In this special edition of Brittany Earns Her Ears, we'll be delving into the spookier side of Walt Disney World. We'll revisit my experiences in the parks during the last Halloween season, and also learn about what's new for this year. Lets dig in!
Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party
Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party is a special ticketed event that takes place from 7:00 PM to midnight on select nights in the Magic Kingdom. The event includes special Halloween themed entertainment, including the Boo to You parade, Hallowishes fireworks, the Cadaver Dans, and more. New to the party this year was the Hocus Pocus Villain Spectacular. This show replaced a somewhat similar stage show, that features many of the villains also on the Castle forecourt stage, but with less plot and of course, no Sanderson Sisters. While I haven't seen the new show in person, I've watched numerous videos of it online, and so far I much prefer it to last year's show! I think the addition of the Sanderson Sisters is great, and I'm always up for a revival of Hocus Pocus! If you haven't seen it but want to, see the video below courtesy of Inside the Magic:
Another fun part of Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party is that there are lots of different characters out that you cannot ordinarily meet, including the Seven Dwarfs, Jack Skellington and Sally, Lotso, the Witch from Snow White, Captain Jack Sparrow, and some of the classic characters such as Mickey and Minnie dressed in their Halloween costumes! If you plan on attending the party next year be sure to have a little bit of strategy planned to meet all of the characters, the lines (especially for Jack and Sally and the dwarfs) can get very long as the night goes on.
And there are even some photo ops that only take place during the party! Here's my favorite:
Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party is easily my favorite event at Walt Disney World. (Of course, the Epcot International Food and Wine Festival is up there too!) Unfortunately I was not able to attend the party this year, due to starting at a new job where my vacation time does not kick in until January, but I'm already planning next year's Halloween trip, so be prepared for some Hocus Pocus to be added into next year's Halloween special!
Working Halloween at Walt Disney World
Working Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party is so much fun! One of my favorite days at work ever, was the day that I was able to work a treat shift during the party. I have loved it if I were able to pick up more treat shifts during my fall college program, however the shifts are really hard to come by if you don't work Magic Kingdom attractions. I got lucky, and found an open shift online, and was able to give out treats for one night at the Pirates of the Caribbean attraction.
Treat shifts are really easy, and really fun! The cast members rotate through a couple of different positions, either greeting, directing guests where to go from the line's exit, or giving out candy. After completing the last position, you would go on break and the rotation would start over again. It's a pretty laid back night to work, and there is some downtime during the parades and fireworks. It's also nice to work treat shifts (or any shift during the party really) because sometimes you're able to watch either or both performances. During my treat shift in Adventureland I was able to watch the fireworks, the view wasn't perfect, but you can't complain when you're getting paid to watch them.
I also picked up a regular merchandise shift in Frontierland during a Halloween party, which was another one of my favorite shifts! I lucked out and ended up working at Big Al's, the cart near the Frontierland Trading Post and the Country Bear Jamboree. Because I was at the cart, I had a perfect view of the parade, and fireworks, and I was able to dance along with the parade's pre-show. While I'm thankful that I typically worked in Hollywood Studios or Animal Kingdom because of the hours, it was definitely a lot of fun, and a whole different feeling to work in the Magic Kingdom, especially during the Halloween parties!
My actual Halloween night last year was much less eventful. I was not scheduled to work at my usual merchandise location in Dinoland, so I picked up a shift online to work in Epcot. The shift I picked up was at Imageworks, the gift shop that the Journey Into Imagination ride exits into. I was really excited to work there, because I love everything Figment, and I figured it would be a nice relaxing shift. While I was on the bus on my way to Epcot, a cast member from deployment called and told me that my location had been changed, and that I would actually be working the same hours, but at the Land.
The Land? What? There's a gift shop there? After changing my costume and getting lost backstage with Epcot's bus system that I wasn't used to, I arrived at the Land pavilion to find that I would be working at the tiny little shop, or well I guess it's more like a stand, outside of Soarin. There was one register, mostly candy, and a little bit of Soarin items, plush, and little plants from the Land attraction for merchandise, and three cast members. I thought it was odd that I needed to change my shift because the Land was short staffed when there was really only so much you could do there with multiple cast members and only one register.
The night went by really slow, mostly because Epcot is really quiet on Halloween. The wait for Soarin was only thirty minutes most of the night. Overall it was an extremely easy shift. I got to hang out with some nice cast members from Future World, and I was able to throw on a hoodie and buy my dinner from Sunshine Seasons, but the shift went by so slow, and since the park was so quiet I did not get a lot of guest interaction, or even good people-watching opportunities. If I still worked merchandise at Walt Disney World, I wouldn't mind picking up a shift there again, but I probably wouldn't do it on a holiday when all the guests are over at the Magic Kingdom.
After my shift, I went home and went to bed. Lame I know, but being a CP is tiring, and I had work in Dinoland early the next day.
DAK After Dark
DAK After Dark (or so it was called during my program, the name of the event changes yearly) is a chance to Animal Kingdom cast members to visit the park after it's closed an enjoy trick or treating trails, haunted walk through trails, live entertainment, costume contests, free dinner, and the games in Dinoland. Don't worry, our managers ran the games so that we could enjoy the event!
This event was so much fun, and as far as I know it's something that isn't really done in the other parks. If you ever become an Animal Kingdom cast member, definitely plan to go to the parks cast member-only Halloween event. It's really nice to be able to attend something special like that, especially before all of the hard work that's coming with the approaching holiday season.
Since I'm not in Disney this year for Halloween, my plans for tomorrow night are not really interesting at all compared to last Halloween season. I'm dressing up, not sure as what yet (either a witch, with that same hat I wore to last year's party, or Ursula if I can make the costume last-minute) and I'm just going to a bar with some friends. I don't have weekends off, so Halloween being on a Saturday actually makes things difficult for me because I really don't want to stay out late!
"Hurry back! Hurry back! Be sure to bring your death certificate, if you decide to join us. Make final arrangements now! We've been dying... to have you..."
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Brittany Earns Her Ears" is available on Amazon in paperback and for Kindle! Click here to order your copy today! And look out for the sequel (title to be determined) coming soon to Amazon!
Instagram: @brittanyearnsherears
Facebook.com/BrittanyEarnsHerEars
Twitter: @BrittanyEHE
No comments:
Post a Comment