Disney Halloween Trip, Day 8

We skipped a breakfast reservation again today in favor of a later start. By the end of the trip, I am feeling tired from all of the vacationing! We had no plans aside from a dinner reservation, and Casey wanted to go to Hollywood Studios so off we went!. We got a FastPass for the Toy Story Mania ride as soon as we arrived at 9:30 - our return time was 1:30 PM so you really have to grab these Fast Passes right away. They were all gone within the first hour of the park opening.

We saw Playhouse Disney Live on Stage and then hung around the area waiting for the different characters to come out for autographs. We saw the Little Einsteins and Handy Manny, and were able to snack on some treats from the Starring Rolls Bakery while we were waiting. All-in-all one of the more enjoyable light breakfasts we had during our trip.

There is a Broadway-style show of Beauty & the Beast that I had always wanted to see and it didn't disappoint. Then I got talked in to riding Tower of Terror - I was so scared! The ride takes you through a haunted hotel in an elevator car, and then DROPS you suddenly, and over and over, from great heights. When the doors open, you can see across the whole park - terrifying! But it was fun, I will admit. Just not something I was ready to rush onto right away again!

We saw a few new characters in Hollywood Studios that I hadn't seen before - Mike Wazowski from Monsters, Inc., and Mr. & Mrs. Incredible. We also saw Lotso from Toy Story - very cute! We let Casey play in the Honey I Shrunk the Kids playground area. It is very safe for her age (5 years old) with only one entrance/exit so she cannot escape while we watch her play.

Hollywood Studios offers a great afternoon parade as well. The floats drive up Hollywood Blvd and stop to let the characters get off and interact with the kids. Then it moves onto the next street and performs the show all over again. If it gets too crowded along Hollywood Blvd, definitely take the time to grab an ice cream or cold drink and wait for the second showing - you'll appreciate the break!

We headed out of the park and took a bus to the Wilderness Lodge for our dinner reservation and Whispering Canyon Cafe. This beautiful lodge is crafted entirely of wood, with soaring views inside the main lobby to balconies above. It is a unique resort with a very rustic feel, yet it is a deluxe properties with all of the included amenities. Whispering Canyon Cafe was a riot to eat at. More about that in my restaurant section, but this is a do not miss for anyone with a great sense of humor.

It was late, but we opted to head to Downtown Disney to shop a bit. We really didn't do much except walk around and enjoy the evening, before taking the water taxi back to our resort. Such a beautiful ride along the Sasagoula River up to our resort. It is definitely something I would repeat in the daytime next time, although the views of Downtown Disney at night were stunning.

Disney Halloween Trip, Day 7

We wanted a late start today, so we skipped a breakfast reservation in favor of sleeping in a little. We had breakfast at our hotel and then headed to EPCOT. It was already crowded at 10:30, but we were headed for the World Showcase shortly where crowds are generally lighter. We did grab a Fast Pass for Test Track and do The Seas with Nemo & Friends ride. Then we headed up towards Norway to do the Maelstrom ride again. We stopped in China to enjoy some of the EPCOT International Food & Wine Festival treats. We sampled BBQ Pork Rolls and Mango Iced Tea. I really loved the different offerings the festival allowed us to try - but I was disappointed I couldn't try more! I think an adults-only vacation would pair well with this event. Kids want to keep going to the next attraction, but I would have enjoyed sampling the different foods and walking slowly to the next country. Oh well - one day Casey won't want to travel with us anymore and I'll be sad about that!

We waited in China to see Mulan. We had never seen her before, and she was extra sweet to Casey, calling her "Little One." I was charmed :) We stopped by the Singapore food stand and sampled the Singapore Noodles, Shrimp Cake and a Singapore Sling - yum! We also stopped in Japan and bought a pearl for Casey. For $17, you get to select an oyster from a tank, and have it opened to see if you get a pearl. Casey lucked out by getting an extra-large pearl in her oyster. There is a great ceremony involved as they present the pearl to you - I would recommend this to anyone! You can have the pearl set in a jewelry setting as well, but Casey just wanted to keep hers as it was.


We had reservations in France at Chefs de France for a late lunch. Remy from Ratatouille makes an appearance at every table - really cute how he can interact with you! Not sure what the trick is here, but Disney magic is hard at work making this a special experience for the kids. The food here was delicious - cheese, cheese, and more cheese. But we ate almost everything!

We headed towards Canada and bought a Moosehead beer - had to try something from back home! We ended up back at Test Track to use our Fast Passes from that morning. Good thing we grabbed them earlier because the line up was over an hour long. After, we went back to our resort to start packing for home, then spent time in the pool and walked around to see more of our beautiful resort. Port Orleans French Quarter is adjacent to Port Orleans Riverside, so we walked up to the Riverside section to look around. It was getting late, but the walk along the water was beautiful. The water taxi passed us bringing passengers from Port Orleans Riverside, down to French Quarter, other resorts, and on to Downtown Disney. We definitely wanted to try that - tomorrow is our last full day so we will have to try and fit it in!

Disney Halloween Trip, Day 6

Today was Princess day! We had reservations later for Casey to have a makeover at Bibbiti Bobbiti Boutique and then go to dinner in Cinderella's castle, but first...off to the Polynesian Resort for brunch!

The Polynesian is a South Pacific style resort set amidst lush gardens. It is truly a tropical paradise, with waterfalls and a huge volcano in the main pool! This is a resort we would love to stay at sometime - it is connected via monorail to Magic Kingdom, and a quick transfer can get you to EPCOT via the monorail. There is a white sand beach from which you can watch the Electrical Water Pageant (a water parade of barges with lighted floats that makes its way around Bay Lake and the Seven Seas Lagoon every evening) and you can even catch a glimpse of the fireworks high over Cinderella's castle.

We ate brunch at Ohana - a buffet style breakfast with Lilo, Stitch, Pluto and Mickey. It was great fun with the Polynesian themes - we had our picture taken out front with leis on - Casey loved that! I also got to meet Mickey - I had never taken the time to meet a character before, I just always let Casey have the fun. This was a nice treat!

After brunch hopped on the monorail over to Magic Kingdom. It was very busy already at 12 noon. We spent some time in Tomorrowland doing a few rides we had never tried before. The Astro Orbiter was a fun ride - well worth it for the views of Magic Kingdom from up so high. We also sat through Stitch's Great Escape. I had heard this could be scary for young kids, so I asked a cast member outside and he said it was fine, "Like a movie." A movie in the pitch dark! It was a lot of fun, and Casey didn't get scared, but we were literally sitting in inky blackness while Stitch "ran" around the room. Can definitely be scary for younger kids if they are not prepared in advance.

We spent some time in Adventureland next - the Silly Jungle Cruise is always a favorite ride, but you definitely need a Fast Pass for this one. It is a relaxing cruise through a jungle, but the line ups are as long as the thrill rides. We also took in the Enchanted Tiki Room (Now Under New Management) show - kind of cute, and fun for kids. Then it was time to get Casey all princessed-up!

We headed up to Cinderella's castle to the Bibbiti Bobbiti Boutique. I had often seen little girls walking around the parks dressed as princesses, but this was the first year Casey was interested in it. Reservations are required for this experience, and they book up well in advance. We checked in and they gave us a dressing room to get Casey into her Princess Tiana dress. Then they called her name and her Fairy Godmother-in-Training came to do her hair. What a great time! The lady was so sweet and chatted with Casey the whole time. They really make it a magical experience for the kids.

Casey got to take home her make-up, extra decal stickers for her cheeks, and some stickers in a gift bag. She also had a sash and of course the crown, wand, gloves that we had purchased. We purchased the basic package for about $50. There are other packages available as well. They also offer photo sessions in the Castle Coture shop across from the castle. This is not included in the base package, but they will allow you to store these photos on your Disney Photo Pass. We had already made the decision to purchase a DVD of our Photo Pass, so we were happy to have her portraits taken and stored on our card.

After this we headed into Cinderella's Castle again for our dinner reservations at Cinderella's Royal Table. Dining in the castle in a magical experience any day, but having Casey all dressed up made it lots of fun. The meal was delicious too - one of the best we had all week. They perform a cute wishing ceremony with the kids where lights sparkle on the ceiling at the end. We had done this for breakfast before, but of course it was too bright to see the sparkling ceiling lights. I highly recommend planning yoru reservation for after sunset to take advantage of this special touch.

As wel left the castle, the Main Street Electrical Parade was just beginning. We were able to grab a spot right near the Magic Kingdom exit to watch the parade. This was nice since I had seen this parage back in 1990. Disney had since replaced it with the SpectroMagic parade, which is beautiful, but it was nice to show Casey something I had seen before. We headed back to our resort after this - a long, but enjoyable day :)

Disney Halloween Trip, Day 5

Today was a planned ‘down’ day. We wanted to hit the outlet malls, and relax a bit before an evening out at Mickey’s Backyard BBQ. We had breakfast at our resort, and then had Bell Services call us a taxi. The cabs are close by, and one pulled up in minutes. We paid $15.95 one way to travel from Port Orleans French Quarter to the Orlando Premium Outlet mall. This mall is located near Sea World along International Blvd, so you can expect to pay the same if you want to travel to this park.

We had also taken our car seat along with us from Newfoundland, so we brought it with us to the mall. We were able to rent a large locker at the mall for $8/day to store our car seat while we shopped (smaller lockers are available for $6/day). Considering that it can cost upwards of $12/day for a car seat rental through a taxi company, we felt this was money well spent (and we knew we could trust our own car seat!).

There is a great selection of stores here including Nike, Tommy Hilfiger, Gymboree, Nine West…you name it! There is a coupon book available for purchase for $5 and a free magazine that also has coupons for the stores (the Tommy Hilfiger coupon in the free magazine gives you the better deal!).

We went back to our hotel for a late lunch and relaxed a bit. Then by 4:30 we left for our evening out. Mickey’s Backyard BBQ is held in the Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground; this resort is accessible via the bus system, or take the bus to Magic Kingdom and catch the water taxi shuttle to Fort Wilderness. We love this event because it gives us a chance to enjoy dinner and relax, while the characters interact with the kids all night. It officially starts at 6:30, but they allow guests to greet the characters at 5:30 so get there early.

We were one of the first in line, and got to meet Chip, Dale & Goofy and get their autographs. After meeting Chip & Dale last year, Casey bought the stuffed animals of them. She brought them back with her this year and when Chip & Dale saw them, they took one from her and played around with it; teasing each other that Chip had Dale and so on. She had a great time watching and laughing at them. Goofy was standing by on his own, and then we heard a loud tapping noise. He was tapping his foot and looking annoyed that we had no Goofy! It was funny. I gave him a big hug anyway :)

We were one of the first families to enter the pavilion for the meal and got a seat right near the stage. This was perfect as we could stay seated and watch Casey play and dance with the characters. Of course we couldn’t help get up and dance too sometimes! It is a great night for everyone.

Disney Halloween Trip, Day 4

We had planned a full day at Animal Kingdom today. We love this park because there is so much to see and do, yet it is a slower paced day, with lots of more relaxing activites to choose from. We always manage to be exhausted when we finish in either case!

We headed to the park and grabbed Fast Passes for Exbidition Everest. This was a must do ride this time around, only when the time came for the ride, Casey chickened out! I didn’t mind, as roller coasters really aren’t my favorite – I was happy to keep my feet safely on the ground.

We did the Dinosaur ride for the first time – it was quite scary! I wouldn’t recommend it for younger kids, or children who are easily spooked. Lots of shaking around too, my neck was feeling the effect for days afterwards. We grabbed more Fast Passes for the Safari ride and then headed to Tusker House after for our Donald’s Safari Breakfast reservation. This is an African themed buffet with mostly standard fare, plus some unique Afican-flavored breakfast items thrown in. Donald Duck greeted us outside, and we had our photo taken. The photo was available to purchase for $29.95 – a bit steep, but they included a coupon for $10 off a future character-breakfast photo. Since we knew we were going to want to buy another picture later in the week, it was a good value.

Mickey, Daisy & Goofy were all inside dressed in Safari gear. Our reservation was for 10:30 – towards the end of their breakfast seating. The characters visited our table, and then came back around spending extra time with people who were finishing their breakfast. It was a wonderful experience – especially when Casey got to dance around the room with Daisy – I cried!

Later we got on the Kilimanjaro Safari. This is a favorite ride every trip – the views of the animals are amazing, and the guide is playful and fun while you are driving. I highly recommend this attraction, but make sure to always get a FastPass! We then took the train down to Rafiki’s Planet Watch. This area of the park is secluded from other sections, and takes you through the section of the park where they house the animals at night. It is a great look at the inside working of the animal side of this park. We met with a veteranian and animal trainer who gave us interesting tips and facts about the animals featured here. We also got to meet Jiminy Cricket down here – I had never seen him before – great treat!

We took time out of the very hot afternoon to ride the Kali River Rapids. This ride warns “You will get wet, you may get soaked.” We got SOAKED! We dressed Casey in her bathing suit – next time I am doing the same thing; it took hours for my capris to dry :)

We stopped to watch Mickey’s Jammin’ Jungle parade on our way out of the park. This was an interesting parade as the focus was more on the intricate designs in the “floats”—mostly people walking with elaborate animal costumes—than on the entertainment value. We really enjoyed it, but then we had to rush to get to our dinner reservation at the nearby Animal Kingdom Lodge.

The Lodge is a stunning property set on the savannah section of the Animal Kingdom theme park. From right outside the hotel you can view animals grazing in their natural habitats. It is a definite must-stay for me in the future, but it is a hotel to be enjoyed; not a hotel to simply lay your head down after a busy day at the parks. Perhaps when we get an adults-only trip planned sometime soon we will take in this fabulous resort!

We headed back to our hotel and indulged in some wine & cheese in our room. We always order groceries to be delivered in advance, and sometimes you just want to relax and feel like you are at home. All-in-all a busy day, and tomorrow…shopping!

Disney Halloween Trip, Day 3

Today was EPCOT day! Casey had previously asked to be Princess Tiana for Halloween back in Newfoundland, and we had planned to buy her a dress and accessories when we went to Bibbiti Bobbiti Boutique on the Friday of our trip. However, this morning we had a breakfast booked with the Princesses and Casey decided she wanted to dress up now! What else do you do except make her happy!?

We raced into EPCOT to Mouse Gears, one of the largest Disney shopping stores. We found the dress right away, but they didn't have her size. Thanks to a great sales lady who searched for what we wanted, we quickly purchased the complete outfit - they even helped us cut the tags off as we were rushing out the door! Off to breakfast at Restaurant Akershus - one of our favorite breakfast meals. Everyone gets to meet Belle and have their photo taken. You receive an 8x10 and 4 smaller photos as part of your meal. Inside, a variety of princesses visit you at your table - we saw Cinderella, Snow White, Princess Aurora and Ariel. The food is great here too - more on that in my restaurant review!

We did the Test Track ride - very fast - great experience! Then we headed to the International Food & Wine Festival Pavilion to check out this great Special Event. The Food & Wine Festival is held each fall, and features taste-testings from around the world, sessions where you can learn about different food and drink offerings, as well as sessions to meet with world renowned chefs. There are lots of cool souveniers to buy too!

We enjoyed some of these food offerings on our way around the lagoon. We also did the Kim Possible Adventure, which was a great way for Casey to learn more about the countries featured in EPCOT. We had some lunch in Mexico and spent some time inside the beautifully redone Mexican Pavilion. Then we stopped off at Spaceship Earth (the EPCOT ball) to do this relaxing ride.

Then it was off to Hollywood Studies for dinner! We had reservations at the Sci-Fi Diner - you sit in a car, in a replica drive-in movie theatre. Very cool restaurant and effect of being outside watching a movie while eating. There was a long wait even with our reservation and we ended up missing out on seeing Fantasmic this night. That was one of my must-dos this trip, so I was disappointed, but going back to the resort to swim in our pool was a relaxing second-best option. We swam for a while and called it a day - off to Animal Kingdom tomorrow!

Disney Halloween Trip, Day 2

Peet peeve...people who leave the alarm on when they check out of a hotel! We were woken up at 7 by an alarm from the day before. Yawn! We got an early start though, and were at Magic Kingdom just after the opening at 9 AM.

We did one of our favorite rides from last year first - Splash Mountain. I like rides that take a little longer and let you relax while enjoying them, plus there is a nice thrill at the end (and you get wet!) so this ride is perfect. We headed up to Liberty Square to meet Princess Tiana and Prince Neveen from Princess and the Frog. Casey is in love with Tiana and wanted to buy a dress like hers so we were estatic to find a short line up for these characters. They spent extra time with Casey chatting to her which was really special as well.

We spent some time in Fantasyland which is perfect for young kids. Then we headed over to Tomorrowland, stopping to watch the Move It! Shake It! Celebrate It! parade in front of the castle. The floats stop in the circlular road in front of the castle and you can walk and dance among the floats. The characters come down to interact with the kids - tons of fun.

We shopped a bit and headed back to our hotel to relax in the pool. We wanted to have a relaxing afternoon before our big Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party that night. We even got to enjoy some authentic New Orleans beignets (a feature in the Princess and the Frog movie) - delicious!

That evening we headed back to Magic Kingdom around 5 PM. We got our special wristbands for the Halloween party and picked up our trick-or-treating bags. People were in costumes throughout the park, adults included, it was a great atmosphere. We had supper, and by 6:40 we were waiting in line to meet the Disney Fairies at 7. This was a must do as Casey was dressed as Tinkerbelle for Halloween. It is a great experience getting "shrunk" down to fairy size before you meet them.

There were games throughout Magic Kingdom for kids to play, and treat or treating stations everywhere. Lots of candy for everyone! We visited a special set up of Cinderella's carriage to have our photo taken, then headed to the Haunted Mansion. Too scary for Casey, but we had our photo taken near the hearse outside - a surprise was waiting for us when we saw our Disney photo online...a ghost driver! Cool trick!

There are two dance parties in MK that night where you can interact with the characters. Once featured Stitch, with the other having Jessie and Woody from Toy Story. We danced for a while with the Toy Story characters - the kids were really loving it. We got to see the parade from Frontierland with the featured the Headless Horseman riding by. Great to see the detail Disney puts into Halloween.

We spent some more time in Adventureland seeing the characters from Alladin, and doing a few rides. Then we watched the fireworks before trying to call it a night. Casey wanted to do a few more things before we left - she had more energy that we did! We finally made it back to our room after 10:30 to eat some candy and sleep. Great way to enjoy Disney - I can't wait to try this event another year.

Disney Halloween Trip, Day 1

Off to Disney World again for our favorite family vacation! We opted to return to Disney this year because we find it offers so much for our entire family. Casey is well entertained with the activities and attractions offered for kids, and we get to enjoy her happiness along with rides and events geared more for adults.

We woke up early (3:45 AM!) and got ready for our 6:10 AM flight. It's early, but WestJet's great service had us in Orlando by 1:30 PM. Still lots of time left to enjoy Disney on our first day. We boarded Disney's Magical Express transportation to our resort. Casey was asked to be the co-pilot on the coach bus- she was so pleased! At one point she leaned over and told a departing guest, "Watch your step!" Very cute!

We arrived at Port Orleans French Quarter and checked in seamlessly. I had requested a room in Building 5, top floor and got exactly what we wanted. We had also arranged for groceries to be delivered from www.gardengrocer.com so a quick call to Bell Services had those groceries delivered to our room.

Then it was time for fun! We headed to EPCOT, one of our favorite parks. It was very crowded by this time (around 4 PM), but we enjoyed stopping at a few pavilions around the World Showcase as we made our way over to Germany for supper. We had reservations at Biergarten Restaurent for 6 PM. Biergarten is a buffet style restaurant with authentic German entertainment. We grabbed some food and sat down to enjoy the German band. Casey and I even got up to dance to the Bird Dance!

We shopped a little in Germany and then made our way back towards Norway. There is a ride here that we had always wanted to try - Maelstrum. It was a great ride with just a little bit of the thrill aspect. Casey really enjoyed the boat ride and effects inside. We shopped some more (our favorite pasttime) and then headed back to our resort. All in all, a great start to a magical vacation.