Oh the Places We Go, The People We See Updated 11/03/2013 About This Page:

[rhinohunter]

That is what I would like to do as well. It would be such fun to be a photographer at WDW. I believe that it takes an effort to be the great/fun photopass photographer. I agree with you sometimes it seems that they are just going through the motions and making their hours.

[jenseib]

As we walked it out of the Big Treat Tent, we noticed a lot of CM’s in their Halloween party uniforms. I think they had just come from a meeting.



A nice look at Dumbo and his tent.



The Mine Train Crane. Yeah it’s a new ride. LOL



We thought about riding Pooh. Actually before the character stop, that was our intentions, but the line was too long and it was now nearing 7 PM, so we decided to head up front and get our costumes out of the locker and change.













We spotted the Wishing Well.



And Claire had to jump in.





We spotted the Brave meet area.



It was starting to get dark ….fast!



Now this was one of my dumbest ideas ever. I knew that at 7ish Main Street would be busy. We had guest exciting and others coming in for the party. If I was smart, I would’ve made it up front before 6 to change. I knew this info a head of time …but I just didn’t apply my knowledge to myself. LOL!



We struggled to get to the locker and there we a ton of people doing the same thing and standing in the way and changing right in the locker room as well. We grabbed our stuff and headed off to the bathroom to change, where we found many other people changing as well. Claire refused to change in front of others, so we crammed into a small stall and changed. I was literally working up a sweat trying to do all this. I was cursing myself here.
Finally we got finished and headed out. Claire and I both dressed up as Mary Poppins. Her dress used to be fantastic, but she has really outgrown in and this was our last chance to wear it again. I was very basic, but it made Claire happy to think we were both the same character.



And it was crowded. We swam upstream and finally made it to Fantasyland area.

Again, we had to try our luck.





We made our way straight back to the new Fantasyland. Now for you professional party goers, you are going to cringe, but I didn’t do much party research for myself. I had planned to do it closer to my trip, but I just didn’t have enough time to do it. I did know basics though and what I was about to do was not what a pro would do. I did not even think about anything to do with the party and went straight back into the new Fantasyland and I was going to explore back there before I even gave another thought about the party going on over on the other side of the walls.

And yes, we were allowed back. We just had to show our party bands.

And we saw the incredible Beats Castle!



We headed straight back to Be Our Guest. I asked if they were serving food and the CM told me yes, but only to those who had a reservation. How the heck do you get one of those????? Oh well, BUT we were allowed to take a quick tour. That surely is better than nothing.
Now I am a little mad because what the CM did not tell me was that at the podium they were taking walk up guest and giving them pagers to wait for a table. I would’ve done that in a heartbeat had I known.

My pictures are just AWFUL. This place is soooo dark. The whole new Fantasyland area is dark and the interiors aren’t much better.







These are for ordering the quick service lunch.









A view into the dining room. I was so jealous!













Claire and I were just so excited to be able to tour it. Claire kept saying how special we were because this part wasn’t even officially open yet. I have taught her well.









And then we headed over to Gaston’s. We were really hoping he would be out …and he WAS!!!!!

[chezp]

Great photos from Be Our Guest - at least you were able to get in. We were told by a Cast Member, if we weren't eating (counter service) or didn't have a reservation (table service), we couldn't go in.

[lauriep]

You were lucky to get to tour BOG. I remember Claire in that Mary Poppins outfit from a couple of years ago! I hope later there'll be a photo of the two of you in your costumes.

[jenseib]

Originally Posted by chezp

Great photos from Be Our Guest - at least you were able to get in. We were told by a Cast Member, if we weren't eating (counter service) or didn't have a reservation (table service), we couldn't go in.

Oh wow. I heard once it opened officially it was just crazy. I'll let you in on a secret. Later in the trip, Claire and I do eat there too!

Originally Posted by lauriep

You were lucky to get to tour BOG. I remember Claire in that Mary Poppins outfit from a couple of years ago! I hope later there'll be a photo of the two of you in your costumes.

I can't believe how much she has grown since we have gotten it. She couldn't get the boots on and swore she could stuff her feet in them but her feet had marks on them when we took them off, so those stayed home.
I do have a few pictures, but I don't think any full body ones.

[jenseib]

I asked where the line was for Gaston and the CM said there are no lines for Gaston, he just picks who he wants to see next. I did not like this idea and Gaston was moving all over the place. Claire did NOT want to see him, but I told her she had too. I don’t usually force her to do many things, but sometimes you just know when they need that push. I told her I would be with her. So she reluctantly followed around as he kept walking and finally he chose her. This guy did the character well. He is so funny and arrogant.

Again, this area is so dark that pictures are awful and even the photopass are not good.















Mother knows best! Claire was so happy we did this meet. She was talking a mile a minute again about this and how special and lucky we are. As we left he said "so glad you could meet me" and she thought that was pretty funny.

We headed over to the new Ariel ride; this was a must for us.





Unfortunately they had some technical problems and the ride wasn’t up right now. They had some cute saying, but I forget what it was now.



So we headed over to the Ariel meet and greet next and again the line was not too bad. I really think not many people knew this area was even opened.

You went into a cave and it was pretty darn dark in there.



A view of the waterfall from the backside.



Stephanie had still been texting back and forth and she was now back in the new Fantasyland as well and she said she would just wait at the exit of the meet and greet for us.

Isn’t this little cave bug creature so cute?



Soon it was our turn to meet the Fish Princess.









I think I am getting eyed here, making sure I am taking pictures.



Claire just LOVES Ariel, so this was another wonderful thing.

















And you must hug before you leave.





And we exited and Stephanie and her son Jack were waiting for us. It was so nice to meet up with her finally. Jack was the complete opposite of Kadence. He NEVER stopped talking. He was just too cute. Claire kept talking about him too the rest of the trip and kept forgetting his name, so she would call him pirate boy, since he was dressed as a pirate for the party.

I got a couple of shots of the kids.





And then I let Claire take a picture of us. I was a bit nervous, as this was my good camera and made sure Claire had a good hold of it. Not too bad!



Jack also wanted to use my camera, but I passed on that offer. LOL

We headed over towards the Little Mermaid ride once again, but it was still not running. BUMMER!

At this point in time I was starving. I was to the point of getting a headache and I knew I would become grouchy if I didn’t eat some real food soon, so we headed towards Gaston’s to see if we could scrounge up something there.

We all got in line and they seemed to be moving super slow. Stephanie was just going to get one of the brews for Jack.



Our line was moving very slow, so I went over to the next one. BIG mistake. Stephanie got served and others did too and I was still waiting behind the same people. They didn’t understand the dining plan and also had some cash in the transaction and lots of money was going back and forth. I seriously was about to flip out. I think part of the problem was the cashier too, as she seemed to be a bit clueless when we finally had our turn.

Claire and I got the pork shank and a drink to share.



We found Stephanie and Jack and had a seat and we just totally dug into the food. Poor Stephanie probably thought we were savages. LOL

I didn’t even think to take a picture till it was almost gone. Sorry for the devoured picture.



I had heard from others that had gotten to try it during sneak previews that this was very good and a big portion. It was very good, but we must’ve drawn the short straw as ours was really small. I think we could’ve easily eaten another, but for the price, and the long wait, I wasn’t about to order more.

I tried to get a few pictures before we left, but people were in my way and the place isn’t very big, so I only got a few.







There was a big chair that I wanted to take a picture of, but these teen kids kept switching and taking photos and I just decided my patience wouldn’t last long enough to wait them out. Obviously they didn’t see me standing there with my camera.

We left and I got this shot of the restroom area really quickly.



And one last try at the statue in the dark.



We decided to head out of the new Fantasyland for now and trick or treat. We were talking away and Jack was REALLY talking away. He was so funny and he just cracked me up. As we were walking out, guess who we ran into? ….Carey, John and Kadence! We all decided to trick or treat at a few places and then head to the dance party.
I think Stephanie decided to go on her own at this point. Jack wanted to change out of his costume. We told her the area we had planned to be at for the parade and told her she was welcome to join us then too. She never did make it though. I think they were about to leave when the parade was on and they just watched it near the front if I remember right.

If you are keeping track, meeting up with Stephanie was now meet number 4. Oh the People We See!

[lauriep]

They've changed the procedure for meeting Gaston, and there's now a line. I loved meeting him-- he was so funny, and so in character!

[jenseib]

Originally Posted by lauriep

They've changed the procedure for meeting Gaston, and there's now a line. I loved meeting him-- he was so funny, and so in character!

I am so glad to hear this as this was truly a mess. Some people would walk up and get met right away, while others would stand there for quite awhile and be ignored. It just didn't seem very disney to me at all.

[Cinderbrella]

I just caught up on your awesome trip report!! Your photos are giving me my Disney "fix"!! It's great that you've been able to meet up with so many people. I especially you photos from Jambo House. We usually stay at Kidani, but are hoping to make it into Jambo on one of our trips. Keep it coming!! Can't wait to hear about the cruise as well!

[MayraLR]

Meeting Gaston is now a must for me.

[mommapants]

Love the Gaston meet. looks like that was the old school way, back in the 70's, 80's and early 90's when everyone would just crowd around and the most aggressive would get to be seen. I like the lines better.

I can't wait to see the new FL.

[chezp]

There was a long line for Gaston, so we didn't bother. I have to say, having recently re-seen Beauty and the Beast, I'm not sure I ever will bother. I'd forgotten what a horrible character he was in the movie, not quite how he's being portrayed in the parks for meets now.

[OhToodles!]

That Gaston was pretty nice looking though. Even had the right chin for him too.
We're planning to go to the party before or after our cruise and the main reason is to go to the New Fantasyland since we won't be doing the parks otherwise.

[jenseib]

Originally Posted by Cinderbrella

I just caught up on your awesome trip report!! Your photos are giving me my Disney "fix"!! It's great that you've been able to meet up with so many people. I especially you photos from Jambo House. We usually stay at Kidani, but are hoping to make it into Jambo on one of our trips. Keep it coming!! Can't wait to hear about the cruise as well!

Thank you!
We enjoyed our 1 night stay there and I did try to get as many pictures as I could while there.
We met up with a lot of people this trip.

Originally Posted by MayraLR

Meeting Gaston is now a must for me.

I was happy we did too.

Originally Posted by mommapants

Love the Gaston meet. looks like that was the old school way, back in the 70's, 80's and early 90's when everyone would just crowd around and the most aggressive would get to be seen. I like the lines better.

I can't wait to see the new FL.

Very old school, but I have been now told by a couple of people that he now has a real line, which makes more sense to me.

Originally Posted by chezp

There was a long line for Gaston, so we didn't bother. I have to say, having recently re-seen Beauty and the Beast, I'm not sure I ever will bother. I'd forgotten what a horrible character he was in the movie, not quite how he's being portrayed in the parks for meets now.

You are right, in the movie he turns into a very terrible character.

Originally Posted by OhToodles!

That Gaston was pretty nice looking though. Even had the right chin for him too.
We're planning to go to the party before or after our cruise and the main reason is to go to the New Fantasyland since we won't be doing the parks otherwise.

He did look the part. He was hilarious too.

[jenseib]

So the plan was to trick or treat and then head off to a dance party. Carey said that was a big highlight for Kadence the year before, and I knew Claire was one who liked to dance too.

One trick or treat area was by the River boats, but this one seems to be connected to the dock with its decorations. I guess it wasn’t up and running.



We got quite a bit of candy in just the few stops we made and then off to the dance party.
At first Claire was shy again. UGH. I know she loves to dance, but she seemed like it might be embarrassing to do it now. I tried to dance a bit with her, but that was even more embarrassing.



Finally the 2 got their groove going, yet, they weren’t about to get too close!





As time went on, they started getting a bit closer to each other.





I have no clue why Claire is making such a face.



And finally success. They now were dancing officially together and they were talking!





You will notice I did a really good job at getting the back side of them. I swear no matter how I tired, I couldn’t get their faces in the pictures. And the few I did were blurry blobs.









Every time I tried to do a little sideline dancing, I got a dirty look. The DJ started playing Hammer Time. I didn’t pay attention to what he was saying, and when you are supposed to yell out “hammer time” I did so, and was the only one. I think it was partly because many kids had no clue, and then I think the other part was we were supposed to wait for his cue to do so. LOL. Yet I couldn’t seem to catch on to that and kept yelling it. Oops.





Finally we decided it was time to pull the kids away from dancing and do some more party fun. We headed over towards Splash Mountain/BTMRR area. I think the plan was to trick or treat there and then ride the ride, but the ride itself was not running.



The queue was decorated so cute.



It actually had a pretty long line that split at one point to have 2 lines for the same station. It moved fairly fast though. We did notice that the Dwarves were NOT out this evening. I was hoping to get a glimpse of them, but it wasn’t meant to be.

After we got another large handful of candy we continued one and Hallow Wishes had just started. Another thing I had forgotten about. I tried to take a couple of pictures as we walk.





We saw this guy dressed as Jack Sparrow as we were walking. He looked AMAZING! Honestly we were questioning whether he was the real one or not, he was that good. Perfect mannerisms and everything! Some people were stopping off and asking him to take a picture with him. But he ended up joining a scary looking bride eventually, so we knew it was a guy in costume, but Wow! He was great!

We made another pit stop at the same trick or treat station we had been to earlier and then over towards the Haunted Mansion for some Magic shots.



Holy cow! Look fireworks are going off right behind the Mansion! How cool is that?



While we waited in line Carey and I just kept shooting.



It was just GORGEOUS!!!!



Soon it was our turn for the Magic shot. Claire was a little iffy about this, but I told her we would be fine and no ghosts were going to show up at the moment. Carey and family went first, and then it was our turn.





We moved on. We saw this girl a couple of times. We loved her braid.



She was with a guy dressed as Flynn and he was pretty much dead on too. And they had a friend dressed as Jasmine. I really liked how they went all out. It makes me a bit jealous that I am not so talented.

We headed back to the New Fantasyland. We had to check on the Little Mermaid ride once again.



It’s really hard to get a picture of Eric’s castle in the dark.





It was open! Score! I think it listed the wait as 5 or 10 minutes, but basically it was walk on. BUT that queue is REALLY long. Extremely long. I would hate to wait in that! And I have heard since it has opened, the wait times have been just awful.















Carey and I were snapping away as we walked through the queue.







We finally got up to the omnimovers.



It stopped for a second and we panicked that it might be broke down again, but it quickly restarted.