Halloween at Walt Disney World - Day 3 (part 1)

For Day 3, we planned to start out at Hollywood Studios! I was really excited to get to finally ride Slinky Dog Dash!!

We started off the day with breakfast from Woody's Lunchbox! I had the turkey sandwich which comes with some turkey, scrambled eggs, and cheese. It's on toasted bread which is kind of garlicky and delicious. Erica tried one of the bowls which had eggs, tater tots, gravy, etc.

There's a snake in my boot!

Woody's Lunch Box is literally a lunch box. 

One side of the lid is held open by this thermos

Delicious turkey breakfast sandwich 

Once we finished breakfast, we headed over to Midway Mania. The posted wait time was about 60 minutes but we got on in 20. I think they only had one track running right after the park opened and that at some point while we waited, they opened the other track.

Hey Mr. Potato Head! 

When at Disney, there are some bathrooms you just have to capture!

Loved this picture of Buzz!

After getting off Midway Mania, we met Buzz Lightyear!!

I was determined to ride Slinky Dog Dash even though the wait time was showing as 70 minutes. My motto is, sometimes you just have to commit and stand in line. Luckily, our wait only took about 45 minutes! It is one of the cutest lines I've ever waited in!!

Found some green army men!

Woody! Over here!

Jessie! HEY JESSIE!

Such a cute line!

Let's play some games

Adorbs

The story is that we're in Andy's backyard and he has made a roller coaster out of Slinky Dog and some other toys

The Army Men came by again! I loved how the light made the string lights look illuminated!!

Disney doesn't miss a detail: the wait time is on the back of Buster's (the dog) name tag

I wish my drawings looked half this good

Love the push pins and the tape!

Hold on - my ride is here!

SO CUTE

After Slinky Dog Dash (the wait only took about 45 minutes), we headed toward Rock n Roller Coaster! I was feeling a little queasy so I waited for Erica as she did the single rider line.

It was a beautiful day but high humidity

Can't wait to ride Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railway

We finished up and headed over to Animal Kingdom - more to come in the next post!

Halloween 2018 at Walt Disney World - Day 2 (Part 2)

The magic continues! As I was finishing up the Keys to the Kingdom tour, I began hearing from Erica that she had landed and was on her way to Pop Century.

I had planned a couple of fast passes for Hollywood Studios but was on the fence about using them. My quest for the cutting board continued, so entering Epcot that day became more of a priority. I got back to my car (left the Magic Kingdom) and drove over to Hollywood Studios. From there, I took a Friendship Boat (for the first time ever) from DHS to Epcot!

The boat goes from the entrance area of DHS and stops at Swan & Dolphin and the Boardwalk area resorts before arriving at the International Gateway entrance of Epcot (back by France). So I hopped off the boat and walked into the park. I made a quick stop at Artisans des Glaces for a chocolate ice cream cone, took a picture, and got back on the boat bound for DHS.

Had I known there was a rat in my hand when this picture was taken I may not have had such a big smile on my face! 

Once back in DHS, I was heading straight for Toy Story Land! Can you believe I hadn't seen it with my own eyes since it opened back during the summer????

Toy Story Land is one of my favorite themed lands of all the Disney Parks I've been to!

I didn't have plans to ride Slinky Dog that day; I had a fast pass for Toy Story Midway Mania (so fun!). I rode Midway Mania and got a score of 151,000 which is pretty good for me. There are these fun walls in the new exit for Midway Mania. On one side is the "popsicle wall" and the other side is a wall that is a checkerboard.

See you at the popsicle wall! The details in TSL are unreal. The streetlights are straws! There are toys everywhere! It's really awesome.

After that, I had a fast pass for Tower of Terror (one of my all time favorites) so I went on over to check in to the Hollywood Tower Hotel! 

Middle row all the way on the right!

While I obviously could have stayed all day, it was time to go meet up with my pal, Erica, at our hotel! I departed DHS and made my way back over to Pop Century to meet up with Erica. Turns out she had made me a birthday present for the trip!

After relaxing for a while, Erica and I decided to head over to the Polynesian Resort for dinner at Kona Cafe!

So beautiful! I love visiting this resort!

I had the Asian Stir Fry - they also brought us rolls with really tasty sweet butter :-)

After dinner, we headed back to Pop Century and called it a night. I was sleep deprived from the past two nights and was looking forward to getting a fuller night of sleep before our next day's adventure! 

Halloween 2018 at Walt Disney World - Day 2 (Part 1 - Keys to the Kingdom)

You may be thinking all of the exciting plans I had were over by day two of the trip; you'd be wrong.

At Christmas 2017, when I had already planned to buy an annual pass, my brother gave me a Keys to the Kingdom Tour. I decided that the Halloween trip would be a great time to use it so I booked it in advance. Looking back, it would've been nice had I considered being out late on Halloween night and having to be at the Magic Kingdom very early the next day - but it all worked out!

My keys tour was bright and early so I started making my way to the Magic Kingdom around 7:15 am. Even though I was staying on property, this was an appropriate amount of time given that I was driving over and needed to take the ferry or monorail. There were a lot of people waiting to get into the Magic Kingdom that morning for tours or early morning magic in Fantasyland. It's worth noting that the previous day had seen orange and yellow garland and pumpkin decorations in the MK. When I arrived on November 1, there were now plenty of Christmas decorations up!

When I got over to the cast member to check in, I had a few minutes of panic because my name wasn't on the list. I had my confirmation number though so he told me to go on inside. When I got to the check in area (by Tony's Town Square Restaurant and the Mickey Mouse/Tinkerbell Meet & Greet location), they didn't have my name so I gave them the confirmation number. They asked me a couple of times, "Could it be under anyone else's name?" And repeatedly, I said no. Finally a cast member took my confirmation number and looked it up that way. Then we found that the reservation had gone under Erica's name since it was attached to the room that she booked.

Once they figured that out, they made my nametag and had me order lunch which would be a limited menu from Pecos Bills (this was a relief; I'd seen some reviews online of food coming from Tomorrowland Terrace which was less than impressive). We were gathered together by our tour guide, Rae, and issued small pouches containing ear pieces. Soon, we were off to start our tour which would last about 4 hours.

A couple of initial thoughts about the tour:

• Most of the people in my group were Disney fanatics - there was one lady who kept acting like she knew more than our guide! 
• No photography was allowed; I get not videoing anything and I certainly understand no photography in backstage areas. I thought it was odd that while we were walking down Main Street, we weren't supposed to take pictures. My only guess is that it might slow down the tour and/or give away tour secrets to guests who haven't paid for the tour.
• I really wasn't sure how this was going to take several hours - we were just in the Magic Kingdom. But before it was over, I would laugh, I would cry, and I would learn a lot about the magic! 

Our tour guide had a microphone on her shirt which projected into our earpieces so we could hear no matter where we were. I'm hoping to share a few fun pieces that I learned along the way (if you're hoping to take this tour yourself, I would stop reading now).

• Outside of Tony's Town Square restaurant (which is Lady and the Tramp themed) there is a square of concrete with doggy paw prints in them. You can't usually see this because strollers are usually parked over it.

• Many people know that the park uses forced perspective which makes the buildings on Main Street and Cinderella Castle look taller than they are.
• Many people also know that the windows on Main Street are tributes to the folks who had a large role in helping create the attractions throughout. There is one window with the name Card Walker that says "Justice of the Peace" - this was a close friend of Roy and Walt Disney's who would frequently step in when the brothers had a disagreement. Also, we were told that the park is set up sort of like a movie with coming attractions at the start (ride posters under the train station), credits (the windows along main street), with the Director being last (a window in tribute to Walt is located above the ice cream shop on Main Street facing Cinderella's castle).

Card Walker (Justice of the Peace) window on the left. Another thing I started paying attention to during the tour is speakers around the Magic Kingdom. Notice how that window on the right is open? Sort of looks like a speaker sitting there huh? Word has it that during parades, you'll notice open windows that will close once the parade is over.

Roy Disney's window in the middle - thanks for helping complete the vision Roy!

• The Disney company is an entertainment company with four main priorities: safety, courtesy, show, efficiency (in that order). If you pay attention, it's not hard to see all four of these in action on any given day on Disney property.
• The Partners statue in front of the castle has a life-size representation of Mickey Mouse. The sculptor figured out the size by figuring out how tall Mickey is compared to Stokowski in the movie Fantasia. Also there is a very small hidden Mickey on a ring on Walt's finger (there's no way to see the ring from the ground).

If you're not familiar with the Partners statue, here's a picture I took of it this past summer!

• The Crystal Palace restaurant gives a great example of transition in theming. It was said that when Disneyland was being built, Walt would walk around with his eyes closed. He believed that you should be able to tell from the atmosphere where he was in the park (sounds and even smells).
• All first aid in Disney is free.

We made our way into Adventureland where we rode the Jungle Cruise (it was actually transformed into the Jingle Cruise already) in the "VIP" fashion which means going in the exit with the guide. We had a whole boat to ourselves! We learned that originally, the Jungle Cruise was intended to be more educational and give you information about the real animals that the animatronics were based on. People weren't loving it and Walt heard about a cast member who was making some jokes. After riding and having that experience, the ride was changed.

From there, it was about time for lunch! We went into a private room at Pecos Bill's and our food orders were set out with a place card - inside the place card was the special pin you get for the Keys to the Kingdom tour! I had a chicken taco salad and they brought in all kinds of toppings - our own unlimited toppings bar (WITH GUAC).

Placecard

Pin

After lunch, we went into a backstage area where we saw where the parade floats are stored and maintained. We also got to hear about some of the different roles our tour guide, Rae, has had working with Disney. She has some really cool jobs including being a keys guide and a VIP tour guide. She also works with the suite in the Cinderella castle and has been "friends" with some Disney characters like Mickey Mouse and the Fairy Godmother! All of the parades at Disney have dress rehearsals which have to be done in the overnight hours. I think I always assumed there was some backlot area where they could just do all the parade rehearsals.

We walked down into Liberty Square and learned more about the Haunted Mansion (like how they used Leota Toombs' daughter's face to update the effect) before riding the Haunted Mansion, again, in a VIP way. We actually walked in the exit and then to a special hallway where we walked right into the fireplace room and then had our own stretching room.

After that, we started to make our way through Fantasyland toward Mickey's Philharmagic. The moment of magic was finally almost here - we were going to be heading down into the utilidor. If you don't know, the utilidor is the first floor of the Magic Kingdom. Part of the benefit of the utilidor is that cast members can get from one place to another without throwing things off (think about being in Frontierland and seeing two cast members walk by in Tomorrowland costumes). So, down we went.

I was surprised by how big it was - I don't think I'd really considered what it would be like before we were down there. Our guide said it's smaller than people think it is but still, we were down there for probably an hour or so. We went down into the utilidor by Mickey's Philharmagic (right by the carousel) and came up and out behind Main Street toward the front of the park.

There are pargo vehicles (sort of like small golf carts) that drive around the utilidor (we saw a few that were carrying souvenirs for package pick up or resort delivery). There is a credit union down there! And there was a TON of Disney memorabilia on the walls. I worried that seeing this would ruin the magic for me. Luckily, we didn't run into any of the mascot characters or anything like that. What struck me is that it looked like any kind of industrial workplace. There were people on break looking at their phones. People were walking through carrying lunchboxes. Some cast members were on bicycles.

We were able to see aerial photography of the Magic Kingdom along with photos from the opening day ceremonies. There was also an area for attractions that have been closed or re-purposed and for coming attractions. The story that made me cry was about opening day. Rae, our guide, told us that when Disney World opened in 1971, Roy Disney (who played a huge part in making sure everything came together) had a security detail around him to make sure he got from appearance to appearance. At some point, he was able to get away from the security detail and asked a cast member on a boat to drive him out into the water. Roy told the cast member that it was one of the worst and best days of his life. Best because he saw Walt's vision come to life; worst because Walt wasn't there to see it. A couple of months after the park opened, Roy passed. So, yeah, Rae made us all cry near the end of the tour.

Another interesting thing I learned was about the men whose names are on the Ferryboats that bring you across to the Magic Kingdom from the transportation and ticket center. They were both hugely integral in terms of dealing with the land and coming up with the engineering in the utilidor. If you've ever wondered who Potter and Fowler were, check out this website.

We came up out of the utilidor and had a few more minutes in a backstage area before returning our hearing devices and saying goodbye to Rae.

Final thoughts on Keys to the Kingdom:

• Lots of cool tidbits of information - particularly if your tour guide has been working for Walt Disney World for 20+ years
• Pretty cool to have "VIP Access" to a couple of rides
• I think that people would probably pay the price of admission for just the opportunity to be in the utilidor and experience that portion of the tour
• Disney fanatics would enjoy this. If you're more of a surface-level Disney fan, you may not appreciate some of the history and background on the park as much.
• There are a few other tours you can do; from Marceline to the Magic Kingdom is a little shorter and less expensive. The Backstage Magic tour is more expensive and longer and goes into other park areas outside of the MK. Then there are obviously other park-specific adventures like the Wild Africa Trek, etc. 
• It was really cool to be part of a special group; we got to go into Adventureland before the park technically opened and saw it pretty empty.
• It was nice to be able to ask all the questions you've ever wondered about Disney, being a cast member, etc. 

Here I am with Rae! A true Disney expert, a knowledgeable guide, and a wonderful cast member!

I'd be leaving the Magic Kingdom soon because Erica had arrived in Orlando and we'd be meeting up!!

Halloween 2018 at Walt Disney World - (Day 1 - Part 3 - BirthHallowCation2018)

I've been so excited to write this blog since Halloween evening because this is going to cover one of my favorite events I've ever attended at Walt Disney World - Return to Sleepy Hollow at Fort Wilderness!

This was such a great, fun, accessible event. If you're too overwhelmed to consider the Not-So-Scary Halloween Party or it's out of your price range, this is a great alternative to give you some spooky fun.

A couple of important notes here. Like advance dining reservations, the tickets for Return to Sleepy Hollow become available 180 days prior to the event. If you're staying off-property, I'm not sure if that timeframe changes. Once I decided I wanted to attend the event I had calendar reminders and actually called WDW a couple of times (I was early - whoops!) before I actually got through to make my reservation.

There are, I think, 3 tiers of pricing for this event. General admission was around $22 - includes a seat to watch the film and a meet and greet with headless horseman (I'm thinking they also got snacks). The premium admission was around $38 (this is what I purchased) and included seating in rows 6-10 for the film, snacks, a swag bag, and the meet and greet with the headless horseman. The ultimate package was $60 and got everything I got (seating in rows 1-5) plus a dessert party beforehand. There were two events on Halloween night - one at 8 pm and one at 10 pm. I got in for the 10 pm reservation.

OK so let's get to it!

I'd never been over to Fort Wilderness before and when I arrived there was a long line of cars waiting to get in and park. Granted, I was there pretty early so some of those cars may have been showing up for the 8 pm event. There is also the popular Hoop-de-doo Revue dinner show at Fort Wilderness and I saw many people lined up with reservations for that.

At Fort Wilderness, you come in to a main parking area but to get to the campsites and Crockett's Tavern (and back to where the Hoop-De-Doo Revue is) you have to take an internal bus. Fort Wilderness is HUGE. I was floored by how long the bus ride took to get back to the restaurants and how many camping areas were occupied (the ride wasn't more than 15 minutes or so with bus stops but I had no concept of how large that resort was).

I parked in a big field - there wasn't anyone to direct me - but it worked. Did you know that all the horses you see at the parks (mostly in Magic Kingdom) reside here at Fort Wilderness in the Tri-Circle-D Ranch? Fort Wilderness has all kinds of horse riding options.

As soon as I saw this sign, I knew I was off to the right place! 

Once I arrived back at Pioneer Hall, I walked around to take in the sights and sounds of Fort Wilderness! Picture a resort that is smack-dab in the middle of Frontierland and that is Fort Wilderness!

There were all kinds of interesting decorations for Halloween night!

Spooky pumpkins

This was huge!

I made my way back to Crockett's Tavern which has a large porch area with rocking chairs. There is also a window where you can purchase drinks from inside. So I stepped on up and ordered a strawberry lemonade (made with Ole Smokey moonshine) and found myself a nice rocking chair in which to enjoy it.

Yum.

This experience was more enjoyable once the man whose buttcrack was hanging out got called inside Crockett's Tavern for his reservation. Trick or treat, indeed.

I finished my beverage and did some people watching until it was time to walk over toward the Blacksmith's Shop to check in for the event. There were plenty of horses around in outdoor pens but sadly there were signs saying not to pet them. 

Over by the barn where the movie was to be shown, there was this small, spooky Sleepy Hollow Cemetery. 

The barn where the event was taking place! 

After a bit of waiting (and seeing the dessert party going on) we were finally asked to line up and head on inside! There was a photo op outside first (in front of the Return to Sleepy Hollow banner above) and then you walked over to the right to pick up swag. 

As far as snacks went, it was pretty awesome. They had full-size (like you'd buy from the chip aisle in a grocery store) bags of Pop-Secret popcorn in different flavors. And since this was the very last event, they encouraged us to take extra bags. I also got candy and a cup for water. I got my swag and seated myself. 

The really cool thing is that this is a working barn. So there were stalls on both sides with horses in them! Before the movie, there was trivia playing on the projection screen and a countdown.

Horse friend

Pre-show trivia

Spooky screensaver

Alright, so it was time for the show to start. To clarify, the movie was not the live-action Sleepy Hollow with Johnny Depp - this is the original cartoon by Disney, The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad. We only watched the Ichabod part. 

As the movie ended, the screen went back to a screensaver and said something like, "and now, if you dare..." I saw two cast members walking up each aisle toward the front of the barn where the movie was projected.

SPOILER ALERT: If you are planning to attend this event, I'd recommend you stop reading now. I don't want to give you too much information about the rest of it because it's really cool to see it happen for yourself.

The cast members walked toward the front of the barn as the projection screen rose back up to the ceiling. The cast members slid open two large barn doors and fog crept out into the main area of the barn as spooky music swelled in the background. As the fog cleared, we could see the Headless Horseman!!! 

To be clear, this is a real person on a live horse. We were called up row-by-row to take photos with the Headless Horseman. I'm not sure, but I would assume, that even if you don't have Memory Maker to get your photos, anyone with admission to this event would get their photos included. Since I have an AP I get the photos anyway so if you don't have that and want to attend this event, double check in advance. 

Also another note, the barn was eerily quiet during the photo session. The line moved really fast (but again, I was in row 6). There was spooky music playing in the background and no one was making a sound except for the photographer. It was weird but also spooky and I loved it!

SO SPOOKY!!!

First they asked me to be scared

Then they asked me to smile

This is a carriage that was used in the Haunted Mansion film with Eddie Murphy

Haunted Mansion Movie Poster

Another view of the carriage

On the way out, I grabbed another bag of popcorn because they asked me to and headed back to catch the bus back to my parking spot. This was a great way to spend my Halloween night! 

I got back to the car pretty late (I would say around 11:20 pm) and then made my way back over to Pop Century for the night. 

My swag! So with my premium experience admission, I got a lunch bag (it's a dark green even though it looks black in the picture). In the bag was a plastic cup, some candy, a lanyard with the Return to Sleepy Hollow pass on it, and an exclusive pin!

So to recap, I had a WONDERFUL time. When you think about it, most exclusive or limited edition pins at Disney World start at $12.99 - so even if you subtract that, we're at around $25. Then the lanyard would probably cost another $9.99, bringing us down to $15.02 for the lunch bag, cup, snacks, and movie experience. 

Exploring Fort Wilderness was really cool and it was also creepy to hear the horses moving around in their stalls during the movie. It's like they knew the Headless Horseman was on his way! The one, somewhat humorous piece was that we could hear the Electrical Water Pageant going by toward the middle of the movie. 

Anyway - that was my Return to Sleepy Hollow experience. I'd highly recommend this to anyone looking to have a relatively inexpensive, spooky fun time during Halloween at Walt Disney World!