Halloween, Food & Wine, and a Birthday, Oh My!-A Sept/Oct 2011 Trip Report

I can't believe 2 weeks ago I was in the Magic Kingdom for my first MNSSHP, my how time flies. I hope you all are ready because here starts my first attempt at a trip report!

Introduction:

Welcome to my very first attempt at writing a trip report! I’ve been reading everyone else’s trip reports for some time now, and have been inspired to write one of my own!!! So let’s start with a little introduction!

The cast for the trip:

(Left): Mom (Diane)-The greatest mom EVER because she’s taken me on 13! WDW trips and she got me into this website so if not for her I wouldn’t be writing this right now! Mom's favorites are Mickey, Stitch, and Tigger and her favorite ride is definitely Toy Story Mania I couldn’t tell you how many times we’ve gone on that!

(Right): Me (Jessica)-22 year old Walt Disney World fanatic (thanks to Mom) who is currently seeking a job as a Mechanical Engineer (if you guys know of anything open let me know! Sorry had to put in the little plug there ) My favorite ride is the Tower of Terror and my favorite characters are Ariel, Prince Eric, Goofy, & (newly favorite) Flynn Rider.

As mentioned above this is my 13th trip to the world and Mom's 14th. She went once when she was a little girl in ’74.

Details about the trip:

When: September 26-October 3 This is the first time we’ve ever gone at this time of the year, because I was always in school.

Resort: Pop Century We’ve stayed at this resort many times and have always loved it, even though we talked about changing and trying a different resort, we didn’t. But are looking into it for next trip!

Just a FYI: the pictures in this report are taken by both me and my mom. (There will be many, many pictures in this report since I took over 800!) The ones that I have taken were mainly in Aperture and Shutter Priority mode. I wanted to go manual but realized that I would have a much harder time with it. Av and Tv mode proved successful and I had fun playing around with the settings a bit. Thanks to Tom Bricker (wdwfigment), he has inspired me to take better pictures during my trips and in everyday life! (I was able to tell him this in person as you will read later in the report!)

We also ordered the photopass CD because we knew we would be getting a lot of photopass pictures this trip. We haven't looked at them yet, so I will add in some of those pictures at the end of the report once we go through them and get the CD.

Now let the memories and trip reporting begin!!!

 

[Disneyfalcon]

I finally made it through the report so far! I loved the 40th anniversary day! It's so great to read about. And how awesome you saw so many people from wdwmagic!!

My mouth is also watering from the food pictures. Yum Yum!!

 

[PartOfYourWorld]

I finally made it through the report so far! I loved the 40th anniversary day! It's so great to read about. And how awesome you saw so many people from wdwmagic!!

My mouth is also watering from the food pictures. Yum Yum!!

:sohappy: Yes it seemed like there was a lot of us down there that weekend!!!

 

[PartOfYourWorld]

Sunday Oct 2-EPCOT and MNSSHP #2!

This morning we woke up at 6:40 am after going to bed at almost 1 am. But it didn’t matter because we were in Walt Disney World and had breakfast reservations at O’hana!

We took the bus heading towards the Magic Kingdom and got dropped off right at the Polynesian! It was too early for any of the shops were open and our reservation for our breakfast at O’hana wasn’t until 8:25. So we walked around a bit and took pictures!

After taking a few pictures we decided to check into O’hana’s about 20 minutes early. Unfortunately, we waited the 20 minutes and got seated right at our reservation time. We didn’t mind though, because the breakfast was so worth the wait!

We could see this out the window from afar:

The best bread

If I remember correctly I think we got food before we saw any characters…so I’ll start with the food pictures then get to the characters!

I love Mickey Waffles!!!!

Stitch is so adorable

 

[PartOfYourWorld]

Pluto!

The Mouse himself!

And last but not least…Lilo!

We hadn’t been to O’hana for breakfast in so long that we forgot how good it was! It was the best breakfast we had all trip!!! I can’t wait to go back there again!

Clean plate!

Time for some more pictures surrounding O’hana

Love this

 

[PartOfYourWorld]

After breakfast, it was time for some snooping in the Polynesian gift shops! I love coming to visit and look around in different hotels.

Awesome lamps

Mirror Shot #4!

After hanging with the Tikis we headed on up to the monorail to go to EPCOT because we had a date with Shelley, Jason, Holly, and Brett! But we had to make a pit stop over at the Grand Floridian! Didn’t take too many pictures here, but I did use the bathroom and wow are they beautiful!

Trash can!

Monorail red was our best friend as he was taking us to the TTC so we could go to EPCOT!

Once we got over to EPCOT, we had some time to kill before going over to France to meet Shelley, Jason, Holly, and Brett! We thought about going into Spaceship Earth but the line was crazy!! (I guess all the people who went to the Magic Kingdom for the 40th came to EPCOT for the Food & Wine Festival on Sunday)

 

[PartOfYourWorld]

We headed over to the pin stop in the middle of Future World and made a few pin purchases, then went into Mouse Gears and scoped out some things we wanted to purchase on the way out later because now it was time to head over to France!

Some pictures on the way:

When we finally got to France everyone was already there!!!!! Holly and Brett were super super nice and it was so great to meet them both and to tell them in person how much we loved Holly’s trip reports and tell her what a beautiful wedding they had!!! We chatted a bit over drinks, Mom went to purchase the Parisian Cosmo Slush which contained Vodka, Cranberry Juice and Grand Marnier. It was pretty good.

It was time for Holly and Brett to head out unfortunately. Wish we could have had more time to chat! Maybe next time! But it is always great coming out of a trip with some new friends

A picture of us WDWMagic girls

We stuck around with Shelley and Jason, and one of her followers on Twitter came to visit as well, and me and Mom went to purchase the Grey Goose Lemon Slush because I had tried Shelley’s and it was seriously the best one and we just had to get it for ourselves!

When it was time to depart France, Shelley and Jason invited me and Mom to join them since we were all heading towards the Touring Plans Meet in Mexico.

This was the best afternoon of the trip. I apologize I didn’t take many pictures. We were just all having so much fun together. We got along so well, and I’m really glad we had so much time to spend together this trip. Can’t wait to spend time with them again!

We walked around World Showcase, stopping here and there to grab some grub from the different kiosks. Jason and I also tried out Beer Flight #1 (I think) at the Brewer’s Collection kiosk in Germany. Forgive me, I have forgotten the name of the beers, but I know they were all really good.

We started heading towards La Hacienda in Mexico for the Touring Plans meet. This meet was really awesome. If there is anyone out there reading this from Touring Plans I just want to say thank you for everything that day. It was really great meeting a lot of people.

We first ran into Henry Work, who for those of you who don’t know is the website and apps developer over at Touring Plans, and you might have noticed him in a few of Tom Bricker’s trip reports.

Sarah Bricker came on over next and started talking to us as well. She is such a sweet person. So glad we got a chance to talk to her!

 

[PartOfYourWorld]

The next thing that came up was actually a surprise! The meet was inside the restaurant La Hacienda and we received great food and drinks! Me, Mom, Shelley, and Jason all shared a nice little table. Now was when we wished we didn’t eat all that food on the way over here!

During the meet, Tom Bricker came over to talk to our table, and I was able to tell him his photos inspired me to take better pictures, which was really cool. He also took a picture of us for an article he wrote for the Touring Plans blog about the meet and here it is: http://blog.touringplans.com/2011/10/14/touringplans-brings-down-the-house-at-la-hacienda/ Thanks for putting us in the blog!

Sarah Bricker also came by again to chat and became my fourth follower on Twitter! Woo hoo! (follow me @loveWDW5 on Twitter if you would like) and it was again so nice to chat with everyone. At one point Steve Barrett (the guy who writes the Hidden Mickey books) walked by, but we weren’t able to catch him after that.

After chatting, meeting, and eating, it was sadly time to leave. On the way out we ran into Matt Hochberg from Studios Central!!! I am a HUGE fan of his website, because my favorite park is Hollywood Studios as well, and look forward to his weekly updates. I really wish I could have spent some time talking to him about the Studios. Definitely next time when I’m in WDW we will have to meet up!

Unfortunately, it was now time to part with Shelley and Jason as they had a flight to catch to bring them back home. I cannot state enough how much fun it was to spend time with them. They are such a great couple and so much fun to be around. Can’t wait to spend more time with them in the future!!!! :wave: Love ya both!!!

Before making our way out of EPCOT to get ready for MNSSHP in our last night at Walt Disney World, we made a pit stop at Mouse Gears to make some of our last purchases. One of the things I purchased was the Imagineering Magic Kingdom DVD. I haven’t gotten a chance to watch it yet, but I’ll let you know how it is when I finally do. And I also bought the Wishes CD, which I absolutely love because it is my favorite fireworks show!!

We went back to our room, and put on our attire for the night…matching MNSSHP T-shirts that we purchased on Tuesday night when we were there!

We grabbed the bus around 5 pm to head over to the Magic Kingdom. I was so excited to be ending the trip here at MNSSHP!!!

We had time to kill so we took some photopass pictures and wandered into the Confectionary for a snack. Only to discover that they had made some more 40th anniversary cupcakes! We ended up grabbing one and it was delicious! Too much frosting for me (but I’m not really much of a cake frosting person to begin with)

While we sat down, we came up with our plan of attack for the night. My main goal was to catch the villains that I had missed. Oh and to see Tarzan as well…hehe.

We wandered over to the hub and I grabbed a few pictures and the crane was no longer there!!!:

 

[PartOfYourWorld]

Always have to get a duck shot! Ducks are so much cuter in Disney World

We still had about an hour until the party started, and decided that we wanted to see what Tarzan characters came out in Adventureland since the first Villians Mix & Mingle didn’t start until 7:45. We sat on the little stone benches near the Adventureland Veranda and just people watched for an hour. It was really neat to see everyone walk through Adventureland in their costumes! We saw a bunch of really cute ones and I wish I had taken some pictures of them.

Finally it was party time!!!

At 7 pm only Terk came out, so we decided to get her just incase we didn’t make it back this way.

We headed on over towards Aladdin’s way because I had never met Abu before and was pretty excited about that. The line was long already, but the wait wasn’t as bad as it looked.

As we made our way back towards the hub to see the Villains show, Timon was coming out! So I snatched a picture with him!

We reached the castle for the Villains Mix & Mingle right before 7:30 so we had about 15 minutes to kill. My goal for this show was to meet Dr. Facilier and maybe try to get another villain if time allowed. I hate how the mingle part always goes by so fast. There was another girl around my age and her mom that we made friends with and were waiting for Dr. Facilier as well.

The show finally started, and I love it and the music. Unfortunately, I can’t compare it to the one in previous years so I couldn’t tell you if this new version was better or not.

 

[PartOfYourWorld]

Time to mingle!!! I might have stated this previously, but I hate how the Mingle part is set up, everyone just rushes and pushes to get to the front and cuts in after you have been there waiting. This is what happened to the friend I made before the show started, so I told her to come stand with me and if anyone complained I would just say she was my sister. And it worked out anyways no one ended up complaining.

First up…Dr. Facilier! He was really awesome. I remember telling him as I was leaving I’ll see you on the other side, and I really wish I could have remember what he said to me, because I remember it being really awesome. Now, I’m not a fan of the Princess and the Frog, but he completely made this movie. He is definitely up there as one of my favorite villains.

Second up….well no one I got in line for the Evil Queen from Snow White, but unfortunately she left right as I was the next person in line. The CM said no no she has to go now! And was really rude about it, but all of the other villains stayed out for about another minute! I was so mad.

While I was in line for the Evil Queen, Mom spotted Tom & Sarah Bricker. Tom had an epic costume on that we absolutely loved, and it was great. I won’t spoil the surprise and tell you what he was because that is for him to do

We decided we would make another villain show so I could see my favorite villain..Cruella De Vil! We made our way over to Liberty Square to see if we could catch the headless horseman ride. We were recommended this spot by Shelley and Jason because the headless horseman just seems in his element in that area. As you can see by the pictures, our attempt to catch him was none too successful.

 

[PartOfYourWorld]

We ended up skipping the rest of the parade and making our way over to Fantasyland to try to meet Alice and the Mad Hatter. Unfortunately, Alice left right before we were up next, but I didn’t want to wait for her because I wanted to make sure I got into line for Cruella at the Mingle. The Mad Hatter was funny as always. (Side ramble: If any of you know Batman, the Mad Hatter is a villain, and I was watching my boyfriend play the new Batman: Arkham City video game, where the Mad Hatter is featured. It’s really weird to see a much darker version of the Mad Hatter, but I think I like the darker side of the Mad Hatter versus the Disney version. Sorry just had to put that ramble in there)

Once we got back over to the hub area, we got right in line for Cruella! I was the second person, there was already a family lined up in front of me. And the cast member ensured us that we would be the first to see her. (She was much nicer than the one on the other side). And when the Mingle began, there were 2 different families that tried to push in front of me, and I kept making sure they stayed behind me. The family in front of me had my back though they blocked the lady from cutting in saying I was standing behind us the whole time so I was next! That was really nice of them. And I told Cruella she was my favorite and she loved it!

We rushed in line next to meet the Queen of Hearts. Her line moved very quickly, but she spent a good minute with me.

She was very upset that she wasn’t featured on my shirt and she made sure I knew she was mad!

All in all, the only villains I was not able to meet were the Evil Queen and Captain Hook (he wasn’t on the top of my priority list), but I did meet the ones that I really wanted to so it was deemed successful!

We headed onwards to Adventureland to see if we could catch Tarzan! And he was there!!! But he left and switched spots with Jane . The CM told us he was coming right back out so got my picture with Jane and Terk (again) and got back in line to see Tarzan.

I was pretty excited to see Tarzan. We had a debate with the woman in front of us to whether it was actually his body or if it was just fake like Gaston’s. Well, I can tell you it was real! (Unless Disney has some pretty good magic skills..which I hear they do) but when I put my hand on his back to take a picture all I felt was a nylon material over his actual skin so I say it was pretty real! And I was very surprised Disney would have a character with just a loin cloth on him. He also played the part of Tarzan really well.

Since Hallowishes started just as we were meeting Tarzan, we decided to continue on with character hunting. Well, the fairies right next door had no one meeting them, and I went on in because I had never met any of them before…well let me tell you I will never EVER again pay Tinkerbell and her friends a visit. It was the most awkward meet and greet I had ever been to. A lot of adults say the Princesses are bad, but nothing compared to this.

The pink fairy (Rosetta I think is her name) was way to peppy and hyper for me and just made me feel awkward (probably because I’ve never had any interest in Tinkerbell or her fairy friends) and Tinkerbell, was cute but also just not my thing. And I didn’t like her more fallish get up either. Oh well. They did spend a good amount of time with me (unfortunately) since I was the only guest in there the whole time. I do have to admit the little nook was well designed and decorated.

Awkward laugh/smile

 

[PartOfYourWorld]

Sorry-blurryness-all I was thinking was “Get me outta here!”

Phew! Finally, that was over after what seemed like an eternity. We went for Jasmine and Genie’s line but right after we got in they had to leave, and Aladdin and Abu were coming back out, which we already got and we hopped back out of line.

We managed to catch the end of Hallowishes from Adventureland and it was really nice seeing it from this perspective! Sorry, no pictures.

We went back towards the Haunted Mansion to take some haunted photopass pictures, and to catch pictures of the ghost in front of the mansion (sorry her name escapes me at the moment).

After getting a little spooked, we made our way back towards the hub, where I was able to catch Jafar! Loved the pose he made with me.

We headed down Main Street, to meet some characters there. Unfortunately, Pooh and the gang’s line was closed because they were going to be in the parade soon. We went to go see Duffy instead because he had no one there! He was so cute in his little pumpkin outfit! I ended up buying him online at the Disney Store when I came home because I couldn’t decide if I wanted to spend the $30 for him. But I had a $5 online giftcard due to an inconvience I had with the Disney Store Online and decided to buy him. He should be arriving soon! I do not have any pictures those are coming from our photopass!

We ended up staying at the end of Main Street to watch the parade and the headless horseman. Better luck this time with him!

I decided to skip the parade and go wait in line for the princesses again, while Mom watched the parade. The line was short and I had brought my stuffed Pascal to take a picture with Rapunzel so I was excited. I also wanted to see Flynn Rider again because I had no idea when I would see him again since he is now only out at hard ticket events. (I was hoping it was the same one from Tuesday night’s party!)

I ended up waiting much longer than expected, and was disappointed when I got in there…it was not the same Flynn or Rapunzel and they did not interact well with each other. And it almost seemed like they weren’t sure what to do with Pascal, they just said he was angry because he was red and didn’t like the Disney Princess tag he had on him…oh well. Wish I would have stayed with Mom to watch the parade again. I did make friends with a very very nice family from Australia. So we passed the time talking, and it was really cool learning things about Australia. Here are some pictures.

 

[PartOfYourWorld]

When I came back out, Mom had already met Pooh and the gang and was saving a spot for me. Her picture is on the photopass..I’m sad I missed her

To top off the night, we made our way over to Tomorrowland to catch the dance party. While my mom enjoyed that, I went for one last ride on Space Mountain. It was a scary one too because I felt the car lift up a bit from the track! Of course, while I was on the ride (with no wait at all) Chip came over and danced with my mom at the Dance Party..I missed a perfect picture opportunity! Wasn’t having any luck tonight! But that’s okay we still had fun dancing until midnight at the party! And we even snuck onto the TTA for our last ride of the trip! Definitely a great way to end it in my opinion.

Walking back down Main Street, I took one long look at the castle thinking about when I would be back, of course it is always a sad moment leaving the Magic Kingdom but a happy one at the same time knowing you just had one of the best trips of your life.

See Ya Real Soon

We didn’t wait long for a bus and got back to the room probably around 12:30 am.

Unfortunately, we had to switch rooms on our last night due to a problem. It was very frustrating, but we finally got a new room at around 3:30 am. We headed to bed dreading the unmagical time ahead of us

Up Next: Departure Day and Final Thoughts

 

[enchanted_belle]

Yay updates!!!!

You just made me really excited for the fact that I can finally drink the next time I'm down there... I mean, Parisian Cosmo Slush? WANT.

You've been added on Twitter!

I'm jealous of the fact that your bf has Batman: Arkham City... Dan wants it, but he won't get anything new until he's played Battlefield 3 completely (I've also pretty much lost my boyfriend until then too lol).

Uh oh, what happened that you had to get a new room that late at night?

 

[PartOfYourWorld]

Yay updates!!!!

You just made me really excited for the fact that I can finally drink the next time I'm down there... I mean, Parisian Cosmo Slush? WANT.

You've been added on Twitter!

I'm jealous of the fact that your bf has Batman: Arkham City... Dan wants it, but he won't get anything new until he's played Battlefield 3 completely (I've also pretty much lost my boyfriend until then too lol).

Uh oh, what happened that you had to get a new room that late at night?

Yay!! That slush came from the food and wine festival booth, so I'm not exactly sure if that is available all the time, you'd have to check when you're there. But the Grey Goose one was much better!!!

And thanks for the follow! I'll follow you back!!!

Haha I get whatcha mean about losing your boyfriend over a game :lol: But I actually like watching him play Batman (I am horrible at those kind of video games so I don't play) because I'm actually a Batman fan myself and love seeing all the villains and such. Definitely tell him to get it!!!

Ahh, well we had a bug problem...sucks it was on the last day. Wasn't a major problem luckily but enough to freak us out.

 

[lbrad]

After purchasing our goods, I noticed on Twitter that Shelley (Fashionista007) and her husband Jason were in EPCOT! After tweeting her that we were also in EPCOT we were going to meet up! So off we went!!!

Now I have to say the minute I met Shelley and Jason I felt like I have known them forever. They are two of the nicest people I have ever met and we all got along great. I could go on and on about how great they are. But I’m happy to say I have now made lifelong friends, scratch that I’ve made a sister for life and a brother-in-law haha. I was so excited to hear all about the wedding and I am definitely looking forward to it in her trip report! After chatting it up for a while, it was time to go our separate ways. Luckily though this will not be the last time we see each other!

Shelley and Jason turned to go check out some more booths and we were headed to the Dolphin resort to meet the one and only Deb Willis from Allears.net! But not without a stop at Belgium for a Godiva Chocolate Liqueur Iced Coffee!

Definitely good stuff, but a little bit expensive for a small cup ($7.25)

We headed out through International Gateway and waited for the Friendship boat to arrive. While we were waiting the Cast Member who happened to be the Friendship boat manager (I think that’s what he was he was dressed up nicely and said if we had any problems with the boats to just let him know) stopped and chatted with us for a while and turns out he was originally from MA also, not far from us! So it was really nice to chat with him. There was actually quite a few CM’s we ran into that were from MA.

Finally the boat came and it was off to the Dolphin!

Thought this little model was really cute

The Allears.net meet was in the Picabu restaurant inside the Dolphin hotel

We jumped in line to meet the one and only….DEB WILLIS! My mom was especially excited because she gets the newsletters every week and is always on there reading some type of blog.

After meeting Deb Willis, we received some little surprises such as an Allears.net lanyard, pin, and some trading cards! We sat down amongst other fans and grabbed ourselves a drink because it was scorching outside! After a little while Deb Coma (who is also a part of Allears.net) was wandering around and came over to talk to us. We didn’t get a picture though…I can’t remember why either, we must have just forgotten, but she was super nice.

We decided to head on out since now it was around 3pm. I really wanted to go check out The Boardwalk, and since it was just over the bridge that’s where we went!

I think this is the most beautiful resort at WDW, I’m not sure why exactly since I’ve never stayed here but there is just something about being along the water and being able to walk to two different parks (one of them being my favorite) that is just so beautiful and peaceful. I am determined to stay here one day! I even took a picture of it and sent it to my boyfriend and told him I wanted to stay here, and he thought it was beautiful too and agreed! Such a great guy I have.

OMG .... I was at the Allears.net meet & greet too!!!

I got my pic with Deb Wills and Jack Marshall (he is one of the writers for Allears.net) ...

I am not on Twitter.
Wish I was... I so could have met you .... next trip!!!

You did meet a lot of WDWmagic followers ... how lucky & fun !!!!

 

[enchanted_belle]

Yay!! That slush came from the food and wine festival booth, so I'm not exactly sure if that is available all the time, you'd have to check when you're there. But the Grey Goose one was much better!!!

And thanks for the follow! I'll follow you back!!!

Haha I get whatcha mean about losing your boyfriend over a game :lol: But I actually like watching him play Batman (I am horrible at those kind of video games so I don't play) because I'm actually a Batman fan myself and love seeing all the villains and such. Definitely tell him to get it!!!

Ahh, well we had a bug problem...sucks it was on the last day. Wasn't a major problem luckily but enough to freak us out.

Hmm... I will have to try to hunt for the Grey Goose one then! I need to make a list so that way I'm prepared when we go to Epcot.

Yay for new twitter friends!!!

Everytime I see the commercial for the Batman game, I'm like "gee, I want you. Badly. Or for Dan to at least buy you..." I haven't seen him play Battlefield yet though (I think I may pass for a bit on that one), it doesn't really interest me as much lol.

Eugh, I am so not a bug fan! :hurl:

 

[PolynesianPrincess]

Love all the pics you got at the party! I think one with Pooh and the gang is the best! They all look so cute in their costumes!

Oh, and I'm following you on Twitter now!! :wave: Maybe if I'm ever down your way in Mass we can meet up. I love meeting fellow WDW lovers!!

 

[PartOfYourWorld]

OMG .... I was at the Allears.net meet & greet too!!!

I got my pic with Deb Wills and Jack Marshall (he is one of the writers for Allears.net) ...

I am not on Twitter.
Wish I was... I so could have met you .... next trip!!!

You did meet a lot of WDWmagic followers ... how lucky & fun !!!!

That's so funny! Wish I would have known as well, we could have met each other then!

Yes that's right! I forgot to mention Jack Marshall was there as well! We didn't get our picture with him though.

It was alot of fun meeting alot of WDWmagic followers!! I know there were more down there that I wish I could have ran into!

Love all the pics you got at the party! I think one with Pooh and the gang is the best! They all look so cute in their costumes!

Oh, and I'm following you on Twitter now!! :wave: Maybe if I'm ever down your way in Mass we can meet up. I love meeting fellow WDW lovers!!

I know they were so adorable!!! I loved them. I heard the other night Christopher Robin came out with the gang for photos as well! Wish he would have came out when I was there, that would have been really cool!

Yay!:sohappy: Followed you back! And that would be pretty awesome!!!! And congrats on winning that 40th Map from Disneymanners.com!

 

[PolynesianPrincess]

I know they were so adorable!!! I loved them. I heard the other night Christopher Robin came out with the gang for photos as well! Wish he would have came out when I was there, that would have been really cool!

Yay!:sohappy: Followed you back! And that would be pretty awesome!!!! And congrats on winning that 40th Map from Disneymanners.com!

Thanks!! Im excited cause even though I couldnt be there for the 40th, I'll at least have a little part of it!

 

[WDW_Princess24]

I think it's so awesome that you had the opportunity to meet with Sarah, Tom, Brett, Holly, Shelly, and Jason! I still can't figure out how we missed each other, I was at the party on 10/2, at the same mix and mingle, in the same area! :ROFLOL:

You really had the right idea doing the Halloween party two nights, I didn't realize how much I really missed until reading your report. There just wasn't enough time during 1 party to do everything!