Halloween Highlights

Thursday, October 1, 2009

Our morning was spent lounging at the resort. GM tried out the "quieter" pool near our building while I slept in. He came back mid-afternoon declaring it the "best weather day ever". Sunny, warm but not hot, and most importantly no rain clouds in sight. A definite requirement for our costumed affair that evening.

Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party is a must-do for the both of us. Where else can adults dress up in silly costumes and trick-or-treat like kids? We also have several costumes in our collection and brought the lot. So the afternoon was spent having a mini-fashion show as we chose our best looks.

I went with my medieval soothsayer outfit (a light green velvet which would stay cool enough during the late day and keep me warm when the sun went down). GM opted for his flashier warrior disguise (the bright silver chain mail really showed off his mohawk).

Then we made the trek to Magic Kingdom by van and ferry.

I admit, it did feel a little odd going across the only adults dressed for the party. I guess were a little too early for the real partiers. Atfer all, it was 5pm when we entered the gates. But once we reminded ourselves to just have fun and act like we were doing what our gawkers should have done, belief became fact. Stares turned to smiles, comments turned to compliments and suddenly people were chiding themselves for not dressing up too.

We were herded toward the party gates on the right with cast members donning the party uniforms of purple and orange. And our new friend Jessica (the sports fan Guest Services CM) came out to pay her compliments (and talk more sports).

We readied for the party by having a quiet (or quiet as can be) picnic in the empty Noodle Terrace. We had brought some of our leftovers and added some snacks to Casey's. We figured eat now, then be ready for the party at 7pm. We had plenty of shade, a table with a Castle view, and even restrooms nearby. The only thing disrupting the quiet was the "Move It, Shake It" parade.

It's a colorful parade with stilt-walkers, all the characters, dancers and streamers, but it also has one very loud MC. His voice boomed over the circle sounding very like that fellow who screams "ARE YOU READY SOME FOOTBALL?" before every Monday Night Football game. Too loud for us.

We had a little time before the party after our picnic, we decided to take in an attraction. GM opted for Buzz Lightyear. It's the one game he always bests me. I think he wanted a little payback for his defeat at Toy Story Mania the previous day. By this time there was just 20 minutes before the park officially closed and Buzz was a walk-on. We made it through the queue, then sent to the exit to wait for the wheelchair car. Since the car had just passed us when we arrived, the CM let us go around twice. Our scores:

Round 1: GM 60,000, Me 75,000
Round 2: GM 90,000, Me 115,000

Oops. Looks like GM has lost his dominance here too. His explanation: "My cannon-sight was crooked".

When we exited Buzz the party had begun. Over by Space Mountain, the DJ led a crowd in the "Electric Slide". Black light illuminated all those cotton t-shirts. Carousel of Progress hosted Buzz (for autographs) and the first of our Trick-or-Treat stops for the night. And it seemed just about everyone, kid and adult-sized kid, were dressed up in costume. We saw Dorothy and her friends, Toy Story familes, lots of pirates & princesses, and even a family of dominoes (if one fell they all did).

We decided to grab a seat for the early parade (8:30pm) and snagged one along Main Street just by Casey's Corner. I remembered catching the afternoon parade there one time. Definitely a good spot but you must be prepared to sit there a good 45 minutes ahead of time.

Check out the full moon rising over Main Street. Perfect for Halloween, don't ya think?

I left GM holding the spot while I did a bit of shopping at the Emporium. Some of my regular purchases are the party t-shirt and pin, but tonight I was also looking for a party bag. I had spotted dozens of partygoers walking about with these very cool purple and candy-corn-striped tote bags. Very colorful but the CMs in all the stores knew nothing about it. I found out later from a guest that they came from the Disney Outlet in Jersey.

By the time I returned to GM the CMs were just laying down the rope lines. We ended up encased in a little corner next to the mailbox and roped cross-walk. It was just 15 minutes to parade time. GM, I noticed, had been snacking on candy... my candy. That'll teach me to leave a man holding your Trick-or-Treat stash while you go shopping.

While we waited people scurrieed about looking for a spot on the sidewalk. We ended up sharing with a couple kids. (When I say share it was really their parents sending them to sit in front of us. A usual occurrence when you are a wheelie in a non-designated parade area. It's usually ok with us as long as the kids steer clear of our wheels, but it can also make for a tight fit especially for me. There is no room to pivot your chair when you have little hands and bodies stretched out beneath your wheels.)

5 minutes prior to the parade, the cast members chased anyone on the street off. Makes for some confusion to newbies but we were prepared. And fortunately, I only had one lady jump up andd stand to my right side. (She got caught between the Cast Member and rope line, and she didn't appear to speak English.) Why did we all jump up onto the sidewalk? Because it was the flight of the Headless Horseman!

Then came the parade and lots of Goofy's Candy treats. (Time to recup what GM ate from my stash.)

After that, we opted to move toward our favorite fireworks spot, left entirely empty this night.

We rounded out our night with a ride on Pooh and Haunted Mansion. Then trick-or-treating (GM loves his haul of two pumpkins' worth) which he'll protect at any costs.