Trick-Or-Treat & Birthday Sweets! Oct 2013 PTR *NEW* 11/4 TR Link Posted!

[skier_pete]

You know, you made me think of something...I forgot about the price of film!! I was really astounded by how few pictures we have of those early trips, but I'm sure that's why. It really makes you appreciate digital and being able to delete accidental photos, because there were a bunch of pictures in the album that I wondered what in the heck were my parents trying to take a picture of?

See - I knew you were just old enough that those early trips would've existed in the "film" days, and it really was a different mode when any picture you took - regardless of whether it was of your right leg - cost you about 50 cents between the film and development. I was close to 30 before the digital revelution caught hold and you could really take tons of pictures, so even DW and my first two trips we only have about 100 pictures of each trip. Hard to believe that first trip was 16 years ago now! We still don't take a TON of pictures, but around 500-600 per trip.

It's funny, I bet you see the same thing with your parents: the older generation even with digital camera doesn't take a lot of pictures. I noticed when we took my DM to WDW last year, she came home with maybe 150 shots. Now, she might have been partly relying on us, because a lot of her pictures were when she was apart from us, but it is definitely a case of "old habits die hard".

Slides! You just made me feel young again!

Glad to help! I'm not quite old enough to remember taking pictures that we developed into slides, but I DO remember looking at slides. In fact, not too long ago I bought a slide projector for my dad on ebay so he could go through boxes of old slides. I think slides were a lot cheaper than making prints back in the day, which is why everyone did it.

Yep, hard to believe we have been following each others trips for 3+ years now!

I know, after a while, it starts to feel like were "old" friends.

 

[MEK]

Thanks for sharing your Disney history. I can't tell you how much I love looking at people's Disney pictures form over the years.

Did men really wear shorts that short in 1989?

Great pictures and background story!

 

[wiigirl]

Love the old pics!

 

[khertz]

See - I knew you were just old enough that those early trips would've existed in the "film" days, and it really was a different mode when any picture you took - regardless of whether it was of your right leg - cost you about 50 cents between the film and development. I was close to 30 before the digital revelution caught hold and you could really take tons of pictures, so even DW and my first two trips we only have about 100 pictures of each trip. Hard to believe that first trip was 16 years ago now! We still don't take a TON of pictures, but around 500-600 per trip.

It's funny, I bet you see the same thing with your parents: the older generation even with digital camera doesn't take a lot of pictures. I noticed when we took my DM to WDW last year, she came home with maybe 150 shots. Now, she might have been partly relying on us, because a lot of her pictures were when she was apart from us, but it is definitely a case of "old habits die hard".

Glad to help! I'm not quite old enough to remember taking pictures that we developed into slides, but I DO remember looking at slides. In fact, not too long ago I bought a slide projector for my dad on ebay so he could go through boxes of old slides. I think slides were a lot cheaper than making prints back in the day, which is why everyone did it.

I know, after a while, it starts to feel like were "old" friends.

Oh, yeah, do I remember the days of film. Thank goodness for digital!! We take at least 1000 pictures every Disney trip, and of course, not all of them are print-worthy. It's so nice to be able to pick and choose which ones you want to spend the money printing!

You have a point there. My parents, even now that they are digital, don't take that many pictures when they are on vacation. The day they went to Universal on our last trip, 95% of the pictures they took that day were of WWoHP and then maybe a handful of pictures from the rest of the park. Not at all like us where we are snapping away constantly, and we don't really travel anywhere without a camera!

Thanks for sharing your Disney history. I can't tell you how much I love looking at people's Disney pictures form over the years.

Did men really wear shorts that short in 1989?

Great pictures and background story!

I'm glad you liked them!

Oh man, 80's fashion... It just can't be believed!

Even into the 90's, I was looking at those pictures wondering why I thought huge white slouch socks looked good with ANYTHING!

 

[khertz]

Even though we are still a little more than 6 months out from our trip, I've come up with a pretty rough itinerary (which I'm sure will change a hundred times between now and then) that I figured I should share since this is a trip planning PTR after all.

Tuesday October 22nd
The flight we are looking at leaves at 11:45 am (haven't purchased airfare yet!) from New Orleans and arrives in Orlando at 2:20 pm. We'll pick up our rental car at the airport and drive to Universal Orlando to check in for our one night stay at the Royal Pacific Hotel. We'll have dinner somewhere in CityWalk (probably Margaritaville!) and maybe do a little shopping.

Wednesday October 23rd
We decided to stay onsite at Universal specifically for 2 things: unlimited Express Pass usage with our room key, and early entry into IoA for Wizarding World of Harry Potter! So we will be up early this morning to get in that extra hour of Harry Potter goodness! I'm super excited about this because I have been dying to experience it since they made the announcement that it was happening! Depending on timing, we will either check out that morning before heading to the park, or come back later in the morning to check out before 11 am. All I really know is that we will be doing WWoHP and the rest of IoA in the morning and hopping to Universal Studios in the afternoon. DH and I have not been to Universal since 2009 so we are excited to go back!

Once done at Universal, we will drive out to Bonnet Creek to check in and possibly go grocery shopping that afternoon. Depending on what time we leave Universal, we may stop at AoA for dinner and to explore a little bit in the evening.

Thursday October 24th
DS's 3rd birthday! We had such a great time last year on his birthday, that we are making this a repeat. Hoping to score an 8:05 or 8:10 am ADR at Crystal Palace. The park has morning EMH, but hopefully we will still be let in around 7:45 with our reservation for pictures in front of the Castle. If not, we will just go right to Crystal Palace for breakfast with Pooh & Friends.

Then we will spend the morning riding attractions with him and meeting characters. If the park is not too crowded from those EMH, we will probably stay in MK all day. If it is too busy, we will probably leave for a break after lunch and check out Epcot for the evening.

Friday October 25th
This morning we will be headed to Animal Kingdom! Not sure what all I would like to get accomplished this day, we will likely just see where the day takes us, I guess.

We'll head back to the resort some time after lunch for a break and probably a nap before heading to DHS for the afternoon. The primary reason for going to DHS in the afternoon is for Characterpalooza! We loved it last time, so we're hoping to catch it again this trip. Also will probably do other character meets around the park and maybe see a show.

Saturday October 26th
An early rope drop morning at DHS! Hey, didn't we just leave this place? It's the best way it worked out for the dates we'll be there, so yes, we'll be back at DHS bright and early for some TSM fun!

Lunch will be at Sci-Fi Drive In, one of our favorite spots to eat in DHS. Then we'll head back to the resort for a nap before heading out to MK for our one night to see MSEP and Wishes. I know it will be crowded, so we are not planning to get many attractions in before the parade.

Sunday October 27th
Our take it easy morning will start with getting up when we get up, and probably heading to church sometime that morning at Mary Queen of the Universe. The rest of the morning will consist of pool time at Bonnet Creek and lunch at the resort before putting DS down for a LONG nap. Why, you may ask? We are heading to our first MNSSHP that night!

The goal of the party is to see the parade and fireworks, meet characters in their costumes, check out the dance parties, and trick or treat. Maybe a couple of attractions, but we are really sticking with the party-exclusive activities. Not sure if we will stay the whole time and just let DS sleep in the stroller or head out early, but we will probably decide as the night goes on what we want to do.

Monday October 28th
Whatever time we get up and moving (probably not setting an alarm since the party was the night before), we'll head to Epcot and spend the morning doing the couple of attractions we like in Future World.

Lunch will be at the restaurant I CRAVE after every single Disney trip, Via Napoli!! Then we will leave for a break whenever we are ready to head back to the resort.

In the afternoon, I'm still undecided. I feel like we don't have a lot of Epcot or AK time in the plans, so we will head back to either of those after break. If going to AK, it would be for the parade mostly. If Epcot, for whatever we have missed, whether that is rides, WS, or character meets.

Tuesday October 29th
Our last park day! So of course, we are spending it in MK. We'll go back for a break in the middle of the day, and either heading back to MK in the afternoon or another park if we so choose. I always like to end on MK, so it's tough for me! lol

Wednesday October 30th
We'll check out of Bonnet Creek in the morning, and head to the Polynesian for breakfast at 'Ohana.

After breakfast, we will have most of the day to explore, so we will probably head to DTD and have a later lunch there and shop. We'll head to the airport around 2:30-ish and return the rental car, then board our flight home at 5:05 pm and arrive home in New Orleans at 5:50 pm local time.
​

So that's the rough plans we have so far. But like I said, with awhile to go until the trip, I'm sure as crowd calendars change, so will our plans!

And since I can add some pics without going over the limit, here's a few we took last weekend at DH's company crawfish boil. DS had a blast playing on the playground and fishing for gooey fish with Daddy. There was one hilarious but a little embarrassing moment when we pointed out a man that had caught some catfish in the lake, so we were telling DS to check out the fish. The man happened to be wearing a leather vest, sunglasses, and a bandana, and as DS is saying, "Ooh, fish! Big fish!" he also points at the man and says, "Pirate!" I can only hope the man didn't understand what he was saying!!

This one is not from the crawfish boil, but the night before we had gone to dinner with my parents and sister, and DS was getting restless waiting for the check so I took him outside. This was taken with my cell phone and no editing done afterwards, just sunshine and my little cutie running on the pier! I loved it, so I thought I'd share. ​

 

[afwdwfan]

We'll pick up our rental car at the airport and drive to Universal Orlando to check in for our one night stay at the Royal Pacific Hotel. We'll have dinner somewhere in CityWalk (probably Margaritaville!) and maybe do a little shopping.

I love your Universal plans. We never seem to eat anywhere other than Margaritaville, despite there being so many good options around. I just love the atmosphere and the burgers.

I started to comment that you should really get a hurricane from Pat O'Brien's while you're at Citywalk, but then again, you're from Louisiana. I do love the fact that you can get drinks "to go" at Citywalk though. You know, so you don't have to roll a kid in a stroller into a bar...

The goal of the party is to see the parade and fireworks, meet characters in their costumes, check out the dance parties, and trick or treat. Maybe a couple of attractions, but we are really sticking with the party-exclusive activities. Not sure if we will stay the whole time and just let DS sleep in the stroller or head out early, but we will probably decide as the night goes on what we want to do.

I'm really glad you're going to get to do the party. I really want to see the Halloween parade one of these days! I hope he crashes out in the stroller so that you can stay and make the most of the evening!

Lunch will be at the restaurant I CRAVE after every single Disney trip, Via Napoli!!

I wonder how well a pizza would hold up if you put it on ice and shipped it to me...

We'll check out of Bonnet Creek in the morning, and head to the Polynesian for breakfast at 'Ohana.

So... going to Ohana for breakfast on a non-park day. Interesting...

There was one hilarious but a little embarrassing moment when we pointed out a man that had caught some catfish in the lake, so we were telling DS to check out the fish. The man happened to be wearing a leather vest, sunglasses, and a bandana, and as DS is saying, "Ooh, fish! Big fish!" he also points at the man and says, "Pirate!" I can only hope the man didn't understand what he was saying!!

This one is not from the crawfish boil, but the night before we had gone to dinner with my parents and sister, and DS was getting restless waiting for the check so I took him outside. This was taken with my cell phone and no editing done afterwards, just sunshine and my little cutie running on the pier! I loved it, so I thought I'd share.

Really cool picture. Looks great, especially for a cell phone.

 

[DaveinFallsChurch]

Sounds like a great preliminary plan!

And it's great you will be able to experience MNSSHP! I've been wanting to do that but trying to schedule a Disney trip in October has been difficult for us.

 

[debrapagliasotti]

Your day to day plans sound great!

 

[khertz]

I love your Universal plans. We never seem to eat anywhere other than Margaritaville, despite there being so many good options around. I just love the atmosphere and the burgers.

If there's a Margaritaville around, we usually end up there! Love how laid back and "island" it is. We have eaten at other places around CityWalk before, so we might try somewhere else, but I'm pretty confident we'll end up at Margaritaville.

I started to comment that you should really get a hurricane from Pat O'Brien's while you're at Citywalk, but then again, you're from Louisiana. I do love the fact that you can get drinks "to go" at Citywalk though. You know, so you don't have to roll a kid in a stroller into a bar...

That's true, a hurricane from Pat's is pretty standard around NOLA. Is is just as bad to be pushing a stroller while carrying a to-go drink?

I'm really glad you're going to get to do the party. I really want to see the Halloween parade one of these days! I hope he crashes out in the stroller so that you can stay and make the most of the evening!

I'm really excited about the party, whether we get to stay all night or not. I'm already trying to come up with costume ideas!

I wonder how well a pizza would hold up if you put it on ice and shipped it to me...

Dry ice was invented for that reason, right?!

So... going to Ohana for breakfast on a non-park day. Interesting...

Difference this time is we don't have AP's burning a hole in our pockets!! Besides, I'm getting my resort time in on Halloween party day so we don't burn a day's admission on our tickets. But if DH feels the pull of MK on our last day and wants to spend the few bucks upgrading our ticket another day to spend the last few hours in the park, I will be totally on board with that!

Luckily, although we understand him really well, pirate sounds more like "pie-it" so I don't think the man knew what he said.

Really cool picture. Looks great, especially for a cell phone.

Thanks! I couldn't even see my screen because the sun was so blinding, so I just held it up and snapped. I was so happy to see the result!

Sounds like a great preliminary plan!

And it's great you will be able to experience MNSSHP! I've been wanting to do that but trying to schedule a Disney trip in October has been difficult for us.

Thanks! Hopefully we don't have to tweak it too much between now and October.

I never thought I would love going in October so much, but it has been really special for us! If you can ever get down there that month, you definitely should try to make it happen. I'm really excited about our first Halloween party!

Your day to day plans sound great!

Thanks!

 

[Leger13]

Thanks, Carla! I was really saddened by a lot of the things we didn't know when planning our honeymoon. We totally would have gone to a MNSSHP! But having never traveled during the fall or winter, we didn't even know the hard ticket parties existed. Now that I got into scrapbooking, I go into every trip in "scrapbooking mode" and I know what pictures would make a great page in the book. Wasn't thinking like that on our honeymoon, so I didn't get pictures of really special moments, like my very first plane ride EVER! As long as I don't make the same mistakes with Paxton, I'll be okay with it, though.

Ugh I totally kwym!! SWW was going on on our honeymoon and we didn't know it either. I didn't learn about all the other little things that Disney does until I joined the DIS either. I don't scrapbook but now I always have my camera in hand to capture the memories. I agree, as long as we take as many pictures as possible now that we have our little guys all is well in the world.

 

[Leger13]

Love your trip plans so far! We need to plan out our DIS meet if you'd still like to do one. IDK how you are picking which park to go to on what day yet since we can't see the hours. I am one of those that needs to see the hours first before I decide on which park to be at and when haha! What is Characterpalooza? This is another thing I don't know about but obviously I need to! I'm planning on going to MNSSHP on halloween night. Is that nuts?

 

[khertz]

Love your trip plans so far! We need to plan out our DIS meet if you'd still like to do one. IDK how you are picking which park to go to on what day yet since we can't see the hours. I am one of those that needs to see the hours first before I decide on which park to be at and when haha! What is Characterpalooza? This is another thing I don't know about but obviously I need to! I'm planning on going to MNSSHP on halloween night. Is that nuts?

Yes ma'am we do need to meet up!! I guess we will have to figure it out once it's closer and we know what each others plans are.

I got the park hours from the AAA October calendar, which has been pretty accurate in the past. I used that with the crowd calendar on Touring Plans to pick my parks each day.

Characterpalooza is SO FUN! Basically it's a bunch of random characters that come out at scheduled times in the afternoons when the first Fantasmic begins at 7:30 pm or later. Kenny the Pirate has a lot of info on it on his blog here. Last year in the 20 minute set we attended, we met Captain Hook & Smee, a Green Army Man from Toy Story, Pinocchio, Minnie, Goofy, and Max Goof, and the Evil Queen from Snow White, plus Chip & Dale were there but they were the only ones we did not get pictures with.

I don't think it's nuts, I think it will be fun! We decided we like Trick or Treating in our neighborhood with my friends and their kids, so that's why we are going home the day before Halloween. But being in MK on Halloween night would be pretty awesome too!

 

[skier_pete]

Hey there!

Looking over your schedule, and also the AAA Calander link, and re-arranging our back-up week plans so that we would at least overlap one park day. (slotting DHS on 10/26 - but it probably doesn't matter since we are unlikely to be coming then).

However, I noticed you said you are planning on doing Characterpalooza on Friday 10/25. However, the schedule shows Fantasmic! is on that night at 7:30 PM. Doesn't that mean that Characterpalooza doesn't happen on those nights?

 

[khertz]

Hey there!

Looking over your schedule, and also the AAA Calander link, and re-arranging our back-up week plans so that we would at least overlap one park day. (slotting DHS on 10/26 - but it probably doesn't matter since we are unlikely to be coming then).

However, I noticed you said you are planning on doing Characterpalooza on Friday 10/25. However, the schedule shows Fantasmic! is on that night at 7:30 PM. Doesn't that mean that Characterpalooza doesn't happen on those nights?

Well, in the event that you DO end up coming in October, we'd definitely have to figure out some kind of overlap!

According to the Kenny the Pirate blog, Characterpalooza doesn't happen on nights when the first Fantasmic is BEFORE 7:30 pm. Checking back to the 2012 park hours I still had saved on my computer, Fantasmic also started at 7:30 on the day we did Characterpalooza last year, so we should be good! These are the times I found on the blog and on the boards for Characterpalooza.

If the first Fantasmic begins before 7:30 pm, there will not be a Character Palooza.

If the first Fantasmic begins at 7:30 pm, there will be one 20 minute set from 4:45 to 5:05 pm

If the first Fantasmic begins at 8:00 pm, there will be three 20 minute sets at 4:50; 5:10 & 5:30pm

If the first Fantasmic begins at 8:30 pm, there will be two 30 minute sets at 4:50 & 5:20pm

If the first Fantasmic begins at 9:00 pm, there will be four 25 minute sets at 4:50; 5:15; 5:40 & 6:05 pm (two groups with two sets each)

When there is no Fantasmic, there will be four 30 minute sets at 4:50; 5:20; 5:50 & 6:20 pm. (two groups with two sets each)

 

[Leger13]

Yes ma'am we do need to meet up!! I guess we will have to figure it out once it's closer and we know what each others plans are.

I got the park hours from the AAA October calendar, which has been pretty accurate in the past. I used that with the crowd calendar on Touring Plans to pick my parks each day.

Characterpalooza is SO FUN! Basically it's a bunch of random characters that come out at scheduled times in the afternoons when the first Fantasmic begins at 7:30 pm or later. Kenny the Pirate has a lot of info on it on his blog here. Last year in the 20 minute set we attended, we met Captain Hook & Smee, a Green Army Man from Toy Story, Pinocchio, Minnie, Goofy, and Max Goof, and the Evil Queen from Snow White, plus Chip & Dale were there but they were the only ones we did not get pictures with.

I don't think it's nuts, I think it will be fun! We decided we like Trick or Treating in our neighborhood with my friends and their kids, so that's why we are going home the day before Halloween. But being in MK on Halloween night would be pretty awesome too!

Sounds good to me!

Thank you for the park hours and THANK YOU for the info on Characterpalooza!!! OMG that sounds SO AWESOME and I hate that I've missed it before. Yay I'm excited!

That sounds fun We don't Trick or Treat in our neighborhood so it's no biggie for me. I figure Alex can dress up in the parks and it'll still be fun. Hopefully MK won't be too crowded.

 

[wdwgirl03]

I'm a little late but joining in!

 

[khertz]

Sounds good to me!

Thank you for the park hours and THANK YOU for the info on Characterpalooza!!! OMG that sounds SO AWESOME and I hate that I've missed it before. Yay I'm excited!

That sounds fun We don't Trick or Treat in our neighborhood so it's no biggie for me. I figure Alex can dress up in the parks and it'll still be fun. Hopefully MK won't be too crowded.

It was something I didn't know about before our trip last time, so I was really excited to try it out and we loved it! As long as Paxton loves the characters, it will be something we try to do every trip from now on.

Yes, hopefully it won't be too crowded, but I think you'll have fun anyway just knowing you are in MK on Halloween!

I'm a little late but joining in!

You're never too late, so welcome! Have you started your TR yet? I'm excited to read about your trip!

 

[Leger13]

It was something I didn't know about before our trip last time, so I was really excited to try it out and we loved it! As long as Paxton loves the characters, it will be something we try to do every trip from now on.

Yes, hopefully it won't be too crowded, but I think you'll have fun anyway just knowing you are in MK on Halloween!

Awesome well I can't wait to check it out Alex loved the characters in December so hopefully he still will

True true

Btw, I've got a PTR going (link in siggie)

 

[khertz]

Awesome well I can't wait to check it out Alex loved the characters in December so hopefully he still will

True true

Btw, I've got a PTR going (link in siggie)

Just made my way over there Thanks for reminding me, I had seen your post on the FB group, but I was at work at the time and forgot to go back!

 

[Leger13]

Just made my way over there Thanks for reminding me, I had seen your post on the FB group, but I was at work at the time and forgot to go back!

Thanks for coming over! No worries