Halloween: Questions for those who have been so far

[Cruzinmaniac]

Hi everyone! We're planning a daytrip to DLP soon to do the Halloween events, and I have lots of questions to help with my planning.

1. What spot would you recommend for a good view of Villain's Promenade? Any tips?

2. How were the special meet 'n' greet waits? We would really like to see all of them (Marie, Winnie, Stitch, Minnie, Goofy, Jack and Sally) but our priorities are Stitch and Jack/Sally. Which ones had the longest waits, and which ones should we prioritize? Any suggestions on order and stuff to avoid waits? DS2 has been talking about Jack for a LONG time and totally has his heart set on meeting him, but I'm worried the waits will be too long...

3. I've heard terrible things about the Villains meet 'n' greet being a horrible scrum. I have no experience with scrums, but I'm really worried about this. DS1 really would like to meet Captain Hook, and DS2 really wants to meet Maleficent and Cruella Devil. What characters are in the villains meet? Do you have any tips for avoiding the scrum? Is it totally unrealistic to hope to meet 3 characters at this?

4. We would like to meet Stitch and Minnie as well as Marie and Winnie the Pooh. I'm worried we'll have already met one at a certain location and get in line for the other only to have them switch after we get in line. There isn't any way to prevent this, is there?

5. In your experience, which showing of the Halloween cavalcade is the least crowded? In theory I would like to see 2 of them but IDK if that's going to happen.

We only have one day to experience all of the Halloween events, but we're planning on really focusing on the Halloween stuff this trip, so hopefully we can do lots. Thanks in advance for your help!

Cruzinmaniac x

 

[DLPDreams]

When are you planning on visiting? If it is a weekend, nearer to Halloween itself this will make a considerable difference to crowds and how much you will get done.

I think queues for characters will be very long. I can't say about Halloween specifically as it's a long time since we were there and we weren't there for Halloween itself. But we met Jack at Christmas a few years back and the queues topped an hour - and that was early December!

With regard to character meets with swaps i.e. Stitch & Minnie. They will switch on a rota, it may be worth having a nice word with the CM to ask if you get in line now, would you get to meet 'x'? Some are helpful and will give you an indication and some won't - depends on the CM really. I may be wrong, but I expect the queue for Stitch to be larger than when Minnie is on as you can often see her in the hotels/cafe mickey etc, whereas it's often harder to meet Stitch esp in MK.

I hope people who are going soon are able to report back to give more specifics. The scrum for the Villains in particular worries me and I can't believe they haven't tried to make it into more of a queuing area after all the feedback they've had over the years about it and the supposed progress they've made on park M&Gs! If it's too bad we simply won't bother - it is very scary when your children get caught in a scrum and just not worth it imo.

 

[DLRPWonders]

1) Doesn't really matter as long it's around Central Plaza since that's where it happens.
I would probably pick across from the Castle. But on the Central Plaza square.

2) Stitch is not too bad, Jack/Sally can be a while. Pooh is not too bad either, Minnie is a bit busier, Marie is quite popular, Goofy can be quite busy and the Villains is just madness.

3) The Villains contain Maleficent, Cruella, Hook, Jafar, Dr. Facilier, Evil Queen, Old Hag, Frollo and Gaston. It can change a bit from time to time but this is the overal bunch. To be honest... it is madness. Some are more popular than others, but it's pretty crazy. You can't really go around it. It is possible to meet more than one Villain during one set, but you have to be a bit rude. It takes some pushing and pulling. I'm someone who is not too shy to do that, but if you're nicely waiting on your turn you probably only get to meet one Villain.

4) The times for Minnie/Stitch and Pooh/Marie are like this:
* Morning = Marie & Stitch from .45 to .15 - Pooh and Minnie from 15. to .45.
* Afternoon = Marie & Stitch at 14:30 + 15:30 - Pooh and Minnie 14:15 & 16:00.

5) When it comes to the cavalcade... basically all of them are just as crowded. But it doesn't really matter. If you find your spot about 30 minutes before it starts you're good.

 

[DLRPWonders]

I hope people who are going soon are able to report back to give more specifics. The scrum for the Villains in particular worries me and I can't believe they haven't tried to make it into more of a queuing area after all the feedback they've had over the years about it and the supposed progress they've made on park M&Gs! If it's too bad we simply won't bother - it is very scary when your children get caught in a scrum and just not worth it imo.

You have to realise that it's absolutely not possible there.
Castle Courtyard has all these weird angles and small spaces.
With so many characters out and about at the same time it's not possible to form a queue.

They could choose not to send so many Villains out, but then people would be complaining about that.
So overall, there's always someone not satisfied.
The Villains are the only M&G opp that is madness, but that's because there's just no space for queues.
Any other character M&G has queues and is improved.

If you're being a bit forward and yes, rude, you can meet them all.
You just have to put yourself out there.
The Villains M&G is madness every single year, and still every year I manage to meet them all during one set.
So it is possible, you just have to get in there and push your way through.

 

[HFJohnson]

I think it really depends on when you plan to go as to how busy it will be. The UK half term is at the end of the month and I think the French school holidays might start soon. If you can check when they are and avoid them I would if possible.

I was there last week and it was very quiet and I had no problem seeing the cavalcade and villain's parade. For the second I would try to stand on the curb looking towards the castle so you can see the villains walking down from the castle. I didn't personally queue for any M&Gs but all the queues looked reasonable and even the villains M&G looked fairly civilised. This was on a rainy day off peak though. It will be much busier as soon as the holidays kick in.

 

[Cruzinmaniac]

Responses in red!

When are you planning on visiting? If it is a weekend, nearer to Halloween itself this will make a considerable difference to crowds and how much you will get done.

I think queues for characters will be very long. I can't say about Halloween specifically as it's a long time since we were there and we weren't there for Halloween itself. But we met Jack at Christmas a few years back and the queues topped an hour - and that was early December!

With regard to character meets with swaps i.e. Stitch & Minnie. They will switch on a rota, it may be worth having a nice word with the CM to ask if you get in line now, would you get to meet 'x'? Some are helpful and will give you an indication and some won't - depends on the CM really. I may be wrong, but I expect the queue for Stitch to be larger than when Minnie is on as you can often see her in the hotels/cafe mickey etc, whereas it's often harder to meet Stitch esp in MK.

I hope people who are going soon are able to report back to give more specifics. The scrum for the Villains in particular worries me and I can't believe they haven't tried to make it into more of a queuing area after all the feedback they've had over the years about it and the supposed progress they've made on park M&Gs! If it's too bad we simply won't bother - it is very scary when your children get caught in a scrum and just not worth it imo.

We will be going on the 20th, 22nd or 23rd. That would be a Monday, Wednesday, or Thursday. (Tuesday is a blockout for our Francilien APs). Unfortunately we have to go during French breaks as all 4 kiddos are in French schools, but from what I have been told on here it is before the English schools get out. I don't want to go on the weekend and I believe Fridays are busier than other weekdays, isn't that right? Is there any difference between Mondays, Wednesdays, or Thursdays on french school holidays in your experience?

Thanks for the tips! I think you're probably right about Stitch vs Minnie, although personally I would pick Minnie any day and her Halloween dress is so cute!!

Yes, I'm worried about villains too. I guess we'll just have to see when we get there and hopefully we can meet at least 1 villain without dying...

1) Doesn't really matter as long it's around Central Plaza since that's where it happens.
I would probably pick across from the Castle. But on the Central Plaza square.
OK, that's a great idea. I haven't seen the next programme yet (it won't load on my computer, idk why) but if it's at 10:30 we're planning to get spots right away at park opening.
2) Stitch is not too bad, Jack/Sally can be a while. Pooh is not too bad either, Minnie is a bit busier, Marie is quite popular, Goofy can be quite busy and the Villains is just madness.
OK, thanks! So I'm thinking we'll wait until I can find the programme for our dates, then plan to prioritize Jack, then Marie, then Goofy, then Minnie, then Pooh and Stitch...does that sound about right?
3) The Villains contain Maleficent, Cruella, Hook, Jafar, Dr. Facilier, Evil Queen, Old Hag, Frollo and Gaston. It can change a bit from time to time but this is the overal bunch. To be honest... it is madness. Some are more popular than others, but it's pretty crazy. You can't really go around it. It is possible to meet more than one Villain during one set, but you have to be a bit rude. It takes some pushing and pulling. I'm someone who is not too shy to do that, but if you're nicely waiting on your turn you probably only get to meet one Villain.
Aahhh! I am really worried about this...we'll probably try for Maleficent first, then Cruella, then Hook as I'm thinking that will be their popularity order? We might only get to meet one or two but we'll see I guess...
4) The times for Minnie/Stitch and Pooh/Marie are like this:
* Morning = Marie & Stitch from .45 to .15 - Pooh and Minnie from 15. to .45.
* Afternoon = Marie & Stitch at 14:30 + 15:30 - Pooh and Minnie 14:15 & 16:00.
Thanks so much! This is awesome. I'm hoping the times for our dates will be the same so this will work.
5) When it comes to the cavalcade... basically all of them are just as crowded. But it doesn't really matter. If you find your spot about 30 minutes before it starts you're good.

OK, thanks. We'll probably try to see the first one and decide afterwards if we want to see it again then.

You have to realise that it's absolutely not possible there.
Castle Courtyard has all these weird angles and small spaces.
With so many characters out and about at the same time it's not possible to form a queue.

They could choose not to send so many Villains out, but then people would be complaining about that.
So overall, there's always someone not satisfied.
The Villains are the only M&G opp that is madness, but that's because there's just no space for queues.
Any other character M&G has queues and is improved.

If you're being a bit forward and yes, rude, you can meet them all.
You just have to put yourself out there.
The Villains M&G is madness every single year, and still every year I manage to meet them all during one set.
So it is possible, you just have to get in there and push your way through.

I must say I am impressed that you are able to meet them all in one set! Although with the 4 kiddos that probably won't happen. It's a shame they couldn't put this somewhere else...although the location is cool...idk, it's a tradeoff.

I think it really depends on when you plan to go as to how busy it will be. The UK half term is at the end of the month and I think the French school holidays might start soon. If you can check when they are and avoid them I would if possible.

I was there last week and it was very quiet and I had no problem seeing the cavalcade and villain's parade. For the second I would try to stand on the curb looking towards the castle so you can see the villains walking down from the castle. I didn't personally queue for any M&Gs but all the queues looked reasonable and even the villains M&G looked fairly civilised. This was on a rainy day off peak though. It will be much busier as soon as the holidays kick in.

Sadly we do have to go during French breaks but from what I've been told the UK breaks won't have started yet. The French breaks start on the 18th and will be going the 20th, 22nd or 23rd. Thanks for the tips!

 

[cherrymarzipan]

We were there for the beginning of the Halloween season this year and were lucky to get the perfect combination of low crowd levels and beautiful weather. From that limited point of view, we found queues for Minnie and stitch were fairly even (the Minnie's Couture/Casey's Corner M&G is the only one in which you will meet Minnie in her adorable Halloween outfit) and while Winnie is in his Halloween costume too, Marie is totally new to most people so very popular.

As others have said, get near the bottom of the castle "drive" along the rope to watch the villains walk down from the castle to meet the float with Maleficent on and walk around Central Plaza. A helpful fellow guest told us that tip but really anywhere around CP and you will get a good view of them all. The float comes down from the IASW end and Maleficent is on the left hand side of it so you will see her little more by standing on the inner curb of CP.

With the villains courtyard remember that the Evil Queen and Wicked Witch will not be out at the same time so reckon on at least two shifts of characters there to meet both. We found the shifts quite short but so were the breaks between characters coming out again and in between hang around to see Maleficent appear on the castle balcony in a puff of smoke.

With regard to the cavalcade, the main thing to look out for is the weather as if it is showery some timings may get cancelled. If it looks like this might be a problem on the day then watch the first one you can, to get it under your belt as it were. The cavalcade is fabulous and absolutely not to be missed!

We only ever saw Jack on his own, not Sally but could probably have asked a CM when she was out if we had had more time.

Hope this helps and have a great time.

 

[Cruzinmaniac]

We were there for the beginning of the Halloween season this year and were lucky to get the perfect combination of low crowd levels and beautiful weather. From that limited point of view, we found queues for Minnie and stitch were fairly even (the Minnie's Couture/Casey's Corner M&G is the only one in which you will meet Minnie in her adorable Halloween outfit) and while Winnie is in his Halloween costume too, Marie is totally new to most people so very popular.

As others have said, get near the bottom of the castle "drive" along the rope to watch the villains walk down from the castle to meet the float with Maleficent on and walk around Central Plaza. A helpful fellow guest told us that tip but really anywhere around CP and you will get a good view of them all. The float comes down from the IASW end and Maleficent is on the left hand side of it so you will see her little more by standing on the inner curb of CP.

With the villains courtyard remember that the Evil Queen and Wicked Witch will not be out at the same time so reckon on at least two shifts of characters there to meet both. We found the shifts quite short but so were the breaks between characters coming out again and in between hang around to see Maleficent appear on the castle balcony in a puff of smoke.

With regard to the cavalcade, the main thing to look out for is the weather as if it is showery some timings may get cancelled. If it looks like this might be a problem on the day then watch the first one you can, to get it under your belt as it were. The cavalcade is fabulous and absolutely not to be missed!

We only ever saw Jack on his own, not Sally but could probably have asked a CM when she was out if we had had more time.

Hope this helps and have a great time.

Thanks for the tips! I really appreciate you taking the time to write them.

 

[DLPDreams]

Hopefully as you are there before the UK schools break up, you should manage to do a fair bit, but as you say, the French schools are off. Weekends are very busy at DLRP and so Fridays tend to be busy too - having said that, we are only there for Halloween weekend (it was that or nothing), so we'll just do what we can!

I have seen photos of Hades being out in the Villains M&G spot - not sure if he's been mentioned. He's probably not one little children would to meet anyway .

I hadn't thought about Minnie in her Halloween dress. If it's the only place to see her in it then yes, she probably will be busy!!

 

[Cruzinmaniac]

Yeah, we have been there over weekends and it's crazy!! But honestly I can't imagine going for Halloween weekend...all I can say is, good luck!!

You know what? I honestly don't know if the kids have ever even seen Hercules! They might have watched it on Netflix...I have no idea. But thanks anyway for the info!

Yes, I'm pretty sure it's the only place to see her in her Halloween black & orange polka dots dress, at least at DLP. I'm expecting long lines for pretty much everything though tbh.

If any one else has any tips to add, feel free to join in and I hope this thread will help some other people too!

 

[maleficent_man]

If you're not too bothered about seeing them in their Halloween outfits then you could try and get Stitch and Minnie at Stars and Cars - it changes during the set and there's always plenty of room to get people. Good luck!

 

[addverbaan]

We just got back

Marie M&G starts at 9.45am (she rotates every half hour with Winnie) We got in line at 9.30am and were 4th in line to see her


The next day we did the same with Stitch (rotates every half hour with Minnie) and we were first in line

We also got to Jack's line about 5 mins before it openened and only had about 6 people infront of us. Jack was the highlight of our trip - he is just brilliant and really takes loads of time with everyone (hence the long queue!)

So my tip is to try and get to each M&G about 15 mins before it opens because once the characters are in place the lines get massive!

Have a fab trip

 

[DLPDreams]

Yeah, we have been there over weekends and it's crazy!! But honestly I can't imagine going for Halloween weekend...all I can say is, good luck!!

Honestly, I am going with the mind that it will be heaving and not worrying too much. We are going to see the parades and drink in the decs etc so can do those if nothing else. We'll have hotel FP (granted only one a day) so that is something we can use too. If it were my first time, I'd be concerned, but we've been many times so not too worried if we don't get on x or y.

We aren't doing the Halloween party so that is one thing not to worry about!

I went at Christmas season on a weekend and it was busy, but we did what we could and were happy!

We just got back

Marie M&G starts at 9.45am (she rotates every half hour with Winnie) We got in line at 9.30am and were 4th in line to see her


The next day we did the same with Stitch (rotates every half hour with Minnie) and we were first in line

We also got to Jack's line about 5 mins before it openened and only had about 6 people infront of us. Jack was the highlight of our trip - he is just brilliant and really takes loads of time with everyone (hence the long queue!)

So my tip is to try and get to each M&G about 15 mins before it opens because once the characters are in place the lines get massive!

Have a fab trip

Sounds like you did well, however, at half term crowds will increase massively so it won't be such small waits .

Agree about Jack - he is probably the best character I have ever met at DLRP for interaction - totally superb - so much so, I wrote in to complement him last time we went at Christmas!

I do agree about the character lines though - some people seem to just float around and it's not until they see a character there, that they decide to queue .

 

[addverbaan]

You are probably right about that - after the extreme busyness last year during Halloween half term, it put us off going during that holiday which is why we went this weekend instead. We expected the parks to be heaving but it was really not that busy at all and we managed to get loads of rides done. Not sure why it was quiet (relatively speaking) but we were very happy

 

[Cruzinmaniac]

If you're not too bothered about seeing them in their Halloween outfits then you could try and get Stitch and Minnie at Stars and Cars - it changes during the set and there's always plenty of room to get people. Good luck!

Thanks for the tip! Unfortunately it won't work however as we're doing this trip just to see the Halloween stuff, and as such we don't care for the normal Stitch and Minnie nor will we be going to the studios at all. But thanks for the suggestion anyway!

We just got back

Marie M&G starts at 9.45am (she rotates every half hour with Winnie) We got in line at 9.30am and were 4th in line to see her


The next day we did the same with Stitch (rotates every half hour with Minnie) and we were first in line

We also got to Jack's line about 5 mins before it openened and only had about 6 people infront of us. Jack was the highlight of our trip - he is just brilliant and really takes loads of time with everyone (hence the long queue!)

So my tip is to try and get to each M&G about 15 mins before it opens because once the characters are in place the lines get massive!

Have a fab trip

That's a great suggestion! I think we will do that too for Marie at 9:30. My only worry is not knowing where the queue will be exactly; is it marked with anything permanent?

That would be a great idea for Jack too except that we're wanting to see the villains promenade...will it be too late by the time that is over? Or is it worth giving up good spots in front of the castle to get them at the edge of frontier land and have a faster walk to Jack? Will there be any lulls in his lines later or not?

Speaking of which, does anyone know how early we'll have to get there before all the spots across from the castle are gone? Will 10ish work or do we have to send someone right at 9:30?

 

[Cruzinmaniac]

Honestly, I am going with the mind that it will be heaving and not worrying too much. We are going to see the parades and drink in the decs etc so can do those if nothing else. We'll have hotel FP (granted only one a day) so that is something we can use too. If it were my first time, I'd be concerned, but we've been many times so not too worried if we don't get on x or y.

I am one who advocates having realistic or low expectations...then they will always be met or exceeded! Plus it'll be enjoyable with all the decs...even if you ride practically nothing.

We aren't doing the Halloween party so that is one thing not to worry about!

I went at Christmas season on a weekend and it was busy, but we did what we could and were happy!

That's awesome, glad you had a great time. I can't wait to plan a Christmas trip!

Sounds like you did well, however, at half term crowds will increase massively so it won't be such small waits .

True, but it's still a good idea to get there early and have a plan!

Agree about Jack - he is probably the best character I have ever met at DLRP for interaction - totally superb - so much so, I wrote in to complement him last time we went at Christmas!

I hope he's good, cuz DS2 sure has some high expectations lol!

I do agree about the character lines though - some people seem to just float around and it's not until they see a character there, that they decide to queue .

That's why you strategize to avoid the masses!

You are probably right about that - after the extreme busyness last year during Halloween half term, it put us off going during that holiday which is why we went this weekend instead. We expected the parks to be heaving but it was really not that busy at all and we managed to get loads of rides done. Not sure why it was quiet (relatively speaking) but we were very happy

When you went last year and it was crazy busy, was it during English half term or French break or both? Also, was it a weekend or weekday? That's great that it wasn't crazy busy for you! Also a little surprising as weekends are usually heaving!

 

[addverbaan]

Last year was French holidays, we left just before the UK one started. We were monday till friday

The meet and great for Marie is right at the top of Main Street by the boarding house - on the left hand side as you look at the castle and just before the entrance to the arcade. There is a roped off queue area so you can't miss it.

We were not overwhelmed with the Villiant promenade to be honest - it was nice to see but nothing spectacular. You won't really need to get a spot that early - its just one float, then the villians coming out of the Castle and walking round to Castle Stage before exiting. If you stand just slight right of center you will get to see everything ok.

Maybe you could divide and conquer - one person taking up space at Jacks queue whilst the rest watch the promenade?

 

[DLPDreams]

True, but it's still a good idea to get there early and have a plan!

I hope he's good, cuz DS2 sure has some high expectations lol!

That's why you strategize to avoid the masses!

Oh yes, I like to plan. Having said that, our WDW trip next year is even taking me to the next level of planning . It's crazy!!

Oh your DS2 will adore Jack - I haven't heard anyone say he's not pure brilliance. My DD1's Sally outfit arrived from the US today (hurrah!), it's a surprise for her and it is sooo gorgeous - really lovely quality - wig and all. Can't wait .

I don't think I'll be able to avoid the masses that weekend - but it's worth a try .

 

[Ms Poppins]

I can see your questions have been answered but wanted to add my two bobs worth in too as we've just got back

Re the meets - it took me 3 goes to meet Marie. They alternate every 30 minutes and it's a very, very slow moving queue. My advice is to join when the opposite character is there. EG if you want to see Marie, then join when Pooh is there. The CM's were very good about telling you how long the characters had left before changing. I also noticed that the timings were not adhered to exactly as per the schedule. For Marie and Pooh it said it ended at 15.30 yesterday. I got in line at 15.15 and asked when Pooh would finish and she told me Marie would be out at 15.30 and then Pooh would be back again at 16.00. There were also some people in the queue who stood to the side and let others go in front to meet Pooh, so that they could wait for Marie to come out.

Goofy was better as he was there the whole time (obviously with changes). If you really want to see Jack then I'd suggest being at the meet area for 10.30 which is when the schedule says it opens. There will be others there, but at least you won't have the build up of the day.

We didn't watch the promenade, but did catch Maleficent's Court. It was of course a scrum. The characters all stand around the bramble (not sure if that's the right name) in a circle. I think the idea is that no matter where you are standing there will be a character nearby, but everyone just pushed in. I took some photos but we really were not bothered about meeting anyone.

The Harvest Halloween parade was fantastic We picked our usual spot just outside Bella Note, near Small World. Once it passes you can nip into Fantasyland the back way to get on some rides.

Hope you have a great day out

 

[micksn]

Sounds fabulous Does the harvest parade always leave from Fantasyland? And does the main parade go from mainstreet? It's always good to watch at the beginning so you can beat others to the attractions