Halloween Week at Disney -little princess's magical vacation, food allergy, photos

[MomoMama]

This is my second trip report on DIS boards. I was not sure if I was going to write it this time, but after the trip while organizing the photos, I thought it was a good way to keep track of what we have done. Also, I hope those who are new to Disney may find some useful info from my report, as I myself did a lot of research on internet, particularly on DIS.

So, we are a family of 3. Me, DH, and DD who is 4 years old and in a full bloom princess stage. In our family, me and DD are the ones who are Disney fans...DH, not so much. But he plays along out of love for us

DD has multiple food allergies. She is allergic to: Wheat/Gluten, Eggs, Peanuts, Oats, and Barley. This report will includes her food options at Disney.

Our vacation was 10/26-11/2. We spent the first 5 nights at POP, and then the last 2 nights at Art of Animation. We ended up doing the split stays, because we were booking free dining deal, but it was not available at AoA Little Mermaid room we wanted. So we booked POP, but booking the whole 7 nights at POP was not available. We booked 5 nights at POP, and then when we are adding 2 more nights without the free dining deal, we chose AoA because I was sure DD would love the Little Mermaid room. Sure she loved the room and we were impressed with the resort, but I will probably avoid split stays in the future... Though Disney makes it easy to transport the luggages, it is still a hassle to pack and unpack during the vacation.

Anyway we were able to spend the Halloween week at Disney. This is something I had been wanting to do. We live in Texas, and if DD goes to a public school it will be impossible to take a vacation while school is in session. I am so glad we did this while we could.


Minnie Halloween by PeachAnnie, on Flickr

Pluto Halloween by PeachAnnie, on Flickr

 

[HizMinnie2015]

Subscribing!!! I am looking forward to my first trip next year during week as well (October 25th to Nov 1st).

Hopefully, this will help ease my excitement haha

 

[MomoMama]

Subscribing!!! I am looking forward to my first trip next year during week as well (October 25th to Nov 1st).

Hopefully, this will help ease my excitement haha

Oh, you will have fun! I wish we could go back next year Halloween!

 

[MomoMama]

We arrived at the airport in the afternoon. Thanks to Disney we skipped picking up the luggage and went straight to the Magical Express transportation area. We lined up for the line for POP and AoA. There were already many people lining up, so we had to wait for the second bus, but the wait was not too long.
DD did not sleep on the plane, so I made her take a quick nap on the bus.

Got to POP Century Resort. The check-in was smooth. We were assigned a room in the 60's building. It was not a lake-view room I requested. The front desk told me to check next day if I wanted the lakeview room. The next day afternoon when I called and asked, we got a call back that lakeview room was not available for the preferred room rate we paid. A bit disappointed that we did not get the lakeview, but staying close to the main building was great. I would not want to walk from the end of the resort to get coffee every morning

 

[MomoMama]

We only had a evening to explorer on the first day, and we choose to go to the Hollywood Studios. We almost did not go to HS, but we did and we ended up having fun! But navigating the park was not easy for me. It was my first time, and I had hard time getting the map into my head... also I thought the park was smaller than I thought it would be.
Hollywood Boulevard by PeachAnnie, on Flickr



We had FastPass for Toy Story Midway Mania! so went straight to it. Well, not really...I had hard time looking at the map, took wrong turns, had to ask CM how to get there
This was a fun ride. I teamed up with DD and we were winning over DH...till the last spot where he beat us

FASTPASS
Here is the thing for Fastpass...maybe many people already know this, but I did not...when I reserved for the Fastpass for that day, I only selected one attraction, Toy Story Mania, because I did not know what else to select. I knew I could get 3 Fastpasses a day, and I thought I would come back and select other 2 later...But when I returned to add other 2, I learned that I would have to release the one I already had for that day, if I wanted to add more. Basically I would have to get a new set of Fastpasses for that day. There was no guarantee I could get the same fastpass I just released, so I kept the one I had, and ended up with just 1 Fastpass that day. This actually was not the only day we ended up with less than 3 Fastpasses. If you had selected all 3, later you can go back and change one or more with whatever available at that time. I wish I knew!!

 

[Frozen2014]

Subscribing as we also went during Halloween time and also have a little princess...so am interested in hearing about your experience

PS - I too felt lost at HS, even though I don't think it that big. Think I had to ask 3 CMs how to get to Beauty & the Beast show and still almost didn't make it.

Looking forward to hearing more about your trip

 

[MomoMama]

Subscribing as we also went during Halloween time and also have a little princess...so am interested in hearing about your experience

PS - I too felt lost at HS, even though I don't think it that big. Think I had to ask 3 CMs how to get to Beauty & the Beast show and still almost didn't make it.

Looking forward to hearing more about your trip

Oh, I wanted to see Beauty and the Beast live! But we did not get to the park till close to 6pm, and missed the last 5:30 show. How did your little girl like it?

Well at least what we missed is something we can look forward to for the next trip, isn't it? (hint, hint, Hubby!)

 

[Frozen2014]

Oh, I wanted to see Beauty and the Beast live! But we did not get to the park till close to 6pm, and missed the last 5:30 show. How did your little girl like it?

Well at least what we missed is something we can look forward to for the next trip, isn't it? (hint, hint, Hubby!)

DD5 quite enjoyed Beauty and the Beast show. It's a mini musical and was done quite well telling the story. Guess you'll just have to go back. ��

 

[2choozee]

I am subscribing too. I hope you write more. We are doing the same dates next year with our little 4 yr old princess!

 

[MomoMama]

DD5 quite enjoyed Beauty and the Beast show. It's a mini musical and was done quite well telling the story. Guess you'll just have to go back. ��

Sounds like my little girl will enjoy it too!
This was one place to see the Beast, so I was disappointed, but yes, next time!

 

[MomoMama]

I am subscribing too. I hope you write more. We are doing the same dates next year with our little 4 yr old princess!

I already envy you that you will be there for Halloween next year!

 

[MomoMama]

Food
So the time was around 6:30pm, DD said she was hungry. We were walking around and really was not sure where we were, so went to the Counter Service restaurant we saw nearby. It was Backlot express. There was no line and when I asked to talk to someone about the food allergy, the manager showed up immediately.

DD is allergic to: Wheat/Gluten, Eggs, Peanuts, Oats, and Barley

The manager suggested the allergy-free chicken strips, and we agreed. She also got the fries. The dessert was EnjoyLife chocolate chip cookies, 2 pieces in a pack. DD was so happy...this was the first time she ate chicken strips and fries at a restaurant! They charged as a kid meal, but gave us adult portion, I believe.

The manager was very nice and it was very easy to place the order. We did have to wait longer because of the allergy menu we ordered, but later we found the wait here was nothing compared to the wait at Magic Kingdom CS restaurants...
Also when we went to Backlot Express, there were many empty tables. This was not a case at Magic Kingdom.

 

[MomoMama]

After dinner we continued to walk around, and saw there was a meet and greet for Phineas and Ferb close to Streets of America. Neither me or DD was interested, so though the line was short we skipped it. Then we saw Lightning McQueen and Mater right next! We ran to them. They do not talk or move, but they are there and we got a picture taken quickly. I doubt there is a line for them any time of the day, since they should be stationed there all day.

Cars by PeachAnnie, on Flickr

 

[MomoMama]

Then we saw the theater for the Frozen Sing-Along show. People was just starting to line up for the last show. We still had time, so I took DD to Wandering Oaken's Frozen Snowground while DH waited. Where we live we don't really get snow, so DD got so excited. They had some toys...scoops, buckets, and castle molds. The area was nicely decorated, but it was dark in there and I really did not get good pictures.

Wandering Oakens Frozen Snowground by PeachAnnie, on Flickr

When I told DD we had to go to see the show, she refused...she wanted to continue playing with the snow! I had to remind her that she had to listen to me, that Disney trip is only for a good girl who listens to daddy and mommy

So the Frozen Sing-Along...to be honest I was not expecting much. I thought this was a show to keep the little girls happy who just cannot stop singing Frozen songs. Turned out this was a fun show! The 2 actors who played the royal historians of Arendelle were quite good and funny. Even DH thought this was the best show he watched during the trip! There was no Olaf, but quite good-looking Kristoff showed up. There were girls screaming loves for him...
Faspass would have given us front seats, I guess. But we were able to sit in the middle section and had good views. The theater was not even full for the last show.

 

[MomoMama]

So when the Frozen Sing-Along show ended, I think we had about 10 minutes before the second Fantasmic! show time. I tried to look at the map, but DH said we should just follow the crowds. That is what we did and we got there just in time The map makes it look like the Fantasmic! theater is located far away, but it really was not. We got the seats somewhere in the middle of Pocahontas section, and view was not bad at all.

I thought the show was exciting, and I was surprised to see so many characters. I did not know the princess would be in the show, so I only told DD that we were going to see Magic Mickey fighting the big dragon. She was excited to see the princesses, and looked did not know what to think of the fighting scene from Pocahontas. But she enjoyed the show and sat through the show without any problems. Children can have different reactions to this show though. A boy sitting next to me looked like about the same height/age as my girl, but he was crying from the beginning of the show and holding onto his mom.

When we walked out of the theater, I saw the Tower of Terror right there with 20 minutes wait sign. I was not planning on taking DD there, but before the trip when she looked at the map, she said she wanted to go there. I told her it is something scary and we might see ghosts. She still said she wanted to go. So when I saw the 20 minutes wait, we went there.

The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror by PeachAnnie, on Flickr

After the introduction room, DD got a little scared. But she was not crying, we thought she would be fine. We told her we would be holding her hands at all times, and that is what we did. The ride was first time for us too, and we really did not know what to expect. I actually enjoyed the ride. And DD...she did not cry or say anything at all during the ride, but later told us she had her eyes closed the entire time. She was excited after the ride, but it was 1 day later that she told us she would not want to ride the jumping elevator again...

 

[MomoMama]

After the Tower of Terror ride, we went to see Voyage of The Little Mermaid show. I think it was the last show for the day, and the theater was almost empty. The show was cute, and made DD happy. She gets easily excited by the bubbles at the shows.

When we got out of the theater, we saw a dance party going on in the building across. We saw Goofy and ran into it.
There was Goofy, Sofia, and I think Pluto was there too. There were not many people there, probably because it was late.
DD went up to Goofy, and just as she tried to talk to him, an older girl came in between them. The girl wanted to have a pic taken with Goofy. I told DD to just wait a little and she would have her turn, but after the pic was taken CM said they had to go. The dance party was over. All the character left quickly. DD sure was disappointed. I felt bad I did not know about the dance party and not getting there early. But I told DD we would see Goofy some another time, and I kept that promise the next day

That was the extra magic hours day, so we were able to enjoy the park even though we were there only for the evening. I heard that they will be removing the Sorcerer Hat, so I am glad we got to see it before it is gone.

 

[MomoMama]

I cannot say I had a good night's sleep. I think I was too excited. Also I did not want to over sleep and miss the fun we could be having. DD slept well. Waking up in the morning is never an issue for her.
DH went to the food court to get coffee for us, milk for DD. He got some danish pastry for us for the breakfast. I gave DD cereal we brought from home, rice Chex.

We are spending the day at the Magic Kingdom, and we (me and DD) were so excited. I hoped to be there before 9am. I heard there is a little show at the entrance and wanted to see it. But we were a little late. I think we got there 10 or 15 minutes past 9. Well it is okay...here is another hope for the next trip!

MK Entrance by PeachAnnie, on Flickr

We got there and saw the park in Halloween decorations, and just could not contain the excitement!

MK Halloween Pumpkins by PeachAnnie, on Flickr

MK Micky Pumpkin by PeachAnnie, on Flickr

 

[Frozen2014]

Sounds like you had a great evening at HS and got the most out of it.
Btw...for the FP for Frozen Sing Along...I suppose if you are at the start of the line, it gets you to the front, but there are so many FP that you can still be sitting far back.
My DD also loved the frozen snow area, but we get snow so it's not such a novelty for us. Not sure about you, but I was worried about someone tripping on the snow wearing running shoes (and bare knees)

You have a brave little girl to go on Tower of Terror

Sounds like a great trip so far.

 

[MomoMama]

Sounds like you had a great evening at HS and got the most out of it.
Btw...for the FP for Frozen Sing Along...I suppose if you are at the start of the line, it gets you to the front, but there are so many FP that you can still be sitting far back.
My DD also loved the frozen snow area, but we get snow so it's not such a novelty for us. Not sure about you, but I was worried about someone tripping on the snow wearing running shoes (and bare knees)

You have a brave little girl to go on Tower of Terror

Sounds like a great trip so far.

We were sitting somewhere in the middle without FP, so I guess we were lucky! Also the park was not really crowded that day, and we were watching the last show of the day helped.

I did not see anyone tripping on frozen snow. I hope the one you saw was not a little child! I did see several teenagers dancing and pretending to skate. I moved DD away from them, I did not want them falling over her. I guess those teenage girls do not get snow where they live either, because they seemed so happy and were playing like little kids!

 

[MomoMama]

We (me and DD) could not stop smiling as we walked through the Main street. and by the time we were walking around the circle we were skip hopping.
We went straight to the Fantasyland. The first things to do of the day was to meet Merida!

Merida Tapestry by PeachAnnie, on Flickr

It was just past 9 and the line was very short. They had a large table with coloring sheets for the kids, but we did not have to do that as the line moved quickly.

Merida by PeachAnnie, on Flickr

DD had a mini Merida plush with her, and that was a conversation breaker. Merida took time to talk to her, and that was nice. But later when I asked DD what they talked about, she said she did not remember...I guess her mind went blank

During the Disney vacation, I left one plush toy on DD's bed every day. I did this on the Disney cruise we went last year, and later I learned this was called Tinker Bell's gift, but at that time I did not know and told DD that they were gifts from Minnie. I did it again this time and DD thinks Minnie had sent those gifts. We planned to meet Merida, so I gave her Merida doll the night before and she found it in the morning. I did not tell her we were meeting Merida that day, because I did not want to disappoint her in case we could not see her. But she wanted to bring the new toy with her and I let her. DD could sometimes get shy, so having a conversation breaker piece was great! :