The Little Things #5

Dancing with the Characters

Taken during the Up All Night Dance Party!

Have a favorite Little Thing? Share it below or on Twitter and we will share some in a future post!

Missed The Little Things #4? Check it out here!

It's in the Details #3

In this series, we'll be looking at details that are hidden all around you at the parks. The Imagineers do a great job placing in many hidden gems and things to try that one has to take a moment to notice, or explore. Many of these are obvious and in plain sight, and some are hidden quite well, you just have to know where to look.

    Today's detail covers hidden designs placed to accent an attraction, that usually aren't noticed by the average guest. It's a Small World resides in Fantasyland, which at WDW, is designed to be a castle courtyard fair and village. Each ride appears to reside in a fair tent, including It's a Small World. Popular at medieval fairs is the joust. If you look closely, you'll notice the columns for the ride's tent are decorated in the style of jousting lances, to add that little bit of scenic flair.

Missed It's in the Details #2? Check it out here! 

24 Hour Disney Day: Evening Fun!

After our fun-filled morning and afternoon at the Disney Parks Blog Monstrous Meet Up, we took a little rest to save up some energy so we could make it till 6am. We arrived back at the Magic Kingdom a little before midnight this time joined by my Mom and Dad. We got there just in time to watch the new summer edition of Celebrate the Magic!

The park was a lot busier in the evening then it was earlier that morning. However, we still managed to enjoy ourselves on some rides. We took another adventure on the Jungle Cruise, rode Dumbo, Haunted Mansion and Pirates, and took in some of the Main Street Electrical Parade before heading over to the Up All Night Dance Party.

                     

 

The Up All Night Dance Party was held in front of Cinderella's Castle at 2am and kept going strong until 5:45am!  This was one of our favorite parts of the day. It was fun to get to dance with Disney characters and fellow Disney fans as we all enjoyed being in the park at these late hours. The Dance Party also helped us keep our energy up. Here's just some of the fun:
  

                   

 

         

 

Stitch is a cutie!

Mom loved dancing with the Characters!

Genie had some great dance moves!

Even though we were loving the dance party there was still so much else we could see and do! We decided to go get our picture taken with Courtney's favorite chipmunks!

By this time we were starting to lose steam so it was time for a ride on the carousel....

 ... and a little pick me up from Gaston's Tavern. We enjoyed a cinnamon roll and a special Sulley cupcake!

Of course we had to get a LeFou's Brew too! 

With our little sugar pick me up we went back to check out the dance party again which was still going strong in its last hour. Then it was time for a ride on our favorite, the People Mover, where we got to see Space Mountain with the lights on!

We then made our way back to Main Street to watch the special Kiss Goodnight to wrap up the 24 Hour Day. Mickey and Minnie came out with the rest of the characters above the train station. After a rendition of the Mickey Mouse Club song, the 24 Hour Monstrous All-Nighter was officially over! Mickey and Minnie then shared a kiss goodnight and waved goodbye from the train station as we made our way out. It was a great ending to a special, magical day.

See you real soon!

24 Hour Disney Day: Monstrous Meet Up

We started our 24 hour Disney Day bright and early at the Ticket and Transportation Center to attend the Disney Parks Blog Monstrous Meet Up. Joining us this morning were my Dad and brother, Peter! We arrived at 4am and after checking in made our way over to the Magic Kingdom via the Ferry Boat. 

On Our Way!

Once at the Magic Kingdom we got in place for the start of the All-Nighter! We were given Monsters University buttons and Mike Wazowski glasses to mark the occasion. 

 

At 5:50am, the opening ceremony began with a visit from Mike and Sulley in their Monsters University gear. They were soon joined by an array of Disney characters who arrived to the station on the train. And with that we officially started our Monstrous Summer All-Nighter!

We had some time before the first meet-up event of the day, so we joined the crowd down Main Street and made our way to our first attraction, Buzz Lightyear!

 

The park was really empty that morning allowing us to walk on everything! Definitely a nice change. After Buzz we made our way to the Monstrous Meet Up Breakfast with the Monstrous Donut Bar! On our way, the Main Street cars were parked in front of the castle; we stopped for a group picture. 

It was then time to fill up on donuts, fruit and Sulleyaide! At breakfast we were able to meet Sulley, get our picture taken for our Monsters University IDs, and enjoy a buffet of donuts where you could decorate your donut with sprinkles, coconut and even more sugar! 

These guys are some scary Monsters!

             

After breakfast we had some free time in the park before the main event. We used this time to take advantage of the non-existent lines riding Thunder Mountain, Little Mermaid, Aladdin's Magic Carpets, Haunted Mansion and Jungle Cruise! We even had time to complete a map for the new Pirate Adventure experience we shared in our last post and check out the sweet offerings on Main Street! 

                     

After having fun in the park it was time for the main event, a preview screening of Monsters University!!  We met up with the everyone by Splash Mountain where we boarded buses to make our way to AMC Theaters for the movie. Once we arrived, we received some special popcorn and made our way into the theater. 

Photo Courtesy Disney Parks Blog

Can you spot us?
Hint: Look on the right side of the picture :)

The movie was amazing! Everyone in our party absolutely loved it. It's funny and touching at the same time much like the original. Make sure you check out Monsters University when it comes out on June 21st!

The end of the movie marked the end of the Disney Parks Blog Meet Up. As we left everyone received a goody bag filled with fun Monsters University items and we picked up our Monsters University IDs! 

We are Monsters now!

We really enjoyed this meet up. Disney Parks Blog does a great job at putting these events together and adding in those special surprises! 

Even though the Meet Up was over this was not the end of our fun on the 24 Hour Disney Day! Hear about our evening fun in the next post!

A Pirate Adventure: Treasures of the Seven Seas

New to Magic Kingdom this summer is A Pirate Adventure: Treasures of the Seven Seas. A Pirate Adventure is a fun little game you can play in Adventureland. It's much like Agent P in Epcot where you have a mission to complete and fun things happen along the way. Even though it is not officially open, it is currently in testing and we were able to try it out!

                               

The starting point is in the old shop past Pirates of the Caribbean as you make your way from Adventureland to Frontierland; it's on your left.  Once inside the building you sign up for your adventure on the touchscreen and receive your map and talisman. There are 5 different maps you can complete. On this day we tackled 2 of them, Blackbeard and Heads You Lose.  As long as you keep your talisman you can come back on a different day to complete more maps!

Once you pick up your map, the screen tells you your first spot to go! The adventures are quite fun. Basically you visit each place on the map once and at each place a little fun surprise happens then someone from the Pirate films such as Jack Sparrow or Barbossa tells you where to go next. 

           

The little effects are neat and some are very fun! We don't want to ruin the surprises though! The game itself is not too involved or difficult. It is definitely something new and different to try when you are in the park, especially on a busy day when you might not want to wait in line for rides; this is a great alternative. Kids will also love it for the special effects that are used. 

Like we stated before, there are 5 maps to complete and we hear that once you complete all five you get to see a little extra special magic! So, the next time you are in Adventureland we definitely suggest you try out A Pirates Adventure: Treasures of the Seven Seas!