First time at MHP with 4 and 6 year old. Advice?

[DisneyMom234]

Ill be reading the superthread but just in case i miss something... Any special things we should know about tonight at MHP??

 

[figment_jii]

Do they like characters? I would be sure to stop by the Toontown pre-party (starts one hour before MHP - so at 6:00 pm tonight - and runs for two hours - so ends at 8:00 pm). They have several treat trails (Minnie & Mickey's House, Donald's Boat, and one by Roger Rabbit) and character meet and greets (e.g., Mickey as Zorro, Donald as a Wizard). The characters themselves can be seen elsewhere during the day, but their outfits are unique to the pre-party MHP. If you do go at opening, I would start with the trails in the back (e.g., Minnie and Mickey's House) because the line seems shorter back there initially. The characters rotate (Pluto with Goofy, Chip & Dale with Mickey & Minnie, and Donald with Daisy when I was there), so depending on when you get in line, you may not see the character that's currently there when it's your turn (something to keep in mind if your kids have a favorite character).

Otherwise, there are lots of fun things to do at MHP with kids, but it really depends on what is your main goal(s) of MHP? characters? candy? entertainment? My group did opt to see PtN during MHP (we waited about an hour) because we had little ones and didn't want to try and make them wait 2+ hours (which is about when the curb/front row spots filled up on the non-MHP nights we were there). There is nothing special about PtN at MHP, but the kids still really liked it. If you little ones like fireworks, Halloween Screams is worth seeing. After that, we headed for the treat-trails and got a lot of candy. If you are planning on doing a lot of trick-of-treating, I would consider bringing/getting a larger bag to consolidate the candy. The little bags they give you fill up pretty quickly because treat trail has three or so stations and you usually get 2 or 3 pieces of candy per station.

 

[DisneyMom234]

Do they give out a map for treat trails?

 

[figment_jii]

They'll give you a map when you get your wristband and it has the locations of the treat trails roughly marked with Mickey pumpkins (on the map). When you're in the park, look for the ghost Mickey balloons and the treat trail signs. They're really pretty easy to spot.

Here is an electronic copy of the map:
https://wdpromedia.disney.go.com/me...ickeys-halloween-party-trick-or-treat-map.pdf

 

[Chris9ty]

When you see a healthy treat you like at the trick or treat stations ask for them. We had a ton of candy quickly and then got some other snacks- crackers, carrots, pretzels, etc and ate some in the park and saved some for afterschool snacks at home.

 

[figment_jii]

We got an assortment of chips, pretzels, graham crackers, Cheez-Its, Pirates Booty, Fruit Crisps (dried apple slices), yogurt-covered Craisins, and fresh carrots sticks from the healthier snack options. In my group, the adults had to ask for these because the kids wanted to get the candy! Like Chris9ty, we let the kids each the "healthier" options in the park and saved the candy for later (although, each kiddo got to pick out a few candies to eat during the party).

 

[calilou]

It's also fun to hang around Town Square once it gets dark because a variety of villains come out and make special appearances. We've enjoyed simply walking around that area and Main Street to experience the special ambiance. Maybe keep that in mind as you plan so that you're not "doing stuff" the entire time and miss some of the unexpected experiences.

 

[DisneyMom234]

Any magic shots just for mhp?

 

[nikerbokers]

We honestly did 2 trails and our bag was filled to the brim! We did the TT pre-party last year. First did two trails there and then did meet and greets with Chip n Dale and then Goofy. After that because our bag was full of candy, we walked onto rides. Alice, Pirates, and many more with zero lines. Last year we did the Costume Parade but this year after the TT, we will probably hit a ride or two on our way to PtN, check out the fireworks for Halloween Screams, and then do more rides until my DD has had enough. We will be having a pretty relaxing morning with a good nap before we enter the park so we can try to stay until close to closing. Hope you had a great time!!!! Our party is on Thursday and I can't wait.

 

[DisneyMom234]

Wow. We are back and dis 5 treat trails and almost filled our bags... Also we had lines everywhere!! Waited 2 hours for simple foods and there were huge lines everywhere (only saturday was more packed during our trip, and one lady said it was worse saturday than the days she went right afterxmas last year) it was way packed.

My boys had fun trick or treating, but if i ever do it again i wont be going to DL before and essentially paying twice for the day.

Im glad my boys had fun, but i was shocked at how crowded it was and hard to move around most areas