Today was Halloween!
We didn’t have any plans for this morning, so we had a much slower start. I woke early still at about half 7 (I can not lay in at Disney – my body just does not allow it!). Leah woke not long after me so I ran her a bath and Ellie woke at about 8 but dozed on and off in her bed for a bit.
We had been so lucky with the weather this week and only had a few spots of rain. Today was forecast rain all day at one point but when I checked this morning it had changed to this evening only!
We got ready slowly and headed down to breakfast at about 9.40. We had the usual mix of pastries and cooked breakfasts and headed back to the room. Dan had some work stuff to sort out so the girls amused themselves while he did that and I started on the packing.
Once we had everything sorted it was about 11.30 and we decided to head into Disney Village and finish up our shopping. The buses were obviously much quieter at this time which was nice and the bag check ques were non-existent.
Our first stop was Starbucks where I got a White Chocolate Frappuccino and Dan got a Cappuccino, and worked our way back through the stores.
The kids loved the Lego Store. They got a lego mini figure each (we were desperately hunting for guess who – yup Jack Skellington! We have since found him!)
Leah modelling her bargain ears from yesterday
This time they got Jasmine and Jafar.
Ellie got a Stitch keyring, a Minnie cup and another Mickey teddy I got a mug for my sister and a keyring for my niece and a pen for me. ( I will try and upload photos once I have taken them
)
Leah couldn’t see anything she wanted so she decided to save her money. (They had been saving up pocket money as spending money for the trip – I always find this works well for us as they then know how much they have to spend and can decide themselves if they want it).
Once we had our purchases we headed to cool wash to grab a coffee and sat and people watched for a bit, enjoying sitting listening to the music and atmosphere. We headed back to the room at about 2 and as we passed the lobby we saw someone face-painting – I had forgotten blue face paint for Leah so I pointed her out and said that she could get it done down here which she was really excited about. We headed to the room and I put Ellie down for a nap as we had had a late night and she hadn’t been sleeping well with her cough. She is way too old for a nap at home now but she loves her sleep and it doesn’t usually take much convincing when we are away! True to form it wasn’t long before she fell asleep.
While she was napping Dan took Leah down to the face-painting. She wasn’t charging but we left her a tip because she did such a good job and Leah was so pleased. I thought this was a really nice touch from the hotel.
This caused her so much anxiety though because she was so worried it was gonna get rubbed off before she got chance to meet Jack. I tried to reassure the best I could and we woke Ellie at about 3.20 and got her ready as Violet Incredible.
We were ready to head off at about 4.20 – our Halloween tickets were valid from 5 and we planned to grab something to eat first. The shuttles were busy again but we managed to get the first one.
We headed through bag check and headed to the pizza QS place. I had a pizza meal which came with chips, a mini magnum and a diet coke for 14.99 which I thought was fairly reasonable. The kids got a meal deal with chicken nuggets, chips, and a kinder ice cream for about 10 euros each. Dan also got a pizza meal deal. Once he had paid it was now he realised he had left his bag at bag check! So off he ran before his dinner came! When he came back they said they had quizzed him about what was in the bag and he had to explain it was a portable charger shaped as a poo emoji! They probably thought he was nuts!
Anyway, the food was quick and easy which was what we wanted. Leah had been very quiet and it was now she told me she had a headache and was worried she wouldn’t get to meet Jack. I tried to reassure her and said we would head straight into the park now so we could find out what time he started to meet.
The ques to get in the park weren’t that bad, they checked our tickets at three different points and issued a wristband to check throughout the night. Once we were in the park we stopped by the toilet and headed to the stroller rental just in case Ellie begun to get tired. The rental cost 25 euros. The park looked so pretty all lit up in its Halloween decorations again.
We checked the map and Jack didn’t start meeting until 8.30 as did a lot of the characters so we decided to head to Fantasyland for some rides. They had sectioned off a walkway for party guests so we had to go the longest way round into the park and we came out at Tomorrowland – the cut through to Fanatasyland was shut so we headed to the hub but we had timed it just before illuminations was due to start so it was heaving!
bad timing on my part.
We managed to get across to Frontierland and to BTM which was only a 30minute wait but none of the kids wanted to ride. We passed a popcorn stand selling Oogie Boogie Buckets so we qued for one. We witnessed a man come over and pick one up and walk off without paying – we informed the CM but there was obviously nothing they could really do. This was a picture of him taken the next day though.
Once we had our popcorn, we headed round to Fantasyland but when we got there they had shut most of the rides until 8.30. This was disappointing as we didn’t realise there would be down time on the rides between 6 and 8.30 – I suppose it was encouraging the day guests to leave. The only ride in Fantasyland open was Peter Pan so we jumped in que – on the plus side the standby que took 15 minutes maximum! Which was a treat in itself!
It was gone 7 by this point so we decided to make our way back to Frontierland – on the way we saw POC was a 5minute que so we jumped on that. I was so paranoid someone was going to jump out at me on this ride – I have no idea why! It was really good though and I really enjoy this version.
Once we had finished we made our way over to the Jack meet. The whole area was rammed – they were obviously expecting a big que for Phantom Manor as this que area had been extended which snaked up a small walkway which was also where the que was for Jack. At the bottom (where Jack meets during the day) was where Oogie Boogie would be meeting. He started meeting at 8.30 and we qued for about an hour and a half. They were playing a light show on Phantom Manor which was cool to watch though and the whole area was really well themed.
In hindsight maybe we should have come straight here as this was such a big deal to Leah she was getting really nervous in the que. She was worrying about everything just before we got to the front and she said she had a bellyache so I took her off to the side for a cuddle. Then she threw up
luckily it was out of the way and in the flower bed and we tried to wash most of it away and told a CM what had happened.
They were really kind about it and we were up next – she managed to get his autograph and then she felt too poorly and wanted to sit down. The CM and Jack were so lovely about it and told her once she felt up to it just come to the exit and she could have her photo done. So we sat on a wall for a bit, let her have some water and gave her a cuddle and she calmed down enough to have her photo done.
We showed her the photos afterwards and she was so pleased she perked right up. Unfortunately, I am the type of person who gets myself so worked up over things I make myself ill and I think she had done the same. I was gutted for her that she felt so ill but I just hope that she remembers the good parts of the night, not feeling rubbish.
We headed to the hub after this and passed the Oogie Boogie meet, it was cool to see him and would love to meet him another time. As we got to the hub the villainous parade was just starting which was really good! I didn’t want to risk taking Leah on any rides just in case it caused any more sick so we decided to head for the exit. We popped in and out of the shops on main street on the way though – and brought a Jack Skellington cookie (didn’t last long enough for a photo) and a tub of candyfloss which is still unopened!
They had some cool projections on the castle as we left too.
We got to the bus stop about 11.30 and as there was still a while of the party to go the buses weren’t too busy. There were so many great character meets out - unfortunately we just didn't get the chance to do them. It was a shame that Leah had felt poorly - but I think she was still glad of the chance to meet him and they had both done so well as it had been a busy non-stop week.