Better Late Than Never - MNSSHP - Day 3!

[poeticeclipse]

Day three started with a bang! We traveled to the crazily beautiful Polynesian Resort for breakfast at Kona Cafe. Only the best breakfast on Walt Disney World property. It was a GORGEOUS morning traveling on the boat over from Magic Kingdom. We got to the resort early so we ended up getting our table a little bit earlier than our ADR time. Mom got an omelette and I got the best thing on the menu... Tonga Toast. For you Tonga Toast virgins, it's sourdough bread stuffed with bananas covered in sugar. They give you a strawberry sauce to poor on top of it too. Not only are you given sugary banana goodness but you also get the best potatoes ever. We paid for this meal out of pocket (off DDP).

After breakfast we took the monorail over to Magic Kingdom. Right after the entrance there were some characters greeting so we stopped in line for Pinocchio. It was my first time meeting him and it was so awesome. I saw Snow White come out and take a little boy by the hand and walk with him to a private place to do some photos with his parents. It was adorable to watch. Disney knows how to give personal moments to guests even though there are so many people in the park. Simply brilliant. The statue of Walt's brother, Roy, is also a must-see for me every trip. I finally got a picture with it where my eyes were open.

Mom and I had the CRAZIEST run in with Push the talking trashcan. I haven't seen Push in action since I was like 14 so this was a huge deal for me. I whipped out my camera and video taped him talking to guests. Only, about 20 seconds after getting my camera out Push came right over and started talking to me. I have a video of him and I having a 5 minute conversation. Seriously was the best moment of the day.

Space Mountain was closed down for refurbishment at the time but they had just opened Tomorrowland Transit Authority to guests again so we rode that. Mom and I were able to see the inside of Space Mountain with the lights on. It just looked like a gray warehouse with a coaster inside.

After Tomorrowland we went and had lots of fun in Adventureland and Frontierland. Ran into Cowboy Goofy which was just adorable. I told Goofy that I have a crush on his son, Max. True story. Before leaving Magic Kingdom we stopped and got some ice cream. Mom got vanilla & chocolate and I got the amazing raspberry sorbet. Yummy in the tummy.

We went back to Pop Century to get around for Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party later. After some down time and primping at the resort we went to Epcot for dinner. We had to do some rearranging with dinner because we decided to attend the Halloween Party that night. Had to cancel our previous reservation and the only thing that was available at the right time was Biergarten. I had a bad previous experience when I was 17 at Biergarten. Just didn't care for it other than the sweet German music.

We were seated at the back of the restaurant with this stuffy family from North Dakota. In order to make it through what I was already expecting to be an awful dinner, I ordered an Oktoberfest. Biergarten's speciality beer. Oh good Lord folks... I could have drank that stuff 'till the cows came home. Mom and I went up to the buffet and immediately started whispering to each other "What is that? It looks weird and has a German name." We decided to go all out and just pile stuff onto our plates even if we weren't sure what it was. If it didn't have meat in it, I tried it. There were actually more options for vegetarians than I had expected. I was shocked! After sitting down and taking a few bites... I was in heaven!!! I take back everything bad I ever said about this restaurant. The salad was killer and so was the red cabbage. All around i'd say Biergarten is now a "don't miss" for me at WDW. Yay!

Mom and I took the monorail over to Magic Kingdom for the party. We got our wristband, candy bag, and candy trail map. The park seemed pretty busy even though it was a hard ticketed event. We didn't know what to do with ourselves so we just waited in line for a "meet and greet area" to open up in Adventureland. They put out signs in various places so you know where characters and candy will be. We didn't know who would be inside the building and to our surprise we got three awesome characters... Timon, Baloo, and Jane. I'd never met Jane before and she was really cute with a bubbly personality. After each meet and greet you get candy in your bag which sometimes ends up being raisins. I wasn't a fan of this.

The rest of the night was spent meeting more characters along some "haunted" trails, watching the Villains show in front of Cinderella Castle, and enjoying the Halloween parade and fireworks. While I really liked the events going on, it just seemed really crowded because everyone was in the same spot at the same time. People weren't really spread out enough. I'm glad I did it once and i'd probably do it again but not for a few more trips. I'd also dress up more.

We could have stayed in the park longer but we had to get to bed at a decent time because I needed a good nights sleep. I had a big day ahead of me... American Idol Experience!

If you're interested in seeing pictures from day three just follow the link in my profile and then scroll all the way down to the bottom of the page.

Next up... American Idol Experience!!!

[faline]

The Halloween party is always so much fun! What great dining experiences you had!

[mouseketeer mom]

Agreed about the red cabbage at Biergarten!!! Yum yum! You guys are having a fabulous time!

[yjgirl32]

Thanks for sharing. Great report.

[pdrlkr]

Thanks for the Report!

[DisneyorBust]

I love the Biergarten also, as for the Oktoberfest bier it is soooo good!
Glad that you gave the Biergarten another chance.

[KylesMom]

Glad you got your fix of Tonga Toast on this morning. Some day I'm going to get to Kona for this delish dish!

Isn't Push so fun? I love watching him interact with guests who clearly have no clue of what's going on.

Well, even though the company at your Biergarten table may not have been great, it sounds like your meal was a hit. Isn't it amazing how different Disney restaurants can be than what you may have experienced before?

Thanks for your take on the party. I know that some have experienced very light crowds, while others closer to Halloween encountered lots of people.

Looking forward to your next report, including your Idol experience!

[poeticeclipse]

Glad you got your fix of Tonga Toast on this morning. Some day I'm going to get to Kona for this delish dish!

Well, even though the company at your Biergarten table may not have been great, it sounds like your meal was a hit. Isn't it amazing how different Disney restaurants can be than what you may have experienced before?

Thanks for your take on the party. I know that some have experienced very light crowds, while others closer to Halloween encountered lots of people.

Kona is SO worth the trip! My mom kept wondering why I so badly wanted to pay OOP for a breakfast. She didn't get it until we ate there. Now she wants to go back every time.

I'm so happy Biergarten was wonderful for us. Now if only I could like Mama Melrose again...

A lot of people seemed to be at MK for MNSSHP but not really riding the rides. So, nothing was eating up the masses. Maybe I just "thought" there were a lot of people.

[coneygoil]

Great trip report!

There was medium crowds when I went to MNSSHP at the beginning of Oct. There really was not enough time to do anything with watching the parade, fireworks, (the most awesome!) villain show, and the dance parties.