Thursday, October 8, 2009
Disney 2009: Day 7
Today was Animal Kingdom day. While I didn't get up early to head to the park, Jesse and I were up at the crack of dawn to make our 2010 Dragon*Con Hotel Reservations. I tried at 7a and they told they were not taking reservations until 8a. Jesse and I were dialing back at 7:59a. We were both on hold for over 30 minutes. Jesse end his call and tried calling back. I was the first to get a customer service representative. Unfortunately, she was a moron. After several attempts, she simply told me to call back later. Jesse, on the other hand, got someone who knew what they were doing. Thanks to him, we (being him, Donna, Harris, Darrell and me) all have rooms at the Marriott Marquis for Sept 2-6, 2010. We love our Jesse!
After all of that, Darrell and I headed off to Animal Kingdom. Steve and Liz had already left and deTag and Jesse would be in later.
Our first objective was to see "It's Tough to be a Bug". This is one of my favorite 4-D movies across all the parks. Darrell being my little bug...
Next, it was off to Expedition Everest. He hopped in the Stand-by line since it was only a 10 minute wait. We flew through the queue. I was able to take a good shot of the yeti painting you pass underneath as you climb that first tall hill.
We jumped off Everest and went around to the line again. The wait had increased to 20 minutes but we hopped back in line. Since the line was a little longer, we were able to look at some of the many artifacts and props in the queue.
On this go around, I tried to video the Yeti animation that you get when the ride is switching the tracks from backward to go forward down the tallest drop in the ride. I also tried to video the animatronic Yeti near the end of the ride. Below it the animation I recorded but trying to catch the aminatronic Yeti was impossible!
After doing video on the rollercoaster, I was feeling a little green and decided that I was done with Expedition Everest for the day. After a brief rest, Darrell and I walked over to Nemo: The Musical, another fantastic live show. We were there early and had great seats in the 3rd row on the aisle. It's a great show. Here is a short video clip...
We backtracked from Nemo back to Expedition Everest to meet up with everyone else. Jesse, deTag and Liz rode while the rest of us waited and watched. Liz was a little nervous at first but she loved it.
Everyone walked over to Dinoland next. I wasn't going to ride Dinosaur after my video experience on Everest but Jesse did talk me into riding Primeval Whirl. It is a kids ride. Think of it as a mixture of rollercoaster and tilt-a-whirl. There are no big drops but it is brutally jerky.
At Dinoland, we split ways again. Steve, Liz, deTag and Jesse were heading to Nemo: The Musical while Darrell and I headed to the Flametree BBQ for lunch. The Flametree has good food and some beautiful seating areas. We walked down by the water to eat. We were surrounded by birds and water with a beautiful view of Everest.
After lunch, Darrell and I headed back to the resort. We knew we would be out late for our second, and non-costumed, MNSSHP and we wanted to rest before heading back out. Besides, I was going to get my picture with Capt'n Hook and Smee tonight and I wanted to put on my Black Bunny Crew t-shirt and custom Mickey Pirate hat.
About 4:45p, Steve and Liz knocked on our door. They were their Ghostbusters costumes for the night. We picked up deTag from his room and all headed to the bus stop. We were on our way to Boma at the Animal Kingdom Lodge. The only way to get from one resort to another by bus is to take a bus to a park and then hop the bus to the other resort. We jumped on the Hollywood Studios bus at the All-Star Resort, disembarked at Hollywood Studios and walked over to the bus to the Animal Kingdom Lodge. Jesse at stayed at the Animal Kingdom (to ride Expedition Everest 7 more times) and was going to meet us at Boma.
Liz had brought her puppet Vapor to go with the Ghostbusters theme. He kept children and adults alike entertained all night.
After an amazing meal at Boma, we were back on the bus on our way to the Magic Kingdom. We arrived on the Square just before the first parade. Darrell and I ran down to Uptown Jewelry to grab the two Limited Edition Halloween pins I wanted.
Once the pins were in hand, we joined everyone else at a great viewing spot on the Square for the "Boo to You" parade.
Earlier in the day, Shane had sent a text telling us look for a manger in a yellow shirt near the car barn where the parade ended. There were 20-30 people in the area and the manager was calling people back 8-10 at a time. After a few minutes, it was our turn. We walked through the door to the Disney 'backstage'. There was Barbosa, Sparrow, Mickey, Minnie, Daisy, Donald and the Caretaker with his bloodhound Jo-Jo. It was fantastic to get a photo opportunity with a character that you only get to see in the parade. Plus we all had the chance to pet the sweetest bloodhound!
We all headed down Main Street for a couple of great pictures.
Darrell, Jesse and I camped out near the Crystal Palace to watch the Hallowishes fireworks show. Darrell and Jesse were both experimenting with fireworks photography. They took some incredible shots...
Next, we met up with everyone for a ride through the Mansion. The second parade was about to start and Darrell, Jesse and I wanted to get some more pictures, so we staked out a spot to take parade pictures and enjoyed it all again.
After the parade, it was off to Pirates. Not only did I want to ride but I wanted to get my picture with Capt'n Hook and Smee.
From Pirates, we walked over to Big thunder Railroad and then on to the mansion for our last ride of the night, and trip.
While were not the last to ride through - there were 2 people behind us, we did wait around afterwards. We were invited back into the Mansion Foyer, with both Stretching Rooms open with the portraits stretched out and all the lights ON! We took more pictures with the awesome Mansion Cast members and just relished in the warm glow of Haunted Mansion goodness.
Main Street wasn't completely empty when we left but it was close and we only shred the bus with four other people. It was another wonderful MNSSHP night!
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Disney 2009 - Day 5
Tonight was MNSSHP Costume night. It takes forever to get ready. It is hot and it is worth every second. It is a blast to do this event. As always, we will be going as Phineas, Ezra, Gus, Pickwick, the Bride and Prudence. Zach and Nicole will be joining us tonight as well. I cannot wait.
The first order of the day is heading to Pepper Market at Coronado Springs for breakfast. Next, it was back to the room and laundry time. The rest of the afternoon was busy. Folding laundry, going back up to the food court for some late night snacks and then getting into make-up and costume.
Zach had brought a suit to wear that night. Steve, Liz and Darrell did his makeup and I had a spare set of gray gloves for him to wear.
Nicole, a cast member we met at the Mansion on our very first costume year, joined us at 6:30p dressed as Lillian O'Malley Gracey
At 7:30p, the eight of us headed out to the Magic Kingdom bus stop at the resort. The most direct route to the front took us by the main pool area. The cast members at the pool told the crowd to give a hand to the Haunted Mansion spooks that were making their way back home.
When we arrived at the Magic Kingdom, the ‘Boo to You’ parade was about to begin. We watched from Liberty Square. We had recognition from the Three hitchhiking ghosts float and the Skeleton band. That always makes us feel special.
We rode the Haunted Mansion several times that night, along with Pirates, the TTA, the Carousel and It’s a Small World. As usual, we had many picture requests from guests and cast members alike. This year was a first for a couple of things. First, it was the first time we had to decline to sign autographs. It was also the first time I heard other guests telling us that they had read about us or seen our pictures on the web. I specifically heard Disboards, Doombuggies, Blogs and Facebook mentioned.
Haunted Man Shane made sure we had an extraordinary time at the Mansion that night. We were the last people to ride through at midnight and had some special photo-op’s at the end of the ride. Here are some of the pictures that I can post….
We walked down an empty Main Street on our way out and just as if it was planned, Grim Grinning Ghosts played throughout the park on our walk out. It is one of the most magical feelings you can experience at the Magic Kingdom.
Right outside the park exit, we ran into two guests who wanted a picture with us. We could not deny the couple that had just gotten engaged. Especially when we learned that he popped the question days before in the Stretching Room of the Mansion!
Disney treated us to our very own bus back to the resort and delivered us straight to the front door. It was 1:30a by this time. I knew it would take another 1.5 hrs minimum to get all the makeup off, so Darrell and I told everyone we would join everyone in Hollywood Studios later in the afternoon on Wednesday.
It was a FANTASTIC NIGHT!!!!!!
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Disney 2008 - Day 7
Day 7 is a sad day. It is check-out day. We are checked-out and have the luggage loaded in the car before noon. Today was also Halloween pod shirt day since we were going to MNSSHP tonight.
We started today at Epcot. It was the first day of the Food and Wine Festival at Epcot and it was packed. Our first mission was to get a fast pass for Soarin'. Accomplished.
Next, back to Spaceship Earth for a final ride. Then over to Nemo & Friends and Journey to the Imagination. That pretty much finished up Future World. Liz wanted to pick up something in England and boy was I glad. We found Darrell a great Welsh t-shirt. Our next stop was Mexico, then on to China and Norway. We were going to ride the Maelstrom but it was shut-down. We grabbed fast-passes in hopes it would be open later. We wanted to make it to America before 5pm because Big Bad Voo Doo Daddy was giving a concert - BONUS! When we got to the amphitheater, Darrell and I decided to grab some seats in the shade since it was filling up fast. The show was great. As soon as I get some of Darrell's pictures, I'll post them.
After Big Bad Voo Doo Daddy, we went straight to Tokyo Dining for dinner. It was our first time at this restaurant and it was fabulous.
After dinner, it was time for our last visit to the Magic Kingdom. We were attending our 2nd MNSSHP party. Tonight was all about soaking up the Halloween atmosphere.
As before, we arrived just as the parade was starting. We couldn't believe how few people were there - we walked right up to the rope. I got some great video of the Grave Diggers. After the parade, of course, we headed to the Haunted Mansion.
We headed over toward Adventureland to watch Hallowishes - the fireworks. The soundtrack is infectious. I love it! It was a windy night and the fireworks were spectacular but the smoke patterns left behind were equally as interesting. Since we were close, we run over to Pirates of the Caribbean for our finally ride of the visit. Darrell and I looped back for another ride on the Mansion. Are you noticing a pattern here?
On our way to the front of the park to make my special Halloween pin purchase, we stopped to watch the second parade. I grabbed my special edition Halloween pin and we decided to get an ice cream at the Ice Cream Parlor on Main Street. It was a nice break. It was getting close to midnight, so we all reconvened at The Haunted mansion for our final midnight ride.
As the park closed, we made our way to the front and reluctantly took our bus back to the Pop to our car.
Monday, September 29, 2008
Disney 2008 - Day 4
We slept in this morning. No parks today. We lay low and take it easy. Tonight is our dress-up MNSSHP (Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party). I went and grabbed breakfast for Darrell and I to eat in the room. We relaxed for awhile and then Liz, Steve and I headed downstairs to do some laundry. You really can meet some great people and pick up some great information in the laundry room. We learned that Dryer 5 didn’t require money. Just load it and press the ‘Start’ button. I was lucky enough to catch it empty and dried my clothes for free. Steve and Liz loaded up Dryer 9 and started it before realizing there was an 'Out of Order Sign' on the change slot. It seemed to dry fine and guess what – it was free too!! We made sure to share the knowledge with some of the other fun people doing laundry and headed back to our rooms.
It was time for lunch. We knew we wouldn’t get dinner so we made sure to have breakfast and lunch. While at lunch, we decided to grab a snack for our return tonight.
We got into makeup and dressed for our night out. We were in the parks by 8:30pm.
When we walked in the park, the parade was just starting. We were able to get a spot by the rope right off the front square - the last place before the parade disappears behind the gate. First and foremost, we could not believe how many Cast Members in the parade acknowledged us by either telling us how good we looked or reacting and interacting with us. It was great. When the Haunted Mansion float came by with Sawyer as Ezra, we gave us a nod as well. After the Mansion section of the parade, we made our way to the Haunted Mansion ride. We arrived just as Carlotta was leaving. We had a great (and highly covert) conversation with her and took some fun pictures. We tried to tell her as best we could how to find us. The Mansion was closed until after the fireworks, as was everything in Fantasyland. We headed to Tomorrowland to ride the TTA. Once the fireworks were over, we hopped on 'It's a Small World' and then headed straight to the Mansion. We we exited the Mansion, there was Cast Member waiting for us. She said she had seen our pictures and wanted to get a picture with us. It was like having celebrity status. After the photo-op, it was off to Pirates of the Caribbean. At Pirates we ran into Stuart - a former Mansion Butler. We rode Pirates with him. In the Pirates gift shop, Stuart pointed out some props that were used in the movie! We would have never known,they were tucked away up high in the decor. Stuart walked back over to the Mansion with us for another ride. On the way, we ran into the Cadaver Dan's - the dead version of the Dapper Dan's - we had to get a picture. We hung around close to the Mansion until Midnight so we could get our traditional 'last ride' on costume night. After closing down the Mansion, we took our traditional plaque pictures and started our slow walk out of the park.
As usual, we were quite popular and it was a challenge to make other guests understand that we did not work for Disney and keep photo sessions down and avoid traffic congestion.
One of the most memorable pictures was the Hitchhiking Ghosts with a lady near the front gate. She took several pictures with them and raved over the costumes - then she tried to pay us. We aren't sure why but we would have none of that.
We were hot and tired. We got a seat on the bus and headed back to our rooms.
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Disney 2008 - MNSSHP
It's hard to believe that we leave for Disney in 5 days! This past Saturday, the FBO+1 got together at DTag's for a pre-trip costume check and to nail down last minute trip details. As usual a good time was had by all. Below are some photos from the costume check.
And poor Jesse, Pickwick will not be accompanying us this year. He will be very missed!
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Saturday, September 6, 2008
Disney 2008 - MNSSHP
The FBO (without the 1) head to Disney in 2 weeks for a week of fun and the Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party. I came across this picture of Mickey and Minnie's new Halloween outfits for 2008 and just thought it was an awesome picture. Hope you like it!
