2011 Halloween Party Crowds/Wait times?

[lmahon424]

For all of those that have been to the halloween party this year...could you give me an idea of what the crowds look like? I'm specifically interested in wait times for Star Wars, Ghost Galaxy, and the Haunted Mansion since this will be my only day to the park (for the first time in 10 years...) and I want to make sure I get the most out of my time there! We will be going to the tue. oct. 25th party and will arrive at 3pm and stay until close. I plan on hitting all the major rides, fireworks, and parade. I didn't know if anyone had any tips on the best times to do each of the activities! Thanks so much!

Oh, and a little info on the trip - it's just me and my best friend (no kids this time) so we can move quick. I would like to see a few characters, but we prob won't wait in line for many (if any), I'll just be taking some pics of them. I've done the pirate and princess party and christmas party at DW in recent years...but nothing like this at DL.

 

[MyYearWithTheMouse]

We went on Monday the 3rd and every ride was practially a walk-on except for 15 minutes for Dumbo. The best time to do Star Tours is definitely right after the fireworks. Stand in the little spork of street ahead of Astro Orbitor to watch the fireworks (you'll be able to see Jack from there) and then immediately after the fireworks head to ST. We practically walked right on while DH took DS on both Buzz and the Astro Orbitors. I have heard that other Halloween Party nights were much more crowded but we walked right up to the edge of Fantasyland by the tea cups like 3 minutes before the parade and had a perfect standing view. The only thing with long lines were the characters. And don't wait a long time for candy. The further trick or treat trails are much less crowded than, say, the Pirates one. There's a ton of candy everywhere so unless you have a SUPER sweet tooth, there's no need to hit every one of them.

 

[Sharron379]

Oh good to know. We will be there for the Oct. 21st party! Anyother tips on the rides and lines?

 

[hsmamato2]

IDK....we were there last week,and the party on Friday was BUSY. We were leaving,as we weren't going to the party,but the crowds seemed heavier than the daytime crowd.....maybe it gets thinner as the night wears on? I was thinking that it seemed a bit crowded for a ticketed party...... this was the 7th.... but the entertaining costumes were great!

 

[DizMe]

IDK....we were there last week,and the party on Friday was BUSY. We were leaving,as we weren't going to the party,but the crowds seemed heavier than the daytime crowd.....maybe it gets thinner as the night wears on? I was thinking that it seemed a bit crowded for a ticketed party...... this was the 7th.... but the entertaining costumes were great!

There is an overlap time where party ticket holders can go in and non-party people can stay for another 2 (?) hours, so I would guess that overlap time is pretty crowded.

 

[figment_jii]

When I was there on Friday, 9/30 for the party, the wait time for Haunted Mansion Holiday was between 30 and 45 minutes during the party and during the day. Small World had a 5 or so minute wait. We really didn't do any other rides (during the party) because we wanted to spend the party time at the party activities (the rides are the same during the day and during the party - no special party theming).

We watched the first Cavalcade by Small World. The parade route didn't really fill out until about 5 minutes before the start (we were pretty surprised). We watched the fireworks after that and then the second Cavalcade. (The Cavalcade goes from Small World to Main Street the first time, and then from Main Street to Small World the second time.) The treat lines were really long at the start of the party, but thinned out considerably after the second Cavalcade (we collected about 12 pounds of candy (yikes!) in about one hour at six or so treat trails).

 

[KelsiesMommy]

IDK....we were there last week,and the party on Friday was BUSY. We were leaving,as we weren't going to the party,but the crowds seemed heavier than the daytime crowd.....maybe it gets thinner as the night wears on? I was thinking that it seemed a bit crowded for a ticketed party...... this was the 7th.... but the entertaining costumes were great!

It seemed like that in the hour or so leading up to the party, but once the party officially started and day guests were gone, I didn't think it was too bad. This was our first time ever doing a ticketed event, though... And my girls hate waiting in lines so chose not to wait to meet any characters except for Phineas and Ferb and we were the second family in line for them. We didn't ride any rides, just trick or treated and enjoyed the parade, fireworks and atmosphere- and my girls LOVED the funny scarecrows entertaining us in the hub while we waited for the fireworks. We left at 10:15 when they were crashing, so maybe my perception isn't objective

 

[amberchris]

We were there on friday the 7th and after the day crowds left i thought it was okay. Even the lines for the characters weren't bad. Most of the rides we saw had little to no lines at all. We did stick to trick or treating, characters and the parade and fireworks but we had a great time and my kids loved coming home with over 20 pounds of candy!! Awesome!!

 

[lmahon424]

Thanks so much for all the responses! Since this will be my only day in the park I want to make sure I hit all the rides since it's been 10 years and I don't know when I'll be back! I plan to do a little trick or treating...but I'll only be in cali for a few more days before having to fly back to chicago...and I don't want to bring that much candy back! (And I have to fit into a bridesmaid dress before leaving so I can't eat it all either ) I'm hoping that since it's a tue. night, it won't be as crowded as the fri night ones. I read in a different TR that they were able to get HMH fastpasses before the party started...so maybe I'll do this and head to star wars following the fireworks. Thanks again!

 

[mysteriouspnai]

Thanks so much for all the responses! Since this will be my only day in the park I want to make sure I hit all the rides since it's been 10 years and I don't know when I'll be back! I plan to do a little trick or treating...but I'll only be in cali for a few more days before having to fly back to chicago...and I don't want to bring that much candy back! (And I have to fit into a bridesmaid dress before leaving so I can't eat it all either ) I'm hoping that since it's a tue. night, it won't be as crowded as the fri night ones. I read in a different TR that they were able to get HMH fastpasses before the party started...so maybe I'll do this and head to star wars following the fireworks. Thanks again!

Fastpasses don't work during the party so make sure you use them up before the party starts!

 

[Armadillo4]

IDK....we were there last week,and the party on Friday was BUSY. We were leaving,as we weren't going to the party,but the crowds seemed heavier than the daytime crowd.....maybe it gets thinner as the night wears on?

We were there on friday the 7th and after the day crowds left i thought it was okay. Even the lines for the characters weren't bad. Most of the rides we saw had little to no lines at all. We did stick to trick or treating, characters and the parade and fireworks but we had a great time...

I was there last Friday, Oct. 7 too and felt the same way. We arrived at 4:30pm and the park was definitely crowded. This was expected since it was a Friday and the start of the long weekend (Columbus Day, Canadian Thanksgiving). Chances are better that a Tuesday late in the month (when the OP visits) will have lighter crowds during the day.

After the party started and the non-party guests made their way out, the remaining crowds were definitely lighter. Went on Star Tours at 8:50pm with a 20 minute wait. Came out and found a nice spot for the fireworks at 9:30pm. Once the fireworks were over, we made a bee-line for Space Mountain Ghost Galaxy and got on with only a 10 minute wait. After riding SM Ghost Galaxy, we noticed that the wait time had gone up to 30 minutes but that didn't seem too bad considering. We went back to Star Tours, this time only with a 10 minute wait! And then we ended the evening with HMH, which seemed to have a consistent 30+ minute wait every time we checked.

Since you mention that you'll arrive at 3pm, you might be able to get a FP for HMH. But as mysteriouspnai wrote, there are only standby lines during the party with FP lines not in use. So, if you do manage to get a HMH FP, make sure you use it before the party starts. Good luck with the rest of your trip planning!

P.S. The Halloween Party Cavalcade is very cute and fun. But I definitely recommend seeing Mickey's Soundsational Parade during the day too!

 

[lmahon424]

Thanks again! I did know that the fp must be used before the party, the other tr said it had a 40 min return time, so I was hoping for something similar! Knowing that the waits are 10-20 minutes sounds perfect! (Coming from several trips to WDW where waits - even for parties - are 30-45 min, down from 60-75 during the day) is a huge relief! I'll definitely make a point to hit the soundsational parade at 5pm as well! I can't wait! I'm getting so excited!

 

[ToodlesRN]

Were here now and went on the 11th it was jammed packed everywhere, lines to rides were 30+ mins the trick treat lines were long and the lines to get pictures with the characters were a joke! We waited 1 hr 15 mins to get pics with Mickey and Minnie and that was all what our little ones could handle. Don't get me wrong we enjoyed it and the kids had fun, but wasn't expecting it be jammed packed from the time it started to the end at 11 pm.

 

[tkitty]

Were here now and went on the 11th it was jammed packed everywhere, lines to rides were 30+ mins the trick treat lines were long and the lines to get pictures with the characters were a joke! We waited 1 hr 15 mins to get pics with Mickey and Minnie and that was all what our little ones could handle. Don't get me wrong we enjoyed it and the kids had fun, but wasn't expecting it be jammed packed from the time it started to the end at 11 pm.

Sorry- long.....
Have to agree. We were there last night 10/11, and yes it was packed!
We normally go on off times and miss the crowds.

I wanted to give a couple tips and what we encountered.
We are in town visiting my DM and drove about 1 hour to the park. We arrived about 1:30pm and parked in Mickey and friends. (Goofy)
Yes- you can park early for free with your party ticket.
We took the tram and headed to World of Disney till 2:30, then went to get in line. (Far right gates) We were only about the third family in line. Unfortunately before getting in line, we saw the dreaded "Sold Out" signs for the nights party. Shoot.
Right at 3pm they opened all gates (Special Event) and we entered a roped off area to get our wrist bands and bags- no wait.
On entering the park we found it super crowded but expected it to be busy till 6pm.
Our goal (2 Adults- myself, DD and 2 kids 10 and 4 1/2) was to catch quite a few rides, a couple characters and candy too. We wanted to hit rides with little wait and get candy as we went.
Before 6pm, rides were the worst i've possibly ever seen. We first went through the castle, walked through the Sleeping Beauty walk through. All rides there were ridiculous. We were heading to the pumpkin carving area and it was great, no crowd, got pics with Jessie, no line, did some fun pics in cabin too. There also was a cool gambler type cowboy that did a cool card trick with my DGS.
We headed to BTMR wait was about 30 min so we grabbed FPs and kids had to do HM. Of course we got there and crowds were out into the walkway and we were going to return later and I thought, "hey hold on" and I ran over to the FP machines, cool I was right, it wasn't linked to BTMRR so I got more FPs.
Next we headed to JC- WOW, where did all the people come from- Maybe will head to ST and check that line. In passing Tiki Room, the kids wanted to stop, and it was full as though it would start soon so we did that. Then our FP times were up.
By this time it was almost 6 and I had heard that FP would be shut off so I didn't get any more. Well, the FP machines were shut off BUT they were still excepting them later in the evening! Wish I had known. We did lots of rides all night- HMH twice and ST twice.

As far as the party itself went, If you are there to get Pics with characters, You may not do much more. The lines were terrible. The Trick or treat lines got better as the night went on. Don't do them early. Many were not lines at all but just a quick walk threw, and plenty of them. Don't worry about using the map! They're everywhere!
We didn't catch the parade but the fireworks were awesome. Finding a viewing spot was crazy.
We stayed till 11 and even at the gates, they had a couple candy stations filling bags as we left!

This was our first ever Disney Halloween Party, and we had a great time. Kids didn't miss seeing characters as they were busy enough, and wanted rides and candy. (we each filled our small bag)We had an idea what to expect so we were able to work around the crowd issue pretty well, and not let it bother us,
Pluses- Very organized party, lots going on.
Negs- Some very confused CMs this night, maybe the huge crowds threw them. Crowds were the biggest negative.

All in all I still give it

 

[rich_84]

Thanks tkitty! Nice to read in detail about it all. I will be there with my gf on the 21st October and can't wait!

One question: with the FP - if they were accepting them through the night during the party, what strategy can you use to make use of this? Would it be to stock up on FP's earlier in the day and hold onto them for later?

Thanks!

 

[tkitty]

Thanks tkitty! Nice to read in detail about it all. I will be there with my gf on the 21st October and can't wait!

One question: with the FP - if they were accepting them through the night during the party, what strategy can you use to make use of this? Would it be to stock up on FP's earlier in the day and hold onto them for later?

Thanks!

Can't swear that all rides excepted them but did see people using FPs late in the eve.
What I would have done was get FPs from the beginning, and hope to at least get 3 or 4 between 3pm and 6pm. Be sure to see which rides are not linked to the FP system too. We didn't get our first till after 3:30 or after. If I had heard before leaving that I could use already gotten passes after 6pm, I would have done much more planning!
I suppose if you are there all day, you could save them up all day.
I can say that by 10pm, HM had standby entering both lines-but it was a walk on anyway.
Most rides got steadily less crowded as the night wore on. At 5:50pm-6:50 or later, the wait on ST was 40 min, after about 8pm it was 10min, after 10m, it was almost a walk on.
Any FPs we got, got us through the busy times.
From 3pm till 11pm we rode:
HM-2x (1 FP)
ST-2x
BTMRR-1x
JC-1x
Autopia-1x
BLightyear-1x
Nemo Subs-1x
And even the Tiki Room
We thought this was pretty good.

 

[rich_84]

Can't swear that all rides excepted them but did see people using FPs late in the eve.
What I would have done was get FPs from the beginning, and hope to at least get 3 or 4 between 3pm and 6pm. Be sure to see which rides are not linked to the FP system too. We didn't get our first till after 3:30 or after. If I had heard before leaving that I could use already gotten passes after 6pm, I would have done much more planning!
I suppose if you are there all day, you could save them up all day.
I can say that by 10pm, HM had standby entering both lines-but it was a walk on anyway.
Most rides got steadily less crowded as the night wore on. At 5:50pm-6:50 or later, the wait on ST was 40 min, after about 8pm it was 10min, after 10m, it was almost a walk on.
Any FPs we got, got us through the busy times.
From 3pm till 11pm we rode:
HM-2x (1 FP)
ST-2x
BTMRR-1x
JC-1x
Autopia-1x
BLightyear-1x
Nemo Subs-1x
And even the Tiki Room
We thought this was pretty good.

Awesome stuff! Sounds like you did pretty darn well with your rides anyway. Thanks so much for the info - can't wait!

 

[GrumpyMom1]

Thanks for all the good info. We'll be doing our first Halloween Party on the 18th and I'm super excited.

Can anyone tell me where to find Phineas and Ferb?

Thanks.

 

[mysteriouspnai]

Thanks for all the good info. We'll be doing our first Halloween Party on the 18th and I'm super excited.

Can anyone tell me where to find Phineas and Ferb?

Thanks.

Phineas and Ferb are by the Plaza Gardens, the place directly to the left of the castle if you're facing it. Careful, there's a treat trail there that goes through Rancho Zocalo, but there should be a cast member directing people to either place.

 

[mgmcpa]

Do they provide bags for the treats you collect or do we need to bring out own?