Stitch, Spooks and Smiles: 3 Installments- COMPLETED 12/31!! About This Page:

[statelady01]

When we met up with Beverly, Kevan and the girls the boys wanted to show them the loot at the Trick or Treat Station by Magic Carpets. We hadn’t made it on to Pirates yet so we decided to head there. Right across from Pirates was another Trick or Treat Station and by this time, all of the kids had the hang of it- so we just let them go by themselves as we stood by and watched. Those bags we got at the beginning were already full of candy.

Pirates was pretty much a walk on as well. Emily was a little freaked out by the cannons in the water scene but other than that everyone had a jolly good time. We were standing outside contemplating our next move, when suddenly we heard live music- and suddenly Emily was being serenaded by a singing trio of Pirates. They were fantastic! Kevin really got into them and he actually asked for a picture- so I told him to go right up, stand with him- they happily went along- and a great photo was the result!



We decided to make our way towards Main Street but stopped off at the Jungle Cruise for a night time ride- that was something neat and all of the kids enjoyed it. Moving on, we browsed down Main Street and timed our arrival really well- we walked up to the podium at Tony’s at 7:25 on the dot. Emily plopped herself on the floor in front of the tv in the waiting area.



We were seated practically just by the door leading to the outside patio so we had a great view of Main Street. Our server was okay but sort of slow. Most of the kids and I had spaghetti, Kevan had some sort of sausage dish and Beverly went for the Chicken Florentine. All my kids were super well behaved- I was really proud of them. Honestly, I think they were happy not to have burgers or fries for once too. When our food came, the food runner was pretty hateful. Oh well, we are starved- let’s eat! The spaghetti was terrific and both Kevan and Beverly enjoyed their meals as well. Emily began to complain about her costume itching so I took her to the bathroom to change into the spare clothes I had brought for her. Her Ariel crown got passed around the table for some amusement.



By the time we were finishing up, the Halloween parade was in full swing- so we just headed out on the patio to watch it with others that had gathered along the railings. It was a really cute parade- and Emily loved it.

We made our way back up Main Street and headed towards Tommorowland- where we took another spin on Buzz as well as the TTA. Beverly took the kids for another ride while Aaron and I went on Space ( Kevan passed as he felt too full and was worried he would get sick) twice in a row.

Kevan insisted we had to do Haunted Mansion being it was a spooky kind of night- but when we got there Emily absolutely freaked out- so Beverly passed. I offered to stay with her instead but I think Beverly was just as happy to spend all that time with her. Kevin P loves Haunted Mansion and he laughed the whole way.

By this time it was approaching 10:00 and everyone was really getting worn out- so back towards Main Street we went. We stopped for ice cream on the way out and just took our time making our way back to the monorail. Emily fell asleep in Kevan’s arms just after we passed through the Contemporary.

We made it back to the room shortly thereafter and Emily was tucked in- she never woke up. Katie crawled up into bed with me and we colored for awhile until everyone was ready for bed and lights out.

Coming Up Next: Have those May Trip Girls trained me well enough to ride TOT again???????

[DrDolphin]

Great update and pics Maureen!!

[wdwlovers]

Love the kid's costumes!!

[luvnwdwgal]

Such a great trip report Maureen!!! More please!!! [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[MickeyMAC]

Great update Maureen.

[lauren-roxy]

Sounds like you guys had an awesome time at the party!!! The pictures are adorable!! Can't wait to read the next installment!!!

[chezp]

It sounds like you had an awesome time at MNSSHP - I love the photo of Kevin with the pirates! [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

[statelady01]

Friday, October 28, 2005:

Once again, everyone was up before me. I don’t know what it was with this trip, I woke up every morning really wiped out from the day before! Kevan made sure I was up enough to actually get out of bed – then he and Beverly took the kids back to Captain Cooks for another quick breakfast. They were back in good time and I was ready- off we go to MGM.

I must say this park has been a “work in progress” of sorts for me. It’s only on recent trips that I have developed a fondness for it. And my last trip was my most memorable- when 8 Passporter Girls and Bill ( even though he stayed with the bags) got me on Tower of Terror. At the conclusion of that ride, I was happy I did it but not sure if I could do it again. Stay tuned.

We got to the entrance promptly at 9:00 am. Kevan and Aaron were ready to go for Rock n Roller Coaster first- which everyone else passed on. They ran on ahead. Bev and I took our time with the other kids, strolling along the shops and just taking our time. We waited and played around listening to Aerosmith. Emily and Katie danced all around- Emily wearing her Stitch hat.




Aaron and Kevan promptly exited and Aaron was giddy- he loved the ride. We all moved back towards Tower of Terror. My heart began beating faster and my knees began to shake- just like they did in May. Kevan asked me, “Are you in?” I hope I make Sue, Angie, Tara, Terri, Lynn, Tina, Sandy, Jan and Bill proud when I replied… “ Yup. I’m in!”

I will say that the ride sequence on this visit was much more intense than the one in May. In fact, it was too much for Mr. Adventure- Aaron- about the third drop, his head was in my lap. I was cracking a smile towards the end though so with practice I get better!

We found the others and then made our way over to Star Tours. Matthew and Kevan are the big Star Wars fans so they both were especially keen on seeing it. Everyone did fine on that ride, including Katie.

The sun was really out and for the first time it was actually getting warm. I couldn’t find my sunglasses anywhere so I stopped off at a cart to buy some new ones for me, and also for Emily, who lost hers somewhere along the way. She immediately put them on and was a sight in her stroller with the shades and often wearing the Stitch hat. Here she is sans hat but plenty of “starlet” attitude:



The crowds were a little heavier today and we weren’t moving very fast- when I looked down at my watch and saw it was already almost 12:15- I was shocked. Next on the agenda was a stop at Toy Story Pizza Planet for lunch.

[DrDolphin]

WOO HOO!!! Congrats on the TOT ride!!! You did great and made us all proud!! Great update.

[DawnDenise]

Another wonderful two updates!! Glad you did so well on ToT!! Congrats!! Looking forward to more!! [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/082502yes_prv.gif[/img]

[lauren-roxy]

Another great update Maureen!!! How exciting to ride TOT again!!!!! Can't wait for the next installment!!!

[chezp]

[img]/ubb/images/graemlins/waytogo.gif[/img] for riding Tower of Terror again!

[MAria R]

Just catching back up, great updates, can't wait to read more.

[poohsgirl]

<font color="purple">Hey Mo! Sorry to about your counter service woes on this trip, but I'm glad you tried Tony's. I went for the first time for lunch during mousefest and found the food &amp; service [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/waytogo.gif[/img], and the price was right!

I'm glad you braved the Tower again, it was so much fun seeing or should I say hearing your reaction on it! "MOMMY!"[img]/ubb/images/graemlins/rofl2.gif[/img]

I hope to get to ride it with you again very soon! [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]</font>

[statelady01]

Toy Story Pizza Planet was a bit of a mother’s nightmare. Upon one look all five kids were zoom- everywhere!! I don’t blame them- tons of video games as far as the eye can see. We somehow managed to at least get Aaron, Kevin and Matty to stick together and then Kevan took Emily and Katie to play games while Bev and I got the food.

The lines were already pretty lengthy but in good time enough, we had a gazillion personal pizzas (two trays full) with Cokes and salads. We dragged the kids away from the games long enough to eat. It was pretty good and again, a nice departure from the burger and fries thing.
Everybody was ready for the Auto Stunt Show but we still had more than 90 minutes to wait on it. Kevin suggested the Backlot Studios Tour, which sounded really good to us all.

We had to use GAC on this one- the lines were over 45 minutes. The queue was a bit confusing so I saw a host parking strollers and asked him what we should do. He asked where the rest of the party was and I got everyone over. Out of all the CM’s we encountered using the GAC this guy was the nicest. He took us around the back and we actually came in by the side where people in the tank set get suited up. He showed us a few of the water pumps and stuff back there before getting us situated along the railing. Katie was obviously a little freaked and he asked me if we would like to skip the show and go right to the tour. I politely declined and told him we would try it out and see how she would do. It was loud for her but other than that she remained fairly calm.

Next was the tour. As we made our way to the loading area, we spotted our favorite movie star- in person- well, rather, in vehicle?? Emily and Matthew started squealing and they almost had tears in their eyes- there Herbie sat to the right of the boarding area. I almost cried myself- we saw Herbie Fully Loaded twice in the theater and had quite the Herbie car collection at home, along with the soundtrack- need I say more? I promised them we would get some photos at the end of the tour.

We were in for another treat as we set off on the trams- there was Demolition Derby Herbie- as the guide called him. The kids were just excited beyond belief.



We got the spin around Walt’s old plane- that was neat. In the costuming department, one of the displays on feature were the costumes from Sky High- and the kids also were impressed with that.

Catastrophe Canyon was fun for the boys- but the girls had a little bit of trouble with it- all the loud noises- and Emily really thought that water was going to have us swimming. They both recovered pretty fast.

We got a great peek at the Auto Stunt Show and that just only made us hungry for more! The guide also told us Herbie had a small role in it- so naturally, we got pretty excited at that prospect too.

Finally, at the end of the tour, the kids ran towards their favorite bug. If this picture had been better, it would have been our Christmas Card. People were waiting behind us for a turn so I felt sort of rushed- which I should have just taken the extra minute or two and got the right photo. Oh well!



We exited and headed right for the Auto Stunt Show – which was now seating. What a walk that is to the stadium area! I loved the set of the Stunt Show- the European feel to it (obviously because of where this attraction was originally but still!). We had a good long wait- about 30 minutes. Katie covered her ears mostly because the cars were already revving engines and it was loud- I will certainly give her that. Beverly had some cotton in her purse from the flights- so we stuffed Katie’s ears and she seemed more comfortable. I tried playing hand games, fingerplays and keeping her busy- but it was a long 30 minutes. Matthew and Kevan played the quiz game on the big screen- and when they needed help with Herbie questions- they came to yours truly. I helped out where I could!


Taking a break in between questions on the jumbo screen

I don’t want to go too much into the show because I certainly don’t want to ruin it for anyone who has not seen it yet- but it is just remarkable. I got so into it and when Herbie came out- all of our eyes were huge and we cheered that adorable bug on. It’s a spectacular look into how they do auto movie shoots and the like- as far as I am concerned, it will be a must do for me any time I visit MGM. And my boys probably would agree with that too!



After we were back into the park, Emily asked where Jo Jo was. I totally forgot about Jo Jo! The other kids wanted to check out the Honey I Shrunk the Kids playground- so we agreed to meet up with the others in 45 minutes. We danced in line together and Emily was just thrilled to meet Jo Jo and Goliath. We also caught up with Donald.



While waiting for the others, we decided on a coke break and Emily became quite smitten with this giant Coke bottle.


Leave it to my kid to hug a beverage

After regrouping, I took the kids to see Fantasia Mickey- there was a line lasting maybe 20 or so minutes. Kevin passed along with the other big people – and they waited outside for us.



We asked Emily if she was ready for Playhouse Disney or Little Mermaid but she was ready to go back “home” and wanted to swim. Plan B became to try and get back here tomorrow to catch these attractions.