Top 10 Tips for Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party

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We made it! We survived and entire week in WDW with a toddler and I have so much to share. This year we decided to attend the Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party at the Magic Kingdom and partake in all the fun. I learned a ton since this was my first time and from going with a toddler.

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Here are the tips I wish I had known…..

  1. Dress Up -it makes it so much more fun. The key is low key. Yes there are some people who just go all out and let me tell you it’s amazing. I prefer Disney bounding-what is that you say? Dressing in regular clothes that look similar to the clothes of famous Disney Characters. We went as Snow White and dwarves, Row’s dress was a simple cotton dress in snow white colors-no fluff and the grownups wore shirts with felt belts sewn on and hats-easy. Plus it is way easier to move around and ride rides.
  2. Shows-There are three-the Boo To You Parade, Hocus Pocus Show, and Hallowishes. Hallowishes only plays once and I recommend being around the general vicinity of the front of the castle since much of the show is projected on the castle itself. The parade runs twice and the show runs four times-plenty of time to catch them.
  3. Seating-The parade has characters up close so if you have a toddler who doesn’t enjoy that-I won’t mention any names-pick a place where you can move back if you need to and people and places aren’t as crowded-such as the front of the train station-learn from my mistakes!!!!
  4. Do trick or treat-so many people think it’s a waste of time but the littles love it. They hand out candy at designated areas throughout the park. They also provide a trick or treat bag but I would bring at least one large bag because you will get a ton of candy and yes it’s the good stuff.IMG_2763
  5. Rides-don’t forget to ride….the lines are soooooo short. All those rides you can’t or won’t wait in line for-peter pan, mine train, space mountain-go go go-5-10 minute wait lines.IMG_2727
  6. Treats-get yourself a Halloween cupcake or candy corn cotton candy (sold only in the back of the park) sigh I forgot! These are special only for the event.
  7. Characters-pick one or two to get pictures with. They do not mention which characters are present but we saw Jane and Tarzan and Abu and Aladdin. Characters are a big part of the party and they have mega rare ones out to meet and greet. The lines are long though but the pic is priceless.
  8. Pictures-get a picture in front of the castle at night-it’s purple. They also have special signs you can hold that say Halloween party.
  9. Look Up-Many cool decorations are put out just for the party-check out the pumpkins on top of buildings.
  10. Relax-get done what you can and don’t stress-snag a party map right when you walk in, step to the side and decide what’s your top two things to do. The rest is icing.IMG_2722

Oh and BOO TO YOU…..

Apple Printing

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It’s Fall! Now for those of you in my beloved New England that means apple picking. For those of us in the deep south that means buying some apples at the store.

I decided to break out the apples and the paint to get us into the swing of Fall and Row loved it.

This was an activity I did every year in Kindergarten. I’ll share all the ways you can squeeze learning into this fun craft.

Simply gather an apple and split in half. I like to put Popsicle sticks through the centers so that they are more easily held for printing.

Place paint on your plates and dip. I also love to use a large restaurant sized cookie sheet for painting because it holds the paper in place as well as the mess.

It’s fun to press each apple onto the paper and lift to make a print and for toddlers it’s also fun to paint.

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This simple activity lasted about 30 minutes-not to shabby for a 2 year old.

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Now let’s bring the teacher out and talk about all the amazing teacher points you can hit on during this craft. We spoke about the colors of paint and I asked Row to dip in specific colors as we painted=color recognition. We talked about the way the apple felt=attributes-small, large, color and weight. We talked about the mass=weight, heavy and light.

How can you enrich this activity for school aged children? Add more colors and talk about primary and secondary colors as they print/paint. Talk about plants and discuss the parts of an apple, the skin, flesh, seeds. Discuss the plant life cycle. Oh and have fun!

 

Weekend Wrap Up-Capital Edition

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This weekend was fun and crazy and humid. We headed on out to Austin to hit up the LEGO Kidsfest which was super fun and cool. We actually probably could have easily stayed and swam in the lego pile for at least another hour. We left to meet friends and had a fabulous dinner at Magnolia Cafe on South Congress. I wish I could say I had pictures of that but apparently eating late at night in a small cafe with a toddler, well picture taking isn’t your first thought.

I will say this the entire theme of the cafe was flamingos so I was sold.

The next morning after nearly killing each other at the hotel… There was literally something wrong in every room. Again late night with a toddler….we awoke to breakfast. I have to say when we are traveling I love to find a Hampton Inn because their included breakfast is always amazing.

We headed out-to rain-wah wah. However, the rain did stop and we were able to make a stop at the state Capital. I was super excited because I’m pretty much a History nerd. Yes in my previous life I was a Kindergarten teacher but what you don’t know is I actually had 2 majors as an undergraduate. My first was early childhood education and my second was liberal studies-kind of like 3 minors rolled into a major and History was one of them. I love History. Oh and ancient aliens.

Capital land building

Capital land building

We stopped by the Visitors Center first and all I could think was thank goodness for air conditioning. The visitors center is the former Land Office-pretty cool. They had a really old staircase and vaults that were original. We got to see the history behind the building of the capital.

Texas capital fun

Texas capital fun

They also had tons of things found on site during updating. Row got to dress as a cowgirl and ride a saddle….oh and run around the tables trying to get away from us. I completely understand the leash-I mean harness.

Not feeling the saddle

Not feeling the saddle

We then headed straight for the Capital. It was humongous. Everything was so ornate. We went all the way to the fourth floor.

Texas capital #austin #itshot

Texas capital #austin #itshot

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Each floor has a painting of the governors all the way from the beginning-which were presidents instead of governors. Only in Texas. As you can tell Row is really feeling it.

And all the floors

And all the floors

We were also able to see where they hold the state Senate. I loved the old fashioned water fountains built directly into that wall with marble basins.

Senate chamber

Senate chamber

The good news is we made it! I’m so glad we popped by!