Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party - Part 1

Last Friday evening we went to Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party at Magic Kingdom (in Disney World).  We had never gone to one before so we were quite excited.  Many people dress up including adults.  There are characters out that you normally don't get to see in the parks and some of the regular characters are dressed in Halloween costumes.  There is a special parade, special fireworks show (different from the normal nightly fireworks that you see at Magic Kingdom) and a "villains show" around the castle that features popular villains from Disney movies.  There is also trick-or-treating all over the park.  Disney must buy literally tons of candy.  There were spots all over the park to get candy.  There are 2 or 3 parties a week during the end of September and all through October.  You have to buy tickets specifically for a party so the parks close to everyone else at 7 in the evening on the days they have the party.  That also means that the park is WAY less crowded than normal.  We chose to go early because the closer to Halloween it gets, the busier the parties are.  Most rides and attractions are still open as well and we couldn't believe that most rides were only a 5 or 10 minute wait.  There were also little Halloween themed games for kids all around the park - like a Halloween hopscotch, a ring toss but instead of bottles it was ghosts or something, etc.  The decorations and light projections were cool and just for the party as well.

We picked Kaelyn up from school Friday and then headed to Orlando.  After checking into the hotel, we got Kaelyn's costume on her and then headed to the park.  Kaelyn wore the costume ALL NIGHT!  If you read my previous post about the costume that probably doesn't surprise you but it's not normal for her to stay dressed up so long.  I asked her all throughout the night if she wanted to change her boots or take the hat off but she didn't want to.  We had just gotten the boots at Wal-mart a few days before so they weren't exactly broken in and I can't imagine they were terribly comfortable but she wanted them on the whole time.  She didn't seem to end up with blisters or her feet hurting so I guess it was okay.  Everyone (workers and characters) throughout the evening called her Jessie and it was a lot of fun.  The first couple hours before the party actually started and there were still a lot of people in the park NOT dressed up, we heard a LOT of people walk by and say, "Look!  It's Jessie!"  :)  Kevin and I did not dress up though MANY adults do.  Some families all dressed as one "theme" and that was kind of neat and fun to see.

We took a ton of pictures and it has taken me [parts of] the past 3 days to choose just some of the pictures to share and get them posted.  I divided them into five posts so you can look through at your leisure.

We stopped and got a few pictures when we were walking from the parking lot up to the monorails

Kaelyn was actually just blinking from the sun here but it turned out looking like a wink which made for a super cute picture!

In front of the train station at the entrance.

An attempt to get a Jessie pose on Main Street.

I just  love this picture!!!  It is rare that I get a picture of both Kevin and Kaelyn with such good (and genuinely happy) expressions on their faces.

The 3 bags over my arm were the bags they gave us for candy when we walked in.

This was early evening before the party officially started.

Kay and I "sittin' a spell" while Kevin took some pictures of decorations.