Carnage, Mayhem & Pixie Dust: a “frightful” & delightful Halloween-Inspired, Offsite TR (Oct. 2015)

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

I can't believe how many minions you have!! Too funny! I'm so craving a grilled cheese now after reading your review!! That HHN looks like a lot of fun, I hope to do that one day! Can't wait to hear about your next party!

Yes ma'am, I have quite a collection going . I also received a couple of new Minion items for my birthday, including a very awesome pair of hand-knitted Minion mittens. Poor Jake thinks I've lost my mind....and he might be right!

Now I need to know how all of those minions got home

Love the quick run-thru of Universal! And the connecting train!

Ah, the mission to get those Minions back to Canada wasn't without its challenges. More on that coming up soon .

Just catching up. I love your tie-dye minion! Could you not have each carried a minion onto the plane with you? And stuff the others in the suitcases? I've seen lots of kiddos doing this plus their carry-on so why not for us big kids? Or was it just minion overload on the plane? Eek.

Have you watched the DIS Unplugged The Trip? With all the great off park restaurants you have been to, bet Teresa and JL would love to hear about your experiences. Plus, they are always reviewing spots so no doubt they would spark a new taste frenzy for you. Loving your posts!

The problem with the Minions is that while they are excessively LIGHT....they weigh virtually nothing.....they aren't squishy. You can't squash 'em down at all, so if they went in the suitcases, there was no way to compact them down like regular plush toys. I don't know what they are stuffed with, but its a very, very dense material. If we had carried them on the plane, they would have taken up either the whole space between us and the seats in front of us (if we kept them on our laps) or a huge amount of space in the over head bins. We each had a carry on, plus I had my purse and Steve had the laptop/electronics bag (which would count as our "personal items") so we decided not to push it. I don't know how flexible the Jetblue in-flight crew would have been.....they might have been fine with it, but you never know.

I am a faithful viewer of The Trip and watch it every single Wednesday without fail!! (I adore Teresa....she's fantastic) Its very cool to watch their episodes and be able to say "HEY! I've been there!!" or to get ideas for new places to try. Pirates Cove, the Orlando Eye, The Titanic, the Skeletons Musuem...they've reviewed several attractions that we've done on previous trips. After watching the Shake Shack episode a couple of weeks ago, we might give that one a try in December .

It's not a minion miss, it's my travel pillow...

I like my pillows a little less firm, but a good idea nonetheless!

Glad you enjoyed first watch.

We know you got the minions home because you've shown us the proof. Bet that was fun packing. We always but too much then have the stress of packing and what to leave behind.

What's departure day without a little packing drama? It keeps things interesting.....or that's what we keep telling ourselves.....

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

We arrived at the TTC once again in great time. The parking lot was a little fuller than Tuesday, so we wondered if the Friday night party might be more crowded as a result (perhaps even a sell out? …. though it wasn’t showing as such right before we left the villa). We caught a packed tram to the terminal and hopped the monorail to the Magic Kingdom. While busier than Tuesday, the process was just as efficient and we strolled up to the gates around 3:30 pm. Once again, Disney CM’s offered up a little pre-party pixie dust by admitting partygoers at 3:45 pm …..15 minutes sooner than the 4 pm expectation …..much to the delight of the very substantial group awaiting entry.


We stopped to get our wristbands and treat bags, then made our way into the Magic Kingdom!





Our first must-do was to stop and pick up the Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom cards that are exclusive to the Halloween parties. We hadn’t bothered to stop for them the first night, so we wanted to ensure we had those in hand this evening. We figured one would make a nice souvenir of the event, and the other we could either sell or give away (do people really buy those on Ebay???). The lineup was quite short for the cards at that early hour, so we had them in hand…..and our party bands marked accordingly…..in a jiffy.





I had been feeling rather guilty about taking so few photos on the first party night, so today made a conscious effort to capture more pictures of the party décor that adorned the park entrance. Everything was so nicely done, it would have been a shame if I didn’t take the time to immortalize some of the Halloween finery with the camera.





























With enough photos to relieve my conscience, we made our way up a very busy Main Street:








One of our other must-do’s for this party was to get Photopass pictures on Main Street USA, with the castle in the background, before the sun set and darkness fell over the Magic Kingdom. We had tried to stop after arriving for Tuesday’s party but a marching band went through and temporarily cleared the street….so we moved on to our Fastpass rides instead. For some reason we never got back during the daylight hours and the chance was missed.


The wait for pictures was minimal: the photographer we selected just had to finish up with one other family before moving on to us. The Photopass CM was great fun, really playing up her “fear” of pirates, which really kicked the party off on a high note . These are some of the pictures she captured:








The Haunted Mansion Dancing Ghosts made an appearance via a magic shot:





….and they also strutted their stuff in this little video:





We ended our session with our best pirate “Arrgghhhh!” (okay, well I did….Steve was apparently too cool for such silliness ):





With our pictures successfully added to our Photopass account, we had to decide if we still had enough time to squeeze in our Jungle Cruise Fastpass (3:30 – 4:30 pm) before making our 4:20 pm reservation at The Plaza. We pondered it for a moment, briefly debating our options, and decided we would probably be pushing it…..it was already after 4. Dinner would be next on the agenda .


Coming up…..we enjoy our evening meal with a view of Cinderella’s Castle .

 

[ArwenMarie]

Great pictures. The castle pictures came out really nice.

I like that scarecrow holding an Emporium shopping bag LOL. Even the decorations encourage shopping at WDW

 

[pepperandchips]

Gina I love the castle shot you got with the blue sky and Main Street looking so delightful in the foreground! It's a great reminder of how genius the park's design is. I'm hopelessly glued to the poor minions' saga home...

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Great pictures. The castle pictures came out really nice.

I like that scarecrow holding an Emporium shopping bag LOL. Even the decorations encourage shopping at WDW

Ha ha! I didn't even notice that until you pointed it out!! Subliminal messaging at its finest .

Gina I love the castle shot you got with the blue sky and Main Street looking so delightful in the foreground! It's a great reminder of how genius the park's design is. I'm hopelessly glued to the poor minions' saga home...

I'm not a die hard Disney girl by any stretch, but Main Street and the castle choke me up every time. I wholeheartely agree....the design of that area couldn't have been executed any more awesomely.

Stay tuned for the minion updates....they'll be coming up eventually!!

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

We checked in at The Plaza podium just shortly after 4 pm.





They gave us a pager but noted that they probably wouldn’t be able to seat us until our reservation time of 4:20. We told them that was perfectly okay, and opted for a restroom break while we waited to be called. We no sooner emerged from the loo’s when the pager went off and we were escorted to a waiting table. We were right along the windows, with a lovely view of Cinderella’s Castle :





I was surprised by how close together the tables were.....we were in such close proximity to the folks next to us (both sides), I felt like we were part of their families.....but the inside of the restaurant was quite lovely despite the maximization of the seating (don’t get me wrong....I totally understand the reasoning behind it.....when you have restaurants filling at 180 days out, you want to make sure you’re not wasting a square inch of space!!). The decor had a rather old-world “fancy” charm:





The servers were really busy, so it took a little bit before someone came to take our drink and entree orders. We amused ourselves by taking photos.





^^How’s that for a pirate sneer?^^





We decided, since it was our last dinner in Orlando, we’d put aside any concerns about calories or healthy choices and splurge on milkshakes for our drinks. Steve picked chocolate while I went with the no sugar added butter pecan.





They came out surprisingly fast....quick enough that I wondered how our server managed to get the order in, have those shakes blended, and then back over to our table in that short of time. It had to be Disney magic at work . All I know is, not only did we get those mouth watering shakes in the traditional glass cups (adorned with whipped cream and a cherry), but they also brought us an equal amount (and in my case, probably even more than an equal amount) in stainless steel cups with long spoons on the side. That was a LOT of ice cream!!!


As for the taste......simply amazing. There was no way you would ever know that my butter pecan had no sugar added: it was just as rich and creamy as any other premium ice cream I’ve ever had. Those shakes were flavourful and smooth (though pieces of pecan did get continually stuck in the bottom of my straw) and completely yummy. Well worth the $4.99 price tag and the bazillion calories which would no doubt find their way to my hips .


The family next to us had been complimenting us since our arrival on the detail of our costumes (she even noticed that Steve had a peg leg....I think she was the ONLY person to take in that little feature of his pirate gear), and when the shakes arrived the mom asked if we would like her to snap a photo of us together with our beverages. Never ones to turn down a kind offer, we readily accepted.





Our entrees appeared a short time later. Neither one of us were starving by any stretch, so we kept it simple. Steve had the Angus chuck cheeseburger and fries:





I chose the cheese steak sandwich and fries, minus the onions, peppers and mushrooms on request:





After our dreadful meal at Pinnochio’s Village Haus at the first party, these seemed like fine dining!!


They weren’t the best burgers and sandwiches that we’d ever had, but they were tasty and filling and perfectly acceptable nonetheless. Everything was served hot and fresh, and the service was very efficient (which we had worried about, considering it was a party night....we had read so many reports of painfully slow service that we almost considered cancelling in favour of quick service to maximize party time). The atmosphere was quaint and very much in the “feel” of Main Street USA, the price was reasonable (for Disney), and the shakes were top notch.


The total bill, including tax but excluding tip, was $41.50.


After our meal, we stopped for some photos in the hub. Despite our initial concerns when we noted the more congested parking lot, the park actually felt less busy than at the Tuesday party....which was completely against what the expert touring plan sites had predicted. Go figure .











The newly redesigned hub is really well done. It felt very open and spacious....much nicer than we remembered from our last visit in 2009.








Next up:

 

[ArwenMarie]

Glad the Plaza didn't disappoint! Of course milkshakes always help

The Hub did turn out really nice in the end.

 

[Mrs Doubtfire]

My DD loves the extra milkshake in the stainless steel container. Bonus!! The tomato soup there always goes down well too. Glad you 2 pirates were having fun

 

[samsteele]

Always loved the Plaza. They have a veggie sandwich there that is wonderful. Of course, I pair it with a shake, float or banana split so healthy dining not. But always great to change things up and "think" I am making the healthy choice.

 

[Ruthie5671]

Gina, I am continuing to enjoy your trip report with each new post. You have an excellent writing style. And I love your Halloween costumes!

 

[bankr63]

We decided, since it was our last dinner in Orlando, we’d put aside any concerns about calories or healthy choices and splurge on milkshakes for our drinks. Steve picked chocolate while I went with the no sugar added butter pecan.

Whaaa? I was never under the impression that you were particularly concerned about calories on this trip!

I would put near the top of the "top 10 reasons" I read your TR's all those lovely food porn pictures and mouth-watering meals. Heck I probably put on five pounds just reading one of your reports!

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Always loved the Plaza. They have a veggie sandwich there that is wonderful. Of course, I pair it with a shake, float or banana split so healthy dining not. But always great to change things up and "think" I am making the healthy choice.

Well, to be fair, the shakes are made of ice cream.....and ice cream is made of milk.....which is full of calcium.....so it really is a healthy choice .

That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Gina, I am continuing to enjoy your trip report with each new post. You have an excellent writing style. And I love your Halloween costumes!

Thanks you!!

Whaaa? I was never under the impression that you were particularly concerned about calories on this trip!

I would put near the top of the "top 10 reasons" I read your TR's all those lovely food porn pictures and mouth-watering meals. Heck I probably put on five pounds just reading one of your reports!

Aw heck, we're never concerned about calories on any trip!! That's why we try to "be good" in our normal life, so we can splurge without guilt on vacation. That said, if I can indulge and do so smartly (a la "no sugar added" butter pecan milkshake), then I can justify an extra Dole Whip somewhere along the way .

Hey, "Disney math" applies to calorie counting, too .

So....if food porn is among the top of the top 10 reasons, that begs the question.....what are the other 9?

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Just a short update tonight while we watch the Leafs game......priorities, ya know......:


Heading in the general direction of Splash Mountain (which was our remaining Fastpass for the night.....we had skipped our Jungle Cruise FP, and hadn’t bothered to make one for the 4:30-5:30 pm time slot since we had the ADR for The Plaza) we stopped for a ride on The Magic Carpets of Aladdin.





We considered also grabbing a ride on Pirates of the Caribbean en route, but the standby time was at 30+ minutes so we decided we’d return there once the party had started and the wait time shrunk.





As we passed by POTC, a maintenance CM who was sweeping up the walkways spied us approaching his general vicinity and made a big production about being afraid of pirates . We reassured him we were interested in neither pillaging nor plundering, so he feigned relief and strolled over to us to admire our swords and other accessories. He asked if he could see our pirate maps, and we told him we didn’t think to bring one (but what a good idea that would have been!). He looked shocked...gave us a little tsk, tsk with a shake of his head....and noted that it was a good thing we happened to run into him, then. He motioned for us to come with him, and took us over to A Pirates Adventure: Treasures of the Seven Seas where he assured us he “had a friend who could fix us right up”. He called out another CM by name, who emerged immediately and asked how she could help. He explained that he had encountered a pair of rogue pirates who seem to be without treasure maps, and wondered if she could remedy that. A big grin and an assurance of “absolutely!”, and she disappeared for a short time before re-emerging with an assortment of brown papers that she passed along to the maintenance CM who still had his broom and dustpan in hand. He put down his cleaning tools, reviewed the paperwork quickly, then handed them over with a flourish. He explained that they were official pirate treasure maps of the Magic Kingdom, all five of them different and absolutely necessary for any pirate who happened to be visiting Disney World on such a special evening such as this. He smiled broadly, wished us a magical night, and promptly set off in the opposite direction that we were walking.




I am sorry to say that he initially caught us so off guard that we didn’t even catch his name during the whole animated exchange. I would have loved to have put in a compliment to Disney so that he could be recognized for his kindness. That CM was truly a shining example of the whole Disney pledge to enhance the guest experience . That short interaction left us smiling like a pair of idiots and feeling very pirate-ish, indeed.


With our souvenir maps in hand, we continued our way toward Splash Mountain.











Beginning at exactly the stroke of 5:30 pm, Steve rode twice back-to-back using both his FP and mine (drops are most certainly not my style.....I had no desire to partake in this attraction!!). He was smiling and waving at me the whole time.....this was his favourite ride at the Magic Kingdom, and he enjoyed each and every moment. To quote Walt Disney: “Adults are just kids grown up, anyway”.










Yes sir, my Steve had very certainly found his inner child on this trip .





At that point in the day, Big Thunder was at a 35 minute wait.....so we would take a pass until later in the party.





More to come.....this evening was barely underway.....

 

[dancin Disney style]

Supermodel work......work it!!!!

 

[dancin Disney style]

There is something oddly appealing about this handsome fella.
Gina I thought you were taller?????

 

[JaxDad]

Belated Happy Birthday Gina!

I love the trip report so far!

I just scrapped a mini-Orlando trip I sort of planned for next weekend. We're going to stay home and do all the fun Christmas decorating stuff instead and use the money we save for our trip to DC. I will also definitely be looking at the Blue Friday deals for future SW and AQ trips!

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

There is something oddly appealing about this handsome fella.
Gina I thought you were taller?????

I thought it would be highly inapprorpriate if I joined Jack on the table .

Belated Happy Birthday Gina!

I love the trip report so far!

I just scrapped a mini-Orlando trip I sort of planned for next weekend. We're going to stay home and do all the fun Christmas decorating stuff instead and use the money we save for our trip to DC. I will also definitely be looking at the Blue Friday deals for future SW and AQ trips!

I am super excited to find out what deals are included on SeaWorld's BF sale. Another posted shared an email that she received which indicated the AP's would be offered BOGO again. Hoping for Quick Queue, dining and reserved show seating discounts for our Christmas Day visit, too!

 

[KathyM2]

Those milkshakes looked so good!! I hope that the wait times did go down at the party!!

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

After Steve’s tours on Splash Mountain, we took some time to explore the little nooks and crannies of Frontierland.











This area is so well done....I love the “wild west meets Disney cuteness” theme .











These fellows were out performing to the delight of the crowd. They were very, very good and we stopped to enjoy their music for a little while as well.





We thought maybe we would take a ride on the Liberty Square riverboat, but for some reason, it wasn’t running at that point in the day (though it had been at the Tuesday party).





Tom Sawyer Island was operational, though:








Instead, we opted for a ride on Haunted Mansion, which had a very reasonable 15 minute wait posted (and the party had not quite yet begun) :





By the time we were finished at Haunted Mansion, the darkness had started to descend and the party was officially underway!





We made a better attempt to trick-or-treat over the course of this evening, hitting as many of the different treat stations as possible. Even when the lines appeared lengthy, the party guests moved through them very quickly so the time in line never felt “wasted”. We ended up with a TON of candy before the end of the night....both our bags completely full....and had to stop visiting any more ToT locations because we simply had no more room to carry any more. The most productive trail was from the new Fantasyland to Tomorrowland.....they had 4 stops there, if I remember correctly, and they were giving out large handfuls at each one.





Having already done one of the parties, and crossing most of the must-do’s off the list at Tuesday’s event, this party was a little more leisurely for us as a result. We pretty much just went wherever we wanted, and did whatever attractions we wanted that didn’t have any long lines. Over the course of the night, Steve rode Splash Mountain twice, and both of us rode Haunted Mansion (twice), Big Thunder Mountain (twice), Pirates of the Caribbean (twice), Magic Carpets of Aladdin (three? four? times), It’s a Small World, the carousel, Buzz Lightyear (twice), The Peoplemover, and The Little Mermaid. We shopped at some of the stores (Steve got his party pin), we watched the Monsters Dance Party (so cute!) and found a great spot to watch the fireworks.....with no camera in hand. I think that was one of my favourite times in the whole night: sitting side by side, holding hands, and watching Hallowishes with my favourite guy .


We got some Photopass pictures outside Ariel’s castle:








.....and we also did a few character meets, each with a 10 minute wait or less. We met Buzz Lightyear in Tomorrowland:





....Goofy was greeting party-goers next to his ride in Fantasyland (exceptional character interaction here too.....from him running and hiding as we approached....he is afraid of pirates, you know .... to attempting to steal our candy bags ):








.....and Jafar was adjacent to the Aladdin’s Magic Carpets (and he was a walk-up....no line at all):








Rounding out the evening was a Dole Whip stop and the late parade.


At the conclusion of the parade, we knew we couldn’t hang in any longer. We were exhausted and ready to make the trip back to the villa, though tonight it was with a little tinge of sadness. Late tomorrow afternoon, we would begin our journey home.....and neither one of us was ready to see the conclusion of this awesome week together .


All good things must eventually come to an end, though. Saturday would be our final day in Orlando....but the fun was not over yet. We still had one more, fun-packed day to go .

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Those milkshakes looked so good!! I hope that the wait times did go down at the party!!

The waits for the rides were great during the party . After the fireworks especially, they dropped right off. The only two rides that seemed to keep consistently at 30 minutes or so were 7DMT and Winnie the Pooh. Our second ride on Big Thunder was literally a walk on.

We thought the parties were absolutely worth the money. I have virtually nothing bad to say about either night (Pinnochio's excepted)....the weather was perfect, the activities were a ton of fun, and we were so glad that we went!