Mickey's Not So Scary But Maybe Kind of Inconvenient Halloween Party

[pelagoram]

Our family will be spending a few days at Disney World following a cruise next month. Our two park days will be Friday, September 27, and Saturday, September 28. We're longtime Disneyland annual passholders, but this will be our first trip to Orlando. Our kids are 7, 4, and 2.

The two parks that we're interested in visiting on this trip are Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom, and in reviewing Touringplans.com, it looked like the best plan of attack would be Magic Kingdom Friday (Crowd Rating = 1.1) and Animal Kingdom Saturday (Crowd Rating = 1.6) We are big fans of low crowds, so this seemed perfect.

Then came a bit of a wrench in the works - looks like Mickey's Halloween Party is on the Friday we were planning on going to MK. It's my understanding that this means we essentially get kicked out of the park (for which we will have already paid full price - ouch) at 7pm, and have to pay $250 ($60ish each x 4) to get back in (or to stay in). Is that right? Seems a bit unfair, but what do I know. . .

So, the alternative would be to switch our two days, and go to AK on Friday (Crowd Rating 1.5 - about the same as Saturday), and MK on Saturday (Crowd Rating 4, so considerably more busy than Friday)

So - my questions for you smarties are:

How great is the Halloween Party? Worth going to? Worth $250 extra?

How much busier would a Crowd Rating of 4 be than a Crowd Rating of 1? I know Touringplans isn't always the most reliable, but generally speaking, does anyone have a frame of reference for this kind of thing?

Thanks, ahead of time, for any advice on this one.

That was long.

 

[Robo]

MNSSHP are overwhelmingly popular with many posters on this forum.

 

[souris]

I would go to MK on the Friday.. You will get to see so much more in a shorter period than on the Saturday. With good planning you will be able to see all that you wanted. On the Saturday I would go to AK, dine at the Poly, and watch the fireworks from the beach (or dine at Contemporary and watch from there). Having two little ones we rather watch the fireworks from poly then walk to TTC. Much less stressful with little ones!

 

[tony609]

To OP you seem for lack of a better phrase" turned off already". The disney world MNSSHP operates in the same sense as the DL..it's a special ticket event. BOTH parks remove non ticketed guests. So the "kicking out" part goes for both coasts. Dates have been posted since May. Plus the party usually happens during the same time period every year.

The party is extremely fun if you are into parades, fireworks (exclusive to this party), hard to meet characters, and nearly walk on rides. We are doing the party twice on our upcoming trip. To us it's worth it. It's a great night to people watch and see many creative costumes. Where else can an adult trick,or treat without getting odd looks.

 

[POOHsie]

MNSSHP is fabulous and worth every dollar. You can enter the park with your party ticket at 4pm, so lots of time to spend at MK. (Anyone here will confirm 4pm entry. I've done it myself.) Since you can go to the party at 4pm, skip buying a regular park ticket for that day. Or, if you already bought tickets, I would suggest visiting Epcot on Friday during the day, then MNSSHP at MK that evening. Take the monorail from Epcot to MK, kids will love that. There's nothing like Epcot in CA, and it's many visitors' favorite park.

 

[smitch425]

MNSSHP is fabulous and worth every dollar. You can enter the park with your party ticket at 4pm, so lots of time to spend at MK. (Anyone here will confirm 4pm entry. I've done it myself.) Since you can go to the party at 4pm, skip buying a regular park ticket for that day. Or, if you already bought tickets, I would suggest visiting Epcot on Friday during the day, then MNSSHP at MK that evening. Take the monorail from Epcot to MK, kids will love that. There's nothing like Epcot in CA, and it's many visitors' favorite park.

I agree! Although, I would do AK on Friday morning/early afternoon and then hit MK for MNSSHP at 4pm. If you don't feel you've gotten enough MK time during the party, go back on Saturday, but if you feel you got a lot of rides in during the party (because lines are next to nothing for most of the rides during the party), then spend Saturday at EPCOT, which is an AWESOME park, especially for those ages.

 

[POOHsie]

I agree! Although, I would do AK on Friday morning/early afternoon and then hit MK for MNSSHP at 4pm. If you don't feel you've gotten enough MK time during the party, go back on Saturday, but if you feel you got a lot of rides in during the party (because lines are next to nothing for most of the rides during the party), then spend Saturday at EPCOT, which is an AWESOME park, especially for those ages.

You are absolutely RIGHT. What was I thinking? AK closes at 5-ish, so Friday is the day to go there. Great suggestion for OP. Epcot Food&Wine opens that Friday the 27th.

 

[deakam]

You are absolutely RIGHT. What was I thinking? AK closes at 5-ish, so Friday is the day to go there. Great suggestion for OP. Epcot Food&Wine opens that Friday the 27th.

Opening day of Food and Wine is exactly why we will be attending the Halloween Party on Friday. That and I snagged a last minute reservation for Be Our Guest at 5pm. I love the Halloween Party.

 

[amylevan]

Our family will be spending a few days at Disney World following a cruise next month. Our two park days will be Friday, September 27, and Saturday, September 28. We're longtime Disneyland annual passholders, but this will be our first trip to Orlando. Our kids are 7, 4, and 2.

The two parks that we're interested in visiting on this trip are Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom, and in reviewing Touringplans.com, it looked like the best plan of attack would be Magic Kingdom Friday (Crowd Rating = 1.1) and Animal Kingdom Saturday (Crowd Rating = 1.6) We are big fans of low crowds, so this seemed perfect.

Then came a bit of a wrench in the works - looks like Mickey's Halloween Party is on the Friday we were planning on going to MK. It's my understanding that this means we essentially get kicked out of the park (for which we will have already paid full price - ouch) at 7pm, and have to pay $250 ($60ish each x 4) to get back in (or to stay in). Is that right? Seems a bit unfair, but what do I know. . .

So, the alternative would be to switch our two days, and go to AK on Friday (Crowd Rating 1.5 - about the same as Saturday), and MK on Saturday (Crowd Rating 4, so considerably more busy than Friday)

So - my questions for you smarties are:

How great is the Halloween Party? Worth going to? Worth $250 extra?

How much busier would a Crowd Rating of 4 be than a Crowd Rating of 1? I know Touringplans isn't always the most reliable, but generally speaking, does anyone have a frame of reference for this kind of thing?

Thanks, ahead of time, for any advice on this one.

That was long.

To be honest, I'll go against what most recommended here. With a 4 and 2 yr old, I find it unlikely you'll get your money out of MNSSHP. Yes, you can enter at 4, but when will your kids be done for the night? (Especially if you hit a park all day.)

If it were me, we'd do MK on Friday, since with crowds that low, you are likely to get a lot accomplished. A 7pm closing isn't that early for us, since we usually visit when an 8pm closing is typical. And then on Saturday, I'd hit AK. You will miss Wishes with this plan, but you can always watch from the Poly beach.

 

[2girlsmom]

I love the parties, and we will also be attending this year in October. However, with such young children, I would agree with pp that said it is likely not worth the cost at this point. I would say go to MK till 7, if kids are up for it the poly beach, or Ohana restaurant or Contemporary are all great places to see the fireworks, either night actually, as AK always closes earlier.

 

[Icecoldpenguin]

I agree with lots of people but that would be pending not having small children. I think MK is more magical at night personally but I also think spending a day in Animal Kingdom then trying to do the party would be too much. I also think the children would not like Epcot that much. So I think your best bet is to go to MK until 7pm then perhaps make a dining reservation at a monorail resort if you can. If not head to the poly grab some food at Captain Cook's and then watch Hallowishes from the beach. It is simply amazing.

Then the next day I would go to Animal Kingdom. Animal Kingdom can be hot though so take plenty of water and stay hydrated.

 

[smitch425]

I also think the children would not like Epcot that much.

Do you have any children (your signature doesn't list any)? EPCOT is a great park for young kids. It might help OP if you explain why you advise against going there.

 

[JanaDee]

Do you have any children (your signature doesn't list any)? EPCOT is a great park for young kids. It might help OP if you explain why you advise against going there.

Other than Soarin' and Test Track, my kids aren't the least bit interested in Epcot.

If I had kids the same age as OP, I'd skip Epcot or make it a short half day.

 

[Icecoldpenguin]

Do you have any children (your signature doesn't list any)? EPCOT is a great park for young kids. It might help OP if you explain why you advise against going there.

Ok wow and no I don't have kiddos although I did just get married and I am working on that but that is neither here nor there. I as a kid did not like Epcot very much. I still don't like Epcot very much. Other than for character meet and greets it just feels like a lot of walking with not much pay out. I know there are those that LOVE it but I don't. I think small kids would want to see the animals at AK and maybe even all the fun cool stuff at hollywood studios including Disney Junior and the animation building. But seeing as how the OP goes to CA a lot in the past many of these things can be found at DL or CA.

 

[JanaDee]

OP, I understand your frustration with the parties at MK. Five of our seven nights has a party at MK.

 

[Icecoldpenguin]

OP, I understand your frustration with the parties at MK. Five of our seven nights has a party at MK.

WOW how did you accomplish that good luck? lol ok its not really good luck but at least you have some choices. I kind of feel for you

 

[smitch425]

OP, I understand your frustration with the parties at MK. Five of our seven nights has a party at MK.

We had that same scenario last year. We ended up getting the hopper option (our only trip with hoppers). We found that hitting MK on party days and then going elsewhere at night was a good strategy. Good luck!

 

[TDC Nala]

Saturday will be extraordinarily crowded at Epcot's World Showcase as it is the opening weekend of the Food & Wine Festival.

 

[smitch425]

Ok wow and no I don't have kiddos although I did just get married and I am working on that but that is neither here nor there. I as a kid did not like Epcot very much. I still don't like Epcot very much. Other than for character meet and greets it just feels like a lot of walking with not much pay out. I know there are those that LOVE it but I don't. I think small kids would want to see the animals at AK and maybe even all the fun cool stuff at hollywood studios including Disney Junior and the animation building. But seeing as how the OP goes to CA a lot in the past many of these things can be found at DL or CA.

Your response sounds a bit defensive. I was not trying to offend you in any way. Just trying to help OP gather as much info as possible. Sorry if you took offense to me asking. Of course not all children will like EPCOT, but my advice was coming from years of experience with small children, and I was curious if your advice was, as well.

 

[tarak]

Other than Soarin' and Test Track, my kids aren't the least bit interested in Epcot.

If I had kids the same age as OP, I'd skip Epcot or make it a short half day.

I think this depends on the kids. Like Smitch, I think it's a great park for children. Mine love it (they are 10, 8, 5, and 1). Granted, the baby isn't interested in Epcot, but she's not interested in MK or AK, either. However, if that Saturday is food and wine feat at Epcot, I'd avoid it like the plague.

OP, we went to MNSSHP a few years back and were able to get on all the rides we wanted to, see the parade, and trick-or-treat. I just looked up the date and we went on a Friday. We had an absolute blast. It was fun to dress up with the kids.

I'd probably go to AK or Epcot for the day, then head to MK for the party. If you go to Epcot, you can take the monorail to TTC, then to MK. You could also take the ferry from TTC to MK. Go to AK on Saturday, or head back to MK if you feel you missed anything.