If you’ve been on property in the last year, you have probably seen signs of this new transportation system, currently under construction.
Announced last summer, construction got started right away, and has continued pretty aggressively ever since. Disney still hasn’t announced a completion date, or a date when this new system is expected to be LIVE for us to try…but they have announced that they are starting to run the cable for the new system, and most of the stations and support structures are either already in place or pretty far along in the construction process.
Check out this cute video that Disney released a few days ago to get people excited about the Skyliner:
Doesn’t that look like fun? Well, I’m afraid of heights so it looks a little terrifying…but also fun.
For decades, may people have mourned that the Monorail system was never beyond the original two lines for the Magic Kingdom and Epcot. I think the Disney Skyliner is Disney’s 21st century way to address this issue, as well as bring something new and exciting to resort guests.
While of course the bus system serves every park and every resort, and will continue to do so, the Skyliner will offer guests an alternative and unforgettable high-flying mode of transportation that will feel like an attraction, add value to your resort stay and make your visit feel even more magical.
The new gondola system will conveniently connect Disney’s Hollywood Studios and Epcot to four resort hotels – Disney’s Art of Animation Resort, Disney’s Pop Century Resort and Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort as well as the planned 15th Disney Vacation Club property, Disney’s Riviera Resort.
Some Disney Skyliner cabins will have iconic Disney characters incorporated into their exterior design to give the appearance that a Disney pal is riding along with guests, such as characters from the ‘Fab Five,’ figures from Disney attractions, fan favorites from movies, and more.
I think this will be a super fun addition, and I can envision special wraps to promote coming attractions—do any of you remember stalking the Avengers monorail a few years to try and get pictures of it? I followed that quest through TWO separate vacations!
According to Disney, the design of the Disney Skyliner station at International Gateway at Epcot will be inspired by the park’s nearby European Pavilions, and will be covered with metal and glass canopies, hand-painted murals and ornamental steel structures that harken back to the early Art Nouveau style. Guests traveling to Epcot via the Disney Skyliner will be welcomed to the park with a rare birds-eye view of World Showcase.
The Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort station will be the hub of activity for Disney Skyliner. This station is inspired by the open-air village marketplaces of the Caribbean and will showcase the nearby resort’s architectural detailing and color schemes. At this station, passengers will be able to transfer gondola routes to reach their destination, or are invited to sit and admire the waterfront resort setting.
The design style of the station at Disney’s Hollywood Studios will fit with that of the park’s main entrance and bus stations. Passengers traveling here from the Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort station can expect a new aerial perspective of the park’s iconic attractions, like The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror.
Disney’s Pop Century Resort and Disney’s Art of Animation Resort will share a Disney Skyliner station that feels whimsical and contextual with both resorts. Upon departing the gondola station, Skyliner passengers will ascend over Hourglass Lake and enjoy a panoramic view of these two colorful resorts.
Finally, cabins will slow down at the Disney Skyliner turn-station along Buena Vista Drive, where guests can see the mechanical and aerial components that make up the Disney Skyliner.
I’m really looking forward to this particular “Coming Attraction”. Are you planning to check it out once it opens?
My mom is such a good sport!! I think she could have quite happily gone her whole life without ever posing for a picture with Mickey and Minnie mouse, but one of the joys of traveling with me? If the opportunity presents itself and the line is short…it’s happening! So as a result, I have quite a number of pictures of my mom with Mickey Mouse and various other characters–and to be honest, these are some of my very favorite pictures of my Mom.
My husband has (luckily for me, since he’s my traveling partner most often) pretty much embraced the Character Greeting experience. I don’t know that he LOVED it initially, but he loved making me happy, so he faked it pretty good…but now he usually gets a pretty big kick out of it.
Our favorite character greeting (so far) was at a Star Wars weekend in May 2014. We were at Disney that weekend primarily for our Disney Wedding planning session, but were OF COURSE not going to miss out on some park time 😉! Before the trip, I’d made some shirts with some iron on decals (I learned from this project that I am not really a fan of the iron-ons, I must be honest) specifically for our Hollywood Studios day, in honor of Star Wars weekend. Mine featured Princess Leia Vinylmation, and said “I love you” and Frank’s featured Han Solo Vinylmation, and said “I know”. We did the Character Greeting with Star Wars Minnie and Mickey and they really played up our shirts which was awesome, and then Minnie saw my ring and went a little crazy and the whole thing was just hysterical. She was pretending to be mad at Mickey because she didn’t have a ring, and Mickey was hiding behind Frank at one point…at any rate, it was a really memorable greeting, and we both loved it!
Sometimes, as adults, we can feel kind of silly interacting with characters because we are so conscious of who’s behind the experience–it’s easier when you’ve got your kids (or someone else’s kids—thank goodness for nieces and nephews!) to pose with, or if you can enjoy the experience through the kids’ eyes.
But something that I think is really important about getting the most out of your Disney experience is giving yourself permission to let go of some of your “grown up” when you’re at Disney. If you ARE traveling with kids, take some queues from them. Kids are so good about playing ALL the time. If not, use your imagination. It might be a little rusty–but it’s there, I promise! Forget about the bills, and the mortgage, and the 4,000 things you have to do when you get home and whether anyone might see these pictures (hint: when your daughter or wife has a blog and is a Disney travel agent, the answer is YES! 😉) Don’t worry about what people might think, and just HAVE FUN.
PhotoPass Magic Shot Minnie Mouse with Linda
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Super Patient Kids Waiting in Line (Photo: Brooke Hudson)
It’s so hard for us to do these days–just let go of all the baggage and have fun, but I think it’s even more important in these days of stress and drama and fast paced craziness–we all need a chance to just HAVE FUN.
So whether it’s a character greeting, or riding DUMBO, or riding Space Mountain just so you can scream—or maybe even just planning to take a Disney vacation in the first place–remember, we all DESERVE a little time to have FUN, to PLAY and to be SILLY. It is a CRITICAL part of the human experience. And if you do have kids? (Young or old!) They will have so much fun seeing you play, I promise. Few things make me happier than seeing my mom crack up laughing!
Some tips to avoid lines for Character Greetings:
Use a Fast Pass+ reservation: This depends a lot on your priorities—If you want a really hard to get Character Greeting, like Anna and Elsa from Frozen, you may want to consider using one of your Fast Pass + reservations for it. Personally, I don’t usually use Fast Pass + reservations for character greetings in the pre-vacation scheduling; however, I have used them in the park after I’ve used my first three—especially if we got in the park right when it opened and have tackled most of our Must-Do’s fairly early in the day. If there’s a FP+ for a character greeting that you want available and the window is relatively soon—I say grab it, unless there is an attraction that you want to do MORE.
Pay attention to the character greeting schedule: Often characters, especially located in more remote areas of a park, will have very short lines or no lines when they first come on stage. Then, as people realize they are there, the line will grow. If you are alert, and try to be at the location a few minutes before the greeting is scheduled to start, you should be among the first few people in line for the character.
Assess the wait time BEFORE mentioning the possibility of meeting a character in front of little ones: My personal maximum wait time for a character greeting is 15 minutes—there have certainly been exceptions to that, but generally that’s my rule of thumb. If it looks like the wait is 30 minutes or more, I won’t even get in line. I have seen (and heard) giant tantrums from kids that believed they were going to see Mickey Mouse, but mom and dad decided the line was too long (and they were absolutely right—it WAS too long and the kids would have been MISERABLE) – but the drama could have been avoided completely. Just don’t even say where you’re going, or tell them you’re headed to a shop or something so you can check. In two adult situations, let one adult run and check out the line situation while the other one distracts the kids. I’m a big fan of wonderful surprises without the harrowing risk of dramatic disappointments. Know how long you are willing to wait before you go.
Consider a Character Meal: At all character meals, characters make their way from table to table for pictures and autographs, so you are guaranteed to get pictures with which ever characters are at that meal with no waiting in line. A couple things to consider:
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Chef Mickey Character Breakfast at Disney’s Contemporary Resort
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Character Breakfast at the Crystal Palace at the Magic Kingdom
Pictures are more challenging: No photopass photographers go around with the characters, so any pictures are those taken by you or someone at your table—if you’re lucky, maybe a neighboring table or a cast member might volunteer—but usually, it’s you.
Be prepared to act quickly: the visits are short, so if you have a large group, it’s unlikely you’ll have time for lots of individual or small group pictures, especially if there are autographs involved. Assume you’ll have time for two to four pictures.
Timing: character meals are almost always buffets—so there is a risk you (or your entire party) will be at the buffet when a particular character visits your area—and generally, if you miss them, you may not get another chance. Usually if you pay attention or ask your server, you can figure out who is coming next and how long it may be before they reach your table—but pay attention. Last trip we sat next to a table that had 3 kids and 3 adults—the adults were all at the buffet when the characters came; I offered to take pictures but the kids had been taught NOT to talk to strangers so that was a no-go. I felt so bad!! Luckily, that particular character DID make it around again, so all was well!
Cost/Benefit: Character meals are pricey, especially if you have kids (or other family members) that don’t eat much at meal times. I usually recommend Breakfasts, as they are a more economical option, generally, but we’ve also done lunches and dinners. Just make sure you look at the pricing and the menus before you decide to go this route to make sure there is value here for you. For bigger eaters or picky eaters, buffets can be a wonderful option, so consider your group when planning. Of course, part of what you are paying for is access to the characters. So try not think of it as a $60 buffet; it’s a $40 buffet with a $20 floor show, where your kids get autographs and pictures with the “stars”.
Reservations are necessary and can be challenging to get: Character meals absolutely require reservations 180 days before your trip, and even then, can often be difficult to get. I’ve been trying for a few years to do a meal in the castle for one of my spring trips with my mom, and have been unsuccessful so far. It’s worked out for some of the trips with my husband, but it’s been more difficult during the spring, which is a busier time. 6)
Know before you go: Most meals feature 4-5 Characters max. Different meals in different locations will feature different characters. Many meals do NOT include Mickey or Minnie Mouse. Make sure you know WHICH characters are at the meal you are planning. You don’t want to have your heart set on seeing Mickey Mouse only to discover that the only characters at the Character Breakfast you are attending are Disney Playhouse Junior characters. Know before you go!
Look for character greeting opportunities in the WILD. Sometimes, characters don’t have a standard “on stage” spot, with a queue line and Fast Past + reservations. Sometimes, they’re just out walking around in the parks. Pay attention, and you may find an opportunity for a character greeting without any of the challenges of waiting in line or getting a FP+. NOTE: Characters heading to and from their scheduled “on stage” appearance are generally NOT allowed to stop and chat with guests as they are on a schedule; I’m not talking about characters en route to an appearance…I’m talking about characters “milling about” or in general, working the crowd. For example, you’ll often find Green Army Men in Toy Story Land. Or, you may find Mayor Donald wandering around Hollywood looking for unsuspecting strollers operating without a license 😉.
Heading to Toy Story Mania (Photo: Brooke Hudson)
Do you have any really memorable Character Greeting experiences you’d like to share? I’d love to hear about them!
Happy Dreaming,
Brooke
Reminder: If you book your Disney vacation with me, one of the services I offer is that I can help you plan your Advance Dining Reservations, and even make your reservations for you. I can also help with Fast Pass + planning, and even help you evaluate different options for special experiences, based on what’s important to your group. Email me at brooke@disneycastledreaming.com today for more information!
Do you have any Incredibles fans in your house? I DO! We both loved the original Incredibles movie, and of course, over the years, had heard rumors of a sequel–but after the first ten years went by with nothing really happening, we figured, well ok, it’s a one and done. And it was amazing, so okay.
But as we now know, in today’s culture, NOTHING is every REALLY done, is it? Especially not in the giant global marketing machine that is Disney, and everything it owns….(I mean, come on…we’re getting a Mary Poppins sequel 58 YEARS LATER!!! I’m excited about it…but really?)
So, in 2016 we started hearing the Incredibles sequel was really happening. Casting announcements were made, and relatively frequent updates were released after that. Apparently, I was not the only one overjoyed by the return of my favorite SUPERS family. Incredibles 2 broke all kinds of records when it was released earlier this year. It earned more than $180 million dollars opening weekend, the best debut of all time (so far) for an animated film. It was also the eight biggest domestic opening of all time. (Variety, 6/17/2018).
Just six weeks later, Incredibles 2 again set records by crossing the BILLION dollar mark (worldwide gross receipts), making it the seventh animated movie ever to do so, and only the 36th movie ever to reach one billion dollars. (Variety, 7/31/2018). It’s in good company, joining Frozen, Toy Story 3, Finding Dory and Zootopia as the other movies in Disney’s “Billion Dollar” animated club. And of course, this has been a banner year for Disney–by the time Incredibles 2 came out, Black Panther and Avengers: Infinity War had already surpassed the billion dollar mark (worldwide).
But of course, we all know that big box office receipts DON’T necessarily mean it’s a great movie. There have been lots of BAD movies over the years that have made a lot of money, for a variety of reason. Not many of them came from Disney, but I’m sure you can think of some very popular movies you didn’t particularly care for.
But Incredibles 2 isn’t just successful, it’s really good. And it’s the kind of good that means if you’re a parent with kids–or a grandparent–you can take the kids to this movie and you will all enjoy it–you may enjoy different things about it–there are definitely some jokes the kids might not get, for example–but you will all enjoy it.
Incredibles 2 enjoys the coveted “Critical Fresh” approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with 94% of critics recommending the movie, and it also has an 87% audience approval rating. This is a FUN movie. Yes, you have to disengage your brain a few times–it’s a CARTOON, after all. There are some gender stereotypes that will probably make you roll your eyes. It’s a little campy. But again, CARTOON. AND IT’S FUN! I loved it. And there are some really kickbutt WOMEN in this movie, which is also very fun to see.
Incredibles 2 is being released in digital form on October 23, 2018, and on Blu-Ray and DVD on November 6, 2018. Which is TERRIFIC. I love this movie and believe any Pixar fan MUST have this in their collection.
But the BEST PART? THE BEST PART for me, at least, is that the Incredibles 2 release is going to include a new Pixar short, featuring fan favorite EDNA, babysitting Jack-Jack. This is hinted at in the movie, and EVERYONE has been begging to see what happened. I cannot wait! Disney has release a short clip just to tantalize us….
What do you think? Are you as excited about this as I am?
I think Pixar was fairly surprised at Edna’s popularity from the first film–she’s in the movie for such a short time…but so many LOVED her. When I found out there really was going to be a sequel, that honestly was my first question–but will Edna be in it??
When the movie was released in June, Disney had many Incredibles characters appearing in the parks…Did you get a chance to visit while they were there?
I did not get a chance, but would have LOVED a picture with Edna. Hopefully, based on the success of the film, all the Incredibles characters will become more frequent visitors in the parks.
Now that Pixar Pier is open in California Adventure, and features the Incredicoaster, I suspect California Adventure, at least, will get more Incredibles opportunities….
So next week I’ll be checking out Incredibles 2 again, and of course, watching the new Auntie Edna short just as soon as I can. Disney’s released a sneak peek video with a short scene from Incredibles 2–it reminded me again just how much fun this movie is.
Here we are in October….Fall is here and it’s Halloween time. Of course, at Disney, Halloween time is starting earlier and earlier every year. This year, it began in AUGUST. They decorated for fall and Halloween early in the 2nd week of August and the first Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween party was August 17th this year! I’m sorry, I just can’t get in the mood for Halloween when I’m still hoping for beach and pool time, Disney or no Disney!
This is one of my favorite videos: it shows Walt Disney World getting ready for Halloween VERY quickly. This particular transformation is from last year, but they follow pretty much the same process every year. It’s short, but I think it’s kind of amazing how quickly Disney can make magic overnight….Take a look….
The video HELPS with the Halloween mood, but I still just couldn’t get in the mood until the weather here in the Midwest started to cool off and October showed up. I realize that it’s still in the 80’s and 90’s in Florida, and that will continue for a few more weeks (or more)–but for us here in Chicago, October means cooler temperatures, leaves changing color, windy and often rainy days…so I tend to associate those things with Halloween.
So even though a few weeks of Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween parties (MNSSHP) have already taken place, I just couldn’t bring myself to post about this year’s party until now.
And really, many of you are starting to think about next year’s vacation plans, and you may be considering a trip for next fall. September and October can be a wonderful time to visit Walt Disney World–kids have gone back to school, and while there are a couple three day weekends here and there, any family vacations planned during this time will require pulling kids out of school, at least for a day or two, and many families can’t make that work. This CAN translate to lighter crowds than you might see at other times of the year.
If the fall is an option for your family, you could be considering MNSSHP. With ticket prices starting at $85 and climbing as high as $125 for parties at the end of October, you may be asking yourself….$100+????? Is it worth it???
That’s the big question, right? And unfortunately, as ticket prices keep climbing every year, and the number of tickets they sell for the parties appears to keep climbing as well, that question is getting harder and harder to answer.
A few years ago, I would have told you, ABSOLUTELY, YES! I would not have even thought twice. I would have said, “If you have the time and the funds, plan on attending the party.” In those days, the tickets maxed out around $70…and Disney carefully capped the crowds to keep the parties feeling very much like a special “privileged” VIP event. Don’t get me wrong; there were definitely lots of people, especially for “sold out” parties; however, these days, “sold out” is much closer to peak park attendance and borders on unpleasant, at least in my opinion.
What this means is that it’s not the automatic ABSOLUTELY YES that it used to be. Now, it’s more important to really think about whether this is a value for you and your travel group. Does this make sense for you?
Let’s take a look at the basics first.
What are you getting for the price of your ticket?
Access to the Magic Kingdom with your party ticket as early as 4 p.m., until the party ends at Midnight. Note: the party doesn’t actually begin until 7 p.m.–however, if you really want to maximize the value of your party ticket, do NOT use a park pass day to visit any parks on party day. Make it a relaxing day. Enjoy the resort, or plan the party for your travel day. Get to the Magic Kingdom in time to enter the park at 4 p.m., so you can play a little and perhaps eat dinner before the party begins. Bonus: If you’ve managed to have a restful day, you’re much more likely to have energy to enjoy the whole party–right through until the end–Midnight. If you’re likely to be wiped out by 9:30 p.m., most likely you won’t feel like you got a good value for your $100.
Boo to You Parade: The Boo to You Parade is ONLY offered during MNSSHP. It’s offered twice a night, and a lot of people with little kids tend to clear out after the first parade. I usually recommend hitting the second parade…While lots of people are watching the first parade, you will likely find shorter lines for attractions and character greetings. In my opinion, the Boo to You Parade is a really great parade. If the weather is good, you usually get to see the Headless Horseman riding along the parade route shortly before the parade begins…it’s eerie and awesome. The parade is fun, and there are lots of things you don’t normally get to see. Having said that–if you have been to these parties a couple of times, the parade doesn’t change. It doesn’t get updated, it hasn’t changed in several years. I love it, but it alone is not worth the price of the ticket, especially if you’ve seen it before.
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Characters in Costume: One of my favorite things about MNSSHP is that you get to see the characters in their Halloween costumes. I really enjoy seeing Minnie in her Witch outfit or Daisy as a princess and Donald as her knight….Some years there is some variety in the costumes, but reviewing pictures from the last few years, it seems that many character costumes get repeated. Regardless, it’s still a lot of fun.
Picture Courtesy of Disney Parks Blog
Special Character Greetings: MNSSHP is especially fun if you love character greetings, because often, there are characters available for character greetings during the Halloween party that you would never get to see otherwise. For example, this year’s party features Anastasia and Drizella (Cinderella’s stepsisters), Cruella DeVil, Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee, the Queen of Hearts, Jack Skellington and Sally, the Gravediggers, Brer Rabit, Brer Fox and Brer Bear, Moana, Jafar, Tarzan, Jane, Terk, Elvis Stitch, Lotso (Toy Story 3), the Seven Dwarfs, Alice and the Mad Hatter, among others. You’ll also find a lot of your regular favorites in their Halloween costumes, like Goofy, Minnie, Daisy, Donald, Pooh, Piglet, Eeyore, and Tigger. And of course you can still find all your favorite princesses at Princess Fairy Tale Hall.
Photo Courtesy of Disney Parks Blog
One caveat to consider: As both parties and character greetings have become more popular, the lines have gotten longer and longer for many of the more popular “unique” characters at these parties. If that picture with the Seven Dwarfs or Jack & Sally is your holy grail, you may need to plan your entire party experience around it, getting in line extra early, and being prepared to WAIT. Last time I went to MNSSHP, we saw lines for some of the most popular characters that exceeded 90 minutes. These parties are only five hours long, and that if you stay until midnight, so you do have to prioritize what you REALLY want to do.
HalloWishes: What would an evening at the Magic Kingdom be without fireworks? MNSSHP is no exception. Usually at 9 or 9:30 p.m. (check the schedule for the night of your party), Disney will present HalloWishes, a spectacular Villains themed fireworks spectacular…and it is really terrific. And again, it is something you can only see if you’re at the party. Or having dinner at Narcoosee’s at the Grand Floridian during a party. Or at the California Grill at the Contemporary Resort. Or on the beach at the Polynesian Resort. Or on your Magic Kingdom facing balcony at Bay Lake Tower. But I digress. Honestly, while all those locations outside the park are great ways to watch Disney fireworks and get a different perspective, there is nothing like BEING in the park during one of the shows to really be WOWED. And HalloWishes is a WOW show. At least for me personally. But I’m a big fan of Disney fireworks shows, especially all the incarnations that have been at Magic Kingdom. This is another show that has remained the same for many years. I still love it, I still think it adds a lot of value to the party, but I know there are those that say that if you’ve seen it a few times, it might not be worth the ticket price anymore. Or that it might be wiser to squeeze in another character greeting or attraction instead of watching HalloWishes.
Hallowishes fireworks Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party (Photo: Disney Parks)
Pictures Courtesy of Disney Photopass Gallery
Hocus Pocus Villain Spelltacular:This is a very popular stage show that was new for the 2015 MNSSHP, based on the very popular Disney “cult classic” 1993 film staring Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker and Kathy Najimy. While the movie basically bombed when it originally came out, it has become a revered Halloween seasonal favorite for many as the years have gone on, thanks to frequent cable and network airings. The Castle Mainstage productions are always very popular at these parties; the shows are usually 20 – 25 minutes long, and generally fairly crowded. This one has been more positively received that the two Villain themed shows that preceded it…but it has the same idea at it’s heart…bring as many favorite villains on to the stage as possible as Halloween is the time when the villains get to rule the night…It’s a great chance to get pictures of villains you may not see very often.
Picture Courtesy of Disney Parks Blog
Scream-o-Ween Dance Party: These dance parties are fairly hilarious…this one is in Tomorrowland, and includes Mike, Sully and Boo. They try to get everyone dancing and usually, it’s the littlest kids that are the most fun to watch.
Trick or Treating: There are several candy stations set up throughout the park, so you can take you trick or treat bag to each station (wait in line) and get your “free” candy. For me personally, these are kind of a waste of time. The candy is usually not great–it’s whoever donated it that year–there’s almost never any chocolate (probably smart in the Florida heat and humidity…but come on! Halloween without Hershey kisses or mini-candy bars??? It’s a crime!!) Anyways, it’s usually odd flavored hard candy or other strange things–I don’t know, I haven’t been too impressed with this element of the parties. I think if you have little kids that LOVE to trick or treat, they might get a kick out of it, but the lines were so long at the last party we went to, it just was not any fun.
Cadaver Dans Barbershop Quartet: Sure you can see the “Dapper” Dans any old day at the Magic Kingdom, and they are terrific….but you can only find the “Cadaver Dans” at MNSSHP. These guys perform in Frontierland try to kill you with laughter…or something like that. They’re pretty fun if you catch them.
Picture Courtesy Disney Parks Blog
Special Treats: There are special food items and treats that are only for sale during MNSSHP. Note: If any of these items turn out to be REALLY popular, you may see them show up on a regular menu or kiosk in the future…sometimes the parties are a bit of a testing ground for new items. Or a “special” themed cupcake that’s only for the party will end up being sold during the day throughout October. So take the “only for sale during the party” idea with a grain of salt. This year’s “special treats” include: Pumpkin Cheesecake (Main Street Bakery), Hades Nachos (Pecos Bill’s), Worms and Dirt (Pecos Bill’s), Zero Waffle Sundae (Sleepy Hollow), Jack Skellington Cake Push Pop (Sleepy Hollow), Madame Leota Dessert (Liberty Square Market), Hitchhiking Ghost Dessert (Aloha Isle), Oogie Boogie Meringue (Gaston’s Tavern), and the Muenster Smash Burger (Cosmic Ray’s).
Pictures Courtesy Disney Parks Blog
Special Party Only Merchandise:There is special merchandise that is only available during MNSSHP. And they are NOT kidding with this one. The stuff comes out at 7 p.m. (or a little before) and you cannot buy it without a party ticket. AND once it’s gone, apparently, it’s gone. I have been disappointed a few times by having my heart set on a particular pin or shirt, only to find it was sold out by the time I got to a party (or was ready to buy at the end of the night). This year’s special party only merchandise includes a limited edition Magic Band, party themed pins, special passholder only pins, and a villains themed pin set; party themed shirts and an ear ornament, themed to the party. There is also a line of products themed to the Hocus Pocus Villain Spelltacular, including a mug, tote bag, shirt and collectibles. Some items are special for passholders only. There’s also a line of “Hocus Pocus Costume” t-shirts designed to “sub” for a costume–and again, only available at the Party. The “party only” merchandise has always been a big draw for me for these events I’m not gonna lie. I’m a shopper. There’s no getting around it. If the party’s at the beginning of your trip, take advantage of package delivery, and have your purchases delivered to your resort for free. Then you don’t have to lug them around the party all night. A word of warning: Buy it when you see if the first time if you want it….or risk dragging your poor husband through every shop in the park as the park is closing to find that exact special party only item you HAVE to have that you didn’t buy when you saw it earlier in the evening…not that I know anything about that, of course.
Pictures Courtesy of Disney Parks Blog
Shorter lines for popular attractions due to smaller crowds: This one is getting a little more questionable as Disney is selling more tickets for these parties, and the parties are becoming more crowded. Generally, the idea is that because the park is closed to day guests, and the number of party attendees is “much less” than a typical “crowded” park day, the attraction lines are shorter. However, the same thing happens during the party that happens during the day: people gravitate to the most popular attractions, so some queues for less popular rides are walk ons, and there will be long lines at popular attractions. The line might be 60 minutes instead of the 150 minutes you might see during a typical crowded afternoon, but during a short 5 hour party….you have to decide how much time you are willing to wait in line, especially if you know you may be able to ride these same attractions later in your trip. It does get better later in the evening, especially after the first Boo to You parade is over, and even more so after the fireworks. The last two hours are usually pretty good for both character greetings and attractions, unless the party is VERY crowded, with obvious exceptions being VERY popular character greetings (like Jack & Sally) and attractions (like Seven Dwarfs Mine Train).
Exclusive Photopass “Magic Shots”: there are special magic shots that Photopass photographers can only do during MNSSHP. If you’ve been reading my blog for long, you probably already know that I am a NUT for photos, so the special magic shots are a real seller for me, especially because they really weren’t doing these a few years ago…this is one of the areas where the parties have started offering MORE, instead of less. This year, there are a number of special magic shot opportunities, according to the Disney Parks Blog. There are a couple shots on Main Streets where your party will be joined by some mysterious “ghostly” visitors. At the entrance of the Magic Kingdom, you can get a great shot where the headless horseman joins your family. There’s a scary glowing pumpkin shot that mimics the traditional “Tinkerbell” in your palm photo…that one looks pretty cool. Over near the Haunted Mansion, you can hitchhike with some friends, take a ride in a ghost driven hearse, and perhaps meet a very famous HatBox Ghost. The ghostly ones are my favorites, and I’m excited to see so many new ones have popped up.
Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party (Photo: Disney Parks)
Pictures Courtesy of Disney Parks Blog
And there’s one more “hidden” benefit, that’s not TECHNICALLY included in your party ticket, but tends to be one of the BEST parts of attending a MNSSHP: seeing all the guests that come to the party in costume! Costume regulations and rules have gotten a lot more strict in the last couple of years due to safety concerns, so this isn’t QUITE as much fun as it used to be, but it is still a heck of a lot of fun. I’ve been surprised at how many guests dress up in costume. Some go VERY elaborate–others go pretty casual and easy with it, but it’s so much fun to see what everyone has thought of! And it’s even more fun to plan a costume for yourself or a group theme for your whole family or travel group….Just keep in mind the warm temperatures. You do NOT want to spend the evening melting in your costume…and be sure to review Disney’s costume guidelines here.
I wish I had a better picture of this, I know it’s a little blurry, but I had to share. One of the cutest costume ideas I saw at the last MNSSHP I attended.
Picture Courtesy of Disney Parks Blog
So we come back to the original question: Is it worth it?
Some things I suggest you consider:
Have you ever been to a Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party before? If not, I think you should probably put a point in the YES column. It’s definitely something everyone should do at least once, if they have the opportunity and means.
Do you like Halloween? Let’s face it, if you are NOT a Halloween person, don’t like it when people dress up, don’t see the point of trick or treating and don’t enjoy scary movies (even funny/scary)…You probably should just give MNSSHP a pass. It’s just not your cup of tea. However, if you LOVE Halloween, love getting dressed up, LOVE all things ghostly and pumpkin related…you may want to put another point in the YES column.
Can you plan the party attendance into your trip so that a) you don’t spend the whole day in another park and get worn out b) you are able to be in costume, ready to start your evening, at Magic Kingdom, at 4 p.m. (or 5 at the latest?) c) feel like you are likely to be able to enjoy the whole party, all the way through until Midnight? and d) deal with the impact that late night will have on the NEXT day–can that day be a rest day? Or a water park day that starts at 10 instead of 7? If all these answers are yes, that’s another point for the Yes column. If all are NO, then you may want to pass on the party. If you come down more mixed up, you probably need to do some careful thinking.
Do things like special merchandise, special food, special photopass magic shots ONLY available tat the party matter to you? If they’re important, put a point in the YES column. If you could care less, that’s a point in the No column.
How do you feel about parades? If you love the idea of a unique, nighttime parade featuring characters you don’t often get to seem, put a point in the YES column. If you really don’t enjoy parades, hate having to find a place to sit or stand to watch the parade, get annoyed with the crowds, etc., that’s a point for the NO column.
How do you feel about fireworks? If you are a fireworks fiend, put a point in the Yes column. If you don’t care about them, or strongly prefer to avoid them, that’s another check in the NO column.
Picture Courtesy of Disney Photopass Gallery
Where do you land on special Character greetings? Are they important to you? If so, that’s another Yes vote. If you can’t be bothered, that’s a big NO.
How many people in your group? What are their ages? There are a couple of reasons to look at this. For two adults, it’s a lot easier to move around the party and avoid crowds, moving quickly and adapting the plan as needed. For two adults and two kids in strollers, it gets more difficult to move through crowds, and the priorities are doing things that will make the kids happy. Skipping the trick or treat stations may not be an option. Staying until midnight may not be something you want to do. You need to plan ahead for parade and show seating, which will eat up some of your time from attractions, character greetings or trick or treating, so you’ll need to consider your priorities. For three adults, a six year old and two teens, there are still more things to consider. Do you want to stay together the whole time? Split up for part of it? Does everyone have the same interests? Do you want to focus on the shows and parade, or rides and character greetings? Think about the group you would bring to the party. Consider whether they would enjoy it, and whether you would enjoy it with them. If the answer is yes, then that’s more points in the YES column. If you’re not sure, you’ve got some more thinking to do.
Can you afford it? This is REALLY the big question. A Disney vacation is an investment. For many of us, it’s something we have budgeted for, and planned for and saved for. You have to consider your budget. Realistically, can you afford the tickets for the party for your group? Will it put a dent in your food budget or your souvenir budget? Or, since you are doing the party one day, could you buy 1 day less on your Magic Your Way tickets, and make up some savings that way? Could that make it work for you? I know not everyone needs to worry about these matters. For some people, budget it not a concern. If money is no object, and you want to go to the party for 2-5 hours, go for it. It’s a fun time, with lots of unique experiences. But for those of us who are more budget conscious, it usually means a trade off. What do I have to give up, if I buy these tickets? So give that some thought, and make sure you are comfortable with your choice.
Consider the value: If you pay $100 for your party ticket (less if you go in August or September, more if you go closer to Halloween), and you attend the party from 7 p.m. – 12 p.m., you’re spending $20 per hour for the party. Think about all the things available at the party, and recognize you will not be able to do all of them. Think about the things that would be most important to you and your travel group, and imagine that with proper planning you’ll be able to do at least most of them. Would you feel like you got $20 per hour worth of value for each person? Would you feel good about your investment? If you enter the park at 4 pm, you’ve added a couple hours to your park time, and now you’re spending $12.50 an hour. Conversely, if you leave at 10 p.m. and arrived at 7 p.m., you’ve spent $33.33 an hour. You are the only one that can determine the right value for you and your family or travel group.
Do I still think the parties are worth it? Mostly. It’s hard, because I struggle a little bit with that “good old days” thing. They used to not be so crowded. They used to be more affordable. They used to have this. They sometimes had that. Blah blah blah. But time marches on, and we live in the here and now.
Picture Courtesy of Disney Photopass Gallery
Today, given what we are hearing about the crowds and the lines, is it still worth it? For me personally, it’s probably still yes. It’s not as strong a yes as it used to be, and I’d try to stay a lot closer to that $80 than the $100. If I really wanted to attend, I would spend some extra time planning and try and choose a night that would hopefully not be sold out or super crowded. I would choose a night earlier in the season when prices are lower, and I would take advantage of whatever discounts I could. I would probably plan my night pretty carefully to make sure I could maximize the things that are important to me and my group. But gosh…when you sit down and think about all that you can see and do in 5 hours, all the options available…it’s hard to imagine NOT finding $20 per hour worth of value in that….for me personally. But that’s me.
I love the parade, I love the fireworks, I love the shows, and the silly dance parties and seeing everyone all dressed up. I love the special merchandise and the silly special food items, and the Haunted Horseman. I love the characters that wander around, talking to guests, that you don’t have to wait in line for, that you might just bump into. I love the different lighting and music that plays during the parties. I love the festive mood of the parties. I love watching little kids’ faces when they see the gravediggers making sparks on the street with their shovels during the parade, or when they see Mickey and Minnie in their Halloween finery.
You have to think about what you love. And what’s important for your vacation. Your group. And your budget. And then of course you have to think about the magic and the memories you want to bring home from your trip. And if it makes sense for you and your group, go for it.
The bottom line: you’ll have lots of amazing moments throughout your trip, whether you go to the party or not. Come on, it’s DISNEY! You KNOW it will be magical!
The number one question I get from people about traveling to Disney is WHEN? When is the best time to go?
The short answer? It DEPENDS. There are a ton of factors to consider. The weather, the crowds, pricing, discounts, work schedules, school schedules, special events, new attractions, closing attractions, budget concerns…A Walt Disney World or Disneyland vacation is an expensive trip, and to maximize the value you receive for your family or traveling group, you want to make sure that you are choosing the best time FOR YOUR SPECIFIC FAMILY, depending on what is important to you.
For example, we are right now planning a big extended family trip to Disney for 2019. This trip will include my parents, my husband and myself, and my brothers and their families—which will include two high school age kids, and two elementary school age kids. A couple of factors are playing into our decision of WHEN to go.
First: Budget and time for everyone to SAVE. Originally, we’d talked about planning the trip for the fall of 2018. However, we quickly realized that it would be too difficult for everyone to save enough money to pay for the trip in time (about 1 year out when we started tentative conversations). All those kids are expensive, 😉! We determined that planning a trip two years out gave everyone more time to budget for the trip. Not that it necessarily takes two years of concentrated saving to afford a Disney vacation, but let’s face it…the bigger window you have to figure out how to pay for something, the easier it can be to figure it out! As a family, we’ve already discussed that the Christmas holiday nearest our trip will be a no-gift exchange Christmas—we will all focus most of our holiday budgets towards the trip. If budget or time to save isn’t a concern for your family, this is a consideration you can skip.
Second: School schedules and work schedules. When I plan trips with my husband, I pretty deliberately choose dates when I know kids are in school, because that helps a little bit with crowd volumes. However, when traveling with the extended family, school schedules are a BIG factor. Especially for the older kids—we really don’t want to pull them out of school for more than a day or two…but you also don’t want to go to Disney for a 2 or 3 day trip. If school schedules are your MAIN concern, you would most likely plan your trip for the summer months, or during Christmas break or Spring Break. The challenge with that strategy is that every other parent planning a Disney vacation is looking at those same weeks or months for THEIR trips…Crowds during Christmas and Spring breaks are MAMMOTH. The last two weeks of December and most of April are considered “Peak” periods at Disney, and you’ll see the highest resort room prices and the highest crowd volumes of the entire year during these periods. Summer is not quite as crowded, but you still see fairly high crowd volumes during the summer months. For many, the intense heat and humidity in Orlando during the summer months can be detractor for those months. For others, the heat is not an issue and the summer months are the ideal time to visit—especially if you want to include the water parks in your vacation plans.
Personally, I struggle a LOT with the high temperatures and humidity in the summer months in Orlando, so we tend to avoid going during those months when I plan trips for us. My May trips with my mom for Epcot Flower and Garden Festival tend to be pretty warm (at least for me), but the beautiful May weather is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to heat in Orlando during the summer. If you’re from the South or just used to warmer temperatures in general, the heat and humidity of the summer season in Orlando may not phase you at all. However, I will point out that the heat is harder on older people so if your group includes some seniors, you may want to factor that in…Also heat and humidity can contribute to irritability and hot tempers…and the heat can negatively effect even the sweetest most well behaved children! So again, it may be something you want to consider.
Another consideration, some companies are very strict regarding WHEN employees can take time off—for example, if you’re an accountant, you most likely can’t plan your vacation any time between November 1 and April 15. Teachers generally can’t take time off during the school year. If you are in landscaping, you probably don’t want to travel during your busiest seasons. You get the idea, I’m sure. Everyone’s situation is unique, and it’s important that you don’t try to shoehorn your family vacation into a mold that doesn’t really work for you. Just because February 15 was the PERFECT week for your neighbors that had such a wonderful trip doesn’t mean it’s the best week for YOUR family.
Once mom and I ruled out Christmas and Spring Break and SUMMER, we started looking at 3-4 day weekends that come up during the school year. Over the years, we’ve identified that we personally like traveling to Florida in the Fall…so we looked primarily at October and November. We don’t know what “teacher institute” days or special school specific days off may be, but we know that Columbus Day and Veteran’s day are always days that the schools are closed, so we focused on those dates, initially. If you can carve out a 3-4 day weekend by using a school holiday, you can fairly easily carve out a 5-7 day vacation—and the kids are only missing 2-3 days of school instead of 3-4. Of course, if it’s super important that the kids miss NO school at all, you will either have to decide to travel during Christmas break, Spring break or the summer break. It’s really all about YOUR priorities and the priorities of your group.
Third: Special Events and Celebrations: Are you wanting your trip to coincide with a particular scheduled event or celebration? For example, is attending the 50th anniversary of Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom a priority for your group? If so, coordinating your trip to include the official celebration will probably trump some of the other concerns. If you like to attend the Epcot Food and Wine Festival in the fall, your trip planning window will shrink to the 8-10 weeks that the Festival runs. Or if you are planning your family vacation around another event with a firm date, like a wedding or a birthday, you may place a higher priority on that event or celebration than on crowd levels or discounts.
In the example from above, our 2019 trip with the extended family, we are also planning our trip around the new Star Wars themed land, Galaxy’s Edge. Some members of our group are BIG Star Wars fans, so once we knew Galaxy’s Edge was coming, we knew that we wanted to be sure we could include that in the big family trip. Originally, it looked like Galaxy’s Edge would open mid 2019. Earlier this week, Disney announced that Galaxy’s Edge at Disneyland will open in Summer 2019, but Galaxy’s Edge at Hollywood Studios in Florida is scheduled for “Late Fall” 2019. Mom and I quickly convened for a pow-wow on this issue…we know that late fall could mean November 1…but it could also mean December 20. Or later—especially if Disney falls behind schedule. Since being able to check out Galaxy’s Edge is such a big deal for our family, we immediately ruled out both the October and November 2019 dates we’d been considering, as we are pretty sure the land is unlikely to be opened by then. We are now looking at going the first week of January 2020. The dates we are now considering have an added benefit of still falling during the kids’ winter break from school, but are after the holidays, so most families have completed their holiday travel and are back home—hopefully this will mean lighter crowds for us! We also may be able to add a couple more days to the trip since we are not trying to squeeze it around a three-day weekend with a school holiday. Given our financial strategy to help diffuse the costs of the trip by taking most of the money we all would have spent on Christmas gifts and activities for each other, and putting it towards the trip, mom and I think putting the trip AFTER Christmas all helps with that strategy, especially for the kids…Santa Claus will still come, of course, but Mom and Dad won’t be getting everybody lots of presents—but hey, we are all going to Disney in 2 weeks, yay!
Fourth: Attractions and activities: Something else to think about: if you have a beloved attraction that you MUST visit while at Disney for your trip to feel “complete”, you may want to take a look at the refurbishment schedules. Disney tends to do a lot of minor refurbishments during “slower” periods—not that there’s really ever truly “slow” periods anymore. But for example, there tend to be more refurbishments in January and February. There’s usually a crane near the castle for a couple of weeks when they are putting the holiday lighting in place, and again when they take it down…If having the crane in your pictures with the castle will break your heart…plan your trip AWAY from those weeks. Disney doesn’t always give a ton of notice when they will be doing refurbishments, so a little bit of this will be luck, but they do make some announcements months in advance—especially for major refurbishments, when an attraction will be down for months. Disney tends to do the water park refurbishments on a pretty regular schedule, so if you desperately want to include Blizzard Beach in your trip, check previous years to see when that park has closed for refurbishments, historically.
SONY DSC
You may also want to consider what, if any, non-Disney activities you want to include in your vacation. For example, if you have always wanted to see a rocket launch at Cape Canaveral, check THAT schedule when planning your trip. If you’re planning to include a visit to Tampa, or to Daytona Beach, you will want to take a look at special events or challenges that happen in those areas.
Fifth: WEATHER. This is a big one, but may end up not being a high priority for many people, depending on what other things you’re considering. The great thing about Florida is that is has better weather than much of the country for much of the year. However, there are some challenges. As we discussed earlier, it can get very hot and very humid in the Orlando area in the summer. It can also be buggy in the summer. Hurricane season is officially June 1 through November 30. Now, it’s pretty rare for a hurricane to come that far inland, however, it’s NOT unusual for Orlando to be hit with tropical storms during particularly busy hurricane seasons.
Orlando has about 30 days of what most of us would consider “winter” each year. Those thirty days happen sometime between November and March..and tend to show up in little 3-5 day increments…We’ve had years where we visited in early November and had temperatures in the eighties…and we’ve had years where temperatures were in the low forties.
SONY DSC
So…you may want to factor in the weather when choosing when you want to go. If you really want to go swimming or visit the water parks while in Florida, you want to be sure to go when temperatures will be warm enough for you to swim. Note: People from Florida may think it’s too cold to swim when it’s 70, but people from Wisconsin visiting in February may think 65 is warm enough…Your mileage may vary, depending on where you are from and your tolerance for temperatures.
You also need to consider your weather where you are traveling FROM. Last year, hundreds of flights were cancelled from the northeast due to snowstorms…it’s important to give the weather in your origin location at least a passing thought. While most of us probably wouldn’t mind being stranded in Florida for a few extra days, it would be very upsetting to be stranded at your home airport, unable to GET to Florida at all.
As you can see, there are a number of different factors that you’ll want to consider when deciding WHEN to go. It’s important to give at least a little thought to these different things as you’re planning…but of course, it’s also important to understand that nothing will ever be exactly perfect–and you don’t want to get so hung up on choosing the “right” time to go that you make yourself (and your family!) miserable.
In the example I’ve been using today, mom and I are pretty firmly decided now on January 1-7 or 8th…we may move the dates by a day or two, based on airfare challenges, but we are pretty committed at this point. Once you decide when you’re going, start planning on making THAT trip on THOSE dates the best trip you can. If you keep changing your mind on your dates, you’ll end up losing time and energy that would be better spent on other planning aspects! Of course, we remain cognizant that a lot can happen over the next two years that could impact our planned dates—we can’t even book our resort for another 18 months! So while I will be paying attention to major announcements, as always, and stay aware of major factors that could impat our trip, we are going to march forward with our planning based on a January 2020 trip.
Are you in the midst of planning a trip? When are you planning to go? What issues are important for you and your family??
Happy Dreaming!
Brooke
Note: If you need help planning your next Disney parks vacation, Disney cruise vacation, or Adventures by Disney vacation, please contact me at brooke@disneycastledreaming.com.
Perhaps trying to capitalize on the excitement surrounding this week’s opening of Solo: A Star Wars Story (or to add to the excitement?), Disney Parks has announced the official opening seasons for the Star Wars themed lands, currently under construction at both Disneyland and Walt Disney World.
In a brief article published yesterday on the Disney Parks blog, Disney Parks announced that Galaxy’s Edge will open at Disneyland in the Summer of 2019. Walt Disney World’s version at Hollywood Studios is officially scheduled to open in “Late Fall 2019”. There are no more specifics than that, folks.
“Summer” and “Late Fall”. Which, let’s face it could mean anywhere from May – September for Summer and October – December for Late Fall. And of course…future announcements could be forthcoming should any delays crop up.
I certainly understand their hesitation to announce a specific opening day just yet…a lot can happen in a year…but fans are chomping at the bit to get a glimpse of Galaxy’s Edge, and that anticipation has been growing steadily in the months since Star Wars: The Last Jedi was released–and is likely to get another big bump once Solo: A Star Wars Story opens.
Image from Disney Parks Blog
So far, we know that Galaxy’s Edge is set on the planet Batu, a remote outpost that has become a thriving port for smugglers, traders and adventurers. Initially there are at least two attractions planned: one featuring the Millennium Falcon and one featuring a Star Destroyer. We know there will be a Cantina featured, and that the blue milk made famous by Luke Skywalker in Episode Four: A New Hope will be an offering. We can also count on lots of characters from the Star Wars universe, and of course….LOTS of merchandise. In fact, some Galaxy’s Edge merchandise is already available in the parks today!
Artists’ rendering from Disney Parks BlogArtist’s rendering from Disney Parks Blog
Disney continues to market Galaxy’s Edge as an extremely immersive experience, where guests are put in the middle of the action. Having just returned from a second trip where we spent a lot of time exploring Pandora, Disney’s Avatar-themed land at Animal Kingdom at Walt Disney World, I am even MORE excited to see Galaxy’s Edge. Disney Imagineering outdid themselves with Pandora, and from what Disney’s been saying, they’re going a lot farther with Galaxy’s Edge.
Add to that the incredible multi-media nighttime spectacular Star Wars fireworks show Hollywood Studios showed off on May 4th? (May the Fourth be with you!) We were SO impressed and amazed. I really can’t wait to see what they are doing with Galaxy’s Edge. I suspect it will go beyond anything we’ve ever seen in a theme park before!
You can check out my previous post about Galaxy’s Edge here. Here’s a link to the official announcement: Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge.
So…are you excited to visit Galaxy’s Edge? Are you seeing Solo: A Star Wars Story this weekend?
Happy Dreaming!
Brooke
*Note: if you need help planning your next Disney parks vacation, Disney cruise vacation, or Adventures by Disney vacation, I can help! Contact me at brooke@disneycastledreaming.com for more information.
For many years, I was obsessed with the nighttime fireworks display at the Magic Kingdom, Wishes. My husband and I tried to make sure to catch it at least twice every trip, sometimes more often. We watched it from the front of the castle, from the rear of the castle, from the top of the Contemporary Resort, from the porch at Narcoosee’s at the Grand Floridian, from the beach at the Polynesian…you name it, we tried to watch it from there. And I cried…Every single time. The first time I told him I loved him….was during Wishes. He proposed to me one night in front of the Castle…just after Wishes had ended…I have the soundtrack for Wishes, and probably about a million pictures of it. Needless to say, I was very ATTACHED to Wishes.
Here’s a favorite “Wishes” picture from the Disney PhotoPass gallery:
When Disney announced that they were ending Wishes and would be introducing a new show, I was really sad. But I know that Disney isn’t a time capsule, it’s something that has to keep changing and growing to keep from getting stale. So even though I loved Wishes with great passion, I knew I had to let it go, and be open to the new show. Based on the press releases Disney released as they were developing the new shows, I had very high hopes for Happily Ever After.
I was crushed that we weren’t able to see Wishes one last time though. The last time we watched it was the night after we got married–we caught the tail end from the rail station at the front of Magic Kingdom. We had no idea then that we would never get to watch it again. {sigh}
Luckily, there are tons of really great videos of the show still on YouTube. Here’s a link to a great video of the very last show, posted by the Dis.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rTO1RlF12ZU No matter how good the videos are (and the videos from the Dis are always TERRIFIC!), they just can’t compare to the real thing.
Wishes had it’s final show on May 11, 2017, and the new, very high tech Happily Ever After premiered on May 12, 2018. In honor of it’s one anniversary, Disney Parks Blog posted a video of a couple of minutes from Happily Ever After, included here below:
Frank and I saw Happily Ever After for the first time during our November trip. I wanted to be sure we had a great spot to view it from, so I had reserved the Fireworks Dessert Party–Garden View for the two of us. I’m so glad we did! The park was PACKED that night, and the crowds around the hub to view the show were CRAZY! The special Garden View area wasn’t even there last time we’d visited; it was put in as part of the hub construction project that finished last year. They put in two of these; one in front of the Crystal Palace/Casey’s area and one in front of the Plaza Restaurant area. The Plaza area one is used for the Fireworks Dessert Party, Garden View. The Dessert Party area was NOT super crowded; we had a spot at the back where we could sit on the ground while we waited for the show to start, and even standing, it didn’t feel crowded and we had a fairly good view of the castle. We liked the area so much, we stayed put and waited for the Once Upon A Time projection show that happened about 45 minutes after the fireworks ended.
Here’s a couple of shots we took of Happily Ever After from our spot.
So the big question is: As a Wishes lover that was so SAD that Wishes went away, what did I think of Happily Ever After?
The short answer? I liked it. I liked it a lot. It’s very visually impressive, and the music is really terrific. I downloaded the song on Itunes as soon the show was over.
I didn’t LOVE it though, and I’ve been trying to put my finger on WHY I didn’t love it ever since.
We watched the show again from our balcony at Bay Lake Tower on the last night of our trip. One of the channels on the TV will play the audio so you’re synced up with the show. I really liked watching it from that angle; it’s fun to get the different perspective on those shows from different viewpoints. Of course, from that angle and distance you cannot see most of the projections on the castle–and that’s where a LOT of the action is with this particular show. When you are in front of the castle, it looks like all the fireworks are being shot off from RIGHT behind the castle, doesn’t it? Interestingly, when you watch the show from Bay Lake Tower or the Contemporary, you can see that most of the fireworks are shot off from quite a distance away.
Here’s a couple of the pictures we took from our balcony:
Keep in mind, we could see much better with our naked eyes than the camera lens can…it’s really pretty spectacular, but the camera REALLY didn’t like this distance combined with trying to absorb all the light…
During my May trip with Mom, we chose NOT to stay in the Magic Kingdom for the show. Mom isn’t as enamored with the fireworks shows as I am, and it was the end of our trip and we were both pretty worn out, so we decided to head over to Bay Lake Tower and watch the show from the Top of the World lounge. Mom watched from her seat at the bar; I headed outside to watch from the deck.
Here’s a couple of shots from that show. Very similar view to the balcony view; just a few floors higher!
I’ve also watched a couple excellent video recordings of the show, so at this point, I’ve seen it five or six times. And I still really like it.
It doesn’t make me cry…which makes me a little sad (but not enough to cry😉) . But it’s a very good show, absolutely. I think I’ve finally figured out why it doesn’t get me emotionally like Wishes did…
Happily Ever After is a VERY busy show. There is a LOT going on…there is music and fireworks, of course, but beyond that, there is tons of very detailed computerized, animated projections on the castle throughout the show, and many of them are quite beautiful…some are DAZZLING. There are lasers and pyrotechnics…there is so much going on, you actually miss a LOT of what is happening–it can be challenging to take it all in. Every time I watch the show, I notice different things. I think this will be GREAT for repeat viewings; not to mention that Disney can change and add content quickly to promote new projects or to take advantage of sudden bursts of popularity for old favorites…I think this will make this show very versatile and flexible for Disney.
The disadvantage, though, at least for me, is that there is SO much going on, I don’t really get a chance to CONNECT with the show the way I did with Wishes. My heart doesn’t get involved because my brain is so focused on all the visual stimulation. As much as I like the music, it doesn’t connect in me personally with the visuals–in part because so many of the visuals invoke their own soundtracks in my heart, and in part because the visuals are just so strong and moving so fast, I can’t keep up.
Perhaps after dozens of viewings, it won’t be quite so overwhelming, and I WILL find myself connecting with it emotionally. I hope so. Because it really is a beautiful show. It’s just….a LOT to absorb.
Have you seen Happily Ever After? What did you think? Were you a Wishes fan? How do you think Happily Ever After compares?
This was a WONDERFUL trip! We had a terrific time, and I learned a few things I hope to incorporate into future trips…
I’ll be doing a detailed day-by-day trip report over the next couple of weeks, but for now, here are some highlights:
Parks: All four parks looked great this trip. We visited Animal Kingdom, Epcot and Magic Kingdom each twice. Hollywood Studios was a blink and you’ll miss it visit this trip—we went in for dinner at the Hollywood Brown Derby (AMAZING!) and caught the nighttime shows after dinner–but that was it.
Weather: We had absolutely glorious weather most days—but we did have a couple days with a LOT of rain. Saturday, our pre-planned Typhoon Lagoon/Disney Springs/Rest Day ended up with torrential downpours that lasted several hours. Fortunately, we still got a few hours in at Typhoon Lagoon before the rain rolled in, and hey, if you’re going to be caught in the rain, somehow it’s better if you’re already in a bathing suit and flip flops with wet hair, right? Our evening at Disney Springs had some sporadic rain showers, but they were fairly light and didn’t bother us hardly at all. Sunday was a little more challenging as it was our last full park day…it rained off and on most of the day. Fortunately, we were prepared with our ponchos, so it didn’t really affect us much…and had the bonus benefit of reducing the crowds a little bit.
The rest of the time, we had lovely blue skies with lots of sunshine. Mid-afternoons to early evenings got pretty HOT and humid. Us northerners don’t do as well in the heat as southerners more used to the heat, and I have to admit, I was a bit of a wilted flower most days around 3pm. But a cold drink, a little A/C, and a little sitting and people watching usually recharged my batteries just fine.
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Disney’s Magic Kingdom (Photo: Brooke Hudson)
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Magic at Cinderella Castle! (Photo: Brooke Hudson)
Crowds: Originally, when I booked the trip, crowds were projected in the 3-5 range (out of 10, with 10 being so crowded it’s hard to walk, and parks at or near full capacity) for most days. The closer we got to the trip, the higher the projections went, with crowds projected to be at 6-8’s most of our days. In actuality, I think most days ended up being around 6’s, especially in the afternoons…maybe creeping into seven territory on Monday. Our mornings were especially lovely, and crowds stayed lighter until around 11am most days. Lots of strollers, lots of ECVs, but not unbearable by any stretch. We did not see many big tour groups, either.
Resort: We stayed at Old Key West this trip and really loved it. It’s such a pretty resort, and has the largest studios of all the DVC resorts, with 2 queen sized beds—so it was perfect for us. We had a second floor villa, so thank goodness for the wonderful bell services that helped us with all our stuff! They are in the process of rehabbing this resort, but we saw no signs of construction during our visit. The landscaping here is really lush and pretty; everything looked terrific! We took the ferry to Disney Springs one night, and wow, that was so nice! The ferries come every 20 minutes between 10 am and 11 pm, and it’s a really scenic ride to Disney Springs. Our balcony had a nice golf-course view, and parking for our rental was very close by. The gift shop at Old Key West is a really good one; OKW has some of the best DVC resort specific shirts and related souvenirs of any of the DVCs we’ve stayed at. Cast members were all really nice and very helpful. We had two meals at Olivia’s, the OKW main table service restaurant and they were ok, but not great. The first was a lunch, and we had club sandwiches which were good. The highlight of the meal was sitting out on the patio, though, honestly. The second meal was breakfast on Saturday morning, and it really wasn’t great. The service was very slow, and both of us had issues with our eggs. The biscuits were very good, though. Again, the highlight was our table out on the patio.
Old Key West DVC Resort (Photo: Brooke Hudson)
Old Key West Resort (Photo: Brooke Hudson)
Disney Transportation: We rented a car this trip, so we did not use a lot of Disney transportation; however, what we did use was great, and we never had to wait very long. We used the resort Ferry to Disney Springs, as I mentioned above, and that was a big highlight of the trip for us. We used the Ferry at the Ticket and Transport center to get to and from Magic Kingdom a few times; I love that Ferry! Also did a couple monorail rides—again, not much waiting, and they got us where we needed to go. We rode LOTS of parking lot trams, haha. The only real waiting we had to do there was on Friday when we left the park at the end of the night, along with about 20,000 of our closest friends 😉. We waited about 20 minutes and through 4 tram loads before we got on one, but it wasn’t too bad, considering. We did NOT use Magical Express or any bus transportation this trip.
Merchandise: Mom and I both love to shop, and we shopped our hearts out on this trip. Financial limitations meant we didn’t necessarily BUY a whole lot, but we SHOPPED and SHOPPED, haha. Lots of fun merchandise, as always, for the Flower and Garden Festival, but we were a little disappointed. It’s been a few years since we have been to the Festival, but in the past there was a pretty big variety of Festival merchandise, including, usually, several different pins. This year, there was only one pin available, and we found it sold out in many locations—with three weeks still left to go in the Festival! Perhaps there were more options available earlier on? I’m not sure, but there were no special Passholder pins available for the Festival and only the one pin option. Of course we DID buy the pin they had…but I would have liked to see a couple of different options. One of the things I like about Festival time is that there is usually more variety in the shirts, hats, mugs, etc. at the Festival park than you’ll see everywhere else. And that did hold true this year as well, although there wasn’t as much varied merchandise as I recalled from previous Festivals. Other than Festival or Park specific merchandise, most of the shirts, sweatshirts, mugs, toys etc. were found in most shops across all four parks and Disney Springs. The advantage of this, of course, is that you don’t have to buy something when you first see it, as you’ll likely see it many more times during your trip. This is good for me, since I usually buy all my presents and souvenirs at the end of my trip when I think I’ve seen everything and can make a good decision. But the big disadvantage is that the merchandise doesn’t feel as SPECIAL when you see the same stuff over and over and over. Yes, it’s a big pain if you fall in love with the one shirt that you can only find at that little shop in the corner of Adventureland…but that makes it more FUN and more memorable, even if it means having to go back to that park on the last day to go to that little shop in the corner. I have lots of memories of long ago trips when the last day was all about running around to find that special something we’d seen at the beginning of the trip and looked for in every store we went to after that….
Mom and I DID manage to find a very special and unique souvenir, but I can’t tell you about that one yet, as we got one as a present for someone and I don’t want anyone to see it until that person gets to see it. 😊
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One of the things I love about Animal Kingdom is that it has a lot of merchandise that is truly unique to Animal Kingdom—not just shirts and ears and mugs, but really different merchandise that is in line with the conservation and nature missions that Animal Kingdom promotes. Now, there is one merchandise line that really stood out…in a fairly dreadful way, I must admit. I’m just as excited about the upcoming Meghan Markle/Prince Harry nuptials as any self-respecting Disney Princess loving girl could be….but this? This goes just a little too far, even for me:
Tea Towels???
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Nighttime Entertainment: To be honest with you, neither of us are big night owls, especially after a long, hot day of theme-parking. Our nighttime extravaganzas usually entailed whatever nighttime show was at whatever park we were in, followed by returning to the resort, showering off the day and CRASHING 😉. We really enjoyed the nighttime entertainment in each park though. Our very first night, we got to watch Rivers of Light at Animal Kingdom. We had great seats, and Mom loved it as much as I’d hoped she would.
Friday night we did a quick Hollywood Studios visit for dinner and entertainment–once dinner was over, we were just in time for the Disney Movie Magic projection show on the Mann’s Chinese Theater and surrounding buildings, followed by a special Star Wars themed Galactic Fireworks and projection show in honor of May 4 (“May the fourth be with you”). The Star Wars Spectacular was truly SPECTACULAR! The show incorporated video clips and stills from all Star Wars movies released to date and a few from the upcoming SOLO movie (SOLO merchandise was VERY prevalent in the parks and at Disney Springs this visit). It used lights, lasers, pyrotechnics, music, audio clips and fireworks to really dazzle the audience. There were lasers coming out of the screens (buildings) that looked like blasters were firing and lasers coming from the back that looked like shots fired back…. It was pretty immersive and VERY impressive. It was just a taste of what Disney is cooking up for Star Wars fans with Galaxy’s Edge, but I personally found it VERY exciting and can’t wait to see what the future will bring.
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Sunday night, the last night of our trip, we actually left Magic Kingdom about an hour before the fireworks and hopped a Monorail over to the Contemporary and went up to the Top of the World Lounge at Bay Lake Tower. Available exclusively to DVC Members staying at a DVC Resort, the Top of the World Lounge features a large bar and several indoor seating areas, surrounded by a very large patio area with a spectacular view of Magic Kingdom. We had drinks and appetizers here, and I popped out to take pictures of the show from the unique “Top of the World” perspective, while Mom watched the show from her seat at the bar inside. They pipe in the music, which is great, because the music adds SO much to the show. Of course, you can’t really see all the castle projections that are an integral part of the Happily Ever After show, but the music and the fireworks are pretty fantastic, even without the projections.
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Another highlight: On Saturday evening while we were at Disney Springs, we caught two different groups performing on the main stage there. The first was a group of high school kids from Rome, New York. They danced and sang, and were really terrific. The second was a dance troupe, and each song was danced by a different group of kids–it seemed to be primarily by age groups. They were very fun to watch, especially the littler kids. 😊
Needless to say, I could go on for DAYS (and probably will!! 😉 ) about our trip, but I’m anxious to get this quick summary posted, so I’ll stop here.
Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival. (Photo: Brooke Hudson)
Bottom line: The trip was WONDERFUL! The parks looked terrific, we had some really wonderful cast member interactions and some AMAZING meals. I’m so glad we went, and I can’t wait to go back!!
We made it! Mom and I are finally AT Walt Disney World. Yesterday was a travel day, but we managed to get to Animal Kingdom by 4pm. Our travel plans all fell into place and everything went very smoothly.
We are staying at classic DVC resort Old Key West—we have a cute second floor studio with a little porch overlooking the golf course.
I’ll do a detailed trip report later, but here are a few highlights from our trip so far…
Animal Kingdom is celebrating it’s 20th Anniversary this month. Here’s a link to a post I wrote about our Animal Kingdom Bridal Portrait shoot. I hope you enjoy!
But as we now know, in today’s culture, NOTHING is every REALLY done, is it? Especially not in the giant global marketing machine that is Disney, and everything it owns….(I mean, come on…we’re getting a Mary Poppins sequel 58 YEARS LATER!!! I’m excited about it…but really?)
Happy Dreaming!
