Aug 24th MNSSHP is Also Crowded

[Shanti]

I'm at MNSSHP now (the 2nd party, Aug. 24th). It's 10:10pm & it's been crowded all night. Until now we'd only been doing rides, no characters, parades or candy. And the rides were not walk on or very short at all fyi. It's fireworks time in 5 minutes, yet we passed 7DMT 10 minutes ago, and it still had a posted wait of 40 minutes (with visible line to match). We waited about 20 minutes for Big Thunder at around 7:30 tonight. PP had a 35 minute posted wait, so we skipped. Barnstormer and Winnie the Pooh had lines. We're waiting in a thick crowd at the hub for fireworks, no different than the fireworks crowds on other non-party nights.

These crowds have nothing to do with inexperienced CMs or characters or trick or treating. It's just crowded.

Not really interested in debating expectations with the park-touring pros btw. I posted this to share our experience with others who have never been but have heard about short ride waits during parties & other easy experiences, as those descriptions of the parties abound online. I'm sharing my firsthand experience to let them know that those descriptions are inaccurate.

 

[StacyStrong]

I don't know. I saw a live feed of it and it looked about as crowded as I'd expect.

20 minutes doesn't seem bad to me but maybe I'm jaded.

 

[StacyStrong]

I hope you're still having a good time

 

[anomamatt]

And the rides were not walk on at all fyi.

Are they ever 'walk on' at a party?

It's fireworks time in 5 minutes, yet we passed 7DMT 10 minutes ago, and it still had a posted wait of 40 minutes (with visible line to match). We waited about 20 minutes for Big Thunder at around 7:30 tonight. PP had a 35 minute posted wait, so we skipped.

This aligns with my previous experiences (4 parties since 2016). I have always found rides much, much less attractive at a party versus regular park hours (because I can use FP+ (and refresh, etc) during park hours).

 

[CAS239]

Popular rides will not be a walk on during parties. Those wait times look to be about the usual length for parties (ie: much lower than regular park hours)

 

[Shanti]

Popular rides will not be a walk on during parties. Those wait times look to be about the usual length for parties (ie: much lower than regular park hours)

None of the rides have been walk on, not even Barnstormer or Winnie the Pooh at 9pm. At 11pm Pirates has a 20 minute wait.

 

[StacyStrong]

Let us know your opinions of any special treats you may have tried!

 

[brockash]

Are they ever 'walk on' at a party?



This aligns with my previous experiences (4 parties since 2016). I have always found rides much, much less attractive at a party versus regular park hours (because I can use FP+ (and refresh, etc) during park hours).

Yes, they used to be complete walk ons all the time...we started going to the parties in 2008 (always Sept. parties) and until the last few years almost all rides were total walkons...as in there were many years wed ride splash or thunder mountain and wouldn't even have to get off to reride.

 

[sharonabe]

I'm at MNSSHP now (the 3rd party, Aug. 24th).

You may want to edit this part. Aug 24 is the 2nd party, not the 3rd.

 

[brockash]

Popular rides will not be a walk on during parties. Those wait times look to be about the usual length for parties (ie: much lower than regular park hours)

In our experience up until a few years ago, most rides at the mnsshp were walkon for us.

 

[Babs1975]

Popular rides will not be a walk on during parties. Those wait times look to be about the usual length for parties (ie: much lower than regular park hours)

Since when??? Serious question. We always go to the Christmas party and the rides have always been walk ons or 5 minute waits...with the exception of 7DMT and Petet Pan. If this is the new normal, I'm disappointed.

 

[Jimmy Mouse]

Last year on 9/12 rides were total walk on. We (me and my daughter) rode Space so many times I was sick of it but I think it was low crowds due to Irma. On the 16th we did another party and it was total chaos. I was told by a CM it was due to Disney allowing people that missed the party due to Irma being allowed to book even if the party was sold out. rewind to Dec 1st 2016, MVMCP was low wait times (5-10 min) on everything

 

[brockash]

So I'm watching the live stream and theyre in Frontierland, 2nd parade and I've gotta say it looks pretty packed, especially for 2nd parade and in Frontierland.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

I was at the party tonight and I had the same observation as Shanti. I’ve been to six parties over the years including the first MNSSHP last year and tonight was far more crowded than any other party I’ve experienced. The trick or treat lines were ridiculously long. We hit two of them early on when lines were short but soon after the candy lines got super long. We still had fun but we had also gotten most of our rides in prior to the party.

 

[WillowRain]

Maybe just because it's the 2nd one? Hoping that Sept 9th is less crowded. Our first time and I really want to at least try to see some special characters for the kids.

 

[whiporee]

I was at the party tonight and I had the same observation as Shanti. I’ve been to six parties over the years including the first MNSSHP last year and tonight was far more crowded than any other party I’ve experienced. The trick or treat lines were ridiculously long. We hit two of them early on when lines were short but soon after the candy lines got super long. We still had fun but we had also gotten most of our rides in prior to the party.

When you say ridiculously long, what does that mean? Did you wait in any of them? Just curious as to how long the actual wait was compared to the appearance.

 

[Disneylover99]

So I'm watching the live stream and theyre in Frontierland, 2nd parade and I've gotta say it looks pretty packed, especially for 2nd parade and in Frontierland.

We went to both parades last night and we were in the exact same spot both times in Frontierland. There were lots of great spots right by the rope 20-25 minutes before the start of both parades when we arrived. By the time the parade started, the lines were 3 or 4 people deep.

Both parades seemed equally crowded. The first parade was drizzly and the ground was wet, so no headless horseman. The second parade was much nicer weather wise so the headless horseman was able to ride.

 

[Disneylover99]

Some big rides went down last night. BTMR went down twice, SM was down at one point, HM went down. I know the people leaving the ride queues significantly contribute to packed and congested walkways. We were in Liberty Square when HM went down and wowza!!! That was a huge crush of people leaving the area. That definitely contributes to the feeling of a packed party.

 

[Angeni11]

I wonder if the fact these parties are before a lot of kids are not back in session for school yet contributes to the crowds. Many school systems don't start until after Labor Day still (ours is back already but I know of a lot that aren't)

 

[Melanie230]

I'm at MNSSHP now (the 2nd party, Aug. 24th). It's 10:10pm & it's been crowded all night. Until now we'd only been doing rides, no characters, parades or candy. And the rides were not walk on or very short at all fyi. It's fireworks time in 5 minutes, yet we passed 7DMT 10 minutes ago, and it still had a posted wait of 40 minutes (with visible line to match). We waited about 20 minutes for Big Thunder at around 7:30 tonight. PP had a 35 minute posted wait, so we skipped. Barnstormer and Winnie the Pooh had lines. We're waiting in a thick crowd at the hub for fireworks, no different than the fireworks crowds on other non-party nights.

These crowds have nothing to do with inexperienced CMs or characters or trick or treating. It's just crowded.

Not really interested in debating expectations with the park-touring pros btw. I posted this to share our experience with others who have never been but have heard about short ride waits during parties & other easy experiences, as those descriptions of the parties abound online. I'm sharing my firsthand experience to let them know that those descriptions are inaccurate.

I am going to go out on a limb here and say that I think a lot of this are people getting that last minute trip in before school starts. I am in NC and our schools go back Monday. I think people are still traveling because school isn't back in session everywhere. I may be wrong...but I think it is the reason or at least part of the reason.