH's treat bag! Are you kidding me?? Those were my skittles!

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We resumed trick or treating after the "rabbit incident" and I because I was still somewhat scowling, a CM manning the treat station asked what was wrong so I told him.....he very kindly gave me 2 packs of skittles!! Take that Brer Rabbit! We did manage to ride HM as that is a staple during the party, and we caught the fireworks. We also managed a ride on Dumbo!! We mostly just enjoyed the party and took in the scenery. We had decided we were getting pretty beat so we decided around 11 to beat the crowds and start making our way toward the bus. The party was sold out so it was a little busy, but manageable. We stopped at one treat station that gave us so many treats, we had to get another bag! We stopped for a final picture on the way of us and one I had to take!

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We made it on a bus by 11:30pm and were home, showered and in bed by 12:15 and let me tell you, we were exhausted! up next.....RD at Epcot, drinking (and eating) around the world take 2, MNSSHP take 2 with company and of course...more shenanigans!

 

[Chellymouse]

I think Koala and I would have been a bad influence on Meridia and Monster. We do lots of things that are non kid approved...including consuming adult beverages. After reading tonight's installment, I am off to find a snack.

I think Monster may be a bad influence on you and Koala! I shudder to think what will happen when that kid turns 21! Now that you mention it....a snack does sound like a good idea!

 

[SSRmonkey]

Your costumes are awesome! I've never seen an adult Jasmine costume that didn't belong on Jersey Shore.

Nice work on getting extra skittles after the rabbit incident. I have a feeling if that happened to me, we would have had another Chip and Dale incident. And probably wouldn't have been able to come back the next night.

Hope you had a good snack!

 

[Chellymouse]

It's Friday and after 2 early mornings and late nights, guess what? We are up entirely too early for RD to Epcot! (our friends went to bed at a reasonable hour the night before!) We always said when we got our DVC we were done with out "commando days".....we have totally blown that philosophy this trip!
We were out the door before 8am and up to AP for breakfast! After breakfast, we headed over to the Springs and hopped a bus to Epcot! I should mention we had "matching shirt day" today! I ran for FP for Soarin' and met the rest of the bunch over at TT. DH said they were stopped no less than 5 times asking where they got their shirts. We rode TT and Monster now has a new favorite ride! We had fun in the showroom afterward! After TT we went over to check out Nemo, however, now the shenanigans begin! Doc needed Starbucks so she made a pit stop, I needed a pit stop so I told DH to get everyone together and we would all meet at Nemo. after 20 minutes, I figured something was wrong and I was right. I found Grumpy and Monster waiting to see the chipmunks and finding out Doc was still waiting for her Starbucks. I caught up with them to find grab Monster's autograph book. The long and short of it, is Starbucks really messed up Doc's order so we wasted about 35 minutes of our day waiting for coffee! We grabbed a few pics of the kids!

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After Nemo we made it over to the WS for some eating and drinking! People loved our shirts! We first made it to the refreshment port, where I wanted one of everything....fully expecting the snack portions we usually get! Monster needed the little monster's room so I directed that group and sent DH for food! BAD IDEA! DH, being the good DH he is, did what he was supposed to and got one of everything.....because I asked him to......and most of the food was REGULAR LUNCH PORTIONS at REGULAR LUNCH PRICES!!
So, there was plenty of food for all 6 of us! Have to say, the frozen dragonberry colada is still one of my festival favorites and the orange dole whip with crème de cocao was also very tasty! for adult dole whips!
Merida went over to try a pork slider from Hawaii and she loved it! So, on top of the drinks, which I was 2 fisting, DH had grabbed beers for him and Grumpy and we all shared the pineapple fritters, fried shrimp and chicken with the pineapple sweet and sour sauce! After all of that, we had dessert in Ireland...the warm chocolate pudding with Baileys was awesome! Doc and I swung through Canada for some sparkling ice wine and DH and Grumpy had more beers. We stopped in France and had the boeuf bourguignon, chocolate crème brulee and a sour cosmo slush for me and some kronenburg for the boys! (the adult boys that is!) The kids shared my crème brulee and now apparently that is their new favorite dessert. We then went over to Belgium where they had just run out of the potato and leek waffles...denied! So our group settled on one berry and one chocolate, both of which were awesome! Doc and I both had the Godiva coffee and DH and Grumpy had the leffe brune. It was getting to be time for Soarin so we made our way back up to the land and once again found Monster's new favorite ride! It's official, DH is still the only person in the Western hemisphere who does not like Soarin. By now, we were all fed, the adults were also watered so we decided to head home to get ready for the party. We stopped for some pics on the way out! The current score is Bottomless Pit 2, F&W-0

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Up next....it's a pirate's life for us, dinner at LTT and MNSSHP take 2 with the whole group! And of course....the shenanigans!

 

[Chellymouse]

Your costumes are awesome! I've never seen an adult Jasmine costume that didn't belong on Jersey Shore.

Nice work on getting extra skittles after the rabbit incident. I have a feeling if that happened to me, we would have had another Chip and Dale incident. And probably wouldn't have been able to come back the next night.

Hope you had a good snack!

Thank you! LOL! I agree...the plan was initially to get the Alice costume to go with DH's hatter costume however, the Alice costumes belonged on Jersey Shore! Oh my....I'd almost forgotten about the Chip and Dale incident! You're right....you may have been banned! Snack was adequate....certainly wasn't a Dole Whip....Doc and I didn't even make it for Sunday ice cream tonight...still beat from shopping yesterday!

 

[Chellymouse]

It's MNSSHP time for everyone! So several weeks before the big trip DH and I went shopping and found out costumes. 2 days later our friends went and what did they come with? Pirates....all of them! So, DH and I decided to pack our pirate costumes from last year so we could be a mangy bunch of pirates! We went home to SSR and everyone got ready and we were ready to roll about 4. We went over to MK, got in and stopped for a quick pick!

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We had just enough time to ride pirates on our way to LTT for dinner! As you can see, Monster is Jake so his monster mobile is now "Bucky" for the evening (apparently that is Jake's boat's name) Monster promptly put his sword on the table so I reminded him that there are no weapons on the table! (love Brave!) Dinner was the usual shenanigans of straw wrappers flying and lots of laughs. After dinner Monster was begging to ride the carpets so Doc, Merida and I took Monster on the carpets while DH and Grumpy went for a walk. After the carpets, we subjected our friends to the jungle cruise...which also led to some really bad jokes for the rest of the night. our favorite.....where does a pirate get fast food when he's hungry....wait for it....yup...Arrrrrby's Monster started asking for Arby's for most of the rest of the week! We then stopped for another pic!

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and rode POTC again! By the time we got off POTC, it was 6:59 and time for the party to start. We started by trick or treating then went over to Splash. We did the treat trail and Monster was acting extra cute and fluffy so several CMs gave him extra treats! Merida has been so excited to ride Splash, however, it's been down since we've been here. Monster has issues and did not want to ride so DH and I took Merida and Grumpy and Doc took Monster to the playground at Splash because that's what he wanted to do. Merida and I did not want to get our costumes wet so....we busted out the rain gear!

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After Splash, we went to pick up the rest of the bunch and we find Monster having a small meltdown...turns out another little boy was also Jake and the Jakes decided to have a sword fight...Monster's sword lost. The other Jake's mom felt REALLY bad, but Doc swore Monster did not need another sword. We finally got him out of the playground and of course we went on the washer so we walked next door to BTMRR for the dryer! After BTMRR, we went to HM. We were actually a little surprised because neither Monster nor Merida were overjoyed with HM before, but given it was the MNSSHP, they changed their minds and actually loved it this time. Of course we stopped for a pic!

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After HM we took a spin through fantasyland, did plenty more trick or treating and did a few more rides. The kids basically wanted to ride, trick or treat, see the parade and fireworks and maybe a few characters. DH and I have done the party plenty so we just hung back and enjoyed the night! No commando MNSSHP for us! We headed over to the hub to watch the castle show and the fireworks. Took a few pics!

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After the parade, I sent DH back over to sleepyhollow for another pumpkin waffle...had one the night before and I could eat my weight in those! I also managed a popcorn in one of the Jack Skellington coffin boxes! YUMMY! We were in perfect position for the Villains show so we moved up because I was determined to visit with Malificent while wearing my new Malificent ears! Merida and Monster also decided they wanted to meet Malificent!

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After the show (which our friends really enjoyed) We basically turned around and staked out a good spot for the second parade. won't bore everyone with parade pics, but I was very proud of my Horseman pic!

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After the parade, we made our way over to Tomorrowland where we did some more trick or treating, rode Buzz then the kids met Buzz while DH and I (finally) got on Space Mtn...it was down the night before, so after that, we caught up again and did the other treat trail.

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After the treats we all rode Dumbo and did some more trick or treating. It was starting to get close to midnight and Donald and Daisy were out.

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We actually made it to midnight and that includes Monster so we loaded Monster and all of our treats into Bucky and started making our way out. Surprisingly we actually made it home to Congress Park by 12:35am and our bunch of shenanigan loving pirates were all cleaned up and tucked in by 1am. Our friends loved the party and agreed it was worth the extra $$

Up next....it's Saturday...and a "break morning"....sort of!

 

[SSRmonkey]

You guys look awesome! Love the ears, but Maleficent scares me. I'm glad you broke out the rain gear for SM. I bet wet pirate smell is just about as bad as wet monkey smell. And now I want a pumpkin waffle! Great Headless Horseman picture. Can't wait to hear about Saturday!

 

[Chellymouse]

You guys look awesome! Love the ears, but Maleficent scares me. I'm glad you broke out the rain gear for SM. I bet wet pirate smell is just about as bad as wet monkey smell. And now I want a pumpkin waffle! Great Headless Horseman picture. Can't wait to hear about Saturday!

Wet pirate smell is definitely not attractive! For that matter....neither is wet squatch smell! By the end of the night, both DH and Grumpy's "boot covers" were um...moist and the foul and mysterious odor in our villa was attributed to those items which, once identified, found their way out to the balcony! I hope they have the pumpkin waffles when we go back! They can be found at the Sleepy Hollow snack stand and definitely on permanent snack rotation! Thanks! I'm so glad we go our new camera last year! Can't wait to shoot the ice lights on the castle with it! Saturday includes a balloon ride!!

 

[Chellymouse]

The plan for Saturday is....well, not much of one. We all figured everyone would be tired after all of the late nights and early mornings....except for DH. 7:30am....pssst....you awake....me...no....well I am and I smell coffee, Grumpy is up too....let's get up.....this coming from the "no commando touring" officer! Well, us three were up, Doc, Monster and Merida were still napping so Grumpy was enjoying his coffee on the balcony and DH and I went up to AP to score some breakfast. Hey, if you're going to wake the pit, you're going to feed the pit! We walked home a little after 9 and found Monster and Merida fed and Doc finishing getting ready for the day. We decided to head over to DTD for the am to shop and (finally!!) ride the balloon! I'm really not overjoyed about the walkway was closed, the guard at the gate house was very cool with all of the people walking over to DTD. We went straight to characters in flight and they did give us a discount for being DVC members. DH and Grumpy were having no part of the balloon (neither likes heights) so Doc and I took Merida and Monster and it really was awesome! Shot some beautiful pics of SSR from the air! We were able to see the whole property...Epcot, MK, AK, BB, TL and many resorts! Amazing experience! Now I want to do it again...at night! Maybe I can talk DMIL (aka Fairy Godmother) into it in Dec!

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After we landed, we checked out the photo that was taken and it actually was pretty good, so we wound up buying it too!

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After the balloon ride, we spent a couple of hours shopping. It was getting close to lunch time so we planned to stop at EOS, however, I have NEVER seen a line that long at EOS, EVER! The workers were telling us it would be close to 40 minutes to wait so, sadly, no EOS this trip! (I will be making that up tenfold in Dec!!) We walked back home to SSR and changed and went up to the Springs pool. We grabbed some lunch at AP, ate and hung at the pool for a couple of hours. We had dinner ressies at 50's so we went home, cleaned up and headed out to DHS!

Up next...our evening at DHS!

 

[Chellymouse]

Sat evening: We arrived at DHS and were surprised to see the Monsters U. topiary from F&G festival at the entrance. We went over to grab a pic, however, the PP photographer was "done for the day" so we didn't. I have to say, I was VERY disappointed in the lack of PP around the parks this trip. We had just enough time to take a trip on ST2, however, Doc developed a headache so she sat that one out. Wouldn't you know....Monster was the rebel spy! We had plenty of shenanigans at 50's PT! Our server was awesome and gave us homework before dinner....we had to name all 20 single title Disney movies without using our smart phones. DH kept giving our poor server all sorts of grief...Thor, Frozen...she wouldn't count Frozen because it wasn't out yet. the Food was excellent as always. I don't know what shenanigans the table next to us caused, but they had to get up and sing I'm a little tea pot! So, it's time to pay the bill and Doc put her card in the holder and DH noticed the card was about to fall so.......he took the card out and hid it in his pocket. Our poor server!! DH said that was payback for not accepting his Frozen answer! This poor lady was looking everywhere and a few minutes later, she came and DH said this "dropped" as you were walking away. Grumpy and DH could hardly contain themselves laughing....to make matters worse...the teapot table noticed and they could hardly contain themselves either! Yes, we did give our server a gratuity on top of the TIW gratuity because she really was very good! This shenanigan was definitely now the frontrunner of all shenanigans! After dinner we went to see the Muppets...cheesy, yes, but we still love the Muppets! We decided to wait and see the second showing of F! so we just hung out and enjoyed the park. TOT had a fairly short wait and Merida was having no part of it so we convinced Monster to ride. I told him I'd buy him the pin. Well, he went....we even made some friends in line who wound up sitting in our elevator. We are way in the back!

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I bought Monster his pin....which had Stitch in the elevator and Monster loved it! We then went to meet DH, Grumpy and Merida for F!. What a hot mess and that's all I can say. Rude CM, disorganization to get the stroller parked...all in all, one of the worst experiences we've ever had getting into the theater! We did finally get in....my favorite spot, Sorcerer Mickey (pays to wait for the second show!) however, the 6 of us were split up so DH and I sat in one spot and our friends in the other. F! was as awesome as always and our friends loved it! (So much we almost went the next night too!) Afterward, we stopped to pick up Monster's mobile and headed home for the night!
Up next... RD at DHS (or so we thought) and shenanigans from the WDW bus system! And....dinner at BOG!!

 

[DisneyRegulars]

I'm enjoying your trip report. Food and Wine sounds amazingly yummy! My phone is not loading pictures right now, I'm dying to see the malificent ears. They sound wonderful.

 

[Chellymouse]

I'm enjoying your trip report. Food and Wine sounds amazingly yummy! My phone is not loading pictures right now, I'm dying to see the malificent ears. They sound wonderful.

Thanks for stopping by! Hopefully you're phone will start loading pics! F&W is awesome! We've gone the last 3 of 4 years and honestly....it's becoming harder to pick....Oct or Dec!

 

[SSRmonkey]

You are brave to go to the 50's PT! I can't even imagine how that would play out for me and Koala. I don't think we would make it out. Glad you got your favorite spot at F! Awesome balloon pics. Koala has wanted to go in the balloon for years now, but it's always been a no from Dad. He doesn't like water and being over that much water would be even worse. Maybe I can convince him to let me and mom and Koala go. We should go at night though andnisenour thermal imaging gear to look for Squatches. Can't wait for the next installment.

 

[Chellymouse]

You are brave to go to the 50's PT! I can't even imagine how that would play out for me and Koala. I don't think we would make it out. Glad you got your favorite spot at F! Awesome balloon pics. Koala has wanted to go in the balloon for years now, but it's always been a no from Dad. He doesn't like water and being over that much water would be even worse. Maybe I can convince him to let me and mom and Koala go. We should go at night though andnisenour thermal imaging gear to look for Squatches. Can't wait for the next installment.

50's PT is definitely a spot where shenanigans are often not rewarded and frequently punished! But the food is REALLY good! I can imagine you and Koala will probably wind up in the corner! Hopefully dad will let mom take you and Koala. That would be a great view to search for squatches...especially if you have thermal imaging gear! I'm hoping DMIL will be up for it because I'd really like to go up at night!