Halloweentime Day One

Wednesday night we loaded up the car and drove to Whiskey Pete's.  We didn't get a $5 hotel room, but $15 wasn't to shabby.  The next morning we were up and at the gates at 9am when they opened.  Matt went to get fast passes for Space Mountain Ghost Galaxy while we headed to New Orleans Square to ride Pirates of the Caribbean.  While we waited for Matt, we stopped to take some pictures.
Jeremy couldn't stand being so close to the ride and not going on it.  Matt finally caught up with us and then we all went on Pirates together.  After the second drop, we rounded the bend and to our dismay "Charlie the Crab"  was no where to be seen.  The kids kept asking if one of the pirates was holding Charlie prisoner.  After our float down the bayou we headed to the Haunted Mansion Holiday.  From October the first of January they change the Haunted Mansion into the Jack Skellington's Nightmare Before Christmas.  It was great.  Mom even enjoyed the holiday layover better than the original Haunted Mansion.  It was clever.  Here are some pics:
 


After the Haunted Mansion, the kids wanted to ride Splash Mountain.





The kids loved it!!  We even got a little bit wet.  Well, some more than others:

Since we were in critter country, we decided to take a ride on Winnie the Pooh.  Unlike past trips, we only went on this ride once.  My kids are getting too old for the "little kid" rides.  They want the thrill rides.



After we got off the ride, we decided that we wanted to go on Haunted Mansion Holiday again.  It was a big hit with everyone.  I've been trying to talk mom into watching the movie because she would enjoy the ride more, but she is adamant about not watching it.  

 
Next we headed over to Frontierland to ride Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.  Bailee LOVES this ride.
 

As we were walking toward Main Street we saw the Day of the Dead decorations, so we snapped a few pics.

Then we decided to use our fast passes for Space Mountain Ghost Galaxy.  On all the message boards I read, people were saying that it was too scary for younger children.  We thought the kids would be ok and if they went on it once and didn't like it, we wouldn't make them go on it again.  Well, we went on it and neither one of the kids even noticed the new changes.   The kids were begging to go on Buzz and shoot up the evil Emperor Zurg.  They didn't do too shabby either.  Jeremy wanted to go by himself, so Matt and I hopped in a shuttle, and Bailee and Mom too the one behind us.
  

 
Then we headed over to Star Tours.  Bailee remember her last encounter with the star speeder and she told me that she didn't want to get lost in space.  After we talked about it being pretend she was fine and enjoyed our little jaunt to the Death Star.
 
 

As we exited our Star Speeder, we decided to see if there were any Fantasyland rides that didn't have too long of a wait.  The first place we went to - the Teacups.


Then we went down the rabbit hole with Alice

Jeremy was quite distraught that he had to ride in a pink caterpillar.

It was getting pretty hot, so we headed over to the happiest cruise that ever sailed - Its A Small World.



And to keep with tradition, Matt fell asleep. 

After It's a Small we realized that we were famished.  It was about lunch time so we headed over to Cafe Orleans. 
 
Since we were in the area, we went on Haunted Mansion Holiday yet again.

Then we headed back to the hotel for a bit of a rest before the Trick or Treat party at California Adventure.  On the way back, Mom needed to buy a pirate hat for Kyle and while we were waiting we saw this guy:

Jeremy was too shy to say hi.  And right next to the big cheese was Matt's favorite:

Then I decided to take some pictures of all the fall decorations:
 






After we checked in to our hotel we took a rest and then got  ready for the Halloween Party.  Coming Up . . . Mickey's Trick or Treat on the Street.