Can anyone sell me on MNSSHP?

[GeorgiaAristocat]

Planning a trip for Sept. 29 through Oct. 7 this year, so MNSSHP will be happening a few times while we are there. I'm really on the fence about whether we should go one night.
On the trip will be me (36), DH (34), DD (4), DS (2) and my mother (60). I love all things Disney. My husband can't wait to see his little princess react to Disney. My Mom doesn't care ANYTHING about Halloween.

My questions are:
1. Can you even get on rides during the party, or is the park so packed that it just isn't feasible?
2. Is this more of an opportunity to meet lots of characters (and some characters that you cannot otherwise EVER find) than ride rides?
3. I'm not sure I could get my mother in a costume, would she stick out like a sore thumb?
4. Will I really have enough candy at the end of the night that I won't need to buy any to hand out on REAL halloween?

Opinions?

 

[Goofy4]

My questions are:
1. Can you even get on rides during the party, or is the park so packed that it just isn't feasible?
If you avoid a Friday/Saturday night (and close to the 31st) the lower crowd level is one of the best reasons to go.

2. Is this more of an opportunity to meet lots of characters (and some characters that you cannot otherwise EVER find) than ride rides?
Characters in costume! How can you beat that?

3. I'm not sure I could get my mother in a costume, would she stick out like a sore thumb?
You might *feel* that way, but no, their will be pleanty of adults not in costume.

4. Will I really have enough candy at the end of the night that I won't need to buy any to hand out on REAL halloween?
Their will be candy stations throughout the park. "Shop till you drop"


I asked the same question a year ago, and the DISers came forth to convince me. Having done it, I'll join the crowd and say YES, everyone should do it once (or twice, or..).

 

[Goofy4]

Just had a another thought: PM me if you would like to see our pictures (available on-line).

 

[PixiePop]

I agree with the other poster. We went early October last year and it was not that crowded. It was a lot of fun and there are plenty of adults that did not dress in costumes.

I think you should go!!

 

[FanOfStitch]

My DS12 and I went for the first time last year. It was so much fun!! We walked on almost every ride, never more than a 5 or 10 minute wait and that was usually walking through the queue lines. Plus, the Villians come out!! We got our picture and autographs with all of them. For the other characters, our photo album this trip was pretty much all characters. The lines were a little longer, but I don't think we ever waited more than 10 minutes. I would definetly do MNSSHP again. And for the candy, we walked out with about 4 bags full and we didn't even hit every candy stop. I say go for it!

 

[matthewsmom1]

If we go again next year we'll probably go for TWO nights!! It was SO much fun. The parks were practically empty...very easy to walk on most rides. The characters were out in full force. Saw some characters I've never seen before and it's fun to see them all dressed up..... The candy is CRAZY. TONS!!! It's such a FUN time that there wasn't enough time to do it all!!!!!!!!

 

[Pea-n-Me]

The night we went to MNSSHP was one of our favorite nights at WDW ever.

If you make an ADR for dinnertime after 4pm, they let you into the park early and you can eat and then start touring. We went mid week and the crowds were manageable, most were walk on early in the night. The fireworks and music were great, as was the parade and the Headless Horseman! The colors on Main St were spectacular. I don't know if we'll make it next year, but I'd love to go again. Our family wore costumes, but many people did not. Also, you don't have to wear "real" costumes - I noticed a lot of clever tee shirts and other attire that were festive, but not costumes, persay. I think you should definitely give it a try!

 

[ms.ojo]

We enjoyed it more than the MVMCP! (although I think the FW were better at the Christmas party)

At MNSSHP we dressed as Peter Pan. DS (4) was Captn Hook, DD (1) was Tinkerbelle, DH was Peter and I was Wendy. It made the night so much fun! You won't feel bad if you don't dress...but you'll have so much more fun if you do!!

There is LOTS of candy stations....my kids scored big time. And the decorations and chars in costume were wonderful!! Yes, lots of villains...but lots of "cute" Pooh chars in costume and Mickey, Minnie, etc. in costume too.

We went on a Friday of Columbus Day weekend and it wasn't crowded at all!!!! Worse wait was for Peter pan before the park actually closed to the public. Later, it was walk-on! As were most other rides. Just short waits.

We enjoyed MVMCP...but all agreed, MNSSHP beats it all around!!!

 

[SamRoc]

GeorgiaAristocat, we were just at MNSSHP on October 7th and had a blast! We got so much candy, just like matthewsmom1 and FanofStitch said, my dd acutally took a picture of some of the things that she got! (There were 4 of us and we ended up taking alot home) There were no waits on any of the rides, and going into the Haunted Mansion with a costume on with all the Halloween decorations was the greatest thrill ever. The Hallowishes fireworks display is our new favorite, and we still listen to the song (even though its January!)

 

[Crazy Kanga]

We really enjoyed it. We did a Sunday night in early October 2004 and it wasn't crowded at all. We didn't wear costumes, just some Halloween t-shirts and it was fine. Maybe only half the people there were in costume. It was unusually hot that night, probably high 70's and those poor kids in heavy costumes looked miserable.

 

[bcvgal]

Went this past Oct and it was our best trip out of 15 trips. If nothing else go for the parade and Hallowishes. They were the best!!!

 

[jencav5]

We went for the first time this past year on Halloween night and we loved it! It was so much fun, we want to do it again next year! There were a lot of people there on Halloween, but the ride lines were not long and we got tons of candy and had a blast!

 

[IwannaseeMickey]

1. Can you even get on rides during the party, or is the park so packed that it just isn't feasible? Yes, we went that same week and it was fine early on, and got a little more crowded the later it got. Do the must rides early.

2. Is this more of an opportunity to meet lots of characters (and some characters that you cannot otherwise EVER find) than ride rides? No, we did both.

3. I'm not sure I could get my mother in a costume, would she stick out like a sore thumb? Nope, we didn't wear costumes, no one cared!

4. Will I really have enough candy at the end of the night that I won't need to buy any to hand out on REAL halloween? We didn't, the lines got long, but we did get 2 bags full of really good candy.

 

[maciec]

My dd was 4 on her first trip and she had a blast. She did get frustrated though because she was dressed as Woody and everyone kept calling her Jessie. My son was 13 months and he was a clown.

The weather was great. We went on the Tuesday before Halloween. We were able to walk on the pretty much every ride. If we had to wait, the wait was at the absolute most 10 minutes and I think that was for the Speedway.

The candy was plentiful and the cm's were not shy with how much they gave you. You could even go through the lines over and over and they didn't object. The candy is in these huge bins that remind me of the old coolers that you would find in convenience stores filled with ice and beer or sodas.

The villans parade was great. It was really different. It was great to see characters that you don't normally see.

The kids lasted until about 10 and after the first parade we did a few rides and we were out the gate.

We went to MVMCP this past December and all agreed that we liked the Halloween party better. Probably because of the weather. We don't go to Florida to wear jeans, sweatshirts, and jackets. Therefore, this year we are heading back to MNSSHP.

Oh and prior to MNSSHP we ate dinner at Liberty Tree Tavern where the characters dress up. The food was great as well as was the character interaction.

I don't think that you will be disappointed. Just take it easy during the day (hang around the pool) and give the kids a late nap so that they are rested for the party.
One more thing, the lines to meet the characters on the night that we went were very short. When we went to the Christmas party we couldn't get near them.

 

[Skroops]

We loved it! We went early in the season and used the AP discount. We walked right on most rides, got great character pictures, and went home with 3 large bags of candy! (Which we still have a lot in our pantry!) In our area it isn't nearly enough to hand out for trick or treaters! We just put on our favorite NFL fan costumes (we are all for different teams) and it was easy and fun. Nobody cares if you dress up or not, I'd say half of the party goers were not in costume or just put on a Halloween t-shirt.
I was half thinking of not posting on this thread because I enjoyed the park so empty and we are planning on going back again!! It's my secret! How evil!
Yes! Go! You'll have a blast!

 

[TLC371]

We went for the first time on October 27, 2005. We had the BEST time! We can't wait until we can go back again!

When we went, all the rides pretty much were walk on. I think the longest we waited was 5 minutes for a ride. We got to meet so many characters, loved the ones that were wearing their costumes. I went with a pretty large group--9 adults and 2 kids--and only the kids were wearing costumes. I did wear a tiara with my regular clothes, that's the closest I came to having a costume on. We saw many people who didn't wear costumes, so if you don't have one on, you don't stick out. We made dinner reservations for 4:45 at Cinderella's Royal Table, and were let in the park with our ticket around 4, so we got to go in, have a nice dinner, and then explore some of the park before the party started. We did get a lot of candy, I must not have been doing enough trick or treating though, because we didn't get enough candy to not have to buy candy to pass out for Halloween when we got home.

 

[GeorgiaAristocat]

Okay, pretty much sold on going, with such rave reviews. So, I have some refresher questions (that I should know the answer to but don't and am too lazy to research):
1. Do I remember correctly that the ticket also qualifies as park admission (but you aren't supposed to be able to get in until a certain time) so that I wouldn't have to use a day on my hopper to go?
2. I know that LTT takes special seatings, has anyone done dinner at CP in conjunction with the halloween party? Is one meal a lot better than the other?
3. If I had a choice between Thursday, Oct. 5 or Friday, Oct. 6 (based on touringplans predictions), is Friday going to be A LOT (not just a little) more crowded? Or is it going to matter much that early in the month, esp. with Food and Wine over at Epcot?
4. Can anyone remind me of the cost per ticket last year?
5. Do they usually run the Spectromagic parade during the party?
6. How late does the party usually last?

I'll add more as they occur to me. Sorry for asking questions that have been answered repeatedly elsewhere.

 

[Cinderumbrella]

We went last year on Halloween (which sold out) and the crowds were still very manageable in my opinion. DS2 and I dressed up (Mickey and Minnie), but DH did not. We got 3 bags full of candy and we didn't even go to all of them. There are characters everywhere to meet. You could walk on to most rides with little to no wait (even Dumbo was under 15 minutes!)

The party ran from 7-midnight. The parade ran twice (8 and 10pm) Fireworks were at 9:15 and were amazing! Tickets for that night were about $42 for adults (including tax) I don't know the child price becasue DS was 2 so he was free, but I think they are a few dollars less for the other days, unless you buy them at the gate.

We had dinner at Tony's that night at 5:30 and I got my ADR about 75 days out +/-

The park closes to the general public and 6pm and they shoo everyone else off of Main Street until 7.

I think that was all of your latest questions...

 

[SpectroMagic*o*]

I havent read anybody elses posts but I'm going to answer your questions based on my experience from when I went this past october. First of all, I loved it and it was worth it to me just to see the Halloween parade (it's a great tune and virtually every character comes out dressed up) and to see HalloWishes (Great fireworks show), not to mention they only let so many people buy tickets to each Party so the lines for the rides are fairly short. I had a blast and would love to do it again. I'm 25, and me and my twin sister both dressed up. And there were many adults who didnt also...you wouldnt stick out like a sore thumb either way. And how many times can your kids go trick or treating in their costumes in the Magic Kingdom?! It's such a magical opportunity. I say go for it!!

P.S- your ticket is your admission, but you cant go in until the Party starts. If you are going into the parks during the day and you have a park hopper, than you can go into the MK before the Party starts using a day on your hopper (but that allows you to go into all 4 parks).

PPS- They do not run SpectroMagic on the day of the Party and I think the party ends at either 12am or 1am.

ug:

 

[Goofy4]

1. Do I remember correctly that the ticket also qualifies as park admission (but you aren't supposed to be able to get in until a certain time) so that I wouldn't have to use a day on my hopper to go?
If I remember, the published party time is 7, but you can get in around 4. You can stay if you're already in, they'll just ask everyone staying for the party to go to one of the "lands" at 6pm.

2. I know that LTT takes special seatings, has anyone done dinner at CP in conjunction with the halloween party? Is one meal a lot better than the other?
LTT is a character meal (and a good one, I hear). CP is (brain fade) the palace? The dining choices may depend on what area of the park they herd everyone to from 6-7 (seems to change from year to year).

3. If I had a choice between Thursday, Oct. 5 or Friday, Oct. 6 (based on touringplans predictions), is Friday going to be A LOT (not just a little) more crowded? Or is it going to matter much that early in the month, esp. with Food and Wine over at Epcot?
My choice: Thursday. I think Friday not being a school night has an impact. Can't say how much.. Can anyone remind me of the cost per ticket last year?
thirty...seven?
5. Do they usually run the Spectromagic parade during the party?
The park "closes" early, so no Spectro. The Halloween Boo-to-you parade is good (there is some debate about that, however).6. How late does the party usually last?
12 midnight, I believe


Here's a couple links that may help:

http://allearsnet.com/tp/mk/mnssh2.htm
http://www.wdwinfo.com/holidays/halloween.htm