Halloween Party... A let down for us

[NuttyDisneyDad]

Last Oct I spent my honeymoon in WDW and purchased tickets to the Halloween Party on Oct 29. I was sooo excited to go trick or treating in the park and see characters and such...other than the parade(which was fantastic) we were so dissapointed. The candy lines were crazy long and the stage show wasnt anything special. We rode rides all night and gave up trying to see the festivities. Maybe I just planned wrong I dunno

 

[Jadyreen1282]

Funny you picked this particular day to announce your displeasure.

We had a similar issue with villains unleashed also last year.

 

[katt789]

MNSSHP is HANDS DOWN my favorite thing that Disney hosts! The parade & stage show & fireworks are all my favorite of each that they've had in the past 5 years! The ability to dress up and see some characters in said costumes is always an added bonus!
I will agree that candy lines were rather long last year, and we did multiple parties. They seemed to have less lines than previous years, and at those lines, less stops throughout them for candy. I also dislike the fact that the princes are no longer out, but hey, that's not gonna stop me from going in the future.

What was your plan like?

Ours usually goes:
-Arrive as close to 4pm as possible, take photos, go see any characters that relate to our costumes who are out during the day
-Hit up a trick or treat stop, or grab food right at 7, then head over to get a good spot for the Hocus Pocus show (yes, it does require waiting an hour for us but we like to be closer to the front!)
-Watch the show
-Trick or treat, or hit up a character near main st area
-Grab a spot for the parade in Town Sq
-Hit up another character or candy
-Grab a spot in hub grass for the fireworks
-More trick or treating/character-ing. We figured if lines were long, whatever, it was "free" candy, and we had time between shows/parades anyways!
-Watch the second parade, again from Town Square

BUT, everyone has their own opinions

 

[katt789]

Funny you picked this particular day to announce your displeasure.

We had a similar issue with villains unleashed also last year.

Villains unleashed (2 years ago) WAS a HOT MESS, even with it being a hard ticketed event. That being said,we just made the best of it, enjoyed running around in costumes, and did a LOT of the roaming characters instead of the ones that had lines. Did the dance party and fireworks and had a really fun night!

 

[NuttyDisneyDad]

Funny you picked this particular day to announce your displeasure.

We had a similar issue with villains unleashed also last year.

I dont get this particular day comment. What does that mean?

 

[NuttyDisneyDad]

On a positive note... We really enjoyed checking out the costumes and the attractions had minimal wait times

 

[Jennasis]

I dont get this particular day comment. What does that mean?

Today the dates for this year's Halloween party were finally released. It's kind of a big deal 'round these parts.

 

[siskaren]

I dont get this particular day comment. What does that mean?

Today is when the dates for this parties were finally announced.

 

[NuttyDisneyDad]

O total coincidence lol

 

[Disneylover99]

Last Oct I spent my honeymoon in WDW and purchased tickets to the Halloween Party on Oct 29. I was sooo excited to go trick or treating in the park and see characters and such...other than the parade(which was fantastic) we were so dissapointed. The candy lines were crazy long and the stage show wasnt anything special. We rode rides all night and gave up trying to see the festivities. Maybe I just planned wrong I dunno

Hallowishes are my favourite fireworks. Did you get to see them? At least you got to ride a lot of rides and see the parade. Candy lines can be long, but they generally move fast. Character waits are always long IMO.

 

[NuttyDisneyDad]

Hallowishes are my favourite fireworks. Did you get to see them? At least you got to ride a lot of rides and see the parade. Candy lines can be long, but they generally move fast. Character waits are always long IMO.

yes we saw Hallowishes and they were good. I just wanted candy and for some reason nobody gave us bags and every cast member we asked kept pawning us off on other castmembers. Ha

 

[TML2012]

MNSSHP sounds like it is getting more popular and/or they are selling more tickets. When we went to the party in 2012 the trick or treat lines were not long at all and we left with so much candy. The short lines for rides and Hallowishes were great. The highlight though was definitely the parade! I was hesitant to spend the money at first but once we experienced the party we definitely thought was worth it.

 

[NuttyDisneyDad]

Let me be clear here lol... We didnt dislike it. I think my expectations were maybe a little too high... The effort people put in those costumes tho. Dang

 

[lovethattink]

yes we saw Hallowishes and they were good. I just wanted candy and for some reason nobody gave us bags and every cast member we asked kept pawning us off on other castmembers. Ha

You get your empty bag when you get wristbanded.

ToT is most important to my son, at party start, we go to the Splash Mt tot, then POTC, then tiki room. After that, he's got his candy and it's shows for us!

We use to do the characters, but skipped them this past year, except the ones with small lines.

 

[NuttyDisneyDad]

You get your empty bag when you get wristbanded.

ToT is most important to my son, at party start, we go to the Splash Mt tot, then POTC, then tiki room. After that, he's got his candy and it's shows for us!

We use to do the characters, but skipped them this past year, except the ones with small lines.

Thats weird cuz we didnt get a bag when they put our bands on

 

[squeezle]

It's been several years since I attended MNSHHP, but always had success with the candy. My strategy was to wait until the party was almost over then head down the walkway from Toon Town to Tomorrow Land and the cast members at each stop would fill our bags by the handful.... we left with our bags almost completely full.

 

[Delirium]

Participating in the trick or treating is a huge mistake. Simply not worth it.

Waiting 2 hours to see a special character may or may not be a mistake, depending on how important that is to you.

Short lines for rides, the special fireworks, the special parade, and the overall theme are the things that provide the most value for the money spent.

 

[lovethattink]

Thats weird cuz we didnt get a bag when they put our bands on

Most candy stops had extra empty bags too.

 

[NuttyDisneyDad]

Why didnt I start this thread BEFORE I went? Ugh

 

[karmacats]

Last Oct I spent my honeymoon in WDW and purchased tickets to the Halloween Party on Oct 29. I was sooo excited to go trick or treating in the park and see characters and such...other than the parade(which was fantastic) we were so dissapointed. The candy lines were crazy long and the stage show wasnt anything special. We rode rides all night and gave up trying to see the festivities. Maybe I just planned wrong I dunno

we were there about the same time (i think maybe the party before) and it was nuts. MNSSHP is my hands-down favorite thing to do at WDW, and we've done it 6 or 7 times, but after last year i don't think we'll be going again anytime soon. it was waaaaay more crowded than usual. the candy lines were impossible for most of the night - the only reason we even got candy was because we waited until about 11:30 and then dashed through a couple of the trick or treat stations on our way out. we only got on 3 or 4 rides, as there were even long lines for those, which most years are a walk-on. the value's just not there for us anymore.

i know i'm kind of repeating what you said, but i guess my point is that even if you've been before and accomplished a lot, or had strategies that worked in the past, with the numbers of people they now let in to this supposedly "limited" event, you may find it not so fun anymore.