Welcome back to my adventures as I continue to blog about my first time visiting Disney World in October of 2019. I have already covered 3 of the 4 parks, so here we are with the last one. The big one as well, Magic Kingdom. Since this park had lots of activities, I have decided to break it down into two posts. This one will be all about the food and entertainment. It will also include a review of Mickey's Not so Scary Halloween that we attended. Come back soon where I will do a post solely dedicated to the rides.
Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween
I am going to start with this event, just because some of our food and entertainment experiences were part of this. Its an after hours event that requires an additional purchase. The park closes down at 6:00 to those guests who didn't purchase for this event; then the event starts at 7:00. Don't worry if you bought a ticket for it you are not kicked out at 6:00 and have to come back in. They actually offer check in areas in the park starting in the afternoon. You check in where you are given a bracelet to wear to signify you can stay in the park. They also give you a bag with information and the bag is to be used for trick or treating.
Once the event is underway the lights and feel to the park become more Halloween. They have trick or treating stations set up around the park where you can go and get candy. Trust me its a nice handful of candy as well and the good stuff. We only went to a few of them as we had plenty of chocolate. I can't imagine the amount you would get hitting all the stations. If you don't like candy, you can get a coin instead. The coin can be exchanged at this one building in the park. We read in the past that some people got these cool figurines. When we went it was different. They asked what our allergy was. Since I do try to watch my sugar and gluten some days, I pretty much told her that. I got a bag full of healthier snacks and things like gluten free cookies from the company Enjoy Life.
Normally you are not allowed to wear costumes into the park. That rule is lifted for this event, so its a good time to bust out that princess dress if you want. We did not dress up as we just stayed there all day, but it was fun to see the costumes other guests were wearing.
Some of the rides did offer something different for Halloween but we didn't get a chance to try them. We wanted to do Halloween Space Mountain but it sadly broke down that night. The biggest draw to me when it came to rides is no fast passes allowed. This to me proved the point that maybe Disney should consider doing away with the fast pass system. We rode Seven Mountain Mine Train both through the day and at the Halloween event. We did not have a fast pass during the day and waited in line. During Mickey's Not so Scary Halloween, were outside the actual queue in line, at least twice as far in line back then when we rode it in the day. We ended waiting 30 minutes less during the Halloween event than in the middle of day. Much longer line, much shorter wait time.
Overall we had a lot of fun at this event and I do recommend it at least one night if you are there when its happening.
Picture I took on iPhone of castle lit up for Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween.
Food
Westward Ho
A little quick service stand in Frontierland, we grabbed a quick breakfast sandwich and coffee here upon arriving at the park. It was a good option for something quick to eat that morning before we started on any rides.
Peco's Bill Tall Tale Inn & Cafe
I feel like most of the places we ate at that day were in Frontierland and this was one of them. This places offers Mexican type food and was our spot for lunch. My husband and I shared the fajita platter and it was perfect for the two of us. Carnitas, chicken, beans, rice, all with fajita's and veggies. Not to mention the Mexican bar of toppings and sides. Everything tasted fresh and it was an excellent lunch option.
Gaston's Tavern
We really stepped inside this place because we wanted to see it. The room does look like the tavern from the movie.They offer snack type food and we got a few of their macron sandwich cookies to enjoy. Little pricey for the cookie but tasty.
Picture I took of Gaston's Tavern from the outside.
Jungle Navigation Co. LTD Skipper Canteen
Taking the advise of the Main Street Magic podcast I enjoy, we checked this sit down place for dinner. They always rave about this place on the podcast, and it was quick to see why. Their was a nice selection of food options when we visited. Absolutely loved the dumpling appetizers we had. I at this point can't remember our exact dinner dish (online menu currently limited so not triggering a memory), but I remember thinking this was one of the best meals we had on the entire trip.
Sleepy Hollow
This was dessert for us and we got it when Mickey's Not Scary Halloween started and was a specialty item for the event. It was called the Headless Horseman Cheesecake. It was a chocolate cake with pumpkin mousse filling and some chocolate sprinkles on top. It was a little small for the price, but was a fun sweet option for the night.
Picture of the tasty dessert from Pinterest.
Character Meetings
Planning this trip I was not particularly worried about meeting all of the Disney Princess's or some of the characters. It was fun to watch some of the kids we saw get excited to see their favorite character in person. For me, there were only two I had wanted to scope out.
Stitch
I love Stitch. He is not only cute and fluffy, he is my favorite Disney character. He was the only one I actively tried to find and finally did. We found him inside the building for a ride dedicated to him in Tomorrow Land. The ride wasn't working but he was inside greeting all of his fans. The wait time wasn't bad and it was worth it to spend a few minutes with experiment 626.
Me and Stitch! The heat did wonders for my hair as you can tell!
Gaston
From my research, I heard he is hilarious and worth trying to locate. He typically shows up outside his tavern. That is where we found him and he wasn't alone. He was with Belle in her blue dress. When we saw them, the line was closed. Meaning that those in line could meet them and then they would be stepping away. We didn't get a chance to meet them personally but watched them interact with other guests and it was entertaining. Belle was of course super sweet. Gaston was arrogant and bragged about himself a lot. At one point Belle had to remind Gaston how to spell his name. The funniest though was when a young girl (probably about 4-5 years old), wanted nothing to do with Gaston. He got insulted and sulked off to the side while she got her picture taken with Belle. Props to the actor. He had that jerk Gaston quality to him, but not in a way that would deter you from the Disney experience.
Chip & Dale
We happened to stumble across these two by accident. We were resting in an area for a few minutes where they happened to come out. I remember watching and loving Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers when I was younger. Though we didn't wait in line I was surprised to see kids who did. I didn't think the show was still around to attract a young fan base. It was a pleasant surprise to see something from my youth around that others are still enjoying today.
Shows
We really didn't partake in many shows. We were mainly focused on rides. However, we did partake in a few things that day and of course the big stuff at night (parade and fireworks).
Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor
I wasn't sure if this was a ride or a show at first but once in, we can tell its more of a show. You are taken into an auditorium where the screen has Mike from Monsters Inc. telling jokes to help generate power for the monster world. The show has great audience interaction and some funny jokes. Its one of those not sure I would do it a lot, but it was fun to do once. Plus it was inside and in the air conditioning. It was a great break from the afternoon heat when we did this.
Hocus Pocus
This was a show for the Halloween event that took place in front of Cinderella's castle. It was a continuation of the movie (which i love), where someone finds a way to bring the Sanderson sister's back. We really enjoyed what we saw. The problem was they had some audio malfunctions when we were there and had to cancel the show part way through. They had other showings that night that I heard went off ok but we never made it back to catch it all.
Picture I took during the Hocus Pocus show.
Fireworks
While visiting we had to see at least one Disney fireworks show. We saw the one they did for the Halloween event at night. The castle was lit up with all kinds of projectors and told a story of Mickey and his friends trick or treating. Where they end up in a haunted house running from ghosts and ghouls. Between the story and lights projected on the castle, to the fireworks in the air; it was a very entertaining display.
Picture from Unsplash.
Parade
We ended our night with the parade. We nabbed a spot early. On the end of Main Street, towards where you enter the park. That means we were some of the last to see the parade, but it was entertaining. Lots of familiar Disney characters (good and bad) with an emphasis on Halloween with many of the floats. Be warned though, the song they sing for Halloween is sung a lot. It gets stuck in your head!
Picture I took of parade beginning.
Before I wrap this post up I want to mention some of the miscellaneous things to do in Magic Kingdom. First it basically has some of the most iconic Disney landmarks, such as Main Street USA and Sleeping Beauty's Castle. I was also stoked to see Rapunzel's tower tucked away in corner (can't get close to it, but fun to see). To me it was the nicest looking park. Not that the other's are ugly. just it had the best features. I also think it had some great shopping options. Epcot has some unique shops around each of their countries, but Magic Kingdom had more Disney merchandise options I liked.
Picture I took of the Christmas Store in Magic Kingdom. I loved everything about this place fro the outside appearance to the offerings inside!
Overall, I think this park may be my favorite. Come back soon for the post on all the rides. In the meantime share any favorite Magic Kingdom food or shows you may have taken in during your visit.
