Back from our whirlwind surprise birthday trip! We went to the 9/20 party for our daughter’s 7th birthday. Had a blast and actually did a lot more than we thought we would, though it did feel somewhat crowded. We didn’t have park tickets, so we wanted to get a lot of rides in, not a big focus on character meets or trick-or-treating. We did end up skipping the Haunted Mansion because DD freaked out and started screaming in line, despite the fact that she’s ridden dozens of times and never been scared before. Oh, well. We ended up skipping the parade too because it would have been right after that and, in that state, she probably would have ended up screaming and trying to run from some of the parade segments as well. But we did catch some of it at a distance while waiting for fireworks, so I guess that’s something. Otherwise, we did everything on our must-do list and then some. Oh, also, people-watching was so much fun – loved all the creative costumes!
*Arrived 3:50pm via boat from WL (WCC for late lunch), walked straight in, had wristbands on and entering park at 3:53pm.
*Went straight to our Tinkerbell FP (3:10-4:10pm). Observed all the people sitting on the floor waiting for Jack and Sally while we were in that room. Met Tink at 4:08pm, then tried to follow our plan to do standby for Mickey and Minnie (daughter’s birthday, so HAD to meet them in birthday party attire), but the standby jumped from I think 20 to 45 minutes while we were in with Tink, so we decided to check later and went to the bypass instead.
*After bypass, stopped for the PhotoPass with the aerial view of you in the MK (4:28). Only two people in line before us. Then started heading to our other two FP: Splash and Thunder.
*On the way, no wait for the Magic Carpets, so took a quick spin.
*Knocked out our Splash and BTMRR FP back-to-back (4:10-5:10 and 5:10-6:10 – we were done with Splash about 5:20).
*Started making our way back towards M&M because the wait seemed to be declining from the 75 minutes it had been at. Spotted Nick Wilde and Judy Hopps up on the train station platform (a little before 6pm).
*Got in line for M&M shortly after that and met them at 6:25pm – not so bad a wait! I used the time in line to multi-task and start prepping our daughter’s hair to be Dizzy from the Descendants for her costume (we hadn’t changed yet because she wanted to wear her Happy Birthday dress to meet M&M).
*Stopped into a restroom to change DD into her costume/dress on the way to Tomorrowland. Stopped for a quick Halloween Party sign PhotoPass in that area after she changed, 6:46).
*Made it to Space Mountain around 6:50, based on some advice about shorter lines I’d seen here. Confirmed with a CM that it was already in overlay mode. Still a fair line, but it moved fast and we were out of the ride by 7:15pm. Very cool in the pitch black!
*Wanted to do the Peoplemover, but it was down for technical difficulties, so we did Buzz instead, since it was basically a walk-on. Came out of Buzz and Peoplemover was running, so enjoyed a spin on that around 7:30pm. We did see the Elvis Stitch line was pretty long – we would have liked to do that, but didn’t want to spare the time.
*Went through the Laugh Floor around 7:50pm, got a few treats and stopped to watch the show for a few minutes. (We never specifically did a trick-or-treat trail, but there were a lot of attractions giving out candy after, so we got plenty).
*Entered Cosmic Rays at 8pm. Daughter is a HUGE Descendants fan and we managed to keep this party a secret from her. Also, good place to eat dinner. I brought her over to the dance party while DH got us some food. She got some good dancing in before we grabbed a table within view and ate dinner. For those like me that were trying to figure out what this party would be like, I’d say it’s a fairly typical Disney-style dance party, but Descendants themed. They had a DJ and dance leader CMs that were all fantastic and really made the party, in our opinion. They had some screens up front that showed occasional clips of the Descendants characters, sometimes interactive, sometimes just background movie clips. There was a mix of Descendants and other non-Descendants songs. Personally, I wish they just stuck to Descendants songs because there are so many good ones and that’s what the fans want to hear. But it was still fun. No Descendants characters roaming, BUT since this is the Halloween Party, all the fans dressed as their favorite characters gathered here, so our daughter (dressed as Dizzy) was out there dancing with Evie and Mal and Uma, etc. – she loved that! It seemed like the crowd got bigger and bigger as the time went on. Around 8:40, I believe, they took a break and said the show would start again at 9pm, so I guess they cycle on and off. We peeked in during the break and saw kids hula-hooping. I don’t have the best videos, but will add a couple to the end of this post. Daughter enjoyed this event quite a bit, but was ready for more rides after dinner.
*We headed out of Cosmic Rays around 8:40 (oh, I had the Lotso burger, which was pretty good). Our daughter tried unsuccessfully to pull the sword from the stone, then we spotted the stepsisters out and about. Since Dizzy is Drizella’s daughter, we joined the crowd following her around. That crowd contained several other kids dressed as Descendants characters and they all instantly bonded and the stepsisters made them all come up together for pictures. Also, do the Disney villians all deny the existence of their Descendants kids? Drizella did and when we mentioned Evie to the Evil Queen the prior night at Artist Point, well, she wouldn’t give that idea the time of day.
*After a bathroom break, headed into Pirates about 9:10-9:15. Loved the live-action pirates, in both the ride and the queue. Nice addition, they should always have that.
*About 9:45pm, we headed over to the lawn in front of Casey’s, based on the tips here about that being a good viewing spot. Took the PhotoPass in that area and asked the photographer if it was open for fireworks viewing and she said yes. We grabbed a front-row spot next to another family and waited it out, eating candy. Stood for the show and had a really nice view, since they leave open a walkway in front of the rail, so no heads right in front of you. Able to see Jack and projections quite well.
*Then we tried to do HM and DD lost her mind, as referenced earlier. We changed our plans and ended up on walk-on It’s a Small World (hadn’t planned to ride it at all, but it calmed DD down, thankfully). Took a quick restroom stop just after 11 and got the magic mirror PhotoPass shots nearby. Also, had passed by the lantern magic shot, but line was very long.
*Then we did a Fantasyland riding spree, walking onto Little Mermaid, Barnstormer, Teacups, and Pooh. Also did the Disney Junior dance party in the middle of that (fun, only a few kids with 3 characters on the dance floor). We met Goofy outside of the Barnstormer as well, with only 1 family in line (11:38).
*11:55 we got in line for 7DMT. 35 minute wait posted, but actually about 30 in reality.
*DD tried her luck with the sword again, but nope. Took a few pictures in front of the castle. Stopped at a Main Street Photopass and got several magic shots in one go (12:49 – dancing ghosts, cauldron, flaming pumpkin).
*We were staying at the Hilton Lake Buena Vista by Disney Springs. Their bus did not run after the party and we didn’t see any DS buses running either. Ended up taking the ferry to the TTC and then a cab back. All of our feet hurt by then. It was a great night! DD had a blast and got endless compliments on her costume and an all-around fun time was had by all. Glad we did this crazy trip!
Birthday Fun:
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Meeting Drizella:
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Tired but happy at the end of the night:
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My little Dizzy enjoying the DescenDance party
And the view while we ate: