The COME HELL OR HIGH WATER, We're Going! Trip Report

[bubba's mom]

i agree...that pic w/ Stitch is really good!

Take your time finishing your trippie...it IS the holidays after all...know you're busy

 

[RVGal]

Day 4 - Tuesday, October 21st


We were up at a reasonable time and had breakfast in our room. One of the nicest things about the SSR for us was having the fridge, toaster & microwave. We headed out to the bus stop.

Yes, even though we were staying in the The Paddock, this bus stop for The Carousel was right in front of our building.

Our bus driver was fantastic. He was the only one we had this trip that actually made the drive fun. He got on the speakers when we headed out of the resort and said, "I notice we have a lot of children on the bus this morning. That is good. Now I can make all the grownups sing The Wheels On The Bus." And he did. Then he asked if any of the kids had a birthday within a month from today's date. Joshua raised his hand because his was only a couple of weeks away. The driver then had the bus sing Happy Birthday to him. When we arrived at MK, he told "the family of the birthday boy" to wait on the bus after everyone else exited. He then told me to get my camera ready and I did. As we walked off the bus, he stood up and let us take this picture.

Then he gave Joshua a Disney Transportation trading card with a picture of the bus on the front. He was a super nice bus driver.

We headed toward the bag check and I snapped a quick shot of this:

Yes, we already had our tickets for MNSSHP and would be back for that later on.

I have never been to MK during October, so I took a bunch of pictures of the decorations.

I tried several times to get a good picture of the "See you real soon" pumpkins over the tunnel as you exit.

A look down Main St.

I thought it was funny that the pumpkins on each building were carved to match the shop they were on. Like the cone carved on the pumpkin above the ice cream parlor.

We stopped for a group picture in front of the castle. I highly recommend bypassing the PhotoPass photographers on Main St and heading for one of the ones on the paths on either side of the castle. That way, you don't get the crowds in the backgrounds, just you and the castle. Unfortunately, I headed to the sunny side of the castle and the glare was in our eyes.

However, just past that we saw the stepmother and stepsisters from Cinderella.

Joshua was so excited to add Lady Tremaine, Anastasia, and Drusilla to his autograph book. (I remembered Anastasia and Drusilla were the stepsisters, but I couldn't come up Lady Tremaine to save my life.) They were wonderful characters. Very snotty and funny. One of the sisters asked why I wanted people to bite me (my Halloween tshirt was a vampire bat with the line "Bite Me" under it). I told her I didn't have a G rated answer for that. She slapped both hands over her mouth and giggled, then whispered my answer to her sister, who did the same thing. The stepmother shouted for SILENCE and warned them "Girls, girls! You'll upset your digestion. Be little ladies now for the peasants... er... guests."

One of the sisters noticed that Joshua's shirt had skeletons doing the Speak No Evil, See No Evil, Hear No Evil thing, so she insisted they take this picture.

They were great. Some of the best face characters I've interacted with in a long time.

I've said it before and I'll say it again, when you arrive early at MK head straight for Fantasyland. If you have any desire to do the kiddie rides, go early, ride fast, and get outta Dodge. Fantasyland becomes a sea of humanity by lunchtime and remains wall-to-wall strollers and preschoolers until after dinner. You have been warned.

We always try to ride Dumbo first. It is the ride where the line grows by leaps and bounds the fastest because it isn't a constantly loading ride and can't hold that many riders.

Next, we headed for Pooh.

I tried once again to get a shot of the picture on the wall paying homage to Mr Toads Wild Ride.

I guess because of the lighting, that is probably as good as I'm ever going to get.

When we went to pick up the stroller after riding Pooh, I saw that Alice and the Mad Hatter were in front of the Tea Cups.

They were really good. The Mad Hatter was in rare form and, even though it made for a longer wait, watching him make each kid laugh was worth it.

 

[bubba's mom]

Wow! Never a disappointment! GREAT pix!

How cool was it your son got to 'drive' the bus That's something he won't forget!

Sounds like the stepsisters were a hoot! That's great to have that much fun interaction with them.

I don't think you'll get a better pic of the tribute to Mr Toad...I think that's a great picture of it...considering, if you blink your eyes, you miss it

MK looks beautiful in October. Someday I'll see it I'll bet seeing it without all the orange/Halloween decor would be strange to mac..since she usually only sees it that way. btw...I agree...the pumpkin carvings in the pumpkins on the stores they represent is a way cool idea!

Shaping up to be a great lookin' day....looking forward to the rest of the day!

 

[macraven]

so good to see all the pictures and travel along as a reader, on your vacation!

josh should take that pic to school to show he drove the bus.....
his friends will love it!

 

[loribell]

Woo Hoo! Another update! I bet Joshua was thrilled to get to "drive" the bus! How kewl is that!

 

[distherapy]

I LOVE that pic with the stepsisters and Lady Tremaine. That is the best character photo I've seen in a long time!

I'm really enjoying your report and hoping it's cathartic for you.

 

[miprender]

Hello RVGal.... how were the holidays? I followed you along on your last trip report and just wondering how everything was going.

 

[mommyofthreeboys]

Hope everything is going well!

I love your TR!!!

 

[RVGal]

Hello RVGal.... how were the holidays? I followed you along on your last trip report and just wondering how everything was going.

Well, aren't you the sweet one to think of me?

The past month has been fine. I enjoyed Christmas with my boys. It was hectic and fun and all the things that the holidays are supposed to be. It was also weird. I could never completely forget that somebody was missing. I guess that'll probably always be there.

I completely forgot I left my trip report unfinished. Again. I'll have to figure out where I was and get it done.

 

[RVGal]

Alright, so I don't lose my place, I'm going to finish the few pictures I already have uploaded. This will be a short post. Bear with me.


After meeting Alice and The Mad Hatter, we decided to tour the rest of Fantasyland. We did Snow White and Peter Pan, then wound up at... sigh... it's a small world. Want to know what time that was?

Not to hard to remember when you catch the clock chiming in line.

Honestly, I enjoy watching my boys have fun on this ride.

After the ride, Joshua declared that we just HAD to eat at that restaurant you can see from IASW. The Pinnochio Village Haus? But, but... that means I have to break my most sacred rule to never, never, NEVER eat in Fantasyland! There was much pleading and I wasn't that hungry anyway, so I caved. It wasn't really about the food anyway. It was about...

... being able to watch and wave at the boats for IASW through the window. Seriously. That's all that mattered to the boys. I doubt they even knew what they were eating. If you can't get a window seat here, don't bother.

Next up will be more of our day at MK!

 

[romymichelle21]

I love Pinocchio's Village Haus! It's such a cute little place. I didn't even realize until recently that we have an identical one in DL.

That clock part is INSIDE Small World? That looks so odd, with the ceiling overhead! What the heck does the outside look like then, I wonder?

 

[RVGal]

I love Pinocchio's Village Haus! It's such a cute little place. I didn't even realize until recently that we have an identical one in DL.

That clock part is INSIDE Small World? That looks so odd, with the ceiling overhead! What the heck does the outside look like then, I wonder?

Cute, yes. Edible food, barely. Fun to watch the boats go by, definitely.

When they closed IASW for the big rehab 3 or 4 years ago, they added the clock tower to the loading area. Most of the line is inside the building, so you pass by the clock tower several times as you wind your way back and forth. Every, ummm, 15 minutes (I think. Don't hold me to it) the clock chimes and the stuff on it swings and swirls around and the front doors open to reveal the time.

We don't get decorations in our IASW for Christmas, so it is nice to know we have something that DL doesn't have.

 

[KStarfish82]

Hey Tricia! Just caught up with the trippie. Love those character pics!!!!!! Your family is precious!

 

[romymichelle21]

Well, you have,

1) Peoplemover ("Tomorrowland Transit Authority")
2) Carousel of Progress
3) Epcot
4) MGM ("Hollywood Studios")
5) Animal Kingdom
6) Way more Halloween & Christmas theming
7) About 50,000 hotels

We have,

1) Mr. Toad's Wild Ride
2) Small World Holiday
3) Haunted Mansion Holiday
4) California Adventure
5) Sleeping Beauty's walk-through in the castle
6) Matterhorn
7) Blue Bayou

So I think we're about even

 

[RVGal]

After lunch, we headed to Tomorrowland. First up was Buzz Lightyear, where I took some truly horrible pictures. I'm not kidding.

See? And those are the best ones I got!

After Buzz, we let the boys drive on Tomorrowland Indy Speedway. Joshua drove me...

... and Daniel drove Brad.

Yeah, the fact that you can't even see Daniel's head should tell you the kind of trip they had around the track. Poor Brad. He said his back was killing him when we got off.

My driver concentrated fiercely on the road ahead.

Brad's, not so much.

After our race, we decided to tour Toontown,

A train was just pulling into the station and the boys wanted to ride. Fine.

We were sitting in the car right by the entrance gate. The conductor guy (gatekeeper... CM in the train uniform... whatever) starts yelling, "LAST CALL! LAST CALL! CLOSING IN 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1... AND WE'RE DONE!" Brad looked at me and said, "I bet he works as a bartender on his nights off." I don't know why, but that struck me so funny I couldn't stop laughing.

We made the full loop around the train track and arrived back at Toontown, where we let the boys wander through Donald's Boat.

Then we went through Mickey's house. Mainly I was looking for special Halloween decorations like this:

But, I took some pics of the garden too while I was there.

And this was in Mickey's front yard.

We went through Minnie's house, hoping for some good special decor there.

But all I could find was this fall-themed wreath and garland hanging on the front porch.

 

[RVGal]

Hey Tricia! Just caught up with the trippie. Love those character pics!!!!!! Your family is precious!

Hey Katie! Thanks for sticking with me. I know I've been slow to move on this trippie.

I just saw your ticker and WOW! Your wedding is fast approaching. I hope you're having fun planning everything.

Well, you have,

1) Peoplemover ("Tomorrowland Transit Authority")
2) Carousel of Progress
3) Epcot
4) MGM ("Hollywood Studios")
5) Animal Kingdom
6) Way more Halloween & Christmas theming
7) About 50,000 hotels

We have,

1) Mr. Toad's Wild Ride
2) Small World Holiday
3) Haunted Mansion Holiday
4) California Adventure
5) Sleeping Beauty's walk-through in the castle
6) Matterhorn
7) Blue Bayou

So I think we're about even

Ummm... yeah. Seems even to me.

Heading completely off topic for a minute. Heidi, do you remember when you asked for nail advice and I told you I would ask a friend of mine that was in the biz? Well, posting on this thread is that friend. Bubba's Mom aka Barb. So, Heidi meet Barb, hairdresser extraordinaire and nail consultant. Barb, meet Heidi, the twentysomething former nail biter that I consulted your expertise for.

Shake hands ladies. My work here is done.

 

[RVGal]

Our next stop was Splash Mountain.

Joshua loves this ride. He always hopes we get really wet. Daniel loves the ride except the big hill at the end. He always closes his eyes and ducks his head into my side. No point in buying those ride photos.

We decided to head back to the entrance, since we wanted to freshen up and change before MNSSHP. Of course, on the way out we just happened to pass Pirates of the Caribbean.

I've never gotten a really good picture on this ride. It is just so dark. Oh, well. I keep trying.

Joshua decided to play around in the gift shop on the way out.

As we passed back by the entrance to the ride, we saw this guy.

He was doing these character paintings on the sidewalk with a broom and water.

I've never seen that before. It was amazing!

We caught a bus back to our resort and did a quick cleanup and change.

Next up: MNSSHP

 

[romymichelle21]

Hi nail lady! I just got my brush-on nail glue today, too! I've squared-out all my (remaining) nails, so I'm gonna try that stuff and see how it goes! Thanks for the "handy" advice

Oh, and RV, I always duck at the end of Splash, too! I've always had this weird thing about my face getting wet, though. (24/7 glasses wearer and all).

Am I the only one that thinks the indoor part of that ride is weird? I mean LSD weird. Kinda like the Alice ride... er, wait, you don't have an Alice ride, right? Well, it's trippy. Trust me.

 

[RVGal]

After a quick run back to our room to clean up and change, we headed back to MK for our very first MNSSHP. Because it was our first time, I took pictures of everything. Seriously, I mean everything.

"I've never seen those balloons before!"

"Hey look! They added the Mickey's Not So Scarry Halloween Party signs to the lampposts!"

"Why are there CMs holding MNSSHP signs all the way down Main St?"

I eventually figured out that the CMs were directing those of us coming in for MNSSHP and keeping us separate from the people heading out of the park.

We found a trick or treat spot and waited in a short line with the boys.

Night was falling, so it became easier to spot the trick or treat spots. They all had these lighted Goofy signs.

But our second trick or treat stop had a pretty long line. I thought maybe we would get away from the crowd a little and head toward the characters in Toontown, only to find a long line to meet Minnie.

When we left Minnie's house, we were caught in a herd of people packed in shoulder to shoulder headed toward the train station.

Okay, they weren't really headed toward the train station. They were headed past the train station to the so-called "secret red trail" that runs from Toontown to Tomorrowland.

Let me just say that if this trail was a secret at some point in time, it sure as heck ain't no more. The humanity that we were funneled into that trail with was massive. And once you get on the trail, there is virtually no turning back. Holy cow. That is where we got stuck spending the majority of our evening. We did manage to meet the White Rabbit.

Finally, after shuffling along with the rest of the cattle, we were released back into the wild.

We wound our way through Tommorowland and headed toward Frontierland since it was almost parade time.

We managed to get a spot for the parade where the boys could see. It wasn't great, but at least they got to see stuff. I took a ton of pictures, but the photography gods were not smiling on me this trip. Here's the best of mediocre lot.

As soon as we spotted the end of the parade, we hopped over to the porch where Jessie and Bullseye were.

We started heading toward the Haunted Mansion because I really wanted to do the photo op there, but it was just insane. There was such a mob of people we couldn't even approach the area. I gave up. It was getting close to bedtime for the boys and I was done with it.

I took some pictures of the decorations as we headed back toward Main St.

And tried to get a shot of Main St with the buildings all eeried and the projected ghost images flying up and down. It didn't work.

When we got to the end of Main St, I realized that Daniel had fallen asleep and was laying on Joshua... and Joshua was trying to get out from under him.

I caught a few more decorations as we headed back around the train station. Some pics worked. Some didn't.

Joshua used his new Mickey lightsaber to battle the ghosts that were flying all over the sidewalk.

We carried our tired boys to the bus stop and loaded them on the packed bus. We had to stand. Ugh. Standing and holding sleeping kids is not easy in a moving bus. We made it back to our room where we collapsed.

I must say, I had really high hopes for MNSSHP. For me, this visit was a flop. It was so very, very, VERY crowded that it looked like the park does in peak season. We were in elbow to elbow crowds the entire night. I saw the wait time for Peter Pan as we were leaving. It was listed at 30 mins. For a hard ticket event? Seriously? There were so many people that the wait times for the rides were the same as they were during the day. The lines for trick or treat were horrible. The special character lines were ridiculous. We couldn't do a fraction of what I had wanted to do. I've heard that some people go and find the park so empty that they can do whatever they want. That's great. It just seems to be hit or miss and boy did we miss. My problem is this. As much as I'd love to go back and see all I didn't get to see this time, I don't think it is worth the "hit or miss" risk at nearly $50 a ticket. If Disney is going to do a hard ticket special event, it isn't very special if they sell so many tickets that the park is packed to near capacity. JMHO

 

[macraven]

i hear you on the crowds.

some nights i have done mnsshp have been extremely crowded while others on the same trip have had zero lines.

i agree, long lines and crowds takes some of the fun out of it.

i try to avoid fridays and sundays for mnsshp nights.