Avoiding MK during MNSSHP?

[aml1676]

I'm in the beginning stages of planning a mid-October trip - we have 5-day hoppers to use over our 7 days in WDW, and one of the days we'll be doing MNSSHP. ADRs open next Wednesday, so I'm trying to work out which parks to visit when. Do you avoid MK on party days? That's the way I'm building my plan now, but this is our first trip. It replaces our canceled March trip, and I didn't really have to plan around any parties or events before.

 

[Robo]

Many here actually recommend and prefer to go to MK on "party days."

In general, there tend to be fewer guests in MK on those days.

 

[aml1676]

Many here actually recommend and prefer to go to MK on "party days."

In general, there tend to be fewer guests in MK on those days.

I guess I was thinking the early park close would be a drawback, but I guess with hoppers we could always just hit a different park once MK closes. Hmm. That complicates things!

 

[holden]

We don’t do MNSSHP, but I would rope drop MK on a party day. My theory is that people with party tickets will arrive later because they will be there late into the night.

 

[Heavens2Betsy]

I like going on party days. Most people think like you were saying and don't want to go if it's closing early. When we have done this, we just try to exit the park as slowly as possible without breaking the rules. It's been fun to just experience the ambiance of the party getting started on the way out, even though we didn't actually go to the party.

To be clear - we follow all CM instructions and don't try to get something we didn't pay for. We just don't sprint to the exit the moment they start setting up barricades. We usually save whatever line we plan to be in longest for last because you don't have to leave if you're in line. Then after the last ride, we mosey out. The first time this happened was an accident.

 

[gatorlisa]

With a park hopper I would absolutely plan to be at MK as my first park on a party day. In my experience, crowds are pretty low on party days until about 3-4 in the afternoon. You can get a lot done in a very enjoyable atmosphere early in the day of a party day.

 

[Sarahslay]

I love going on party days, it's always a lot quieter than the non-party days, and then I just pick somewhere else to go for the evening. Last time I went on a party day I rode everything I wanted to in the first 2 hours the park was open, it was so nice. In August I arrive on a party day around park open and I am going to head straight to MK once I get to my resort.

 

[aml1676]

Well, there you go! I'm glad I asked - I think I'll plan to go on a party day and we'll just hop to another park after close. I actually think Epcot has evening magic hours on that day AND it's Food & Wine, so we can take a leisurely stroll around World Showcase and hit some of the food kiosks for dinner. I like it. Thank you, all!

 

[gharter]

Last October, we did MK on a party day even though we were not going to the party.
The park was relatively quiet until about 4 pm. We were able to get multiple FPs for any ride but 7DMT and standby lines were short in general.
With all that is going on, it may not be the ame this fall.
Other than having to leave the park early, there was no downside to being in MK on a party day.

 

[Wild4Walt]

If you're getting tickets to MNSSHP then I recommend making Magic Kingdom you're park that day. When we have party tickets we sleep in a bit and then head to MK to spend the day and into the party night.

If you're not planning on going to the party, and you have a park hopper, I'd start at MK and then head to whichever park it open latest. You can get a solid 1/2 to 3/4 of a day at the MK.

No party ticket, no park hopper - then I'd do another park for the whole day. ( again, whichever is open latest )

 

[Jadyreen1282]

We don't waste a park day when we have MNSSHP tickets. Since we use Park Hopper Plus we use the party day during the day for Typhoon Lagoon. TL closes at 3PM so we stay till 2PM then head to the party at 4 PM. We don't waste a park ticket, we still go to a park (TL), and we still get 8 hours at MK (4-12).

 

[aml1676]

We do have party tickets for later in our stay, and I'm planning for 2 full days besides at MK (one of those being the day I'm asking about). I definitely won't be doing any parks the same day as our party... we have family that lives near Orlando and will be visiting with them over the busy weekend and then coming back for the party.

 

[Gypsybear]

We're usually there at Rope Drop, through the entirety of the party. We bring our costumes with us, and put them in the lockers. We then change at the appropriate time. It's a long day, sure, but we love it!

We were just there on Halloween this past year....and since we had to cancel our Easter trip this year, we've rescheduled for Halloween again this year. Switched our tickets from the Villains After Dark event to Mickey's Not-So-Scary party.