Boo to You!

After a bit of a rest, we met up again with Sam and Ashley for the Mickey’s Not-So Scary Halloween Party. Now we finally have photographic proof that these two people exist!

The Magic kingdom was all decked out in fall colors. It looked wonderful, but truth be told, I’m still looking forward to seeing the place in it’s normal state sometime again.

The Halloween party is a ticketed event which officially runs from 7:00pm to midnight. Day guests are kindly shuffled out of the park right at 7:00. Guests of the party can, however, enter the park as early as four o’clock. It makes a good bit of sense that if you lay out the money on the party you should spend the morning and afternoon doing things outside of the parks, like hanging at your resort or Disney Springs for example, and then head to the party early. That way you still get eight hours of park time without using up a regular day ticket. This party was a gift to us from our dear friends, so we still went to Animal Kingdom for the morning anyway. Do as I say, not as I do, kids.

Party goers were ushered to the right to a “back stage” area where we received our “trick or Treat” bags and our first stash of candy.

Ashley and Sam are party veterans, so we just let them take the lead for what to do and at what times. While most attractions are open all night, they knew that the Carousel of Progress was not, so we hustled on over to Tomorrowland to take that in first.

I hadn’t visited the Carousel of Progress in several trips so I was nostalgic to see it again. Unfortunately, there was a crying infant in the theater that wailed the whole time. I felt bad for the mom but I was also a little annoyed because the baby was crying waaaay before the show was set to start, so she had ample opportunity to exit and try again later. End of whining.

You may recall that earlier in the day, coasters presented themselves as a problem for Jeff.  Fantasyland debuted a new mine train coaster since our last visit that I was excited to try. Now I was thinking of skipping it. Ashley was kind enough to sacrifice one of their Fastpasses to me so I could give it a test run.

This attraction is the centerpiece of the “New Fantasyland” area of Magic Kingdom. We had seen most of the rock work and landscaping on our last visit, it just wasn’t up and running yet.

This attraction is a perfect addition to Magic Kingdom. It’s a combination of a train coaster, which is fun, while also being super-smooth and not too extreme, along with a perfectly executed “dark ride” portion. The animatronics here utilize the most up to date technology. I felt like it would be a go for Jeff. We’ll see.

We took a stroll on over to Liberty Square to visit the Haunted Mansion, cause you have to during the Halloween party, plus it’s awesome.

Right away we could see that cast members are specifically chosen to work the party. Along with their make-up being extra creepy, the acting was far beyond the usual schpeel. Right as we rounded the corner one cadaverous looking butler popped out and scared the tar out of Ashley!

We caught ourselves some dinner at nearby Columbia Harbor House. It was just fine. I had a lobster Roll and Jeff panic ordered Mac ‘n Cheese with shrimp. It was all just ok. It was fuel for the evening. Sorry, no pics.

There are four main elements of the Halloween Party: special fireworks, the Boo to You Parade, rare character meet and greets  and lastly, trick or treating. I was very excited about the former two, but the latter, not my things. Neither of us are much into candy, so spending time wandering down treat trails wasn’t for us. While I like the characters, collecting pictures isn’t really important to me. I liken this  to collecting baseball trading cards. For some Disney folks, getting a photo with Snow White and ALL Seven Dwarfs is akin to scoring a Babe Ruth rookie card. I may be exaggerating a bit, but it is a conquest!

So this is where we parted ways with Ashley and Sam. We handed off our treat bags so that they could load up with double candy and we made plans to meet up later for the fireworks. Here’s where someone like myself can still rock the party despite not digging major elements of it.  While everyone else is collecting candy and pictures we were getting in (almost) all the attractions we wanted with no waiting!

Our first stop is one that never really has any waits but we love it so we popped in. I’ve given you a play by play of this one before. You remember, right?

We strolled around without too much purpose whilst I snapped some artsy type pictures that I think turned out super okay.

We have now reached one of my favorite attractions, Pirates of the Caribbean. This and Haunted Mansion are tied for first, I think.

I don’t remember where it was, but I had read or heard that in the Pirate’s gift shop you could buy the key ring from the infamous last scene in the attraction. I don’t collect any “Mickey” type souvenirs. I do however have a modest collection of vintage Disneyland attraction poster reproductions.

Yes, they’re Disney but really they are art. I heart them so much. Anyhoo, I thought having this key ring hanging nearby the Pirate’s of the Caribbean poster would be subtle, yet trés cool.

These were substantial yet not really expensive at all. I was psyched. Then, Jeff voiced a concern. It bothered him beyond reason that there are THREE keys on the ring when the scene with the dog clearly shows just ONE key.

While I must admit he had a point, it didn’t upset me…at all. He, however claimed that he’d be wrenching that ring open when we get home to remove those two extra keys. Upon doing a a bit of research I discovered that the “prison dog” shows up in the Curse of the Black Pearl movie with his key ring and….three keys!

So, this gives the three key premise some legitimacy. On the other hand, I bought them because of the classic ride. What to do? We’re awaiting a decision.

Next we sauntered into another classic Disney attraction, Peter Pan’s Fight. We hadn’t been on this together since our honeymoon. Awww…

Jeff had no recollection. It was still burned into my squishy Disney heart after all these years.  This is an attraction that rarely has a wait under 60 minutes. We waited maybe 15 minutes all the while winding through a new, delightful queue bringing you through London and then into the Darlings’ house. You’re sprinkled with Pixie Dust and them… off you go!

When made our way back to Tomorrowland to take a turn on the People Mover.

The People mover is a perfect place to put your feet up and relax for approximately twelve minutes.

We had a bit of time left before we would be meeting back up the Sam and Ashley. Normally, when there’s time to kill, the Mr. and I would go for a drink, as you do. This being a *dry park it left us without that option.  What to do but get our selves an ice cream?

I had an extensive list of things to try and do that was seriously crossed off on this trip. The “All American Sundae” was one of them.

Sam collected us from the Plaza and lead us over to the primo spot he and Ashley staked out for the fireworks.

First, we watched the Celebrate the Magic castle show. This is a show that is projection mapped onto the castle that it so impressive. I may have teared up. Next, the Hallowishes fireworks. These were just fantastic. We took a few pictures, but unless you are a pro photographer it just looks like meh. Trust me, they were astonishing! Or, if you don’t trust me watch them HERE.

Next up was the Boo to You parade. Sam had designs on his usual spot in Frontierland but that was full up. We headed to the hub and found a perfectly situated spot which looked right down Main Street from the hub.

The parade starts with the Headless Horseman galloping down the street. Unless you have that pro photog with you, this one’s a blur too.

The parade was great. Intricately themed floats, catchy music and TONS of dancers.

 

We all had designs on heading back into the park, but we were too exhausted. We were so tired that dealing with this seemed like a better idea:

I really enjoyed our time at MNSSHP. While it’s not something I would normally do, it was quite enjoyable. The mood of the party goers was lively and fun. We got to see the park lit up in a whole different way and we experienced the best fireworks display ever. That’s not debatable. It is the best.

We would be saying our goodbyes to our friends this night. Getting to spend time with these two wonderful people was by far the best part of our trip. Disney has been a joy for me for many years, but the connection I’ve made with Ashley has been the most treasured gift.

Next up: Can we actually eat and drink around the world???