Written by Joe Llorens
Published: October 28, 2004 at 1:32 PM
Anyway, it’s strange. It’s the end of an era. This is a trip that my friends and I look forward to each and every year, and I’ve somewhat been taken out of that mix. I’m still looking forward to next year’s event, but it’ll be in the way a socialite looks forward to hosting their next big party. I don’t know if that analogy makes sense to anyone, but it made sense to me. I’ve also been under heavy medication since Monday.
(I lost my voice again this year from all the screaming I did while I was up there. I came back home sick as a dog, because I think my immune system told me to go fornicate myself halfway through the night. Jesus, was that scary.)
And how do you follow up on what could easily have been the best Horror Nights you’ve ever been to? You hit the International Food & Wine Festival at EPCOT, of course.
But the piece-du-resistance came from the good ol’ U.S. of A. in the form of the Lobster Corn Chowder soup. Simply amazing. They also offered mini crab cakes which were delicious as well, and I fantasized the rest of the day of buying one of each and “accidentally” dropping the crab cake into the soup. Then, seeing as how I had no choice in the matter (wink,wink,nudge,nudge), eating the whole thing up as what could probably become the Greatest Stew Of All Time.
So that was my overall experience this past weekend for my 6th annual Horror Nights experience. I’m paying the price for it now with my 102 degree fever, but believe me when I say that it was worth it.
Now if I can only muster the strength to go down to the kitchen and try and make myself some shepherd’s pie, my life would be complete.
Epcot was a nice respite. Lots of great food, good drink. The French creme brulee (sp?) put me in heaven. Fireworks were good. I miss the Tapestry of Nations parade...hopefully Epcot will eventually ad another big pageant/parade--maybe for whatever comes after the 50th birthday of Disneyland.
I guess getting a high-fever means that a HHN/F&W weekend is a good investment.
Someone mentioned the Express Pass for HHN. This is highly recommended! We bought them every night we were there, even the non-peak nights. It does make your night more enjoyable. The only line we had to wait in with the express passes happened to be the Mummy ride.
Did anyone notice the gigantic banner on the entrance to Mythos? Just so happens to mention Theme Park Insider, and the fact that there were voted best Themes restaurant Two years in a row but THIS VERY WEBSITE! We took a photo, but it did not turn out.
Bill and Ted: Well I agree that this show has taken a fall from the previous years. The whole BILL and TED experience should be replaced, in my personal opinion. You can only use the Michael Jackson skit so many times.
We also did Mickey’s Not So Scary. I was impressed with the fact that they gave you a free photograph with your visit! (Universal wanted $12.95) Kodak sent us our picture in the mail, and it turned out wonderful! http://themeparkfreaks.com/modules.php?name=coppermine&file=displayimage&album=44&pos=0
Since I have not seen much commenting this event, I would like to take a moment to tell you about it.
We arrived at 4:30pm and purchased our tickets to the night’s event. Pleasantly the ticket person took the time to explain to me all about the event and what to expect. The event did not start till 7pm, but we would be allowed to go ahead into the park and enjoy ourselves until 6pm where we must head over to TommorrowLand. They placed a special wrist band on us, so we were designated for the night time event. All of TommorrowLand was open to guests until they reopened the park for the party!
Kids big and small were able to go around the Magic Kingdom and trick or treat at all of the booths set up! Even mom and dad can be part of the fun! Everyone was friendly, and they gave out A LOT of candy. I normally do not eat candy, but I did have some this night, and paid for it the next day with a candy hangover! (Bud-at-boom!)
All of the rides and shows inside the Magic Kingdom were open! The night we went was crowded, but we never waited in a line. Splash Mountain, Thunder Mountain, Space Mountain alike, had no wait times. I guess this would be due to the amount of small children that were in attendance. I should mention that you ARE allowed to wear your costume here, as long as it is not obscene.
Annual pass holders had to pay for this event as well, there were no freebies, but the price was reduced. We paid 35.00 per person to gain entry. However, we did everything that Disneyworld had to offer, minus the shows. Ok, I take that back we did see once show, the philharmagic show!
I will be traveling to A.K. and Epcot this weekend. I hope that the FREE drinks are still available. Anything you can get free at the parks, get it!
One of the fellas working Captain America's Diner told us that they actually ran out of room in the parking garage on that Saturday night. I don't know what the capacity is of that garage (I know it's more than 50), but that's quite a lot of spaces. Then again, by the very nature of how traffic in that garage is routed, it's entirely possible that there were plenty of empty spaces in the lower levels, but no way to send single cars at a time to fill the empties.
Or, the guy could have been full of it.