Figment and I (plus my family) just got back from one of our longest trips to
Disneyland! We arrived in time for the Tuesday (10/8) MHP and stayed through Sunday (10/13). Overall the trip was really good and we had a great time. Crowds were high, but we expected that, so we were prepared. Weather was pretty good (except Wednesday when it rained!). I have lots of pictures to post, but I'll start with MHP because that was the big event for the trip! I went to both the Tuesday (10/8) and Friday (10/11) party, so the reviews will be inter-mixed.
We arrived at Disneyland mid-morning on Tuesday and headed to the park. There were signs out announcing the party and that Disneyland would be closing at 6:00 pm, but no signs indicating the party was sold out.
Once inside the gates, there was a sign announcing Toontown would be closing early. It closes two hours before the end of the "normal operating" day for Disneyland. So in the case of a 6:00 pm party, it closes at 4:00 pm.
We spent the rest of the morning and early afternoon having lunch and enjoying ourselves. I was pretty surprised at how crowded the park already was. We had to head back to the hotel to finish checking in and by the time we got back to the park, it was a little past 3:30 pm. Roughly half of the gates were for special event guests (Harbor Blvd side) and the other half were for normal tickets (DTD side). The MHP gates stretched nearly 3/4ths of the way across the Esplande! There were now signs out saying the party was sold out!
Rather than wait in the long lines at the gate, we headed back into Disneyland and decided to get out wristbands and treat bag inside the park. There was an internal locations set up inside Frontierland (near the pin store, same place as last year). The line stretched across the bridge and then wrapped around the hub towards the Castle. While the line was long, it still moved pretty quickly.
They had already begun to set-up the party decorations. It was kind of funny to see the Mickey Ghosts set-up, but not yet inflated.
The treat trail stations were already in place as well, but not yet stocked and open.
We still had a lot of time before the party started, so we wandered around the park for a bit before heading to the pre-party event at Toontown. There was a sign out telling folks about the event.
On Tuesday, we arrived at Toontown a little before 5:00 pm (when it opened). They were allowing guests to get into the queue (you have to show your wristband). The queue is basic three long lines that stretch from the entrance of Toontown, under the train tracks, and out by Small World. When Toowntown opens for MHP, the first line enters, then the second, and then the third. For folks who've been to Lights, Motor, Action Extreme Stunt show at DHS, it's the same set-up.
Toontown's pre-party event has four treat trails and several character meet and greets. Both Roger Rabbit's Car-toon Spin and Gadget's Go Coaster were running when I was there. The lines for the treat trails just inside Toontown were already pretty long, so we headed towards the ones at Mickey's and that line wasn't too bad.
There were
nine treat stations in the Minnie and Mickey house trail, four at Donald's Boat, and three stations at the other two trails. We got a lot of candy by going to Mickey and Minnie's trail. On Tuesday, the Toontown trails were the only place where we got Peeps, but on Friday, they didn't have them!
We arrived later (about a half hour after it opened) on Friday, so all of the treat trail lines were longer, but we still managed to visit all four in about 45 minutes. On Tuesday, we did only the Mickey and Minnie houses and Donald trail and three people got enough candy to fill one of those Halloween 2013 reusable bags about half way!
I didn't meet the characters, but I did see Clarabelle and Roger Rabbit on both days, Chip & Dale on Tuesday, and Goofy on Friday. Most of the characters were in the center of town, but Chip & Dale were over in the kid's play area.
The schedule of events were the same at both parties (despite the different start times). Right when the party starts, the CMs start forming check points throughout the park. If you don't have a wristband, you can't go into stores, restaurants or get into ride line. Main Street did remain open, so you can go there, but other than that, they pretty effectively funnel non-party guests out of the park.
We didn't do any rides the party, albeit we thought about going on HM to see if the CM were "in character". They were wearing the dead-white face make-up, so we were curious to see if they acted spooky (like they do at
MNSSHP), but we didn't want to spend 30-45 minutes of party time in a line. Instead we did treat-trails, wandered around the park, and soaked up the atmosphere!
We made sure to go check out the Villains meet and greet at the end of Main Street. The line was pretty consistently long all evening (stretching to under the train track bridge). There were three villains at the meet and greet (one mask and two "face"). The one on the far left (when facing them) tended to be either Jafar or Hades. The other two were usually Maleficent and the Evil Queen or Dr. Facilier and Cruella.
If you have a chance to check out the Villains entrance/exit, I would. It was pretty cool. It happens every 45-minutes (when the "face" characters change). Candle carrying undertakers (that's what they looked like to me), come out and lead the way for a horse drawn carriage. They come around Town Square and two villains exit the carriage and the other two get in. The carriage then departs. Usually Lady Tremaine and her two daughters are following the carriage and they interact with guests. Lots of music and lighting effects as well!
Undertakers arriving:
Cruella and Dr. Facilier in the carriage arriving:
Malificient and the Evil Queen departing:
The Tremaines:
Coming in the next part of the review...the Cavalcade!
Well, at least you were prepared! The day after any kind of rain is always great because the air seems fresh and clean!
