Joined: Feb 21, 2006 Posts: 4196 Location: Sanford, Fl
Posted: Mon Oct 02, 2006 1:56 am Post subject: Not So Scary Halloween Party - 2006 Report
mrsguru and myself attending the party this past Friday night, I will be posting a trip report later today, pics will follow a few days later (used my 35mm and waiting to get them developed). See you real soon... _________________ Up or Down North, South, East, or West An Adventurer's Life is Best!
Joined: Feb 21, 2006 Posts: 4196 Location: Sanford, Fl
Posted: Thu Oct 05, 2006 6:42 am Post subject:
Sorry, I've been sick for the last few days, I will probably have the report up tonight.... Pics should be back this weekend, so I will upload them then....
I wasn't dressed up, just my normal shorts and hawaiian t-shirt... mrsguru was just wearing a black and orange Wicked t-shirt...
there was a meet & greet, no one told me? _________________ Up or Down North, South, East, or West An Adventurer's Life is Best!
Joined: Feb 21, 2006 Posts: 4196 Location: Sanford, Fl
Posted: Wed Oct 11, 2006 9:48 am Post subject:
Ok, after a long, 2 week wait, I was finally able to sit down and write my review....
Now, I've been to the Halloween Party before, in fact this is three years straight now.... it is my personal favorite time to go to MK!
This year seemed a little different then last year, some good and some bad....
The decorations around the park seemed to be a little more "fall festival" then Halloween... like cutesy scarecrows and pumpkins with painted faces, then slightly scary stuff.... the giant Mickey head on the front lawn was done up with rope lights, so it gave an eerie look at night (along with a fog machine's help)...
They had a lot more projections and lightening effects for Main Street, silhouettes of bats and witches all over. We arrived at 2pm and there were just a few decorations up, but by time the event started, there was stuff all over the place.... They had candy spots all over the place, so you could really rack up...
Over in Adventureland, unfortunately the Jungle Cruise was not running. It was really cool to ride it in the dark, but that was a few years ago... Surprisingly Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse was operating, sorry, didn't go on it this time... Everything else seemed to be running and they even had quite a few meet and greets going on, including Abu and Genie (don't remember seeing Abu before)... at Pirates, they had a PhotoPass guy setup in front of the ship mast sign... there was a fog machine going over there that really made the whole area creepy... there was no wait for pirates, but they were only loading people from the armory side (left side of the queue)... I believe that they were still having the Pirate Training, but we didn't hang around to watch...
Frontierland was busy, especially Splash Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain... of course, the island was closed, dang it... I know they had a photopass area setup, but I did not look around too much for it, sorry... this area is one of the best areas to watch the parade... Pecos was closed, the only restaurant open was Liberty Tree Tavern... we had lunch there, but saw them decorating and the CMs getting ready, it looked cool. They were putting out small jack-o-lanterns and the CMs were dressed like the Haunted Mansion CMs, really cool... I do believe it was still a character dinner...
Liberty Square, what can I say, it is still all about Haunted Mansion... They had blue, green, and orange lights all over the mansion and fox everywhere... The pet cemetery really looked creepy, sorry none of these pictures came out... they were running a PhotoPass right in front of the horseless hearse, had to get pictures of this... the group in front of us had the best group costumes that we saw, Mario, Luigi, Toad, and the Princess (although it was weird that they were all girls)... Haunted Mansion, excellent as always... I can't wait for the Haunted Mansion gift shop to be built, that stupid little cart just doesn't do it justice...
Between the Columbia House and Hall of Presidents (both of which were closed) they had another PhotoPass stop setup... this time it was in front of the hitchhiking ghosts... of course we got pictures, but they are really cheesy! The were running the Liberty Bell during the day, but shut down at 5pm, I was really looking forward to the ghost story ride, bummer... Last year they had a doom buggy setup for pictures, they didn't this year, another bummer....
Sorry, I can not tell you anything about Fantasyland, sorry... we did all of the rides after lunch and just never made it back around during the party... they did have Cinderella's carriage setup some where in Fantasyland, for PhotoPass pictures, not sure exactly where though...
Same with Mickey's Toon Town Fair, we almost never go back through this area, I forget it's there most of the time... although, they did have their candy trail again this year... there is a long trail between Toon Town and Tomorrowland, that bypasses everything (behind the speedway)... well, they setup candy stops every few feet, with CMs dressed up like deck of cards from Alice in Wonderland... we went down through there last year, got a ton of candy, but didn't have time this year...
We did spend quite a bit of time in Tomorrowland, where mrsguru rode her favorite, Space Mountain (gotta love it when there is no wait)... Saw another pretty cool themed family costume, Santa, Mrs. Clause, and their small daughter was a present (wrapped box and bow on her head). There were a ton of kids following Santa around, I did notice some CMs watching them... they had some stilt walkers out and about, it was pretty cool... Carousel of Progress was running and looked really good.. If you didn't know, they have done some rehabbing earlier this year, so new seats, new walls, the stages looked clean, but some of the AAs need to be cleaned or redone...
They did have a big candy stop, in front of Carousel, with Buzz Lightyear meet and greets... they had the small stage setup between the TTA station and the Skyway station, this is for the High School Musical pep rally, I don't believe this was running during the party... Buzz was open and looked pretty cool, the recent rehab helped the ride, but they still need to do the vehicles, they looked like old clunkers... I forgot about it, but they redid the exit of the ride, it now empties to a on-ride photo place, so you can by a on-ride photo with your score (just like MIB at USF)... Stitch was running, but we skipped it, I hate that ride... TTA, best ride in the park, as always!! This ride is so much better at night, especially during this party, because of all the costumes and decorations, really cool...
They had the giant Stitch and spider balloons on the buildings, overlooking the bridge from the Castle hub... The Terrace restaurant was closed and I think has officially closed, not sure if it will ever reopen... suck because I loved the food when it was the Noodle place... they had a dance party going on at Cosmic Ray's, this one was hosted by Stitch in his Elvis costume, sorry, no pics...
We actually spent most of our time in the castle hub, for three reasons: Mickey's "Boo to You" Halloween Parade, Villain's Mix and Mingle show, and my favorite fireworks show: Happy HalloWishes -- Grim Grinning Ghosts Come Out To Socialize.
First, the Villain's Mix and Mingle show. We skipped it last year, but stuck around this year, because I found out that Maleficent hosts the show (with Hook). There were other villains, Wicked Queen, Cruella, Frollo, Jafar, Queen of Hearts, and some dancers... I will say this about the dancers, they were a little adult for Disney... the girls were wearing leather hot pants, bustiers, and fish net stockings... the guys were wearing leather pants and mesh shirts, definitely not normal Disney costumes... the dancing was a little provocative, not has adult as you see at IOA/USF, but more adult then normal Disney.. the costumed CMs were even doing butt bumps and came close to some grinding.... WEIRD! But the show as pretty good, some nice fireworks... the music was the same music used for the villains float in last years Boo To You parade....
After the show, the costumed CMs would come down and do brief meet and greets, we did not know this for the first show, so we stayed for the second show. But they did not do the greets after the second show, because of Hallowishes, so we stayed through the third show, for one reason, so mrsguru can meet her idol, Maleficent... we watched the show from the spot Maleficent did the meet and greet and was second in line when she came out... I won't say what they said to each other, but the CM playing Maleficent was EXCELLENT! I just wish they had PhotoPass photographers for the Villain's meet and greets, maybe next year...
Now, the parade... whatever you do, do not stand in the middle of the turn, facing the castle... this is the worse spot for viewing the parade, especially if you want to take pictures... the best spot is directly across from this spot, with the castle behind you. This way you can see the floats as they come around from Liberty Square... they did have the headless horsemen again this year, his horse is massive… it looks really cool when you see him gallop over the bridge between Liberty Square and the Castle hub… although, in the past, he was really flying and the hooves would spark on the pavement… He wasn’t moving as fast this year, no sparks… sorry, no pics….
Anyways, the parade was very similarly to last years, but a few changes... the biggest change was the Pirate float, instead of Hook on the top of the rock, this year it was Capt Jack Sparrow. Sorry, not pics, because he never turned in our direction, stupid! But his right side and back looked very authentic .
The best float is the haunted mansion, because of the dancers... in front of the float they have CMs ball room dancing and done up like the ghosts from the ball room scene, excellent make-up... they have the three hitchhiking ghosts on the float, excellent... but the best part is the CMs following the float, these are they guys dressed up as butlers (just like normal HM CMs), but dancing with shovels, which they drag across the payment, shooting sparks.... double excellent!
At the beginning of the parade, they have Mickey, Minnie, Donald, and Daisy dressed up like harlequins and dancing around... it reminded me a mardi gras float, but no beads or candy...
They also had a barnyard float, which in the past usually had a hay ride wagon and a bunch of kids riding, but not this year... This year they had more square dancers and costumed CMs, including Clarabell and Horace... these two were doing meet and greets in front of the entrance during the day... they had just "premiered" earlier in the week... they are still doing the stupid chicken singing, stupid chicken...
They had a ton of costumed CMs, one group was the whole Pooh gang, including Christopher Robin (don't remember seeing him before)...
The villains float was rocking, with a skeleton band and villains dancing around the float... Maleficent was ride the top of the float... can anyone tell me the what makes this Maleficent different from any other Maleficent? I will give the answer later.... I really like this float because it is the only time I can see my favorite villain side-kicks, Pain & Panic and Shanzi, Banzi, and Ed... AWESOME!!
The last float, as always, was Goofy's Candy company... everyone loves this one, because CMs hand out candy... they have several CMs along the path of the parade handing out candy, because it is safer than throwing it into the crowd... kids get hurt by over anxious adults trying to grab candy, stupid people.... I believe this float start last year, when Disney started to brand all of candy and snacks...
Next up, Happy Hallowishes, my favorite fireworks show (have I mentioned that before?)... they take a bunch of classic villain songs, remix them and put them to fireworks.. the whole thing is hosted by the Ghost Host and features Ursula, Jafar, Oogie Boogie, and Maleficent... I would love to hear full length versions of Trust in Me and Hellfire/Heavens Light... This year was even better then last years, better fireworks and tons of projections on the castle... Each segment had their one silhouette for the castle and the lighting was really, really cool... tons of new fireworks, including smiley faces (which they started using for Wishes this year I believe).... just all around excellent... when I go to the party, this fireworks show is the reason why...!
By time we sat through three Villain shows, fireworks, and 1 parade, we had just enough time to collect candy and head out for closing.... they did not have a lot of merchandise, but they did have several different pins and some things... we picked up the Passholder exclusive, the jumbo, and I got a picture holder for my office desk (I will get a pic to add)... To get merchandise, you had to wait in a really long line at the Expo Hall and be escorted, wonderful fun...
Overall, this year was much better then last year, much better.... I wish I could have been in a better spot for pictures and had a better camera, but there is always next year (hopefully, the camcorder will be working also)... who knows, there is still time this year.... HAHAHAHA!
I do have several more pics, the few that came out, and the PhotoPass ones over here: Check them out here, another, in another thread _________________ Up or Down North, South, East, or West An Adventurer's Life is Best!
Joined: Oct 13, 2005 Posts: 868 Location: Lake Buena Vista, FL
Posted: Wed Oct 11, 2006 11:35 am Post subject:
Great review! I agree, Halloween time is also my favorite time to visit WDW. I really like reviews like yours because it's neat to see what others experience that I may have missed. Since we were there at the same time, I thought I'd also give some thoughts:
I did notice a few different decorations around for the event this year, most just in different places though. I didn't perceive any more silhouettes on Main Street than last year but I agree the Lights on the Mickey Pumpkin outside were wicked cool!
Abu was there last year, part of that years new initiate to show "characters you rarely see in the park". It was also advertised for this years event as well but I think they could have more.
I was happy to see a new treat trail in Adventureland this year. Even happier that it was inside the old Adventureland Veranda restaurant! The treat trail had neat little "sets" where some adventurous characters were set up for photo ops along the way. There was a Jungle Book, Lion King and Tarzan set inside. At last years event, this spot was set up as one of the free photo locations (which was not offered this year...just 50% off that nights photo pass pictures). I really miss this place as a restaurant and wish it would reopen.
You are right about Frontierland being a great place to watch the parade. From the Pecos Bill side you can get some excellent night shots since there is so much lighting from above and behind you from the top of the buildings...don't try to take shots from the other side of the street though into the light! My all time favorite place to see the parade is Liberty Square. Something about the headless horseman going over that wooden bridge (as you mentioned) in the correct time period just makes it for me. Although he was going the opposite way I am use to seeing this year (the parade used one way for the first showing and the other for the next. Now it's the same way for both showings...at least this night.) Too bad they got rid of the storyteller in Liberty Square before the parade. One of the best parts of the event for me! Very happy to see the caretaker and his dog in the parade again! I wish the Hitch Hiking Ghosts would be walk around characters at the event, but a little closer to the look from the attraction than the parade version. That would be awesome! BTW, the last Goofy float was new this year. Last year Goofy was in the van like thing that Pluto's in this year. Aside from looking great the new float emits a wonderful candy smell! Cool!
I've said it before, and I'll say it again. The Mansion should look like it does for MNSSHP every night!
Tomorrowland Terrace was still opened, just weird hours and not for MNSSHP. They had it as a buffet resturant while I was there due to the overflow from the free dinning plan. I hear, will go back to the regular style soon, if it hasn't already.
I have still never seen the Villain's Mix and Mingle show, but I have done the whole after show photo opt thing which is very cool!
Disappointed there was no Haunted Cruise this year. All the MNSSHP's I've been to and the Happy Haunts events and I have still never done it. Maybe it will make a comeback next year.
The Jack Sparrow was dead on! Not just in the parade, but in the show outside pirates as well. Very nice!
As far as Hallowishes goes, the smiley's were there last year, they just don't always co-operate with the line of sight. The show is neat but I think they should bring back the witch flying from the castle.
The merchandise...unless you need a pin, it's best to grab your Halloween merch at a shop other than Expo. Hall and preferably NOT The Emporium. Event merchandise can be found in other stores with much shorter lines or none at all. As for the pins, do not I repeat do NOT go anywhere near the place until later in the evening. Unless you've camped out to be one of the first, the lines are much better towards the end of the night...but not the very end!
Another thing I miss is the fortune tellers, haven't seen them for a few years. The lines were long but it was very neat.
I'm sure there is more but I got the feeling I am rambling
I'm sure I will be back again for Halloween next year!
Joined: Nov 09, 2005 Posts: 154 Location: Kissimmee, Florida
Posted: Sat Oct 21, 2006 12:33 pm Post subject:
We did The Not So Scary Halloween thing last week on Monday. It was fun.
Mom and I sat around waiting the parade and it started to drizzle a little bit. She had to buy white ponchos and I joked that we came in costume as Ghosts.
The Boo To You Parade was great. Clarabelle's Farmhouse Float got stuck midwayu through the parade and it had to be towed so that the rest of it could continue. Saw The Haunted Mansion float too. The caretaker's dog was BIG!!!!
Pirates was also awesome. Seeing Jack Sparrow was amazing. I hope he didn't suffer heights dancing on top of the float.
Unfortunately after the parade there really wasn't much to do since it looked like most of attractions were closed while everyone else was waiting for The Hallowishes fireworks.
We were across from The Hall Of Presidents so we only saw the light show and not the Castle.
Still it was OK for what it was worth.
My Auntie Zee will be here in December and I'll get advanced tickets to the Christmas party. _________________ Excellence is what matters.
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there was a meet & greet, no one told me?
Very happy to see the caretaker and his dog in the parade again! I wish the Hitch Hiking Ghosts would be walk around characters at the event, but a little closer to the look from the attraction than the parade version. That would be awesome! BTW, the last Goofy float was new this year. Last year Goofy was in the van like thing that Pluto's in this year. Aside from looking great the new float emits a wonderful candy smell! Cool!
