*ALL VIEWS ARE MY OWN AND NOT OF THE WALT DISNEY COMPANY, CENTRAL MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY OR YUMMY JOBS*
Hey there, pals!
Here we are on Day 8 and this morning was very special because I was meeting up with a close friend for breakfast! Prior to mine and my sister's trip, we did some research on what places do the most vegan options - we mainly used the Vegan Disney World blog for advice/recommendations. More importantly, my sister was really craving vegan Mickey waffles! We found the Ale and Compass restaurant, so we decided to eat there!
When I was reuniting with some of my Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique friends, I was beyond nervous. And today was no different! Looking back on it now, I was so hysterical that I was actually seeing some of my closest American friends face to face.
My sister and I walked into Yacht Club and our first impressions were WOW! The resort looked so sophisticated, the smell was super refreshing and pleasant too, and we looked at each other wishing we could afford to stay in such a lovely resort!
We were absorbing the atmosphere for a few minutes when I caught glimpse my close friend. I immediately gave her a long hug and my heart was so full of love and appreciation once again - just like when I saw my other friends just a few days before!!!
The three of us checked in at the restaurant desk outside and we were very quickly shown to our table. Straight away, we were all catching up on what each of us has been doing since we last saw each other.
Our server came over and took our drinks order. Me being utterly British got the English Breakfast Tea - this was my first one during the trip and I was proud of myself for that! Anyone who knows me would understand that my cups of tea are a regular occurrence. The difficult choice was deciding what to have for breakfast. I went super basic and decided to have an omelette, with a side of pastries and fruit. Let me tell you, the portion sizes were massive and my tiny stomach couldn't manage all of it! So, I was going to save the rest of it for lunch.
The time had come to say goodbye again to my close friend. But, as with all the friends I got to see this trip, I'm reminding them that I'll be straight onto booking another trip to come across the pond when I financially can. AND, I'm persuading my American friends to book a trip to the UK now that I've come over to the USA!
My sister and I got to the apartment where we just relaxed. I started watching Cobra Kai on Netflix while crocheting part of an ugly Christmas jumper project that I'm working on. Meanwhile, my sister was scrolling through TikTok and that kept her pre-occupied. And then, we got ready to head out the door for Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party!
At the turnstiles for Magic Kingdom, our tickets flashed up blue and it suddenly dawned on me that I hadn't linked our tickets to the My Disney Experience app. Even then after a couple of minutes, connecting through the app wasn't working that my sister and I had to go to Guest Relations. *I will say, we were both stressing because we didn't know if we were going to be able to meet Mickey and Minnie!* The Guest Relations cast member was super lovely and told us that our tickets were for two days ago... and, I was most definitely certain that I had booked the tickets for today! However, the coordinator had overheard our conversation and asked if we booked our tickets through a travel agent. I responded that we had and he replied that another UK family had literally exactly the same problem as us! I breathed a sigh of relief that it wasn't just us having this problem! The cast member quickly changed the date on the ticket and we were straight into the Magic Kingdom for the final time this trip.
There was 10 minutes left before the meeting Mickey and Minnie line was closing for the day, so my sister and I decided to jump in line and grab our trick or treat bags afterwards. Out of all the trip moments, I very very very nearly cried when meeting Mickey and Minnie. They're the icons that sealed the deal that my sister and I were back in Walt Disney World after the Covid-19 pandemic. The 50th anniversary outfits on Mickey and Minnie were absolutely ADORABLE. I most certainly prefer them over the regular red outfits!
One hour later and the character meet and greets continued, as we waited patiently to meet the Winnie the Pooh characters in their Halloween costumes! But before I tell you about our meet and greet experience, there was an absolutely delightful family with the sweetest little baby. They most definitely melted our hearts! The baby was wiggling his little feet, grabbing onto the character's noses and smiling directly at the Photopass photographer! The best part of this baby, his name is Christopher Robin! Now that is a family that have planned everything around Winnie the Pooh. Our meet and greet was just as magical because all the characters were super happy to see that my sister and I had dressed like Tigger and Piglet! Piglet kept pointing at my sister's outfit and then back to himself, while I was bouncing with Tigger and Winnie the Pooh!
After we exited the meet and greet area, we turned out backs to see that the line was beyond what the naked eye could see. So, we definitely made the right decision to get the Winnie the Pooh and friends character meet and greet done early.
It made perfect sense to do the Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh next, as we had saved the ride for our Halloween costumes and it was a walk on! Afterwards, we walked over to Frontierland to ride Splash Mountain for the final time before its refurbishment. This was bittersweet; as much as I love the original, I am excited for a new change. Big Thunder Mountain was right next door on a walk on as well. This ride was probably the most exhilarating, as my sister and I were thrown about everywhere hahaha! Without a shadow of a doubt, this was my favourite ride that I've ever done on Big Thunder Mountain even though we were near the front of the train. Next on our rides list was the Haunted Mansion. As a Halloween-type attraction, all the cast members had their skeleton face paints on, they had ghost actors out telling ghost stories and the Haunted Mansion itself was lit up in such a spook-tacular way!
We walked over to Space Mountain, as again we were going to be missing out on this ride this trip if we skipped past the ride entrance. Plus, the Halloween overlay is a MUST DO and my absolute favourite ride experience - it's completely pitch black! Just like the Halloween party three years ago, I screamed my head off and my sister and I had so much fun that we rode Space Mountain twice - once on the Alpha side and once on the Omega. Our ride session finished off with a scenic view of Tomorrowland on the Peoplemover where we got to soak up the Halloween atmosphere.
My sister and I left plenty of time to find a spot for the Halloween fireworks and we got really close to the castle! We were so fortunate with our spot, as the entire viewing area near the castle was completely taken up just moments after we bagged ours! The Halloween fireworks show was exactly the same as I remember them to be and I really do like that you're taken on a trick and treat journey with Mickey and friends! If you've not seen the Halloween fireworks, check out the video below from The DIS.
While many guests started to leave the park, my sister and I carried on by heading back to Frontierland for the second performance of the Mickey's Boo to You Parade. Every parade that I've ever done has been near the end of the route on Main Street USA, so I thought this time try something a little different... and then, my sister and I could finish off the night with a couple more rides and treats. Out of all the parades Disney has put on, the Boo to You Parade is the most creative! From the amount of characters (especially the villains) you get to see, the routines the performers do, the music is sooo catchy and the impressive floats... the whole thing is fang-tastic! If you haven't seen any pictures, please check out my post here from my Disney Academic Exchange Program!
Across the whole night, my sister and I stopped off at loads of treats stations! While I was loaded with probably hundreds of mini candies, my sister was given tokens to get some allergy-friendly candy. As we were making our way out of the park, we stopped by the allergy-friendly candy station, which was situated to the right by the fire station as you leave Magic Kingdom. Unfortunately, my sister only got 12 pieces of candy vs the bag full that I had! I felt so bad for my sister, I wish she was able to get more candy!!!
We concluded our night with a load of pictures on Main Street USA to capture the Halloween spirit, and the Magic Kingdom as a whole, in all its glory 😊
And so, it's a...
to the Magic Kingdom, the 50th anniversary and Walt Disney World until the next trip!
Have a magical day!
-Hannah
DISCLAIMER: this blog is my personal experience on the Disney Academic Exchange Program (DAEP) 2019-2020 and may not reflect everyone’s experience. Other programs and future participants on the DAEP may have slight adjustments to their programs that may not be featured in any of my blog posts. That being said, if you do leave any questions, I will try to answer them as best as I possibly can 😊
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