It was a Horror-ible, and then Not-So-Scary (but exhausting!), October/NovTrip!! Completed 3/13!!!

[buzzrelly]

Yes, I'm asking!! Why the heck were you up so early?!

And...I totally get the tears!! Rob looks at me like I'm insane, too, but it is just so beautifully magical when it's all decorated for Christmas!! Makes me teary just thinking about it

They'll never understand

 

[MeghanEmily]

Imagine my surprise when I walked around the corner to see this…

I was SHOCKED! I could NOT believe how fast they got this all decorated!

It's amazing how they get all this done literally overnight!

I guess the days of getting an empty Main Street picture are gone...

Sadly

to check in for our Keys to the Kingdom Tour!

Yay!! How exciting!

I loved that too! I just loved everything about this and hope to do more tours. Joseph was an awesome tour guide and was really knowledgeable about the parks. I don't know how he kept us all riveted for five hours, but he did! So gifted!

Fantastic! I'm so glad to hear you liked this tour! I've considered it for us...possibly someday! I would be worried about getting restless for such a long tour, but I think the tour guide would probably make all the difference.

For our next tour, I am debating between the Marceline to the MK vs Backstage Magic, if anyone wants to vote.

Oooh, do Backstage Magic! And then write about it so I can hear all about it!

We just did Marceline to MK and really liked it. I've heard people say there's a lot of overlap in terms of the stories and info on this one and Key to the Kingdom though? So maybe you'd find it too much repeat? That said, I think the focus is probably very different, and that Marceline to the MK is less info overall, but maybe goes more in depth into Walt's journey from his hometown to when he created the parks? I'm not sure. I just remember our tour guide saying something about how we all know who Walt Disney is, or at least she hoped we did, because if we didn't then our tour was Keys to the Kingdom and was just leaving in the opposite direction so we'd better hurry and go catch it! We got a lot of info about Liberty Square, Haunted Mansion (and went backstage in the banquet scene), Small World, a bit of Carousel of Progress, and then lots of other little tidbits. I do think the price and the length of that tour are great though. We paid about $50 per person, minus AP discounts, and it ended up going about 15 minutes over the 3 hours.

 

[missjackiemcg]

Rob and I just did KTTK on this trip!! Besides it being so darn cold, we really enjoyed it!! I had thought it was 4 hours, but it was actually more like 5. It included lunch (outdoors--brrr--at Tomorrowland Terrace). In the Utilidors, I really wanted to go on the other side of the hallways to read the bulletin board postings for CMs--Rob kept calling me nosy!! I really liked it! But, I almost think I enjoyed Marceline to MK even more.

I did Marceline to MK with my Mom last year and we loved it!! I believe the price has increased a bit since then, but we thoroughly enjoyed it!! I already knew a lot of the stories they told about Walt's life and history, but there was something so awesome about hearing them while walking the streets of Magic Kingdom! Going behind the scenes of the ballroom scene in Haunted Mansion is worth the cost for the whole tour!! We also rode through HM and Carousel of Progress with our earpieces in and our tour guide giving us background information and stories throughout--so cool. I would definitely recommend it if you enjoyed KTTK so much!

My dream tour is Backstage Magic!!! I am dying to go on that one, but have to wait for another trip with my Mom because it's something we want to do together. It sounds incredible being able to take in all 4 parks and get some behind the scenes scoop from each one!! Count me in!

 

[Gina Starr]

I never comment but I had to this time to talk about tours. We just did Marceline to Magic Kingdom yesterday and Joseph was our tour guide too!! I did Keys to the Kingdom last year and actually I think I liked MTMK better. It focused a lot more on Walt and his life. And you get to go on the ground floor of the ballroom scene on Haunted Mansion!!

 

[buzzrelly]

I would be worried about getting restless for such a long tour, but I think the tour guide would probably make all the difference.

Joseph was great! I was mesmerized listening to him and you can tell he really knew his stuff and could go on and on! It was gripping!

Oooh, do Backstage Magic! And then write about it so I can hear all about it!

If I do, I will!

We got a lot of info about Liberty Square, Haunted Mansion (and went backstage in the banquet scene),

OMG! That's a HUGE plus in favor of MTMK!

In the Utilidors, I really wanted to go on the other side of the hallways to read the bulletin board postings for CMs--Rob kept calling me nosy!!

I was dying to also! We had to stand up along one wall, but I REALLY wanted to walk closer to get a better look!

Going behind the scenes of the ballroom scene in Haunted Mansion is worth the cost for the whole tour!!

I think you guys are convincing me! That sounds amazing!

I never comment but I had to this time to talk about tours. We just did Marceline to Magic Kingdom yesterday and Joseph was our tour guide too!! I did Keys to the Kingdom last year and actually I think I liked MTMK better. It focused a lot more on Walt and his life. And you get to go on the ground floor of the ballroom scene on Haunted Mansion!!

Thanks for coming out of lurkdom to comment! That's so funny that you also had Joseph! Wasn't he awesome??!!

That Haunted Mansion scenario is really tipping the scales in favor of MTMK! Maybe we will just have to do both!

 

[MeghanEmily]

OMG! That's a HUGE plus in favor of MTMK!

Haunted Mansion (esp. backstage!!!) was enough to make the whole tour worth it for me. It was soo cool! I'm going to do my best not to give away any major spoilers in my TR, but we got to see exactly how they make that scene work with the ghosts in the banquet hall. And it felt extra special because we were backstage inside the ride while there were people riding it up above us, totally oblivious.

 

[buzzrelly]

Haunted Mansion (esp. backstage!!!) was enough to make the whole tour worth it for me. It was soo cool! I'm going to do my best not to give away any major spoilers in my TR, but we got to see exactly how they make that scene work with the ghosts in the banquet hall. And it felt extra special because we were backstage inside the ride while there were people riding it up above us, totally oblivious.

That is SO COOL!!

 

[ariane37]

I'm catching up!

I thought this was a PHENOMENAL view for a standard view

Yes very nice, and better than the views we've had on both our stays there!

It was already getting dark so I took some pics from the balcony before we headed out…

Love the pics of the Poly at night

Oh, I almost forgot, y'all might want to actually SEE our super secret HHG mug!

So cool!

but I'm firmly in the camp of even bad bread is pretty good…kind of like pizza

I wholeheartedly agree, as long as we're not talking about pizza from the BW window

Ok, inquiring minds want to know why your husband is "Mike2" in your phone. What's a hubby gotta do to be #1?

Well….there was a little rumor a little while back that I had a boyfriend AND a husband, so…

OMG before I saw your quoted I quoted Kari and was going to say Mike1 is your BF

but I have to say, it looks so much better as a 1'' x 1", as opposed to what I'm seeing here...

Um, every picture of me would look better as a 1" x 1"

to check in for our Keys to the Kingdom Tour!

Yay! Loved that tour!

For our next tour, I am debating between the Marceline to the MK vs Backstage Magic, if anyone wants to vote.

We haven't done Backstage Magic (I wish) but we did MTTMK. I much preferred KTTK even though I enjoyed Marceline, but I liked UndisCovered Futureworld in Epcot better, too. Not sure how that one will change with the closures and new attractions coming to FW now and that's a shame but if you want to do Marceline, do it, I don't think you'll be disappointed

I think the focus is probably very different, and that Marceline to the MK is less info overall, but maybe goes more in depth into Walt's journey from his hometown to when he created the parks?

You are correct! Yes Marceline focuses more on where Walt came from and how he created the parks but also on some different attractions. And without giving anything away I will say that while both tours involve HM, the way Marceline involves it is waaaaaaaaay better

 

[buzzrelly]

Welcome back!

And without giving anything away I will say that while both tours involve HM, the way Marceline involves it is waaaaaaaaay better

I think we HAVE to do this next! I could probably convince Mike to do both, but we won't be there that long and we want to have more unplanned time on this next trip. I don't think planning two tours in 5 days qualifies

 

[buzzrelly]

Hello again, all! I am off to work in a bit so I don't have time for a long update, but I wanted to finish posting what I had in pics from the rest of our tour.

While we were walking with our group, the "new" welcome show was starting at the castle and Joseph told us to just wait and watch for a minute so he didn't have to scream over it. By the way, we had no trouble hearing with our headsets. I was worried about Mike because his hearing stinks and I had heard of people getting bad headsets where they couldn't hear at all, but he could hear everything.


(It was a gorgeous day and looking at this makes me long for some of that weather right now. It poured here yesterday and today it's going to be freezing today so all that rain will now freeze. Crazy, New England weather!)

We had lunch at Tomorrowland Terrace in an area that wasn't even open. We had ordered our lunch in the am when we checked into our tour and it was ready for us when we got there.

I had the Chicken Caesar Salad. It was ok, but I think I gave Mike most of the chicken so it was pretty much lettuce and cheese with a couple croutons thrown in.


And Mike had some kind of sandwich…maybe pulled pork? I would ask him, but it's 6 am on a Saturday and he'd kill me if I woke him up to ask him about a sandwich!


When the tour was over, Joseph offered to answer any more questions we had. I could have asked him a hundred questions and never been satisfied and I didn't want him to think I was crazy so I controlled myself. But I absolutely HAD to get my picture with him when we were done…


I look like a TOTALLY sane person, right?? Poor, poor Joseph.

One final thought on the tour is that it REALLY makes me want to work there…I felt like I was on my orientation for my new job! Oh, if only I could go back in time, sigh Maybe if this NICU nursing thing doesn't work out...


Have a great day, everyone! I'll be working all weekend so I'll continue with this day next week sometime!


CLICK HERE FOR NEXT POST...​

 

[MeghanEmily]

And Mike had some kind of sandwich…maybe pulled pork? I would ask him, but it's 6 am on a Saturday and he'd kill me if I woke him up to ask him about a sandwich!

Bahaha probably a good call!

One final thought on the tour is that it REALLY makes me want to work there…I felt like I was on my orientation for my new job! Oh, if only I could go back in time, sigh Maybe if this NICU nursing thing doesn't work out...

Oh my gosh, I'm with you there! I think I went to the wrong school—Disney University is calling my name!

 

[Raeven]

It poured here yesterday and today it's going to be freezing today so all that rain will now freeze

Same!

I would ask him, but it's 6 am on a Saturday and he'd kill me if I woke him up to ask him about a sandwich!

I've asked Josh how he likes food when I'm going through and writing my DTR, and he's always like I don't remember, I ate that like 2 months ago

 

[buzzrelly]

I've asked Josh how he likes food when I'm going through and writing my DTR, and he's always like I don't remember, I ate that like 2 months ago

Same! Sometimes I think I should take better notes…or ANY notes …but I guess that's why I wouldn't do a dining report. That, and because I have very simple food tastes so a DTR from me would not be very interesting, at all!

 

[kastoney]

Get ready foodies...

So gourmand! Do you know if those bananas were locally sourced

I was SHOCKED! I could NOT believe how fast they got this all decorated! After a moment of disappointment at having missed some fall decoration pics, I literally started to cry because it looked so beautiful And yes, Mike thought I was absolutely nuts that I was crying

I'm sure it was quite jarring to go from Halloween to Christmas in just a matter of hours. I think I would have been crying right along with you. I cannot begin to express my excitement when we walked into a Xmas decorated MK for the first time. Definitely magical!

We were scheduled for the 8 am tour, so we and about 8 others met up in TS Theater and met our awesome guide, Joseph! Ironically, here he is telling us all to not take any pictures...

My favorite thing about it was talking about Walt and the history of the park, though I think most people would say going in the utilidors was their favorite part. I loved that too! I just loved everything about this and hope to do more tours.

So glad to hear this was well worth you time. I can't wait to do it sometime, but gotta wait for the kiddo to grow up some more.

I look like a TOTALLY sane person, right?? Poor, poor Joseph.

Yes, totally sane. I'm sure there were no restraining orders involved

 

[wdwnut61]

Joining in and loving your TR
We've stayed at Royal Pacific and loved it
CR and Poly are 2 of our favorites
Such great pictures
Yay for DIS meets
After reading about your KTTKT hoping to book this for eith March or November
We already have Dolphins in Depth and Caring for Giants for our March trip.

 

[buzzrelly]

So gourmand! Do you know if those bananas were locally sourced

I cannot begin to express my excitement when we walked into a Xmas decorated MK for the first time. Definitely magical!

It really is! I don't think I'd want to cross over seasons like that again, I was left wanting more Halloween. We will be there mid-October this year, so all Halloween

Yes, totally sane. I'm sure there were no restraining orders involved

Joining in and loving your TR
We've stayed at Royal Pacific and loved it
CR and Poly are 2 of our favorites
Such great pictures
Yay for DIS meets
After reading about your KTTKT hoping to book this for eith March or November
We already have Dolphins in Depth and Caring for Giants for our March trip.

Thanks, so much!

You won't regret booking this tour, I only hope you get Joseph, or someone equally as awesome!

Caring for Giants looks really cool, but where is the dolphin tour? Is that at WDW? We did a dolphin excursion in the Bahamas years ago and it was amazing…they are such sweet creatures

Looks like you are going to beat us to F & G by one week. I can't wait…79 more days!

 

[wdwnut61]

Thanks, so much!

You won't regret booking this tour, I only hope you get Joseph, or someone equally as awesome!

Caring for Giants looks really cool, but where is the dolphin tour? Is that at WDW? We did a dolphin excursion in the Bahamas years ago and it was amazing…they are such sweet creatures

Looks like you are going to beat us to F & G by one week. I can't wait…79 more days!

Dolphins in Depth is offered in Epcot in the Living Seas. Our youngest DD is majoring in Coastal Environmental Science and Biology so she loved this tour and has requested to go again this year. You get to go behind the scenes where they care for the dolphins. At some point in the tour you change into wetsuits and one at a time get into the water with the dolphins. Each person gets approximately 15 mins to interact with the dolphins. She loved it.
67 days for us our FP day is next Monday.
Hope you have a great time

 

[emilyhuff]

I am SO enjoying your report!!! Did you feel that Disney was crowded during your time there? We are looking to go this exact same time this year and are on the border bc of Halloween/Wine and Dine Half and the potential crowds they bring.... what are your thoughts!? And you just solidified my WANT to do Keys to the Kingdom, that is definitely on the list!

 

[buzzrelly]

Dolphins in Depth is offered in Epcot in the Living Seas. Our youngest DD is majoring in Coastal Environmental Science and Biology so she loved this tour and has requested to go again this year. You get to go behind the scenes where they care for the dolphins. At some point in the tour you change into wetsuits and one at a time get into the water with the dolphins. Each person gets approximately 15 mins to interact with the dolphins. She loved it.

I had NO idea they even had dolphins there! I guess I need to go back into the Living Seas more often…we haven't been since the kids were little.

67 days for us our FP day is next Monday.
Hope you have a great time

Good luck! And thanks! You too!

I am SO enjoying your report!!! Did you feel that Disney was crowded during your time there? We are looking to go this exact same time this year and are on the border bc of Halloween/Wine and Dine Half and the potential crowds they bring.... what are your thoughts!? And you just solidified my WANT to do Keys to the Kingdom, that is definitely on the list!

Thanks and

I actually thought it was much busier than I had expected it to be. Most of the time the crowds were pretty manageable, and it helped that Mike doesn't go on the "big" rides, but I was slightly disappointed in the overall crowd level. I haven't gotten to this in the report yet, but we tried to go back to F & W on Saturday, after the 10K and it was wall-to-wall jammed with people . I know, I know…I'm not a newb and I was fore-warned NOT to go to EPCOT on a weekend during F & W, but it was our last chance and I was thinking, "eh, it can't be THAT bad." It was THAT bad. Never again. We high-tailed it out of there fairly quickly.

And just for comparison, we typically go during Spring Break and the overall crowds on this trip rivaled even April crowds.

We are going back October 16th and I'm hoping it won't be so congested without the RunDisney crowds.

You will NOT be disappointed in the KTTK tour! I hope you get Joseph!

 

[buzzrelly]

After security escorted us out of the MK, we went back to the Poly where, for some reason, I felt compelled to take an artsy tree pic…


I do love my Palm Trees

We got the car and drove over to DHS. I was very excited as this was my first time ever driving to the parks and taking the tram…wheeeeeeee!


After that exhilarating ride, we got into DHS around 3:30 and were happy that they had also started decorating for Christmas…






We did a couple photo pass pics…



Are we cold?? I don't even know! So awkward!

It was already time for our first FP+, so we headed over to Star Tours…

which didn't really have a line so we went on a couple more times, seeing as there is not much else to do in DHS

From there we went over to One Man's Dream where, without the kids bugging me that they were bored, I spent WAY too much time, and took WAY too many pictures…

Continued in next post...​