13 Disney Nights of Halloween - #7 Disney Phobias

Do you have a phobia that makes it hard for you to enjoy Walt Disney World?  There are some fairly common phobias that could make a Walt Disney World vacation difficult to almost impossible to enjoy...



Fear vs. Phobia

Fears are perfectly normal.  As we mentioned in our previous post about Scary Attractions, Fear is a perfectly natural and even necessary part of life.  Phobias, on the other hand, are when your fear becomes excessive or even irrational.  Depending on what your phobia is, this can make life difficult.  People who suffer from Samhainophobia (Fear of Halloween) and/or Triskaidekaphobia (Fear of the number 13) probably aren't enjoying our 13 Nights of Halloween series.

If you suffer from Agoraphobia, you may not be able to go to Walt Disney World... ever.  I had mistakenly thought Agoraphobia was the fear of being in public, but it's actually the fear of being in caught in places that you cannot escape from.  Severe Agoraphobia causes people to only feel safe inside their own homes.  Even mild cases of Agoraphobia would make it difficult to enjoy many Walt Disney World attractions.


Planes, Trains, and Automobiles

A major part of a Walt Disney World vacation for most of us is getting there.  It usually requires some traveling, and that's not easy for everyone, especially for those with one of the following phobias:

• Hodophobia - Fear of Travel
• Aviophobia or Aviatophobia - Fear of Flying       
• Siderodromophobia  - Fear or Trains
• Amaxophobia - Fear or riding in a car

Social Phobias

No matter what time of year you go to Walt Disney World, you can be sure you won't be the only people there.  Suffering from one of these phobias would make being in the parks intolerable.

• Anthropophobia - Fear of people or society.
• Demophobia - Fear of Crowds
• Xenophobia - Fear of Strangers
• Pedophobia - Fear of Children
• Mysophobia - Fear of Germs

Park Specific Phobias

Magic Kingdom Park is the "Most Magical Place on Earth", so anyone suffering from Rhabdophobia (fear of magic) will probably want to skip that park.

Disney's Animal Kingdom is obviously a park to avoid if you're afraid of animals, which is known as Zoophobia.

Disney's Hollywood Studios celebrates the movies.  It's probably a stretch to say that Photoaugliaphobia suffers should avoid the park completely, but they should definitely consider avoiding  the Streets of America during the holidays.  That's when it's taken over by the Osborne Family Festival of Lights and their fear of bright and glaring lights would come into play.   Another weird fear for this park: cocklophobia. That's the fear of hats.  This park has a huge hat as its icon.

EPCOT:  Xenophobia, the fear of strangers and foreigners mentioned earlier, could be intensified in the World Showcase.  While there is no term for a fear of the future, Prosophobia (Fear of progress) could apply to Future World.


General Disney Phobias:

• Musophobia - Fear of Mice.  Would this fear extend to Mickey and Minnie Mouse? It's widely circulated on the Internet that Walt Disney ironically suffered from musophobia.  It's so bizarre that I'd like to believe it.  However, I can't find any evidence to support the claim, and there's at least one reference out there to Walt having kept mice as pets in his office.

• Masklophobia - Fear of Costumed Characters, Mascots, or people in masks.  Disney characters are in every park and at some of the resorts.  Some might argue that Walt Disney World is the cause of this phobia.

• Ambulophobia - Fear of walking.  Walt Disney World is huge, and there's a lot of walking involved.  ECVs aren't just for the physically challenged.

• Technophobia - Not a fear of techno music.  This is the fear of technology, and Disney is always on the cutting edge of technology.  Try getting the new Magic Bands on the wrists of a Technophobe.

• Decidophobia - Fear of making decisions.  With so many things to see and do at the resort, this is potentially crippling.  This could affect you 180 days before your trip when it's time to make Advanced Dining Reservations and then later when choosing your FastPass+ options.

Attraction Phobias:

• Macrophobia - Fear of Long Waits.   I think we can all agree on not enjoying long waits for anything, but an irrational fear of them would make Walt Disney World unbearable.

• Automatonophobia - Fear of humanoid figures.  Disney's audio animatronics are a key part of many of its attractions.  

• Pediophobia - Fear of Dolls.  Sing it with me... "It's a Small World after all."

• Acrophobia - Fear of Heights.  Depending on the intensity of this fear, it could affect you on rides as low as Dumbo, the Flying Elephant, the Monorail, and of course, most of the thrill rides.

• Basophobia - Fear of Falling.  Tower of Terror.

• Nyctophobia - Fear of the Dark.  Walt Disney World is famous for classic Dark rides like Pirates of the Caribbean. Your ability to handle these may depend on the intensity of your fear.  Very few rides have moments of complete darkness.

• Claustrophobia - Fear of confined spaces.  Mission: Space is notoriously confining and there are several other rides that require being harnessed or having a lap bar.  This fear could also be a form of Agoraphobia, since it's a feeling that you can't escape on your own.

• Acousticophobia - Fear of noise.  The nighttime shows/fireworks can be very loud. Depending on the sensitivity level of the affected person, just being in the parks with all those people talking could be enough to trigger this phobia.

"Mouse"cellaneous Phobias

• Apeirophobia - Fear of infinity. Would this cause you to be afraid of Buzz Lightyear?

• Hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia - Fear of long words.  Can you say Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious?

• Ombrophobia - Fear of rain or of being rained on.   Not a fear for anyone living in or visiting Central Florida.

You could put the following phobias together to make the fear of Magic Kingdom's Mountain Chain:

• Alpineophobia - Fear of Mountains
• Astraphobia - Fear of Thunder
• Astrophobia - Fear of Space
• Aquaphobia - Fear of Water

Now, not every fear is common enough to get it's own official phobia name.  So we'll have to invent some to complete our list with phobias you might not have had before visiting Walt Disney World.

• Coordinatophobia - Fear of matching shirts.  A fews days around families that all match, or a few tour groups could make you never want to wear a shirt remotely the same color as someone else.

• Strolleraphobia - Fear of Strollers.  Get hit in the ankles enough times, and you'll develop this one quick. This could also include ECVs.

• 101aphobia - Fear of attractions being closed. 101 is the WDW Radio Code for an attraction being down.

• Griswoldaphobia - Fear that the entire park will be closed.  You've watched National Lampoon's Vacation one too many times.

• Whipaphobia - Fear of Aloha Isle being closed, or Fear of no Dole Whips.

Lastly, is a fear we suffer from.  This one is not made up, and every trip is gets a little worse.

• Nostophobia - Fear of returning home.  The only thing that helps with this is to book another trip ASAP!

We'd like to know: Do you suffer from a phobia that prevents you from enjoying certain parts of Walt Disney World?  Or do you perhaps have an irrational fear that actually gets cured by a trip to Disney????  Let us know in the comments!

Be sure to check out the other posts in our 13 Nights of Halloween series.

#13 - Disney Lantern Craft

#12 - Disney Pumpkins

#11 - Decorate like Disney

#10 - DIY Disney Villain Tombstone

#9 - Nightmare Before Christmas Movie Night

#8 10 Best Scary Attractions

#7 Disney Phobias

#6 - R.I.P.: Disney Attractions No Longer With Us

#5 - Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party

13 Disney Nights of Halloween #8 - 10 Best Scary Attractions at Walt Disney World

It's the scariest time of year!  So what's the scariest attraction at Walt Disney World?  Our 10 Best list may hold a few surprises for you.



To be scared is to feel fear.  That's not necessarily a bad thing.  Fear is critical to our survival.  It's how we respond to threats and prepare our bodies to deal with those threats.

Why is being scared fun?  Because an after effect of fear is pleasure.  This is the rush that thrill seekers are after.  The theory being that the more intense the thrill, or scare, the more intense the rush will be after.

Now the downside of having these amazing brains of ours is that they can become conditioned to fear anything by associating painful memories with objects, people or events.  On top of that, we have the ability to anticipate things and start getting scared before they even happen!

In addition to our instinctual fears, you may have a particular fear that determines what scares you, when it doesn't seem to scare others around you.  However, for this list, we're going to focus on those universal fears that are common to everyone, and which attractions do the best job of eliciting those fears from us. 

*This list does not include the water parks

10 Scariest Walt Disney World Attractions

1. Tower of Terror - Disney's Hollywood Studios

Fears:  Heights, Falling, Darkness, Supernatural, Unpredictability

The infamous Hollywood Tower Hotel scores high for Heights, Falling, and Darkness.  It plays on the supernatural somewhat, but the special effects are a welcome distraction from the darkness.  Bonus points for the unpredictability factor.  You never know how many drops there will be.

2. Expedition Everest - Disney's Animal Kingdom

Fears: Heights, Speed/Falling, Darkness, Monsters/Predators

High scores for heights with it's terrifying ascent with nothing on either side of you.  Great drops and bonus points for going backwards in the darkness.  The Disco Yeti is more amusing than scary.

3. Rock 'n' Roller Coaster - Disney's Hollywood Studios

Fears:  Darkness, Loud Noises, Speed/Upside Down

They took one of my all-time favorite Disney thrills (Space Mountain) and made it faster, made it go upside down, and added a loud, rock 'n roll soundtrack!  The only part that fails is the scenery.  I'd almost it rather be completely in the dark.

4. Dinosaur - Disney's Animal Kingdom

Fears: Darkness, Loud Noises, Speed, Monsters/Predators

The animatronics are impressive, but it's more the loud noises, darkness, and jerky motion of your vehicle that make you wonder if you'll survive the ride.

5. Space Mountain - Magic Kingdom

Fears: Darkness, Speed, Falling

This classic Disney coaster is all about rocketing through the darkness.  You don't see the turns and drops coming.  It's almost better to not be able to see how close you are to those steel beams.

6. Big Thunder Mountain Railroad - Magic Kingdom

Fears: Speed, Falling

The tamest of the Disney adult coasters.  Fast enough with enough turns and drops to make you think you might come out of your seat.

7. It's Tough to Be a Bug - Disney's Animal Kingdom

Fears: Darkness, Bugs, Loud Noises

The only attraction on our list to stimulate our instinctive fear of bugs.  Moments of nearly complete darkness, and loud special effects.  The scares are intermittent, but since there are multiple scares, it puts this attraction above the next two on our list.

8. Splash Mountain - Magic Kingdom

Fears: Heights, Falling 

Since most of the ascent occurs inside, your unaware of the height until it happens. When it does, it's a decent thrill!  

9.  Astro Orbiters - Magic Kingdom

Fears: Heights, Speed

Of all the elevated carousel rides, this one is the highest, and leaves you feeling the most exposed.   It's not super fast, but both the height factor and movement factors are sustained for the duration of the ride. 

10. Haunted Mansion - Magic Kingdom

Fears: Darkness, Supernatural

More spooky than scary, this is almost a completely honorary addition to the list.  This classic dark attraction is filled with supernatural illusions.  Adults will understand they are just Imagineering tricks, but kids may be more susceptible.  Watch out for Cast Members sneaking up on you!  

So that's our 10 best Scary Attractions at Walt Disney World.  We tried to make the list as objective as possible.  What do you think?  Did we leave anything out?  Let us know in the comments below!

Be sure to check out the other posts in our 13 Nights of Halloween series.

#13 - Disney Lantern Craft

#12 - Disney Pumpkins

#11 - Decorate like Disney
#10 - DIY Disney Villain Tombstone
#9 - Nightmare Before Christmas Movie Night

13 Disney Nights of Halloween- #9 Nightmare Before Christmas Movie Night

Boys and girls of every age

wouldn't you like to see something strange

Come with us and you will see,

this our ....

Nightmare Before Christmas Movie Night

The Tim Burton animated classic, 'The Nightmare Before Christmas' was the inspiration for our family's most recent movie night.  It is the perfect Halloween family movie, not so scary for the kids, and very entertaining for the grown ups. 

The Decor:

We used a simple black tablecloth and some of our Halloween decorations to dress the table. Battery operated candles set the mood for our spooky meal. In addition, Bella drew some pictures of the characters to use for the background.

The Menu:

Pumpkin King Spinach Salads in Orange Jack O Lanterns

Sally's Slimy Worms and Eyeballs (Spaghetti with Chicken Parm Meatballs)

  

Zero's Bones (Crescent rolls shaped like dog bones)

Jack Skellington Cupcakes (directions can be found at Spoonful)

Oggie Boogie's Milkshakes

The Activity:

Just like our crafts need to be kid friendly, so do our games. I came up with a simple Pumpkin decorating game inspired by Oggie Boogie's love of dice. 

We printed out pictures of pumpkins to decorate. The kids rolled the dice to determine how many eyes, noses, mouths and warts they would draw on their pumpkins.

The results made for some very interesting looking pumpkins! 

We kept this movie night Halloween themed, but this movie could easily be used around Christmastime as well. Maybe you'll see another movie night then.

Thanks for checking out our Nightmare Before Christmas Movie Night! We hope it has inspired you to have one of your own!

Be sure to check out the other posts in our 13 Nights of Halloween series.

#13 - Disney Lantern Craft

#12 - Disney Pumpkins

#11 - Decorate like Disney
#10 - DIY Disney Villain Tombstone
#9 - Nightmare Before Christmas Movie Night

13 Disney Nights of Halloween - #10 DIY Disney Villain Tombstone

Poor Gaston.  Like many Disney Villains, things didn't work out for him.  Thankfully, Halloween is the perfect opportunity for Disney villains to get in the spotlight... even if it's posthumously.

Every year part of my front lawn becomes a spooky graveyard for Halloween.  

In the beginning, I used mostly the store-bought Styrofoam tombstones,  but it's so windy in our neighborhood that they would end up getting blown down the street or ripped apart. Over the years I've been slowly upgrading to heavier, sturdier decorations that won't blow away.  The ones in the store are pricey, so while I occasionally buy one of those, I started making my own.

Being a Disney nut, I wanted my graveyard to be like the one outside the Haunted Mansion.  I'd grown up reading them and had many of the memorized.  The story behind the tombstones and how they pay tribute to real people makes them even more special.

My prized tombstones in my collection were two I bought from Disney that lit up.  They were so cool.  Unfortunately, some kids vandalized my display and they were knocked over and broken. These aren't sold anymore except on eBay for a pretty penny.  I've managed to glue Brother Dave back together somewhat, but I'm still working on poor Cousin Huet.  (The faces are actually Phineas and Ezra, but I call the tombstones by the names written on them)

In addition to these official stones, I took it upon myself to start making my own from some plywood.

The Master Gracey and Mister Sewell were stolen at the time the display was trashed, but they can be easily remade.

That was on my agenda for this year when I was hit with a new inspiration.  I decided I wanted to make a Disney Villains section in my display.  I already had some tombstones cutout and painted with gray stone spray paint.

I drew the shapes on the plywood, cut them out using a jig saw, then spray painted them with the "stone" spray paint from Home Depot.

I made a list of Villains I could make gravestones for, and first up was Gaston, from Beauty and the Beast. He, like many Disney Villains, falls to his death at the end of the movie.

Next came the hard part.  With no original to copy, I was forced to come up with my own design. I found a good picture of Gaston online, downloaded it, and used GIMP to make an outline of it.

Now, how could I get the outline on to the tombstone?  I thought about it for a while and decided to try doing it like you would carve a pumpkin.  I printed out the template, then taped it to the tombstone.

I tried using the sharp point of a knife to poke holes through the template to mark the wood underneath.  That wasn't working, so I grabbed my dremel with a drill bit and used that to carve over the lines.  

After tracing the entire picture, I went over the lines with black Sharpie marker.

The result was pretty good.

I used some black acrylic paint to fill in Gaston's hair and eyebrows.

I used the same technique to etch in the epitaph underneath, as well as the RIP over his head.

I came up with the epitaph while singing his song.  (I still have that song in my head).  Lisa says I should use each Villain's song as my inspiration as I make the rest.

Since Gaston used antlers in all his decorating, I thought he should have some on his gravestone as well.

The Finished Product:

It came out pretty good.  This gives me hope that I can complete a few more and have an entire section of Disney Villains residing in my Halloween graveyard this year and for years to come! I think I just need to do the words a little bigger.  I was limited to my 8 1/2 x 11" paper.  Perhaps I can create my own set of stencils in that nice font... which by the way, has a Disney connection in that it's called... "Ravenscroft".   (Thurl Ravenscroft voiced many Disney charactes, and is the voice of the lead singing bust in the Haunted Mansion)

Now, Whose do you think I should make next?  And whose got ideas for a good Villain epitaph?

Be sure to check out the other posts in our 13 Nights of Halloween series.

#13 - Disney Lantern Craft

#12 - Disney Pumpkins

#11 - Decorate like Disney
#10 - DIY Disney Villain Tombstone
#9 - Nightmare Before Christmas Movie Night

Wordless Wednesday- The Letter P

This week's theme: The Letter P

Some of our favorite Disney things start with the letter P!
Clockwise from left to right: Parades, Pizza from Via Napoli, Piglet and Pooh, Princesses, Pirates and eating breakfast at Play and Dine.

Special Thanks to Deb at "Focused on the Magic" for hosting the Wordless Wednesday Blog Hop.  If you've hopped here, please feel free to look around, Like us, Follow us, Email us, or Subscribe to us.  Then be sure to use the link above to return to the blog hop and check out the other great blogs participating.  Thanks!

13 Disney Nights of Halloween - #11 Decorate like Disney

I love decorating for Halloween.  Some might say I go a little nuts... but in a good way, of course. As a Disney fanatic, I draw a lot of inspiration from the creative genius behind Disney's awesome displays.  Here are 5 tips I've learned from the experts.




We've yet to be able to visit in person for the Halloween season, but that doesn't stop us from living vicariously through the Internet.  Thanks to our friendly DisDads who've shared some of their pictures with us!  Each tip also has a video clip to help illustrate it!  Almost all of the clips are from Disney!

1. Stick to a Theme

Photo provided by DisDad Randall Hiebert

Photo provided by DisDad Randall Hiebert

The most overwhelming moment for me when I begin the process of decorating our home for Halloween is when I go into the garage and I stop and stare at all the props, lights, and things I've got stored in there. Taking it all and just throwing it out on the lawn would certainly be the easiest way to go about it, but it wouldn't look that great.

Take a tip from Disney:  

Imagine if Disney just took all of their decorations (they have more than you do) and put them anywhere and everywhere.  It wouldn't be quite as magical.  So have a plan.  Choose a single theme, or a few themes with designated areas for each one.  

Check out this video of the park being transformed overnight.

My themes:

I have two themes.  My lawn is separated naturally into two sections.  One is a Charlie Brown pumpkin patch,

Charlie Brown and Linus discussing the Great Pumpkin outside our pumpkin patch

 and the other is my Spooky Graveyard.

spooky enough for you?

Having these defined themes helps me to keep my focus, especially when I am shopping or trying to think of new ideas.  If it doesn't fit one of these themes, I don't get it.

Next year I'll have to create a cool time lapse video of the setup!  

2. Be Creative

Photo Provided by DisDad Adam Dale

A surefire way to make your Halloween display stand out is to be unique.  There are a lot of great props and items for sale in the stores this time of year, but you're not the only one buying them. Take some time to create something unique, or find a way to use a store-bought prop in an unexpected way to set yourself apart.

Take a tip from Disney:

It doesn't necessarily take a team of Imagineers and a Disney sized budget to create something really cool.  Here are some tips from Disney.

My creations:

My pumpkin patch is mostly made up of cheap trick or treat buckets that I purchased for less than $1 each.  

Pumpkin leaf bags and cheap plastic pumpkins create the patch.

 In my graveyard, I cut out tombstone shapes from wood and painted them myself, with some "borrowed" epitaphs

These epitaphs may sound familiar

3. Keep it Spooky, not Scary

Photo Provided by DisDad Adam Dale

There's always a few houses in our neighborhood that choose to go over the top in a gory, bloody, hideous way with body parts strewn about the yard or hanging out of windows.  Some even go as far as to hide on Halloween and jump out to scare Trick or Treaters.  I love a good scare as much as anyone, but in my experience your average family out for Trick-or-Treating doesn't appreciate it.  So it's just my opinion that the best displays keep it family-friendly.  I think it's evident that Disney takes the same approach.  You'll notice that all their Jack-o-Lantern's are smiling!

Take a tip from Disney:

The Disney Parks youtube account posted this video of a Disney Fan's display that keeps it family friendly.

Kids especially love the pumpkin patch.  Many get their photos taken with our Charlie Brown and Linus.

Some friends stop by for a picture in the pumpkin patch

4. Immerse Your Audience

Photo Provided by DisDad Loren Bishop

Photo Provided by DisDad Loren Bishop

Nobody can transport you to another world the way Disney can.  They do it so well because they pay such attention to the little details.  They appeal to all of your senses and make you BELIEVE!  All those little details, the sights, sounds, and smells come together to tell a story.

Take a tip from Disney:

This video shows you all the different jack-o-lanterns Disney uses on Main Street, USA.  It's not just about faces, but detailing the pumpkins to match the storefronts and help tell the story.

I don't have any music yet... but I've been trying to entice the kids to walk through the display to get to or from the front door when they come trick-or-treating.  I need to work on making it more obvious.

I leave a path through both sides for the kids to use to walk through the display.

5. Light it up!

Photo Provided by DisDad Adam Dale

Photo Provided by DisDad Randall Hiebert

By day, your display will look one way, and by night, another.  What good is it if all your hard work doesn't get seen because it's too dark?  Making good use of lights can help create the right mood as well as make your display enjoyable at night.

Take a tip from Disney:

Here's a guest video that I've cued up to show how the decorations look at night. Lighting up the pumpkins and adding colored floodlights to the buildings adds to the overall effect.

Here's how my display looks at night:

Orange lights give it a festive feel at night.

Green floodlights help add a spooky feel to the graveyard at night.

Each year I try to add a little bit more, and every trip to Disney, and every Disney video I watch, and every picture I see that is shared of all their great decorations only inspires me even more! Maybe one day I'll be like the Baus family!

So tell us, how does Disney inspire your Halloween Decorating?

Be sure to check out the other posts in our 13 Nights of Halloween series.

#13 - Disney Lantern Craft

#12 - Disney Pumpkins

#11 - Decorate like Disney
#10 - DIY Disney Villain Tombstone