I don't know about 11/1 or next years party dates. We went on 10/31 and although there were lots of people there, we found everything to be very doable. It seemed the line were longest for the candy but they moved fast. My DGD isn't much of a candy eater so if she felt a line was too long she just skipped it. We rode lots of rides, saw the Headless Horseman, enjoyed two "storytellings" watched the Hoola Hoop contest, caught the show at the castle, saw the witch fly, saw the fireworks....we never saw any bootoyou parades...wrong place at the wrong time I guess. We also didn't stand in line to visit any characters. I wouldn't hesitate to go on Halloween again. From what I gather from posts about the earlier parties, I think they were all pretty crowded.