Haunted Carriage ride after Mickey's BBQ?

[TheVBs]

We're thinking about booking the carriage ride after going to the BBQ since we'll already be at Ft. Wilderness. The BBQ starts at 6:30. Will it be too late/too much to do both in the same night? What hours are the carriage rides run? Any other suggestions or tips?

[Dsnygirl]

Here is the information from 2010 -

Roam the woods of Fort Wilderness on a 25-minute Haunted Carriage Ride while hearing the "Legend of Sleepy Hollow."

Can accommodate 4 adults or 2 adults with 3 children ages 9 and under.

Price: $60 per carriage

October 1- November 1, 2010
Rides at 7:30, 8:00, 8:30, 9:00, 9:30, 10:00 , 10:30 PM

Three carriages available for each ride time.
This ride leaves from the front of Pioneer Hall at Fort Wilderness.

This excursion can be booked up to 180 days in advance by calling 407-WDW-PLAY.

We did this in October 2009, and it was awesome -- we did an earlier one, around 7:30, and they were very prompt -- we were definitely in the carriage and off by 7:40 or so.

Mickey's BBQ says it goes until 9:30... you could certainly book the 10pm carriage ride, but I guess it would depend more on the age of your children and how late you'd like to stay up. The carriage ride was about 45 minutes, but then you have to wait for a bus back to your resort, which isn't often a direct ride, depending on the time of night. (We got lucky, our ride was over as people were leaving the HDDR, so there were buses lined up to take people directly to their resorts.) We grabbed a pizza at Trail's End and took it back to our resort... I think we were back by 9:30 or so.

As far as the carriage ride goes, it's definitely a great thing to do for Halloween -- the only "glitch" we had was that we were starting the carriage ride as people were coming and going from the first HDDR, and the walkways were full of people who wanted to talk to the woman driving our carriage. (I don't think they were aware that it was a special carriage ride, and that we were trying to listen to her, and to the story. The beginning of the story in the carriage ride is taped, so we had a VERY hard time hearing, as she had to try to politely discourage people from stopping her, etc.) So, I would try to book during the HDDR, not in-between times as it lets out and people arrive for the next seating. (5pm, 7:15, 9:30 are it's current times)

Also -- be sure to have your camera out at the end -- I won't spoil it, but they do a great job w/ the end of the ride. Have FUN!!

[TheVBs]

Thank you! You make a good point. Chances are the girls will be pretty wiped out after the BBQ. I'll plan for another night, and I'll make sure to avoide those in-between HDDR times. Thank you for that tip! We're so excited to do this!

[buzznwoodysmom]

We did this for the first time last October, and it was great. My boys, ages 10 and 8 at the time, loved it. Definitely worth doing!

[TheVBs]

Just booked it!

Wanted to pass on this info though. When I called 800-WDW-DINE I either got a busy signal or got a very brief recording that said nothing about it being a Disney line. Something like, "To talk to fun people call 800...." and they gave another number. It sounded suspicious so I didn't dial it. I called the dining number instead and they gave me the recreation number, 407-939-7529 and that's where I booked the carriage ride.

[TheVBs]

Sorry, I meant to say that happened when I called 800-WDW-PLAY.

[4disneynuts]

Our family did this in October 2008. Our DD were 13 and 16. They still talk about that carriage ride to this day and how awesome it was. My DH says it was the best part of our trip that year. I highly recommend it. You won't be diappointed.

[BellesRose]

I have been dying to do this for years. I'm such a huge fan of "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" and I have seen Youtube videos of the hayride.

I have to ask, does anyone know how people with allergies will do on the ride? I have been on regular hayrides (Pulled by a tractor) and I did get sneezy from the hay but I survived it then and I could survive it again. I am deathly allergic to animals, though, and I wonder how I will do being that close to horses. Also, does it smell really bad? LOL

[Cinderelley]

We did this last Oct. I would do it again in a heartbeat. They did tell us last year that it was going to be in a new place this year. Since you have decided to do it on a different night than the BBQ, this shouldn't affect your plans.

Belle's Rose - there isn't any hay. It is just like the open-air horse and buggy rides that you see on Christmas specials and such. I don't recall any bad smells. Although I work in an ER, and my sensitivity to those types of things is 0. The friend I was with didn't mention any bad smells, and he is more sensitive to it than I am. I would suggest talking to your doctor about it and see if he gives you the go ahead.

[TheVBs]

It's great to see so many good reviews! We're so excited about doing this. We're going to MK on a Halloween party day, but not the night we're attending the party. So for us the park will close at 7pm and our carriage ride is at 8pm. We were told to check in at Crockett's Tavern.

[BellesRose]

Belle's Rose - there isn't any hay. It is just like the open-air horse and buggy rides that you see on Christmas specials and such. I don't recall any bad smells. Although I work in an ER, and my sensitivity to those types of things is 0. The friend I was with didn't mention any bad smells, and he is more sensitive to it than I am. I would suggest talking to your doctor about it and see if he gives you the go ahead.

Well that's great then! I'm not gonna worry about it. I'll just bring Benadryl and I always have my Epi-Pen.
Did they used to have hay? I just noticed that it's no longer called a hayride but I'm pretty sure it was in the past. I also just realized that it's only 4 people now. I think in the past it was like 12? I did a quick search and found out that this "newer" version is nothing compared to what it was in 2006 and earlier. Did anyone here go back then?