Double, Double, Toil & Trouble: a Halloween-inspired trip of “two’s” – an October 2016 TR

[dancin Disney style]

1, 2....2 purple shirts....Ah, Ah, Ah

 

[Monykalyn]

Longhorns is good isn't it? We don't go out for steak often as I buy a side of beef from a friend's dad who raises the cows on grass (and it comes to ~$4.00 per pound for a few hundred pounds of meat) and it is hard to justify paying 4-5 times that to eat out. And the Krispy Kreme addiction strikes again! It is far far to easy to let 2 or 4 or 6 just kind of melt in your mouth

And HOLY SANGRIA! that looks great!! And I love that you guys take couple trips. Past few years our company trip has been our "couple trip" as we extend the stay before/after the meeting.

DH is rolling his eyes at me right now when I mention "girls trip in October"-have a couple friends that we may head for F&W for a few days. Waiting to see if DD will be able to get any kind of CM discount for September or October, as we will NOT want to drive off property after F&W. Why don't you and extended family have a grand vacation for Christmas in Orlando??

 

[DontRushMe]

Ok I'm all caught up! Waiting to take notes on Universal days.

 

[BadgerGirl84]

I'm here! I just started reading so I'm not caught up yet.

I'm so glad you are back on the boards and have started this TR. I always enjoy reading about the unique stuff you guys do (as it's not all Disney) and your dining reviews, as we also stay off site on our trips.

I just had my third daughter 3 weeks ago so I'm going to save this for my 2am reading material on my phone when I'm up feeding the baby!

 

[bankr63]

Just to let you know I'm reading along and enjoying the ride; just haven't had much to say. I need Dancin' to say something "controversial" so I can start my caterwauling. Oh, and I really should find a recent picture of my two girls to take up your challenge on posting!

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

And that is a very well trained husband!!!

DANGER - DANGER - RUN IN THE OTHER DIRECTION!

Now I'm getting the distinct impression that you were not kicking and screaming not to buy the donuts!

I'm glad that Sea World replaced your ring. I hope it has survived since then.

My ring is indeed still in fine shape . I suspect that it may not have been placed in the setting correctly in the first place, as the staff seemed genuinely shocked that the pearl came loose from the ring itself. Ravina at Pearl Factory gave me her personal assurance that this ring would absolutely, positively stand the test of time, so hopefully she's right!

This is super sweet. It sounds cheesy but that time together is one of the best things about vacation. I did a two week trip last year and it was so nice to spend two solid weeks with my husband instead of just a few tired hours at the end of the day once we're both home from work.

You guys look so cute in your matching purple outfits. Feeding the sea lions was one of my favorite parts of Sea World - they have so much personality! I've only been to Longhorn once and it was kind-of a disaster but maybe I'll have to give it another chance - that berry sangria looks delicious!

Oh, I am sorry to hear that you didn't have a good experience at Longhorns . We tried Outback here in MI on our house-hunting trip in December, but it paled in comparison to our Longhorns meal. We loved it so much that first time in October, we ended up going back a second time on that same trip (ooops, a bit of a spoiler there I guess).

1, 2....2 purple shirts....Ah, Ah, Ah

You and your quick wit. I don't stand a chance against you .

Longhorns is good isn't it? We don't go out for steak often as I buy a side of beef from a friend's dad who raises the cows on grass (and it comes to ~$4.00 per pound for a few hundred pounds of meat) and it is hard to justify paying 4-5 times that to eat out. And the Krispy Kreme addiction strikes again! It is far far to easy to let 2 or 4 or 6 just kind of melt in your mouth

And HOLY SANGRIA! that looks great!! And I love that you guys take couple trips. Past few years our company trip has been our "couple trip" as we extend the stay before/after the meeting.

DH is rolling his eyes at me right now when I mention "girls trip in October"-have a couple friends that we may head for F&W for a few days. Waiting to see if DD will be able to get any kind of CM discount for September or October, as we will NOT want to drive off property after F&W. Why don't you and extended family have a grand vacation for Christmas in Orlando??

While I would love a big ol' family trip for the holidays, but Jake would never be able to join us. Time off for him around Christmas is tough to come by, especially when he's one of the newer employes. And.....my mom would never go (she's terrified to fly, and even more terrified to be away from her beloved cat for more than a day). It makes me very glad that we squeezed in a wonderful Christmas trip the past two seasons: it might be a few more holiday seasons before we enjoy December in Orlando again.

Ok I'm all caught up! Waiting to take notes on Universal days.

There were no Universal days on this October trip, so you'll have to hold tight until I get to our December report. but it's coming! I promise .

I'm here! I just started reading so I'm not caught up yet.

I'm so glad you are back on the boards and have started this TR. I always enjoy reading about the unique stuff you guys do (as it's not all Disney) and your dining reviews, as we also stay off site on our trips.

I just had my third daughter 3 weeks ago so I'm going to save this for my 2am reading material on my phone when I'm up feeding the baby!

Oh, wow! Congrats on the new wee one! I hope you and your newest little lady are both doing fabulously!

Glad to have you joining in my report once again . You and I are both up in the night with our babies.....you with your daughter and me with my Violet. She seems to enjoy giving her momma kisses and licking my hair right around 3 am these days . Something tells me you'll have your girl sleeping a full 8 hour stretch sooner than I will .

Just to let you know I'm reading along and enjoying the ride; just haven't had much to say. I need Dancin' to say something "controversial" so I can start my caterwauling. Oh, and I really should find a recent picture of my two girls to take up your challenge on posting!

Ah good, I thought maybe I had bored you and you'd taken leave to go skating on the canal and build snowmen instead (cue the sigh of relief). Some friends of mine were in Ottawa this past weekend and I couldn't believe their Facebook photos.....good grief, ya'll have SO MUCH SNOW . In contrast, it has been so crazy warm here that our grass is starting to green up already.

@dancin Disney style , time to turn up that quick wit of yours and give @bankr63 something to work with. He's counting on you, young lady.

And Munro, I would love to see those furry felines of yours. I can't be the only one to have a cell phone gallery full of whiskered faces .

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

So I have to apologize for the lack of updates over the weekend. The weather was just too incredible to be inside and on the computer......and when I was, I spent the time finishing off my December 2016 photo book while Picaboo was still offering unlimited pages for free (which ended up saving me $125.....cha ching! ). I should be back at the report tomorrow, pending nothing coming up in the interim.

We did get a chance to check out Frankenmuth on Sunday, which was a ton of fun! The weather was SUPERB for mid-February (60 degrees and nothing but sunshine) so we seized the opportunity for a little road trip. We enjoyed a delightful German meal at the Bavarian Inn, shopped at all the little stores, and sampled some sweet treats from the bakeries and fudge haus. Bronner's CHRISTmas Wonderland rounded out the afternoon. Here are a few photos of the charming little town:

The covered bridge:

The carriage ride that make's Disney's version at Fort Wilderness look like a steal ($70 for a half hour!!):

The Bavarian Inn:

Fun at the Cheese Haus:

Bronner's Christmas Wonderland:

And......a little something for @dancin Disney style . This should spark a comment or two :

 

[DontRushMe]

I'm so glad you got to Frankenmuth, it sure was a nice day for February! We have many pictures by that cheese mouse.

 

[dancin Disney style]

You and your quick wit. I don't stand a chance against you .


.

licking my hair right around 3 am .

@bankr63 there you go and it didn't even come from me.

 

[dancin Disney style]

And......a little something for @dancin Disney style . This should spark a comment or two :

For years Gina has been saying that Steve is sweet. Now there is photographic proof but it's really not what I thought she meant. For the sake of clarification, we need more evidence.

 

[pattyw]

Ok now the real show is on the road!
Frankenmuth looks wonderful! I haven't been to Michigan since I was very young- something draws me warm and south when I vacation now. I tell DH that when we live somewhere warm, we'll venture to cooler destinations!

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

I'm so glad you got to Frankenmuth, it sure was a nice day for February! We have many pictures by that cheese mouse.

I can't wait to go back in the summer time.....it looks like there are quite a few more seasonal attractions that don't open until after Easter or Labor Day. And we still have to go for a shopping day at the outlet mall!

View attachment 221316
@bankr63 there you go and it didn't even come from me.

Now, now....don't you go twisting that perfectly innocent remark .

For years Gina has been saying that Steve is sweet. Now there is photographic proof but it's really not what I thought she meant. For the sake of clarification, we need more evidence.

That would surely be worth some infraction points .

Ok now the real show is on the road!
Frankenmuth looks wonderful! I haven't been to Michigan since I was very young- something draws me warm and south when I vacation now. I tell DH that when we live somewhere warm, we'll venture to cooler destinations!

Summers in the north, fall/winter/spring in the south: that's our dream, too!

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Sunday, October 16th


Today was the first of our two Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween parties, so we opted to enjoy a relaxing first half of the day so we would have lots of energy to go, go, go at the Magic Kingdom from early afternoon until the wee hours of the morning. We did, however, have one task that needed to be tended to in preparation for party night: we had to have our paper party tickets put over onto the hard cards so we could use them for both park entry and our Fastpass selections from 4 to 7 pm. So, once we had enjoyed a relaxing breakfast and coffee at the villa, we hopped into the rental car and headed to Guest Services at Disney Springs.

It was a gloriously warm, sunny, spectacular morning and the pleasant weather was forecast to continue right through the balance of the day: we said a huge prayer of thanks as our biggest fear when buying party tickets in advance is that Mother Nature could potentially wash-out our party fun . Let’s face it, the ticket prices are not cheap and to have a much-anticipated and pricey evening dampened by foul weather could leave the heart feeling as soggy as the soil.

We were quite interested to check out Disney Springs after our requisite stop at Guest Services: after being under renovation and expansion for the past several vacations, some of the new areas had just recently opened up (specifically, the plethora of retail shops in the Town Center section) and we heard it had a completely different look and feel versus the old Downtown Disney. They had even opened a second massive parking structure, the Lime Garage, which is where we ended up stowing the car upon our arrival. There were tons of available spaces, and as with the Orange garage, it's all free.

Heading down the stairs, we were immediately wowed by the elegant and beautiful Spanish-style architecture.

Downtown Disney had never held a whole lot of appeal to us, so this stunning metamorphosis was enough to knock us off our feet. I just wanted to stand there and take it all in….but we shuffled onward to Guest Services to ensure we took care of business first. Gawking would have to wait for later.

At the Welcome Center, we put our names in with the greeter and took a seat to wait for an available CM to assist us. I headed off in search of a restroom while Steve sat tight in case our name was called, and it was a good thing he did so: when I returned a few moments later, he was already seated in an office while a friendly young CM worked to quickly get us set up with hard card-style tickets which would be good for both our two Halloween parties as well as our Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party which we had already reserved for December.


With our ticket task so quickly resolved, we had tons of time to stroll around and soak up the fresh new atmosphere and landscape of Disney Springs….and the more we saw, the more impressed we became. Disney Imagineers had done an absolutely incredible job at bringing a casual elegance to a space which we always found so lacking in personality. This was somewhere we could wander around just to appreciate the beauty and tranquility of the water features and lush foliage.

We stumbled upon the new Poutine restaurant, and while we found some of the entrees to be less-than-authentic from a Canuck’s point of view (we’re poutine purists, obviously) it was still a unique dining option, and something I thought would be popular with guests.

Steve was intrigued by the breakfast poutine, and we toyed with the idea of returning to Disney Springs for breakfast on one morning of the trip....but alas, we never could figure out a good day to fit it in.



Of course, we stopped at Ghirardelli’s to enjoy a sample of the flavor of the month. We were a little disappointed it was pumpkin spice (though not surprised….why is everything pumpkin spice flavoured in the USA during the fall?!?) but it wasn’t as overpoweringly pumpkiny as we anticipated. There was, however, a bit of an after taste to it. Not something we’d purchase a bag of by any stretch.

We also toured through the new Sprinkles cupcake store. So fun to watch the cupcake artists create the tasty creations via the large glass viewing window . I think I have found my new career aspiration .

There was an abundance of autumn décor scattered about, but my favourite of all the decorations was the giant Mickey pumpkin in the Marketplace section. The Marketplace still feels very “Disney” (contrasting sharply with the more elegant Town Center) and it has retained its kid-friendly vibe.

We shopped a bit at the World of Disney…………..

……..and Steve found a couple of pins he liked at the pin trading store:

We also picked up a few treats for friends back home at Goofy’s Candy Company.

The Halloween-inspired goodies were simply adorable. Had we not had a sweet ending for the evening already scheduled, I would have indulged in a sweet treat (or two).

Eventually, we strolled back to the lime garage and headed back to Kissimmee for lunch before returning to the resort. The crowds were still wonderfully light.....everyone had obviously taken advantage of the superb weather and were flocking in droves to the parks.

With an eye on the budget (and gift cards from a previous trip still needing to be depleted), we chose Cici’s as our restaurant of choice which was conveniently close to Wyndham Cypress Palms.

There was nothing new or notable about this particular Cici’s, but there were no complaints from us either . The facility was clean, the workers were friendly, and the food was abundant and hot. We had a BOGO buffet coupon which kept our total bill to just over $8: where else can you eat an unlimited meal that economically? Saving money at lunch allowed for a greater budget at the Magic Kingdom later in the day, and Lord knew we’d need that extra buffer zone with the high price of Disney dining.



We popped into one of the gaudy but expansive gift shops adjacent to Cici’s after lunch to pick up some Disney lanyards for our party tickets, then headed back to the resort for a refreshing swim and a short siesta before donning our party wear and transforming ourselves into a pair of swashbuckling pirates.



Next up: Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party!

 

[Mrs Doubtfire]

Looking forward to your swashbuckling MNSSHP report.

It is really interesting to see and read about the new area where you live now, I see it hasn't dampened your mischievous spirit with the candied nuts comment from Florida.! Perhaps they were previously roasted with it being so cold in Canada

 

[mandas08]

Wow, Disney Springs really does look great. I'm impressed as well. Excited to read about your party experience. We have never attended one, but maybe one day once the boys are older and can hang long enough to make it worth the price

 

[afan]

If you end up back at DS and want to eat, both DLuxe Burgers and Blaze Pizza were really good. Though Blaze is a chain and can be found elsewhere. Unfortunately none close to me, but it's on my list of must eat at places for my trip to Charlotte in a few months

 

[Lynne G]

Yep, while we rarely shop on vacation in Florida now, we do go to DS, as there's a soccer store that gets jerseys that our stores don't sell. We also had to go to Disney Quest. I parked in the Orange garage in October, but in December we parked in Lime. I think Lime is closer to the Disney Store and such, but it was a long walk to Disney Quest and the soccer store. Like that the parking garages are being smarter, with showing available spots. I find both DS and Universals easy to navigate.

Great pictures, and looks like you had beautiful weather. The weather cancelled my Halloween party last year, so hoping it's not repeated this year. We did enjoy the Christmas one, but I would say the Halloween one is more our style. Love seeing the parks decorated for each season.

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Looking forward to your swashbuckling MNSSHP report.

It is really interesting to see and read about the new area where you live now, I see it hasn't dampened your mischievous spirit with the candied nuts comment from Florida.! Perhaps they were previously roasted with it being so cold in Canada

Nope, the mischievousness definitely lives on ... not only have we carried it with us across the border, I think its being fostered even more here than at home. We have so many new things to explore in our new community! It's like being on vacation every weekend .

Wow, Disney Springs really does look great. I'm impressed as well. Excited to read about your party experience. We have never attended one, but maybe one day once the boys are older and can hang long enough to make it worth the price

We absolutely love the hard ticket events. It's a wonderful opportunity to enjoy the Magic Kingdom with no worries about Fastpasses (after 7 pm) or huge crowds. I do hope you get a chance to enjoy one of the parties with your kiddos someday as it truly is a special experience .

If you end up back at DS and want to eat, both DLuxe Burgers and Blaze Pizza were really good. Though Blaze is a chain and can be found elsewhere. Unfortunately none close to me, but it's on my list of must eat at places for my trip to Charlotte in a few months

I have heard great things about DLuxe Burger too . I suspect we will be choosing more "unique to Orlando" dining experiences on future trips versus the American chains we love, since many of those (Steak & Shake, Olive Garden, Chili's, Longhorns, etc.) are all located in our new community. DLuxe burger, in particular, might be on the itinerary for our next vacation.

Yep, while we rarely shop on vacation in Florida now, we do go to DS, as there's a soccer store that gets jerseys that our stores don't sell. We also had to go to Disney Quest. I parked in the Orange garage in October, but in December we parked in Lime. I think Lime is closer to the Disney Store and such, but it was a long walk to Disney Quest and the soccer store. Like that the parking garages are being smarter, with showing available spots. I find both DS and Universals easy to navigate.

Great pictures, and looks like you had beautiful weather. The weather cancelled my Halloween party last year, so hoping it's not repeated this year. We did enjoy the Christmas one, but I would say the Halloween one is more our style. Love seeing the parks decorated for each season.

I agree wholeheartedly: while we loved both parties, the Halloween party just felt more "Halloweeny" than the Christmas party did "Christmassy" (if that makes sense). While we'd absolutely do both of them again without hesitation, the Halloween events take top marks in our book.

I sure hope you have better weather this year than you did last October. I'm not sure we'll do a MNSSHP in 2017, as I have promised Steve we'll do Halloween Horror Nights at Universal.....and I know he'll want the VIP tour again too, which means a pretty substantial chunk of change to be shelled out for that evening before we even get to the Scareactor dining experience and other add-ons. We'll have to see how far the budget will stretch when the planning for October begins in earnest.

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Sunday, October 16th (continued)

We left Cypress Palms around 3 o’clock to leave us lots of time to make the trek to the Ticket & Transportation Center and then take the monorail to the Magic Kingdom. We knew it was probably more time than we needed to make it to the turnstiles for 4 pm, but we generally prefer to err on the side of being early rather than risk the potential of being late. We always aim to maximize our party time as much as possible to boost the value of the hard ticket event, and with part of our evening scheduled to be taken up by the Hallowishes Dessert Party at Tomorrowland Terrace, making the most of the remaining hours was even more important to both of us on this specific visit.

The commute went smoothly, we easily found a parking spot in the Scar lot, and a tram pulled up just exactly as we were grabbing our accessories from the back seat and locking up the car. We hopped aboard the waiting tram and headed to the Ticket and Transportation Center, opting for the monorail versus the ferry boat for simplicity purposes. Sometimes its easiest to just “go with what you know”. Arriving at the Magic Kingdom just after 3:30, we took our place in a very manageable party entry line and were thrilled when Cast Members announced at 3:45 pm that they would begin admitting party-goers into the park. A whoop of appreciation went up in the growing crowd, and a crush of costumed guests began scanning tickets and getting their party bands as the festivities officially began .

Heading into the park, it looked and felt busy in Town Square, but that is always to be expected. With the party guests flooding in with the regular day guests still milling about, that area and Main Street always feel congested. Yet….we can’t help taking that first stroll through the masses with the castle looming majestically in the distance: right then, the crowds really don’t seem to matter.

Our first Fastpass was for Haunted Mansion anyway, so we meandered our way toward Liberty Square taking in all the sights and smells that just feel completely “Disney”. At one point, we did have to pause and step aside to allow for the marching band to pass through:

We also stopped to have our pictures taken by a Photopass photographer along the way. We were participating in a Memory Maker share on this trip which I had initially taken on as the share leader but that role was graciously assumed by the amazing and gracious @pigletto after Steve formally accepted the transfer to Michigan and my life grew chaotic with immigration paperwork and preparing for our house to be sold. I still owe her a big debt of gratitude for taking that responsibility off my VERY full plate .

With 6 or 7 participants, it worked out to be around $21 per person for the Memory Maker share and we got our value out of the cost times 10. It’s definitely something you need to put the effort into to get the most value out (taking advantage of the opportunities to stop when a photographer without a line is spotted), but we’re always grateful for the memories at the end of the night and never regret the time devoted to that task. Castle pictures are always a must on our party visits, and today was no exception .

Arriving at the queue for Haunted Mansion, we were grateful for our Fastpasses as the standby time was nearly an hour…..and, it was HOT in the late afternoon sun. We love this attraction, and it was the PERFECTLY themed activity to kick off a Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party .

After Haunted Mansion, we had a bit of time before our next Fastpass window so we toured around Liberty Square for a little while.

In all of our visits, we have yet to ride the Liberty Square Riverboat…..one of these days, we’re going to have to change that. It just looks so darn charming, and oozes Americana to me .

One of my favourite shots of Tom Sawyer Island. This one made it on the back cover of my photobook for the trip.

We wound our way over to Adventureland, and with the remaining time before our Fastpass window opened up, we hopped aboard the Magic Carpets of Aladdin (which surprisingly only had about a 10 minute standby time). The cool breeze generated by the spinning carpets was much appreciated in the warmth of that late afternoon .

After Aladdin, we were within our window for our next Fastpass, so we made our way to the Jungle Cruise to scan our cards. Standby for this attraction was posted at 40 minutes, so again….we were happy to have booked our three Fastpasses at the 30 day mark (albeit sad that our beloved Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, which was closed for refurbishment, would not be among them ).

We hadn’t done the Jungle Cruise since our very first Florida trip in 2009, so this attraction was like a blast from the past. It hadn’t changed much at all from that very first visit, but that’s part of the charm of Disney in many ways. With our Fastpasses, we had virtually no wait in the queue and were boarded on a boat within a few short minutes .

Our captain was, as expected, full of cheesy jokes but pulled it off flawlessly. Our tour through the jungle was punctuated with giggles and groans from the passengers as we passed by waterfalls, elephants, and a variety of other “scary” wildlife.

While definitely not even ranking on a “thrill” scale, we both enjoyed the laughs afforded by this iconic attraction and were in high spirits as we disembarked. We had quite a bit of time yet again at our disposal before our final Fastpass window, so after a short discussion about what to do next, we were both in agreement that our time would be best used to grab a light dinner to tide us over until the dessert party later that night
.


Heading back toward Main Street we briefly debated our quick service options, and continuing our commitment to trying something new each trip, we vetoed both Cosmic Rays and the Plaza. Judging by the line outside, we hoped this would be a good choice instead:

Our dinner at Casey’s Corner and a meet-and-greet with Mickey is next.

 

[pattyw]

I just love the pirate costumes. Is Pirates your next FP? Steve could jump right out and join the other pirates- he looks so authentic!
I agree about MNSSHP vs MVMCP. We've done both but the Halloween party is our favorite! Hoping to go back soon but not sure the boys will join us and our favorite costume was Gilligan's Island- DH as Skipper, DS as Gilligan, DS as Professor and I was Mary Ann. Have to find a good couple's costume look (we would be horrible pirates!)