Halloween Disney Pumpkin!

So it wouldn't be Halloween if I didn't carve pumpkins, and I love Disney, and the Haunted Mansion... so my latest pumpkin is The Hatbox Ghost!. =)

Followup to Soundsational...

I am not sure if it will actually make a difference in the long run, but I sent a separate email to Disney about the event, and my disappointments.  I'd of Gladly sent the same email (I have sent several in the past) telling them how utterly fantastic it was, if it had been so.

Low and behold a few days ago I received an email from Disney letting me know they had received my email, and that it concerned them about my disappointments.

Dear Ms. Peik:


Thank you for your e-mail to the DISNEYLAND® Resort.


We appreciate your valuable feedback for our operation. We would like to
assure you that our goals for providing a happy and unique special event
experience for our Annual Passholders have remained constant throughout
the years. One of the ways in which we attempt to maintain this goal is
to continually evaluate the various aspects of our offerings and to also
rely on the input received from our from our Guests.
While we realize that it is impossible to please everyone at all times,
it is certainly always our goal to make every effort to ensure a quality
experience for our Guests.


We are concerned with the disappointments you mentioned in your e-mail
with regard to the Annual Passport Soundsational Event registration, as
well as with the quality of the event itself.  Please be assured we do
take our Guest comments very seriously, and take them into consideration
when evaluating our operation. Your remarks have been forwarded to the
appropriate leaders so they are aware of your feedback.


Again, thank you for contacting us. We look forward to having you as our Guest at the DISNEYLAND® Resort again soon.

All I can say is that at least someone read my email, and perhaps even forwarded it to the right people.  I really do love all things Disney, I was just really disappointed with the quality of this event.  It will not in any way stop me from going to the parks, and spending my hard earned money there.  In fact I just had a friend of mine pick up the Madame Leota Halloween Mug - because the French Market, the only place that sells it in the park, was closed by the time we got inside Disneyland for the Soundsational Event.  Fortunately I have a fantastic group of friends who take care of me when I can't always get back to the parks.

Disneyland Mickey Soundsational Annual Passholder Event Oct 17, 2011

So my previous post was about the failings of the planning and execution of the registration for the above mentioned event!  I want it to be known that I appreciate everything Disney does for us.  Just that I was upset by how it appeared we weren't important, and that Erin didn't really care if people had to request Time off from work, etc.

Disney is very generous in providing events like this to people who avidly follow their blog online, and so I want to express a special THANK YOU to those who approved this event.

We arrived at the Park around 6pm on Monday, October 17, 2011, and were instantly greeted with FREE parking at the Mickey and Friends Parking Structure (I am premium so it didn't matter, but still a nice touch).

Tram Service was light and we jumped on the first one to arrive.

One of my companions had to use the restroom, so he gave me his AP, and I got in line to get checked in.  They wouldn't let me check in without him though, so we had to wait while he was in the restroom.  I think the Lady working at the booth thought I was trying to hoodwink an extra wristband or something.  After that things went smoothly, and we decided to run into DCA to hit up Little Mermaid, and the Silly Symphony Swings.

I was with two guys, who try as they might, are little kids when we rode the Little Mermaid... The one in white (Tim) absolutely LOVES all things Little Mermaid, and he was the reason we went to DCA in the first place.

This guy ALWAYS takes lovely photos for some reason

Beluga Sevuga Come Winds of the Caspian Sea...

After this we went over to the Silly Symphony Swings, which are the New Teacups for Photos!  Next time I ride in FRONT of my friends to take fun photos... but for now:

After this I tried to tell them both that we needed to head back to Disneyland, because I needed to go to the Haunted Mansion, and get the Madame Leota Mug... But Curtis insisted that we ride Goofy's SkySchool Deathtrap.  I was sure that as most Disney Rides go, it wouldn't be scary.... I was super wrong.  The lines had always been long since it's opening, so I hadn't bothered to ride...

Curtis giving me his evil eye.. lol

Takeoff.. The fact that we are high up, with merely a lapbar holding us in and dangling over the precipice was disturbing and frankly more terrifying that anything I've ever ridden... and I LOVE Screamin. and Space. and Splash. And BTMRR.   We vowed that Curtis was not to be trusted for the rest of the night, and finally headed over to Disneyland.  It was 7:45, and I tried to hurry my two companions along so that I could get my mug.

Low and behold by the time we got there, they had closed the French Market, where the mystery mug was being sold... and the ONLY location where it was being sold so I later found out. =(

MagicMouseDays on Twitter or her Website http://www.magicaldayswiththemouse.com has a GREAT blog. The picture above is from her site, and is of the Mug I failed to obtain. =(
I DID however get the OTHER halloween Mug - because I didn't want to leave empty handed.

It's cute, but NOT the same. =(  Last years mug was "villains" and is AWESOME.  I use it all the time!

So after our failure to get into the French Market we decide to do the dumbest thing EVER.. Ride Splash Mountain on a Cool evening, with no ponchos.  I got the least water on me, and my shoes didn't get more than a few drops of water on them.  Both Tim and Curtis got drenched.  LOL.  

I didn't get a picture of the incident, but I assure you that it was funny!  Curtis spent the next HOUR asking Cast Members if there was a Bathroom with an Air Dryer... oddly enough the ONLY one anyone knew of was back by the Hungry Bear, which we had been shooed away from as it was after 8pm by this point and they were closing everything over there down.

After this we went to Redd Rockett's Pizza Port to grab a bite to eat before we began our night of AWESOME! =)  Curtis did not want to go in search of the new food offerings. Bummed, but I will eventually try them I'm sure.  Curtis got his usual Pasta and Breadsticks, I just got my mug, and some breadsticks.

After "dinner" we headed to Ghost Galaxy at Space Mountain, and asked "how long is the wait?" to which we were told "about 30 minutes"... Seemed long, but we were there, so we got in line.  30 minutes was a bit of an overstatement.  It was more like 5 minutes at that point.  We were on the ride pretty quickly! 

 Thinking it was a good deal, we checked out the Star Tours line - That one said 50 minutes, and from the look of it, it was probably about 35-40 minutes, so we skipped it for the time being.  Trying to get as much done as possible, we head over to Matterhorn, the second great mistake of the day.  I am still paying for riding that 2 days later as my left knee got banged going around a curve/drop, and I'm pretty sure I strained my MCL.  It hurt immediately afterwards, but I was so hopped up on excitement that I didn't REALLY notice the pain until on the way home several hours later.

Working our way through the park, people had started to line up for the Parade at 9:30 (it was about 9:15 at this point).  We jumped on the Teacups - literally NO wait.  As fast as we could get through the queue, we were on the ride.  Teacup photos are BEST during the day because it's pretty dark, and no matter how good your camera is, trying to take pictures while moving at night they will NEVER come out right... but I got a few fun shots - and Tim told the people in the cup next to us that Curtis was going to puke on them... lol.

The last photo is the people Tim was trying to scare.  We spin FAST by the way.  REAL fast.  So fast that you are dizzy when you step out of your teacup. It's ALWAYS fun.  

After this Curtis lets us know that he has 30 minutes and he has to leave.  It's 9:30 and the Parade is starting.  We challenge him to EVERY ride in Fantasyland that's open.  Mr. Toad. Peter Pan. Snow White. Pinocchio. Dumbo. King Arthur's Carousel.  in 25 minutes we managed to ride ALL of them, with the ONLY line being for Peter Pan, and even then it was only 10 people deep.

Two Goofballs!

Mr. Toad.

Go Straight to Hell my Friends!!

Bye Now!!

Snow White.  

Dumbo.

Curtis and the Matterhorn.

Flying High!  So much Fun with no Lines!!

Curtis INSISTED that he get to ride Jingle.

Silly tim.. NSFW when you see it.

Tim's horse seems to be enjoying itself a little too much!

My gorgeous horse!

Me at 10pm! (after being up since 6:30am!)

JA. Shoes. MP, and 50. If you know, you are cool.

Jingle all the way.

After this Curtis had to go home, and so my photos pretty much stopped at this point as well.  Took a few of the Pumpkins surrounding Mickey and Walt...

I do love Halloween. I do I do!! It's truely a shame that I have a severe lack of funds this year, because I really would have loved to attended the Halloween Party at Disneyland!

After this we hugged Curtis and sent him on his way.  The rest of the evening was just Tim and I.  2 hours in a practically empty park!  The parade floats are being setup on Main Street, and there's a lot of people surrounding them, so we make haste back over to Space Mountain.

One final picture for the day of the castle:

We went straight to Space Mountain.  It was completely Walk-On at this point. The sign said 15 minutes, but there was NO wait, and in fact we were told to "pick any row".  The first ride there was only 2 other people in our Space Shuttle.  When the Ride is over, we ask the ride attendants if we can just stay on for another ride, since there was NO ONE waiting, and they said NO.  I was a little shocked, but figured that we could just come in the exit and skip walking the whole outside queue.  They then sent us ALL THE WAY BACK to the beginning of the entrance and made us walk around the whole queue.  We felt this was VERY unnecessary as there was still NO ONE waiting for the ride.  The second time we rode, there were 4 people besides us in the Shuttle.  So there was 6/12 with the one in front and behind us completely empty.  We then asked AGAIN at the end if we could stay on for another ride, and they again refused, even though no one was waiting.  It was at this point that we got offended by their lack of hospitality, and left the ride.

We then moved on to Star Tours, where there was actually a line.  About a 20 minute wait, which is not unreasonable, but someone had turned off the Air Conditioning in the building, and it was stiflingly hot.  I mentioned this to a Cast Member at the front of the Queue, and they apologized and said they would have someone fix it.  We got Storm Troopers (i've still NEVER got Darth Vader after riding it 20+ times), Tattooine, Leia, and Coruscant.  Frankly that city gives me a headache.  Tim didn't want to wait in what he called a "sauna" to ride again, so we walked over to Buzz Lightyear, where I murdered his score, 120,900 to 65,300.   I kept turning the car so he couldn't score.

Afterwards we went back to Star Tours because the line was down to 10 minutes.  They still hadn't fixed the Heat situation, and it in fact felt warmer than just 20 minutes before, even with fewer people.  The 2nd time we got Storm Troopers, Kashyyyk, Yoda, and Naboo, which satisfied Tim because he hadn't seen the last 3 yet.

It was about 11:30 by the time we got off Star Tours the 2nd time, and Tim suggested we ride the Astro Orbiter.  No line whatsoever, so we jumped on.  I had forgotten how fast it spins, and how much gforce you get when you ride down low.  Super Fun.  After the ride was over, the girls running it asked if we wanted to ride again, which we said sure.  We ended up riding 4 times in a row, 5 times total (we got off when a group of people came over and wanted to ride).  The girls running it were Fun, and exciting, and the embodiment of Disneyland to the very core.  I want it noted somewhere that THEY made our night a complete success, and the perfect way to end a Perfect night at the Park.

We then walked down Mainstreet and saw all the beautiful floats up close and personal, but my camera was locked away in the bottom of my backpack, so I didn't snap any photos.  We tried to get into the Emporium, but it was Midnight and they were locking the doors.  I managed to sneak into a side door they hadn't locked down yet, and purchased 2 more Halloween Bags.  One of the Green Light up ones:

And Also another one of the Orange Halloween Ones:

It was 12:30 by the time we got on the Tram to the Car, and Tim reminded me that we had to be at El Toro Rd in Lake Forest by 1am to get In n Out - which is our REAL dinner.  We made it by the way. 

I do regret not watching the Parade, or going to the Panel, but ultimately get to ride every single ride in the park that was open to us except It's a Small World, with many of them multiple rides.  Disney should have had some special Merchandise for us to purchase though to commemorate the event.  A Pin, a Tshirt, a Bag, a notecard - ANYTHING!  There was NOTHING that we could take home besides our pictures that we have to remember this wonderful evening.  They DID give us cards with special codes to get 5 free photodownloads via their Photopass system.  We didn't use ANY of the park photographers - in fact I only saw 2 all night period.  I WAS able to use the photopass code to download 5 of the photos from my nephews first trip to Disneyland less than 2 weeks ago.  When my sister in law finds out, she will be excited.

All in all it was a success and totally worth the drive, and the hurt knee.  Thanks Disney.  Please do this again!!  And Soon!  I have friends that couldn't attend, and would have LOVED this!