The Real Housewives of WDW - 11/15: In Closing

[Stasieki]

Hey V! Just popping in to say that I got my slushie last Thursday:

(sorry so fuzzy....)

And, despite the fact that it gave me the WORST brain freeze I've ever had, it was awesome!

Did not get to the PR mojito. The line was way too long. However, for anyone reading who might be heading to F&W, THIS is a MUST DO:

The Cosmo slushie from the France booth. Mmm mmm good! Oh, and the short rib/mashed potato/cabernet sauce beside it was our favorite food item, as well!

Looking forward to hearing about the rest of your trip!!

Looks yummy. I was supposed to be at Epcot last Thrs (trip was cancelled). Weather that week looked superb.

 

[PrincessV]

Hey V! Just popping in to say that I got my slushie last Thursday:

(sorry so fuzzy....)

And, despite the fact that it gave me the WORST brain freeze I've ever had, it was awesome!

Hooray!!! Man, could I got one of those right now.

The Cosmo slushie from the France booth. Mmm mmm good!

Oh yes, I forgot that someone in our group got it and I had a sip - YUM!

Sounds like you had a great trip Ash - any chance of a TR from it?!

 

[PrincessV]

Okay. Really, it’s time to wrap this baby up. We’re off to our next trip in less than a week, and there’s not a lot left to tell, so I’m buckling down and finishing up. Here we go…


In my Plan, we had one night and one and a half park days left. For this, the ninth day, we’d all talked about a day at Typhoon Lagoon, but ultimately nixed it based on weather and crowd reports; we were ALL done with the crowd situation at that point. Which also meant that we were pretty over the theme parks, too.

Also, it was forecast to be a record-beating, hot day. The idea of walking around on what might feel like the surface of the sun was not at all enticing.


So what was left???


Disney Quest to the rescue.


I think Tracy (T) first suggested it, and Lauralee (LL) and I quickly agreed; a day of fun without needing to leave the air-conditioned comfort of a ginormous building was most appealing. So Leo and I took our time getting up and ready, and met T and the Waldo family at Disney Quest (DQ). They had kindly saved us a shady spot in the line, awaiting the opening of DQ. It took a while before I realized… that was not the line for tickets.

This is a great little illustration of how someone like me, who lives near WDW and has spent an insane amount of time at the place, can still be completely ignorant of the Ways of the Mouse. I’m frequently asked to help folks planning trips, and I'm all too happy to oblige, but always with the caveat that I know practically nothing about ticketing. We’ve had annual passes for as long as I’ve lived in FL, and I’ve never sprung for Premium passes because we’ve never used the add-ons. So I had no idea that the process for entering DQ for the first time ever involved going to a different window to get tickets, before entering the building.

I know now.

Luckily, the ticket window wasn’t busy and the Cast Member there was very helpful. And I received no dirty looks when I jumped the rope to resume our place in line, tickets in hand. DQ was a far more pleasant, relaxed place than the theme parks that week. Hooray!


So – what did we think of our first visit to DQ? We liked it. A LOT!

I think the Virtual Pirates of the Caribbean was among the best of what we tried. LL and her Mominator clan hadn’t yet arrived, so the rest of us spilt up into two ships; T, Andy and Evan in one, and me, Leo and Maddie in another. We pillaged, we plundered, we shot other ships down, we drank up me hearties, yo ho! It was big, big fun.

I think we then tried out some of the individual video games on that floor, most of which Leo reports are available at our local video-amusement center. Some kind of jeep in a jungle, some other kind of jeep in a jungle, and possibly a third jeep in a jungle. All similar, all mildly entertaining.

The Mominators arrived and after they got their Virtual Pirates on, we all joined up for the Virtual Jungle Cruise. And decided to let the two men have their own boat, and the kids would all be in one boat, leaving us ladies to navigate the waters of death on our own.

We were pretty cocky, us ladies. Four small kids in a raft? They’d never make it. But we women were tough. Strong. Undeterred by rapids, carnivorous dinosaurs and rocks.

Want to guess whose raft got furthest down the river?

Yep, the kids.

What we tough, strong, undeterred women are not is talented. At paddling. While I was paddling in one direction, LL was paddling in the opposite direction. When T tried to get us to the right of a particularly tough section of rapids, I dropped my paddle and had to retrieve it. When we saw the same dinosaur three times, we realized that we’d been going around and around in circles. Also, our arms were tired. Jungle Cruise paddlers, we are not.

Oh well.

We all moved on and spilt up some as we explored the other floors in DQ. Some tried another couple virtual games, and I introduced Leo to the classics – Ms. Pac Man, Donkey Kong, and Galaxian. He loved it! I did too, as I fondly recalled endless nights with the Atari 800, trying desperately to beat Galaxian.

We also all played some air hockey, and I have to give mad props to Maddie and Evan who absolutely killed it on the air hockey tables! But my favorite thing in all of DQ was this:

A virtual shootin’ gallery?! Woooo hooooty!!! I just love target shooting. Not that I’ve ever tried it in real life, since I’m vehemently opposed to guns. I know; I’m a freaking study in contrasts. But I bet I’d really enjoy skeet shooing. Anyway, these games were beyond cool; who knew there were so many different ways to shoot targets?! Leo really liked it, too, and we bother agreed– GASP! – that it was a lot more fun than Toy Story Midway Mania. I know. It’s a travesty. Look away.


Around lunch time, we took a break at the Wolfgang Puck on the West Side – is that an “Express” too? It felt express-y. It was yummy, relaxed and totally the right thing for what would be our final meal with friends that trip.

We all had a terrific time at DQ, but eventually had enough and headed out. T and the Waldo clan were off to the airport hotel, spending one night there before their very early flight home the next morning. It was a very, very sad goodbye, with more than one of us in tears. At that point, we were pretty sure we’d not see T again for two years – waaaay too long, especially after getting together every summer for four years. Sure, we all chat via email and Facebook daily, but it’s not the same as spending time together in person.

I didn’t say a lengthy goodbye to LL and the Mominators, knowing that I’d be seeing them again later that night and/or the following morning. Regret, regret, regret. But I’m getting ahead of myself.



I drove Leo and I back to Kidani, still in tears, and then did some cleaning up around the villa. I’d already decided to skip any parks the next day in favor of a leisurely check-out, maybe a little pool time, and a trip to the Jambo gift shop and Mara for lunch before going home.

Our dinner plan for that night was a return to Sanaa, this time with LL, Tony and Michael. I knew that LL was considering skipping Sanaa so as to get a little more time in at Downtown Disney, and, ultimately, that’s what they decided to do. So Leo and I had one more amazing mommy-and-son dinner at Sanaa.

And I do mean “amazing”. Again. This place just absolutely wowed me! Again, we received prompt, attentive, impeccable service. Again, the food was delightfully prepared and beautifully presented. Again, we left wanting to come back over and over.

Leo went for the pizza once more, but I tried something new: the Vegetarian Sampler. This is served with rice and the guest chooses two items to go with it. I chose the Spicy Cauliflower, Onions, Tomatoes and Mint, and the Paneer Cheese in Spinach. I wasn’t hungry enough for an appetizer that night, but wanted a little something… our server convinced me to try a side of Nan bread and was I ever glad he did! It was similar to full round of pita, only yummier, and arrived dripping in butter. It was the perfect accompaniment to my vegetable dishes, which were out of this world! Once again, there was just the right amount of spice and flavor and everything was cooked just enough, without becoming soggy.

I know I’ve already raved about Sanaa, so I’ll leave it at this: We. Can. Not. Wait. To. Go. Back!


Leo and I returned to our villa for a movie and a good rest for our last night.

Or not.

Leo was up within an hour of going to sleep. His belly didn’t feel good. He thought he might throw up. I soothed, laid on the couch with him, and did what I could to make him feel better. Leo’s never been a puker. In fact, he’s only ever puked 3 times in his life. But he often mistakes a stomach upset by too much greasy good (I’m talking to you, Wolfgang Puck mac & cheese), for a stomach that might hurl. So it took a long time and a few Pepto tablets to settle him down for the night.



By the next morning, he was complaining of a sore throat and an overall “not good” feeling. My boy had had it; he was all vacationed out. And all he wanted was to be home. Like, immediately.

I tried hard to entice him into visiting the gift shop; to find Michael and go for a last swim or trip to the arcade; to grab lunch at Mara...

No dice. Sometimes, as a parent, you just know that your child isn’t fooling around and he really, really needs what he’s requesting. At that time, I knew that it was time to go home. No passing Go. No collecting souvenirs. No last lunch.

Also, no saying goodbye to LL, Tony and Michael.


As I got our things packed up, I sent texts to LL, hoping to catch them, if only in the hallway, to say goodbye before we left. I knew they were likely sleeping in, though, and I made the decision to get going when I hadn’t heard back.

I hate that we left like that, but love my friend for understanding that we just plain needed to go. LL, I’m so, so sorry still that it ended like that.


But getting home was the right call. Leo was asleep within 10 minutes of our departure and slept most of the way home. When we walked through the front door, he collapsed onto the carpet, half in tears, saying “I LOVE my home, I LOVE my home!!!” Truly, I’m not making that up.

As for me, I must confess that home was feeling pretty good, too. Getting home early enough to decompress before bed was a nice change, as was having another two days off in which to take care of laundry, unpacking, etc.


All in all, it was a fantastic trip. I can’t thank our dear, dear friends – Lauralee and the Mominators, Tracy and the Waldos, and Kate and the SharkB8s – enough for all of the laughs, hugs, smiles, and fun we all shared. And ladies? I can’t wait to do it all again.

We took the good with the bad, and we made wonderful new memories in the process. We've been talking some about future trips, and I know that we'll be seeing our friends family again in the not too distant future, whether at WDW or somewhere else. But we'll never forget that for us, it really did all start with a Mouse.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Just when you thought I’d finished… stay tuned for the Epilogue, in which Leo and I get our Not So Scary on!

 

[Lovemy3babes]

Aw, poor Leo!! He was all Disney'ed out. Sometimes trips end like that and we just NEED our home. I wouldn't feel bad at all. Hopefully you will see your friends, sooner than later than you think. I really loved your trip report V.

PS: Are you watching the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills? lol!! I sure am!

 

[Stasieki]

So sad it has ended but am pumped for the epilogue

I think it is quite special that you have found lifelong friends through your love of the mouse

I am heading to the world at the end of Feb. If I get around to it, would you mind if I PM you my ADR's to take a peek and make suggestions?

 

[englishrose47]

Awesome ending V!!! Can't wait for the next TR!!!!

 

[glennbo123]

Aw, I hated to see this "finale" appear in your TR title.

I'm glad that you enjoyed DQ and Sanaa (again!).

Wow, Leo was just plain vacation'd out. Good thing Mom knows what to do.

I'll stay tuned for the epilogue.

 

[sharkB8HooHaHa]

All in all, it was a fantastic trip. I can’t thank our dear, dear friends – Lauralee and the Mominators, Tracy and the Waldos, and Kate and the SharkB8s – enough for all of the laughs, hugs, smiles, and fun we all shared. And ladies? I can’t wait to do it all again.

We took the good with the bad, and we made wonderful new memories in the process. We've been talking some about future trips, and I know that we'll be seeing our friends family again in the not too distant future, whether at WDW or somewhere else. But we'll never forget that for us, it really did all start with a Mouse.

Gah! Why'd you go and do that???

We miss you and Leo, my friend, and can't wait to see ya real soon!

 

[jcc0621]

Awesome TR as usual V

So sorry the Leo wasn't feeling too good, but happy that you were able to get home and just chillbefore getting back into the everyday minutae

Can't wait for the report on MNSSHP!

 

[GreatBiscuit]

I always hate to see it end, but I think you made the right choice.

Plu with another trip just around the corner, I know there is more to look forward to. No pressure.

Thanks for another great TR V! I wish you and Leo all the best and can't wait to hear about your next adventure. No pressure.

Be sure to bring the good camera this time around and take lots of pics! No...well, you get the idea.

 

[MEK]

V - I really enjoyed your TR. And I think its so funny that you spent your last full day at DQ. Last June 09, on my last day, I looked at my DH and said, "I can't go to the parks, I can't go to the pool, I need to be in total AC until its time to go to the airport".

And the outcome......DQ. I had a blast on Pirates and I also LOVED that shooting arcade game to which you refer. I am glad I am not the only one who noted the similarities to TSM.

Enjoy your upcoming trip. I look forward to reading your next TR!

 

[Tracy161]

I'm always a little sad when a great TR ends, but... I'm so happy that you are going back in less than a week! Woohoo!!!

 

[MagicShell]

Thanks for sharing your trip. I enjoyed reading it. Sorry the ending wasn't great, but I know there is a next time.

 

[AshClan]

Wow, you've convinced me that we might have to give DQ another shot. I don't remember the shooting game - must find that - but OMG do I remember that Jungle Cruise and the rowing!!!! I thought my arms would fall off! I'm not surprised the kids beat the moms

Okay, okay, you've convinced me on Sanaa. Now just to figure out WHEN to get there......

Poor Leo! He was just DONE. That does happen on occasion. I'm glad you were able to just get up and go, even if it meant you had to miss a "proper" goodbye. I had to smile at the "I LOVE my home" line! We were all saying the same thing after our week in a sandy, non-A/Ced cottage in Cape Cod last summer! Sometimes, nothing but the comforts of home (and your own bed) will do!!

Great job as usual, V, and I can't wait to hear about the next one!

 

[PrincessV]

Aw, poor Leo!! He was all Disney'ed out. Sometimes trips end like that and we just NEED our home.

So, so true!

Hopefully you will see your friends, sooner than later than you think.

We're hoping!

PS: Are you watching the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills? lol!! I sure am!

YES! And I'm loving it - the perfect mindless break from the craziness of life, right?!

So sad it has ended but am pumped for the epilogue:banana.

Aw, thank you!

I think it is quite special that you have found lifelong friends through your love of the mouse

Me too, me too.

I am heading to the world at the end of Feb. If I get around to it, would you mind if I PM you my ADR's to take a peek and make suggestions?

Not at all - my pleasure!

Awesome ending V!!! Can't wait for the next TR!!!!

Thanks Rosie! Not sure if I've got another in me any time soon... but I always say that, don't I?

Aw, I hated to see this "finale" appear in your TR title.

I'm sorry.

I'll stay tuned for the epilogue.

Please do - I know I'm taking longer to get stuff out these days, thanks to being back in school, but it is coming, I promise!

Gah! Why'd you go and do that???

We miss you and Leo, my friend, and can't wait to see ya real soon!

Almost right around the corner!

Awesome TR as usual V

Thanks Janet!

So sorry the Leo wasn't feeling too good, but happy that you were able to get home and just chillbefore getting back into the everyday minutae

It was such a good plan, I'm trying hard to put it into our big ol' road trip next summer!

Plu with another trip just around the corner, I know there is more to look forward to. No pressure.

Thanks for another great TR V! I wish you and Leo all the best and can't wait to hear about your next adventure.

Thanks GB - it's been a lot of fun to share our stories!

Be sure to bring the good camera this time around and take lots of pics! No...well, you get the idea.

Sorry, no dice; it was all I could do to keep track of my phone, little camera, headless dolly, candy bag and child.

Last June 09, on my last day, I looked at my DH and said, "I can't go to the parks, I can't go to the pool, I need to be in total AC until its time to go to the airport".

And the outcome......DQ.

Don't you wonder if that's what drove WDW to create DQ in teh first place?!

Enjoy your upcoming trip. I look forward to reading your next TR!Thanks! We had a blast

I'm always a little sad when a great TR ends, but... I'm so happy that you are going back in less than a week! Woohoo!!!

Aw, thanks! I'll get back with more soon!

Thanks for sharing your trip. I enjoyed reading it. Sorry the ending wasn't great, but I know there is a next time.

Thank you for reading! No, it wasn't the ending I'd have wanted, but it all came out okay.

Wow, you've convinced me that we might have to give DQ another shot. I don't remember the shooting game - must find that - but OMG do I remember that Jungle Cruise and the rowing!!!! I thought my arms would fall off!

Right?! That was crazy! The shooting games were, I think, on the top floor, next to the air hockey tables. Good fun!

Okay, okay, you've convinced me on Sanaa. Now just to figure out WHEN to get there......

Hooray!!! Time to plan another trip

I had to smile at the "I LOVE my home" line! We were all saying the same thing after our week in a sandy, non-A/Ced cottage in Cape Cod last summer! Sometimes, nothing but the comforts of home (and your own bed) will do!!

LOL, so true!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ALL... thanks so much for reading along! We had a fantastic weekend with The Mouse and I'm looking forward to sharing it in the Epilogue! Things are a little crazed right now, but I'm mentally writing and will get to typing soon!

 

[PrincessV]

It’s just a little scary.

In the true spirit of a DISer, following our gigantic summer Disney vacation, I got busy planning our next trip to The Mouse. And by “busy”, I mostly mean “not busy at all.”

See, the next trip was for Halloween weekend. And involved Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween party. On Halloween.

That baby sells out pretty fast. So I’d already bought our tickets, to make sure we’d not be tossed from the party prematurely. (NO Salahi’s)

Halloween weekend also happens to be smack-dab in the middle of Epcot’s Food & Wine Festival. For which DVC units also book up very, very early. So I already had my villa reserved at Saratoga Springs, well in advance.

So, what did I have left to prepare, between our summer trip and Halloween? Not much. And that’s the way, uh-huh uh-huh, I like it.



And so it was that Leo and I set out the fine, clear morning of Oct. 30, bound for Walt Disney World. We had no plans that day, save getting ourselves checked into the resort. Crazy, right? But fear not – it was not to be a day wasted. Along the drive, Leo and I decided to head over to Epcot for the afternoon. The boy wanted to get his Food & Wine grub on, and I was all too happy to acquiesce. I’d done my all-adult day/night at the Fest a few weeks prior and had missed a few booths that still sounded yummy. Leo had fond memories of some food items from the previous year that wanted revisiting. We had ourselves a plan, if not a Plan.

Once again, I tried online check-in for our stay, and I’m happy to say it went as smoothly this time as it should every time. There was a very short wait for an open window. When I was called up, I gave my name and ID, received a hearty “Welcome home PrincessV!”, and an offer to swap my reserved room, which was not yet ready, for one that was ready immediately, AND was in my preferred section, the Grandstand. Yippee! All was right in my Saratoga Springs world.

I need to back up a smidge and talk about just how “right” my Saratoga Springs world was. Saratoga Springs Resort (SSR) is my home DVC resort. We’ve stayed there frequently, so it carries a lot of memories. It also reminds me a lot of “back home”; I grew up in Western New York, which isn’t all that different than Upstate New York in terms of landscape. In the spirit of discovery, I’d tried valiantly to get us a villa at the Wilderness Lodge… Bay Lake Tower…even Old Key West… but nothing opened up and we were “stuck” with SSR. I wasn’t sad about it, but maybe just a teensy bit disappointed.

Until I made the turn onto Disney Vacation Club Way, off of which SSR resides. As the road curved through forested landscape and the sunlight filtered through the trees, spilling dappled light across my dashboard, I felt my shoulders ease and my mind calm. SSR always has this effect on me; I wish I could bottle it. As Leo and I walked by the pools, and had a meal at Artist’s Palette, we remembered with love the many pool days and meals at SSR we’d shared with our DIS Friends-Family over the years. When we entered the room and saw the familiar furnishings and smelled the familiar smell of what must be SSR-specific cleanser, we both sighed deeply and smiled at one another. Every time we walked in. As it turned out, SSR was the perfect place for us to be that weekend, and I’m so glad we were “stuck” there.


Okay, back to the story. It turns out, we’ve never stopped to really check out the area around SSR’s registration area before. With nothing but time on our hands, we did just that this time.

Leo rides horses. He’s also really, really small for his age. If only he enjoyed going FAST!

This is what you get when Disney Engineering is tasked with carving a pumpkin. The head is made of pumpkin parts and the entire thing – including the pumpkin-part head – is auto-animatronic. He even talked!


After settling into the room, we took a bus to Epcot, grabbed Fast Passes for Test Track and quickly made our way toward World Showcase, in search of cheese. Leo loved the cheese booth last year… but it did not return for this year’s Fest. Fortunately, however, the Ireland booth had a lovely cheese plate to fill the aged dairy product void in my boy’s life. He also thought the warm chocolate lava cake with Bailey’s Irish Cream Sauce looked good, so we got one of those, too. I’d grabbed me a Maple Glazed Salmon with lentils plate from the Canada booth along the way, so after getting Leo’s Irish grub, we settled onto a bench to eat.

Mmmmmmmm.

Was all either of us said for about 10 minutes. Leo ate most of his cheese, pausing to give me a couple small bites, and all but one small bit of chocolate lava cake. This, he pushed toward me, eyes all aglow, saying, “Mommy, this is so delicious! You need to taste it, and make sure you get the sauce – it’s AWESOME!”

It was. AWESOME. It was also… ALCOHOLIC! Crap. I assumed the sauce was cooked, and alcohol evaporates in cooking leaving all of the flavor and none of the booze behind. Nope. That was one warm, chocolaty, boozy little cake. Whoops.

Oh well, at least he was happy! We passed on a bunch of booths, and spent some time in the Japan pavilion, where Leo found a Bakkugan he’d been coveting for a long time. It happened to be on clearance, so I caved and let him get it.

We continued on around the booths, with a stop in Italy for the baked cheese ravioli, which was good, but not anything all that amazing, and a mini cannoli that was pretty amazing. And that was it for the Food & Wine Fest! Leo insisted that he wasn’t hungry, I was pretty well satiated myself, and we were ready to get our rides on.

Not much to say about that – we rode Test Track and Mission: Space. We took our customary whirl through Spaceship Earth. Same ol’, same ol’. It just never gets stale for us at Epcot.


By 3:30, we were done. Neither of had a burning desire to go anywhere else, so we opted to go back to SSR for the Florida v. Georgia game.

As you might have guessed, we’re avid (perhaps even rabid) Gators fans.

Yep, that’s us on our Epcot day.

But, let’s be honest – the Gators games so far this year hadn’t been anything worth stopping a vacation for. So I wasn’t all that worried about seeing the whole game and promised Leo that we’d grab some dinner at Artist’s Palette and then watch a movie in the room before bed.

As it turned out, it was a freaking AMAZING football game! We watched the first half before feeling safe at 21-7: Florida to go to dinner at the half. Lots of Gators fans working at Artist’s Palette and all were surprised and thrilled to hear that we were winning! It was a fun, nice little dinner break.

When we returned to the room, I was loath to give up such a good game. Leo needed to take a shower, brush teeth, etc. anyway, so I promised to start the movie after he was all ready. Meanwhile, the game suddenly got tight, with the Bulldogs bringing the plays and the scores. Next thing I knew, it was all tied up! Then it wasn’t. Then it was again! Leo was watching, too, and when, at the end of the 4th quarter, we were still tied, agreed to postpone his movie just a little more to see who would be the first to score and break the tie…

Guess what?


WE WON!!! We won, we won, we won!!! Leo and I were jumping up and down, high-fiving and singing “It’s GREAT to be, a Flor-i-da Gator!” I apologized for delaying his movie so long and he looked at me with those big brown eyes and said, “It’s okay Mommy – that was a GREAT game!” Melts a mother’s heart.

We did watch some of a movie before getting to sleep early. We had a big, big day ahead.

Next: Leo’s Pretty-Darned Scary Halloween Party

Continued in next post...

 

[PrincessV]

For Halloween, we really did have a Plan. A good Plan. A field-tested Plan that had proved more than satisfactory the previous year.

A fool and her Plan are soon parted.

The day started on schedule – were up early, fed and dressed for our date with a Magic Kingdom (MK) rope drop. The drive to the MK was fast and we boarded a tram for a brisk run to the Ticket and Transportation Center. Hooray for un-sweaty mornings!

We swiftly boarded, then unboarded, a monorail, and, just missing the opening show, moved quickly through the turnstiles and into the park. Perfection!

If anyone’s wondering if Halloween morning is a good time to visit the MK, take a look at this:

That place was EMPTY! Has been all three years we’ve done this. Within 2 hours, we…

~ rode Peter Pan and the Haunted Mansion

~ hurled ourselves through the wildest ride in the wilderness (Bit Thunder Mountain Railroad) – twice!

~ cruised with the Pirates and braved the Jungle Cruise

~ twirled through the sky on Aladdin’s Magic Carpets

~ and shot down Zurg with Buzz and took a spin through the Galaxies on the People Mover.


No lines for anything. NO. LINES. What a change from our last MK day, right?! I’m officially pushing for our next group WDW vacation to changed from summer to fall.


After lunch in our favorite spot, Columbia Harbor House, we exited and were back to SSR by12:30pm.

Just in time for Phase 2 of The Plan: naps.

And that, gentle readers, is when it went all unravel-y.

Leo did his darnedest to nap, but just couldn’t get to sleep. After an hour of tossing and turning, we gave up and put a movie on. Leo rested, watching The Nightmare Before Christmas, and I managed to doze off for my much-needed pre-party nap. At least one of us would still be coherent at the end of the night. Ish. Coherent-ish.


Next thing we knew, it was time. Time for the Great Transformation. Which is the “Pretty Darned Scary” part of the trip report.

Last Halloween, Leo dressed as a cowboy. Since then, he turned eight and got a lot more interested in creepy stuff. The boy loves him some Goosebumps stories, and has been known to make up and tell his own ghost stories around the bonfire they sometimes do at the stable where he rides. Several month before Halloween, he announced that this year, he wanted to go as a “zombie cowboy.” And not just any zombie cowboy, but a “Ghost Rider in the Sky”, a la the dancing cowboys in the Boo to You parade. Never mind that the parade Ghost Riders don’t look zombie-ish at all; I was tasked with making sweet, handsome little Leo into a creepy, scary zombie.

If I may be so immodest, I think I did a bang-up job of it:

As for me, I was talked into dressing up this year, too. And went as my favorite ooky, kooky character. Can you guess who?

Do ignore my collar escaping its Hollywood Fashion Tape for only the 3rd of approximately 14,000 times that night.


For the record, it was weird, weird, weird to walk up to a crowded bus stop dressed like that. Leo and I both have a hard time with people staring at us, and stare they all did. We both received compliments on our costuming, though, which helped a little. And good thing, because we had a loooong wait. We watched 3 Epcot busses, 2 Typhoon Lagoon busses, an Animal Kingdom bus, 3 Treehouse Villas busses, and 2 Downtown Disney busses go by before a MK bus finally arrived. And that bus was FULL by the time it had picked up at the other SSR stops and departed for the MK.

Dear Disney Transportation,
On a Magic Kingdom party night, don’t you think maybe there’ll be a lot of people heading to, you know, the Magic Kingdom? Might it not be a good idea to put a couple extra busses on the route, knowing that a lot of people will be going to said party? Jut a thought.

Love, V.


Anyway, we got there, grabbed our candy bags, donned our Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party (MNSSHP) wristbands, and set out for a couple rides and dinner before the party officially started at 7pm, grabbing a few pictures along the way.

Still no lines, not even for dinner at Cosmic Ray’s! So far, so good.

We made one of our two Haunted Mansion runs of the night just before 7pm.

When we emerged from the ride, the sun had set and the fog machines were on full-throttle; it was like leaving one world and entering the next. It was eerie and spooky and perfect in every way!

We whipped over to Adventureland to hit the Trick-or-Treat stops there and rode Pirates. We moved around to Frontierland for Big Thunder in the dark and are convinced that it was running faster for the party. We went through the super-cool Brer Rabbit Candy Cavern next to Splash Mountain.

Pretty soon, it was time to find a spot for the first Boo to You parade. I think it was around 45 minutes before start-time, and we wanted to be in Frontierland. Knowing that we’d stay to watch the second parade, too, we didn’t mind standing, so, when I found a family sitting by the parade rope, I asked if they planned to remain sitting, and if so, if they’d mind us standing behind them to watch. Well, it turned out to be two families next to one another and both of them insisted on scooting over a bit to allow Leo a spot right in front, whether he chose to stand or sit. I tried to refuse, saying that they’d been there first and we were just fine behind them, but nether mom would hear of it. Good people, my parade mates.

Despite winding up with front-row seating, my parade pictures, for lack of a better term… suck. I did not, alas, bring the Good Camera. Though it probably wouldn’t have mattered. I was carrying a bag, a candy bag, a small camera, my phone and a headless doll. I was also holding Leo’s hand a lot as we made our ways through a very dark MK. There was no way I could have juggled the Good Camera, too.

I did get some pictures. Just use your imagination to spruce ‘em up a little, okay?!

The parade begins with the ride of the Headless Horseman, to the music of Wagner’s Ride of the Vakyries. There’s always talk about how fast or slow the horse goes, so I’ll settle this one right away: this one was at a fairly slow trot. Better for picture taking than a faster gait, but a little less impressive than the canter we saw last year. Nonetheless, seeing the Headless Horseman go by is very, very cool.

Not long after, the parade began…

Leo was getting some mad props on his costume from the parade peeps. The Mad Hatter approached him and stuttered something along the lines of “Oooh, oh my! You’re ever so VERY scary! You’d fit in niiicely with us!” Barbossa started walking toward us, then recoiled in mock fear before going back to the middle, glancing over his shoulder with a sneer. Later, one of the cowboys tipped his hat to Leo, saying “Hey there pardner! No one told me cousin was in town!”, never missing a step in his dance. Leo, not normally one comfortable with such attention from the characters, was positively beaming.

Then came our favorite part, the Haunted Mansion characters. The Grave Diggers perform a creepy ballroom-y dance, using their shovels as “partners.” Several times per dance sequence, they bang or scrape the shovels on the pavement, sending sparks flying.

Before we knew it, the parade had passed by and it was time for our second run through the Haunted Mansion. Only, there was something in our way. About 40,000 somethings, in fact. So help me, I think every guest of the party was there, trying to either get to Frontierland or to Fantasyland, all attempting to cross through Liberty Square. I found a tall dad pushing a stroller, headed in the same direction we were, and got behind him, holding tight to Leo’s hand. I let the tall dad carve a path and we just followed along in his wake. Works every time.

It was too dark to get much of a picture, but here’s my attempt:

This ghostly lady was seated on a bench on the Haunted Mansion lawn next to the queue. She was flippin’ hysterical! Apparently, she was the ghost of a southern bell and was quite the comedienne. The only part I can remember was her fanning at the billows of fog rolling around her, and in a southern drawl, saying, “Mah stahrs, Ah have had gas for 200 ye-ahs, people!” She was a nice addition to the general creepiness that is the Haunted Mansion during the party. The regular castmembers on duty were in full ghoulish make-up and covered in cobwebs (looking eerily like Leo, I might add). And so help me, the Mansion was darker than ever inside. It was awesome! I think we could have spent the entire party in there.


But we had to get moving – it was nearly time for Hallowishes, the party’s fireworks spectacular. Leo wanted to watch “in front of the castle”, but agreed to my alternative when I explained how tightly packed “in front of the castle” would be. Not readily, but he agreed. Frankly, he was becoming more than a little grouchy. The lack of nap was catching up to him and he was getting mouthy and ill-behaved. I may have threatened to take his candy if he didn’t shape up.

Shape up he did, and we thoroughly enjoyed our third-favorite MK fireworks display. (What’s #1 and #2 you ask? #1 is July 4th. #2 was the Princess & Pirate Party fireworks.)

Our plan following Hallowishes was to get back to Tomorrowland for more Trick-or-Treating and a couple rides. When we got there, though, it seemed everyone else had the same idea: the line for candy was at least 20 minutes long! We were both too tired for that nonsense. We backtracked and headed up Main St., toward the train station. With about 30 minutes left before the second parade, the curbs around the circle were mercifully empty. We parked it and spent the half hour or so relaxing and eating candy as we watched an endless sea of costumed guests depart. When parade #2 came along, I skipped the photos and just enjoyed the experience. The Mad Hatter remembered Leo from earlier and complimented him again on his look. I didn’t put my candy bag out at the end, when Goofy’s Candy Shop helpers hand out treats, but they all insisted that I take some candy, too.

And, with that, we were done. Leo was barely functioning, and I was pretty tired, too. In a final blast of fog machine, we exited the park and made for the SSR bus line. Which was 100 or so deep.

By the time we got back to our room, and Leo got into bed, it was 12:30am. A loooong day and night, but worth every minute… we had a BLAST! Besides, we had plenty of time to sleep in the next morning.


Or not.

Leo was up at 8:30am. And… he was HUNGRY.

So much for sleeping in! I got up, made us breakfast and gathered our belongings. We packed up and headed to Downtown Disney for a little shopping and lunch before heading home.



It was truly a marvelous weekend and I’m so glad we did it… again! If you’re still reading along, thank you, and don’t go away just yet – I’ll have one final post before signing off this report.

 

[Disneyland_Mama]

No lines for anything. NO. LINES. What a change from our last MK day, right?! I’m officially pushing for our next group WDW vacation to changed from summer to fall.

Sounds good to me!

Thanksgiving dinner at Tutto or Brown Derby?

BUT - MNSSHP looks fantastic, I'm wanting to go that weekend, now!

Sounds like it was a fabulous weekend!

 

[micandminforever]

I loved all the pictures. You did a great job on Leo's makeup, I can see why everyone noticed. Thanks for the Splash of Halloween, at the end of your Summer report. I will be sure to stick around for the final post.

 

[jcc0621]

Next time Halloween is on a Saturday I am there

Love, Love, Love, your costume and Leo looked awesome

Glad the lack of nap didn't cause too much trouble