"Hey, Mom, Dad, get on plane and go to Disney" Trip report - "Finding shelter from the fireworks" - **Updated 11/13** - Page 24 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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It's time to move on and move forward.
PassPorter is a small business, and for many years it supported our family. But the world changed, print books took a backseat to the Internet, and for a long time now it has been unable to make ends meet. We've had to find new ways to support our family, which means new careers and less and less time available to devote to our first baby, PassPorter.
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Just catching up, Nala, and finding your magical moments to be as plentiful as usual! I seriously got a tear in my eye reading about Kiara's experience on Soarin', then a big laugh from "No way Dad!" Looking forward to more!
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Mickey's so happy to see me back, he can barely contain himself!
When I got over that warm, fuzzy feeling that I was standing inside the MK, dressed as Wendy and about to experience MNSSHP, the reality of the fact that we had an ADR to make brought me back to my senses. We quickly grabbed a (free with admission) stroller for Kiara, as it would be a long night and we could make better time during our mad dash to LTT, and headed up Main Street. We maneuvered through the crowd and found ourselves on the porch of LTT right at 4:20. And right at 4:20, we also found ourselves in a rather long line to check in. But the line moved quickly, our ADR was found on the computer and we were told by a rather somber CM, sporting zombie makeup, that we would be called to our table shortly. I loved that some of the CM at LTT were in character for the party! We took a seat and a few minutes later our name was called and we were seated at our table.
It had been quite a few years since we had dined at LTT for dinner, but we remembered the drill. Our server greeted us, took our drink order and brought them to the table and a Thanksgiving style feast served family style soon arrived. And while we were seeing the characters milling about, which caused Kiara great excitement, they seemed to be moving the wrong direction from our table. With no character interaction coming in our direction, we were forced to focus on the food. And while the side dishes were quite good, the meats were rather dry. Both Grumpy and I found the food to be far less fabulous than it had been on our last visit years ago. But, we really were not there for the food. We were there for the fun, the atmosphere and the character interaction. However, we were all getting a bit impatient waiting for the character interaction to happen.
Finally, after being almost done with our feast, the first of the much anticipated visitors to come to our table arrived. And it was none other than Miss Minnie looking quite fetching in her Halloween costume.
She posed for a photo or two and signed Kiara’s autograph book. After a few hugs and kisses for Kiara, she moved on.
Next was Dale. Dale was quite playful and spent a bit more time with Kiara, but just as I took their picture, my batteries died! So no picture of Dale.
Goofy was next and he was flat out, well, goofy! What fun he was.
Next was Pluto, a personal favorite of Kiara and he was full of hugs and kisses.
Before the last member of the gang made it to our table, dessert arrived. We were all too full to really eat any of it, but Grumpy and Kiara did manage to pick at it. And before Chip made it to our table, Minnie had come around again for a second visit. Finally the last character made it to our table.
With all the meet and greets done and autographs collected, we paid the bill and headed out of LTT. While it is not a place we would rush back to for dinner, and the character interaction was slow to get to us and they were quick to leave us, it was fun and I was glad we had done it. It was a perfect way to start out MNSSHP.
When we got outside, Grumpy brought up what had been a topic of conversation at our table while we waited for the characters. His shoes were killing him. Seems our mad dash up Main Street had caused his strategically placed mole’s skin to fall off and his feet were quite uncomfortable. With plenty of time before the party actually started, and being that our resort was so close, he decided to head back to the room and change shoes. In his absence, I decided to take Kiara for a spin or two on the Magic Carpets. Grumpy headed for the exit and Kiara and I headed for Adventureland.
I was thrilled to find the line was short for the Carpets. In fact the entire MK seemed to be rather quiet. I saw very few people with wristbands and noticed many guests seemed to be making their way in the direction of the exit. It looked like it was going to be an uncrowded night for MNSSHP!!
Kiara and I took our first spin, which she adored as always, and when we were done we got in line again. The line had not grown any since we first stepped into it and soon we had taken our second spin. After that ride, I decided to find a place for us to sit and call Grumpy to check on his progress. We headed to the area behind the Christmas shop, found a seat on the bench and I pulled out my cell phone and called him. And as I did this, I overheard another guest say “Look, it’s Tinkerbell and Wendy”. I smiled in his direction, and as the phone was ringing overheard him say “I wonder if she is calling Peter Pan?” Before Grumpy answered, I said to the man that Peter Pan was exactly who I was calling. This made him laugh as he thought I was kidding. Grumpy then picked up and gave me his ETA back at the MK. He was close, so we decided to stay put and wait for him. Twenty minutes later, he arrived and the Neverland trio was together again.
We decided to head back to Adventureland and check out the wait for POTC. Kiara had stated several times prior to the trip, and also on that evening, that she wanted to ride it again. As we approached POTC, we saw a long line of guest and discovered that it was for Captain Hook. I suggested getting in it, but Grumpy was not up for it and stated that we had our picture taken with him last year in the same costumes we were wearing this year. I figured that was a good point and the long line was another reason to abandon the idea. But as we walked by the line, I heard someone yelling “Wendy, hey Wendy, Wendy!” I looked towards the direction of the voice and saw a teenage girl in line to meet Hook, waving wildly at me. She was also dressed as Wendy and was a far more “darling” version of her than I was (oh, that was such a horrible pun, but I couldn’t resist ). She also had John and Michael with her and all their costumes were too cute! She then said hello to my Peter Pan and Tinkerbell. She was having so much fun being in character and seeing her reminded me of another reason why I love MNSSHP so much. There is just nothing better than being around people of all ages who let go and be a little kid for just one night.
The entrance to POTC was just steps away and as we approached it and tried to get Kiara to get in the line, she refused. I tried to talk her into it, but it wasn’t going to happen. And while I would lie to her to get her on Soarin’ once, she had been on POTC and if she didn’t want to ride it again, I wasn’t going to push the issue. I made one last effort and told her that she would see Captain Jack and Davy Jones, but it was all in vain. As I gave up my fruitless effort, Grumpy pointed out that we were standing right in front of a Trick or Treat spot. Thinking it was one that would also offer a character meet and greet, we stepped in line. But this was just a spot to collect candy. Kiara collected her handful of candy and we found ourselves wondering what to do next. Knowing that we would need to stake out a good spot for the parade soon, but being that it was too early to do so yet, we took a break on a bench and watched the crowd go by. We enjoyed watching the people walking by in all their wonderful costumes and I was delighted to see that the majority of those who passed us were dressed up.
And as we were sitting there people watching, I heard someone say “HEY! She really was calling Peter Pan!” I looked up and saw the same man I had seen earlier when I was calling Grumpy. He walked up to Grumpy and told him that he had seen Kiara and I before and when I got on my cell phone, had wondered if I was calling Peter Pan. He told Grumpy that I said I was calling Peter Pan, but he thought I was joking. This guest got a huge kick out of seeing the three of us together, and I got a huge kick out of his reaction.
Our encounter with this guest, and the one with the other Wendy, made me grateful that both Grumpy and I were not afraid to get in touch with our inner child for just one night. We were having a ball acting like little kids again, and the party had barely started!
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What a great start to your MNSSHP night Love the pictures of Kiara with the characters How great that you guys are getting so much attention in your costumes
Glad you made it to LTT in time...sorry the food was sub-par...at least the characters made up for that. Glad you are enjoying MK in all it's Halloween glory!
danielle
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~Shoot for the moon, if you miss, you will land among the stars~
Great update....Glad you all had a good time at LTT even though the food was not as up to par as other times, but even though you had to wait the pictures of Kiara and the characters made us know that it was all worth it...
Can't wait to hear more of the Adventures of Peter Pan, Wendy and Tink....
What wonderful reactions from people to your costumes - it sounds like the night is going well, despite the less than stellar meal at the Liberty Tree Tavern.
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But the line moved quickly, our ADR was found on the computer and we were told by a rather somber CM, sporting zombie makeup, that we would be called to our table shortly. I loved that some of the CM at LTT were in character for the party! We took a seat and a few minutes later our name was called and we were seated at our table. 
It looked like it was going to be an uncrowded night for MNSSHP!! 
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