Tonight we arrived at the Magic Kingdom to attend one of their exclusive parties, Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party! I'd been to a few of the Pirate and Princess Parties back when I'd worked at Disney, and had highly recommended it when mom and dad asked me about it while planning the trip.
Basically, when you enter the park you purchase an extra pass on top of admission for the Not-So-Scary Halloween Party. Then the park closes early for the public, (about 7:00pm) and everyone without wristbands leaves, meaning the park is only at about 1/4 full, and all the rides have wait times of about 15 minutes or less- even the big, popular rides like Big Thunder Mountain and the Haunted Mansion.
It's the best way to experience the Magic Kingdom in my opinion, since it's cooler at night, less crowded, shorter wait times means you can ride more rides with less time spent standing in line. The parties also have exclusive decorations, music, lighting, events, parades, characters, and a fireworks show that are all completely unique and can only be experienced during the party hours. It's also the ONLY time guests can dress up in costumes at the Magic Kingdom park (it's prohibited any other day because it distracts from the show. Though oddly enough the other parks aren't as strict about that rule…).
And what better way to kick off Halloween than by paying a visit to the Haunted Mansion?
Don't mind me, I'm just trying to fit in with the local crowd. Hard to do that tonight, actually- almost 80% of the guests tonight are dressed up in halloween costumes. We DID bring costumes to florida, but none of us were hardcore enough to want to wear them into the park tonight. (Not even me. Sorry, I'm not about to try to ride Big Thunder Mountain in Elizabeth's corset nor as Mary Poppins, thank you!) So instead, I'm rocking my cute halloween shirt (the kitty's sign says 'hug me I'm scared!') and light-up mickey halloween necklace!
Ah yes, Madame Leota. Those of us who are familiar with the legend of the Haunted Mansion know that Master Gracey, who owned the manor, fell deeply in love with a beautiful gypsy woman named Leota; tragically though, Leota died upon the eve of her wedding, under very suspicious circumstances…
However, as she had been a mystic in life, Master Gracey was convinced that her spirit would surely choose to haunt the ethereal plane between life and death. So he hung himself from the rafters of a circular portrait room, so that he might join his love in life-after-death and they would haunt the mansion together for all eternity.
Curiously enough, after the death of the mansion's master, all who lived in the mansion at that time or since, have without exception met grim fates, and continue to haunt the manor to this very day…
Including Leota
We moved on to New Fantasyland, but it was a little hard to find our way around and newly renovated area in the dark, so we didn't spend a whole lot of time here, wanting to come back later in our trip during the daytime (which sadly didn't happen, but oh well! All the more reason to come back!). I did, however, snag a picture of Rapunzel's Lanterns, which were strung overhead around her tower, and were absolutely gorgeous (shame I'm the only one in the family who's seen Tangled, none of the others even noticed the lanterns or tower)…. They also were perfectly suited to the halloween theme in my opinion! Cause they reminded me of people who put candles in paper bags and line their walkways with them on Halloween. :D
The one thing we DID stop and do at Fantasyland was check out Enchanted Storytime with Belle. And I got picked to play the part of the wardrobe after impressing the cast members with my lovely opera singing voice. This netted me a very awesome chance to hang out with Belle during the show and I got to greet her and get my picture taken!
Okay seriously, best day ever for me because on the way over to Frontierland, I spotted Colonel Slate cosplayer in the crowd and weaved through the people to catch up to him and say hi- turns out they had the whole bleedin' Bioshock Infinite crew with them!! It was so cool to see them- especially since I'd just been trying to convince my parents last night that I wasn't the only person here who would know what Bioshock was…
Once we were at Frontierland Daniel looked at the rest of us and said, "Somebody give me some quarters. No, I'm dead serious." Gah, I love this place, it was one of the places I'd go whenever I was feeling homesick when I lived here, cause I have so many memories of my dad and brother doing this every time we went to a Disney Park, ever since I was little. Dad was lame and didn't play this time, but Daniel totally rocked it! I filled Dad's spot and actually hit most of my targets- that's a first! (those rifles were crazy-heavy)
Daniel's been playing this one since he was shorter than the counter, and Dad would have to sit him up on the mexican blankets and hold the gun for him. No longer, though- look at him now!
After several runs on Big Thunder Mountain (Mom's favorite thrill ride, by the way), we squirmed through the crowds and landed a really great spot to watch the Villains-Themed 'Hallowishes' firework show (which was hosted by our Ghost Host from the Haunted Mansion) just to the left of Walt and Mickey.
After fireworks, we headed across the bridge and into Liberty Square to watch the Boo To You Halloween Parade, while Daniel indulged in the strawberry-smothered funnel cake he's been looking forward to all week.
Hrmph. I thought my boyfriend was on his way, false alarm….. Hook may be the original, honey, but he's not NEARLY as handsome.
AHA! There he is! That's him, up in the crow's nest. You can tell we're in love-love because he waved to me. :D
In case you don't get the joke: We used to have little moments and exchanges during the nightly parades, (I'd always ask to wash the windows at the bakery during the parade so I could see him, and he'd wave down from his crow's nest and pantomime washing windows too) afternoon shows, and even down in the Tunnels when I worked there. I'm the only girl on a first-name basis with Jack. And that's saying something! He once corrected me when we were on our way to lunch together when I greeted him, saying, "-Captain- Jack, love. -Captain.-" And I replied, "Aw, but I thought you and I were on a first-name basis?" And he said, "Well of -course,- darling! But we don't want the whole bloody park to know that, now do we? Trust me on this one, pet. My fangirls make Edward Cullen's fangirls look like pygmy bunny rabbits…."
Speaking of Captain Jack, we went on the Pirates of the Caribbean after the parade, and got stuck at the end of the ride for. ev. er. But at least if we were gonna get stuck, I got to spend that quality time with my boyfriendo, and scored the perfect picture of him. Seriously Mom, this guy's about your best shot at ever getting me to marry. Er, well, not THIS guy specifically. I much prefer the real thing to the animatronic version, impressive though it is.
I spent most of our stuck-time searching for hidden mickeys and trying to talk the rest of the family into the thought that Splash Mountain was still a great idea even though it was dark, late, and getting chilly. My argument was pretty flimsy though, considering it hinged on the promise of, 'Trust me, guys, you don't get THAT wet!' Despite the fact that no one believed that for a second, as soon as we got off of the ride (finally), we hurried over there to get in line before the park closed. And guess what?
We didn't get THAT wet! (Told ya.) In fact, since there was literally NO ONE in line, we got a log all to ourselves, and scored my favorite picture by far! What a perfect end to an amazing day!
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