A wee little complaint about MNSSHP

[1stvisit0909]

I completely agree, I scheduled our trip on the simple fact that it was an easy month that both my husband and I could get away, not because of a Halloween celebration in early September! So yes I'm paying the extra $$ for MNSSHP but because I think we have to in order to get the best bang. I'm also disappointed in the early entry MNSSHP people get! I just learned of the 4pm entry and it really upset me, I know most everyone is saying it's not crowded and not to worry but hey I'm playing by the rules here and using 1 of my park hopper day tickets, and I'm the fool... I think they should play by the rules too and ONLY get in when the party starts! whats with the added bonus for people paying less? When theres people obviously paying much more.. It's silly

I've never done a party, but if entering at 4 wasnt ok "by Disney rules" then the lil Mickey head would tell them "NONE SHALL PASS"

 

[kaytieeldr]

I completely agree, I scheduled our trip on the simple fact that it was an easy month that both my husband and I could get away, not because of a Halloween celebration in early September! So yes I'm paying the extra $$ for MNSSHP but because I think we have to in order to get the best bang. I'm also disappointed in the early entry MNSSHP people get! I just learned of the 4pm entry and it really upset me, I know most everyone is saying it's not crowded and not to worry but hey I'm playing by the rules here and using 1 of my park hopper day tickets, and I'm the fool... I think they should play by the rules too and ONLY get in when the party starts! whats with the added bonus for people paying less? When theres people obviously paying much more.. It's silly

So partygoers get up to eight hours of park time for their $67-$71 ticket. That works out to $8.28-$14 per hour.
Magic Kingdom is open to the public ten hours on party days. Guests with a four day hopper pay $8.82 per hour by being in MK all its operating hours; guests with a five day hopper pay $7.30/hour; six days pay $6.20...guests with ten day hoppers are paying $4.14 per hour.

 

[agavegirl1]

Yep

Going during party season can be annoying

Yup, that's when I'll be there and there are so many party nights. That's part of the reason I have hoppers. We will be doing four partial days at MK, saving our FP+ for MK times...doing RD at another park or hopping for dinner at Epcot. It's really challenged planning since I will need to hop to MK one day which is completely not recommended just so I can see the fireworks.

 

[mummabear]

I know what you mean, I find this a particular problem at DLR: you pay the same no matter what day you go but some days are missing parades, fireworks, F!, have several rides closed for maintenance and can be open 5+ hours less.
I'm not sure I agree that you get as much accomplished many rides are run at lower capacity, as mention rides are down, and there is no as many offerings (little extra characters, dance parties etc as well as the entertainment you don't get a chance to see)
However the reason that the MNSSHP days are recommended on the crowd calendar is because its closing early and so people avoid it.

I don't get though, if your kids are too young to be able to go to the party are they not also too young to make it to Wishes?

Maybe you could head to Poly or FW beaches and watch the MNSSHP after the park closes?

 

[smidgy]

I can see both view points.

we are going in mid sept. which, even with "free" dning, used to be a slow time.

now, with all the halloween parties added early... AND the early addition of the food and wine festival...makes for a more crowded time.

now, I understand, why would disney WANT a "slow" time? of course they wouldn't. this was the reason for the invention of "free" dining to begin with.

but to me, in sept, I am still not ready to give up "summer" the halloween decorations are depressing!!! I'm still hanging on to summer,k not ready to jump into fall just yet!!!!
just as late november.. Thanksgiving...used to be Autumn's last big "hurrah" and that has just about disappeared. you can barely recognize thanksgiving anymore with all the christmas decorations. and, of course, same goesfor disney. guests going for thanksgiving, or even earlier are wanting the christmas decorations.

so this year I am planning a labor day picnic. with a costume contest and pumpkin carving... lol
hey, not too far off...

so now in mid sept. we are already celebrating halloween AND the Food and wine Festival

I know that the halloween party is only tuesdays and fridays in mid sept. but, to me,, it's way too early for halloween. now that we have annual passes, we can hop to another park.

it limits your options, and makes planning much more complicated . actually , ALL this planing to the minute makes the freedom of annual passes much less enticing. sigh,

but, as I said , I understand both viewpoints. if it brings in the people during the "slow " times... why would any business want a slow time? and it entices people to buy a hopper pass. but I don't have to like it. .. (i don't like change... sigh....) lol

 

[Tomh]

I have been to MNSSHP . . . . there is a reason they call it the Not So Scary Halloween Party . . because it isn't so scary. It isn't particularly ghostly, gobliny, spooky. My son absolutely had NO problem with it when he was 4. DD who was scared to death of the Halloween event at our local Six Flags didn't get even the slightest of scares at Magic Kingdom. It isn't that horrifying an event.

 

[Belle & Ariel]

If you are there for 10 days about half those days cost about $10 each. The party is about $60 so in perspective party guests are paying a lot more for their ticket than you are. You are getting a great deal on the second half of your trip.
In years we have not gone to the party we have enjoyed late afternoon at the MK as people arrive in costume. It is a fun atmosphere and interesting just to people watch.
I agree with your disappointment in no parade but that happens several months of the year party or no party.

 

[dawgsgirl]

I'm generally not a complainer. And truthfully, I think a lot of these hard ticket events sound awesome and I would love to attend. But I've got little ones--some of whom are too wimpy for the Villian/ghost/spooky part of MNSSHP, and some of whom can't stay awake late enough to make it worth the extra cost.

So the thing that bugs me is that we will be in the World for 10 days in late Oct/early Nov. And I was hoping to visit MK 2 or 3 times. But with all of the MNSSHP at the end of the month, there are very few days that are low crowd days that are not MNSSHP days. I think we are only going to get one shot at seeing evening parades/fireworks--and if the weather isn't good, we lose out. The electric light parade and fireworks at MK are pretty much my favorite thing to see at the parks.

It does bother me that we are paying for a full price ticket, and we don't get the full day in the park (with evening parades). And, on top of that...people who pay less than the full park ticket get to come in before the party technically starts and make the park extra crowded during the last few hours of the ticketing time that I've paid for.

I suppose I just wish they would run it like some of the other hard ticketed events AFTER regular park hours, so those of us that can't enjoy the extra special event don't lose out on some of what would normally be included in our experience. I know it's no biggie in the grand scheme of things, but right now looking at the calendar it is feeling like a bummer to me![/QUOTE

Going to WDW during party season can be very frustrating!! I don't like the parties, but there is not much I can do about them. You need to be very aware that on days that you can see the parade and Wishes the Mk is VERY crowded. We have annual passes so we just go for the night's festivities. Good luck with your trip!!

 

[cubuffalo36]

The crowds are very manageable that week. It's actually one of our preferred weeks to go. One poster said make sure you hit rope drop, it's actually not even necessary, you'll be fine even arriving an hour or so after it opens which is one of the reasons we love that week, you don't have to get there early just to hit everything, and if you do hit rope drop, then it's just a bonus. Only time that is crowded during that timeframe is Halloween night at MK, but that's a party ticket so you won't have to worry about it. Have fun!

 

[TDC Nala]

I completely agree, I scheduled our trip on the simple fact that it was an easy month that both my husband and I could get away, not because of a Halloween celebration in early September! So yes I'm paying the extra $$ for MNSSHP but because I think we have to in order to get the best bang. I'm also disappointed in the early entry MNSSHP people get! I just learned of the 4pm entry and it really upset me, I know most everyone is saying it's not crowded and not to worry but hey I'm playing by the rules here and using 1 of my park hopper day tickets, and I'm the fool... I think they should play by the rules too and ONLY get in when the party starts! whats with the added bonus for people paying less? When theres people obviously paying much more.. It's silly

I'm not entirely sure why this is upsetting, but they need a "staggered" entry for partygoers or there would be lines around the block and some of them would have to wait about an hour before they entered.

If they're all coming in at different times after 4, then it really won't affect the crowd that much.

It's your choice to use one of your park hopper tickets. It's actually a good move to use a daily for a different park and then use your party ticket at MK after 4. I would guess that you are annoyed at having to use a park hopper...but maybe you could get to 2 different parks before 4. It's your choice to use one if you want to be at MK before 4.

 

[mom2rtk]

OP, you're looking at this the wrong way. I LOVE LOVE LOVE visiting during party season. At no other time of year is it easier to pick a low crowd day. It's worth its weight in gold. You can get more done in less hours on a party day. That doesn't help for night entertainment, but we usually spend one non-party day there enduring the crowds (don't choose Saturday or EMH night) and a couple party days. It makes for an awesome week.

 

[jtowntoflorida]

I'm not sure I agree that you get as much accomplished many rides are run at lower capacity, as mention rides are down, and there is no as many offerings (little extra characters, dance parties etc as well as the entertainment you don't get a chance to see)

In the last three years, I've been to MK on 7 different MNSSHP days, and we've never experienced rides running at lower capacity or a lack of regular entertainment offerings. Perhaps that's what happens in September, but by the time October rolls around and you're back to average to high average crowds, there's none of this going on. The longest wait we've had at the MK for any ride on a party day in the last 3 years is 15 minutes. In contrast, we've attended the MK two non-party days during party season during that timeframe, and the lines for the rides were significantly longer. I can remember a 45 minute wait for POTC, and this was before FP+ was even testing. With the crowds so much lower, the waits are significantly lower as well.

Just wait...when October rolls around you will see two general groups of DISers...those who say October is totally crowded and they'll never go back because the crowds are too much, and those who say that October is an awesome low crowd period. The difference between the groups will be those who visited the MK on non-party days because they wanted to avoid the "short park hours" and those who chose to go to MK on party days because they wanted to avoid the crowds.

 

[Haley]

I didn't read all the responses but I would just plan to do MK in the mornings/afternoon and do another park in the evening if you want. I would spend the money on the hopper vs. the party in your case.

If you have little ones/toddlers you probably don't want to go MK from open to close with no break anyways- at least I wouldn't.

 

[LadyRayado]

I'm not sure I agree that you get as much accomplished many rides are run at lower capacity, as mention rides are down, and there is no as many offerings (little extra characters, dance parties etc as well as the entertainment you don't get a chance to see)

I went in mid-September last year (the 4th party, I think) and didn't find this to be the case either. We arrived around 10am - waits were low, it was pretty empty in the park, and we accomplished everything, shows and rides, that we wanted to by the time the party started. The only ride down was Jungle Cruise, and it was a scheduled refurb.

 

[mom2rtk]

In the last three years, I've been to MK on 7 different MNSSHP days, and we've never experienced rides running at lower capacity or a lack of regular entertainment offerings. Perhaps that's what happens in September, but by the time October rolls around and you're back to average to high average crowds, there's none of this going on. The longest wait we've had at the MK for any ride on a party day in the last 3 years is 15 minutes. In contrast, we've attended the MK two non-party days during party season during that timeframe, and the lines for the rides were significantly longer. I can remember a 45 minute wait for POTC, and this was before FP+ was even testing. With the crowds so much lower, the waits are significantly lower as well.

Just wait...when October rolls around you will see two general groups of DISers...those who say October is totally crowded and they'll never go back because the crowds are too much, and those who say that October is an awesome low crowd period. The difference between the groups will be those who visited the MK on non-party days because they wanted to avoid the "short park hours" and those who chose to go to MK on party days because they wanted to avoid the crowds.

Yep. To all of that.

We've been to 14 hard ticket parties. I'm not sure I can visit the MK in a non-party season any more. It's just too hard to predict low-crowd days. And it's so easy during party season.

 

[ElizabethDarling]

Whoa! I certainly know how to make friends ... To clarify Im just agreeing with what some folks have been saying about the MNSSHP. YES I choose a week knowing of the limited hours because of the off season and party, but like I said early September just happened to be the easiest time for us to be off work. And I understand the whole crowd control thing and hey, if you paid ANY ticket price by all means all access!!. I'm just saying Disneyworld time I feel is precious, all the time planning and traveling there not to mention the $$ I'm just a little bummed about the hours is all, so everyone just relax. When it all comes down to it none of this will matter when were all dressed up having a blast running through the park, I can guarantee you that!

 

[minniemous]

Totally agree. We will be there this November and MK will be closed early 7 nights. The party just does not work for us because our daughter is young. It is just too many days. Way too many to have MK closing early.