Disapointed in Mickey's Trick or Treat Party

[Tinkerbelle's Mom]

DD and I just got back from MTOTP. I am trying to wind down and thought I would post my review.

Parking fo us was not an issue since we arrived late afternoon. I know for previous attendees it had been a major issue.

I concur with the previous reviews that this years party was not as fun or good as in the past few years.

DD (8) and I have attended this event several years in a row now (four I think if my memory is correct).

As always there were characters aplenty. The lines were long but dd and I went right to see Mickey and Minnie so there was no wait at all there. We did see the villians near Bugs Land. There was hardly any line at all. We got to meet Step mother/sisters, Queen of hearts, and bolwer hat guy. We also saw Cruella DeVille there but she left just before our turn. The other characters lines were very long so we opted not to waste our time.

That to me is where the good ends. I was very disappointed that the candy trails by Kali River Rapids had been combined into one on the main walkway. First off it really clogged that area and secondly those two trails were fun to walk at night.

It seemed there were fewer candy stations over all because of this. Also I felt they were more "stingy" this year with the candy then they had been in the past. At each stop dd and I mostly only got one piece each where as in the past we were given handfuls.

We hit each station once and went to the animation buidling twice but neither of us came home with a full bag - in past years we had bags brim full only going once.

There was much less of a party feel this year for us. Maybe because we have been so often but it did not seem as exciting as it did even last year.

We did hit the dance parties which are always fun and full of characters. The problem we encountered here was not with the characters or staff but with parents. Parents would literally shove and push to make sure thier kid was near the character. Not a big deal for dd and i because we were just being silly and having fun dancing but... to some other children it was. Plus it was just rude.

So it seems silly to say that I had a good time, but - hey anytime I spend with my dd (in general and) at DL is a good time.

But.... will I pay this much to go again next year? If i had to answer right now my answer would be no - that it is not worth it.

Ofcourse many months from now when my memory is dim and the only reminder I have are the pics of dd and I having fun... well it might be a different answer.

 

[pigletforever]

We went for the first time Thusrday night. I can say I left totally underwhelmed. Won't be doing this again. Candy lines were long and the CM's were very very stingy. even back at the midway where there was NOONE we only got a piece of candy when playing a game. CM's were rude. There was absolutely NO disney magic Thursday night. DS7 was fed up in less than 75 minutes and asked to go back to the hotel

 

[LuLusApple]

Oh no, it's too bad it wasnt everything you wanted it to be.

this was our first year so I have nothing personally to compare it to. But we loved it and can't wait till next year. it was so fulfilling for us as our Halloween experience, we are actually having a hard time coming to reality that Halloween hasn't happened yet. i am ready to move on into
Thanksgiving. I think the real Halloween will not live up to our MTOTP.
I agree with the long character lines, that stunk, we only visited Handy Manny for DGD1.
But we concentrated on candy the first part of the night and had 3 stuffed bags. Next year we decided to concentrate on the rides first. Candy we can get anywhere but the low lines for the rides are priceless!
Being that you have gone for many years in a row, you certainly have seen the changes and might need to change your party strategy to fully enjoy it

 

[Tinkerbelle's Mom]

Being that you have gone for many years in a row, you certainly have seen the changes and might need to change your party strategy to fully enjoy it

We did that based on reviews and character locations, ect... It just wasn't as magical as the last few years.

But.. I am willing to admit that I may be jaded. It was just okay in my mind. Not great.

As for the rides we were able to do all of dd favs in bugs land plus tsm and soarin but we don't go for the rides. We have APs and can do the rides anytime we go for the halloween experience but it just wasn't great this year like it had been in the past.

 

[eduk8r26]

We just got back from last night. When we started out, it seemed like they were kind of stingy with the candy. But later, they were giving out more. Our bags were pretty full and I don't think we hit all the stations. We wished the trail by Grizzly was still there, but didn't think the main walkway was that crowded. The kids loved the dancing and there didn't seem to be many adults pushing and shoving. They didn't care much that we didn't ride many rides, but didn't want to waste time in lines, either. All in all, the kids had fun, and that's what counts.

 

[kkmcan]

We did the party on the 15th and had a great time. Yes, I thought they were stingy with the candy, even more so than last year but we left with almost full bags.

I also missed not being able to trick or treat on the path behind Grizzly Rapids but all in all we had a great time! We went with my sister and her two kids and my mom, all who had never been to a MTOT party before and they loved it!

We don't do the characters so no line waiting there and the rest of the lines were quite short. We hit all the rides, all the treat stations and saw the Cavalcade so we did good.

 

[Tinkerbelle's Mom]

All in all, the kids had fun, and that's what counts.

That is what counts! DD did have a good time as well.

We don't do the characters so no line waiting there and the rest of the lines were quite short. We hit all the rides, all the treat stations and saw the Cavalcade so we did good.

The cavalcade was cute. I love seeingt he little ones dancing in the street. They are so cute!

 

[Albort]

We did the party on the 15th and had a great time. Yes, I thought they were stingy with the candy, even more so than last year but we left with almost full bags.

I would like to comment on that. This year, Disney is trying to be stingy on candy because the candy stockers simply cannot keep up with the demand of candy being passed out. Ive been on that path before, honestly, by the end of the night, i was knocked out cold and sore. :|

 

[Grumpy~N~Dopey]

Tinkerbelle's Mom sorry that your experience was not that great!
we went on the 8th and actually had a better time this year than in years past! maybe the weekends are a bit more overwhelming to the CM's? we went on a Thursday. We also dressed up and it did make a huge difference in the interaction with CM's and characters.
Don't give up... maybe it was just an off night.

 

[DizMe]

I have to agree. (Adult) dd and I went for the first time this year. We were there Thursday night, dressed as Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum. We had fun with our costumes but were pretty disappointed in the overall experience. We had heard they would be giving out some Ghirardelli chocolate, but after going through every line and seeing none, we finally asked and learned that they'd run out the day before and wouldn't get the shipment in until Fri. Boo!

I also have to admit that a bagful of dollar store candy does NOT interest me. No one seemed very excited or into the experience and we felt a bit letdown so we left and headed over to DL. We had a great time over there--used our leftover FPs for Space Mt and got to see the fireworks. It was fun to be in costume at DL! Just before the fireworks ended we headed over to Haagen Daz in DTD, got a sundae and ate it in front of the fireplace at GCH. Then we went back to CA just as DL was closing and enjoyed the rest of the evening riding rides. We ended up much happier about it but I must say I would not pay extra again to do it.

 

[moredisneyplease]

Our group of 9 went on Wed the 21st and we did have fun (just as much fun as the other years) but i have to agree that

1) i was sad the challenge creek trail thing was gone and pushed to the midway

and 2) they were much stingier w/ the candy and i'd like to add that the quality of the candy was not good. last year there was good candy and this year it seemed like it was a bunch of "cheap" candy and things my kids arent allowed to have: jaw breakers, taffy, etc.


But we WILL be back next year We're suckers for DL and WDW

 

[Tinkerbelle's Mom]

But we WILL be back next year We're suckers for DL and WDW

I know that chances are dd and I will be back too.

DD and I dressed up as well. It was fun to be in costumes. I think dressingup does enhance the overall expereince. Plus it isfun to talk with other groups about thier outfits.

 

[CaliforniaDreamer]

It was my first experience at one of these and it helped that I was with a larger party of mostly adults who all dressed up in costume. I had few expectations so I really enjoyed it. We were given handfuls of candy (our bags were maybe 3/4 full) and what we really liked were the healthy treats like the crazins. We did miss the chocolate that we'd heard about.

We really appreciated that they didn't pack the park. We were there Friday night and it was sold out, but we did not wait in line. We entered after the entrance line had died down. Loved seeing other costumes, some were so inventive. All the CMs we dealt with were nice.

I would go again. (I had no idea they would let you in DL in costume...?)

 

[pixiewings71]

It's so weird to get so many differing reports. We went on the 9th and we all had a bag full when we left. We got Ghiradelli chocolate as well, that's too bad they ran out. We experienced most CM's giving out handfuls of candy, we left with quite a bit. We don't really do the character waits so that doesn't matter for us, we go for the candy and the rides.

 

[Diznygrl]

I went on the 15th for the first time and had fun, but I agree about the candy. They were being pretty stingy with it too. I thought they would become more generous with it as the night went on, but they were still being stingy toward the end, and the party wasn't that crowded. Disappointed with all the cheap junk, not enough chocolate. Granted, there are "cheap" candies that I'm perfectly happy with and don't expect all chocolate, but too much is too much. Most of my bag was filled with Lemon Heads and Smarties...however, a...hmmm....few trips through the Ghiradelli station sort of made up for that.

I also stepped way out of my comfort zone and joined in on the dancing for the calvacade. Got a 'Mickey's Trick or Treat on the Street' button for that, which I definitely wore proudly.

I enjoyed the music, the decorations, the neat light projections, and the scarecrows. I'd probably do it again, but only for the AP discount price. I'd also go with the hope for better candy and the return of the Grizzly Peak treat trail everyone keeps talking about.

 

[Albort]

I went on the 15th for the first time and had fun, but I agree about the candy. They were being pretty stingy with it too. I thought they would become more generous with it as the night went on, but they were still being stingy toward the end, and the party wasn't that crowded. Disappointed with all the cheap junk, not enough chocolate. Granted, there are "cheap" candies that I'm perfectly happy with and don't expect all chocolate, but too much is too much. Most of my bag was filled with Lemon Heads and Smarties...however, a...hmmm....few trips through the Ghiradelli station sort of made up for that.

I also stepped way out of my comfort zone and joined in on the dancing for the calvacade. Got a 'Mickey's Trick or Treat on the Street' button for that, which I definitely wore proudly.

I enjoyed the music, the decorations, the neat light projections, and the scarecrows. I'd probably do it again, but only for the AP discount price. I'd also go with the hope for better candy and the return of the Grizzly Peak treat trail everyone keeps talking about.

each station has a different kind of candy. did you hit all the stations? its quite possible you were just hitting all the non-chocolate stand. just fyi, there are 4 types of box candies.

 

[DizMe]

The night we went (Thursday the 22nd), there were a couple of stations that gave out chocolate--what they called "Premium chocolate blend" to make up for the fact that they had no Ghirardelli chocolate that day because they'd run out. BUT they gave it so sparingly that you didn't get it unless you asked, and that wasn't exactly encouraged. We had 2 CMs who were super nice and gave us each 2 pieces, a mini-pack of M&Ms and a mini Kit-Kat. The premium chocolate blend appeared to be those mini candy bars, but we only managed to get 4 each total.

I was not very happy that they had no Ghirardelli the day of our ToT. It doesn't seem like it would be that hard to get more. I don't know why they couldn't have been a little more generous with the substitute, either.

We did enjoy the "private party" aspect but it didn't feel much like a party. That was the main thing I was looking forward to. It was more party-ish at DL.

I didn't know whether or not they'd let us in DL (being in costume) when we decided to skip out on ToT to see the fireworks, but the CMs just smiled and said they liked our outfits. DL had more of a party atmosphere than CA, oddly enough. It was a lot better when we went back, though! I think it was much improved (from an adult standpoint) in the last half.

 

[toocherie]

I also was disappointed in the candy "quality"--I also don't think for the price that it would hurt them to have a Disney-themed candy somewhere.

I went twice--on the 15th--when we got Ghiradelli, and on the 23rd, when we did not (although we didn't hit all the treat stations). Strangely, Thursday the 15th seemed much more crowded than Friday the 23rd.

I enjoyed dressing up and being with my friends but feel like Disney could do so much more (and also missed the Challenge trail).

 

[Katink]

I have a question for those of you who have already been to Mickey's TOT party. What do you use to collect the trick or treat candy? A plastic pumpkin, pillowcase, bag from Trader Joes or Target or something else?

We'll be there on Halloween and I want to be prepared.

TIA

 

[Jenn1116]

To answer the PP - we used the bags they hand out - and certainly got more than enough candy.

I did feel that a lot of the candy we got was generic hard candies. but we didn't go to all of the stations.

I wish we hadn't wasted time with rides we could have done during the day later in our trip

I didn't see any villians and we were there on the 21st. We did walk by Bugs Land but it was later in the evening. Maybe we should have consulted the map? I'm willing to take responsibility but it's a Trick or Treat Party! They should have been all over the whole time. Major bummer. We saw a lot of other characters though.

I think it's a great value for locals who don't get APs. Not so much for people with hoppers. The only extra is the candy - which isn't so special, and the dance parties, which were actually a lot of fun.