jenbear123
Disney Fanatic
- Joined
- Feb 21, 2009
- Messages
- 2,406
After what felt like a lifetime, we finally were dressed up and arriving at MK. Oh, and I forgot to mention on our way back from Epcot, we made a stop to pick up our MNSSHP tickets.
Which look like just any regular park ticket. I wish Disney would make these unique. After all, I'm paying $50+ for this party!
We got there around 5:30pm, over an hour and half later than I had wanted. There was a separate entrance allocated for only those who had MNSSHP tickets. Although, they were still letting people into the park with regular admission.
We went through and got our fancy wristbands.
If you hadn't followed along on my PTR (if you didn't, shame on you) you would want to know that I dressed up as Wendy from Peter Pan and Bubba was one of the ghost ladies from Haunted Mansion. We got our picture done in front of the train station. This spot has got to be the only place where it's imperative to get the horizon level right. Otherwise it looks like the station is sinking.
This was the beginning of people STARING at us. Well, more Bubba than me. Everyone that walked by either stared in awe (or fear) of or complimented on Bubba's costume. Even when we started walking down Main Street, there were these people that looked to be from the media. Not sure if they were official or were doing a podcast. They literally grabbed Bubba and asked to take a picture with her. So who knows, she might be on the internet somewhere or in a Disney magazine. And it doesn't end there. Bubba was a huge hit with the kids too. Everywhere we went, there were little kids constantly talking to Bubba. It was like I had to fight for my own sister's attention! But I'm getting ahead of myself again....
Once we got passed the MNSSHP paparazzi, we decided to head over to Space Mountain. On our way over, I saw this gorgeous painting of Bambi. I nearly dropped the $500+ it cost but then thought better of myself and took a free photo as a momento instead.
Sure it's not the real thing but I can still look at it in all it's loveliness.
Anyways, we went over to Space Mountain. Riding a roller coaster in a nightgown is quite the task but poor Bubba had the most trouble. Trying to manoeuvre her awkward costume into and out of the ride was quite the task. Not to mention making sure she didn't lose her hat.
I was trying to go for the whimsical/magical look but instead I just look dazed. I love the guy in front of me. He just looks so happy!
After Space Mountain, we took a rest on the rightfully named Peoplemover
Here's a bit better look at our makeup with costumes
We used a whole tube of white makeup paste stuff for Bubba's face. The blue bow in my hair did not want to stay tied up. It kept falling out or getting undone so Bubba had to keep redoing it.
Oh! And the shoes that completed my costume
Next, we went on Monsters Inc Laugh Floor hoping to be picked out from the crowd.
Bubba actually did get picked on. It was a joke about a wife putting up with husbands or something to that extent. The CMs working in there are really good with the one liners. They always think up something with the audience that's always changing, especially on a MNSSHP night!
It was almost time for the party to start which meant kicking out everyone else who didn't have a ticket. I thought maybe we should see how crazy the wait is for a picture with all seven dwarves. The answer I got was:
Very crazy!!! I started to feel unprepared. This doesn't happen to an avid DISer. We don't get stuck in long lines or miss out on important things. How did I not think there would be a long line for getting a picture with all seven dwarves?! It was a very "duh!" moment.
And it was after this realization was where everything started going downhill.
Mistake #1: Watch the Villains stage show first
We claimed our seat in front of the castle to see the show and then hopefully get some pictures with them afterwards. Then, I realized getting a picture with a villain would involve moving from our spot. I didn't want to risk not getting a good view of the parade. Already I had mistakenly sat through a show that was good but could have easily skipped it to go do some rides. We waited and waited in that spot for almost 45 minutes until the show started. Then once it was over, we scooted around and took our spot on the curb for the parade. By this point, we were already 90 minutes into the party and had only seen one show with no rides. Something was not right here.
At least I did one thing right. I was ready with camera in hand to take the coveted photo of the Headless Horsemen. I was pumped. I was excited. The Headless Horsemen was coming my way! It was here! I picked up my camera with hands shaking knowing I would only have one chance to get this right. I even took several practice shots in the dark to make sure all the settings were right. Here he comes! Here he comes!
Bravo Jen. Bravo. Through that whole ordeal, I was so focused on getting a good photo that I hardly got a look at him going by until it was too late. A few minutes later the parade started. There was this other family from Michigan who had sat down right behind us. They had two little daughters, one of which had fallen asleep in her mother's lap. People were still trying to get a place for the parade (dude, didn't you know you were supposed to get that spot an hour before the parade started?!) and they were trying to get by the other people (us) sitting on the ground. Well, at one point, one of those people on the ground happened to be the mother and daughter. Some obnoxious person (granted the lighting was poor, but still) stepped right on top of the poor little girl!!! I felt so bad for her. The mother was not impressed! We actually had a very good chat with them… and by them I mean the other daughter who wasn't sleeping. She just LOVED Bubba's costume and asked to get a picture with her. Hmmm, this reminds me of the whole dinner with a celebrity thing. Bubba and the daughter talked and talked and talked until the parade started. As for me, I just sat there mainly concerned with my camera and making sure pictures would come out properly. The result of all my fiddling? Well, I'll let you decide:
Even though the parade was amazing, I still hadn't got the best look at the Headless Horsemen. Oh well, there was always the next parade!
Mistake #2: See the parade twice
I really wanted another chance to see the Headless Horsemen (HH) and enjoy the parade without a camera in front of my face the whole time. Big, big, BIG mistake. Unfortunately for us, this was one of the busier parties, probably due to the fact that it was so close to Halloween. It was on October 26th in case you were wondering, which I know you were. Now that we were going to see the second parade, we had very limited time to do any rides or anything else for that matter. We both agreed that if we were going to get on at least one ride, it would be the Haunted Mansion.
Which, of course, was the busiest place in the park for MNSSHP. I don't think the wait was terrible. Maybe 15 minutes? The outside of the mansion looked really cool and loved Madame Leota sitting outside. One thing I was really disappointed about was how they've now boarded up the graveyard area that you could see when standing in the queue. I'm assuming this is because of the Fantasyland expansion. I was looking forward to what it'd look like during the party. After the ride we grabbed a Photopass photographer and got ourselves with the spooky coach driver. Or was it the Magical Express driver….
We were going to try to go on other rides but everything had an insane wait time like 30-45 minutes. Since it was getting close to HalloWishes, we decided we better go get a spot near the castle.
Mistake #3: Misjudge the best spot for fireworks
How could I forget this? It's the biggest thing to remember when seeing fireworks at MK. Bubba insisted that we'd be able to see the fireworks even though there was a big tree in front of us. Okay, Bubba. If you say so. Bubba was certain the fireworks would be mostly on the right side of the castle. Unless Bubba doesn't know her right from her left, she was wrong. Oh so very wrong. The fireworks started and all I could see was bright lights shining through the branches. There were people all around me and I couldn't move. It was just a very miserable and upsetting moment.
Mistake #4: Went to MNSSHP so close to Halloween
Due to the insane crowds (where did they all come from?!) we spent the majority of our time waiting for the parade. I know the biggest problem was that I wanted to see it twice. But it was also due to my severe lack of planning. I hadn't really planned out the night at all. I was mainly counting on Bubba since she had done this party before. Only problem was she never had to deal with these crowds. We ended up waiting (again) for the parade for at least 40 minutes. This time we got a spot in Frontierland where I could get a nice long view of HH. I made a promise to myself not be behind my camera and just enjoy the parade. That lasted all but 5 minutes when the HH music started to play. I ended up taking a video of him coming down the road but I didn't really focus on what I was recording. So the video is a bit wonky but all that matters is that I got a decent shot of HH! That was probably the only thing that went right that night! During the parade, Bubba got hit on by the cowboys. We couldn't exactly hear everything he was saying because he kept having to dance while trying to talk to her. I think he was talking about her skin tone and how he had something to clear it up.
After the last parade, Bubba and I did some Trick or Treating and got lots of candy
But by this point Bubba's feet were KILLING her. She said that one of her blisters actually burst so by the end of the night she could barely walk. I know I shouldn't laugh at her pain, but I couldn't stop giggling. It was just too funny seeing a limping Haunted Mansion lady.
We stayed pretty much right up to midnight. We left MK tired, broken, and disappointed (at least I was. I don't think Bubba really cared since she had done it so many times before. Plus she was in a lot of pain and just wanted to go home). I would do MNSHHP again, just not so close to Halloween.
Coming up next....
Two Churros take on TSM
Dinner at Kona Island Sushi Bar
Waiting.....again.
I love you wendy! All the nightgowns I could find had long sleves or were wayyy too short for WDW! I'm glad I went with my hula idea and kept the wendy one for the school party! 
But poor Bubba, limping her way through the party!
). Then my father in law said he was done and it was time to go.
Granted it was insanely humid the night we went but oh, the disappointment! I literally was dragging my feet as we left, I was such a sourpuss! We hurriedly did some trick or treating on the way out and I snapped pics like a mad women trying to take it all in! 
I can say she was VERY relieved to get into bed that night.
comparing this one to the last.... 
Those shoes are great! Made by Sketchers. I can wear them without socks and never get blisters. It's great!
I'm thinking of doing a TR though when I get back. From what I hear about Marv, I can basically write only 1 update a month and people will still come to read!
