Boo Bash appearing to be a COMPLETE LETDOWN shortly after opening.

[FCDub]

LOL

Love to watch a YouTube video and draw sweeping conclusions. Unreal.

 

[The Iron Giant]

I don’t know… declaring something a let down when you didn’t even attend seems a little like looking at a photo of a meal and declaring you don’t like the taste.

 

[auntlynne]

I’m sold. Everything listed as a negative is exactly a positive I could only hope for.

Halloween in August? (I’m actually going in September) - but basically it sounds like Halloween Lite. And I’m not a Halloween fan, anyway.

Low energy vibe - I read that as “more relaxed, less draining.”

Low wait times for rides - my #1 reason. Long lines leave me physically hurting.

And I only have to stay 5 hours! I don’t have to be there from Rope Drop to getting in a ride queue at park close in order to maximize my time / minimize my hourly cost. (I know there are people out there who understand this; be it self-inflicted or from a family member.)

It’s like we’re rich people who have bought the park for a couple of hours. This is a poor man’s VIP Pass.

My first trip to DL was a corporate event for a nursing conference of 3-5K people. Ride lines were effectively non-existent. What a shock WDW was after that (Although we had long lines at Opryland and Six Flags when I was young).

So, yeah, now I’m excited to watch the videos. I hope you haven’t played up the “bad stuff” incorrectly.

This was blogger / vlogger / media night, correct? Could that mean a smaller crowd?

 

[StuckInKS]

I promise I’ll never take MNSSHP for granted-when we get through this.

If Disney can charge almost double MNSSHP without limiting the crowds to those of pre-COVID AH and spending money on less entertainment (cavalcades and no fireworks) then we are never getting MNSSHP back. They will keep this watered down version and keep allowing more and more people (so not the limited crowds of AH), while charging $150-$200 a ticket.

 

[bsmcneil]

Yeah, I did. But it’s not clear whether you’re actually there or just making assumptions based on second hand reports. Hence the question.

"I've seen so far watching multiple lives." (presuming the OP meant livestreams and shortened it). In this day, technology allows us to see something without being there (and admittedly, we may think we know what it's like but it can also feel different than that to the people physically there. But not physically being there doesn't mean OP or anyone can't feel as though it's disappointing based on what they witnessed with their own eyes (I didn't see OP or anyone say, "I agree with my friend who was there and it was disappointing", etc.

 

[cakebaker]

“This was blogger / vlogger / media night, correct? Could that mean a smaller crowd?”

The event had a capacity limit and was sold out. It was as crowded as one of these could be assuming capacity is fixed at the same level for each party.

 

[Turk February]

I can’t imagine being like “well the wait times and crowds were low but man not enough special lighting to justify the price”

 

[lovethattink]

Not there, been checking it out online. It seems pretty low key, whether it's due to low crowds due to being an AH event/price tag or because it's hard to get "pumped" for a Halloween-ish even in August, I'm not sure.

I think what "gets" me most is that we probably will never see MNSSHP or MVMCP events again. Disney has figured a way to provide something with a slight theme of past events for a much higher cost for a shorter time period and with less pizazz (which means lower cost for Disney). As with everything else Disney, I think that they've found a way to appease the masses while turning a larger profit, so why go back? Bye bye, MNSSHP/MVMCP.

If Disney can charge almost double MNSSHP without limiting the crowds to those of pre-COVID AH and spending money on less entertainment (cavalcades and no fireworks) then we are never getting MNSSHP back. They will keep this watered down version and keep allowing more and more people (so not the limited crowds of AH), while charging $150-$200 a ticket.

That was my concern too. I’m trying to remember how Halloween was celebrated last year at MK. I know we were there several times. There were a few themed cavalcades. There were a few themed treats. We could dress up in costume. There were Halloween themed photopass photos. And no charge of any kind.

In 2019, we were spoiled with MNSSHP Party Pass where you paid one price and could attend all parties except Halloween night.

I sure hope MNSSHP doesn’t disappear like Super Soap Weekends and Star Wars Weekends did!!

 

[soup23]

I understand some of the grievances the OP was getting at. It is a concern for me that this will placate the MNSSHP in subsequent years.

That being said, the only way to really do an apples to apples approach is to compare it other After Hours events. From the streams I was watching, it did look like there was more people than normal in the beginning, but wait times reflect that if the main objective is to ride most of the MK rides in a three hour timeframe, this is what you can use the event for. Halloween night is absurdly priced at $199 but already sold out so Disney knew they could upcharge that. Comparing the price of last nights event to the After Hours pricing of 2018, 2019 and 2020, it is on par and even cheaper in August/September than the Villains After Hours.

 

[srauseo]

My number one reason for purchasing a ticket for Boo Bash was that it was positioned as a After Hours event with smaller crowds and shorter ride times. If that's what folks are seeing, I am super pumped. And I get free popcorn and candy?!

 

[Lsdolphin]

Other than crowded photos in Frontier Land area and long lines early at snack carts it looks good to me. I’m in.

 

[Farro]

Eerie lights, feeling empty, fun music, empty candy lines, characters in costumes and low waits for rides?

Exactly why we bought these tickets! Can't wait!!!

 

[igrsod]

If Disney can charge almost double MNSSHP without limiting the crowds to those of pre-COVID AH and spending money on less entertainment (cavalcades and no fireworks) then we are never getting MNSSHP back. They will keep this watered down version and keep allowing more and more people (so not the limited crowds of AH), while charging $150-$200 a ticket.

If crowds go up, I and many others wouldn't buy the tickets. The reason I'm ok with the price is the low wait times and small crowds. If it's crowded, I will pass just like I did on MNSSHP.

 

[TomorrowlandKD]

To those comparing this to MNSSHP, you can't. It's not that, it wasn't advertised as that, it's not called that, etc. etc. etc.

It's clearly called an After Hours party. Everything that was advertised on the site ticket page happened. Comparing it to a different kind of party animal and then badmouthing Disney's lack of party makes absolutely no sense whatsoever.

 

[TomorrowlandKD]

My number one reason for purchasing a ticket for Boo Bash was that it was positioned as a After Hours event with smaller crowds and shorter ride times. If that's what folks are seeing, I am super pumped. And I get free popcorn and candy?!

Exactly!

 

[Philsfan77]

This thread is basically a rehash of the arguments when the details were released. If you were someone who was viewing this in comparison to MNSSHP, you were a no go from the start as it was too expensive for less. Last night simply confirmed that. If you were someone viewing it in comparison to past AH events, it was priced the same for more, last night also confirmed that.

The only arguments I’m not understanding are these:

“this is a money grab and we will never get MNSSHP back”

“this event is double the price”

no night is double the price or really even close to double the price. Last night was $129. MNSSHP was $89 opening night the last year before covid. Halloween night pre-covid was $149…Halloween for this is $199. Certainly an increase…but it’s about a 33%-40% increase across nights - nowhere near a 100% increase, which is what double the price would be.

Im also not understanding the money grab logic. In comparison to a normal AH event it’s priced the same for more (outside of the villains AH, there aren’t special overlays for normal after hours, or trick or treating, or parades/cavalcades). If you’re comparing it to MNSSHP during the same time frame, I’d argue that attendance least night looked like it was about 30% of what a MNSSHP looks like. Those events the last two years seemed to have higher attendance than normal park days at MK during the Halloween season. Yea they are charging more, but also letting way fewer people in. Fewer people in, means fewer people buying special merchandise, fewer people buying special snacks and treats, and fewer people spending money in the park that night. There were also 38 MNSSHP (4 a week in October) the last year in comparison to 28 Boo Bash events I’d love to see the books on this, but I’d wager the difference on profit margins between this event and a MNSSHP is minimal at best.

 

[emmabelle]

well I'm looking forward to it on 8/31! When we were in MK in June the lines were awfully long. We went one night and only rode HM, People Mover, COP and Buzz. It was so hot and we didn't want to stand in line in the blazing sun. Boo Bash can only be an improvement on that night.

 

[Distriv]

My number one reason for purchasing a ticket for Boo Bash was that it was positioned as a After Hours event with smaller crowds and shorter ride times. If that's what folks are seeing, I am super pumped. And I get free popcorn and candy?!

I did MK After Hours last year and was able to do every ride except Seven Dwarves in 3 hours (I did Haunted Mansion twice instead). If Boo Bash is just like that I am completely on board.

 

[AnnaKristoff2013]

I promise I’ll never take MNSSHP for granted-when we get through this.

Does anyone really think MNSSHP is coming back after this? Disney just proved it can charge double the price for half the time and less then half the experiences. I get that this is less people, but it is also less overhead. I wouldn't be surprised at all if Disney's profit margins on these Halloween & Christmas AH events was way higher then the parties. And if that's the case, I don't ever see them bringing them back.

 

[cakebaker]

Does anyone really think MNSSHP is coming back after this? Disney just proved it can charge double the price for half the time and less then half the experiences. I get that this is less people, but it is also less overhead. I wouldn't be surprised at all if Disney's profit margins on these Halloween & Christmas AH events was way higher then the parties. And if that's the case, I don't ever see them bringing them back.

I'm not sure I want it to. We quit going to both holiday parties several years ago. They became oversold and so crowded you couldn't move. For us, we don't go for the rides and standing in a 4 hr line to meet a character is not my idea of fun. I'd like to see them improve the offerings a bit, but keep the lower crowd levels. I have no desire to go back to what they were doing before.