Florida Holiday 2017 ~ Day 2 - An Early Start!

Well so much for the kids being knackered and maybe sleeping late....they were both wide awake at 5am!!! That is a time I never see at home so it was a bit of a shock to the system!

Decided to have a quietish day today to ease us in gently (Florida hols are exhausting) and we decided to head over to one of the premium outlets nearby. We're not really into designer clothes so couldn't really get excited about most of the shops but we did stop at the Toys R Us and Disney outlet stores...can you tell who this holiday is geared around?! Elliot couldn't wait to make a dent in his wallet and came out a few dollars lighter. He's only 4 so doesn't really understand the value of money yet but he enjoys having his own pennies to spend in the shops. We got some great bargains in the Disney shop - Tsum Tsum's were only 99cents so we had a few of those plus the world's ugliest toy, a Happabore from Star Wars. It looks a bit like a dinosaur crossed with a pig but it was only $4.99 and Elliot really wanted it!

We were getting a bit peckish by this point so we headed over to I-Drive for some lunch. Decided on Millers Ale House and as it was Tuesday, kids ate free which was a bonus! We've never eaten at Millers before but it was a nice lunch and not too expensive. I had chicken fajitas, Paul had the Philly cheese steak sandwich and Elliot had hot dog and fries. He got a free pudding too and me and Paul shared the Nutter Butter Ice Cream cake which was really really good! (And massive...it was a good job we shared)

Elliot was itching to see "the upside down house" or Wonderworks as it's actually called so we wandered along to see about going inside. We had a coupon for $2 off but it was still very expensive at almost $90 for the family. We almost decided not to go in when we saw the prices!!

Wonderworks is split into different zones such as natural disasters and space discovery and there are loads of interactive exhibitions to see and play with. Elliot was a bit freaked out by the earthquake simulator but he loved the giant bubbles!

At the top of the building is the basement (it's upside down remember!) and there you can find laser tag, an arcade and a glow in the dark high ropes course. It was busy so there was a bit of a queue but Elliot and Paul decided to take on the ropes. I honestly didn't think Elliot would do it because it was so high but he loved it!!

After we left I-Drive we headed back to Kissimmee but decided to make a stop at Walmart - I love this place!! You can buy anything and everything and it's always fun having a mooch round. Elliot was beginning to flag so we knew we didn't have too much time so we just picked up a few essentials (beef jerky and twinkies obviously) and Elliot finally got to check out the toy selection. He's been looking forward to this for weeks after we had a look online at the Walmart website and he was eager to see what he could spend his money on. That pocket money is certainly burning a hole in his pocket!!

It was almost 9pm by the time we got home so it was a quick snack and bed for Elliot and Erin while I did bottle washing/sterilising and put a load of washing on...it's just like being back at home!

Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party - Disney's Magic Kingdom Florida

On our recent holiday to Florida we were able to attend a very special Halloween party at Disney's Magic Kingdom - Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party.

Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party is a ticketed event which means it happens outside of park hours and it's additional cost to your actual park ticket. I'll do a proper blog post about Magic Kingdom later on in the week but I just wanted to talk specifically about the Halloween Party here!

The Halloween Party is held on select nights in September, October and November and is suitable for all ages. Guests are encouraged to dress up in their fancy dress finest and to enjoy the spooky entertainment and party atmosphere!

Although we have visited Orlando several times before, this was to be our first visit with a child so I did a lot of research and reading of other blogs before we went. One of my go-to blogs for Disney info was the Life of Spicers and one evening when chatting to Angela about Disney, she mentioned Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party. It was the first time I'd heard of it but that was it, as soon as I started googling, I knew we had to go!!

The tickets cost me an additional $144 on top of our park tickets (around £90) but this was for three of us (Elliot was free as he was under 3) - unfortunately going to Disney World isn't a cheap holiday so I just had to bite the bullet and book tickets!

We spent the day at Magic Kingdom and had such a great time - it was day 3 of our holiday, our first Disney park and the sun was shining! The park was decorated in lots of Autumn colours and I couldn't wait to see it come alive after dark for the Halloween celebrations.  The park closed to the general public at 7pm but MNSSHP guests are allowed in from 4pm so as the crowds started to thin out at late afternoon, we started to see people in costumes of all descriptions! Elliot couldn't wait to get changed into his zombie costume but his mask didn't stay on for long because it was so hot!

One of the first things we noticed about the event was how much quieter the rides were. These events are generally really popular and the park seemed really busy but nothing like the crowds of the daytime. We found the bigger rides that had a 50mins+ queue in the afternoon, had zero queues in the evening so you could ride again and again if you wanted. And of course, once it gets dark the rides are a whole new experience! We didn't do many rides in the evening as we'd already been on all the big ones earlier in the day but we did take Elliot on the Seven Dwarves Mine Train ride. It was his first proper rollercoaster and we loved it!

MNSSHP is also great for character spotting - the queue to meet the seven dwarves was massive!

One of the most fun things about Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party was the treats! Scattered around the park are treat stations where staff hand out sweets (or candy!) and we had great fun looking for the Mickey balloons which signaled where the treat stations were. We were all given a trick or treat bag and there was no limit to how many times you could visit the treat stations so it didn't take long for the bags to fill up! Elliot was in his element ;)

New for 2015 is the Hocus Pocus Villain Spelltacular featuring the Sanderson Sisters from the Hocus Pocus film. This happens on the Castle Stage but we only got to see a bit of this as it was just too busy where we were stood to get a decent view - it sounded great though!

I love the parades at Disney and I was really excited to watch the Boo-to-You Halloween parade. It runs twice on event nights and we decided to catch the earlier 8.35pm parade because we weren't sure how late Elliot would manage to stay up. He was beginning to flag at this point but it was good opportunity sit down in the buggy for a bit and rest his tired little legs. The Headless Horseman galloped down Main Street signalling the start of the parade and it was just as good as I imagined. All the usual Disney characters were there including Mickey and Minnie but we also got to see more obscure characters like the hyenas from the Lion King!

Another highlight from the evening was the fireworks show. Disney certainly know how to put on a fireworks display and the Happy Hallowishes Fireworks display is said to be the most impressive you'll see at Disney. We weren't stood too near the Castle so we probably missed out on a good portion of the light display but the fireworks we did see above us were fantastic. The finale was just jaw dropping - 360 degree fireworks that surrounded us. We managed to capture a bit of it on camera but the video just doesn't do it justice - the atmosphere and the noise was incredible!

On event nights, the park stays open until way past midnight but we were dead on our feet (excuse the Halloween pun!) and by 11pm we were more than ready to head home. We had been at the park since 9am so that is one hell of a long day! Elliot was such a good boy despite the long day and he really enjoyed the Halloween Party. He loves spooky things anyway so this was the perfect event to take him to.

He was asleep before we'd even left the park and he certainly slept well that night....and the next morning he couldn't wait to sort out his giant bag of candy!

We had a great time at Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party and wouldn't hesitate to book again on our next Florida holiday! 

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