HalloweenTime at DLR Info and Photo Superthread #3

[crystal1313]

Thanks Figment! I agree. I think if you paid for all the parties, you could focus on different things at each party. One party you could focus on character meet n greets. One party could focus on attractions. One could focus on trick or treat trails and shows. You have a lot of options. Heck, I would be happy just sitting on a bench people watching with people dressed up! How fun =)

For instance, we knew the hub would be crazy for the fireworks. I didn't even want to venture near MSUSA........DH left me and the boys in Adventureland to grab Starbucks. This was around 9:10. He was back really quick and said MS was dead and we should go over there to watch the fireworks. Did we have the best fireworks viewing ever, no! But we still had a great spot where we could see all the effects! Jack, the projections and zero. We weren't squished in like sardines, and had a blast! We were in the dead center of Main Street across form the candy palace. For us, it was perfect since we all assumed it would be too crowded to even attempt to see the show. (If you want to see my fireworks photos go to my trip report: http://disboards.com/showthread.php?t=3186334 I'm not the best photographer, but I thought they turned out ok considering I don't have a tripod)

I think you will have a great time!!!

 

[Sherry E]

Only five days left for us! I'm a little apprehensive about MHP now. Okay, a lot. I've already given DF The Speech about how there might be crowds, how he needs to hang in there and go with it... lol. I'll be giving the same Speech to my nieces tonight. I hope they'll understand because I really don't want to be dealing with two complaining kids during what should've been a great vacation lol. I checked a 10-day forecast today to find out what the weather will be like (this one's for you, Sherry). It's slightly warmer than I would've liked---upper-70s, lower 80s---but I guess that's not such a huge deal. And anyway, weather is unpredictable so it could always change... right??? Being the anal person I am, I've been preparing for our trip for the last week and a half and making an embarrassing number of checklists... I think I've finally gotten a solid outline of an MHP plan, thank God. Eat dinner beforehand. Take advantage of any shorter lines for attractions. Stay away from NOS and Main Street during the busiest window of time---roughly 4-7. Don't trick-or-treat until later in the night---for my nieces' sake... I could skip the trick-or-treating entirely because I rarely eat candy and need to stay trim for my career, even when I'm on vacation---and see the parade/fireworks at least once. Think I may've bitten off more than I could chew in buying tickets for three (!!!) different MHPs. Luckily, my fiancé and I have already agreed that if we hate the party, we won't make ourselves go to the others just to get our money's worth. Yes, it's expensive and a perfect waste, but if the crowds are seriously that bad, than we might as well head over to DCA and take the loss. Here's hoping it doesn't come to that, though! Lol

Lucrezia --

I just posted in the Christmas thread (you should enjoy this week's Theme, I think!) that it is 86 degrees here today in sunny Los Angeles! That is way too warm for Fall! I liked it when it was a nice 64 - 66 degrees last week! Still, though, there is a Harvest Festival at the Farmers Market this weekend and I am going to go to it and force myself into Autumn mode one way or the other!

I think that you all will have a fun time at the party -- especially your nieces. What some people in this thread may not know -- but I remember it because you have told me in the past -- is that your DF is particularly averse to crowds, probably more so than some folks, to the point where you actually were going to avoid trips during certain times because you knew he would not be happy at all. So his perception of what is too crowded or crazy could be different from what others think is too crowded or crazy.

I still think that everyone will end up having a great time overall, but you know that if it gets to be too crowded in any particular spot you can just go elsewhere.

I think that the parties are more crowded than they should be for a limited ticket event, but the crowds won't be as bad as they were for the madness that was the Unleash the Villains event on 9/13!

I don't think I realized that you bought tickets for 3 parties!

 

[dnamertz]

If we get to the ToonTown pre-party when it opens and head straight to Chip and Dale, should we expect a long wait to meet them?

 

[Caroline94501]

Maybe you can answer this question. During the MHP fireworks, did they project images on spraying water on the Rivers of America, kind of like they do during Fantasmic?

No, they did not.

 

[Sherry E]

Thanks Figment! I agree. I think if you paid for all the parties, you could focus on different things at each party. One party you could focus on character meet n greets. One party could focus on attractions. One could focus on trick or treat trails and shows. You have a lot of options. Heck, I would be happy just sitting on a bench people watching with people dressed up! How fun =)

For instance, we knew the hub would be crazy for the fireworks. I didn't even want to venture near MSUSA........DH left me and the boys in Adventureland to grab Starbucks. This was around 9:10. He was back really quick and said MS was dead and we should go over there to watch the fireworks. Did we have the best fireworks viewing ever, no! But we still had a great spot where we could see all the effects! Jack, the projections and zero. We weren't squished in like sardines, and had a blast! We were in the dead center of Main Street across form the candy palace. For us, it was perfect since we all assumed it would be too crowded to even attempt to see the show. (If you want to see my fireworks photos go to my trip report: http://disboards.com/showthread.php?t=3186334 I'm not the best photographer, but I thought they turned out ok considering I don't have a tripod)

I think you will have a great time!!!

crystal1313 --

Lucrezia's nieces are anti-character photos. I was about to suggest setting aside one party for the characters and then I remembered that her nieces are not comfortable with meeting characters. But that is what I would do if I were going multiple nights -- I would set aside one night for characters.

 

[WestMom2two]

Lucrezia, I was freaking out just like you before our party last week on 10/11....and we had a blast! I didn't think it was that crowded at all! We went in thinking the worst and were pleasantly surprised =) We went in a little after 4 and ate dinner right away, then headed to Toon Town which I think helped. Yes, there were lines, but it was pretty organized and moved fast! DH and DS5 walked on Star Tours. Autopia had a 20 minute wait. Overall, it was much better then we thought and we plan on going next year too!

This is good to hear because like Lucrezia, I too have been stressed out about crowds and MHP. I've been planning since February and to hear how horrible the crowds have been its been a little disheartening and has taken away a little of my excitement for the trip. Im freaken stressed out lol We will be in the park starting Monday the 21st.

 

[figment_jii]

Continuing with Mickey's Halloween Party (combined 10/8 and 10/11 review)...this time, Mickey's Costume Party Cavalcade! It runs at 8:30 pm and 10:30 pm. The 8:30 pm show starts at It's a Small World and progresses to Main Street. The 10:30 pm show starts at Main Street and heads back to It's a Small World. While not a full blown parade, it's still cute and fun to watch. In most cases (I think) you can get a pretty good view without waiting very long. For the first parade (on Tue), I got a spot about 25 minutes before the Cavalcade (wanted front row, by IaSW), but for the others, I was on MS and waiting maybe 5-10 minutes. The second Cavalcade is less busy than the first on both nights!

The Cavalacade starts with Vampire Mickey! His arms open and close. He's pretty cute!

Next up is the Costume Shop float (one of the only other floats in the parade). I loved all of the decorations on the float...may of which were Mickey hats from previous years. There were dancers before the float (witches, zombies) and after the float (including a costume that looked like it came from the Lion King parade!)

The next sequences of the parade consisted primarily of dancers and characters. I love the Mickey pumpkins! Pirate Mickey is followed by Peter Pan, Captain Hook, Wendy and friends.

Princess Minnie is followed by Snow White, Tiana, and Aurora (I think), plus several dancers.

Monster Mickey is followed by Sully and several monsters (including an orange furry monster that tended to give high fives to the crowd).

Finally, cowboy Mickey is followed by Woody and Jessie.

Next up was Duffy on a bicycle! He's wearing his pumpkin costume.

The next set of characters was kind of mish-mash, but mostly animals. There was Clarabelle, Baloo, King Louie, and the bears from Country Bear.

The next sequence had ragdoll dancers and stilt walkers. The silt walkers were pretty cool!

And then it was time for the final float of the Cavalcade. Daisy was on the front, Minnie and Mickey on the main platform. Goofy and Chip & Dale were in the middle. If you were on left side (when facing the float), you saw Stormtrooper Donald and if you were on the right, you saw Biker Stitch. And on the back of the float was Miss Piggy and Kermit pumpkin.

Overall, the Cavalcade seemed pretty similar from last year. The stilt walkers might have been new, but the floats and Mickey pumpkins were the same. I still really like the Cavalcade and watched it all four times!

Next time...the Cadaver Dans and the fireworks!

 

[dnamertz]

Our plan for the 10/21 MHP is to enter the park at 3pm. We want to eat an early dinner so we can be done in time to get to ToonTown when it opens at 5pm.

I'm thinking of making 3:45 reservations at Carnation Cafe (man, that is early for dinner but I don't want to waste party time eating dinner). I've never eaten at Carnation Cafe. Should it take less than an hour to eat there at that time of day?

 

[Dot2Vegas]

Our plan for the 10/21 MHP is to enter the park at 3pm. We want to eat an early dinner so we can be done in time to get to ToonTown when it opens at 5pm.

I'm thinking of making 3:45 reservations at Carnation Cafe (man, that is early for dinner but I don't want to waste party time eating dinner). I've never eaten at Carnation Cafe. Should it take less than an hour to eat there at that time of day?

Glad to see someone else with the same eating strategy as us! We at as soon as we get in for the party (4pm). Our friends that went with us this year thought we were insane for eating early. We like to get it over with! Not sure about carnation cafe but I'm sure that an hour is plenty of time at that time of day

 

[tlovesdis]

Glad to see someone else with the same eating strategy as us! We at as soon as we get in for the party (4pm). Our friends that went with us this year thought we were insane for eating early. We like to get it over with! Not sure about carnation cafe but I'm sure that an hour is plenty of time at that time of day

We are too! We have a 4:20 reservation at Cafe Orleans on the 25th!

 

[Jenn1116]

I really enjoy Carnation and am thinking that's where we'll do dinner during the MHP too, on 10/21. I'd say you need an hour at least - plenty of time if you are seated right away. DD has ressies for her hair at Studio 365 before we go in, so we probably won't get to dinner until later - maybe after we hit the TT pre-party if there's not enough time before.

 

[Caroline94501]

The Cadaver Dans were fun to listen to.

That's what they were called! They were great, not to be missed!

 

[crystal1313]

Lucrezia --
I think that the parties are more crowded than they should be for a limited ticket event, but the crowds won't be as bad as they were for the madness that was the Unleash the Villains event on 9/13!

I was thee re on 9/13 and our MHP on 10/11 was for sure and in no way as crowded as the Unleash the Villains event! That was CRAZY! Like couldn't move, total gridlock crazy. Never saw anything even come close to that at the MHP =) Thank goodness!


We had a 5:30 reservation at Carnation on 10/11, but checked in early (around 5) and were seated right away. Service was really fast and I'd say we were done within 30-45 minutes. I'm SO glad we did that! It was nice not worrying about what to eat for dinner. Remember about the Soundsational parade when you make you reservation! Someone on here reminded me and we waited in the restaurant until it was over.

 

[Caroline94501]

Our plan for the 10/21 MHP is to enter the park at 3pm. We want to eat an early dinner so we can be done in time to get to ToonTown when it opens at 5pm.

I'm thinking of making 3:45 reservations at Carnation Cafe (man, that is early for dinner but I don't want to waste party time eating dinner). I've never eaten at Carnation Cafe. Should it take less than an hour to eat there at that time of day?

We had dinner at Carnation on Saturday. We had 6pm reservation, showed up a bit early. We were told it would be 15 minutes, but it was much closer to 15 seconds. We sat outside which was very nice.

Service was very fast and I think we were only there 30 or 40 minutes.

Caroline

 

[Lucrezia]

Lucrezia, I was freaking out just like you before our party last week on 10/11....and we had a blast! I didn't think it was that crowded at all! We went in thinking the worst and were pleasantly surprised =) We went in a little after 4 and ate dinner right away, then headed to Toon Town which I think helped. Yes, there were lines, but it was pretty organized and moved fast! DH and DS5 walked on Star Tours. Autopia had a 20 minute wait. Overall, it was much better then we thought and we plan on going next year too!

Thanks! That makes me feel better. I actually read your TR just after I posted here, and really enjoyed it! Your family's costumes were so, so awesome!!

I agree with Crystal1313 that it's a matter of perspective and what you hope to accomplish during the party. There will be crowds, but what is a "mob" to one person, might be manageable to another. Like Crystal1313 I didn't find the crowds to be horrendous on either the 8th or 11th and both parties were sell outs. Rides were generally not "walk-on" (especially not HMH), but it wasn't wall-to-wall people either. I heartily second the recommendation to see the Cavalcade and fireworks, along with the Villains change over. Trick-or-treating is fun and the lines do move pretty quickly. The Cadaver Dans were fun to listen to.
Overall, I don't think you'll gain much by heading to DCA. Remember that lots of folks who aren't going to MHP have that same plan and head to DCA. So you'll see a bump in attendance at that park as well. While I didn't go there during the party, I do recall seeing a steady stream of folks heading across the Esplanade to DCA.

Thank you! I was actually wondering about how busy DCA would be. That helps.

Lucrezia --

I just posted in the Christmas thread (you should enjoy this week's Theme, I think!) that it is 86 degrees here today in sunny Los Angeles! That is way too warm for Fall! I liked it when it was a nice 64 - 66 degrees last week! Still, though, there is a Harvest Festival at the Farmers Market this weekend and I am going to go to it and force myself into Autumn mode one way or the other!

I think that you all will have a fun time at the party -- especially your nieces. What some people in this thread may not know -- but I remember it because you have told me in the past -- is that your DF is particularly averse to crowds, probably more so than some folks, to the point where you actually were going to avoid trips during certain times because you knew he would not be happy at all. So his perception of what is too crowded or crazy could be different from what others think is too crowded or crazy.

I still think that everyone will end up having a great time overall, but you know that if it gets to be too crowded in any particular spot you can just go elsewhere.

I think that the parties are more crowded than they should be for a limited ticket event, but the crowds won't be as bad as they were for the madness that was the Unleash the Villains event on 9/13!

I don't think I realized that you bought tickets for 3 parties!

crystal1313 --

Lucrezia's nieces are anti-character photos. I was about to suggest setting aside one party for the characters and then I remembered that her nieces are not comfortable with meeting characters. But that is what I would do if I were going multiple nights -- I would set aside one night for characters.

You have an incredible memory, Sherry, I mean that! Lol. I was about to reply and say that Trent is the one with the crowd problem/my niece is freaked out by the characters, but then I saw you did it for me! Thanks! It's really good to hear that the parties may not be as bad as I thought. Such a relief. I'm mainly worried for my DF since he's a bit claustrophobic, as well as my nieces since they pretty much think waiting in line for anything isn't worth it (even the best E-ticket attractions lol). But I'm much more hopeful now I'll have to look on your Xmas thread for this week's theme. Unfortunately I've been so busy lately running around and prepping for our trip I've been slightly neglecting the Boards. Bad DISer! Lol. Now you've piqued my interest though...

This is good to hear because like Lucrezia, I too have been stressed out about crowds and MHP. I've been planning since February and to hear how horrible the crowds have been its been a little disheartening and has taken away a little of my excitement for the trip. Im freaken stressed out lol We will be in the park starting Monday the 21st.

We'll be there the 21st, as well.

 

[crystal1313]

Thanks! That makes me feel better. I actually read your TR just after I posted here, and really enjoyed it! Your family's costumes were so, so awesome!!

THANK YOU!!!

I saw lots of uncrowded areas if your DF is feeling claustrophobic and needs a break. My sons and I sat in Adventureland near the JC on a retaining wall and just people watched for awhile eating some treats. It was fun and nice to be in Adventureland when it wasn't wall to wall people! I really hope you have tons of fun! My kids don't do characters either. I was surprised they gave a couple high fives this trip. LOL. There's still plenty to do and see and take in during the party =)

 

[dddarrington]

Here's what my DGS7 and I were dressed like during our MHP on the 8th.

We did have fun, but I'm not sure I would do it again. One funny thing happened...TWICE! We went on Star Tours 3 times, and twice I was selected at the Rebel Spy....and then the Transmission was....Yoda! LOL...oops. I just said it was a prerecorded message! LOL

Diana

 

[theluckyrabbit]

Went to the party last night and had a great time. For a sold out party, it didn't seem crowded at all. We ate early at Cafe Orleans and got a quick snack much later. Our longest wait was 20 minutes for Peter Pan. Treat trails moved along smoothly, and we got plenty of candy. Found a fantastic spot for fireworks next to the Hub and a great spot for the second parade right in front of Market House (hellllooooo, Starbucks while watching the parade!). Again, the research and advice from these boards pays off huge. Already looking forward to next year's party!

 

[mydisneyfix]

Went to the party last night and had a great time. For a sold out party, it didn't seem crowded at all. We ate early at Cafe Orleans and got a quick snack much later. Our longest wait was 20 minutes for Peter Pan. Treat trails moved along smoothly, and we got plenty of candy. Found a fantastic spot for fireworks next to the Hub and a great spot for the second parade right in front of Market House (hellllooooo, Starbucks while watching the parade!). Again, the research and advice from these boards pays off huge. Already looking forward to next year's party!

We had the same experience! We hit a ton of rides with little wait. The only time we saw wait times was during the 3-6 time. Peter Pan was 20 min. and all other FL rides were walk ons. Especially after the fireworks...walked on HMH, and Pirates. Tons of candy too.

 

[Kilala]

Continuing with Mickey's Halloween Party (combined 10/8 and 10/11 review)...this time, Mickey's Costume Party Cavalcade! It runs at 8:30 pm and 10:30 pm. The 8:30 pm show starts at It's a Small World and progresses to Main Street. The 10:30 pm show starts at Main Street and heads back to It's a Small World. While not a full blown parade, it's still cute and fun to watch. In most cases (I think) you can get a pretty good view without waiting very long. For the first parade (on Tue), I got a spot about 25 minutes before the Cavalcade (wanted front row, by IaSW), but for the others, I was on MS and waiting maybe 5-10 minutes. The second Cavalcade is less busy than the first on both nights!

The Cavalacade starts with Vampire Mickey! His arms open and close. He's pretty cute!

Next up is the Costume Shop float (one of the only other floats in the parade). I loved all of the decorations on the float...may of which were Mickey hats from previous years. There were dancers before the float (witches, zombies) and after the float (including a costume that looked like it came from the Lion King parade!)

The next sequences of the parade consisted primarily of dancers and characters. I love the Mickey pumpkins! Pirate Mickey is followed by Peter Pan, Captain Hook, Wendy and friends.

Princess Minnie is followed by Snow White, Tiana, and Aurora (I think), plus several dancers.

Monster Mickey is followed by Sully and several monsters (including an orange furry monster that tended to give high fives to the crowd).

Finally, cowboy Mickey is followed by Woody and Jessie.

Next up was Duffy on a bicycle! He's wearing his pumpkin costume.

The next set of characters was kind of mish-mash, but mostly animals. There was Clarabelle, Baloo, King Louie, and the bears from Country Bear.

The next sequence had ragdoll dancers and stilt walkers. The silt walkers were pretty cool!

And then it was time for the final float of the Cavalcade. Daisy was on the front, Minnie and Mickey on the main platform. Goofy and Chip & Dale were in the middle. If you were on left side (when facing the float), you saw Stormtrooper Donald and if you were on the right, you saw Biker Stitch. And on the back of the float was Miss Piggy and Kermit pumpkin.

Overall, the Cavalcade seemed pretty similar from last year. The stilt walkers might have been new, but the floats and Mickey pumpkins were the same. I still really like the Cavalcade and watched it all four times!

Next time...the Cadaver Dans and the fireworks!

I love the pictures