Friday, September 30, 2011

Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party

I was lucky enough to attend Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party a few weeks ago at the Magic Kingdom. This was my second year to be able to attend and I was really looking forward to it.  For those of you who haven't heard about it, this is a "hard-ticket" event, meaning that your regular park ticket will not admit you and you need to purchase separate admission to enjoy the party.







The Magic Kingdom closes to the public at 7pm and then all the fun begins.  You have a special wrist band that gains you access to the trick or treating, the parade and the other special attractions.  We made our way back to Space Mountain for a quick ride with virtually no wait and by the time we were out it was time for trick or treats!


Each Trick or Treat location is marked with these balloons.
I was pretty happy with the candy selection.  There were several brand names in the mix.  And the lines moved fast too!

I dressed up this year too.  It was a last minute decision to wear a costume and I was able to pull together some items that I already had in my house.  Thankfully I had a "mini-dot" skirt from Running Skirts and a new pair of shoes.  It all came together very nicely.  What do you think?


We made sure to stop by the Haunted Mansion too.  One of my favorite parts of the party is the ghost that interacts with the guests in the queue there.  She is hilarious!  Last year she spent a lot of time flirting with some of the guys in our group.  This year we didn't get to see her until after we exited the mansion, but she was definitely up to her old antics.


The two things you don't want to miss during the party are Hallowishes and the Boo to You Parade.  I enjoy every fireworks show in Walt Disney World, but Hallowishes is by-far my favorite show.  The music is completely different, including "Scary-oke."  The best part is the perimeter fireworks that you can only see during the party nights (including Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party).





Once the fireworks were over, we made our way to stake out our spot for the parade.  The parade was full of some surprises this year too!  But before the parade started, we were serenaded by the Cadaver Dans!


The Boo to You Parade is led off by the Headless Horseman "galloping" down the parade route.  Followed with the most catching music that you will here in a parade.





Captain Barbossa was a surprise to me.  I'm not sure if he was in the parade last year.

Angelica was an addition this year!




Dr. Facilier was present in the parade!



After the parade I made my way over to see the Villains Mix and Mingle.  I was distracted by Tarzan and Jane (ok, it was really just Tarzan that was distracting me) in Adventureland, but still made it out of their queue with enough time to get to the Villains.

The featured Villain in the show was Dr. Facilier.  The dancing and lighting was amazing.  I wish my camera had been able to get some good pictures of the performance, but I wasn't that lucky.  After the performance, the Villains all come down so that you could get pictures with them.  I made an effort to get pictures of the ones I hadn't seen before.

Frollo


My last stop before leaving for the night was to visit some princesses.  This wasn't just any Princess meet and greet.  They had their Princes with them.  Quite honestly, I didn't care about meeting any of the princes except for Flynn Rider.  He and Rapunzel didn't disappoint either.  They were great!  Rapunzel was absolutely gorgeous.  We discussed my costume and I told her how I hoped to get the same skirt in purple and she squealed with delight because, of course, that's her favorite color!  The other princes weren't as exciting for me and I politely went up to them and got my pictures and made my way out of the room.





By the time I was out of the princess room, it was after midnight and the park was closing.  I blew the castle a kiss and made my way home. 

Would I go to the party again?  I only ask because one of the podcasts that I listen to actually said that they didn't think that the party was worth the money anymore.  I know that I would go again, but I would not pay full price.  Definitely take advantage of the discounts that there are out there.  If the prices continue to rise, I may have to reconsider my statement though.  In the meantime, put this on your must do this!

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Thursday, September 22, 2011

Ultimate Epcot Touring Plan - Part 3-ish


Todd has posted the second half of our Ultimate Epcot day.  I'll try to post a summary of my version of the day within the next few days.

You can check out his report here.

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Wildlife Wednesday

Kilamanjaro Safari

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Quote of the Week

Since the beginning of mankin, the fable-tellers have not only given us entertainment but a kind of wisdom, humor, and understanding that, like all true art, remains imperishable through the ages.

- Walt Disney

Thursday, September 15, 2011

Ultimate Epcot Touring Plan - Part 2-ish

Since Todd is blogging about our adventure over at Touring Plans, stop over there to read about the first half of our adventure!

No Beverly at that dispenser.  :(


Monday, September 12, 2011

Ultimate Epcot Touring Plan - Part 1

Yesterday I made an attempt at the Ultimate Epcot Touring Plan with my friend Todd.  I'll come back with a full review of the day once we get out pictures organized and data submitted to Touring Plans.  Until then, I'll just leave you with this picture:


Okay, I know that I'm not in that picture, but at least it is Pluto from the opening show.  Pretty neat picture if you ask me!

Saturday, September 10, 2011

Wordless Weekend






Quote of the Week

"Actually, if you could see close in my eyes, the American flag is waving in both of them and up my spine is glowing this red, white, and blue stripe."

-Walt Disney

Friday, September 9, 2011

New Babies at the Animal Kingdom

There were some new members born to the Animal Kingdom family recently!

A few weeks ago, a new elephant was born into the family.  He was named Jabali.  He is the sixth baby elephant to be born at the Animal Kingdom.  There are pictures of him out on the savanna as recently as this week.  I rode Kilamanjaro Safari twice yesterday in the hope of seeing him, but no luck.  I did see one of the older baby elephants though.  Check out the adorable picture of him with his mama on the Disney Parks Blog.

I did have better luck over in Asia.  I almost always stop to check out the apes and this time I was surprised to see a new born clinging to mama's belly.  I'm not even sure that this has been announced on the Parks blog yet so it was a very pleasant surprise. 

We hung out there for a while sipping our frozen chai and trying to snap a good picture of the baby.  It wasn't easy because the mom kept her back to us unless she was climbing to a different feeding location.  The cast members that are nearby to answer questions said that it was a very good sign that the mom was hiding the baby from us.  The is a definite sign that she has accepted the baby and will raise it.  Here are some of the pictures I took:

Here we can see a hand gripping mama's hair.

Here we have the whole arm.  So tiny!

And here we get a little peek at the face.  Aww!


Wednesday, September 7, 2011

Monday, September 5, 2011

Fall Has Arrived in the Magic Kingdom

I know that other bloggers have already shared their pictures of some of the Halloween decorations that are already in place at the Magic Kingdom, but I wanted to share some of my own.  I made my way over to the Magic Kingdom last Friday night to see the Magic, Memories, and You and Wishes!  I got these pictures before the sun went down:






And something that I don't think I've ever seen in the evening at the Magic Kingdom.  A few of the Main Street vehicles were still out.  I thought that they were only out in the mornings.  Hmmm...  Does this have something to do with a closed Toontown?  I'll keep my eyes out for them and let you know if I see them in the evening again.