Halloweeeen Trip Report 13th-16th October. Day 3 added!

[Minne&Mickey92]

Great Trip report ! looks like you had a great time , looks like cafe mickey was brilliant! will have to do the same when its our birthday trip next year look forward to the next update

[MrsPirate]

Brilliant report and great photos. Poor Amy when Hook was behind her, she looks like she might be ill.

[Martin B]

Day 2 - Friday 14th October

''Did I hear you right, Facilier?''

Sorry about the lack of a report over the weekend, but here goes.. Day 2!

So after the late night and Birthday celebrations at Cafe Mickey, we were up early again in time for our 7am breakfast slot at Hotel Cheyenne. Last Christmas, I could not eat Breakfast due to a massive toothache which ruined the trip, but this time I was pleased to be able to eat some, and I think the breakfast is pretty good. The croissaints were delicious, and the hot chocolate wasn't too bad seeing as it came from a machine!

Anyway, we really wanted to make use of the magical hours ahead of the rush over the weekend. We thought there might be a lot of people around, but we were shocked that we were practically the only people in the park!!



Unbelievable!

A castle picture with nobody else in it...



We headed over to Fantasyland to get on Peter Pan and it was an absolute walk on, this was so incredible. We walked on to all of the other rides in Fantasyland. We even stayed on for 2 goes on Dumbo, ON OUR OWN!

It was lovely.

We also noticed how lots of pumpkins had grown on the plinths by the castle overnight...



I stopped off quickly to show Amy how you were supposed to try and pull out the sword...




We then headed over to Buzz for our first go of the tour (1-0 to me)...



We then went on Orbitron for the first time ever. We were quite surprised at how high this ride went compared to Agrabah and Dumbo. It was also at a slight tilt, so was a bit more scary, but really fun nonetheless.

So, then came Studios time. We exited Disneyland Park at about 9:50am. We reached the studios just as it was opening. We decided the best thing to do was to get straight on Crush...



We missed out on it last year because it was closed on a few days due to the extreme weather conditions (snow). When it was open, queues ranged from 70-120 minutes which is unbelievable for a ride. We queued 10 minutes to get on to Crush. I worried that I wouldn't fit on to Crush, as I had read that larger people struggle to get the restraint to click. Although I am near to 23 stone, I feel like I could have carried a few more stone before having any problems with the restraint, there was loads of room! Amy didn't realise it was a rollercoaster, she thought it was a cute little ride similar to IASW or POTC. She looked a bit shocked when she got off the ride, but we both decided it was AWESOME!!

Anyway, we headed over to TSPL for a look. We didn't inted on going on any of the rides. We had never been on Parachute Drop and when we saw the queue was 5 minutes, we got in line. Amy thought it was a bit scary seeing as she is a little bit scared of heights. But we both loved it.



Amy then went to give one of her favourite characters a big kiss..



Although Slinky is a bit of a childish ride, we walked straight on to that too. We avoided RC as queues were already mounting and we weren't that bothered by it anyway.

We then headed over to Studio Tram Tour where we had the largest queue of the trip at a whopping 20 minutes! We were greatful of the sit down though when it eventually arrived!!

After the Tram Tour, we decided to a bit of character hunting and headed over to Toon Plaza..

First of all we grabbed a snap with Pluto...



...and then Buzz......



After a bit more walking around the studios, It was approaching 12.30 pm and we had reserved a spot at Cowboy Cookout for lunch. On the way out, we saw Minnie leaving her set by the Limo...



First of all, we decided to head over to Fronteirland to see which Villains were out and we were greeted by...



and...



So onwards to Cowboy Cookout.

We were really pleased with this meal, it was good value compared to some of the shoddy meals elsewhere in the park and the character interactions were great. We both had Chilli Con Carne to start, and Amy had the burger whilst I had the Texan platter which included BBQ Chicken, Pork Ribs, Sausage and some other BBQ style meats. We both had Lemon Meringue pie to finish off. You also get a slice of Apple Sponge cake too with the meal.

Anyway, the characters we saw were...

Mickey



Minnie



Pluto



and...

Woody!



Amy loved Minnie so much, that she becomes wrestless trying to see when she is coming to our table, it was hilarious. Minnie was as great as ever, and was probably the friendliest of the characters. It was the first time we had ever met any of the Toy Story Characters during this trip, starting with Jessie, and by the 2nd day we had met all of them which was nice.

After the delicious lunch, we went back over to see which Villains were out, grabbing a fastpass for BTM on route.

We were so relieved the Dr.Facilier hunt was over. I was so excited to meet the Shadow Man....



Frollo was still out aswell, along with the Queen of Hearts.

It was then time to catch the 3pm showing of Disney's Maleficious Halloween Party.

It was a spectacular show. Really well created indeed.







After the show, they were handing out sweets, and Amy was.. ermm... not so delighted to see who was heading over to us....



Captain Hook came straight over to us and he recognised us from the previous night pointing at us and he gave me a hug. Amy thought he was being ok with us, and Hook picked up a load of sweets and out of the blue 'smashed them' all over Amy's head. Amy ran off down Main Street in horror, whilst I was left picking up the sweets whilst laughing my heart out!

So, Amy was now shaking like a leaf, but we now had a bag full of Candy to cheer her up! We walked around to the back of the hub to see the Villains exiting, and Smee came over to us and was pointing at us and was hugging us, again he obviously recognised us from the previous night. He kept putting his thumbs up at me and pointing at me which was nice...



We then headed back to Fronteirland to see if any more villains were out. I was hoping to see Bowler Hat Guy who was apparently out throughout the day, but we kept missing him if that was the case.

We walked on to Phantom Manor..



...and then took a trip on the Molly Brown......



The day had flew by, but the best bit was still to come.

It was approaching 5pm, and we snook out of the Park just before the parade, stopping off at Harringtons trade vinylmations and pins before we left. We were so excited by the night ahead of us...

Check back tomorrow for...

Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party!!!

[norhel]

Nice report

[MrsPirate]

Poor Amy, you are so cruel!!

[Martin B]

Day 2 - Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party

''Only the young at heart can pull the sword from the stone''

We left the park at about 6pm to go and get ready for the night.

Amy really hadn't got a clue what these parties were about, she never looks on boards like these because she doesn't want to ruin the surprise. We got dressed up and waited at the bus stop at Hotel Cheyenne.

Amy was dressed as Alice and I was mad hatter...



Amy was getting really worried because there was a whole bus load worth of people and bar 2 others we were the only ones dressed up. Although, I wasn't showing it, I was a bit worried too! Everybody was looking at us like 'what are you doing??'

Oh well, we bit our tongue and eventually arrived in the park.

We had already picked our passes up during the day from Gibson Girl, so we went straight on in and walked down main street.

The castle lit up at night is one of the most beautiful sights in the world!!



The park was very empty so we made a plan of action. We decided we would go on Big Thunder Mountain first and then attend the 8:15 showing of the Louie, Duey and Huey show and the 9:15 showing of Minnie's pirate party.

So we headed to Big Thunder Mountain and was greeted by the colour changing 'smoke/mist'

It looked very eerie. Frollo was standing in the mist and scaring people as they came through it. It was hilarious to watch. Amy had me on Frollo watch ALL NIGHT!!



Isn't the effect extraordinary!!

I love this picture of Amy in the green smoke..



Walking through the mist was very wet, and it caused my face make up to run which was annoying seeing how long it took me to get it on!

Anyway we WALKED ON Big Thunder Mountain, which was amazing. The ride is at it's very best when it is dark, and you can see the illuminated castle in the distance!

After we got off BTM, we saw CHARACTERS GALORE!

First off was the Disney Villains..
Sheriff



King John


Frollo


Shan Yu..


We then saw a lot of activity by Phantom Manor and for the first time this holiday we saw Jack AND Sally together...



There were some Not So Scary characters also at the gate to the manor...



and...



By the time we had met all these characters, we noticed it was 8:20, so we had already missed the start of Louie, Duey and Huey's show. We decided we would do some more character hunting and catch the show at 10:15.

So we headed over to FantasyLand and met one of our 'must meet' characters...

Rabbit



Tigger was also hanging around on the bridge..



We looked on the map again and saw a character greet was going on outside Fantasy Festival Stage. It was nobody less than the mouse himself...



We had 20 minutes to kill before Minnie's show so we decided it would be a good idea to stay in Adventureland and we took a ride on Pirates of the Caribbean. We were greatful to have a bit of a rest seeing as we had been in the park pretty much none stop for 12 hours!!

Donald and Daisy in their Pirate costumes were outside the ride with Jack Sparrow. However the queue was huge for them, and seeing as the majority of other characters were a walk up to, we decided to give them a miss. We didn't get a photo with Donald this trip though which was a shame, and we still haven't met Daisy.

Anyway, we returned to watch Minnie's Pirate Party which was a fracas. The place was so crowded and we struggled to see. I tried to make sure Amy could see. But people in the 2nd row had children on their shoulders and therefore abstracting the view of EVERYBODY else.

We couldn't get a picture due to the crowds, but we saw Minnie leaving the last show, so we knew where to go when it finished to get a good enough picture of her..



So we had an hour to kill before Louie, Duey and Huey. We decided to go back to Fronteirland and see if any other villains were out. We were hoping to meet Pain, Panic and Hades but there was no sight of them. There was only one villain out at this time though which was weird seeing as at other times there were 4 or 5...



We were desperate for something to eat, so grabbed some chicken strips and fries at Last Chance Saloon hoping to see the Villains change over, but they didn't. It was soon time for our 2nd show of the evening so off we went..



It was great to see the 3 little ducks in the parks. The show was quite fun and the look on the little boy's face when he pulled the sword out of the stone was priceless!!

So, we were determined to find some more villains after the show so headed back over to Fronteirland when I almost died...

Could it be...



Yes it was...

PAIN AND PANIC!

So, the boss muyst be around somewhere surely??



Hades was probably the scariest character I had ever encountered. He was growling at people, his movements were sharp and unexpected. A really great character.

I think that all 3 of them should make more regular appearances in the park, don't you think?

Meeting those 3 made my night, the whole character hunting thing was so fun. It was nice to walk on to a few rides too. Really fun!

We got another drink at the Last Chance Saloon, and were shattered. We must have looked like Alice and Mad Hatter from an unauthorised horror film.

It was soon 11:15pm and it was time for the hub show.

The show was a great laugh, the storyline was really cute with Donald mishearing Mickey and inviting the villains. It was great to see Frollo in the show, along with rare characters such as Esmerelda and Clopin. Unfortunately our SLR died just as the show started (no wonder seeing as I had been snapping away with it since 8am). So we took some pictures on our 'back up' camera, but we have returned home and can't find the connection lead, so they are still on the camera.

If anybody ever questions the value and point of this after hours party, then I can assure them that it is a time like no other, it really is out of this world and the attention to detail was fantastic!!

A magical night indeed.

So after the show, we trotted back to the hotel with pain in our feet but went straight to bed ready for the character breakfast the next morning.

Thanks for all the lovely comments so far. I'm glad you are enjoying reading my account.

Martin

[Little mermaid 240]

It's been lovely reading all about your trip. You looked like you had a great time!

We can't wait for our trip

[jayne005]

Amy was getting really worried because there was a whole bus load worth of people and bar 2 others we were the only ones dressed up. Although, I wasn't showing it, I was a bit worried too! Everybody was looking at us like 'what are you doing??'

That would have been me and my sister!!

[lubynoo]

DUDE we totally saw you!!!! My son was obsessed with your hat hahahaa he was like omggggg hattttterrrrrrr I tried to explain you weren't a character he could meet to his dismay he didn't understand lol. We had MAJOR issues with Minnie's party!! You were lucky with BTM too it was broken a few times through the night. Love your report!!

[lynny]

loving your report,going to do my own very soon as we were there from 2oth-23rd of oct.......omg i sooo agree with you about the children in cafe mickey,there should be signs up saying,please stay in your seat the characters will come to you!....i've been going for afew yearsand my youngest is now 10 and she wouldnt dream of going to someone else table,she even rolls her eyes....put signs up i say

[jackieann]

hiya martin,

We saw you at in frontierland round where the smoke was my Daughter wanted her picture with you was going to ask but when i looked round you had walked off. wish i had asked now.

Jackie

[Martin B]

Sorry for neglecting this report a bit over the last week.

Anyway, after a late night comes an early morning. It wouldn't be Disneyland if it wasn't like it.

We had booked our 3rd Character meal of the trip at Cafe Mickey for the American breakfast. We think the breakfast is great value for money food wise, but we were a bit bummed last time. We were sat in the Annexe and some of the characters missed us out completly. However this time, we were sat smack bang in the middle of the restaurant and we had meeted and greeted all of the characters within 10 minutes. Despite it being our 3rd character meal, it was refreshing to get the chance to meet some different characters.

Our first meeting came with my beloved Eeyore...



We think Mickey got out of bed on the wrong side of bed this morning. We had some great interactions with Mickey at the Halloween Party and at the evening meal, however today he was not interested in the least and the whole encounter was over and done with in 10 seconds.



The chipmunks were great fun. I only managed to grab a picture with Dale, because we were taking pictures for another family when Chip came to us, but he waved at us anyway, but never came back for a photo.



Goofy was also about, which wasn't much of a surprise..



Pluto came along too..



Then, of course, it wouldn't be a character breakfast at Cafe Mickey without......




















GEPETTO!!

After the delicious breakfast we headed over to Walt Disney Studios to do all of the shows, we knew our feet would be aching by Day 3 and they were (extremly) so we planned all along to visit the shows in the studios this morning.



We went on a couple of rides, like Armageddon for the first time together and then we hit Moteurs Action. We were really excited to see Lightning McQueen, although his part was short it was very fun. I couldn't resist another toffee apple...



We then hit Animaqique, followed by Cinemagique followed by the parade and then Art of Disney Animation, which Amy really enjoyed and she has now developed a soft spot for Mushu who was great!

Anyway, the Parade was fun. We didn't watch the show last time we visited, so it was fun to see it this time.











We loved the Cars ride last time we visited at Christmas 2010. However, we were not prepared to wait 40 minutes to go on it. It appeared that only half of the ride was working, and I recon that would reduce the fun level anyway..

Luigi looked as good as always though..



After saying goodbye to the studios (and Mike Wasowski)...



...for the last time, we headed back to the hotel for a bit of a break and to pack ready for our departure the next day.

We grabbed a McDonalds to take back to the hotel with us.

We had two hours out of the park, and returned at 5pm.

We decided to grab some pictures from around the park and headed to..



and then as it was getting dark at about 7pm we watched Treat in the Street with the illuminated back drop which looked absolutely sensastional!!



Just before close we raided the shops as it was our last major opportunity to buy souveneirs.

We had seen that Duffy had took over the shops overnight..



Anyway, we thought Annete's would be a great place for Dinner but we couldn't be more wrong. The queue for the sit down meal was unbelievable so we decided a take out would be good. We were sixth in the queue and after 30 minutes of waiting we gave up. They had served two people in that whole time, and the service was dreadful. All of the other restaurants were packed by now too, so we went to bed hungry that night which was not great.

Day 4 soon!

Last day in the parks :0(