For those who went to the MHP, a few questions.
- How were ride lines in general? We've got conflicting reports on that.
- How were Haunted Mansion and Ghost Galaxy lines in particular?
- Based on what you saw, how early should one line up in front of the castle to get good fireworks viewing?
- How were the character meet and greet lines? Did the lines seem to change over the course of the evening?
- Were there any treat trails that you thought were especially well-done? (we don't plan on going to that many).
- I'll have a regular day's admission as well as MHP tickets, do you think the toontown pre-party would be worth it for me? (seems like it was packed, so I'm not sure I want to brave it.)
I'm getting that the consensus is that candy lines were very long but shortened considerably after fireworks.
We went on Friday night and I don't think I would do this event again.
We arrived at 6pm and the lines to get in were long. They did not have all of the lines open because they still needed lines for regular ticket holders to enter until 7pm. Since they were beginning to clear out people, the area by the flower garden once you entered was crowded. There was a long line for Pluto, and he wasn't wearing a costume.
Most of the rides had a 15-20 minute wait. HM was closer to 25-30 minutes. Not bad, but actually longer than we were expecting. No fast passes were accepted. Our biggest disappointment was that Pirates of the Carribean was closed due to the BB dinner.
The trick or treat lines were long, but moved quickly. The male cast members were definitely more generous with candy than the female cast members. We didn't spend too much time there since it was just regular candy - you can buy a bag at Costco and get the same amount and save yourself the time.
Lines for character greets were pretty long. We waited a bit for Jack Sparrow but gave up and moved on.
Because the trick or treat trails were located in the larger walkways, it made moving around kind of a pain. The whole thing just felt overly crowded until about 10pm, after the fireworks show the crowds died down.
We didn't see the parade. We ate dinner at French Market and watched the fireworks from their patio area. Not the best view, but we were still able to enjoy them.
All in all, we wouldn't go back because it didn't seem that different than a regular day in the park at this time of year. We've gone in the last weekend of Sept several times, and on a Saturday the crowds are about the same, the wait time for the rides is about the same, the Halloween themed food is available, and you have much more time to enjoy everything since the park opens at 8 and closes at midnight. In addition, Pirates would be open!
Anyways, those of you with tix, - have fun and definitely plan what you want to do in advance and use your time accordingly. It goes by very fast.