Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party 2013

Since 2009, we have consistently visited Walt Disney World in either September or October. And every year we consider attending Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party...and we always talk ourselves out of it. For one thing, I am extremely frugal and this hard-ticketed event goes for about $65 a pop (for approximately 8 hours of time in the Magic Kingdom, since guests are typically admitted into the park by 4 and the party lasts until midnight). For another, our children are just now getting to the point where they can stay up until midnight without getting whiney or grumpy--and you know if we pay for the party, we're staying until midnight! Finally, we had never been able to come up with just the right costumes for our predominantly-female family. Until now.

My husband has a very narrow field of costumes that he would consider wearing--and they mostly consist of Super Heroes or Star Wars characters. We desperately tried to talk him into LaLaLoopsy dolls last year, but that was a lost cause. Then it came to me...Oz! His costume would be rather normal--a tuxedo--and ours could still be fun and elaborate. Everybody wins! We were rather frugal with our costumes too. Some pieces came from our own closets, many were purchased second hand, and a we even made a few things. My best find was the 99-cent Tuxedo jacket for my husband at Good Will--score!



My parents were with us at the party too, and they dressed as Miss Kay and Phil from Duck Dynasty. It took a little convincing for my dad, although camouflage is pretty central to his wardrobe anyhow. Since he didn't want to wear a beard in the Florida heat (or, well, anywhere), he used this paper fan--perfect, right? For my mom, all that was needed was an apron.



We arrived at the Magic Kingdom around 4:00 p.m., when guests are typically admitted into the park. The party officially starts at 7:00, and that's when they begin ushering other guests out. Since we had a 3-hour window before the party technically started, I was able to schedule 3 Fastpass+ attractions for our Magic Bands in that time. So, basically, we had to head immediately toward the Fairytale Princess Hall upon our arrival.



After visiting with Cinderella and Aurora, we did Enchanted Tales with Belle. Both my husband and youngest daughter got to play roles in that one--fun! [An aside: one small way they've improved this attraction over Storytime with Belle is that now any child that would like a part can have one. They have plenty of "minor" character cut-outs so everyone can participate.]



Our final FP+ was for Under the Sea/Journey of the Little Mermaid. In addition, I think we were able to ride Dumbo, check out Belle's village (including Gaston's Tavern), and visit the Haunted Mansion before the party started in earnest. One of the highlights of the Haunted Mansion is seeing the CMs in ghoulish makeup. Even better, we were entertained by Madame Renata as she engaged guests outside the mansion.



Once the party started, we decided to do a bit of Trick-or-Treating along the way. I have to admit, this was one area of disappointment for me. I expected there to be CMs on every corner handing out treats, and that wasn't the case. Yes, there were a few "big" trails that had more than one stop, but those were few and far between. And some of the T-or-T areas were so far off the beaten path that it was rather inconvenient to search for them. Even after searching a few out, we all left the MK with less than half a bag of candy each. And by the time we weeded out what we wouldn't eat, it was less-than-impressive.

The highlight of the evening for me was the Boo to You Parade. The Headless Horseman signals guests to the parades arrival--yes, a real live horse with his rider! You'll see both familiar and exotic characters in this parade. It is certainly the most unique Disney parade, if not the best. There were grave diggers--complete with shovels that sparked on the pavement. And zombie dancers, just as those in the ballroom at the Haunted Mansion. We even caught a glimpse of the Hitchhiking Ghosts. And the catchy tune that accompanies them all will be stuck in your head for days! We liked this parade so much that we came back for the second viewing!



Another fun thing about MNSSHP is that you see characters that aren't typically available on a regular basis. While we aren't usually willing to wait in the long lines for some of these, we did manage to see a couple. Tarzan and Terk had almost no line, so we snagged a photo. While the Seven Dwarfs had a tremendous line (guests started lining up at 4:00 p.m.--I'm not even kidding!), there was absolutely no one in line when we dropped in just before midnight! Lucky us!



Additional activities for the night included character dance parties, a Villains castle show, and a seasonal castle projection show and fireworks. Honestly, we barely saw/did these things, as we were intent on seeing the parade, trick-or-treating, and riding a few attractions. My one regret is that we missed a full viewing of the Villains Dance Mix & Mingle--we just lost track of time. But, all-in-all, we enjoyed the party. Would we do it again? Probably not anytime soon. But it's definitely worth checking out at least once.

 

 

Trip Report: Extended Version

Still putting a few things away here at home, but I finally finished my last load of laundry from the trip--woot! Here's the general overview of what we did each day. More details to come on specific events/restaurants.

We started our trip on Friday afternoon. My parents traveled with us this time, so we waited for them to arrive from Indiana that morning. In the mean time, my girls and I had a callback for a Christmas show (we all got in!) that we had to work in before we left town. When my parents arrived, we had just a few minutes to repack their van with all our luggage and theirs. Fortunately, we were only going to Atlanta--a four-hour trip--so it was OK that we were a little tight. I think everyone had something at their feet, but we squeezed everything in. We had a brief stop-over for our callback and then were on our way to my brother's house where we spent the night before heading for Florida on Saturday.

The trip in to FL was also pretty smooth. We stopped at the Welcome Center and snagged a free cup of OJ before arriving at Pop Century around 4 p.m. on Saturday. [A side note: I actually turned down free passes to the Sea World Halloween party for that evening. I was offered an opportunity to review it for Trekaroo, a family travel site, but knowing that our arrival time was unlikely to be early in the day, I let those go to another family. It hurt a little, but it was the right decision.] Our check-in at Pop went pretty smoothly. We had done online check in, and this saved some time. Still, I had to wait for an actual desk clerk Cast Member, since I was paying with gift cards and not the credit card on file. My mom, on the other hand, was able to check in with a roaming CM who had a handheld device, charging their room to her card. It took all of about 30 seconds.



We had only stayed at Pop one other time, back in 2005 soon after it opened. Our reactions were largely the same: this resort is fine, not great. The theming throughout the resort is fun, but the rooms are somewhat bland. In addition, because it is so large, it always feels crowded. That said, our room assignments were precisely what we had asked for, so we really have no complaints...we just like some of the others better than Pop. This was also our first opportunity to use our Magic Bands. We were all very excited to see that they indeed worked in opening our doors. That is, perhaps, the single best use of them--so convenient to simply tap your band to the censor, especially when you have your hands full.

That Saturday evening, we had our traditional dinner at Sweet Tomatoes (we don't have these in Nashville). We love to fill up on healthy food (soup and salad) before diving in to all Disney has to offer. I found an online discount that gave us 15% off with my Visa card, so that was a bonus.

Since we had two different types of tickets--Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party and Homeschool Days Parkhopper Tickets--we were told by my CM cousin that it would be a good idea to have plastic tickets to enter the Parks, particularly for the Halloween party, to ensure that the system didn't take away one of our Parkhopper days instead. (This is one of the quirks of the system--it can't prioritize tickets at the gate.)In addition, we knew that plastic tickets would be our only opportunity to acquire Fastpasses while in the Parks (though we had scheduled 3 FP per day on our Magic Bands through FP+). So, since we had no evening activities planned, we headed to the Magic Kingdom Guest Relations to have our tickets "fixed."

The process did take some time--it's clear there are still some kinks in the system and quite a learning curve for CMs--but we were rewarded well for our trouble. Since we were arriving near closing, we were given passes to head into the MK in time to see the evening fireworks. (This "Magical Moment" was courtesy of our daughter who kept begging us to go into the park then...followed by our explaining that we didn't want to waste a whole park ticket day for just an hour or so in the MK. The CM overheard all this and granted her wish!) Along with that, we were given two FastPasses good for any ride--we were able to ride Under the Sea (which we'd never been on) and Buzz Lightyear. We also got free ice cream bars from a cart! All-in-all a pretty sweet deal!

Because of our surprise trip into the MK, most of us didn't have great walking shoes on (the girls and I were wearing flip flops) and we also got to bed later than planned. But sore feet and a little less sleep were a small price to pay for Extra Magic!



Sunday, we tried to sleep late and ate a light breakfast in our room before heading to Whispering Canyon Café for lunch. I'll write more on this experience, but I'll just mention that what could have been a terrible lunch turned out well for us again because of the way Disney handles their own mistakes.

After an hour or so of rest, we donned our Halloween costumes and headed to the party. I'll do a separate post on this as well...overall, we enjoyed the whole night, but it's not something we feel we have to do often or again anytime soon.



Monday was a "rest day" after our late night. We have brunch at Kona Café (always a favorite) and did a little shopping for last-minute necessities like milk. We had planned to walk over to Art of Animation for dinner, but a downpour of rain nixed that idea. We settled for the Everything Pop food court. It was fine, and we were able to mostly dodge the rain.



Tuesday was a full day in Epcot. We had FP+ for Soarin', Character Spot (we've actually NEVER done this), and Test Track. We tried to change our selection for the Character Spot, since there was no line and we didn't really need to use it, but neither the app nor the kiosk nearby would allow us to make another FP+ selection (something it should allow you to do). As I said, still a few kinks in this system. As for Test Track, we really enjoyed the new "design-your-own-car" aspect of the ride, but we otherwise prefer the old version. It loses something with all the dayglow and darkness. For example, because it's so dark inside, you can actually see the daylight outside as the car in front of you breaks through the wall to outdoors, so there's no element of surprise. Sure, we knew it was coming, but it was more exciting when you used to crash through those doors than it is now. Also, it's hard to tell what the semi that heads toward your car is, so it's not as exciting/scary either.



We had lunch at Sunshine Seasons. We also visited the Chase Visa lounge in the American Adventure for free drinks and a nice little rest. In the evening, we took in some of the Food & Wine festival and had some tasty dishes, but we found that our old favorites (particularly the bakery in France) are a better deal and we are never disappointed in them. While we didn't stop to sit down, we stood and listened to Sugar Ray perform the one or two songs of theirs that we actually know. Took us back a few years. Scott and I finished the evening with dinner at La Hacienda de San Angel--alone. (My parents and cousin took the girls for us!) A rare treat for us!



Wednesday was our Homeschool Program at Disney's Hollywood Studios (more on that later). We hit all our favorites (Toy Story, Great Movie Ride, Tower of Terror, Star Tours) and tried a new dessert favorite: the Butterfinger Cupcake from Staring Rolls Cafe. (So very delicious!!!) But lines were rather long at even the marginal attractions, which we are just not used to. (I've come to the conclusion that balanced school calendars are screwing up Disney in the fall for all us homeschool families!) We saw Minnie Mouse in her new meet-n-greet and waited 45 minutes for my youngest to get her photo with Wreck-It Ralph and Venelope (never again). After getting frustrated at wait times, we decided to head over to Epcot to finish out our day at EMH. Even with F&W crowds, we were able to hit Soarin' again and several other less popular attractions. And we ate at the French bakery. Again.



Thursday had us back at the MK, our favorite park, and the one we are most comfortable navigating--which, in turn, allows us to do and see more in a day. We did two "new" things: First, we ALL rode Space Mountain together! It's a new era for our family! The other new event was eating at Be Our Guest. I'll do an entire post on that, but our overall impressions were VERY favorable. I'd put it on my "must do" list for sure. We left a bit before the MK closed to stop by Captain Cooks (Polynesian) and have a late dinner. Loved the pork nachos! And, of course, we got our self serve Dole Whip!



Despite it being our least favorite park, we decided to give Animal Kingdom a half day on this trip--if for no other reason than to eat at Flame Tree BBQ! And for the first time, our girls (and I) rode Expedition Everest! Our oldest didn't want to do it again (youngest went again with Daddy), but at least she got on it! Very proud of this brave move (if you knew her, you'd appreciate how hard this was for her). We got soaked twice on Kali River Rapids, and we saw my friend Claire flying as Squirt in Finding Nemo. That was really all we cared to do at AK, so we hopped back to the Studios for the end of the day. Again, the Studios was rather crowded, so we mostly attended shows and minor rides. (My parents weren't with us on Wednesday, so we mostly went back to DHS for their benefit.) We weren't able to ride Toy Story (out of FP), but we hit most everything.



Our last event before leaving town was breakfast with one of my old theatre friends at Olivia's (Old Key West Resort). We had a lovely visit, a good meal, and a bonus of 40% off with her CM discount (she is a seasonal Disney employee). We had another uneventful trip back to Atlanta, where we stopped over for my sister-in-law's birthday and to see my nephew who has been away at college. After a great night with them, we drove across town to my aunt's house so that my Dad could do a few quick repairs for her while we visited. She made us a yummy lunch, and by early afternoon we were on our way back to Nashville.

That's the long version of the whole week, but there will be several posts coming on specific events, activities, and restaurants. Oh, one other thing: although the crowds were greater than we expected, we couldn't have asked for better weather! Other than the brief shower on Monday, and one tiny shower while we were inside the American Adventure at Epcot, we had clear skies and mild temps!

 

Trip Report in Brief

We are home and trying to re-establish some sort of order. Between the mound of laundry, getting back to our homeschool routine, and not having much to eat in the house, I haven't really been able to decompress enough to think about writing about some of our experiences at Walt Disney World this week. So...here's a preview of some of the posts I hope you will see in the next couple of weeks:

• A general trip report, overviewing everything we saw, ate, and did!


• Review of Be Our Guest--we used Direct to Table.


• A post on Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party--what we loved, and what we didn't.


• Whispering Canyon Café review--and how Disney makes up for their mistakes.


• Magic Bands--how they work, what they'll do, and hopes for what they can become.


• Off the beaten path: dining at a DVC resort.


• Disney's Homeschool Days--what we learned and why we love this program.

While we were away, there were some developments too. Of course, we saw the concept art that was released for Avatarland--did you? There was also the rumor that Lord of the Rings may be coming to the Disney Parks in the future. And, of course, more talk that Star Wars Land may prevail over Cars Land at Disney's Hollywood Studios. And while none of us were paying attention, Disney quietly decided to do away with their paper stock certificates that are so popular among fans. (You can still grab one until October 16.) There were also a variety of Limited Time Magic announcements.

I'll do my best to catch everyone up on what's going on around Walt Disney World in the coming days. In the mean time, suffice it to say we had a lovely trip (if a bit more crowded than we expected)--and the weather was nearly perfect!

 

My Favorite Limited Time Magic So Far...

OK, I must confess that so far this whole "Limited Time Magic" thing has seemed a little lame to me. Yes, it's fun to see characters that you don't often see...or hear the Dapper Dans sing boy band hits. But for a year-long promotion, this one has been rather lackluster. Still, this week is the start of a "Limited Time Magic" event that I truly wish we could take part in: The American Idol Experience Juniors Edition. From August 12 until August 18, kids 6-13 can now participate in The American Idol Experience, with a special Juniors Edition of the show each night at 6 p.m. No, there won't be any Dream Tickets given out, since the actual AI show doesn't permit kids under 14 to audition, but this is still a great opportunity for younger kiddos to show off their talents. A special song list has been selected, and kids can audition for a spot on the show every day from opening until 4 p.m.

Let's just say that my little wannabe Divas are sick--SICK!--over the fact that our trip to WDW isn't until October. This is totally their kind of thing! If you're lucky enough to be heading to WDW next week, you can get more specific information on this totally cool "Limited Time Magic" experience here.

Refurbishment Update

Here are the current and upcoming ride closures/refurbishments at Walt Disney World.

 

Magic Kingdom

• The Liberty Bell closed this week for a brief refurbishment. It will reopen on August 9.


• The Enchanted Tiki Room is closed through August 28.


• The Prince Charming Regal Carousel is closed until August 22.


• The Jungle Cruise will be closed August 19 through September 30 for refurbishment.


• Peter Pan is closing September 30 through November 13 for refurbishment.


• The Walt Disney World Railroad will be closed September 30 through November 20.

 

Epcot

• Fountain View Ice Cream will remain closed through early September as it is being converted into a Starbucks location.


• Spaceship Earth will be closed August 18–24 for refurbishment.

 

Disney's Hollywood Studios

• Muppet Vision 3D will remain closed through September 2 for refurbishment.


• The Honey, I Shrunk the Kids Playground closes September 3 for refurbishment and will reopen November 20.

 

Animal Kingdom currently has no refurbishments or closures on the schedule, although the Festival of the Lion King show will be moving to a new theatre sometime in 2014.

 

 

Friday Photo

Just finished my adult summer reading program at the lovely Brentwood Library yesterday. It was a Jeopardy-themed game which included questions, assignments, and, yes, books to read in specific categories. With Jeopardy on my mind, I remembered this little scene. Can you name the attraction? C'mon, this is an easy one!

 

WDW Railroad to Undergo Fall Refurbishment

Another bummer for us: the Walt Disney World Railroad will not be operating when we're next at the Parks. We're not really lamenting the loss of the ride experience but rather the transportation aspect. The railroad makes it easy to hop from one part of the Magic Kingdom to another quickly, all while giving your tired feet a rest and cooling you off in the breeze. We're definitely going to miss that! The train will be shut down from September 30 through October 20, reopening on October 21.

Peter Pan Refurbishment Planned for Fall

Just a week after we booked our next WDW vacation, I read this announcement that was met with groans from my children: Peter Pan's Flight will undergo a month-long refurbishment from September 28 through October 31...during our planned trip. :( No doubt, we are the only guests disappointed by this news, and as avid Disney fans, we know that refurbishment is part of the deal...even when it's one of our favorite attractions.

What is it about Peter Pan's Flight that makes it such a favorite, especially among return guests? The ride itself is rather simple, really. And it's over much too quickly. And yet it remains one of the most popular attractions in the Magic Kingdom. It's still typically our first stop in the morning.

In a way, this is good news. Not having PPF in contention, we'll be able to concentrate our focus on the new attractions in Fantasyland. Yes, that's how I'm going to see it. Good news. We won't even miss it, right?
 

Summer Refurbishments

There have been several recent changes to the Walt Disney World refurbishment schedule. Here's what's coming up for summer:

• Big Thunder Mountain Railroad will be closed June 22 and 23.


• Pirates of the Caribbean will be closed July 27-30.


• The Prince Charming Regal Carousel refurbishment that was previously scheduled for June has been moved out to August 1-21.


• The Liberty Square Riverboat will close August 5-9.


• MuppetVision 3D will be closed August 6 through September 2.


• The Jungle Cruise will be closed August 19 through September 30.


• Remaining closed until August 1 is Fountain View Ice Cream. It will reopen as a Starbucks location.


• Also getting the Starbucks treatment is the Main Street Bakery. It will reopen June 18.


• The California Grill will reopen after its lengthy refurbishment on August 31.

Also closing briefly May 30-June 1 is the Grand Floridian's Beach Pool. The slide will be closed beginning May 27. That about covers it!

 

While I Was Away...

Here's the news from Walt Disney World over the last week:

• Merida officially became a Disney Princess in a coronation ceremony at the Magic Kingdom on May 11. This brings the official court to eleven Disney Princesses. (Have I mentioned that 11 is my favorite number? My husband and I were married on 11/11/00, after exactly 11 months of dating. We celebrated our 11th anniversary on 11/11/11!)


• Free dining and room discounts for fall dates were released to the general public, following a brief exclusive release for Disney Rewards Visa cardholders. You can check out the discounts on the "Offers" page on the WDW website.


• PIN codes for free dining--with a wider range of dates--also went out to a ton of previous Disney guests. I got mine! Did you get one?


• Constructions walls went up at the former Pleasure Island section of Downtown Disney, so that work can begin on the new Disney Springs area.


• The new castle projection show, "Celebrate the Magic," was announced and will coincide with the May 24 "Monstrous Summer Event."


• Wendy and Peter Pan are together again! The duo can be found near the queue to Peter Pan's Flight for daily meet-n-greets. Peter Pan was formerly greeting guests alone in Adventureland.


• La Nouba (Cirque du Soleil) is closed until the end of the month for refurbishment.


• After just a few months in operation, Be Our Guest Restaurant menus are already being tweaked--and some prices are going up. Ouch.

That about covers what you might have missed while I was away!

 

Catching Up

OK, let me first apologize for being a total slacker. The truth is, I've been busy as a bee and trying to enjoy what little free time we have with my family. But because of this, I have totally neglected Affording the Mou$e. I'll do my best to catch you up on the major happenings around the World in this post. First, here is some info on a room-only discount that released to the general public this week (after a brief offering to Disney Visa Cardholders first):

• Discounts vary from 15 to 30% off regular rack rates at Disney World Resorts, for travel dates from February 18 through June 24, with blackout dates March 24 through April 1. The deal must be booked by March 7.


• In general, it appears that most Deluxe Resorts offer 30% off, with most Moderates offering 25% off, and Values offering 20% off. The family suites at Art of Animation are 15% off. That said, there are some resorts excluded (or offered at a lower percentage off) and not all dates are available for all resorts.


• You can add the meal plan and tickets for even greater savings.

And now, on to an update of closures and refurbishments:

Magic Kingdom

• Splash Mountain has closed for a lengthy refurbishment and will reopen on March 20.


• The Mad Tea Party will be closed January 7 through February 18.


• The Main Street Bakery has closed and will re-open sometime this summer as a Starbucks location. Have no fear--they will continue to offer many of the yummy pastries we all love.


• The Liberty Square Riverboat will close for a brief refurbishment February 1-7.

Epcot

• The Character Spot remains closed through February. Temporary meet-n-greet locations have been set up. Consult the Times Guide or ask a Cast Member for the location of your favorite characters.


• Fountain View will close in March and re-open this summer as a Starbucks location.


• Habit Heroes remains closed in Innoventions, but there are rumblings that it could reopen this month.

Disney's Hollywood Studios

• Beauty and the Beast will be closed January 7-12 for a brief refurbishment.


• Disney Junior, Live on Stage! closes January 14 through February 14.

Animal Kingdom

• Kali River Rapids will be closed January 6 through February 15 (but who really wants to ride that in the winter, anyhow?).


• Mr. Kamal's is closed January 6-26.


• Beastly Bazaar remains closed, as it is being re-themed as a meet-n-greet, with no re-opening date given.

And, finally, a contest. Log onto www.disneytimesweeps.com and enter every day between now and January 31 for a chance to win a Walt Disney World vacation. They're giving away one every day!

Roundup of Updates

I have been terribly remiss about keeping up with the updates around Walt Disney World. My only defense is the same as everyone else's: busyness! The holidays have really snuck up on me. (That explains why so many of my posts lately have been Amazon deals...I am still struggling to get my shopping done!) Pair that with a still fairly new-to-us home, a husband's crazy work schedule, the start of Upward cheer season (I'm a coach), and our normal lives as a homeschooling family, and I simply haven't been able to keep up with the Most Magical Place on Earth as much as I would like. But this morning, I finally carved out some time to read up on some exciting new developments, which I now share below (in shorthand) for you.

• The new Fantasyland expansion area continues to draw the crowds, with wait times exceeding 100 minutes at the Under the Sea--Journey of the Little Mermaid attraction. FYI, if you have a visit planned, you'll want to note that Fastpasses for the ride are located in OLD Fantasyland near Mickey's Philharmagic, not near the Little Mermaid attraction.


• Be Our Guest restaurant (new Fantasyland) will be testing a system that would allow guests to essentially reserve a time for lunch and even pre-order food. Guests would then arrive at the restaurant at the appointed time and go through an express checkout, where they would be given a magical rose (much like traditional restaurant "beepers") to take to their chosen table where the food would later be delivered. Sounds like a viable solution for eliminating the lunchtime bottleneck that seems to be happening in this very popular new eatery.


• WDW has just completed yet another test of the new Fastpass+ system--the first of these tests that also included live shows. (Many of us were curious as to how they would fit into the picture when the original concept was first introduced.) Certainly there are both pros and cons to the system, but based on how many of the new kiosks are sprouting up around the World, I'm guessing it's here to stay. I have yet to personally experience it, but I'm fluctuating between being excited about the new technology and lamenting over losing a system that I am familiar and comfortable with.


• There was a lot of buildup, and if you weren't in the Magic Kingdom on the evening of December 5 you missed it, but the dragon flew. And, as Forest Gump would say, "That's all I have to say about that."


• While Fantasyland was having its "Grand Re-Opening," Test Track was not to be outdone, when it rolled out its 2.0 version on December 6. There was a band (One Republic), pyrotechnics, WDW execs and such...it was kind of epic. I hear the attraction is pretty cool too. Our family is pretty psyched about giving it a whirl on our next visit!


• Disney has retooled the official Walt Disney World website. Check it out here.

Those are the highlights for now. Back to my Christmas shopping. Oooh...here's another great deal I found on Amazon (Ok, this one is actually from MY list):

Is Cars Land Coming to WDW?

It has been rumored for some time now, but I'm hearing buzz that there might be an official announcement as early as this week that Disney is indeed bringing Cars Land to Disney's Hollywood Studios! The area would likely cover the area now occupied by the Studio Backlot Tour and the Lights! Camera! Action! Extreme Stunt Show. I, for one, am thrilled at this new, as it will save my family a large chunk of change that we probably have dropped in the next year on a trip to the West Coast to see the original Cars Land. As it is, we'll likely hold out for the much closer Orlando version.

While I tend to be a traditionalist and often cling to older attractions--especially those that are original to any Park--I think the Backlot Tour has definitely overstayed its welcome. If there were any amount of realism or actual studio backlot insight to be gained from the attraction, I might feel differently. But since very little work is actually being done on the site--and almost no filming, other than promotional materials--the attraction has lost its credibility. It's time for it to go. And, well, I never really cared for the stunt show, so I'm OK with that too. These two will be a small price to pay for the awesomeness that will be Cars Land.

Friday Photo

We just caught a glimpse of the new Test Track on Good Morning America. Did you see it? It happens to be one of our family's favorite attractions. And this Friday Photo of my crew (minus me, the photographer) is proof.

New Fantasyland Officially Opens!

While it has been operating in soft opening for quite a while now, today is the official opening of the new Fantasyland, including several new attractions, restaurants, and experiences. Hop on over to the Official Disney Parks Blog for highlights and photos. I so wish I could be there!

Hidden Mickey Monday

This one is actually in a gift shop outside an attraction. Can you name the shop or guess the attraction?

Update Around the World

I have been terribly remiss about even reading WDW updates, much less posting about them! We're finally settled into our new home (well, settled is a relative term), so I'm desperately trying to get back on track with my blogging. Here are some general updates of what's going on around WDW, including refurbishments and openings:

• Although the new Fantasyland doesn't officially open until December 6, Cast Member and passholder previews are in full swing, as well as previews for the general public.


• Test Track (Epcot) is also now scheduled to reopen on December 6.


• The re-imagined Bistro de Paris (Epcot) is also set to open December 6 with a new menu and new name.


• Epcot's Character Spot remains closed through February. If you have a trip scheduled between now and then, you can check with a Cast Member to see where your favorite characters have been relocated.


• The Studio Backlot Tour, Honey I Shrunk the Kids Movie Set Adventure, and American Film Institute Showcase (Disney's Hollywood Studios) are expected to reopen on November 17.


• Lights! Motor! Action! Extreme Stunt Show (DHS) will close next week for a brief refurbishment, closing on November 11 and reopening on November 15.


• Typhoon Lagoon is closed for its yearly rehab and will reopen on January 5, weather permitting.


• Blizzard Beach will undergo its yearly rehab January 6 through March 16.


• Splash Mountain (MK) will be closed from January 2 through March 19, for a rather lengthy refurbishment.


• Mad Tea Party (MK) will be closed January 7-February 18.


• The Liberty Square Riverboat (MK) will close for refurbishment February 1-7.

Whew! I think that about covers it for now. Lots going on around the World.  We were hoping to take a quick trip in December, to experience some of the new and improved attractions, but I'm not sure it's going to happen with all that's going on (new house and especially busy time at work for my husband). Still holding out hope!

Hidden Mickey Monday

Where did we find this one? The design on each circle gives a big hint.

Fantasyland in Soft Opening

While there have been test runs of various attractions over the last few weeks, it has only been in the last week that many of the new Fantasyland attractions, restaurants, etc. have been in what I would call a true "soft opening." Photos are surfacing of areas in and around Belle's village, including Be Our Guest Restaurant, Gaston's Tavern, and Bonjour Gifts. Just this morning, I spoke with an aquaintance who just returned from WDW and was able to experience those, as well as the Belle attraction (Magical Tales with Belle) and the new Little Mermaid attraction (this one got rave reviews, btw!). And while they weren't hiding that this area was open, they certainly weren't actively promoting it.

If you'll be traveling to the Parks in the coming weeks, be sure to check out the new Fantasyland. And even if an attraction doesn't appear to be open, it never hurts to ask a Cast Member nearby--you might just be pleasantly surprised!

Hidden Mickey Monday

This Hidden Mickey is on one of our favorite rides--do you know which one?