*~SoScary's MNSSHP/Halloween '09 SPOOKY PLANNING EXTRAVAGANZA!~*PICTURES*

[SoScary'09]

Hello!~*

Trust me, I know it's early! However, for the sake of my very sanity, I will be starting my first ever ptr as of today. Considering the fact that it's probably going to take me well into the summer just to finish my costume alone, I figure it probably wouldn't hurt if I had someplace to track my progress. That, and meet some of you guys and chat with anyone else who might be heading to the world this fall!*happy dance*

If you're expecting or looking for a serious/mature/warm & fuzzy ptr...this defenitely isn't going to be it. Like many of us here I'm still a big kid at heart, but I also tend to thrive on dry humor and bitter sarcasm. I think that trait is defenitely something that runs our family.

Anyway, no kids for this trip! (We were the kids, but now we're grown) So onto the all-adult cast:

Me(24):

(a little blurry sorry!) Already you can tell this isn't going to be your run-of-the-mill trip report Day to day I work at a nearby flower shop in my neighborhood, and when things get busy I usually spend most of my time out around the city making deliveries. It's a great job to have and I love what I do- no complaints here! However, the downside is that I can't really remember the last time I've taken a vacation from my job! I've been there for three years and am since long overdue for a couple weeks away from it all! Hence our story begins~

-My fellow vacationeers probably woudn't be too fond of pictures of themselves being posted. So I compromised....-​

DSis(21):

My younger sister, and the one responsible for my newfound Disney obsession. She ordered the '08 planning DVD, and it was all downhill from there. She's a little like me only though a lot more laid back when it comes to planning. She'll be going as a pirate! Look out, Jack Sparrow~ Her dreads are real! (touché) Oh, and don't let the frown fool you. That's just her 'Someone help me I'm stuck at work' face.

DMom(51):

Lover of Scandanavia and all things Halloween. She said she was willing to take the trip, but ONLY if we were to be there on Halloween. Little arguement from us. She's been pretty freaked out by all my overly organized planning though. A recent quote from her: 'You guys aren't trying to break into a prison, you know. It's a fun park.'
Needless to say I was nearly in tears from laughing so hard.

So that's us! (Or as close as I can get to it anyway.) Weird and dysfunctional but with good intentions overall. This will be our first "family vacation" since waaaay back in the day. I'm really excited!~

 

[SoScary'09]

At first there was a lot of finanacial confusion. Then Dsis got smart:

Behold the Disney Goal Thermometer of Unnecessary Decadence. No more questions about "how much have we paid" or "how many payments are left". Believe it or not, it's really come in handy. Especially since Dsis handles the money stuff with such an iron fist *_*

The top:

It's also a good idea if you've got a family with little kids. (I'm immature so I like moving the Mickey head) Right now we're at the 'poor unfortunate soul'. Halfway there! She put a lot of effort into it, but that's nothing unusual. My sister's always had a creative overdrive since day 1.

Now my sad tear-away calendar that I made for my kitchen wall isn't nearly as cool. Just some stickers and paper:

Ghetto, but oh well. It serves it's purpose, anyway!

Up next: The Itinerary!

 

[SoScary'09]

The Spooky Itinerary of Magic etc.

WHEN: 10/26/09-11/05/09
DISNEY DAYS: 10/28/09-11/02/09 = 5 Nights

WHERE:

At the fabulous Bayview Tower at the MK Contemporary Resort! As of now we're booked with a theme park view, although I'm remaining a little skeptical since there's also going to be a big parking lot/intersection etc. in view. If you couldn't already tell, this is going to be our first time staying at a Disney resort. We live in the city, so we decided that when we go we want to feel like we're still somewhat in the middle of it all.

We're not country/summer/beach/wide open spaces/sunshine people. (Well, I like beaches and sunshine just fine, just not all the time) So the Cotemporary seemed like the best way to go. Cold and angular Scandinavian architecture-check. No outstanding Disney theme-check (although we wouldn't have minded if there was one). Monorail goes through the building-big check. Yep. We're contemporary people alright. Stick us in CBR and we might shrivel up and die. Not that there's anything at all wrong with CBR. I've seen the pictures and it looks lovely, but you get the idea.

WHAT: For MNSSHP of course. FOR THOSE THAT ARE CONSIDERING ATTENDING, TICKETS GO ONSALE ON/AROUND MAY 1ST! I'll be sure to post everything once I've got it all confirmed. We'll also be there for Epcot's F&W. Yay for all sorts of International cheeses!

WHY: Because vacations is funs.

We'll be driving down (2 days in the car), but it'll be a very familiar road trip since we used to have family down there (grandparents). We even lived in Lady Lake for awhile when we were kids so it won't be anything new. It will be strange however to be going down there without anyone to visit. We used to go to Disney all the time when we were little. Sometimes in the summer, other times over Christmas. It's gonna be pretty nostalgic I think. My grandma rocked.

 

[SoScary'09]

MNSSHP 2008

September 5, 9, 12, 16, 19, 23, 26, 28, 30
October 2, 3, 5, 7, 9, 10, 13, 16, 19, 21, 23, 24, 26, 28, 30, & 31

Ok, here's what sucks. There were no dates scheduled on a Saturday last year. So, after searching around to find out what might be happening, all I've come up with thus far are rumors. The 31st just had to fall on a Saturday for my trip, didn't it?

Hopefully they'll just cut some dates in Sept. and do Sat.'s in October or something. At least, that's what I would do instead of skipping the date altogether. But how can you even have an event like mnsshp and not have the thing on Halloween? If memory serves, it was sold out that night last year. I can't see them not wanting to make the extra $$$.

 

[Stacybaeasm]

I can't wait to hear more. I am going in October 2009 as well, but probably earlier in the month - maybe right after Columbus day. Have you done MNSSHP? I did this year and it is great! I knew right away I'd be coming back around the same time each year so I could go. With your dates, you could also maybe squeeze in the Christmas party as well. Have you thought about that?

 

[SoScary'09]

I can't wait to hear more. I am going in October 2009 as well, but probably earlier in the month - maybe right after Columbus day. Have you done MNSSHP? I did this year and it is great! I knew right away I'd be coming back around the same time each year so I could go. With your dates, you could also maybe squeeze in the Christmas party as well. Have you thought about that?

Hey there Nope, we've never done MNSSHP so we're really excited! Although I've heard that the crowds around that time can be insane.

So...Do the adults get any candy?

And you know, now that you mention it, we just might have to look into MVMCP too Thanks for reading!~

 

[tinkgurl]

Okay I'm hooked!

 

[SoScary'09]

Thanks guys Ok, onto another update~

-The Costumes-​

Dsis: As previously mentioned, she's going to be dressed as a pirate. My sister finally got tired of people telling her that she should go as one some year because she already had 'the look' for it Really, she's not that scurvy looking or anything, her hair is just sort of like Jack Sparrow's.

DMom: I think she might slop some Viking thing together at the last minute, but the last time I heard she wasn't very concerned about doing anything serious

As for me, I'll be going as Marluxia from the Disney video game Kingdom Hearts! Yeah, yeah, a bit dorky I know, but it is Disney related, and if I don't do it now then when? For those that might not be familiar with the game, a little background info:

KH Background:
The game revolves around a 15 year old kid named Sora and his friends Riku & Kairi. Long story short, their world gets mixed up with several others. So basically, the world of Disney sort of seeps into their own. Sora befriends Donald and Goofy in their search for King Mickey and the culprits behind the teems of 'Heartless' creatures that have begun popping up all over the place. There is a mini game of sorts within each 'world'(Agrabah, Neverland, Wonderland, etc.) and overall it's just really cute and fun. I myself aren't huge into video games, so for me to sit down and actually play the entire series is really saying something! Anyway, if you're a proclaimed Disney fanatic but haven't ever played this game, go out and get it! You won't be sorry

So yeah, onto my character. Marluxia is a member of the Heartless group Organization XIII in Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories. To keep things brief, he's the bad guy:

He's far from my favorite member, given he has the personality of a wet sponge, but his look will be easier for me to pull off.

I know, some bad guy right? Pink hair, a big pink scythe, and he throws around flower petals. But at least I don't have to worry about making that huge weapon he carries around, not that I would even if it were allowed in the park anyway. 24 is a little late for one's first ever cosplay/crossplay, but Halloween night at Disney World has presented in itself the perfect oppurtunity. I just couldn't resist!

Onto the things one needs for an Organization XIII costume!~

 

[SoScary'09]

Sewing! I have never used a sewing machine before, so this is going to be quite the endeavour for me! (see now why I need all this extra time? )

I haven't ordered my pleather fabric yet. Right now I'm making a practice mock-up with cheap material to get the exact look that I want. I started with a nightgown pattern and then added the extra length. As you can see, it's pretty close to what I'm doing minus the hood:

I won't even try to show you what the thing looks like right now. Not because it's bad, but rather the material I had to use is well....um....it's red and white and I look like The Candycane Master or something with it on But it's been good practice so yeah.

Besides fabric, one also needs...manly-looking boots!

I can't even believe I found these on clearance at Target in the women's section After touching up the buckles they really, and I mean really, look like men's soldier boots when I have them on. I'm not sure as to why they designed them like that because obviously nobody bought any of the dozens of pairs that were there, but at least I got what I was looking for

I've had to do a lot of cosplay research for this project since I've had no clue as to what to use for the hood pulls and beads and such. One thing I found from the awesome people over at orgxiii.org are their huge #30 zippers made specifically for these kinds of coats. Just so you can get an idea of how big they are:

Yep, they're pretty freakin' huge. And they work like any other ordinary zipper.

I didn't set the cat there, honest. He's always dying for attention. Anyway, another idea of how big it is. Although I need to order another one. The bottom pull came off and I can't seem to get it back on

More next time on my supply list!

 

[SoScary'09]

A quick update on the progress of my supplies. Right now, I'm working on getting the chain + beads together. When I'm done it should look something like this. It attatches to the front of the coat and basically looks like a necklace and hoodie strings:

Small wooden spools are recomended for the beads. After searching craft store after craft store for some sort of better alternative, I've truly found them to be the best option. Beads that huge just don't seem to exist in my area. And the ones that do aren't in the bizarre sort of style that I need:

I'm gonna get crazy w/ the wood burning tool. After that they get painted.

And then there's the hoody pulls. My costume is definitely going to be Disney-safe, even though the ones pictured above are only ceiling fan pulls and not nearly as sharp as they look. Reguardless, Here are the lamp finals I'll be using:

Rounded edges, people. Rounded edges. How they're actually going to be attached is still the big question. Oh well, I'm sure I'll figure out something.

 

[SoScary'09]

So I finally ordered my stretch pleather fabric last week (a little pricey but well worth it imnsho), and it should be arriving sometime pretty soon. In the meantime I've been practicing here and there with the sewing machine. I'm starting to feel slightly less intimidated so that's good. My new gloves were snagged on clearance over at Burlington Coat Factory, and my wig's also on it's way from Hong Kong. Just styling that thing is gonna take ages for someone like me

_______

Halloween stuff aside, I recently snagged a super deal off of avon.com. Their Mickey shoulder bag was onsale for $14.99, but I managed to sneak in free shipping on top of it^_^

Ok, so it's pretty tacky/ugly, but the picture doesn't do it much justice. The canvas is really high quality as is the leather. And it's just big enough for a camera, bottle of water, etc. without it being too bulky & awkward. The perfect touristing park bag.

More updates later-

 

[tinkgurl]

Aw I think that Mickey bag is pretty cute!

 

[SoScary'09]

The dates were released today!~*happy dance* I'm sooo excited!

Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party

September: 4, 11, 15, 18, 22, 25, 29, 2009
October: 1, 2, 6, 8, 9, 12, 13, 15, 18, 20, 22, 23, 25, 27, 29, 31, 2009

Tickets go on sale May 1, 2009
Hours: 7:00 p.m. – midnight, Parade at 8:15 and 10:30, Fireworks at 9:30

Guess I had no reason to worry about there being a party on a Saturday night. After talking to a few people I found out that they even did the party on a Sunday night back in 2001. Anyway yeah. Getting more excited! The months seem like they are suddenly starting to fly by. October's gonna be here in no time!

Costume progress: My wig arrived this past week, along with my coat material. It's so nice and high quality that I'm nearly afraid to cut it0_0 Pictures and more stuff when I can get around to it!

 

[SoScary'09]

The pleather for my coat is waaay nicer quality than I had originally anticipated.

I actually ended up getting a really good deal on it @ only $8 a yard, and in the end shipping didn't end up being nearly as bad as I thought it would be. I should probably do something with the leftovers when I'm done since it's far too nice to just throw away. More than likely my finished result will end up looking like I spent a lot more money than I actually did. That is, if it doesn't come out all maimed from the sewing machine first.

The wig also arrived from Hong Kong. It's pretty nice:

I'll get a real picture of it sometime, but right now it's kind of a mess I wouldn't reccomend buying a Hong Kong wig if you need something with a decent amount of volume or are super serious about your get-up. At $20, you really get what you pay for in this case. I didn't really care and didn't feel like spending a whole lot, so I think I made the right choice. After MNSSHP, there's a good chance I won't be holding onto it anyway.

I've been working off and on on my costume since the beginning of the year, and right now I'd guess that I'm maybe 30% of the way done. There's still A LOT to do, but luckily I can relax and take my time on it. One of my arm pieces already had to be thrown out and re-cut because I sewed it on wrong It was a little scary, but so far nothing seriously traumatic has happened yet.

The real horror is going to be trying to get that huge zipper stitched on!

 

[SoScary'09]

Less than a month until our tickets go onsale. The days are starting to pick up the pace right now. Hope it stays that way!~

I just finished reading The Little Black Book of Disney World a few days ago, and I can honestly say that it's one of the better guides I've read thus far. If you're a big shopper and you'd like to somewhat gauge your 'frivolous spending' budget, then this is the book to pick up. Every store is listed along with some of the items they carry. Until now I wasn't aware that Epcot had multiple bakeries. Looks like we're going to be taking some serious tupperware along

In other not so great news, my car's not doing too well right now The engine light's on so I've gotta get it checked out. Super paranoid about it, as the last thing that was wrong ended up costing $1,500. Ouch.

My sister's also just bought a new car, so there's a bit of a cramp in our budget as of late. Hopefully by summer things can get smoothed out. Worrying about money is never fun

 

[Leitadala]

My friend and I are dragging our guys to WDW in October as well - we can't wait for the Halloween Party. Your costume progress looks awesome!

 

[SoScary'09]

Thanks, I'm excited too Finally under the halfway mark in our countdown October's gonna be here before we know it!~

I've been styling my wig here and there. Gives me something to do while I'm watching tv or whatever. So far it's sort of coming along. Looks a whole lot different than it did when I first got it:

Right now I'm just trying to get it sort of the way I want it. It won't be until August or September before I go back and really try to finish it. Styling it in place is probably going to be a bit of a pain.

My coat is also completely sewn together in one piece now!~

Granted it looks more like some sort of bizarre untailored graduation robe hanging there, I'm pretty happy with the way it's turning out so far especially for me being a rookie sewer. (Note: If you aspire to learn how to use a machine, for the love of God, don't start with stretch pleather fabric)

It's still pretty much a mess right now though as you can see. It's too long for one thing so some length is going to have to be taken off. Piping needs to be put on, along with the entire hood itself which I haven't even thought about starting on. At first I was worried because it wasn't coming out very shapely/doesn't look good hanging on it's own, but then I realized something. It's Disney. Comfort wins over style any day of the week.

The shiny thing on the zipper track is a button I've attatched on to keep the bottom zipper from sliding off. That needs fixing too. But overall I'm getting there. Good thing I can do it at my leisure *cough*like once every two weeks *cough*

 

[tinkgurl]

That wig is so cute!

 

[Myhappythought5]

What Fun. A great report so far. Look forward to more.

 

[SoScary'09]

All of the sudden it's crunch time!!!~

We're officially under the two month mark and things have suddenly gone from super calm to crazy hectic!!! Despite all the time I had throughout the year I STILL don't have my costume finished! I'm close though. Closer than my Mom is. She still hasn't even started on hers yet!

A couple days ago I also started getting a little suprise ready for my family members for when we arrive. Halloween gift baskets! Right now I'm working with Memories by Betsy to get some baskets delivered to the Contemporary on the day we arrive. (Since neither my Mom or sister use the Dis boards I'm free to rant about it!) I was going to use Disney florist until I saw the selection for October was kind of sparse. So thanks to the Dis (again) I'm getting what I really want! Banana Dance~

So if you're also wanting Halloween gift baskets for your trip but are having trouble, check out her stuff. Betsy's even being cool enough to let me use my own custom containers etc: http://memoriesbybetsy.com

I also have a lot of shopping to do. A LOT. Way to leave it all to the last minute me That's what happens when you have over a year to do something. It never gets done in my case! Most of my recent efforts have been going towards my new online crochet business *sorry for the shameless plug* http://miscreates.com. Yay for yarn-made things!

More pictures once I get my costume finalized! And more updates from here on out!