48 Magical Hours
On Monday, I drove to Orlando for a 48-hour jammed packed trip. I drove straight to my hotel, checked-in, and went to meet up with my bestie Bess at Epcot. Once we got there, we dived right into the Food & Wine festival and of course checked out each store throughout the park. We rode the (new) Guardian’s of the Galaxy ride, ate at the festival kiosks, and walked over 18,000 steps. 98 Degrees was preforming as part of Epcot’s Eat to the Beat concert series and we (of course) had to see them! The weather wasn’t the best, and didn’t cooperate as much as I wanted it to, but we still had a blast (and then some). We were EXHAUSTED by the end of the day.
Tuesday was just as jammed packed as Monday. I started with a quick pitstop at my favorite Super Target in Orlando, then I headed straight to Hollywood Studios. I had passes to Rockin’ Rollercoaster, Toy Story Midway Mania, Tower of Terror, Slinky Dog, and Rise of the Resistance. I even had a chance to meet Tina for a quick coffee and eat lunch in between all the excitement. Then I had an outfit change and off I went to the Magic Kingdom!
Once I was at Magic Kingdom, I went straight for pictures before the clouds rolled in. I wanted to document as much as possible in my outfit before I had to change for the Halloween party that night.
Pro Tip: if you buy a ticket for Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party, you can enter the park as early as 4 PM to enjoy the regular park rides and stores before it transforms into a not so scary night!
Once 6 PM rolled around and the Cast were escorting non-party people out, I went back to the lockers to change into my costume. Once I did, I went straight to take more pictures before it got too crazy and the sun went down. After I was done with the first round of pictures, I went to scope out the exclusive party merchandise. I bought the party spirit jersey, the party exclusive t-shirt, the Hocus Pocus spirit jersey, and loaded up on some bottls of water.
Once the party kicked off, I went straight to get a return time for Jack and Sally’s meet and greet. From there I went to ride Mine Train and hit up some Trick-Or-Treat spots for Candy. After I finished Mine Train, I went to meet Tiana and Repunzel, then I rode Space Mountain and returned to meet Jack and Sally. After I took some pictures with them, I went to meet Mickey in his Halloween costume! Once I was done with those, it was time for the parade, and I happened to walk out just as it was approaching Main Street.
Pro Tip: Parades for special ticketed events begin in Frontierland, this means that it will take 20 minutes or so before it actually reaches the front of the park. The 9:15 parade did not arrive in Main Street until close to 9:40 PM.
After the parade, I went over to Casey’s Corner to buy some corn dog nuggets for dinner. Just as my food was ready, it was time for fireworks! I personally love the MNSSHP fireworks the most.
Pro Tip: special event and holiday fireworks are parameter fireworks. This means they are shot off from the back and can be seen in a 360-view from anywhere in the park (as well as surrounding resorts).
After the fireworks, I went off to Pirates of the Caribbean (Space Mountain and Pirates of the Caribbean have “Halloween overlays” meaning it’s not the ride you’re used to, instead it’s personalized to be different for the party!). Once I was done, I hit up some more of the Trick-Or-Treat locations and then I headed out for the night. After 12 hours in the park and over 20K steps, I was beat!
I did miss out on some character meet-and-greets that I really wanted to see like Winnie the Pooh and friends in their costumes and I missed out on the Hocus Pocus stage show, but there was so much to do I couldn’t do it all!
Once I got back to the hotel, I had to shower and pack. I didn’t end up going to bed until 2 AM. Wednesday morning I woke up, went to Disney Springs for some quick shopping and breakfast, then I drove home. I had to do some work, so I logged in just after lunch and worked until pretty late.
Definitely a whirlwind 48-hours, but they were magical! I will say, though, I am exhausted.
Here are some of my favorite pictures from the trip!
