Ghosts, Goblins, and Trick or Treat

me getting a surprise hug from Pooh

Tuesday began with my very favorite breakfast - 1900 Park Fare.  This character breakfast takes place in the Grand Floridian, one of Disney's most elite resorts.  Breakfast guests are greeted at their tables by Alice, The Mad Hatter, Mary Poppins, Tigger, Piglet and the Pooh bear.  The Mad Hatter was one of my favorite characters from Alice in Wonderland, but meeting him in person was an experience of a lifetime.  He goes around the restaurant greeting the eaters, all the while shouting at Mary Poppins.  Usually the characters concentrate on the kids, but when Pooh saw our anniversary buttons, he surprised me with a hug.

Marys and Mad Hatters

SIL Jimmy has the most amazing relatives.  For our Disney trip last year, his Aunt Karen made Krissy this Mary Poppins dress.  And this year, with only a few days notice, she and some of Jimmy's cousins put together this incredible Mad Hatter costume for Bubby.  The Mad Hatter was so impressed, and kept shouting to Alice that "no one wanted to dress up like you, that just shows they like me better".  So here's our Marys and Mad Hatters.  Aren't they a hoot?

After breakfast we took the Monorail to the Magic Kingdom. Here, I managed to get Pinocchio's autograph.  The heat was really taking it's toll on us two old grandparents, so we decided to go back to the hotel for some cooling off and a nap.  We had tickets for Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party that night, and knew it would be a late one.  The nap did us both good, and after a "lunch" of French Quarter's well-known beignets, we took the bus back to the Magic Kingdom.  From there we took the Monorail to the Polynesian, where we would have dinner at Kona.  Kona has to be one of all of our favorite places for dinner.  Their steaks are the best, and I love the duck pot stickers as an appetizer.  For dessert I had their chocolate-banana creme brulee.  Mmmm, doesn't just the sound of it make your mouth water???

The Castle at dusk

After dinner we were off to the Halloween Party.  As we started down Main Street, this was our view of the Castle at dusk. The Halloween Party is the one time that adults are permitted to enter the park in costume.  And to say this is a family environment, we certainly saw a lot of "hookers".  One family we saw was all dressed in costumes from Peter Pan; another was in costumes from Pirates of the Caribbean.  We proceeded through the park to Liberty Square, where we had found front row seating for the Halloween Parade.

Wow, how can I describe this parade and do it justice??

 The parade begins with the headless horseman riding the parade route.  There are beautifully lit floats featuring both heroes and villians.  

One of the most impressive entries in the parade, were the grave diggers.  They perform precision moves with their shovels, and when they scrape them on the pavement, sparks fly.

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The specters from the Haunted Mansion made an appearance, looking surprisingly scary in their finest garb.

And of course, there was my beloved Captain Jack Sparrow.

The Party was great fun, the parade was just amazing, and the trick-or-treating to collect sweets from Goofy's Candy Company made me feel almost young again.  But eventually, it was time to say good night to the Magic Kingdom and it's Castle.


Good Bye to the Magic Kingdom for this visit.  But rest assured, we'll be back!