After vowing to save money and not go to Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party this year, Disney must have gotten news they were going to lose my $60 so they added an elusive character. Jack Skellington from the Nightmare Before Christmas and his gal pal Sally were added to the lineup. A west coast semi regular this scary duo has only made on East Coast appearance and had monstrous lines to go with it.

So I forked over my $60 like a good Disney character hunter and headed to the park. I settled on a costume pretty easily, when you’re a pirate it’s kind of a cinch. I choose on of my favorite pirates, Mr Smee (and no not the cat Mr Smee we have at home, the loveable pirate from Peter Pan). I got my shirt at JC Penny’s, capri’s at Wal -Mart.com, glasses at Dollar tree and hat from Etsy.  I already had the shoes but after a 14 hour day in the parks the day prior I couldn’t bring myself to wear them. For under $40 I had a costume and a few clothes I could wear other times. As a party veteran I knew that while costumes were adorable if they were heavy and hot you can be in for a miserable night.

I was visiting the parks semi solo, on a retreat with other travel agents from my agency and a few of them planned to attend as well. We made plans to meet up later and I headed or my first stop Jack and Sally’s line. I got in line about 5:50. I walked up right behind an adorable family dressed as Wendy, Peter Pan, and a little Tinkerbell. The line grew quickly and by 6:15 was out of the que and the extended que they set up and spilling onto Main Street.

I chatted with my neighbors in line and before we knew it at 7:00pm promptly Jack and Sally appeared accompanied by cheers from the crowd. A few minutes later it was my turn to meet the duo.

I was finished by 7:25. And ready for some dinner. I headed to Casey’s for  one of my favorites an oversized Chicago dog and fries. I was so disappointed to see it had been removed from the menu. I got the new sausage dog instead and grabbed a spot outside to watch the Villains Mix and Mingle from afar. The sausage dog was ok. I would have it again but it’s not Chicago dog. I guess I will have to go back to my pre Chicago discovery the chili cheese dog.

After dinner I headed off to check on the other character lines and make sure no surprise guests had arrived. In Adventureland I saw Turk and Tarzan and Aladdin and Jasmine greeting. I stalked the exit of Pixie Hollow for a few minutes to find out who was with Tink. My Pan family from the Jack and Sally line exited as if on cue and informed me it was Terrance. Although my favorite fairy I had seen him recently so I didn’t want to waste party time waiting. I headed over to Haunted Mansion to listen to Carolotta harass some guests and hitch a ride with some of my favorite ghosts.

This was one of the first significant lines I encountered after leaving Jack and Sally, the wait for the carriage photo at Haunted Mansion was a good 30 parties deep, I was look at at least a half an hour wait so I put it off till later. This line was only a few people deep.

I went to check in on the Dwarves line, it didn’t look too bad, I stood and counted a while and estimated the line to be just a bit over an hour. It seems Jack and Sally have really taken the burden off this mega popular character greeting. I made a quick stop by Fairytale Princess Hall to confirm that it was the same Princesses with their Princes (Rapunzel, Cindy, Aurora, and Snow with their honorable men in tow). Passed Donald and Daisy standing along the construction walls in their costumes (in possibly the worst lighting ever, directly in the dark area there with one flood light from a building shining directly on them providing weird shadows and blinding all the non-fur photo takers) on my way to meet Pooh and his friends.

I got in line as the first parade was ending. Another Peter Pan got in line behind me. Hello I’m supposed to be chasing him not the other way around. Pooh and the gang came walking by a few minutes later and thy opened up the que. When I got to the entrance the Cast Member asked how many in my family, I looked at Pan and said well just me but if you’re going to cut the line off at me we are together. She looked at me weird and said you two aren’t together. I said no but we should both get in because our costumes go together. She grinned and let us thru the rope and cut it off after us. My Pan friended thanked me and we started chatting. He was a Cast Member here on the College Program from Arizona. We passed the rest of the time chatting till I got to meet these guys.

That’s right, Tigger is a Pirate! He always was my favorite Pooh character anyway. He approved of my costume but I think it hurt Pooh’s feelings that I was dressed like Tigger.

After this I headed over to get a spot for Hallowishes and meet up with a new friend from Texas. Christy is a client and we were going to be at the party on the same night. I met up with her and her friend with great spots in the HUB for Hallowishes and we had a great time chatting away till time for the show.

The projection show on the Castle, Celebrate the Magic, had a Halloween Theme and I think this is one of the best variations of that show yet. After another awesome performance of Hallowishes I bid farewell to my new friend and headed off to Villains Mix and Mingle.

 

I just love this show it’s like attending a rock concert of all the Disney Villians with a cheering crowd and the excitement and great music and dancing. Afterwards It was time to report in to the Captain.

He was pleased I was out chasing Pan but sent me back out to capture him.

I headed off to meet my fellow travel agent and roommate for this trip, Rae in Liberty Square where she had staked out a spot for the second parade. We had excellent spots and in no time the Headless Horseman was heading out way.

Boo to You is one of the best parades of the year, to me second only to Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Parade. I had a great time and made sure to give a shout out to all my pirate pals. My husband is my photogrpaher and we have nearly every shot from Boo to You already so I did something I rarely do, put my camera away and enjoyed the parade.

After the parade it was nearing 11 o clock and I realized I had not done any trick or treating. I went thru Fantasyland, checking out the Dwarves and Princess lines again, much shorter and neither had been cut off for the night yet. I went into Gaston’s Tavern for a quick drink while I planned out my character strategy. I passed Gaston flirting with some girls and a very short line. I was on a candy mission to see how long it would take to fill a bag.

I headed thru Pinocchio Village Haus which is the best candy stop with Worthers’ carmel apple pieces.  I made this loop several times, its the best candy and one of the few things I like. I am not a chocolate fan so the ‘good’ candy everyone else wants is not my favorite.  Then I headed to the Tomorrowland speedway stop, hit the trail from Space Mountain to Storybook Circus, stopped at the Circus stop and went thru twice, then back to the Tomorrowland stop (where I picked up a second bag) and then thru the line at Stitch’s Great Escape two times.

 

I got my groove on at the dance party for a a few minutes then a quick trip thru Buzz to see if  could conquer evil Emperor Zurg (I did) and I headed for Main Street to exit as the clock struck midnight.  I got a handful of Peeps on my way out, both my candy bags were pretty full.
Overall MNSSHP this year was a hit for me. I enjoyed being in the park with the spooky atmosphere, got to meet a new character, and saw the parade and Hallowishes from great spots.  The crowds were low, the temps were warm but once the sun went down it was not unbearable.  The candy haul was good and worth my time.  It may not be an every year tradition for us because we have done it several times now but it is definitely a must for infrequent visitors in September and October and is a great way to get in the mood for fall festivities at home.