My Trip Report 9/25-10/4 with Photos!

DisneyDreamer08 · Oct 7, 2009

After our princess lunch, the only thing we had left to do in the World Showcase was the US Pavilion.

When we were here last time, the American Adventure was closed so it was something I really wanted to do. Sorry to all you fans out there, but we both thought it was booooring. There were kids falling asleep all around us. Even we were struggling to keep our eyes open. It was like one of those terrible videos you used to have to watch in history class.

We finally left the WS, on the way out we took this picture of the Tower of Terror

Oh, I forgot to mention this part-
On our way in that morning we stopped at the camera/photopass center to get our free photo from the Visa meet and greet from the day before. The CM who was helping us mentioned it was strange we only had 2 photos to choose from. We told her the photographer wasn't all that good and that she really rushed us. She told us if we wanted to, we could go back and get our pictures retaken. She also said we could get one free 5x7 from each day.

So, after leaving the WS, we went back to the meet and greet. We had to wait in another long line (Nick played video games again). When we went in, it was Mickey and Pluto which was perfect since we met Minnie and Goofy the day before. This ended up being a much better experience.

So in the end we were glad we went back and we ended up with 2 free pictures.

We finally left Epcot around 4:30 and like the day before, we couldn't believe we had spent so much time there.

We went back to the hotel to change and freshen up, then went to Downtown Disney!

We hit up the Christmas store (where I bought a few things) and then the Art of Disney (where we only dreamed of buying things), then stopped for dinner. We ended up Wolfgang Puck Express. Neither of us have ever been there before.

We were really impressed with the choices and that we found a counter service place with an impressive list of non-fried foods. Nick got spaghetti and meatballs with a brownie, and I got a spinach, strawberry, walnut salad and a creme brule. It was all really good.

We then spend most of the rest of the night in The World Of Disney where I happily filled up my basket with goodies.

Stopped to take a few random pics-

We waited for a bus for the longest time (the only long wait we had all week so really, not a huge deal). We shared a bus stop with Coronado Springs and three of their busses came before ours did. We were pretty exhausted by the time we got back.

The next day we went back to Animal Kingdom in the morning and to MK that night for the Halloween Party. More on that a little later...

DisneyDreamer08 · Oct 7, 2009

Wow, this is turning out a lot longer than I thought it was going to be... if you're still reading, thanks!!

Day 7- 10/1 AK/MK

The plan was to go back to AK in the morning to finish up what we missed. We were there once again at about 8:40. The lines were already so long, so we kept a close watch on the turnstiles for the Safari Breakfast. Sure enough, when the park opened, they motioned for people to line up there. Nick and I were first in line at one of the very right turnstiles. When we got the ok, I put my ticket in, it came back out, the light flashed red and the turnstile did not unlock. I tried two or three more times, including times scanning my finger and still no luck. Nick tried a few times too. Finally a CM came over. She was looking at my card pretty closely so I told her we bought them at AAA and that we had already used it 5 other times. She said, did you buy more than 5 days? Seriously, like we were that dumb. Anyways, she finally figured out it was the turnstile that was broken, not the card.

By the time we got to the Oasis we were pretty far back. As the CMs started walking everyone towards Everest, we again banged a right at Dino Land. This time, there were about 6 other families who did the same thing! We were shocked they knew about our way cool shortcut. Because we were so far back, we made it to Everest at almost the same time as the other crowd. Nick and I ended up being the 2nd party in line. Still pretty good!

We rode once, and then grabbed a fast pass for another ride. Here are 2 pictures Nick took on the ride-

Epcot, Characters in Flight Balloon and Tower of Terror

After Everest, we went over to Camp Minnie Mickey to meet some more of our pals.
First was Donald

Then Chip and Dale (not quite as fun as the first two we met)

Then Goofy (who had a crush on me)

Then Minnie

Then Mickey in the blinding sunshine

We hit up all the available characters in about 15 minutes- it was great! The only ones we skipped were the bears from Brother Bear because we've never seen that movie. They were standing there for the longest time with no line. I wish we had made it in time for the Thumper meet and greet but that didn't start until a few days later.

DisneyDreamer08 · Oct 7, 2009

After Camp Minnie Mickey, we went over to the Pangani Trail. We like these guys with the zebra pants

The meercats are my favorite! This guy was on lookout duty

Seriously, how funny is this? Look how he's sitting! So cute!

Nick thinks these guys look like they were made up by Dr. Suess

We then went into the section where the gorillas are behind the glass. A bunch of people were gathered in one corner so we went over to see what they were looking at. Apparently, this guy needed a nap.

He was sound asleep!

After a few minutes he did a big stretch and then rolled over.

After watching a sleeping gorilla for seriously about 10 minutes, we went out to the open gorilla area

DisneyDreamer08 · Oct 7, 2009

We then took the train over to Rafiki's Planet watch to hit up some more character meet and greets (my husband is so patient with me)

First up was Pocahontas

Then Rafiki

And finally, Jiminy!

Not so hidden Mickey

We then went back to Everest to use our fastpass (we were way late but as we know, that doesn't matter)

Then we stopped for lunch at Flame Tree BBQ. Again, it was our first time eating here. We both had pulled pork sandwiches with baked beans. We also ordered a side of onion rings to share. For some reason, they wouldn't let you sub your dessert for anything else (like a bottle of water like other places) I got key lime pie and I think Nick got chocolate cake.

The baked beans and onion rings were really good. The sandwich was tasty but a little dry. The duck situation there is out of control. I have a slight fear of big birds. Mainly because when I was little, my friend lived in duplex where her landlord had pet geese. Everytime we would go in the yard they would chase us around. So lunch at Flame Tree was actually really scary for me. The ducks had us surrounded.

After lunch, we hit up the Winnie the Pooh meet and greet across the street. That's right, more characters!!

We were pretty much done but I decided I wanted to ride Dinosaur one last time before we left. When we walked over the wait said 140 minutes which I knew must have been a mistake. Sure enough, the CM at the entrance said it was only 20.

We got in and our line was moving so slow. For some reason, the CM would load the fast pass people, sit and wait 5 or 10 minutes for more fast people, load them, wait another 5 minutes until more came, load them again... etc. He seriously took people from the standby line once every like 10-15 minutes. Anyways, the ride was great as usual and a good end to our time at AK.

We then left and told AK I would see it again sometime soon...

DisneyDreamer08 · Oct 7, 2009

When we left AK, we went back to AKL to get ready for the Halloween Party! Nick decided to jump in the shower so I laid down for a minute. At least I thought it was a minute until I woke up over an hour later. oops.

We ended up getting to the MK around 4:30.

We started off in Toon Town since that was the one area we couldn't get to our first day there because of the crowds. It wasn't as packed, but it was still busy. I took tons of pictures since most of Toon Town is going to be flattened soon. Here are some of my favs.

Beginning with Mickey's Halloween decorations

Mickey has a sweet tooth

Pluto's bed!

Note on his kitchen counter

In his garden

More decorations

DisneyDreamer08 · Oct 7, 2009

We then went into the judges tent to meet the big cheese himself! We liked that the line was inside and, there was only a 10 minute wait!

Minnie was there too!

She gave a silent cheer when she saw she was on my shirt!

We finished up in Mickey's Garage.

I thought the Mohave Oil Cans were cool since the oil truck in the back lot tour is Mohave

I liked this since we are from Massachusetts

Donald's Boat- the Miss Daisy

I then continued in Minnie's House, again, just taking pictures of almost everything! I hope they use these houses somewhere else. They're so cute!

DisneyDreamer08 · Oct 7, 2009

Minnie's painting of the Barnstormer

I liked this list because of #2- Mousercise! When I was little, I totally used to get up at 6am just to Mousercise with Minnie!

And in her kitchen

After Minnie's house we decided to get some dinner. It was maybe 5:30 by that time. The regular park hours that day were 9-7 but when we got to Columbia Harbor House, they were closed! The CM outside said they closed at 5 and the only 2 CS restaurants open were Cosmic Rays and Pecos Bills. So, we trekked over to Pecos Bills.

We both got the fried chicken dinner with mashed potatoes and corn on the cob. It was ok but tasted a little like a frozen dinner.

We then made our way back towards the hub, stopping to take some pictures.

At the hub, I took pictures of all the different statues. Here are a few-

I had read online that before the party started, guests were asked to wait in Tomorrowland while CMs set everything up. So a little before 7, we started to walk that way. I stopped to take a few more pictures

FYI, no such announcement was ever made. By the time we got to Tomorrowland, everything seemed in place and people were beginning to trick or treat.

And so the party began!!!

DisneyDreamer08 · Oct 7, 2009

Since we were in Tomorrowland, we did the trick or treat stations in that area then walked towards Fantasyland. We went over to the Alice in Wonderland path and met Alice on the way in! FYI, that is not the real mad hatter, just a guest.

I was under the impression that there would be other characters along the way. But all we came across was more candy. And, the path exited back in Tomorrowland where we started. So, we walked back towards Fantasyland.

The map they gave us had character symbols in each land but it didn't say exactly where they were or who was there. As we walked towards the Tea Cups we saw a loooong line for Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum. We got in line and waited for a few minutes with very little movement.

The party in front us started talking to a nearby CM and he took out his own map. This one had pictures of the characters in the lands they would be appearing in. Why the guests didn't get a map like this, I have no idea.

On the map I saw a picture of Snow White with all 7 Dwarfs!! I said to Nick, forget about the Tweedles, lets go find them!

Their picture was in Fantasyland so we set off with our eyes opened wide. We got all the way to Its a Small World with no sign of them. I went up to a nearby CM to ask where they were. She told me she thought they were some where on Main St. Clearly, she had no clue. So we started to walk back towards the way we came. When I came to another CM, I asked her. She said they would be somewhere in FantasyLand but she didn't know where. She did say that she knew they weren't out yet. Big help.

She we continued to walk aimlessly around FL until we eventually got back to the line we started in. The Tweedles were gone but the Queen of Hearts and the White Rabbit were out so we got back in line. After we had been in line for about 10 minutes, we saw Snow White and the Dwarfs walk out. We saw where they stopped and there was already a gigantic line waiting for them. How those people knew they would be there, I have no clue.

The man in front of us seemed to be a party veteren, so I asked him if when we finished in this line, and went and got in the Snow White line, if we would have time to meet them. He said no way, that they stay out for a half hour, then break for a half hour. He said maybe we could meet them the 2nd time they came out if we stayed in line for the whole hour. Yikes.

Finally, we made it to the front of the line we were in

After meeting those two, we remembered on the CMs magic picture map that we saw Woody, Jessie and Bullseye in Fronteirland. So off we went!

We got to the Diamond Horseshoe and went in to find Jessie! I've always wanted to meet her! We waited in line for about 10 minutes

After that, it was just about time for the first parade. I had read online that it was best to see the first parade and then the fireworks and that after the fireworks, a lot of families left. I was hoping that was true because it was packed!!!

We stayed in Fronteirland for the parade and found a good spot across from Pecos Bills. The headless horseman was AWESOME!!

The parade was really great and ended up being my favorite part of the evening. I took tons of pictures, here are some of my favorites (kind of a lot, will have to continue on the next page)

Also, my camera was acting really crappy on this night. This was this first time I tried to take pictures quickly in the dark, and apparently, this was far too much to ask of my little camera. It would take so long to focus in between shots that most of the time, what I wanted to take a picture of was long gone. After the first few times that happened, Nick volunteered to take pictures so I could just enjoy the parade.

DisneyDreamer08 · Oct 7, 2009

More parade pics

So cute!!

Peter and the lost boys!

Creepy!

This part was awesome!

These dancers were great

DisneyDreamer08 · Oct 7, 2009

Loved this too

Nice to see these guys!

I LOVE the hyennas!!

After the parade, we went back inside the Diamond Horseshoe to see if Woody or Bullseye would be there. We were told Jessie was coming out first but that the other 2 would be out shortly. It made much more sense to me for all 3 to come at once but whatever.

I couldn't remember if there were any other characters in that area so i went outside to ask a CM. I was told that Goofy did meet and greets at Splash but that he probably wasn't out now. I'm assuming she meant Frontier Goofy who was out during the day. Another CM who knew absolutely nothing... I was beginning to see a trend.

We finally walked towards Adventureland to check it out for ourselves. We didn't see anyone until we got towards the Aladdin ride. We saw Genie and Abu, again with a crazy long line, but we've never met Abu so we got in line.

We wait for 10 minutes (at least) and they left! The CM said Aladdin and Jasmine would be coming out next. Since we already met them we were a bit disappointed but there was no way we were getting out of that line now (others did). It would have made SO much more sense for a CM to stand at the end of line and tell us right off that we probably wouldn't make it to the front. Instead, we wasted precious party time.

As Genie and Abu were leaving they walked right past us so my husband tried to take a picture. My camera delayed again though and this was the best he could get.

After that we decided that when we got home, we would be returning the camera.

We finally made it to the end and met Jasmine and Aladdin

DisneyDreamer08 · Oct 7, 2009

We then went back to the Diamond Horseshoe and saw Woody was at the front. We got in line and in about 10 minutes, reached the front. The only picture came out blurry. Sad

We were told Bullseye would be coming out soon so we got out of line and went outside for about 5 minutes. We quickly took a few pictures, then went back inside to get in line again.

When we went back in, it was still Woody but we figured by the time we got to the front, it would be Bullseye. A CM came over to us and made some dumb comment like, 'back again'? I told him that we had to meet Bullseye too!

When we got to the front, it was still Woody so we let a few people go ahead of us. When Bullseye came out, Nick told me to hurry up and run up there and maybe we could get a picture with both before Woody left. Our plan worked!!

By then it was just about time for Hallowishes. We were running out of party time though and I still hadn't met Snow White and the Dwarfs. So, we went back towards Fantasyland hoping that the line might be shorter because most people would be watching the fireworks.

On the way, I saw this but the line to get a picture in front of it was crazy long so I snapped this as someone else was leaving

We finally got to the Snow White line (she wasn't out yet) and it seemed everyone had the same idea as me. The line was the longest character line I've ever seen. I didn't mind waiting though because we had a perfect view of the castle.

Or so we thought until the fireworks started and we realized that they are actually shot off from a grassy area in the very back of Fantasyland. Our spot was obstructed by trees. The music/soundtrack sounded cool but sadly, our view was not the best.

While we were in line, we started talking to the family in front of us. They were from somewhere in England, can't remember where. They said the battery on their camera died so they hoped there was a photopass person at the front. When we got to the front about 45 minutes later- there was NO PHOTOPASS PERSON!!! Isn't that absurd? Every other character we had met that night had a photopass with them. Anyways, we took pictures for the family on our camera and emailed them to them when we got home.

Finally, it was our turn

The dwarfs were perfectly in character- see how Bashful is hiding? My husband also took this one of Grumpy in between families

We then continued on to toon town so I could meet Minnie dressed as witch. Decorations along the way...

Earlier in the evening we had asked a CM if the characters did meet and greets during the parade. We were told no, because they were in the parade. We got to Minnie's house about 30 minutes before the 2nd parade was set to start. We got in line and prayed we got to the front in time. Again, there was no cast member at the end of the line to warn people. And many people got in after us.

We got to the front exactly a half hour later! Minnie liked my shirt!

DisneyDreamer08 · Oct 7, 2009

When we exited Minnie's garden, we went to the indoor tent. We were told the line for the princesses was for Aurora and her prince, and Cinderella and her prince. Since I had never met any princes, my husband very nicely agreed to wait again. This time, we only waited about 15 minutes

On the way out, we asked a CM where we could find Goofy (Nick's fav). She took out her handy dandy picture map and said in Tomorrowland at the dance party.
We got there literally as the characters were walking backstage. Sad.

By then it was about 11 and the last Villian show was set to start at 11:15 so we made our way to castle.

A few more pics

We found a spot in front of the stage. I had a question about the Villian meet and greet afterwards so I found a nearby CM. I asked him how the m&g would work and he said that after the show, each character would come down to the front and the guests would be allowed to line up, in 7 different lines, one for each character. I asked him if we would have time to meet all 7. He laughed and said no. I'm glad he found my frustrations amusing.

The show was great although the back up dancers were totally unnecessary. We also didn't know why the villian from Hunchback was there. Scar would have been so much cooler

After the show, we knew we had to be selective with our characters. We chose the Wicked Queen, the Snow Queen and Jafar with Cruella next in line.

We got to meet the first three before the villians left

DisneyDreamer08 · Oct 7, 2009

I got a picture of Cruella before she left.

It was 11:45 and the party ended at 12 so I'm not sure why the villians couldn't have stayed out for the last 15 minutes. All character meet and greets were over so we decided to (finally) ride a ride before leaving!

We of course chose the Haunted Mansion.

Overall, our experience at the party was stressful and exhausting. I was going into it thinking it was going to be a fun, intimate experience. Instead the park was jammed packed and the lines were horrendous. Even though we were there for the entire allotted time, we never met Abu and Genie, Tarzan and Jane, the Tweedles, the Mad Hatter, Goofy or Mickey. We also didn't really get to watch the fireworks. It doesn't seem fair that you pay extra for an event and don't get to experience all that is offered.

The CMs were also completely clueless. We spend more time criss crossing the park and waiting in line than actually enjoying the party. The only way we would ever go back is if less tickets were sold. For anyone going this year, as long as you go into it knowing that you can't do everything you will be fine. Pick two or three favorites and go from there.

Those are my thoughts anyway...

Heatherbell · Oct 7, 2009

Awww, your husband is so good. He waits patiently for you to meet all the characters. My husband does too, lol. I love the pics of you guys with the villians. I am totally loving your trip report, great job. I am sure you are exhausted just writing it.

By the way, not that I think it is funny that unfortunate things happen to you but you post something bad that has happened and then you write "Sad". It makes me chuckle. Even though I am sad for you!

_Scar · Oct 8, 2009

I love it!!

sweetpee_1993 · Oct 8, 2009

I'm still lovin' your report. It's not too long at all.

We have never done the character meets at Camp Minnie Mickey so I really enjoyed seeing your pics there. Ooooh, and if you haven't seen Brother Bear I totally recommend it. That's one of our favorites. The soundtrack is awesome, too. I'm singing just thinkin' about it!

I've never been to MNSSHP but I have been to MVMCP in 2007. We chose a night during the week thinking that would mean less crowds. Plus, the statement that the number of tickets sold is limited is pretty deceiving because it can lead you to believe this means they are keeping it from overcrowding. Our experience was much like yours except I refused to wait in the character lines. Everything that was specific to the event was mobbed with 30-60 minute waits especially to meet the characters. When you have such a limited amount of time during the event this means you have to pick & choose what, if any, of the special things are worth using your precious time for. Ugh. I could comment on the party experience all day so I'll just stop now. LOL! You aren't alone in your frustrations, tho. Trust me!

I hate that you continued to have problems with the camera. That's a bummer. Some of the pictures you posted are quite beautiful, tho. Love your castle pic w/the reflection. The colors are gorgeous.

Can't wait for the next installment... :wave:

monkeysammich · Oct 8, 2009

Great report... has me antsy for my trip!

Its a shame that more villains dont get love.

DisneyDreamer08 · Oct 8, 2009

Hey guys! Thanks for all the positive comments so far! Glad I haven't bored you all yet.

Yes, in the end my camera did end up taking some pretty good pictures. But considering all the problems we had, we still decided to return it.

Also glad to hear that other people have had frustrations at MK parties! I was trying really hard not to sound completely negative but it really was an aggravating night. I had been waiting for so long for that event and I was sad it didn't meet my expectations.

Ok, continuing on (2 days left)

So we left the Halloween Party a little after midnight. The place was still packed. There was a steady stream of people all night. As we were leaving we noticed that every child we passed was asleep. Asleep in strollers, asleep in their parents arms. We were wondering what the parents were doing while their kids were sleeping. I guess they all wanted to get their moneys worth! On the way back to AKL, the bus was filled with sleeping children.

The plan for the next day was to go back to DHS. Before we left home, I printed all the park hours for our stay and originally, DHS was supposed to be open 9-7. When we got back though, I was flipping through the channels on tv and came to the park hour channel. It said DHS would be open until 8pm. So that was good news! We decided we would sleep in a little later.

Day 8- 10/2 DHS

We got to DHS around 10:30. We immediately went to Tower of Terror. On our way there, we passed the Fantasmic Entrance and on the sign, it said Fantasmic would be showing that night at 8!!! I was sooo excited!!! I checked the schedule before we left home and originally, Fantasmic was only scheduled 3 times- the night we arrived (we didn't get a park hopper for that night), the night we saw Illuminations, and the night we went to the Halloween Party. I was so happy we would get to see the show after all!!

The wait at ToT was 13 minutes. That's right, not 10, not 15- 13. We got in line and this time, I took pictures of all the Twilight Zone props I had found through the week.

The Dummy

Broken Glasses

Victoria West Envelope

To Serve Man Book

Pretty cool!!

We left ToT and went to check Rock N Roller Coaster. The wait there was 40 minutes so we grabbed a fast pass. I checked my times guide and saw that a Beauty and the Beast show was going to be starting in about 15 minutes. Perfect! I went back to the ToT exit and grabbed an iced latte from the little cart outside (still a little sleepy) and Nick went to get a frozen lemonade (once again, close to 90 degrees) and we met back up at the theater. There were still plenty of good seats left.

I love this show and it's definitely one of my favorites in Disney. The costumes and sets are so beautiful!

DisneyDreamer08 · Oct 8, 2009

A few more pics from the show

Our fastpass window was just starting so we went back to RnRC.

As we were walking down Sunset Blvd, I took this picture of the Carthay Theater replica (where Snow White Premiered)

We then made our way over to Toy Story Mania. The stand by line was 120 minutes! Yikes! The fastpass return wasn't until 6:30 that night. We weren't sure if we would be able to ride then but we grabbed a fastpass just in case.

Luxo Jr in Pixar Place

We were then ready for lunch so we went over to ABC Commissary to enjoy the AC. Nick got chicken curry and I got an Asian salad. Nick liked his but said it wasn't very filling. My salad was really good. The lettuce was still crisp and the noodles still crunchy so hopefully that means they freshly prepare each salad as its ordered. The only bad thing was that the salad was overloaded with lima beans. The last I knew lima beans weren't part of an Asian salad...

After lunch, we went over to the Backlot Tour. Believe it or not, we had to wait in line for about 20 minutes. I don't think I've ever had to wait for the Backlot Tour before. The tour was great as usual and all the little girls around us loved the addition of the Hannah Montana Barn.

The only thing Nick and I did not like was that the tour info is now completely pre-recorded. So your driver just drives. It made it seem impersonal and made the oil tanker part sound even more fake than it already did.

DisneyDreamer08 · Oct 8, 2009

After the backlot tour, we went to the Monsters Inc meet and greet. When we got in line, there was a CM at the end of the line telling us that Sully would be leaving in 5 minutes and Mike would be coming out. Where were these helpful people last night at the party?

Sully left right before we got to the front and gave everyone hugs and high fives on his way out.

Then, we met Mike!!

We then walked back over to Toy Story to see if the stand by wait had gone down at all. It had, but it was still 60 minutes. While we were in Pixar Place, we saw the green army man.

We then went into One Man's Dream. I didn't take a whole lot of pictures in there because I had taken tons on our last trip. This part looked new though

When we left, I had a plan. It was just about time for the parade so I suggested we find a spot close to Sunset Blvd, and then one of us save the spot while the other goes to get a fast pass for either RnRC or ToT. My husband said he would go get the fastpasses so I told him he could choose what ride he wanted. So we found a spot and off he went. There was still about 15 minutes until parade time.

After he left, I saw a spot across the street from where I was that looked a little more shady. So I went over there and I figured I could just flag him down when he came back. Apparently though, he stopped to get a snack and got stuck in a long line. When he finally came back, the parade had started so he was stuck across the street from me. So we watched the parade separately and he was mad at me for moving.. oops

I know the point of the parade is to get kids to get up and dance but I didn't really like it all that much. The parade was stopped in front of us for the longest time and all we had a view of us was a bunch of sweaty dancers.

The Pixar theme is cool though

My Trip Report 9/25-10/4 with Photos!

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