And that was without even a single drop of rum! UPDATES 5/16 Tower of Terror 10 Mile race

[kastoney]

Four parks in one day. Impressive!!!!! And congrats on the National Championship. Though as a Hokie, I must use the opportunity to remind you about our opening game win over the buckeyes as it was the only good thing we did all season ; )

And not like the day prior, but holy character meets again today. But what's up with Pochahantas in Epcot? Don't think I've ever seen that before. Perhaps she was looking for some fish n chips for John Smith?

All your photo pass magic shots are fabulous. I always seem to miss those.

I'm with you on the love of the back stage tour. I think when we first visited MGM as a kid the only rides that were open were the movie ride and backstage tour. I remember the magic of feeling like I was on a real movie set and even better getting to see the mickey mouse club. So sad its gone. Feel like they've removed my childhood

Great AoA pictures. We stayed in the Lion King section a few trips back and loved the utter disneyness of it all.

Perfect ending of the night at MK. And love the buzz picture. Competitive much? ; )

 

[ashw100]

Woah mega update. Sorry you missed out on another characterpalooza, that's stinks. Sounds like a pretty good end to the overall though. I love Brian's face in that Buzz picture, not impressed indeed.

 

[OhioStateBuckeye]

I've been looking for TRs that include MNSSHP because our first trip is this September and I want to know ALL THE THINGS about that time of year so YAY for finding yours. (Bonus: you're a Buckeye, even if you don't live in Ohio anymore... I'm a Cincinnati girl by birth, but I live in Columbus (well Delaware, but close... and I work for the city of Columbus) now so all things are Buckeye related, except my screen name!)

Also, can I just say that my favorite discovery of all the Disney-related blogs I have been scouring to figure out the best way to plan a trip with 2 8-year olds who have never been to Disney (and the last time I was there was probably 30 years ago, so yeah... it's different) is Kenny the Pirate? His character info is the BEST!! Even if we don't take a whole day for character hunting this trip, I'm still using his stuff to do as much as we can.

Well, my very next update will start with the MNSSHP madness! It is a great time of year, you will love it.

Delaware...I miss the Columbus Zoo so much We had yearly passes and we'd been watching the baby red pandas grow up. We also hung out with the tigers so much I felt we were friends.

Yes Kenny is the best, I also enjoy EasyWDW if you haven't seen that one. EasyWDW has good crowd calendars and I love his writing style.

Four parks in one day. Impressive!!!!! And congrats on the National Championship. Though as a Hokie, I must use the opportunity to remind you about our opening game win over the buckeyes as it was the only good thing we did all season ; )

And not like the day prior, but holy character meets again today. But what's up with Pochahantas in Epcot? Don't think I've ever seen that before. Perhaps she was looking for some fish n chips for John Smith?

All your photo pass magic shots are fabulous. I always seem to miss those.

I'm with you on the love of the back stage tour. I think when we first visited MGM as a kid the only rides that were open were the movie ride and backstage tour. I remember the magic of feeling like I was on a real movie set and even better getting to see the mickey mouse club. So sad its gone. Feel like they've removed my childhood

Great AoA pictures. We stayed in the Lion King section a few trips back and loved the utter disneyness of it all.

Perfect ending of the night at MK. And love the buzz picture. Competitive much? ; )

Well I like to think the Hokies motivated us, so thank you guys

OMG, we said the same thing about Pocahontas!! We even asked her if she was there visiting England like she did in her second movie. But really, she was there because sometimes they do character training at the international gateway. So yeah, the characters don't really fit there, but I'm thinking maybe they have backstage facilities where they train the characters so maybe it's most convenient to have them come out there?

Remember to ask the photopass photographers if they do any magic shots. Several times we stumble on really fun photographers who will do a ton for us, like that guy in Epcot and then a different guy in AK went through the 8 shots he had.

Utter disneyness is a good way to put it. I almost wish they'd re-theme the all stars to be more like AOA. I love feeling like I'm in the movie.

Brian and I are sooo super competitive. My whole family is. Reminds me of one time when my little sister brought a new boyfriend mini golfing with us and he was just astounded, hahaha. Putting it nicely.

Woah mega update. Sorry you missed out on another characterpalooza, that's stinks. Sounds like a pretty good end to the overall though. I love Brian's face in that Buzz picture, not impressed indeed.

It was a good end. The more I go to Disney, the more I realize that our most fun times are probably after a break and then we head to MK which is open late. Nothing like the magic of MK after dark.

 

[OhioStateBuckeye]

The next morning it was time to check out of our too brief AOA stay.

Disney details:



Our room number, in case anyone wants a firework view room:





One thing I noticed about the AOA resort, the landscapers picked the grasses to go with the theme. See how these kind of look like they belong under the sea? Then the Lion King section has ferns and and jungle type plants near Timon and Pumba, and the Cars section has dessert plants and gravel.

Oh Zazu



We stashed our luggage for the time being and hopped onto a bus to Epcot. We were hungry and Puerto Rico was calling our names.



Oh, would you look at the sky, looks like rain again. Fancy that. Not like it hadn't been raining our whole trip.





Delicious desserts!!



We reluctantly decided to check out some other booths too.



Next stop: Brazil.





Also delicious, but not as delicious as Puerto Rico.

We got a delicious drink and then decided to check out the Chase lounge overtop America.





We took a very pretty stroll around some countries:



I was blinking in this photopass and I was tired of seeing my blinking face so I did a little photoshopping:









Skies starting to get darker around Germany:



We looked around the gift shops and I thought this pug was adorable:



And now, we have come to one of my favorite memories from this trip!

We had just arrived at the outdoor seating at America, where we were going to stalk the character training area (again). We got a drink and were sitting at a table, minding our own business, when this bug decided to come check us out.



He is a pretty sizable bug, if you could not tell.



I was taking pictures because I was closest and Brian was opposite to the bug. After I took this close up:



The bug launched itself straight at Brian's face...and there, at that American pavilion outdoor seating, Brian had one of the biggest freakouts ever to be seen. Oh how I wish I would have been recording.

Even worse...after the bug had launched itself it started to fly!! Bugs that big shouldn't be allowed to fly!! So it started to fly around us as Brian shrieked and ran in circles.

Needless to say, after that fiasco we were done waiting for the characters and I let Brian have a ride on his favorite Living with the Land so he could calm down.





I have to go on this ride about 15 times per trip, I enjoy it, but I amuse myself trying to find new ways to photograph things I've already seen 10 times on the trip.















After that ride we needed to head out. We were going to relax for a few hours and then go to our first MNSSHP!! I would also need a few hours to get my costume sorted. You'll see why.

 

[ashw100]

Oh I can't wait to see your costume. I would have freaked out too bugs are not my friend.nice photoshop on your blinking face you can't barely tell.

 

[bearcat97]

Oh my gosh! I would have DIED if a bug that size launched itself at me!! (But I also would have laughed it had launched itself at anyone else who WASN'T me. Because that's how I roll. Natch.)

 

[kastoney]

Man, definitely a skies are darkening kind of day. Must have been an omen for the bug ; ) Would seriously love to see some photographic evidence of what I'm sure was a very manly freak out ; )

At least the land calmed him down. Huge fan here too. My hubby doesn't have the nostalgic love for it that I do, so I make up for that by singing the original listen to the land song every time we ride it. I'm clearly gonna win him over on that one ; )

 

[OhioStateBuckeye]

Oh I can't wait to see your costume. I would have freaked out too bugs are not my friend.nice photoshop on your blinking face you can't barely tell.

Well it is coming soon...

Please remember, it's tough to be a bug. Lol, give them a break.

Haha, thanks for the photoshopped face compliment.

Oh my gosh! I would have DIED if a bug that size launched itself at me!! (But I also would have laughed it had launched itself at anyone else who WASN'T me. Because that's how I roll. Natch.)

We roll the same

Man, definitely a skies are darkening kind of day. Must have been an omen for the bug ; ) Would seriously love to see some photographic evidence of what I'm sure was a very manly freak out ; )

At least the land calmed him down. Huge fan here too. My hubby doesn't have the nostalgic love for it that I do, so I make up for that by singing the original listen to the land song every time we ride it. I'm clearly gonna win him over on that one ; )

Ugh I so wish I had decided to record the bug. Would have been hilarious. I died for about 10 minutes laughing.

I vaguely remember people driving the boat and narrating, but I don't remember a song. I'll have to youtube this.

Did you ever buy any of the plants? We have a few, we keep trying to get the redwood to grow but so far we've killed 2 of the poor guys.

 

[OhioStateBuckeye]

So last I left off we had headed back to Saratoga Springs to get changed. We left ourselves a lot of time because we wanted to be entering the park at 4 pm. Of course...the costume dressing took forever. Brian wanted to be his new hero, Starlord, for Halloween so finally I got to do an interesting couple's costume. Usually, couples costumes end up awesome for Brian and suck for me. The first MNSSHP we went to we dressed up as Jack Sparrow and Elisabeth Swann in her pirate outfit. So guess how many pictures Brian got stopped for but no one even knew who I was, ugh. The only time before now that didn't happen was when we dressed as Harry and Ginny in their Quidditch uniforms. Which I thought were really good costumes, I think we kind of look like an older Harry and Ginny.

So we were late getting ready, as you can imagine, since I had to go green. And it started to pour as soon as we got onto the bus. Luckily we brought Dungeon the umbrella with us this night. We knew there was a chance of rain and we didn't want my costume being ruined.

Our costumes were a hit right away, we got a ton of attention on the bus.

I believe we ended up pulling into the MK a little after 5, so not awful.

It was raining, so up went Dungeon. At least it wasn't the torrential downpour it had been on the bus.



We didn't really have any specific we wanted to get done before the party, but we did need to eat. A visit to Sonny Eclipse was in order, but on the way we saw that Merida had a very short line and I love her so we stopped by.



I think my costume worked out fairly well, it is just a Gamora costume from Amazon, then we got green face paint. I was going to dye my hair but, obviously, ended up not doing it. The arm sleeves are just green tights, I know the paint and the sleeves look like a different color green in pictures, but in person they matched really closely. Brian got to purchase his Starlord jacket which he loves, since he can wear everyday.



Finally we really needed to eat so we ordered a burger and fries to share from Cosmic Ray's. Then I realized how difficult it was to eat when your face is covered in green make up...so I just had some fries. Ah well, sacrifices must be made for good costumes.

After we ate the party was almost ready to start but we had one more stop.

Our little counterpart, Rocket, had got himself into some trouble and was being held at Mickey's Star Traders so we had to go spring him. Luckily, his bond didn't cost that much and we were on our way to our first party stop: the villain's dance party in Frontierland.

After springing him, we stopped for some photopass pics to the side of the castle:





Olaf crashed the Halloween party!





It wasn't very crowded since the party had just started.



There was really cool artwork on the walls, and the whole room was lit by blacklights.



The DJ would introduce the villains one by one and they would all come out and have their 15 seconds of fame on the stage before coming down to dance and greet people.





I always find Disney dance parties so odd. Its usually the characters and CMs dancing with a few young kids then everyone else stands around awkwardly. It looked like only Cruella was coming out for now, so we decided to remove our awkwardly standing selves from the building and go check out other party happenings.

We got in a very short line for the Aladdin characters and were soon inside.



After that I was thirsty so we got a cool little icee type drink:



We saw another very short line, this time for the Wicked Witch.



She is just a tad bit creepy.



I swear the one they had out about 5 years was even creepier, I think they toned down the costume since then.

After that creepiness, we needed some cuteness and waited about 15 minutes for Donald and Goofy.






There was virtually no line for the Lotso, so that is where we went next.



This was the first of many times I had to warn the characters away from hugging me. Can you just imagine poor Lotso covered in green?



I did tell him that he was a very bad bear. Lotso and I have some history. We'll leave it at that.

It was starting to sprinkle a little so we jumped onto TTA for a break.





It looks like Rocket has a permanent Mikayla Mironey 'not impressed' face. I can't fault him though, that is my favorite face too.





We wanted to go back and check on the villains dance party and see who else was out.

 

[OhioStateBuckeye]

We arrived back at the Villains dance party and saw that the villain I was looking for was out: Governor Ratcliffe. Too bad he didn't bring Percy with him.



Little mini Anastasia:



This next picture is kind of awful. It looks like I am in blackface...even though you all know it is green so I'll post it anyway. Apparently green translates to black under a black light.



Ratcliffe is a charmer.





On the way out we saw Lady Tremaine wondering around. She admonished me for still carrying around toys.



One of the magic shot lines near HM was short so we got some pictures:



I loved the stock photos that came with our photopass:






We quickly moved on to our next villain.



We only had to wait around 10 minutes for him. At about this time Hallowishes started to go off. We were ok with missing the fireworks because we knew we had another MNSSHP to watch them.



This is a Hallowishes picture that came with our photopass:



No one was at the POTC photopass spot so we stopped:



It was finally time to find our spot for the second parade. We prefer to sit in Frontierland because it is emptier and I think the trees and darker area lends itself well to a Halloween parade.



The Creepa Crew! Calling all the monsters, calling all the monsters. Ugh, now that is in my head. I actually grew to like that song.

Then it was time for the Headless Horseman to ride:



Except...not really. A voice came over the loudspeaker 5 minutes before the parade and said it was canceled due to inclement weather. Everyone was very confused. It had been raining earlier in the day but now there wasn't a drop in sight. We grudgingly moved on with the crowd and saw a small wait for Tiana so got in line.



The interaction wasn't as good as the one we had earlier, but she did ask me if I'd been turned into a frog.

And then, sure enough, as soon as we left Tiana and about the time the parade would have been starting the skies opened up and a torrential downpour started. Luckily, I had Dungeon the umbrella and Brian hurried along under awnings and overhangs. We quickly rushed into the closest shelter, which was Philharmagic. We happily watched the show with 20 of our smartest friends, but when we left it was still pouring. We quickly ran to Princess Fairytale hall and waited 5 minutes for Cinderella and Rapunzel.

I think Cinderella was weirded out by my costume.



I love the storybook in between the princesses.



I think Rapunzel must have had a thing for Starlord. Come to think of it, Starlord and Flynn do seem a lot alike.







It was still pouring when we left. There weren't many other people in sight. I think most of the people had ditched the party since it was pouring and the first parade and fireworks were over.

We looked for the next bit of shelter and ended up at Ariel's Grotto with no wait. Ariel had a rough time with our costumes, I don't think she was impressed (the pictures will follow on the blooper reel). Ariel was just all around awkward. I find this is usually the way with Ariel in her fin. Whenever we visit her the interaction is always really strained and weird.

 

[OhioStateBuckeye]

It was still raining hard so we headed for the circus area to see what we could find. Good thing too because we found Minnie and Daisy sheltering in the phone recharge tent. That is the one where the FP+ kiosks used to be, right now there are outlets and a lot of chairs and sofas to relax in. But because of the rain the only people in there were a few CMs and Minnie and Daisy.

It was a great interaction. Both Minnie and Daisy were in love with our costumes. Minnie ran over to one of her handlers and kept pointing at us, the handler hadn't seen Guardians of the Galaxy and wasn't sure who we were and Minnie was very exasperated with her.



Minnie got to hold Rocket and kept jumping up and down at our costumes.

Daisy was even more in love with us.





Daisy was clearly a big Starlord fan:





We had a lot of time with Daisy, by this time another group had finally stumbled upon the tent but they were busy with Minnie.







Daisy wouldn't let Brian go.





There was only 10 minutes left until midnight. Everyone knows what happens at midnight, right? Cinderella's coach turns into a pumpkin and the Halloween party is over

During our ten minutes, we discovered that Donald and Goofy were taking shelter under the railroad station roof, so we got in line behind a few other people to see them again.



We were their last guests of the night. We slowly made our way to the front of the park. The rain had let up to a slight drizzle. A photopass photographer was still set up by the castle so we got a shot on our way out:



All in all it wasn't a bad party. I'd managed to not have to use the bathroom (I was dreading that all night, the costume was not bathroom friendly, being a jumpsuit). We had a good time before the parade was canceled, and even after that we'd still managed to have fun, especially when we found the characters hiding out. Oh, I also forgot a small story. When we ate at Cosmic Ray's, a CM came up to us and asked us to autograph her book. I guess some of the CMs had a contest going on for the party nights where they'd all try to get as many autographs of guest's costumes as they could. At the end of the party season whoever had the most costumes won. I was also super proud of myself because she asked where Groot was, and I answered without missing a beat that he'd been over at Epcot drinking out of the big fountain and we were very embarrassed so we'd finally just left him there. I stuck with that story all night since CMs kept asking us where Groot was.

So I guess the lesson of the night: if it rains during a party night, be prepared with dragon umbrellas or ponchos, and try to do indoor rides/shows and hunt for characters in places where they can take shelter from the rain. Interacting with Daisy and Minnie by ourselves was one of the highlights of the night.

 

[OhioStateBuckeye]

Time for the blooper reel!

Lets start with the pictures of Ariel. I truly think she was disgusted by our (or mostly my) costumes.



Thanks Ariel, that is a lovely face.



I mean, I know you probably don't understand Halloween since it's a human holiday, but you love human things. Can't you at least pretend to be into it and costumes?

Calling all the monsters...Daisy looks like she is a part of the Creepa Crew.



Laser eyes: Activate!!!!



And that'll do it for the blooper reel!

When you hear the knell of a requiem bell
Weird glows gleam where the spirits dwell
Restless bones etherialize
Rise as spooks of every size
Grim grinning ghosts, come out to socialize

When the cryptdoors creak and the tombstones quake
Spooks come out for a swinging wake
Happy haunts materialize
And begin to vocalize
Grim grinning ghosts, come out to socialize



This is Halloween, this is Halloween, Halloween, Halloween, Halloween, Halloween
Everybody scream!
Everybody scream!
Happy happy Halloween!

 

[kastoney]

Love your costume, though I'm gonna have to plead ignorance on who you are. You guys have so many character photos, I'm completely in awe. And the juxtaposition of you and your green and the princesses is way too funny.

Where do you get plants from the land? I'd never heard of this. And please do enjoy:

 

[OhioStateBuckeye]

Love your costume, though I'm gonna have to plead ignorance on who you are. You guys have so many character photos, I'm completely in awe. And the juxtaposition of you and your green and the princesses is way too funny.

Where do you get plants from the land? I'd never heard of this. And please do enjoy:

They are from Guardians of the Galaxy! Very good movie, you should give it a shot. Gave me a real original Star Wars vibe, just very fun.

The Land sells little plants in boxes at that little Soarin gift shop. And by gift shop I mean the counter and like one rack of popcorn/candy. They are in little green boxes. They have dragonfruit, redwood trees and 4 or 5 others.

 

[stacy~**]

Love the latest updates! I've been reading along....sorry my comments have been sparse.

The story of the giant bug at EP was a good one. Poor Brian.

Have you guys done the Behind the Seeds tour, yet? I can't remember but with Brian's love of LWTL I thought maybe you had.

Yay on Gamora and Starlord. Really great costumes! I would have been sooo nervous about that green face paint in the rain. Glad it held up for you. The Walkman was the perfect touch (or Walkman headphones).

Love all the characters at MNSSHP. Lotso!!!

I've heard mixed reviews of the villains dance party. I loved the dance party they have (had?) at Disneyland but I was one of very few adults that was actually dancing so there is definitely lots of awkwardness to go around. (whether you dance or don't...).

 

[FencerGirl]

I love the costumes, but next year your husband has to go as Grant Ward from Agents of SHEILD. Unfortunately, it would be hard for people to know who he was, but he looks so much like him, especially with the facial hair!

 

[bearcat97]

Super fun costumes! I'm impressed the green didn't run everywhere!

 

[ashw100]

Wow you got a lot of character meet this night. Sounds like a successful party, even with the rain. I have yet to see the movie but I know exactly who you are. The costumes are great! I o have to say you very much look like an older Ginny. Harry Potter and Ginny are great costumes for you guys.

 

[OhioStateBuckeye]

Love the latest updates! I've been reading along....sorry my comments have been sparse.

The story of the giant bug at EP was a good one. Poor Brian.

Have you guys done the Behind the Seeds tour, yet? I can't remember but with Brian's love of LWTL I thought maybe you had.

Yay on Gamora and Starlord. Really great costumes! I would have been sooo nervous about that green face paint in the rain. Glad it held up for you. The Walkman was the perfect touch (or Walkman headphones).

Love all the characters at MNSSHP. Lotso!!!

I've heard mixed reviews of the villains dance party. I loved the dance party they have (had?) at Disneyland but I was one of very few adults that was actually dancing so there is definitely lots of awkwardness to go around. (whether you dance or don't...).

That's ok! I know your reading!
Yes we have actually done that tour twice, hahah. Once just Brian and I (that was the tour where I looked out a window on a door and saw a sub from 20,000 leagues under the sea). Then again with Brian's mom and sister. It is a really good tour and is super cheap by Disney standards.

Thanks about the costumes! It was just the headphones. Brian searched and searched but couldn't find an affordable walkman. All the ones that looked like the one in the movie on ebay were going for outrageous amounts. I was very nervous about my face paint, but I had Dungeon the umbrella so I knew I was safe. And I just had tights on my arms, so I wasn't worried about those running.

Yeah the dance parties are so odd. I'm definitely on the 'stand awkwardly and don't dance' side. Haha, but good for you for dancing, I bet you didn't look awkward you looked like you were having fun.

I love the costumes, but next year your husband has to go as Grant Ward from Agents of SHEILD. Unfortunately, it would be hard for people to know who he was, but he looks so much like him, especially with the facial hair!

I showed him a picture of Grant Ward (regrettably, we do not watch Agents of Shield, though I know we should). I think he was pleased at the comparison haha.

Super fun costumes! I'm impressed the green didn't run everywhere!

No it was super quality face paint, I think Bill Nye. I was more afraid of sweating than of the rain, but it stayed on real well.

Wow you got a lot of character meet this night. Sounds like a successful party, even with the rain. I have yet to see the movie but I know exactly who you are. The costumes are great! I o have to say you very much look like an older Ginny. Harry Potter and Ginny are great costumes for you guys.

Thanks! I know, right?! Ginny and I were twins separated at birth. Except I am older haha. I wouldn't mind being a Weasley. Fun family.

 

[FencerGirl]

I showed him a picture of Grant Ward (regrettably, we do not watch Agents of Shield, though I know we should). I think he was pleased at the comparison haha.

If you like the direction they've been taking with the Marvel movies, it's definitely worth watching. It gets slow sometimes, but overall, very well done.