So the idea of plunking down more money to Disney wasn’t the most appealing thought, but how can you pass up an opportunity to trick or treat in the Magic Kingdom? Take my advice: Do it! It’s worth every penny!
We arrived around 6 pm and the cast members were already letting people in the park. Surprisingly not one cast member ever asked to see our special event tickets…which unscrupulous people might take advantage of this loophole.
We (legally) got our orange Mickey wristbands and handed a bag for our treats. And off to all the fun!
The atmosphere was amazing! Main Street was decorated perfectly. Craved pumpkins lined the upper balconies of the stores and even Cinderella’s castle was lit in different and spooky colors. Everyone was dressed in their Halloween costumes. Unfortunately, Mom and I only had our mouse (duck) ears and we still felt underdressed. I wanted to dress up like a princess. Oh who am I kidding, I want to be Pluto.
Travel Tip: Pack a costume!
The park was crowded but not unbearably so. The rides line were short.. even Buzz Lightyear. We just walked on and started to kick some astro ass. On to the WEDway, I mean the Tomorrowland People Mover…still one of my favorite rides.
Having lunch earlier in the day, Mom and I were starved by the time the party rolled around. We both were expecting to have at least a couple options open, but the only choice available was Cosmic Ray’s. Not bad, but once again only a couple of menu items available to order.
Travel Tip: Eat beforehand. Most dining places are closed or on a limited menu.
While we were eating, the fireworks began over Cinderella Castle. Cosmic Ray’s wasn’t the ideal viewing spot as we missed some of the higher shooting fireworks. But it was kinda great to shove cheese fries down and watch the light show.
We kept hearing how the later (10:30) parade was less crowded than the earlier one (8:00). We found that to be completely untrue. By 9:15, the whole parade route was completely packed. So not wanting to miss the second parade, we hunkered down by Liberty Square and waited for the Headless Horseman to kick things off.
The parade was cute. The Boo To You theme song definitely was in my head for a couple days afterward. It was pretty cool to watch the Disney Villains take over and to see “regular” characters (ala Donald Duck) dressed in Halloween garb. By the way, the Grave Diggers Dance was a highlight and a not miss.
We wandered around for a little bit, trying to hunt down candy. That brings me to another point: the candy locations on the map were a bit off. You would go to one location and the candy would be on the other side of the land.
We left with about a half hour left because we wanted to be the crowd. Unfortunately, our bus took about an hour and a half to even arrive at the Magic Kingdom. This lead to very, very unhappy guests; including a guy from Louisiana who couldn’t understand why a monorail isn’t available to every resort. If that wasn’t bad enough the bus driver spent about 45 minutes trying to load up a wheelchair. What felt like an eternity finally ended, by 1:30 am we arrived at Port Orleans Riverside and laid our heads down to sleep.