Halloween at DL

[VictoriaAndMatt]

If they are going to be allowing thousands of non-MHP people to see them anyway, they may as well just do what they did last year and show them all season long.

I agree with this. It just doesn't make sense. They don't have to show them every night like they did last year, but why not just show them on the weekends? I know over crowding was a big issue last year, but wouldn't only having the Halloween Screams fireworks on the weekends only allievate some of the weekday crowds? Which would still give people an option for less crowded days.

 

[Belle Ella]

You mean regular fireworks or Halloween Screams fireworks?

In any case, not yet. But I think the full, final agenda of activities and events for HalloweenTime will be out between now and the end of next week, so DLR's final plan for the fate of the fireworks will be on that agenda. Maybe they will decide after all to just show Halloween Screams all season long - including in September - like they did last year. Frankly, at this rate, they may as well just do it. If they are going to be allowing thousands of non-MHP people to see them anyway, they may as well just do what they did last year and show them all season long.

I sure hope so. I'll have my fingers crossed. I do have to say that I'm glad I was never planning on going in October and having to put up with all the crud surrounding the MHP right now. I'd be a little pissed if I was getting tickets for myself under one understanding only to find myself getting screwed.

 

[Sherry E]

I was going for the fireworks since my trip later in Oct we wont be able to do the halloween party. I love Halloween since my sons b-day is right before and I really want to see the fireworks, but if I have to fight an even larger crowd to see them then there is no use in paying the extra $$ for the party.

If you guys can do without getting candy (because it sounds as if the candy is going to be the main thing that is exclusive to MHP guests only), it sounds as if you will be likely to see the fireworks anyway, without having to buy a ticket for MHP. So it's just a matter of whether or not the extra crowds will be worth it.

I wondered how DL was going to be able to handle the MHP all along. I agree with PHXscuba and others that DLR cannot necessarily handle things in the same way WDW can. What works for WDW may not work for DLR. I wondered what the feedback would be about guests having to leave DL early to make way for MHP guests. If it were only one night, it would be one thing. But for 1/3 of the month of October, I had a hunch many people would be ticked off that they would be forced to leave DL early unless they bought another expensive MHP ticket.

So...maybe this means DLR is actually listening to feedback it is getting from guests? I hope so. It may seem as if their rearrangment of plans is a bit sloppy at the moment, but they may actually be listening to complaints and trying to accommodate them.

 

[iKristin]

eepp!! I just put my MHP tix in my lanyard, trip is getting closer!!! I wish it was tomorrow lol

 

[Sherry E]

I agree with this. It just doesn't make sense. They don't have to show them every night like they did last year, but why not just show them on the weekends? I know over crowding was a big issue last year, but wouldn't only having the Halloween Screams fireworks on the weekends only allievate some of the weekday crowds? Which would still give people an option for less crowded days.

Sounds good to me - a nice compromise. It wouldn't have to be every night like last year, but at least every weekend through the whole season - including the September people. There's no reason the September HalloweenTime visitors should get the short end of the stick just because they are not going in October!!

 

[wendypooh22]

By the way, I love how Al Lutz gets a dig in at the AP holders at the end, basically saying that the AP holders are the ones who are going to be crafty enough to work around the MHP ticket system and still get to enjoy all the Halloween stuff (maybe minus the candy). I don't have an AP at the moment, but I would think that his comment would make a few AP holders mad.

I am a little offended at his comment... As if everyone that reads his column isn't going to get the "hint" on how to enjoy MHP without buying a ticket?

I think the whole idea of allowing guests to stay in the park is ridiculous!! I have been to lots of private events where you are kept in a special "area" while they cleared out the park. It's not that hard! I had considered buying tickets, but now I am going to avoid it! There is nothing special about it now..

 

[Sherry E]

I am a little offended at his comment... As if everyone that reads his column isn't going to get the "hint" on how to enjoy MHP without buying a ticket?

I think the whole idea of allowing guests to stay in the park is ridiculous!! I have been to lots of private events where you are kept in a special "area" while they cleared out the park. It's not that hard! I had considered buying tickets, but now I am going to avoid it! There is nothing special about it now..

I thought it was quite an offensive AP comment he threw in there. It's sort of like playing into that 'AP holders are the problem' thing that comes up every so often. I bet he will get a lot of backlash from AP holders for saying that - he is simultaneously insulting them AND telling them how to dodge the system at the same time!!

 

[mvf-m11c]

I thought it was quite an offensive AP comment he threw in there. It's sort of like playing into that 'AP holders are the problem' thing that comes up every so often. I bet he will get a lot of backlash from AP holders for saying that - he is simultaneously insulting them AND telling them how to dodge the system at the same time!!

I agree with what you said. I am an AP and I go to DLR just a few times a year, I bought the MHP ticket so my DA and I could enjoy MHP and watch Halloween Screams with just a few thousand guests who bought the tickets. But after reading from the Al Lutz report that everyone could just go in and watch the fireworks in DL on MHP nights, it would just cause more crowds and chaos.

Just like WDW MVMCP, I read that WDW clears out everyone that doesn't have a wrist band for the party. Why can't DL just do the same system like WDW and at least put Halloween Screams on the weekends so all the guests can enjoy the fireworks. Than it will not cause confusion and be very crowded for guests who don't live near DL.

 

[gkrykewy]

What's the typical park closing time for October?

If it's later than 6pm, I'm going to be pretty bummed about being excluded from the rides early for 3 of the first 7 nights I've ever spent in DL :/

 

[Porturican]

If you guys can do without getting candy (because it sounds as if the candy is going to be the main thing that is exclusive to MHP guests only), it sounds as if you will be likely to see the fireworks anyway, without having to buy a ticket for MHP. So it's just a matter of whether or not the extra crowds will be worth it.

I wondered how DL was going to be able to handle the MHP all along. I agree with PHXscuba and others that DLR cannot necessarily handle things in the same way WDW can. What works for WDW may not work for DLR. I wondered what the feedback would be about guests having to leave DL early to make way for MHP guests. If it were only one night, it would be one thing. But for 1/3 of the month of October, I had a hunch many people would be ticked off that they would be forced to leave DL early unless they bought another expensive MHP ticket.

So...maybe this means DLR is actually listening to feedback it is getting from guests? I hope so. It may seem as if their rearrangment of plans is a bit sloppy at the moment, but they may actually be listening to complaints and trying to accommodate them.

The only problem is that 2 out of 4 of us will have AP's and we were going for the whole fun of it with Fireworks being the big draw for me at least. So the party makes it easier for 2 in my party to go and enjoy the park for a cheaper cost. But it wont be so fun if you are dealing with non MHP ticketed park goers too. Also as for people being mad about hte early closing time for the party, how is this any different than when they close early for grad nights? We did the party in WDW last year and it was so fun! I did see them turn away non wristbanded people also. I believe we had to show our wristband and park ticket

 

[barefootmomma]

I am just now reading the updates and Al Lutz write-up stuff. I am going to try to reserve irritation (although I will most definitely admit some frustration at this point) until the official schedule and terms are released (please correct me if I am wrong, but as I understand it nothing has been said with 100% certainty just yet), but I sincerely hope that they change this plan of allowing regular park guests to remain in the park. As AP holders, we buy tickets to special events like this to be part of the special things going on, but also because it is a chance to experience the park with much lower crowds than usual. We've done all the rides, many times. That and candy is not enough to merit an extra almost $50 a pop, period. It's just not. It's not that I want the good time of the regular park guests ruined, but as a special event it should be treated as such, and planned for by guests not attending the party. Head over to DCA! If in fact I just paid $44 per person above and beyond the cost of our APs and am really not getting any benefit, I am not going to be happy and I am absolutely going to be asking for a refund. I wonder how they plan on handling other guests with the same concerns? My guess is, they have no idea. The way they put the cart before the horse so to speak is the one thing that I've never understood. Is it impossible to have a specific plan prior to making announcements and beginning ticket sales? I would think, and certainly hope not.

 

[Sherry E]

I don't know. I'm right down the middle. I can see both sides. I can see where it is beneficial to people who don't have the money to pay extra for an MHP ticket to be able to enjoy the parks and see the Halloween fireworks at night, and not have to leave early. I can also see where it is beneficial to people who purchase party tickets to feel like they have something exclusive, with lighter crowds. And I can see Disney's side of it - where they are trying to please segments of all involved as best they can, and still lure people over to DCA to see WoC.

Honestly, I can empathize with all sides equally. And this is coming from someone who is not sure if she will even be at DLR on an MHP night or a fireworks night, or a whatever night. All I know is that I don't want to miss out on riding TSMM so I have to go to DLR after October 10th!

I simply think DLR should have made up its mind before selling any MHP tickets to anyone, but I see where they are scrambling to finalize everything before the "official" agenda is released next week and the general public gets to buy MHP tickets.

Gkrykewy - I forget the exact closing time for DL during October (the normal closing time), but it is definitely way past 6 p.m.

 

[iKristin]

Yeah I agree...if it is even more crowded and turns out to be a mess then I as well will be asking for a refund for all six tickets I purchased.

One thing I thought about though...if you can't go on the rides why stay??

 

[Mommy2PrincessAbby]

I don't know if any of you like this idea, but I sent it to guest services on the Disneyland site:

I have a suggestion for the Mickey's Halloween Party. I have read that wrist bands will be given for purchasers of the tickets to the party, but that regular guests can stay and enjoy the fireworks and food, but will not be allowed on rides or use of the candy stations or into character meet & greet lines without a wristband.

My thought is to have a wrist band check line at the end of the hub just before the castle (entrances to fantasyland), and at the entrance to tomorrowland and frontier & adventureland... this way the non-wristband people can stay on main street, and in the hub area, and yet not mix with the party people in the bulk of the land.

This would prevent long lines at attractions and character meet and greets when people without wristbands line up anyways, and then have to be asked to leave the line. But would allow those people not attending the party access to firework viewing and the shops on main street.

 

[Sherry E]

I don't know if any of you like this idea, but I sent it to guest services on the Disneyland site:

I have a suggestion for the Mickey's Halloween Party. I have read that wrist bands will be given for purchasers of the tickets to the party, but that regular guests can stay and enjoy the fireworks and food, but will not be allowed on rides or use of the candy stations or into character meet & greet lines without a wristband.

My thought is to have a wrist band check line at the end of the hub just before the castle (entrances to fantasyland), and at the entrance to tomorrowland and frontier & adventureland... this way the non-wristband people can stay on main street, and in the hub area, and yet not mix with the party people in the bulk of the land.

This would prevent long lines at attractions and character meet and greets when people without wristbands line up anyways, and then have to be asked to leave the line. But would allow those people not attending the party access to firework viewing and the shops on main street.

I think that sounds great, except for the fact that Guest Services may not have a clue what's happening yet. Sometimes, in the Disney hierarchy, the CMs in Guest Services or who actually work in the park and not in the business/corporate headquarters are the last to know what's happening. This news today was from Al Lutz, not from Disney. We don't know the official DLR HalloweenTime agenda yet - straight from the horse's mouth. They may have worked it out to everyone's satisfaction by next week, when the MHP tickets go on sale to the general public.

So I think your message is very well-worded and sounds wonderful, but I probably would have waited a bit longer before sending it out. It's more the people on the corporate side of Disney who are making these decisions, and then the info gets passed down to Guest Services and the CMs.



I was going to say earlier that I feel bad for the September HalloweenTime visitors, as they get short-changed on the fireworks and the MHP! So if Disney is, perhaps, going to open up a window in which September visitors may get to view the Halloween Screams fireworks, I think that's awesome.

 

[barefootmomma]

I don't know if any of you like this idea, but I sent it to guest services on the Disneyland site:

I have a suggestion for the Mickey's Halloween Party. I have read that wrist bands will be given for purchasers of the tickets to the party, but that regular guests can stay and enjoy the fireworks and food, but will not be allowed on rides or use of the candy stations or into character meet & greet lines without a wristband.

My thought is to have a wrist band check line at the end of the hub just before the castle (entrances to fantasyland), and at the entrance to tomorrowland and frontier & adventureland... this way the non-wristband people can stay on main street, and in the hub area, and yet not mix with the party people in the bulk of the land.

This would prevent long lines at attractions and character meet and greets when people without wristbands line up anyways, and then have to be asked to leave the line. But would allow those people not attending the party access to firework viewing and the shops on main street.

That sounds like a great plan to me! With the exception that they have already sold tickets specifically stating that the fireworks would be exclusive to MHP. Personally, I could care less if they want to shoot them off every night of the week, MHP or not. However, asking me to pay more money and then cramming me in with people who did not pay anything extra on the same night to watch the same fireworks in the same viewing area doesn't fly with me either. The way I see it, you're paying for the perk of a less crowded park, that includes for viewing of fireworks which can be the worst time of the night for heavy crowds on Main Street. I understand wanting to keep the park open for regular guests as long as possible, but IMO they should have kept entrance for MHP in line with the way it was run at DCA. LOL, I apologize if I'm annoying anyone. I do see both sides of the argument, entirely. I guess for me, as a consumer who has already paid for tickets, the whole thing for me hinges on the fact that it is a special ticketed event and should be treated as such. Would D23 members who are allowed special events be expected to share their events with regular park guests too?

 

[mvf-m11c]

That sounds like a great plan to me! With the exception that they have already sold tickets specifically stating that the fireworks would be exclusive to MHP. Personally, I could care less if they want to shoot them off every night of the week, MHP or not. However, asking me to pay more money and then cramming me in with people who did not pay anything extra on the same night to watch the same fireworks in the same viewing area doesn't fly with me either. The way I see it, you're paying for the perk of a less crowded park, that includes for viewing of fireworks which can be the worst time of the night for heavy crowds on Main Street. I understand wanting to keep the park open for regular guests as long as possible, but IMO they should have kept entrance for MHP in line with the way it was run at DCA. LOL, I apologize if I'm annoying anyone. I do see both sides of the argument, entirely. I guess for me, as a consumer who has already paid for tickets, the whole thing for me hinges on the fact that it is a special ticketed event and should be treated as such. Would D23 members who are allowed special events be expected to share their events with regular park guests too?

Thats what it said on the DL website saying that Halloween Screams is exclusive to MHP. It just does not make sense for people to pay $44 to $59 a ticket while I could use my AP or use a regular ticket to come in during MHP. I would be very disappointed if this happens because with the limited number of days to see Halloween Screams in the month of October, it will frustrate all the people who paid for the MHP ticket.

 

[Arizona Rita]

Changing the subject here but would like to know if there are any other MousePlanet readers out there and if so on their weekly page they state that they are having an unofficial night on Oct 15 and to please let them know if you will be ther so that they have enough goodies but when I go to that site the last postings were in early/mid June and just want to know if there is some other way of letting them know that yes I will be in attendance.
Does anyone know anything about this?

Also, back in the early 90'd didnt Disney try to do this at DL and if I remember correctly they discontinued it because of "logistics", at least this is what I was told. Does anyone remember this?

Sherry, you seem to be our Chief resident Diser here and wondering about your opinions

 

[gkrykewy]

Gkrykewy - I forget the exact closing time for DL during October (the normal closing time), but it is definitely way past 6 p.m.

Thanks. Boo-urns... but i'm feeling less put out about it since i realized that there's actually only one night that will really affect our trip, and we were considering buying one pair of halloween tix anyway. Who is able to buy tix before the 16th?

 

[Belle Ella]

If I had paid for the MHP ticket thinking the Halloween Screams fireworks were exclusive to the party, not only would I be annoyed that I paid more for a special perk that isn't so special anymore, but because allowing non-MHP guests to stay for the fireworks means I would have less of a chance to get a good spot for viewing. Supposedly candy and ride lines would be for MHP guests only, meaning those people who aren't leaving when the party begins (I am reading it right that at least no non MHP guests would be allowed to enter after a certain time, just no kicking people out who don't have wristbands) aren't going to be missing any ride time if they just park in in the hub/Main St. to get the spots they want for the fireworks, leaving MHP guests to fend for themselves if they still want to get their activities in.

Did that make any sense at all?