Day 5 - Con’t
Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party
After leaving EPCOT I took the Monorail over to the Transportation Plaza and grabbed the Ferry Boat over to the Magic Kingdom.
Ferryboat Dock
Ferryboat
Coming up on the Magic Kingdom
The Polynesian Resort
What a beautiful ride as the sun was setting behind the clouds. Great view of the Polynesian Resort, the Contemporary and the Other fancy one who’s name I can’t recall. But it was nice approaching the Magic Kingdom - seeing it get bigger and bigger.
Lion King Clouds
I didn’t take a lot of pictures that night for several reasons we’ll go over further down. First off, when I got there I got my map, my bag for candy and some mouse ears. Some of the MC folks had planed to dress like Mouseketeers and I can’t pass up that opportunity. So I met them all in the Hub and then changed into my MMC shirt, which I didn’t get pictures of me in. I then met up with the group again in Frontierland’s Peco’s Bill Tavern where I regretfully ordered the Taco Salad. The worst meal I had on the trip and to top that off, while I was in line I could see the "cooks" opening "Bag o Meat" and dumping the content into a warmer. Very appealing and why I will stick with sit down restaurants.
The group with me in tow ransacked several candy depots and filled out bags with goodies and then went for a quick ride on Pirates of the Caribbean and Splash Mtn. We were briefly stalled in Adventureland because of the first Halloween parade. We then sailed around to Toon Town Fair and collected some more candy before rushing to the Tomorrowland Terrace Noodle Station to view the special Hallowishes fireworks. Sadly this was a bit of a bad choice because of 1 disgruntled employee who was screaming at people who were "moving" the chairs in the noodle station to get a better view and 2nd was it just wasn’t a good place to watch the fireworks but I got to see them anyway and they were extraordinary. Haunting music and fireworks firing in every direction, shape and size - just an assault on the senses and just a purely amazing display. (There is some video up on my Myspace)
The next parade time was approaching, so we gathered in front of the castle. The view changed drastically when the asshats who were siting in front of the group decided to stand blocking a lot of the view. Morons.
The parade began in the best possible fashion with the Headless Horseman galloping down the parade route. The parade was just a joy with floats (apparently) taken for various old parades and featured just about everyone in costume and a soundtrack that just sits in your mind and replays at any time. It was very catchy. Here are a few pics that came out...
Beware of Hitchhiking Ghosts!
Gravedigger dude!
Haunted Mansion Gravedigger troop
And the parade went on FOREVER! It was float after float afer float - just an amazing parade. After it eventually ended, the group headed out to get more candy, ending up in the Alice in Wonderland path where Tweedle Dee and Dum were passing out candy - that was cool because the CM’s were all dressed like cards. The path ended in Tomorrowland where everyone said goodnight but I wasn’t ready to leave quite yet so the last remaining few made way to the Haunted Mansion. While in line the heavens opened up and it was a downpour!
Raining like Hell at the Haunted Mansion
But, with some luck we were under the covering and by the time we got out of the ride, the rain had stopped. Just outside the exit were CM’s handing out the last bit of candy before midnight hit. Actually more like taking large handfuls of left over candy and dumping them in our bags.
All in all, Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween is a billion times better than anything in California. Having gone to the DCA version where its basically trick or treat time, I can say that the Florida party is so very much worth the extra money and there was tons I didn’t get to see like a Villain’s stage show and meet and great. I know if I ever do go back, going with the group really slowed things down and I missed quite a bit. No offence to those who were there but I really would have rather been exploring on my own - seeing the things I wanted. But, the Mouseketeer outfit was awesome (That was Rixter, a real nice guy - who I know lurks on LoT! HI!) And it was kinda nice to see people I knew as it sort of made thing more "real."
Next up - Day 7 and Universal Studios, IOA and a night trip to Animal Kingdom!