Although we werent knocked out by
Mickeys Very Merry Christmas Party, wed been kinda curious about Mickeys Not-So-Scary Halloween Party since the time our dinner reservation at Tonys Town Square got us a
sneak peek at the party without a ticket.
When
Disneyland announced that it was moving its Halloween party from California Adventure to actual Disneyland that year, we suddenly became interested in that one for the first time, and soon Id hatched a plan to try the parties on both coastsin costume!
Id been trying to think of a Disney character Patrick could be and retain his beard (not easyhave you seen the grooming standards for cast members?). We were so enamored of Tokyo Disneylands Tower of Terror that its bearded proprietor,
Harrison Hightower III, seemed like a natural choice.
Our inspiration pictures
I just wasnt sure how wed do the costume, since neither of us is good enough at sewing to make an entire suit. I didnt really get inspired to try it until I chanced upon a ring that was a ringer (ba-da-bump!) for the jewel in Hightowers cravat.
For some reason, acquiring that one piece opened the floodgates of creativity, and I was off on a hunt for the rest of the costume pieces. Spats, gloves, and white dye for Patricks beard were the easy part. We spent a morning in Downtown LAs Fashion District scouring menswear stores for a purple double-breasted suitno small feat, considering that double-breasted suits of any color have been out of style since the late 90s. All the shop owners kept telling us to go see this one guy; when we got there, he rooted around in the dusty racks at the back of his store and turned up THE PERFECT SUITnot only was it double-breasted and purple, it was exactly Patricks unusual size! All that was left was to find red and gold checkered material for the trim and the fez, which took a bit of doing, but I eventually found success in an upholstery fabrics shop. (Later I was looking closer at that second inspiration picture and realized that Hightowers coat is actually a floor-length dressing gown or overcoat, not a suit coat. But, really, we got pretty dang close, considering!)
The next element was re-creating Shiriki Utundu, the idol who leads Hightower to his doom. This was easy for Patrick cuz he builds and performs puppets for a living. The idea was to make Shiriki Utundu a puppet and stuff one arm of the suit so that Patrick could secretly perform the idol while it appeared he was just carrying him. The seamstress we hired to create the collar, cuffs, pocket flaps and fez for the costume also helped us cut a hole in the shirt and suit coat for Patrick to get his arm through. He designed the puppet based on this bobblehead toy wed brought back from Japan.
Shiriki Utundu was carved out of foam and painted in acrylic. Patrick installed battery-operated tea lights behind the eyes and armor breastplate, which was my favorite part of the whole effect.
The finished costume
It was a no-brainer that Constance, the black-widow bride from Haunted Mansion, would want to hook up with a high-roller like Hightower, so my costume choice was easy. It was also pretty easy to assemble once I stopped looking for actual Edwardian wedding gowns (too small
and expensive!) and started looking for 1980s Edwardian-revival Gunne Sax dresses on eBay and Etsy. The trick was to find just the right lace on the bodice. When I did, all I had to do was add a tea-dyed lace collar and long petticoat (to lengthen the skirt). Im not crazy about how dark the petticoat turned out or how white the cheap lace boots looked though
I made a veil out of tulle and a plastic comb the way they tell you to in budget wedding books. Then I got strands of fake pearls to represent each of Constances husbands and a hatchet for bumping off Hightower. I think I mentioned in the last update that I added a Disneys Fairy Tale Weddings purse at the last minute (thanks to Merchandise Guest Services hotel delivery!) to hold our tickets, IDs, and other stuff that I usually make Patrick carry (with only one useable arm, he was off the hook this time).
The inspiration
The finished costume
Getting into this getup while on vacation meant bringing a huge suitcase. Patrick dyed his beard and eyebrows while I wrestled with my hair and cursed my decision not to hire Patricia LeJeune to do it for me! I cant remember how we got to the Magic Kingdom to meet the Roots, so lets pretend it was by golden chariot. We were very excited to have our first
MNSSHP experience be with the Nate & Jensey because they are pros and could show us the ropes.
Now, if you will indulge me, I have one hundred million bazillion Root photos to show you
!
I guess other people dressed up besides us
?
That year, the Disney Parks Blog was posting shots of the best MNSSHP costumes every week, and we were bound and determined to be included. So we vowed to stalk every PhotoPass photographer we could find. Afterward, we were dealt a crushing blow each week as we failed to turn up on the blog (turns out they only used night shots and we got tired of photog stalking around dusk. Boooo!).
This was the first time we were asked to pose for pictures with other guests. We were so flattered! What we didnt find out until later was that most of them thought we were cast members!
Somehow the stroller just drains the "sinister" right outta this pic!
It wasn't boring at all! I loved the Ode to the Friendship Boat. 
I hope you can make the October trip work!
