Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party

"Why do we have to grow up? I know more adults who have the children's approach to life. They're people who don't give a hang what the Joneses do. You see them at Disneyland every time you go there. They are not afraid to be delighted with simple pleasures, and they have a degree of contentment with what life has brought - sometimes it isn't much, either." ~~Walt Disney

We attended Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party last December and we have plans to do that again this year. This year we wanted to try the Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party .

We left last Thursday much later than we should have. We arrived at Fort Wilderness around 7:30 p.m. We have long since learned that arriving late typically doesn't have good outcomes for us. This trip was no different. When we used to travel in our car and we arrived late, it was never pleasant either. Since it would be late and dark, it was assured we'd get lost and since everyone would be tired and cranky, it usually meant an argument. Arriving late and after dark is even less desireable in an RV. It's difficult to park an RV in the dark and again, if it's late, we all tend to be cranky.

The first campsite was difficult to get into and once we were settled, we began to set up lights, etc. I decided to vacuum the inside while Jeff was finishing up outside. Our site was very small and because of this some of our storage doors would not open....so Jeff had to crawl inside one to get the bicycle trailer out. While inside, he smelled smoke...like an electrical fire....so he took a peek outside and saw smoke pouring out of the shore power box (where the camper is plugged in). He then jumped out and hit is head on the storage door. He then came in to tell me about it and I noticed his forehead was bleeding. He was not a happy camper (literally). I mentioned that is why I always close those doors (I ran into one of the doors when we were inspecting the camper on pick up day....I chipped one of my front teeth). He was not in any mood for a lecture. I would've taken a picture of him to share as he looked like he'd been in a fight. But, I decided that it wouldn't be a good idea to find humor in his predicament at this point. We laughed about it later.... but while in the moment...there was no humor in it. This was not the "happiest place on earth" while we were getting set up.

So, I returned to guest services and requested another campsite. Now, I fully welcome people from other countries to the United States but when I'm having a problem, I'd prefer to speak to someone in customer service where English is not their second language. I tried explaining our problem. I told him smoke was coming from the electrical hookup box and that we'd like another site. After he grasped what my problem was (or so I thought), he assigned us to a new site. I arrived back at our original campsite to find Disney maintenance personnel speaking with my husband about our problem. The guy asked Jeff if we had reported a problem about "a piano being on fire?" So, I guess the verbal exchange with the guy at the guest relations desk wasn't entirely clear after all.

Since we had to move, that meant packing up stuff we had already set up and putting our bikes back onto the bike rack. By the time we got to to our new site and got everything set up, it was close to 9:30 and the girls were exhausted. Our 9-year old neice, Mary, came with us for this trip. Even she was asleep on the sofa.

Friday~Halloween Party Night

On Friday morning we went to Shades of Green, the military resort on the Disney property, to buy our tickets. Jeff and I decided to buy an annual pass for him, Rachel, Anna, and me since we had several trips planned to Disney World over the next 12 months. And, we bought Mary a 2-day park hopper pass so she could see as many of the parks as possible over the weekend. To get the military discount, you have to purchase the tickets either at a military base or Shades of Green. Shades of Green is the only place that sells the annual pass though. We've stayed at Shades of Green before. It is an awesome resort that reminds me a bit of the Wilderness Lodge. There is a cool wood carved Mickey in the lobby decorated in a patriotic theme (see left).

We rode the ferry boat from Fort Wilderness to the Magic Kingdom. Then we took the tram to the Polynesian Resort which is located across the highway from Shades of Green. We decided to travel in this manner rather than driving so that Mary got to experience the journey in a more interesting way since this was her first trip to Disney World. We bought our tickets at Shades of Green and then headed back to the Polynesian Resort for lunch. After lunch, we went back to our RV to rest up since we knew we had a long night ahead of us. The Halloween Party goes until midnight and we planned to get our moneys worth.

The Halloween Party officially started at 7 pm. But, Disney allows you to enter the park as early as 4 pm with the party tickets. The trick-or-treating doesn't begin until 7:00 though. So, we arrived at 4 pm in costume to begin hitting the rides and to have dinner. Our friend Roger joined us this evening. Roger used to work with Jeff and me a few years ago and he took a job in Orlando and has been in Orlando ever since. It was great to see him as always and he helped us tag team the kids while at the theme parks. Its always good to have an extra set of eyes!

We decided to go with the Narnia theme this year for our costumes for the Halloween Party. Rachel was Queen Susan, Anna was Queen Lucy, I was the White Witch (Jadis), and Jeff was in a knight costume. Narnia characters aren't as popular as others but there were definitely a few children who recognized me. And, they would excitedly yell "it's the White Witch." One family even stopped me in the park to ask me to pose with their daughter for a picture. The girls had a blast trick-or-treating. And, Disney isn't skimpy with the candy....they give it out by the hand fulls.

I'm sure some of you may be wondering where is the rest of Anna's hair. She was adamant that her hair would be short like the character Lucy. So I took her before we left Georgia and got it cut. She looked like a different child. I miss her long locks but the new hair style is actually quite fitting for her.

The "Boo-to-You" parade was awesome and all of the Disney villians were out for pictures. Rachel got to dance with Jafar when she got a picture with him. Of course, what would a visit to the Magic Kingdom be for a Halloween party without visiting the Haunted Mansion? And, the Pirates of the Caribbean ride is much better with the modifications that Disney made recently. Of course, our favorite ride is still the Buzz Lightyear ride. The fireworks show was awesome as always with the theme of "Happy Hallowishes."

We loved the Halloween Party and recommend it to others who might be considering it. We would definitely do it again! I was worried about it being too hot for our costumes but it ended up being very comfortable. And, we enjoyed wearing them as much as others enjoyed seeing us in them. We will be back in December for the Christmas Party and we'd like to come back in January or February for the Pirate & Princess Party. The major benefit to these special parties is that they limit the number of ticket sales which makes the wait time for rides minimal to none at all. And, at the Christmas event, they give out hot chocolate and gingerbread cookies. Plus, the parks are decorated up for Christmas and they are awesome to see!

Saturday~~Animal Kingdom and Epcot

We had planned to make this a liesurely weekend but since this was Mary's first visit to Disney World, we wanted to hit the hot spots and let her experience as much as possible. Since we went to the Magic Kingdom for the Halloween Party, we decided to use the remainder of the weekend to visit the other parks. We went to the Animal Kingdom on Saturday morning. Everyone enjoyed the Jungle Safari ride and the Dinosaur ride. We didn't ride the new Everest ride this time but we plan to do that when we are back in December. We had lunch at the Rainforest Cafe at the Animal Kingdom and got the lava cake for dessert. It was huge! We shared it and then we all rolled out of the restaurant and headed to Epcot. We had hoped to ride Soaring but there was a 75 minute wait and they were no longer giving out Fast Passes. So, we went to the Living Seas exhibit. The girls had a great time looking at the manatees and walking around the aquarium. We went shopping afterwards. It was here that Anna spotted the Minnie Mouse outfit and she had to have it. Most of the stuff at Disney World is highly overpriced but she had her heart set on this dress complete with matching shoes and a headband with ears and bow. We figured why not? We have a limited number of years to enjoy this type of thing with them so let her have it. She wore it home on Saturday and wore it all day on Sunday so I'd say she got her money's worth (and so did we).

We returned to Fort Wilderness and went to the Chip and Dale's Campfire Sing Along Saturday evening. Fort Wilderness has this most nights of the week. They have an outdoor amphitheater where they play Disney movies. They have a campfire to roast marshmallows and Chip and Dale come out for photos with the kids. Our kids always enjoy this so we try to make it out for at least one of these each time that we stay at Fort Wilderness. There is no additional cost to go and if you are staying at another Disney resort, you can also go to this as well.

Sunday~~MGM

On Sunday, we visited MGM Studios for the majority of the day. We all rode the Tower of Terror. This was Rachel's, Anna's, and Mary's first time to ride the Tower of Tower. Prior to this trip, Anna did not meet the 40" requirement for several rides...but thanks to her "Magic Ride Shoes" with those big heels she made the cut this time. So this was her first trip where she could ride some of the more intense rides. Rachel and Anna loved the Tower of Terror. Jeff, Mary and I rode the Aerosmith Rocking Roller Coaster for the first time too. It was awesome! This was another ride that Jeff and I had not done before because the kids could not ride it either. That is one feature that I like better about Universal/Islands of Adventure versus Disney World...Universal has parent swap rooms. Once you wait in line, one parent can wait with the kids in the swap room area. Once the first parent is done with the ride, you swap, and the second parent immediately returns to the front of the line. This is great in that you can still do the rides without having to wait in the lines twice if everyone can't or doesn't want to ride.

Rachel and Anna love the "Honey I Shrunk the Kids" playground. That is the one thing they always look forward to at MGM. We spent all of this money and the thing they like the best is a playground....something they have outside of our RV every day. It's kind of like Christmas...you give them great toys and they get more enjoyment out of the boxes that the toys came in instead of the toys themselves.

We took them all to see the Playhouse Disney, The Little Mermaid, and the Beauty and the Beast play.

We watched the parade at MGM in the afternoon. I was glad that we did. It was the first time we had taken the time to do so as we usually try to take advantage of the short wait times on rides while everyone else watches the parades. The MGM parade has completely different characters including the ones from Pixar movies, Star Wars, the Muppets, and the typical Disney cast. Pinnochio picked Anna out of the crowd because of her Minnie outfit. And, Cruella picked out Rachel. They were both so excited to be noticed.

After a long day at MGM, we returned to Fort Wilderness and had dinner at the Trail's End restaurant and then the girls went swimming for a while. The pool at Fort Wilderness is open 24 hours and its heated so you can still swim during the cooler months. I wasn't in the mood to swim and bugs were swarming me sitting by the pool so we only stayed about an hour. But, it was already around 9 pm and after another long day, we were all ready for bed.

Overall, it was a great weekend. The weather was beautiful and not too hot or humid. The crowds weren't that bad either. Although, I suspect it was probably busier than we wanted because of the school break this week. It was a whirlwind weekend but we had a great visit and can't wait to come back in December.