We just got back last night from a quickie trip to Walt Disney World. It was short, but packed with fun. We arrived on Thursday morning and checked in at the Boardwalk Inn. The cast member made sure to find us a great room with a view of the Epcot fireworks. It also was a larger room than the others we have stayed in at the Boardwalk (5272). We put our luggage into storage, as our room wasn’t ready yet and headed over to Epcot. We had a great lunch at the Biergarten in <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com
ffice:smarttags" /><st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1lace w:st="on">Germany</st1lace></st1:country-region>. This place is great and doesn’t get enough attention. It has great atmosphere and our server Brigit was awesome. After eating too much, we explored a little. The Food & Wine fest was very fun. We tried some great cheese, peanut butter syrup and smelled some great evergreen. After spending a few hours exploring the exhibits we headed back to check into our room. After a quick nap we changed our clothes and headed over to the <st1lace w:st="on"><st1laceName w:st="on">Magic</st1laceName> <st1laceType w:st="on">Kingdom</st1laceType></st1lace> for MNSSHP. We donned out pirate hats & Halloween themed t-shirts and grabbed our wristbands. We got there around 5 and were able to get in a few rides before the party (POTC, Space Mtn, etc). At 6 we headed over to Tomorrowland and got our picture taken. Then we noticed something happening at Stitch’s Great Escape. Upon investigation we found they were doing some testing. We talked our way in and got a chance to try the ride. We enjoyed it, although we still have a fondness for Alien Encounter. Clearly this ride is more geared to the young ones, and for them it will be perfect once the kinks are worked out. The CM’s were most interested in the reactions of the 10 and under set, so it seems my theory is correct. By then it was 7 so we started trick or treating. We stayed ahead of the pack and got lots of good candy as well as great opportunities to get our picture taken with rare groups of characters. My favorites were Cinderella and The Prince in front of the carriage and Snow White & ALL 7 Dwarves. We watched Cinderella’s Surprise Celebration at 8:50 and it was great to see with all the lighting effects, rather than during the day. Then we saw the fireworks, which were a let down at first, but once the Halloween theming started they were amazing and well worth the set-up. The parade was a real treat; my favorite parts were the hitchhiking ghosts and the <st1lace w:st="on"><st1laceName w:st="on">Haunted</st1laceName> <st1laceType w:st="on">Mansion</st1laceType></st1lace> dancers. Mainstreet Lighting was very cool, as were all the Halloween decorations. All in all, a great night. We had breakfast at Cape May Café (cute, cute, cute) and then headed back to Epcot. After exploring FW for the morning (Figment was completely empty, not one person), we started our journey around WS after a brief rain. WE tried all kinds of good food. Favorites were the Banfi Rosa Champagne, Crab cake, escargot and lobster bisque. We then headed over to MGM where the crowd was very big! After a longer than quoted wait for Rock n Roll Roller Coaster, we headed over to Fantasmic for the 6<SUP>th</SUP> Anniversary show. Great seats, better-than-ever show!!!! Still amazing and always exciting. We walked back to the Boardwalk (our favorite transportation from MGM) and headed to a great dinner at The Flying Fish Café. Next morning we finished up MGM although we found very little open before 10:30. The Great Movie Ride was closed most of the day and since we had already done Rock n Roll, we had very few options; we hit ToT and then went to Millionaire. We got to see someone win the Million which was so fun! The crowd went wild. We then went to see the Passholder Preview of The Animation walk thru. It was cute, although the theming of the <st1:State w:st="on"><st1lace w:st="on">California</st1lace></st1:State> version is really amazing in comparison. We got to see the Incredibles, great costumes. We then headed over to Epcot and saw the first performance of Taylor Dayne. So wonderful. The crowd was a bit dead and so she didn’t do an encore, but she was still better than ever. Then we went for dinner at Chefs De France. Excellent food and service. We then caught Illuminations from the bridge between <st1:country-region w:st="on">France</st1:country-region> & <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1lace w:st="on">England</st1lace></st1:country-region>, still fabulous. The last day we spent breakfast at 1900 Park Fare (not my favorite, but ok.) and then went to Downtown Disney. Lots of shopping and a short trip to see <st1:City w:st="on"><st1lace w:st="on">Saratoga Springs</st1lace></st1:City> later, we headed back to the Boardwalk and to the airport. All in all, a great time. Disney never fails to please me.
ffice:smarttags" /><st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1lace w:st="on">Germany</st1lace></st1:country-region>. This place is great and doesn’t get enough attention. It has great atmosphere and our server Brigit was awesome. After eating too much, we explored a little. The Food & Wine fest was very fun. We tried some great cheese, peanut butter syrup and smelled some great evergreen. After spending a few hours exploring the exhibits we headed back to check into our room. After a quick nap we changed our clothes and headed over to the <st1lace w:st="on"><st1laceName w:st="on">Magic</st1laceName> <st1laceType w:st="on">Kingdom</st1laceType></st1lace> for MNSSHP. We donned out pirate hats & Halloween themed t-shirts and grabbed our wristbands. We got there around 5 and were able to get in a few rides before the party (POTC, Space Mtn, etc). At 6 we headed over to Tomorrowland and got our picture taken. Then we noticed something happening at Stitch’s Great Escape. Upon investigation we found they were doing some testing. We talked our way in and got a chance to try the ride. We enjoyed it, although we still have a fondness for Alien Encounter. Clearly this ride is more geared to the young ones, and for them it will be perfect once the kinks are worked out. The CM’s were most interested in the reactions of the 10 and under set, so it seems my theory is correct. By then it was 7 so we started trick or treating. We stayed ahead of the pack and got lots of good candy as well as great opportunities to get our picture taken with rare groups of characters. My favorites were Cinderella and The Prince in front of the carriage and Snow White & ALL 7 Dwarves. We watched Cinderella’s Surprise Celebration at 8:50 and it was great to see with all the lighting effects, rather than during the day. Then we saw the fireworks, which were a let down at first, but once the Halloween theming started they were amazing and well worth the set-up. The parade was a real treat; my favorite parts were the hitchhiking ghosts and the <st1lace w:st="on"><st1laceName w:st="on">Haunted</st1laceName> <st1laceType w:st="on">Mansion</st1laceType></st1lace> dancers. Mainstreet Lighting was very cool, as were all the Halloween decorations. All in all, a great night. We had breakfast at Cape May Café (cute, cute, cute) and then headed back to Epcot. After exploring FW for the morning (Figment was completely empty, not one person), we started our journey around WS after a brief rain. WE tried all kinds of good food. Favorites were the Banfi Rosa Champagne, Crab cake, escargot and lobster bisque. We then headed over to MGM where the crowd was very big! After a longer than quoted wait for Rock n Roll Roller Coaster, we headed over to Fantasmic for the 6<SUP>th</SUP> Anniversary show. Great seats, better-than-ever show!!!! Still amazing and always exciting. We walked back to the Boardwalk (our favorite transportation from MGM) and headed to a great dinner at The Flying Fish Café. Next morning we finished up MGM although we found very little open before 10:30. The Great Movie Ride was closed most of the day and since we had already done Rock n Roll, we had very few options; we hit ToT and then went to Millionaire. We got to see someone win the Million which was so fun! The crowd went wild. We then went to see the Passholder Preview of The Animation walk thru. It was cute, although the theming of the <st1:State w:st="on"><st1lace w:st="on">California</st1lace></st1:State> version is really amazing in comparison. We got to see the Incredibles, great costumes. We then headed over to Epcot and saw the first performance of Taylor Dayne. So wonderful. The crowd was a bit dead and so she didn’t do an encore, but she was still better than ever. Then we went for dinner at Chefs De France. Excellent food and service. We then caught Illuminations from the bridge between <st1:country-region w:st="on">France</st1:country-region> & <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1lace w:st="on">England</st1lace></st1:country-region>, still fabulous. The last day we spent breakfast at 1900 Park Fare (not my favorite, but ok.) and then went to Downtown Disney. Lots of shopping and a short trip to see <st1:City w:st="on"><st1lace w:st="on">Saratoga Springs</st1lace></st1:City> later, we headed back to the Boardwalk and to the airport. All in all, a great time. Disney never fails to please me. 
