MNSSHP 2012 Official Information

[DisneyDad79]

It seems like the common threads here are that past the first two parties most people felt like it was busier (in same cases much busier) than expected, and many of the most dissapointed people are those that were focused on characters. I guess this bodes well for my family as the only characters we plan to see on 11/2 are Alice and the Mad Hatter and the only other priorities we have are the Villain show, fireworks, and parade, along with some post-second parade trick-or-treating and riding.

I think just preparing menatally for the crowds has a HUGE impact on your impression of the party. I've been to Times Square on New Years Eve and that is what I have been preparing my family for when it comes to the Hub/Main Street/Parade Route. Hopefully going in with this mentality will help the way I view the overall experience.

 

[pixarmom]

It seems like the common threads here are that past the first two parties most people felt like it was busier (in same cases much busier) than expected, and many of the most dissapointed people are those that were focused on characters. I guess this bodes well for my family as the only characters we plan to see on 11/2 are Alice and the Mad Hatter and the only other priorities we have are the Villain show, fireworks, and parade, along with some post-second parade trick-or-treating and riding.

I think just preparing menatally for the crowds has a HUGE impact on your impression of the party. I've been to Times Square on New Years Eve and that is what I have been preparing my family for when it comes to the Hub/Main Street/Parade Route. Hopefully going in with this mentality will help the way I view the overall experience.

Hey wait! Did I write this post? No, but I posted our exact same plan (right down to Alice/Hatter) and outlook on another thread! It seems like very few have a plan like ours, but we think it will work well for us. We'll report back regarding our 10/8 experience and let you know how it goes - we plan to have a great time, despite any crowds or rain!

 

[lovethattink]

May I suggest you follow up this post with a glass-half-full view?

I'd rather hear what you WERE able to do (other than the 7Ds), and it might be helpful to other followers of this thread.

Absolutely! Here's the follow up!

We were able to see the 7 Dwarfs, Mickey & Minnie, the DJ at the train station and the 1st parade, The Princesses, Duffy, Donald & Daisy, 7 of the 10 candy stops, and played one game outside of Mickey's Star Traders. And we checked out the new Big Top Souveniers and got slushies!

The characters were amazing and we weren't rushed through any of them. My favorite moment was my son teaching Prince Charming and Cinderella how to use the force. It was priceless. And they probably spent a good 10 minutes with him. Flynn Rider and my son also spent some great quality time. In fact, he practically followed us out the door because the two of them were still talking about the Stabbington Brothers, and Rapunzel was with the next family. We missed the fireworks because of how long we spent with Cinderella, Charming, and Flynn (amazing QUALITY TIME), but IMHO the interaction was worth it.

Mickey and Minnie were a 15 minute wait! The princesses we hit perfectly and were sent directly to their room!! Duffy was a 5 minute wait during the 2nd parade!! We hit each candy stop at just the right time and didn't wait more than 5 or 10 minutes! The dwarfs we waited for BEFORE the party, so that didn't cut into any party time at all!

Our only waits all night were the parade. We arrived at 8:25, but there was a rain delay and we were at the end of the route, about an hour wait. And Donald and Daisy were a 30 minute wait.

Oh, and I didn't think it was crowded at all. There just wasn't enough time to get everything done. Tons of people left after the first parade, and even more after the fireworks.

We went on Sunday to MNSSHP! We arrived to the park around 5 and headed straight to the 7 dwarfs area. They had just closed off the Woody/Jessie meet as we got there. A few minutes later they opened up the line for the 7 dwarfs and we were the first family. The dwarfs didn't begin to arrive until around 7:15-7:20. When we finished there, the queue went all the way towards the fast pass of Big Thunder MT.

Is it possible to see and do everything at the party in one night?

We didn't even get to half of what we had hoped.

Everything we did see and do was excellent and we really enjoyed what we did!!!!!

We MISSED Wishes, the Villian show, Stitch's Dance Party, Woody's Dance Party, Tarzan, Pooh and gang, Jack Sparrow, Tink and Periwinkle, Aurora, Lotso, Phinneas and Ferb, Tremaines, Gaston, Tiana and Naveen,
Buzz, Merida, and Aladdin. Also missed the photopass spot for the haunted carriage.

It did rain, but the rain didn't affect us. We were at the right places at the right time when it rained. Walking it was a light rain and we had umbrellas. We left the park at 11:30pm

 

[DisneyDad79]

Hey wait! Did I write this post? No, but I posted our exact same plan (right down to Alice/Hatter) and outlook on another thread! It seems like very few have a plan like ours, but we think it will work well for us. We'll report back regarding our 10/8 experience and let you know how it goes - we plan to have a great time, despite any crowds or rain!

Awesome, I can't wait to see how it goes! To get real specific our plan is:

Alice & Mad Hatter
Wonderland Treat Trail
Villains Show
Haunted Mansion (At least pics, hopefully ride)
Wishes
Parade (Watch in Frontierland)
Rides/Candy

I think is seems pretty doable. We are going to last MNSSHP and first MVMCP, so we are going to wait for the christmas part for the Dwarves.

Have a great time!

 

[ladyhatter92]

I think is seems pretty doable. We are going to last MNSSHP and first MVMCP, so we are going to wait for the christmas part for the Dwarves.

Have a great time!

Although I'm going to 2 mnsshp, were also going to do the dwarfs and jack sparrow at the Christmas party where the lines will HOPEFULLY be a tiny bit shorter (less sold out nights) the dwarfs are also in Christmas attire (scarfs etc) at the Xmas party too

 

[Raya]

I was at the sold out party on Friday night (11/28). I tried to post from the park but I guess it didn't work. Anyway here's my helpful advice/thoughts:

If you eat at CRT during the party you get a free Halloween dessert. It wasn't extraordinarily tasty or anything, but it did look lovely:

We were surprised to find that our CRT reservation was ready a full 25 minutes earlier than expected (had a 6:45 reservation, got seated immediately upon checking in at 6:20). We were a little disappointed to find that we couldn't walk through the castle to main street.

Despite a sold out crowd all of the rides were walk ons.

The Haunted Mansion did have characters out front interacting with the crowd (talking/singing) but you couldn't get a photo taken with them. Unless you count standing in front of the railing while they sit on the bench 10 ft. behind you.

All of the candy spots we stopped at had 10 to 15 minute lines, except for the candy stop in Adventureland by the Jungle Cruise. That line barely existed. Lucky for me that was also the stop giving out bananas. With the heat and humidity we were sweating enough to crave one. You are required to take candy first, which I guess explained why most people just bypassed the bananas on the way out. That meant between the two of us we got 4!

There are no more Halloween party specific photo passes with the discount on the back. We asked three photographers before we found one who even remembered them from years past.

If you decide to sit at Casey's for the fireworks be careful of the seats where the lamp post and the tree block your view. The bulk of the fireworks take place on the left hand side of the castle (Adventureland/Frontierland side), so that's the spot you're going to want to be able to see.

While the 8:15 parade had 5 and 6 people deep around the castle loop, down main street we found an empty spot on the curb about 10 minutes before it started. I'm not sure why maybe the closer you are to the train station the less desirable the spots? Either way, it was a great viewing spot and was open so if you find yourself deep in the crowd at the castle, try walking down.

We took one of those Ziploc giant bags (2ft by 3ft) and brought mundane clothing to change into after our pictures were done. That was really a blessing! I'd recommend packing the bag with clothes, Vaseline for chafing spots and blisters, a few baby wipes, and a clean pair of socks, etc. The bag fit fine in the regular size locker, which was good since the locker folks didn't seem to think there were 'large' lockers anymore.

Also, my fairy wings were too large to fit in the locker so the locker services folks checked them for me for free. There was a bit of a mix up about where they'd be (city hall or the locker services place). It took three castmembers but we finally found them. Lesson learned: the best place to look for your stuff is where you handed it over.

All in all our party was great! We got to see the headless horseman and the Disney Pass Photographer took a slew of great pictures. It was ugly hot and humid though, next time I'll go in the middle of October when things are just a tiny bit cooler. Anyone know when the crowds start getting bad in October? (and don't tell my family I'm already planning our next trip )

 

[mesaboy2]

I was at the sold out party on Friday night (11/28). I tried to post from the park but I guess it didn't work. Anyway here's my helpful advice/thoughts:

If you eat at CRT during the party you get a free Halloween dessert. It wasn't extraordinarily tasty or anything, but it did look lovely:

We were surprised to find that our CRT reservation was ready a full 25 minutes earlier than expected (had a 6:45 reservation, got seated immediately upon checking in at 6:20). We were a little disappointed to find that we couldn't walk through the castle to main street.

Despite a sold out crowd all of the rides were walk ons.

The Haunted Mansion did have characters out front interacting with the crowd (talking/singing) but you couldn't get a photo taken with them. Unless you count standing in front of the railing while they sit on the bench 10 ft. behind you.

All of the candy spots we stopped at had 10 to 15 minute lines, except for the candy stop in Adventureland by the Jungle Cruise. That line barely existed. Lucky for me that was also the stop giving out bananas. With the heat and humidity we were sweating enough to crave one. You are required to take candy first, which I guess explained why most people just bypassed the bananas on the way out. That meant between the two of us we got 4!

There are no more Halloween party specific photo passes with the discount on the back. We asked three photographers before we found one who even remembered them from years past.

If you decide to sit at Casey's for the fireworks be careful of the seats where the lamp post and the tree block your view. The bulk of the fireworks take place on the left hand side of the castle (Adventureland/Frontierland side), so that's the spot you're going to want to be able to see.

While the 8:15 parade had 5 and 6 people deep around the castle loop, down main street we found an empty spot on the curb about 10 minutes before it started. I'm not sure why maybe the closer you are to the train station the less desirable the spots? Either way, it was a great viewing spot and was open so if you find yourself deep in the crowd at the castle, try walking down.

We took one of those Ziploc giant bags (2ft by 3ft) and brought mundane clothing to change into after our pictures were done. That was really a blessing! I'd recommend packing the bag with clothes, Vaseline for chafing spots and blisters, a few baby wipes, and a clean pair of socks, etc. The bag fit fine in the regular size locker, which was good since the locker folks didn't seem to think there were 'large' lockers anymore.

Also, my fairy wings were too large to fit in the locker so the locker services folks checked them for me for free. There was a bit of a mix up about where they'd be (city hall or the locker services place). It took three castmembers but we finally found them. Lesson learned: the best place to look for your stuff is where you handed it over.

All in all our party was great! We got to see the headless horseman and the Disney Pass Photographer took a slew of great pictures. It was ugly hot and humid though, next time I'll go in the middle of October when things are just a tiny bit cooler. Anyone know when the crowds start getting bad in October? (and don't tell my family I'm already planning our next trip )

All MK fireworks shows are centered on the castle. That you saw more on the left was a function of you being on the left. I saw more on the right because--you guessed it--I was on the right.

Glad you had a great time!

 

[RunDanceSkate]

I was at the sold out party on Friday night (11/28). I tried to post from the park but I guess it didn't work. Anyway here's my helpful advice/thoughts:

If you eat at CRT during the party you get a free Halloween dessert. It wasn't extraordinarily tasty or anything, but it did look lovely:

Thank you for the wand and sword. As you can see the girls put them to good use.

This is us at our second party.

 

[LittleMissMagic]

Another silly question here - I purchased our tickets Will Call. Where do I pick these up? TTC?

 

[HayGan]

Another silly question here - I purchased our tickets Will Call. Where do I pick these up? TTC?

There are ticket windows at the MK where you can pick them up. They are to the right of the turnstiles after you go thru security.

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

 

[lovethattink]

Another silly question here - I purchased our tickets Will Call. Where do I pick these up? TTC?

Yes, TTC. That's where I picked mine up.

I was at the sold out party on Friday night (11/28). I tried to post from the park but I guess it didn't work. Anyway here's my helpful advice/thoughts:

If you eat at CRT during the party you get a free Halloween dessert. It wasn't extraordinarily tasty or anything, but it did look lovely:

We were surprised to find that our CRT reservation was ready a full 25 minutes earlier than expected (had a 6:45 reservation, got seated immediately upon checking in at 6:20). We were a little disappointed to find that we couldn't walk through the castle to main street.

Despite a sold out crowd all of the rides were walk ons.

The Haunted Mansion did have characters out front interacting with the crowd (talking/singing) but you couldn't get a photo taken with them. Unless you count standing in front of the railing while they sit on the bench 10 ft. behind you.

All of the candy spots we stopped at had 10 to 15 minute lines, except for the candy stop in Adventureland by the Jungle Cruise. That line barely existed. Lucky for me that was also the stop giving out bananas. With the heat and humidity we were sweating enough to crave one. You are required to take candy first, which I guess explained why most people just bypassed the bananas on the way out. That meant between the two of us we got 4!

There are no more Halloween party specific photo passes with the discount on the back. We asked three photographers before we found one who even remembered them from years past.

If you decide to sit at Casey's for the fireworks be careful of the seats where the lamp post and the tree block your view. The bulk of the fireworks take place on the left hand side of the castle (Adventureland/Frontierland side), so that's the spot you're going to want to be able to see.

While the 8:15 parade had 5 and 6 people deep around the castle loop, down main street we found an empty spot on the curb about 10 minutes before it started. I'm not sure why maybe the closer you are to the train station the less desirable the spots? Either way, it was a great viewing spot and was open so if you find yourself deep in the crowd at the castle, try walking down.

We took one of those Ziploc giant bags (2ft by 3ft) and brought mundane clothing to change into after our pictures were done. That was really a blessing! I'd recommend packing the bag with clothes, Vaseline for chafing spots and blisters, a few baby wipes, and a clean pair of socks, etc. The bag fit fine in the regular size locker, which was good since the locker folks didn't seem to think there were 'large' lockers anymore.

Also, my fairy wings were too large to fit in the locker so the locker services folks checked them for me for free. There was a bit of a mix up about where they'd be (city hall or the locker services place). It took three castmembers but we finally found them. Lesson learned: the best place to look for your stuff is where you handed it over.

All in all our party was great! We got to see the headless horseman and the Disney Pass Photographer took a slew of great pictures. It was ugly hot and humid though, next time I'll go in the middle of October when things are just a tiny bit cooler. Anyone know when the crowds start getting bad in October? (and don't tell my family I'm already planning our next trip )

Glad you had a great party. It seems to me Columbus Day brings in the Oct crowds.

Your dessert looked great!

We learned the same lesson with my son's wheel chair at the carriage ride at POR as you did with the wings.

 

[NMK62303]

I can confirm it, and it is in the same location as what I see in smitch's picture--on the far right as you exit. It is not listed on the party maps.

Awesome!! Thanks so much!

 

[rentayenta]

Thank you to everyone whose posting as they go. It really is helping me and others get a grasp of what to expect. Sounds like everyone is having a great time.

 

[ZiPaD3doDAH]

Got my ticket for October 26

Question: I know in the past some people have gotten inside MK around 4pm with their event ticket even though the event does not start until 7pm. Can someone confirm this?

 

[lovethattink]

Yes, 4pm

 

[ZiPaD3doDAH]

Yes, 4pm

Thank you!

 

[lovethattink]

I'm going to throw my question out here again. Is it possible to do everything at the party in one night? If so, how would you do it. If not, how many parties would it take to do everything?

 

[mesaboy2]

I'm going to throw my question out here again.

1. Is it possible to do everything* at the party in one night?

2. If so, how would you do it.

3. If not, how many parties would it take to do everything?

1. That's easy--no.

2. N/A

3. My over/under is at about 3.

* "Everything" being seeing one parade, one fireworks, all candy stations, one show, both dance parties, shopping for party-specific merch, and all characters not available otherwise.

 

[lovethattink]

1. That's easy--no.

2. N/A

3. My over/under is at about 3.

* "Everything" being seeing one parade, one fireworks, all candy stations, one show, both dance parties, shopping for party-specific merch, and all characters not available otherwise.

Thank you so much. That puts it in a much better perspective for me!

 

[mesaboy2]

Thank you so much. That puts it in a much better perspective for me!

I think on low-crowd parties, you could possibly do "everything" in 2 nights. But as I'm sure you've read, low-crowd parties seem to be hard to find.