A holiday tale, a tale that's quite COMPLETE!!!....Halloween 2012!

[PHXscuba]

It started out all fine with Flik coming out and there were cute little bugs etc and I thought this isn't too bad. Then Hopper appeared and he was a bit scary for the littler set, so we were still good at that point. Then, it got to a point where the bugs on the screen were talking about stuff and the next thing you know the lights went out and there were load noises and some smoke effects.................ok, this is great special effects................then the lights came back on.........................OH MY LORD.................there were these HUGE big black spiders that had dropped from the ceiling and one was so close to us I really thought the poor girl was going to have a heart attack. She was absolutely terrified. She buried her head in my shoulder and was sobbing her little heart out and I could feel her whole body trembling. I wanted to leave, but she was just rigid with fear. We waited until it had finished and the lights came back up and then we slowly made our way out. A CM was concerned and asked us if she was ok. It literally took a whole hour before she stopped shaking and we got her a drink and just sat for a while.

Needless to say, we will never be going to see that again. I felt so bad for her and I felt terrible that I had made her go and see it. It really did open my eyes to just how terrified she is. We are currently looking into a course she can do at one of the wildlife parks near where we live where they teach you to at least tolerate things you are frightened of. The only trouble is she wants me to go with her to overcome my fear of snakes which is just as bad as her and her spiders! A fine pair we are!!!! So, we will be looking at doing that soon.

Nice pictures from your Halloween party. Your daughter looks lovely in her Snow White costume.

I understand about the phobias. I had a school friend who was like you DD with spiders. I tolerate spiders, but I am not so fond of snakes. It doesn't bother me seeing them, but then I have snake nightmares later! We're all scared of something!

PHXscuba

 

[Minnie Sue Oz]

Wow what great pics from the Halloween party! And DD looked so cute in her Snow White costume.

I'm arachnophobic too - you'll have to let me know how you go with the course, I was looking into doing one a couple of years ago but it was pretty expensive. I had watched It's Tough to be a Bug on youtube before we went, and I knew to close my eyes when Hopper came out, and not open them again until DH told me it was ok.

Thanks for your comment re DD! I thought she looked cute too I will let you know when we look into the course a bit further! It's safe to say she won't be seeing that again any time soon!

sue, i love, love, love your report. it's making me nostalgic and jealous and i want to be back in disneyland, so so much!!

there are so many things that we didn't get to do on our last trip that i have a mission to see and experience as much as possible on this trip. i also need a new camera, as my p&s lumix will not be able to capture the night shots (especially at the halloween party) as i want it to... so much drama in buying a new camera. it seems the things i want in a camera and the bits i don't want in a camera make it a hard choice

i really loved hearing about your halloween party experiences, and i honestly cannot wait to go this year and experience it myself. i will happily bring you and your dd any halloween goodies that you may require

i can't wait to hear about the rest of your vacation. i only have just over 6 mths to lose my weight so that i can be as active as possible on this trip!! eek

I am glad you are love love loving the report! Your trip this year looks amazing and you really will love Halloween! Thanks so much for offering to bring back goodies, that is very sweet of you!
As for the camera choice, it sounds like you have a good idea of what you want. it's just a matter of finding it! I take 2 with me - Panasonic Lumix DZ10 for the convenience as it is compact but still takes great pics and has HD recording ability and my baby, the Canon EOS60D. I am looking at buying a new lens on our trip in September!
And with your determination, I know you will get to where you need to be

Nice Mega Updates!!!! I'm glad the Halloween party was such a success for you! DD looked very cute in her costume, and it was so great that Captain Jack took an extra moment for the photo with her!

I was surprised to see that you ate at Ariel's Grotto and there was no Ariel at breakfast? I'll bet some little Ariel fans get quite disappointed.

So sorry about the spiders! Too bad it ruined that attraction for her. I guess it is good to get her a little help with it, but you're right, I wouldn't want to go through the snake class, either!

Glad you enjoyed the update The Halloween party is really loads of fun, busy, but fun!
As for the princess breakfast, Ariel is actually the first one you see! When you walk down the steps to get into the restaurant, she is waiting at the bottom of the stairs with a photpass photographer. I do have the pic withh DD and I am planning on posting a ton of photopass pics and the end of the report!
Spiders and snakes..............yuk! Unfortunately living in Australia we have some of the worlds deadliest!

Thanks for reading along!

Love the updates. It was so nice to meet you both. I wish we woukd have gotten a picture together.

Happy you like the updates and we must catch up this year for a pic! That would be great

Thanks for the update - it really is just like reliving our last trip, I even recognise some of the CMs especially the ToT ones. My 8 year old DD was so excited when I showed her your photo of the doll in the lobby of the Hollywood Tower Hotel - she used to look for it when we were waiting in line for the elevator.

Hey Liz

Happy to help you relive your trip Glad your DD liked the pic and isn't it cool they notice all the little details

Loving the update! you are making me excited to go back!

Thanks for coming along and I am so hoping we can arrange a catch up, now that will be exciting!!!

Nice pictures from your Halloween party. Your daughter looks lovely in her Snow White costume.

I understand about the phobias. I had a school friend who was like you DD with spiders. I tolerate spiders, but I am not so fond of snakes. It doesn't bother me seeing them, but then I have snake nightmares later! We're all scared of something!

PHXscuba

Thanks for your kind commenst re DD! The pictures came up so well in the photo book we had made too. You are just never ever too old for Disney And snakes................I don't even like to look at them. They just frighten the life out of me!

 

[Minnie Sue Oz]

SATURDAY 3RD NOVEMBER 2012 - Day 11

It was up earlier than the previous days as we had an ADR for breakfast at Storytellers Cafe for the Critter breakfast at 7:45am. We had done this one on our previous trip and liked it so thought we would do it again....................I am so so glad we did!

Just to set the scene..................inside the cafe

It really is very nicely themed and decorated inside. We ordered the buffet and there is quite a good selection.

Here is DD when we first arrived!

First we had a visit from Meeko! He was just so cute. After having his picture taken withh DD, he was pointing to my Mickey Mouse watch! I asked him if he liked it and he nodded his head and got all excited! I then asked him if he would like to "borrow" it for a while!!! He jumped up and down and clapped his hands in excitement! So, I took it off and he then held it over his arm and proceeded to take it around to all the tables to show them what he had! He was like a games show hostess showing off a prize!!!!!!!!!
He brought it back and very reluctantly handed it back to me but I told him not to worry, he could borrow it any time!!! He was happy with that and gave me a big hug!
I just love when you have special moments like these.................you are NEVER EVER too old for Disney

Some of our yummy breakfast!

We also had another guest joining us for the day today..............

Next it was a visit from Chip.

We sat and enjoyed our breakfast and noted that it had been a while since we had seen another charcater come out. A CM just happened to be walking by, so I asked him if there were going to be any more characters coming out soon. I no sooner had the words out of my mouth when DD got the surprise of her life.
Just to take a moment to refresh your memory. DD loves the Lion King. DD collects all things Lion King. DD has loved the Lion King since she was old enough to watch it. DD knows all the words to the Lion King. DD loves the Lion King.............................ok, I think you get the picture!!!
She is always so disappointed when there are never any characters from the Lion King that come out in the parks. We have seen so many different ones, but never ever one from her favourite..........................until NOW!!!!!!

There were honestly tears in her eyes. She was just so excited to see this guy!!!!

We proceeded to tell him that he and his pals were here favourites and then they did a rendition of Hakuna Matata togther and skipped off around all the tables! He must have spent a good 10 minutes just with DD as he kept coming back to her! Another special Disney moment!!!

We then had visits from Dale and Turk

Here is someone else enjoying the day out!!!

It was then out to wander around Downtown Disney for a while. We knew the parks were busy on the weekends so used this time to do other bits and pieces. Especially this weekend in Disneyland park as we knew they would be filming the Christmas day parade.

We went to the Lego store.........

We found this and just had to take a pic!!!

A close up what was in the cabinet!!!

There are obviously some very clever and very patient people out there who put all the models together! They are just so big and so good!

So we decided we would take the Monorail into Disneyland to see how busy it was! We were lucky enough to get to sit up front on this trip with the driver! Cool!

And the view from the front was awesome!

We did some pin trading for a while and headed over to the New Orleans area. On the way, we ducked into the Golden Horseshoe to grab a drink. There was a show about to start, so we grabbed a table and waited for a few minutes for it to start. It starred Billy from the Billy and the Hillbillies show although he wasn't playing musical instruments this time! It was hilarious! It also invlved getting people up from the audience and making them participate! One of the funniest characters was the guy who was dressed up as the girl! Just too too funny!!!!

Continued next post...........

 

[zanzibar138]

What a special breakfast You've definitely convinced me to do that one next time

 

[Minnie Sue Oz]

Day 11 - Continued.............

It was then off to Pirates and we waited about 15 minutes to ride. It was a little before 2pm and was getting quite busy.

After another trip round on Pirates, we went up to the train station where we waited about 10 minutes. Saw this guy while we waited!

Some pics taken while we were on the train.............

I love this pic of the Matterhorn looking through the leaves................

I love going past the dioramas but can never seem to get any clear pictures. I must make a point of practising on the next trip!

Small World had no water and was closed until the day before we left to come home. The water was missing too!!!

We got off at Main Street and took time to wander around the gallery.

We could hear and see lots of people outside as they were filmimg the parade. It turns out there was a guy from the Disney show Austin and Ally on a float and creating screams from the teens that were everywhere!!!

So, it was off to find something else to do for the afternoon!!!

On the way out! She thought it was appropriate as she was wearing her Stormtroopers shirt!!!

We wandered back to the Ho Jo and did some washing! After showering and feeling refreshed, DD came up with the brilliant idea to see a movie at Downtown Disney. We knew Wreck It Ralph was on and it wasn't due to start back in Australia until the end of December so it was a great opportunity to see it early! We saw it in 3D too which was loads of fun! We both thoroughly enjoyed it and loved the selection of things we don't have back home to choose from for refreshments! Couldn't believe there were Nacho's!!!!!!! I had some Milk Duds and DD had Junior Mints and we shared a super large drink!

After the movie, we just ambled back through Downtown Disney as there were so many people out and about on a Saturday night! Did a bit of shopping and went to bed happy after another fun filled day!!!!

Thanks for coming along

 

[zanzibar138]

It must have been a bit weird to see IASW with no water! At least it still has all the pretty topiaries though.

I loved looking through the Disney gallery when we were there. I could have spent hours in there, and even DH enjoyed it. We bought 2 prints which we have yet to hang.

Great idea to see Wreck-It Ralph at Downtown Disney I enjoyed it when it did finally come out in Australia. And you can buy nachos at the movies? Awesome!

 

[Minnie Sue Oz]

SUNDAY 4TH NOVEMBER - Day 12

Today was shopping day! We had been to a place called South Coast Plaza on our last trip and thoroughly enjoyed it! Plus, we knew we could get the bus from across the road and we had a half price voucher to use! I was terribly excited as I had found out they had a Disney store that had not long opened and one of my most memorable meals was at one of the cafes there!

So, we boarded the bus at 10.20 and we were off! This place is huge and does have a lot of high end shops, but it also has stores that are budget friendly too! And, it has a Macy's!!! I also discovered Sears and we both just loved it!

We did a bit of wandering around and then went for lunch at Vie de France for my favourite! Oh my lord it is yummy and I am remembering it right now as I am looking at the pictures!!!

To start, this drink is just the yummiest drink I have ever had!

Then we had some bread

DD had pasta

And I had this..................

French onion soup and half a roast beef sandwich..............the soup is just divine!!!! I will definitely be going again this year.................can't wait!!!

They were starting to put up their Christmas decorations and they had the cutest carousel with reindeer.

And this huge tree

We did a bit of shopping in here!!!

The centre is separated by a bridge so I took the opportunity to admire the view!

And here is DD ( and some shopping!!! ) on the bridge!

We boarded the bus and returned to the Ho Jo around 6pm. It was time to dump the bags and head across the road to another favourite, Mimi's for dinner!

Started with this..........

DD had the turkey

I had a steak

And there was just no room for dessert! The nice server took our pic!

We had an early night and were looking forward to tomorrow as we had breakfast planned with a very special mouse!!!

BIG pic heavy day coming up Stay tuned!!!

 

[zanzibar138]

And there's more!

Looks like you had a great day shopping at South Coast Plaza. I thought it was more of a high-end centre, so glad to hear that it has budget-friendly places too. I'm sure Mum will be keen on doing some shopping when we go next year, so I will have to start getting more acquainted with what's around!

Can't wait to see your brekky pics with a certain mouse

 

[frangipanisam]

Just did a catch read I feel for Laura as I didn't love the spiders in the Bug show but I wasn't that bad poor dear!

Totally jealous of all your character pics!! I didn't know about the party outfits and that all of the characters walked around in their costumes at the ranch! Oh well an excuse to go back at Halloween

I love that Laura met Timon, we fluked meeting Rafiki walking around Disneyland hotel on Halloween morning

We saw Wreck-it Ralph on the same day, great Aussies minds but we were up at El Capitan with our popcorn tubs so we didn't try out the candy bar. Another thing to add to the next time list!

I love the photos you've posted Sue, if you don't mind I may need to use a few for my photo book I'm making during the school holidays as its hard to remember to take them on a first visit lol

Can't wait to read along!!

 

[PHXscuba]

Minnie -- I can't see any of your photos on the last few updates (didn't go back farther). Did you hit a storage limit on Photobucket or whoever is hosting your pictures?

PHXscuba

 

[Minnie Sue Oz]

Minnie -- I can't see any of your photos on the last few updates (didn't go back farther). Did you hit a storage limit on Photobucket or whoever is hosting your pictures?

PHXscuba

Thanks for letting me know. I made a new folder in Photobucket and transferred all the pics from the trip over. Looks like ALL the links are different. I will have to go through now and re insert the photos. If I had of known this was going to happen, I never would have touched it. I hate Photobucket sometimes, it could have had a pop up message to tell me........ahhhh. Guess I know what I will be doing for a few hours after work today. How frustrating.

 

[KiwiMouseGirl]

Thanks for letting me know. I made a new folder in Photobucket and transferred all the pics from the trip over. Looks like ALL the links are different. I will have to go through now and re insert the photos. If I had of known this was going to happen, I never would have touched it. I hate Photobucket sometimes, it could have had a pop up message to tell me........ahhhh. Guess I know what I will be doing for a few hours after work today. How frustrating.

I agree. Photobucket can be a P-A-I-N sometimes. Looking forward to looking at all the photos later on! Sound's like you enjoyed your character breakfast! Judging by the description I am guessing DD got to meet Rafiki?! I was lucky enough to snap a pick with him on our trip. He was out on mainstreet one morning with a few other unusual characters.

 

[Marlea98]

I'm looking via my iPhone and can't see the latest pics either

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

 

[Minnie Sue Oz]

I have THE most intelligent DD!

We just had to insert a piece into each eack photo's link and whoa la.............we are back!!! YAY!!!

 

[AussieDisneyNut]

Great updates! Love the look of the French Onion Soup and Roast Beef Sandwich .... I'm feeling like a midnight snack now!

 

[monkey30]

YAY loving the updates!

I have my time booked! New ticker

 

[cptmemo]

Love all the detail and pics!So much fun

 

[PHXscuba]

Yay, the pictures are back! Kudos to your DD!

I have been riding that carousel in South Coast Plaza since I was tiny! I need to take my kids on it again before the little ones get too big.

Love that your DD got to see Timon. Worth the price of breakfast right tehre.

PHXscuba

 

[Velvetia]

I am really enjoying your trip report, Minnie Sue, looks like you had an absolutely brilliant time. Please tell me that you got to meet Jack Skellington!?

 

[WDWJonasGirl]

Your DD's stormtrooper shirt is hilarious. That guy is actually Ross Lynch.