First Solo Trip & First Time to MNSSHP

[DeterminedOne]

First solo trip coming up in August. Bucket list item, and I’m so excited!!
I do a lot of things solo, IRL, so no worries there. Just wondering about pictures. I have PhotoPass, but do they have PhotoPass photographers at the character meet & greets & character meals?
Got a ticket last night to MNSSHP. Do most adults dress up for the party? I’m not opposed to dressing up, but it’s hot in August and I would rather not. Anyone know where to get the best selection of Princess Tiana merch for adults? Most I see online is for kids. Ideally, I want to maybe where a cute Tiana top, and maybe some ears for the party. Solo trippers - would love to read your experiences with character pics and the Halloween party. Thanks!

 

[eco-muse]

They do have PhotoPass photographers at the meet and greets. (I only have time to do one, and it's Jack and Sally, no contest.)
I'm not sure what dining options will be available, yet. (I *think* table service options typically are Be Our Guest, Cinderella's Royal Table, and Crystal Palace.)
I've seen some dress up, and some don't. Regardless of that, you can trick-or-treat as much as you want.
Can't say I know anything about where to find Princess Tiana merch. Maybe the Emporium?

 

[brad813]

First solo trip coming up in August. Bucket list item, and I’m so excited!!
I do a lot of things solo, IRL, so no worries there. Just wondering about pictures. I have PhotoPass, but do they have PhotoPass photographers at the character meet & greets & character meals?
Got a ticket last night to MNSSHP. Do most adults dress up for the party? I’m not opposed to dressing up, but it’s hot in August and I would rather not. Anyone know where to get the best selection of Princess Tiana merch for adults? Most I see online is for kids. Ideally, I want to maybe where a cute Tiana top, and maybe some ears for the party. Solo trippers - would love to read your experiences with character pics and the Halloween party. Thanks!

It will be roughlyrough and half on the costumes. I'm going to the one on September and doing a simple, lightweight costume. Either way, it's your call. You should be able to find some kind of clothing to suit. Remember to check shopDisney as well.

 

[YawningDodo]

There's enough of a divide on adults who do and don't dress up for MNSSHP that I don't think you'll feel out of place regardless of which way you choose to go on that. It will be hot, yes; last time I did MNSSHP our solution was to go as pirates. You can do a pretty lightweight pirate costume with a frilly cotton shirt and ragged shorts; just throw on a hat or bandana and people will know what you're supposed to be. Otherwise you can always just wear a festive t-shirt and no one will bat an eye (you can trick-or-treat even if you're not wearing a costume). There are a lot of character meets in MNSSHP with rare characters or regular characters wearing cute Halloween costumes, so if photos are important to you and you expect to do character meets, think about it in terms of how you'd like to be dressed for that.

That leads into my other thought about MNSSHP, though. I adore the party, but there is a lot going on in those evenings and it's very easy to miss things if you don't prioritize and have a plan for the evening. You can use the time to get on rides with little to no lines, but there's also an exclusive parade, special castle shows, and a special fireworks show--and then, of course, the character meets I mentioned above. You cannot do everything. In 2015 we saw all of the shows, the parade, and the fireworks, and had time for a couple rides--but no time for characters at all.

 

[Skippyboo]

Welcome to team solo. There will be photo pass photographers everywhere in the park especially the party meet and greets. Don’t know about character meals.

There will be lots of adults in costumes at the Halloween party because that’s the only time it’s allowed. If you go costume route, don’t go super heavy material like full ballgown. Lots of people do Halloween themed shirts like Mickey heads with fangs.

I would look on Etsy for adult Tianna stuff. Some of the characters like Jack & Sally, Snow White and Dwarfs start meeting before the party opens at 7pm so you want to start lining up for them at 4 pm. You have to get your party wristband first.

 

[DaisyDuck001]

Most of your questions have been answered above. Regarding the character meals, some of them have a character handler who might be able to take your picture, but the handler roams around between the characters, and may or may not be in your area when a character gets to you. Some of the character meals have one character stationed in one spot while the other characters roam around. For these, there is generally a photographer who stays with the stationary character. And other character meals may not have a photographer at all, leaving you to try to catch up with your server (who may be busy or away) to take pictures, or to ask another guest. I've also seen some solo people take selfies with a character when no photographer is around. Or you can ask around in advance here on the boards, if another Dis'er will be there around the same time as you, and meet up for a character meal, which would enable you to take pictures for each other.

 

[Simba's Mom]

First solo trip coming up in August. Bucket list item, and I’m so excited!!
I do a lot of things solo, IRL, so no worries there. Just wondering about pictures. I have PhotoPass, but do they have PhotoPass photographers at the character meet & greets & character meals?
Go!

I always share my little tip about being solo at character meals and taking pictures. I always hand my camera/cell phone to the character and whisper "I'd really like a picture with you-do you think someone would take our picture?" Although usually the character just finds a server they know, occasionally the character runs over to another table and motions for someone there to take our picture. And they don't dare say "No" to Mickey/Minnie/whoever the character is. The family involved has always gotten the biggest laugh out of it, and I've made some nice friends, talking afterwards. It gives everyone a moment they'll remember.