August Day Three: Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party (cont’d)
While we headed down the monorail ramp and toward MK, I was once again worrying about how the party would play out. Planning this evening had been incredibly hard. For one, we are not a family that lets the kids stay up late. We are more of a I-have-run-out-of-capacity-for-parenting-when-is-bedtime??? kind of family. The latest our girls had been up prior to this were all Disney evenings: they fell asleep on the walk back from Fantasmic, waiting between HEA and OuaT, and on the walk back from Illuminations in March. As far as we knew, their capacity for late nights topped out at about 9:30pm, although we hadn’t tested the theory on a day where they weren’t already exhausted from a busy vacation. The friends’ kids were more prone to staying up late on occasion but they were also in week two of Disney, so I assumed their stamina would be even less than my trio.
To be safe, I had to top load the night with our must-dos, which unfortunately included two of the three highest priority characters. My girls absolutely had to meet Moana (they were devastated she didn’t meet regularly at the parks) and our costumes necessitated a trip to the dwarfs. At least the kids’ fear of A Nightmare Before Christmas kept Jack and Sally off of our plan! Hubby and I had included the girls in the decision making because some things just weren’t going to make the cut. We explained that, if they wanted to definitely be awake for the parade, we’d have to camp out for spots very early and take up most of the early party time. If they wanted to try for the 11:15pm parade, we’d be able to ride rides and trick or treat while they were awake but there was a high probability that they would miss the parade. They insisted that they’d make it to 11:15, so the plan was 1) characters, rides, and trick or treating 2) fireworks 3) parade. The early trick or treating really rubbed me wrong because I knew we’d be waiting in lines that would evaporate by the end of the night, but such is life with young kids. As to the kids making the late parade, I had my money on them crashing during the fireworks, at which point we’d park the strollers on the Frontierland parade route and Hubby and I would take turns riding rides, maybe grabbing a magic shot, and seeing the 12pm Hocus Pocus show. We were both in agreement that we were going until the end, regardless of when the kids fell asleep: we brought a double and a single stroller for a reason! The friends assumed their kids would tap out at some point and either they would all leave together or FH would take the kids back to the room while FW stayed with us. They didn’t have as much riding on
MNSSHP as we did since this was one of many MK days they would have on their trip.
We tapped into MK and joined the mob of people trying to get wrist bands. I don’t know if they had fewer wristband CMs than tapstiles or what, but there were no clear lines. Instead, everyone was employing the push-and-shove method of queuing, which is so frustrating. We were only smushed up for a few minutes before getting our bands and entering the park. Our first stop was to pick up our party exclusive SotMK card plus the friends, who had been playing all week, wanted to get new packs.
The CM handing out the party cards was quick and efficient, but the line to get new card packs was well out the door of the firehouse. I wasn’t thrilled that we were spending time there to get a dozen more cards when they already had so many, but not enough to press on without them. At 4:20pm we were on route to the bypass to get our first treats. All of the PP lines were crazy long and we had FPs to get to, so we didn’t stop for any there. We wanted a castle picture all in costume, though, so we headed that way to find a PP photographer without too bad of a line. We spotted a photographer with only one family group in line, so we hopped in behind them. They were an extended family and wanting to get shots of all of the different sub-group combinations, but the woman in charge was on top of it. She wasn’t speaking English so I’m not 100% sure what she said, but it was clearly along the lines of, “Ok, you three, let’s go. Now all the cousins. Ok, now just that family group. Come on guys, keep it moving.” She was very efficient about it- my kind of lady! In between, she was cooing over our group costume and, language barrier be damned, she made herself clear that she wanted us to hop in with her family for a photo, too. Somewhere out there we’re a small part of their family vacation story. After that, it was our turn. Of the 10 shots the PP took, we managed one where no one was putting hands in faces, looking away, or closing their eyes.
We went around the castle to park strollers and tapped into Peter Pan at 4:37pm. They were having to change the chain to extend the FP line, presumably because we weren’t the only partygoers using a few quick FPs before the official start time. The kids played musical adults again because I rode with FS5 and, despite the back up, we were flying over London at 4:42pm. After the ride, the sky seemed to be threatening, so we had a short break to cover the strollers and use the bathrooms. At 4:55 we sent FH with FD3 to use their Dumbo FP while those tall enough tapped into 7DMT. We boarded five minutes later and everyone agreed they were going to try to do character poses for the ride photo.
Everyone was trying for it, but A had a touch time being Grumpy when she was having so much fun. At 5:09 we were done our high priority FPs and ready to start our character waits. We were camping one adult each in the Moana and seven dwarfs lines, then the other two adults would take the kids to use the anytime FPs from the prior night’s cancelled Fantasmic. FH is not one to voluntarily participate in a 2 on 6 adult-to-child ratio when he can avoid it, so we gave him the air conditioned seven dwarfs line and everyone else walked down to the Tiki Room. I volunteered to plant myself in this line because Hubby clearly wanted the park time with the kids. Plus, he’s the king of Dad Jokes and it would have been wrong to do Jungle Cruise without him. We made sure they had the 8 MBs with the anytime FPs and, at 5:20pm, I was the crazy person alone in line with three strollers. I made the group Magic Carpets FPs in case they had time to use them before 6pm and made myself comfortable.
At 5:25 a CM came around to ask everyone to park their strollers across the way because the line was moving into the building. The by the time she was done making the announcement, the line was already moving and I was scrambling to get three strollers situated before I lost my spot. The group in line behind me were a mom and her adult daughters who were kind enough to help me do the stroller juggle. The inside queue was still hot, but at least it was shaded.
For my 5:20 line up time, this was my spot in the queue the line continued forward in the direction I was facing, turned at the end, and then came back to meet Moana. I was just about halfway in the second row waiting. In the five minutes after I got in line, this many people filled in behind me.
By the time the meet started, the line filled the whole shaded area and wrapped into the park, so I was happy with my position. Meanwhile, FW, Hubby, and the kids were enjoying the backside of water.
They were back from their cruise at 5:45, which was also when Moana started meeting. As soon as the line was moving, it became much harder for my solo self to defend enough line space for nine people. Plus, while I didn’t want to force whiny kids to wait the whole time, I also didn’t want to be the family bringing everyone in at the last minute. Rather than taking a Magic Carpet ride, the group came to get into line with me. To kill time, we read through some of the character encyclopedia, opened the new SotMK cards, and talked about all of the cool costumes we saw in line. FD3 fell asleep for a bit, so FW and I took turns holding her.
While we were waiting, FH was getting nervous that his line had moved inside and we weren’t there yet. I reassured FW that they started meeting 30 minutes after Moana so we would have plenty of time to get over there, but he wasn’t convinced. At 6:18pm we were meeting our favorite wayfinder.
After our dance with Moana, everyone was in desperate need of water. We refilled the bottles at a nearby fountain, loaded the kids into the strollers, and hoofed it to Fantasyland. There was some confusion with stroller parking: the CM at the entrance to the circus area said there’d be parking up the hill. However, when we got to the tent, the CMs there said we had to go back down the hill for stroller parking. I sent everyone else into to meet up with FH and doubled back to park the strollers myself.
When I made it into the tent at 6:37, I found everyone in the second row back from the front. Apparently, FH had gotten nervous enough about the line moving that he camped out in the 2nd turn from the front and let a handful of families ahead of him until we got there. I was… not thrilled, he knew we were on route when he let people ahead, but it was done. At least this line was air-conditioned.
The girls practiced their character poses while we waited. In between groups, the dwarfs caught sight of us, too, and started waiving at the kids, which they loved. We were the next family in line at 7:03 when the dwarfs went on break. They returned quickly and we were meeting them at 7:03.
FD3 refused to get anywhere near the dwarfs by herself, but we managed to convince her that Snow White would protect her. After the posed shot, the kids all wanted to chat with each dwarf but the adults were trying to be respectful of the line waiting behind us. The compromise ended up being assembly-line style hugs while we ushered them out the door.
The party had officially begun as we exited into the gift shop. I needed to get a MNSSHP as a Tinkerbell gift without the kids seeing, so Hubby, FH, and I started moving the kids to the train station ToT station while FW bought the party merch. At 7:09 we got into a line that was comically long but moving steadily. It took us 12 minutes to get our first set of treats. Afterwards, the kids got their groove on while the adults decided on next steps.
We opted to go toward Under the Sea and the ToT station by Ariel’s M&G. The adults tried to convince the kids to ride, but they just wanted candy. At 7:30, we got into another silly-long candy line, but this one was going at a much faster clip. We had our second round of treats at 7:35 and I was ready to stop walking through lines and ride something. I proposed Winnie the Pooh, which my girls were happy to do but the friends’ kids all only wanted to get more candy. FW didn’t want to fight with them and they needed another water refill, so at 7:41 we got in line for the ride and they went to Pinocchio Village Haus to for water and more ToTing.
After a 15 minute wait, we boarded our honeypot and got blown around on a blustery day. After the ride, we caught back up with our friends and headed for a classic: It’s A Small World. After shifting the strollers, we got in line at 8:11 and were on our boat just two minutes later. The kids and their small bottoms managed to jam together into the front row.
We all enjoyed our ride together, until the end where there was a backup unloading.
We were stopped for a bit in the last room and that song turns from cute to grating pretty quickly. We were on the move soon enough; at 8:31 we headed for the bathroom while our friends went to find their stroller. When we got out of the restrooms, they were having a minor crisis in the form of a lost stroller. They had parked it in the approved area near the carousel but it was MIA. At the same time, FH was concerned that he may have inadvertently eaten gluten, which would have turned into a seriously bad night with his Celiac. He had a Peter Pan float, minus the candy, because he saw online that it was gluten free. Then, with further searching, he found another site that said it wasn’t safe. The discrepancy seemed to be related to the candy that he had skipped, but he wanted to get an official ingredient list from Disney to be safe. If he had inadvertently glutened himself, he wanted to be back in their room before he became symptomatic. Since the item wasn’t on the regular menu, this was harder than you would think. We waited for a few minutes with their kids while they handled their twin crises. FW managed to find their stroller and we took the kids ToTing through Philharmagic while FH pursued the allergy menu he needed.
The ToT line was out the door but moved quickly until we got to the very end. One of the other guests had an allergy bag, but she didn’t want the allergy candy. She wanted the CM at the barrel to fish out the non-chocolate candy for that bag. Now, I understand that the allergy treats may not be your favorites, but there’s a reason Disney designed the system that way. If you don’t want the allergy candy, then just take the handful of regular treats and trade with your fellow vacationers back in the room. Don’t hold up a long line of other guests picking piece by piece through a barrel! Rant Over.
Next up, our family opted to hit up the teacups with the party overlay while the friends had a talk with their increasingly tired children. Their kids really wanted to do some SotMK cards which we clearly weren’t going to do during our limited party time. Come to think of it, I’m not sure if the game is active during parties or other hard ticket events, although that thought didn’t occur to me in the moment. We were in line at 9:07 and spinning at 9:15.
We officially split up from our friends at this point who were going to take FS7 to try out Space Mountain while the younger kids rested in the stroller. We saw them once more when they were crossing from Space to Pirates but they weren’t interested stopping for the fireworks or parade, so we weren’t able to synch back up.
After the teacups, the girls wanted to ToT at Cosmic Rays. We had finally hit the point in the night where these lines were dying down because we walked straight through and back outside. I asked the girls if they wanted to do that spot again and they thought it was hilarious that we could just go right back in. This time, they got bold and walked up to each of the barrels at the treat stop. I tried to usher them through, saying it was one barrel per stop, but the CMs just smiled and loaded them up with even more candy.
As we entered Tomorrowland, the girls immediately requested the Speedway. This had been under refurb during our winter trip, so they really wanted their chance to “drive the race cars.” At 9:31pm I obliged and got into the line but quickly regretted that decision. The line was backed up over the bridge and through several twists towards the entrance. I wasn’t sure what that wait time would look like, but I knew it was more than I wanted to spend. I broached the subject with the girls, letting them know that this would be a very long wait and suggested we try to stick to things that would be special for the Halloween party. After promising that we could ride on our “normal” MK day later in the week, the girls agreed to cut bait. Can I tell you how nice it is to have kids that can be reasoned with? I know plenty of five year olds who would not be willing to just walk away like that, especially when they were already two-hours-past-bedtime tired.
At 9:36, our next stop was for more candy and some laughs at the Monster’s Inc Laugh Floor. Once again, there was no wait to get our candy and take a seat.
We sat, listened, and laughed for about five minutes until the set ended. Then, it was time to split up. I gave Hubby the option of getting a fireworks spot or staying in Tomorrowland with the girls and he opted to hang with them. I folded up the single stroller, loaded it onto the double, and made my way toward the hub. At 9:56pm I was able to get a great spot on the Liberty Square side of the partners status with a clear view of the castle.
Meanwhile, Hubby and the girls got their applesauce pouches from the CoP ToT station and partied with some monsters.
The group who filled in next to us was all young adults in very cool, homemade Peter Pan themed costumes. Tink was battling blisters with her new shoes, so I pulled out my first aid kit and gave her a few bandaids. Other than that brief interaction, I was happy to just sit and watch the space fill in around me. I texted Hubby my location and he and the girls came over around 10. They had to do some careful weaving to get to us but there was still enough space between groups for people to walk carefully.
The girls were happy to be able to break open their applesauce right away and have a snack while we waited for fireworks to start. That is, until 10:07am when A told me she absolutely had to go to the bathroom and couldn’t hold it. Seriously, these kids are lucky I love them! I put her on my back and made my way toward the Casey’s bathrooms as quickly as one can in a sea of people. I was able to break to a light jog once I got out of the hub, there was no line for the bathroom, and she was done in record time. After washing hands, I again tossed her on my back and tried to find our spot. The crowds were insanely tight, much more so than where our actual viewing spot was. I don’t know why those of us who got spots earlier were able to keep more room between us, maybe it was just dumb luck with the specific people around me, but the further back crowds were shoulder to shoulder. I had to settle for essentially shoving my way through while saying, "Sorry, emergency bathroom trip, my stroller is just ahead,” over and over. At one point, I was having so much trouble that I got turned around and couldn’t see our spot. Thank goodness for the group next to us- the tip of Peter Pan’s hat came into view and I followed that back to the rest of the family. I made it, panting and sweating, with two minutes to spare.
All of the hassle was worth it because we had an amazing view of the show. We could clearly see all the projections and the Jack puppet. Even better, the next group standing in front of our stroller stayed far enough forward that they had good sightlines from their seats. I never saw Hallowishes for comparison, but I loved this show and was so happy we got to see it unobstructed.
But thank goodness they missed the power outage!
, it is a step towards more « normalcy » - and it’s good that your husband and relatives have had it too!
