Once Upon a Birthday-October 31, 2002, Part II “Look, it’s the great big bonehead!"

[IvyandLace]

Two hours later, at 4pm, the alarm went off and while everyone else was rousing, Ariel and I went down to ASMu food court to order pizzas for an early dinner. Pizza was one thing that we had found to be reasonable and consistently good at the food courts at the All Star Resorts. We ordered two large pizzas for about $18.00/each. (We all had our own refillable mugs from last trip-JP used my dad’s.) We sat at a patio table around the pool, trying to wake up while we greedily munched dinner. As we were finishing up, our excitement started to build as we began seeing a few people dressed up: a princess here, a Shakespearean-looking guy headed to the bus stop there. Wow! Time to get ready. Everyone went eagerly to his or her rooms, and the chaos commenced.

Here is the list of our costumes:
1. Show White=me!
2. Menacing pirate=(guess who?) Uncle T
3. Jack from the movie Nightmare Before Christmas=Jack
4. Ariel=Ariel
5. Peter Pan=JP
6. Tinkerbell=Princess M
7. Robin Hood=Harry

Since Princess M stayed in my room, I helped her dress and accessorize…think lots of glitter! I had brought gold glitter spray for her hair-she was a brunette-and as I sprayed and sprayed, her hair got lime greener and greener! Not a blonde hair in sight! She kept asking me, “Is it blonde now?” Finally we gave up…but she still looked good! (At least her hair color matched her costume.) She even had a wand and wore a bell on her wrist to make her “tinkle” like Tink herself. Very cute. My costume was easy to assemble-dress, stockings and black shoes, red ribbon in hair, red lipstick and lots of blush. Oh, yes…and plenty of glitter! The hardest part of my costume was getting my bangs gelled flat enough to look like Snow White’s hair.

Little by little the shadows lengthened and costumed family members appeared in our doorway to show off their own attire. I tried not to laugh when Princess M spotted Harry as Robin Hood and gasped, “You’re wearing tights??!”

Then it was time for the unveiling of GM’s outfit…in swept Cruella da Vil! I couldn’t believe she had made such an authentic-looking costume! Smashing, darhling! Our group was completed, and we all swept, danced, swaggered and flitted to the bus stop, everyone completely in character. Ariel and I chatted about Flounder and the Seven Dwarfs while Cruella merely muttered, “Have you seen my ‘poopies’?” to anyone within hearing. People stopped, stared, pointed, and giggled. We were in our glory.

There was quite a line for the MK bus stop, and we were pleased to see how much attention our group received. Most of the kids in line were dressed up but very few adults were…we were surprised! On the bus ride we sat near a couple of little girls who knew exactly who we all were. Tinkerbell was excited to find that her character came through despite the hair snafu`! Jack, in full head and body costume regalia, was a natural from the start-waving and pantomiming exactly in character to everyone on the bus. I couldn’t stop smiling!

We could see the Halloween decorations and hear the spooky music as we approached the gates from the bus depot. We could hardly contain out excitement! We arrived earlier than the posted opening time for MNSSHP because we had heard this would allow us into the park before the crowds built. Well, whoever posted that info on the DIS board deserves some pixie dust! Most people were headed out of MK and couldn’t understand why we were dressed up and could go into the park when it was closing. We were ecstatic-totally in character as we enjoyed the special Halloween theming to Main Street and Cinderella’s castle with very little crowds.

Our very first item of business for the evening was getting our family photo done. We made our way through Fantasyland after receiving our free trick-or-treat bags (and getting a few treats too) and waited in line at the “It’s a Small World” photo area. (There were photo areas set up in Adventureland, Liberty Square, and Tomorrowland too.) Officially we could get one photo per address per photo site. We had photos sent to 4 addresses-they arrived two weeks later-and took two different pictures, one of the whole group and one of the three “royal” children, Jack, Tinkerbell and Robin Hood. This was done very quickly and effectively. We waited in line for about 10-15 minutes.

It was now time to head towards-what else?-the Haunted Mansion. We had deliberately skipped this attraction so the JP could ride it for the first time on Halloween night. It was extremely spooky with lots of fog rolling around-very cool. We were quite disappointed with our “butleress” who spoke very non-committedly, ‘Please everyone step into the dead center of the room”, complete with Southern twang. Ariel and I looked at her disapprovingly and knew we would be auditioning for her part in the future. However, the mood was just right for my piece de` resistance: a piercing scream perfectly timed just as the skeleton is illuminated in the stretched room. I liked to do this “on request” at both the Haunted Mansion and the Tower of Terror, and tonight was a “must do”. It went off without a hitch-when we listen back on the video/audio that my husband was taping, we heard a child say, “I’m scared!” right after my scream ends. We were now completely in the Halloween/Disney spirit!

We giggled our way to our last “must do” of the evening: Splash Mountain, of course! We really wanted a picture of us in our costumes coming down the mountain-that was our goal! It was still quite early, but we were surprised to find a short wait. We, as always, “hee-hawed” and “yahooed” our way to our log, clapping and stomping with the music….it’s tradition! Our CM dubbed us the “Disney group” and then we were off! At one point Ariel turned around at us, and her teeth and eyeballs were aglow!
She looked more like Ursula. I guess she was just under a black light, but it sure was creepy! We were so full of spirit that the same CM let us stay in our log for a bonus ride-woo hoo! Unfortunately, our picture did not turn out.

Everyone was in a super mood, laughing and enjoying the night. Music filled the air. The candy stations were in full swing. Ariel was so adrenaline-filled that she started dancing rather enthusiastically doing a “Brittany Spears” imitation. Very funny! Here we were in the middle of Frontierland, making our way through the crowds in full costume-and Ariel was making Brittany Spears moves. We were so silly. It felt strange to be dressed up as a character walking around the Magic Kingdom-so surreal. It was an experience of a lifetime, to be sure.

It was time for a break-it was getting pretty crowded. We decided to get our spot for the fireworks and found the perfect spot on the path toward the rose garden. There was a little alcove with a clear view of the castle and we snatched it up. JP and I fought the crowds and bought refreshments for everyone-we were all thirsty and ready to dig in to our candy bags for a treat or two. Once I sat down I was surprised to find how tired my feet were already! I also noticed the plethora of “Dot” candy that I had accumulated-no one else seemed to have that many! It was a definite “Candy Conspiracy”! In fact, a few people even had a few of my very favorite, Charleston Chews. No fair. We did a bit of candy swapping-another tradition-but my Dots still outnumbered the good candy. This invasion would continue the rest of the evening. Down with the dots, I say!

The Halloween fireworks were superb-the theming, the atmosphere and our location added to the festivity. The witch flew right over our heads-incredible! I love that little fireworks viewing spot of ours!

Again I have to add my thoughts about my nephew as “Jack”. It surprised me how many people (including younger kids) knew who he was-he was such a hoot to watch! Immediately after the fireworks, it felt like we were being swarmed with “Jack” admirers. Maybe people just thought they has stumbled upon a character greeting area! Kids would call out “Hey, it’s Jack!” or “Hi, Jack!”, and Jack would inevitably wave or bow or act insanely appropriate for a masked character at WDW. No one would ever have guessed that this was a 14 year old boy-he was just so perfect at it. At one point, Ariel (acting like a CM “bodyguard” we were now accustomed to seeing regulate lines at character greetings) called out, “Okay, folks! Jack only has five more minutes!” This complete with Jack putting his hand to his mouth as if to say, “Oh, no! Only five more minutes, kids! Shucks!” We were almost rolling on the ground there at the Tomorrowland Bridge. (Jack did have a hard time keeping his "face" on-officially, Disney does not allow "masks" of any kind, and Jack was asked to remove it a number of times. However, as the night progressed, they were less concerned about it. So be forewarned that this may happen to you if you insist on wearing a mask.)

Not everyone knew who Jack was, though. We spent some time taking some pictures with all the Halloween decorations around the Kingdom later that evening and had a little boy (about six years old) exclaim in delight over our costumes, listing our characters with glee. “Look, it’s Peter Pan!” he said as he took in JP’s outfit, dagger and all. When it came to Jack, he took one look and said rather hesitantly but nonetheless enthusiasticly, “Look, it’s the great big…uh, bonehead!” That was it. Our phrase for the evening. It was hilarious! Jack will never live that one down.

He made a wonderful evening unforgettable. He even posed with a couple of boys for pictures!

Went on more rides than we had planned (POC, BTMRR) and hit every single trick-or-treat line. As the night went on, the CMs got cheekier with their comments and would say things like “Oh, Tinkerbell-great costume!” or “Hello, Peter Pan! Have you seen that old codfish yet?” It was fun. (We were disappointed with the candy stations at the end of the night-they were completely filled but the CMs were still quite stingy with what they gave out...fill up our bags! It's Halloween!)

As a matter of fact, Peter Pan did, in fact, have a run-in with Captain Hook. He took out his plastic dagger, and they had quite a row! Tinkerbell even got into the mix as a hostage! I loved to see how some people really got into their characters and played off who you were.

We even had time to stop by Cosmic Rays for some swing dancing and then went in search for special MNSSHP pins at Mickey’s Star Traders. While we were there, some foreigners were trying to figure out the pressed penny machine located in the store. JP, in true Disney spirit, showed them the correct change to use and the whole concept of the pressed penny, all through the language of gestures. They didn’t speak any English whatsoever and didn’t even know our currency! Way to go, JP, our Disney “newbie”! We were so impressed with his willingness to help and his seamless indoctrination into what Disney World is all about. *another touching moment*

We didn’t make it in time for getting seats on the curb for the late Boo-to-You parade (10:30pm). It was packed! By that time, everyone just wanted to sit down. We were anxious to view the headless horseman-very scary, but really too fast to appreciate! The “clop, clop, clop” of hoofbeats up the cobblestone street toward the castle was quite eerie. I don’t know if it was because we were tired, didn’t have good seats or people were very “pushy” and rude at this point in the night, but, unfortunately, the parade wasn’t as good as I expected. It was cute but didn’t stand out.

Despite the crowds, we were determined to stick it out to closing and decided to hang around Fantasyland to let the boys listen to some storytelling by Merlin (Uncle T was especially enchanted) while we girls got pics with the characters sprinkled about. My most magical moment came when I was waiting in line for pictures with some of the Seven Dwarfs. A mother of two young girls turned to me and asked, “Would you mind posing with my girls? They really want to see Snow White.” How could I refuse? I went down and asked them in my best Snow White voice if they had seen Dopey yet. They were mesmerized and just shook their heads. It was so cute, and I felt on top of the world! After the picture the mom said, “Thanks! That meant more than you’ll ever know.” *sniffs and wipes tear from eye*

We finished out the evening munching on soft pretzels and watching the Hunchback of Notre Dame dance at one of the pavilions. We were desperately tired but unwilling for the night to end. It was truly magical.

Tips for the day:

1. Larger groups (seven or more) need to ask to be seated together at the Sci Fi Diner. Make sure to order a milkshake while you’re there!
2. Be sure to rest before MNSSHP!! We can’t stress this enough. Even after a two hour nap, we were all dragging late that night. I can’t imagine how I would have felt without it.
3. Dress up for MNSSHP!! I couldn’t get over the amount of people that did NOT do this. It just adds to the fun and excitement of the night. Enjoy your character and allow yourself to be silly. You’ll make so many more memories that way.
4. Make sure you get to the MK early for MNSSHP!! It does get crowded. This is also a great idea for the fireworks and parades. Plan on not riding many rides that night and just enjoying the atmosphere and all the “extras” of the night. The absolutely best place to watch the fireworks is at the little alcove leading to the rose garden near the Tomorrowland Bridge. Great for a larger group too…lots of room to sit down and relax beforehand.
5. Wear good shoes to MNSSHP! Our feet were extremely abused that night. If you don’t think it will matter, believe me, it will. Next time this Snow White will wear sneakers with foot support. Remember…you’ll be walking A LOT that night.
6. Don’t forget to trade away your DOTS!

Though we won’t have sugar plums dancing in our heads,
We will sleep soundly when we’re tucked in our beds.
We’ll dream of ghosts, goblins and “Jack” instead
And those memories and stories which will often be said.
So, close your eyes, boys and girls, for tomorrow will bring…
Cool video games, yummy ice cream and a “cluck cluck” thing!

Want to read more? Next up is Once Upon a Birthday-November 1, 2002, Day Four: “From Cyberspace to Aaron’s Place”

 

[nutz4dzny]

Great trip report! I enjoyed reading it very much! It sounded like you guys had such a fun time! Thanks for sharing.

 

[pumba]

our neighbors were in disney for this Halloween party too and they had the best time....we did the xmas party one and Disney does go all out to entertain us......thanks so much for your great report

 

[jennymouse]

Glad to hear you had a great night too! We rode lots more rights than we ever thought we would be able to. We caught a couple of the story tellers too. DGD isn't a big candy eater, so she wanted to skip the long candy lines and just jump into the shorter ones. She got plenty though. Did you see that Brer Bear in Fronteerland passing out what we thought was candy...it was mustard packets!LOL My DGD got the biggest laugh out of that. Oh well, too much fun! Off to read the rest of your reports!