Didn’t get your fill of Halloween fun this year? Fret not, friends! Because we’ve got one more treat for you from the season of tricks…
On October 30th and 31st, Disney Resort Cast Members at resorts around the World competed in pumpkin decorating contests. I got to check out the displays at the Contemporary Resort and Port Orleans — Riverside, and wanted to share some of the fun with you today!
At the Contemporary Resort, individual Cast Members showed off their pumpkin carving skills. The display was huge, including well over twenty pumpkins!
Contemporary Resort Cast Member Pumpkin Carving 2014
Contemporary Resort Cast Member Pumpkin Carving display
Contemporary Resort Cast Member Pumpkin Carving display
Contemporary Resort Cast Member Pumpkin Carving display
Contemporary Resort Cast Member Pumpkin Carving display
Guests at the Contemporary placed their votes for pumpkins across a few categories. A member of the Security Team won “Best Overall” for this awesome carving of a scared Mickey Mouse.
Halloween Mickey pumpkin
A Bakery Team member won “Best Disney Theme” with this gorgeous “Believe” pumpkin, created to look like Cinderella’s carriage (with pumpkin wheels, of course!).
“Believe” pumpkin
A duo from the Banquets Team crafted the “Most Creative” Pirate Ship pumpkin.
Pirate Ship pumpkin
I think the “Spookiest” pumpkin was relocated during my visit (to Chef Mickey’s, I presume?), because I didn’t see it on the display, but a Chef Mickey’s Cast Member took the prize for this one (here’s a picture of a picture!).
“Spookiest” Pumpkin winner
I wanted to share a few more that I loved, like this Beauty and the Beast silhouette, topped with Lumiere.
Beauty and the Beast pumpkin
Check out this huge Mickey “Candy Apple”!
Candy Apple pumpkin
It’s also cool to see the monorail coming into the Contemporary on this carving, next to everyone’s best buddy, Olaf.
Monorail and Olaf pumpkins
Over at Port Orleans — Riverside, the carving contest had a different take (I understand that French Quarter had pumpkins on display as well). Teams rather than individuals took part, decorating plastic pumpkins. Before we show you those, however, real pumpkins were carved in a more traditional manner as well. They were on display outside by the Sassagoula River, and they were nothing to sneeze at either!
Little Mermaid pumpkin
Trick or Treat pumpkin
Maleficent pumpkin
Meanwhile, back inside…
Port Orleans — Riverside pumpkin contest display
How great is this intricate display by the Engineering Team?
Engineering Team pumpkin
Engineering Team pumpkin close-up
The Merchandise Team created their very own Festival of Fantasy Parade float!
Merchandise Team pumpkin
The Front Office got in on the fun…
Front Office pumpkin
The Training Team helped the Wicked Queen-turned-Witch cast her spell…
Training Team pumpkin
Boo says “BOO!” on behalf of the Administration Team 🙂 .
Administration Team pumpkin
Recreation Cast Members switched out Olaf’s head for a jack-o’-lantern.
Recreation Team pumpkin
Recreation Team pumpkin
And what’s Remy cooking up in this pot created by the Food and Beverage Team?
Food and Beverage Team pumpkin
On second thought… maybe you don’t want to know 😉 .
Food and Beverage Team pumpkin
A huge round of applause and THANKS to all the Cast Members who make every season so special at Disney World!
So with that, we say goodbye to Halloween 2014. Because ready or not, it’s a matter of days around here until the World start to change from pumpkin to gingerbread, from candy corn to peppermint, and from Not-So-Scary to Very Merry… and we can’t wait to take you along for the ride!
Do you have a favorite among the pumpkin displays? Please let us know with a comment!
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Thanks so much for sharing these wonderful pumpkin carvings! That is so wonderful that cast members get to show their creative sides in this way. I was lucky to get to attend the festivities at the World in late September and your website was perfect to help get me ready and to relive memories afterwards. Whenever I need a pick-me-up, your positive and informative website is the perfect treat.
I like the scared Mickey, Remy, and the Mickey apple taffy, although they all show a lot of creativity. I didn’t know that the resorts had CM pumpkin contests, so that’s for this report; I’ll look for this contest next year when I go.
We stayed at Riverside this last weekend. The pumpkins were so cool! I remember a young boy passing by the Olaf pumpkin, exclaiming: “MOM! OLAF KILLED HIMSELF!”