If you ever go to Disney when their “Not So Scary” Halloween party is going on, you have to go!  We almost didn’t (because it’s a screeching $60 extra… per person), but we are so so glad we did!  It was such a freeing fun night to ride any ride with no line, meet all kinds of characters that only come out for the party, and so much more fun I can’t even describe it! 

 

Our girls were so excited to meet up with Caroline and Carlee for the night!  All of the Disney employees were so dressed up and in character being whoever!  And they expected you to be in character too!  The girls heard “That’s Groovy” with peace signs thrown their way all night!  And Keri made Caroline and Carlee’s costumes, Alice, and the Queen of Hearts, who would get super jealous of Carlee later in the night!  But first up, Haunted Mansion for the Pond girls’ first time!  Just sayin’, we had to get a fast pass for our next day at Magic Kingdom for this ride.  It was such a hit, especially with Anna Kate, who loves using her enormous imagination.

 

Playing the haunted piano on the way in!

 

Castle’s looking spooky tonight!  Another ride we got right into was “Under The Sea” in Fantasyland!  It’s a gentle ride that seats two per shell and you ride through the movie in an incredible way that makes you feel like you’re in the movie! The girls loved this one too!

 

 

Along the ride, these were some of the scenes we were a part of but pictures don’t do it justice!

 

And then Cinderella’s mice popped out of no where to hug on the girls and giggle their way through the park!  This was a super fun treat!

 

Nose to nose, perfect for Anna Kate!

We didn’t see much of Magic Kingdom on our first day because Mike planned it so that we could do lots of ride and attractions all in one place each day, so that I wouldn’t fall behind.  So, tonight, we got to see Rapunzel’s tower for the first time!

 

And then it was time to meet Snow White, her Prince, Rapunzel and Flynn Rider (the guys only show for this party as well as the mice)!  Our girls loved seeing the princesses holding hands and flirting with their significant others.  It was a fun interactive meet and greet!

 

Aww, Noelle went to hug the Prince and he cupped her little head… so sweet!  While Noelle and Rapunzel were talking long blonde hair probz, Flynn tried to get Anna Kate to come hang out with him, but she knows he used to be a thief (Rapunzel is one of her favorite movies), so she wasn’t buying that he’d entirely changed from his former lifestyle.  She wasn’t buying it! 

This was such a fun set-up because everyone had a friend!  I was talking about me and Keri, lol! 

Then it was on to a spooky fireworks show!  It was amazing in an entirely different way than their traditional fireworks show.  So thankful we got to see two shows at Magic Kingdom in one trip.  This night was so cool!

Spontaneous fireworks all over the sky in no order or fashion but perfectly in sync with the music.  I included this picture because it was crazy to me how close some of the fireworks were to the building!  They were actually shooting on/off the castle!

 

On to our favorite part of the entire party… Happy Harvest Roundup dance party with Woody and Jessie at the Diamond Horseshoe!

 

Anna Kate meeting Jessie was something I’ve looked forward to since last Christmas when all she wished for for Christmas was her Jessie doll!  It was too hot to wear her Jessie costume, but none of that mattered in this moment.  She was in the moment of meeting someone that had been very special to her for a long long time!

Then Disco girl pulls her headband off, gives it to her sister, and starts a game of limbo!  These girls were having the time of their little lives!

 

Can you tell!?!

 

Anna Kate was still enamored with Jessie!  Sadly though, when we got home, she told me Jessie wasn’t real!  I asked her why she thought that and she said, “Because she wore mittens!”  Whoops!  That gave it away… if they had only been plastic we would’ve been okay!

  

 

Next up, the “Boo to You” parade!!! 

 

The parade starts off with a headless horseman; Pretty cool to see in person!

 

Then all the characters come dancing down the road!

 

These girls were waving and saying “Hi!” the entire parade!  Watching them is just as much fun as watching the parade!

Pirates of the Caribbean is a big deal at Disney.  They have an entire pirate section in Magic Kingdom.  We road the POC ride after the parade, and the girls were all done with pirates!

 

This would be cool to watch online.  These guys do a dance where they scrape their shovels on the ground to create a sparkler-type fire effect during their scary routine; It was my favorite part of the parade!

 

Then it was time for the villains to come out in full costume!  The Queen of Hearts was not happy Carlee had one up-ed her on the costume! 

 

Pluto came to save the day announcing Goofy’s Candy Co. and the last float of the parade.

And then all the candy company workers behind the float handed out Mickey lollipops to all of the kids!  We did get to trick-or-treat along the way tonight, but we can get candy anytime, so it wasn’t something we spent time doing.

 

After a few more rides and getting a special treat from the candy store, we were all partied out!

 

This is the entrance to Magic Kingdom!  I loved the way it looked so spooky as we were leaving tonight!  See the clock says 12:15AM… it was correct!  We enjoyed every last minute of the best Halloween party in the world!

 

 

 

Getting goovy on our way to MNSSHP!

 

Yay, we made it to the “big ball!”  We were so excited to finally be at Epcot, but I will say, this was the day we lost a lot of our steam.  We needed a pick-me-up fast!

   

 

I had no clue the front of Epcot was covered with these Leave A Legacy plaques for anyone who wants to leave a message or picture behind at Epcot!  They are very controversial and many think they are an eye sore, but we thought they were fun and looked very futuristic; They are in Future World, after all.  People say they will be moved or just removed one day, as they were only promised to stay located in this spot for 10 years, so we’ll see.  We had fun looking at the millions of tiny faces.  We were amused!

 

We rode The Seas with Nemo & Friends and had a blast at Turtle Talk with Crush and then spent a lot of time playing in the aquarium!  We even got to touch a prehistoric shark tooth that was the size of my hand.  The girls wanted to spend a lot of time here, so that’s what we did!

Tiger fish!

 

Turn around for a second to pose with a shark, and chances are, Rose could get eaten by that shark! 

 

Rose was going nuts in the bathroom right before this amazing “Disney Moment” happened.  As we were leaving the bathroom, I said something to her I didn’t intend for anyone else to hear.  She was falling on the floor, have toddler tantrums, and I picked her up and said, “Do you want to go home?”  Out of no where, I hear this precious voice say, “Please don’t go home.”  I turn around, and this sweet scuba diver began talking to our girls.  She said, “I’m about to go swim in that tank over there.  Will you girls be my Dive Buddies today?”  Everyone lit up, and Rose was in my arms the whole time checking out where they were taking her big sisters!

 

They got to perform several little tasks for the crowd and answer fun kid questions, and afterward, they got a “My Disney Moment” certificate that said Dive Buddy on it, with a magnet for their scrapbook that said, “Dive Buddy!”  What a cool experience!

 

We then rode Soarin’ and headed for snacks!  Rara and Rose fell asleep on a bench waiting for us outside.  It was precious!  The girls didn’t want to stand in line to meet Chip and Dale, so we just watched them sign autographs for a while.  They were cute and very energetic!

 

Rara Rocks!

  

Rose and Anna Kate found awesome hiding spots at Epcot!

 

Let’s go!  It’s so funny that Mike is pushing a double stroller and all three of our babes are walking!  The very beginning of the day is the only time this happened!

After nap time, we gave Rose her Disney prize: Flounder!  She’s played with a tiny flounder squeak toy (like a rubber ducky) all her life in the bath tub that is about 1 inch wide.  When she saw this Flounder doll earlier this morning, her eyes lit up so big, and I knew this would be her special toy to take home!  This picture is right after we gave it to her. When we got on the airplane, I asked her what her favorite part about Disney was, and she said, “Flounder!”  She’s slept with Flounder every night since she got him!

 

Our Minnie Mouse girls were getting so sleepy, so we hit the road to get ready for a very special Halloween party!

If you’ve ever wandered what the bottom of the Epcot sphere looks like, this is it (I’ve always wondered)!

 

Noelle knew about the Halloween party, so she was all giddy and excited to be leaving to go get ready!  Here we are drinking mochas and posing in front of the Epcot ball mirrors!

Noelle wanted a picture everywhere!  I don’t blame her!

 

And then this happened.  These girls got their second wind and were pumped up about the Not So Scary Halloween Party!  We were about to get dressed up at head back out to Magic Kingdom for the evening festivities.  Mom and Rara got the night off, and it was heavenly for all!

*We did lots more rides than I had time to take pictures of, but our favorite ride at Epcot was Soarin’!

 

I’ve always wondered what people were talking about when they say they loved the projection show on the castle at Disney.  I just couldn’t figure out in my head how that was possible or what it was like.  These pictures give you a little idea if you haven’t seen one.  There were so many different images, lighting changes, songs with all of them, and finally, fireworks to finish off the show!  Incredible is an understatement.  This is definitely one of our very favorite things to experience at Disney!  The girls were in awe the entire show!

  

 

Right before the fireworks, Tinkerbell flew out of the highest spire of the castle!  It took us by complete surprise and was so awesome!!!  The girls couldn’t believe it; their jaws dropped, and it was amazing!  This would definitely be a part of our conversation at our meet and greet!

 

What an amazing day first day ever at Magic Kingdom!  This is one we will never forget!

This is definitely the coolest parade at Disney!  Pictures don’t do it justice, and almost every single character winked, waved or talked to the girls!

Tinkerbell!  Another meet and greet we were looking forward to!

 

I loved watching our little princesses enjoy the parade!  Rose was asleep in the stroller; She was all done (for the moment)!

Cinderella!

The Prince was stuck on a float with Anastasia and Drizella, ha!

Captain Hook and Peter Pan!

The Seven Dwarf’s diamonds were gorgeous; they were even sparkling on the inside.

 

Pete and his dragon!  The eagle was the last float, so we headed back to the front of the castle for fireworks!  How could our night get any better than this!?!

 

The night we had been waiting for (well all of them were, lol)… dinner in the castle!  First up, meeting Cinderella!

 

The first thing the girls did when it was their turn to meet Cinderella was ask her why Jaq and Gus were not moving above the fireplace in the castle!  See them up tippy top by the ceiling in the left picture?  Well, as it turns out, there was a cute story behind it; I was scared they had trapped her into a corner, but not at all.  She said the mice were playing freeze tag with her fairy godmother, and she forgot to unfreeze them!  So cute!

 

I will never forget this sweet little moment!  Priceless.

 

After meeting Cinderella, we were waiting for them to call our name to head upstairs to dinner, but first, Rose spotted a suited coat of armor!  She was very hesitant at first, but her curiosity overruled!  After dinner, we were asking the girls who their favorite princess was tonight and Rose said, “The scary man!”  That’s Rose!  In the beasts’ castle, the coats of armor on the way in were sneezing and coughing.  I didn’t take a picture of that, but it was hilarious.  If you do Disney, be sure to notice that; Our kids loved it!

 

Playing with “the scary man!”  I’m so glad we got to sit downstairs a little longer, because I was enjoying the tapestries and stained glass.  I can’t believe how well everything goes together; the tapestries perfectly matched the curtains and the peach ceiling color was so different.  I’m not good at interior decorating, but I love seeing creative things!

Love the crown above the chandelier, the little birds with ribbon, shields, curtains… all of these little things I’ve always wondered what everything looked like in here!

Sooo disappointed in my new camera lens (I knew I should’ve stuck with my old one) but even though the pictures are way too sharp, at least the moment was captured.  Remembering is all that matters.

 

Meeting Snow White and Sleeping Beauty!

This moment meant so much to Noelle.  I’ve got tons of special videos like this one; there’s no time to post them all, but this one was a dream come true!

Who are their trim carpenters?  This is the craziest woodwork I’ve ever seen!  Amazing!  And this is what the dining room looks like inside of the castle.  Remember the stained glass windows from the back of the castle this morning?  There they are to the right!  Beautiful view!

Cheese line-up!  Table service Rose’s way.

 

Ariel and Jasmine!

Our favorite Disney World dessert: cheesecake with caramel apples and raspberry ice cream with blueberries on top!

PondFam5, yay!  We had the best day ever together at Magic Kingdom, and it was just getting started!

To whom much is given, much is expected.  Every where we go, I want to share the love we have with others and make the world, not only a better place for us, but for others too!  I had no idea my mom took these pictures, but I’m glad she did.  This was one of my favorite Disney memories.  A mom approached me and asked me where I got my girls’ hair done.  I knew BBB was sold out, so I jokingly told her I did the baby’s (Rose), and I could do hers for a lot cheaper than BBB!  She said, “How much would you charge?”  I looked into her eyes and she meant business, so I said, “I will do it!  You don’t need to pay me!”  From one mother to another, I knew she needed my help.  *Check out the castle trash bin!  I’m telling you, every single building had a trash dispenser to match… crazy!

 

We were standing by some benches in the castle breezeway.  Turns out, a crowd gathered to watch, and several of the other moms were asking questions.  I was shy that there was a crowd but just focused on making little Victoria’s Disney wish to be a princess come true.  And guess who were wide eyed and watching the whole thing play out?  My girls!  I pray they are kind and good in their hearts and listen to that tiny tug in their hearts when it’s time to give back.  I haven’t always followed that tug, and the times I haven’t, I’m the one who’s missed the blessing!

 

And low and behold, Victoria’s mom pulled out the same dress Anna Kate was wearing, and they are only a month apart in age!  I took a picture of our two beautiful princesses, and we were on our way!  Victoria didn’t stop smiling; Neither did her parents; Neither did we! 

 

Another beautiful castle view!  Here are my Roses!  Baby Rose was holding up a leaf that she had found and was as proud as can be!  Notice her left sandal!  This is so Rose!

  

The princesses wanted to be in all of the hustle and bustle before dinner and one of their favorite things to do was watch the birdies.  Check out this duck hanging out in the middle of the park.  And the white storks along the flower line!  So fun!

Rose playing crash landing on Rara’s cheek; Rose loves this game! 

Time for another super fun show in front of the castle!

 

The kids were so excited to see Mickey and his gang, and fireworks by day!

Main Street craziness!  The princesses loved all of their special attention from passersby!  Next stop, dinner at Cinderella’s Royal Table!

Anna Kate, Noelle, Caroline and Carlee