Have you been to the Halloween Party in the past?

[Girimama33]

If so, would you mind answering a few questions?

What day of the week was it when you attended?
Was the park crowded in your opinion in regards to:
rides?
treat trails?
character M&G's?

Did you view the Halloween Screams Fireworks?
How long did you stake out a spot for the show?
Where did you watch them and how was the view?

Thank you in advance for your input.

 

[Eeee-va]

I went to the party on a Friday in 2010, during fall break. (I think if anything they let MORE people in now.)

I thought rides were very crowded (at one point I witnessed a line for BTMRR that was out of the switchback for some reason!). Our actual wait times were in the ballpark of 30 minutes each for Haunted Mansion Holiday and Space Mountain Ghost Galaxy.

Treat trails were very crowded at the start but got less crowded as the night wore on.

We only went to one character meet-and-greet, which was average crowded, I'd say (we waited maybe 30-40 minutes but managed to meet Captain Jack Sparrow, so that didn't seem so bad since there are no other opportunities to see him).

We had read on the DISboards at the time that you could come up to the fireworks near start-time and get a good viewing spot. We did NOT find that to be the case, and I don't think anyone is claiming you don't need to wait to get a good spot for fireworks now. We headed over to the area prior to fireworks and it was so crowded it took maybe 10 minutes to get to ANY spot. If I recall correctly, we got to our viewing spot not long before the show began, so we were just relieved to HAVE a spot, as for a while it looked like the show would start while we were still trying to squish our way into the viewing area. We were back from the hub with an adequate, but not good, view of the white ball/moon/snowglobe-looking thing. The view was OK but again, I'd been prepped for low crowds and definitely did not experience that anywhere.

 

[BELLEDOZER]

I attended both the 2010 and 2011 MHP'S. I attended them on both a Tues and a Friday.
The ride waits on the major attractions were about 30 mins, and less on the less popular rides. I personally found the Tues MHP I attended was less crowded than the Friday one, if heavy crowds are a problem. The treat trails were everywhere, and while the lines were long, they moved quickly. If you are serious about the trick or treating, bring a backpack with you, as the treat bags are small, and once they get full, empty them into the backpack and keep going. I never went to the M&G's when I went, as I was more interested in the entertainment, and other things. But they did look good. I loved the Halloween Screams fireworks, and IMHO they are worth the price of the party alone. We staked out a spot near the hub an hour before the show, and it was packed wall to wall by the time it started. The view was pretty good. Hope this helps you out. I love this time of year at DL, and strongly recommend that if you've got the chance, to go see it.

 

[All American]

Day of the Week: We went on Tuesday and Friday. As expected, the Friday party was more crowded than Tuesday's. However, the crowds were very manageable. Both nights, Haunted Mansion had the longest line. I think part of the crowded feeling came from those few hours before the party when party-goers are trying to get in and daytime guests are sticking around until the last possible minute.

Rides See above about Haunted Mansion. Just so you know, I don't mind a 30-minute wait for a ride. In fact, 60 minutes isn't the worst thing in the world. We drove 10 hours to get there, what's a bit longer before heading down Splash Mountain? With that being said, I felt the lines were fine. Some were walk on and others had a 20-minute wait. Not too terrible. Expect the worst; hope for the best. Besides, a lot of the time you spend waiting in line is spent watching other party-goers and seeing their costumes.

Treat Trails Both long and short, but they move very quickly. If you're walking and see a short line, hop on in!

Character M&G's We've never bothered since our kids aren't into that sort of thing. I did see Brer Rabbit between Haunted Mansion and Splash Mountain with no on in line to meet him. Poor guy. This year, we are taking my sister and may try it out if she wants to.

Fireworks We showed up about 15 minutes, both nights, before the fireworks. We picked a spot about a 1/3 of the way down Main Street. It was not crowded at all and did not fill up to the flag pole. You want to be able to see the left side of the castle so you can see the Jack Skellington projection bubble thing and other surprises. While possible to get a bad seat, you'd have to try hard to do so. If you're really worried, get a spot early. It is a FANTASTIC show!!!! (ETA: I had been to the party at DisneyWorld prior to this, so I knew what to expect with the fireworks -- with a few differences between the two parks-- so getting there early was not that important to me.)

 

[disneegrl4eva]

If so, would you mind answering a few questions?

What day of the week was it when you attended?
Was the park crowded in your opinion in regards to:
rides?
treat trails?
character M&G's?

Did you view the Halloween Screams Fireworks?
How long did you stake out a spot for the show?
Where did you watch them and how was the view?

Thank you in advance for your input.

ive gone every year except the first one....i always went on a Thursday until recently when they only offered it on Tuesdays and Thursdays and then I picked Tuesdays....I loved it when it was at DCA...dont get me wrong, DL is nice too but DCA was soooo much bigger and i never felt crowds period!!! Since moving over to DL it does feel more crowded but I know thats just because of how compact DL is in general...I never have had issues with long lines for rides but truthfully, I dont do a lot of rides at the parties...just too many other things going on that I want to take part in...but the rides i have ridden werent a major thing for me...I do all the treat trails and end up with a bag PACKED full of candy every year...not too terribly long for waits..goes pretty quickly imo...I dont do a lot of character M&G's...i mainly do Mickey and I head to where he is FIRST THING...so i can get that out of the way..lines tend to build fairly quickly and stay long the entire night and i dont want to miss anything else....ALWAYS do fireworks...Ive watched it since inception in 2009 (before it became just for the party) and I love it...I pretty much go stake out a spot several hours early just like i do for regular fireworks and I sit around the same spot (to the right of the castle where they put out the benches)..if im going to stake out a spot that long in advance im definitely going to go where there is a good spot....i recommend you talk to the fireworks CM's on duty and ask them for their recommendations where to be because they are really good about that kind of thing...

We had read on the DISboards at the time that you could come up to the fireworks near start-time and get a good viewing spot. We did NOT find that to be the case, and I don't think anyone is claiming you don't need to wait to get a good spot for fireworks now.

oh noooo Eeeva...if somebody told me that I would make them walk the plank...THEY LIE!!!!

 

[Sherry E]

Girimama33 -

Looking at your first few questions, I have a hunch you may have seen my reply in yet another MHP-related questions thread last night!

But I will repeat some of what I posted there in this thread too!:


I went to the MHP on a Monday night last year. It was only the second party night of the season. I found it to be much more crowded than I expected - not unbearably so, but it was not slow or quiet by any means. It looked like a weekend night.

The lines for most characters were pretty long. There were long lines for certain rides but not others. The long lines moved pretty fast at the treat trails.

(I have also been to the older version of the party - when it was still being held in DCA - on a Friday, and it was pretty much the same thing.)

There are many treat trails around Disneyland - and then treat stations along each trail. Some of the lines at the trails and stations are long, but they move faster than you'd expect. Last year, for example, there was a treat trail (with several treat stations) in the Pirates queue (because Pirates was closed for 2-1/2 months last year). That was a long line but it zipped right along. Likewise with the trail at the Golden Horseshoe (which has a few stations) - long line; moved quickly. Innoventions had a line but it went fast.

Pixie Hollow did not have much of a line at all - I think a lot of folks skipped that trail altogether or didn't notice it!

There were also not really any lines at the trail back at the Halloween Round-Up.



As for Halloween Screams, we watched them. We arrived probably about 30 minutes beforehand, I think. Lots of people were already camped out. We were facing the Castle, but off to the right-side and back a ways. The view was okay.

 

[nbliss]

Went last October, Tuesday night.
The crowds didn't bother us. I think you first see the lines for the trick or treat trails, and think wow, they are long! But, they do move very quickly, and there are so many throughout the park. We brought our own bags as I had read on here that the bags they hand out won't come close to holding all of the candy you get. That was an excellent tip. The four of us left that night with about 15 pounds of candy!
We only waited in line to meet Captain Jack Sparrow, because my son was dressed as him, and it's the only time to meet him. We waited 35 minutes, I believe. Worth it to see the look on my son's face, as the guy who portrayed him was AMAZING.
Ride lines were ok, I don't feel like we rode that many, just wandered around and did a lot trick or treating. It was fun to be there at night with all of the decorations, because during the week in October, the park isn't open past 8. I do remember towards the end of the night, I went on Haunted Mansion twice in a row, no waits.
Fireworks show was very cool. We showed up about 15 minutes before, no good spots. Stood in the middle of mainstreet, just outside of Plaza Inn. When it started, it was crowed everywhere there, and we had to hold our kids up (not on shoulders) so they could see everything. That's hard when you have a 8 and 5 year old! We were able to see everying, though.

 

[KateDrake]

I went last year on a Tuesday in mid-October. I thought the crowds were insane. We actually got stuck trying to walk past POTC on the walkways in front of Rivers of America. There were a ton of locals, and it created very long lines at treat trails and characters. One of the dance parties, with Pirate Goofy, was so full there was actually a wait to get into the party. Now, I could have a skewed perspective here, because we went to the WDW the year before, and it seemed deserted. But to me, the crowds seemed to be as high as they are during the peak of summer, but distributed differently.

I noticed that the character meets and treat trails were VERY crowded at the start of the party, and slowly tapered down as the night went on. The opposite was true of the rides. It seems like most people Trick or Treat and see characters first, since those are the things you can't do at other times. Then they hit the rides later, which makes them crowded. So we tried going on rides first, then ToTing later, along with seeing some characters. It seemed to work well for us, since it's kind of opposite what everyone else does.

For fireworks, we staked out a spot in the walkway between the hub and the Matterhorn about 45 minutes before the show started. We just sat on the pavement, which was kind of a nice break. We were able to remain seated through the whole show, which was nice since we had six kids in our group.

One other tip: since the parties are so heavily attended by locals, the crowds really die down after the fireworks. So I'd recommend skipping the first parade in favor of rides or ToTing, then seeing the fireworks and the second parade. You shouldn't even need to stake out a spot for the parade, just stay in the general area and you can run to the curb when it comes. We did this by IASW, and it worked great! Once the locals with school the next day leave, the lines for everything are super short, so that is really nice.

Hope you have a great time!

 

[Girimama33]

Thanks everyone for your responses! Now I think I have a pretty good plan of attack.

 

[Elk Grove Chris]

I would skip the candy lines too, maybe do a few. CM's will have several carts at the exits to fill your bags if you are looking to score candy.

Ride line waits went down significantly after the fireworks, locals leave, families with little kids leave.

 

[Sherry E]

When I see crowds at the MHP, I just see crowds. It doesn't occur to me that they are locals or tourists or any other kind of demographic. I simply see crowds, and it's annoying. Then again, I guess I'm considered to be one of the locals who seems to contributing to long lines at the party, so perhaps I'm naive!

(By the way, we skipped the first cavalcade, and last year we didn't even get in one single character line for a photo, nor did we go on any rides. Instead we hit all of the treat trails and watched the fireworks and that was it. We left after the fireworks only because I had to stop at the store on the way home. Otherwise, if not for that, we would have stayed until the party ended and collected the candy that the CM's hand out when you exit.)

 

[bakerudall]

about those candy lines...

Is there any shame in an adult couple loading up on candy at these things, or is this normal? We going without the kids on this vacation, but we would love to bring home a couple backpacks full of goodies for them.

 

[Girimama33]

about those candy lines...

Is there any shame in an adult couple loading up on candy at these things, or is this normal? We going without the kids on this vacation, but we would love to bring home a couple backpacks full of goodies for them.

All ticket holder s get a trick or treat bag, so adults are good to go to get candy....or so I have read.

 

[Capt Silly]

All ticket holder s get a trick or treat bag, so adults are good to go to get candy....or so I have read.

We went 2 years ago, 2 adults and 2 tweens, and ended up with about 20 lbs of candy (in a backpack). Nobody looked twice at all of us getting bags full of candy and then dumping it into the backpack.

The treat lines are long at the beginning, but after the fireworks you have a lot of people leaving, so they get shorter.

 

[KateDrake]

about those candy lines...

Is there any shame in an adult couple loading up on candy at these things, or is this normal? We going without the kids on this vacation, but we would love to bring home a couple backpacks full of goodies for them.

No shame at all! There are a ton of adults without kids there, so you guys will be fine.

The only issue I can see is that the candy isn't really special in any way. It's just the regular mini candy bars you get at regular trick or treating. So if you are looking for something special to take home, you might want to buy some Halloween lollies, pins, etc. They sell quite a few inexpensive "prizes" like that at the party that are really fun! Though now that I think about it, my DD probably wouldn't care, she would just want the candy! So you are good either way!

Have a great time! And I'd encourage you to dress up as well! The best costumes I've seen were groups of adults without kids!

 

[kailuagirl]

okay, you guys just sold me, we are going!!! If Capt. jack Sparrow is there, I'm there!!! Granted, I did get to shake the real Capt. Jack's on 3 occassions several years ago when they were filming here the last POC, he was so incredibly nice. I will never forget it. Johnny Depp rocks!! The first time he shook my hand looked into my eyes and said "Thanks for coming, thanks for the support, I love you love". I will never forget it. been in love with him ever since, haha

But it really sounds fun, I need to get our tickets, we'll be going the first Tuesday in October.

 

[chrissiecutie]

A couple questions-

Do the trick or treat stations stay all night? If we do the fireworks & 2nd parade and THEN trick or treat- will we be too late??

How do you know what characters will be where at what time?? Do you get a meet & greet schedule??

And KateDrake- where is this spot you mentioned for fireworks? Between the HUB & Matterhorn but then you said you were near IASW for the parade?? I'm lost. Sounds like it's a little out of the way & since you were able to stay seated through the entire show & still have a good view- I'm super interested in scoping this spot out!!

 

[JadeDarkstar]

Yes you can trick treat last and get shorter lines.
I wish there was a schedule of the chr greets meets but i havent found it.
I want to know the villens (melifcent is who we want)

 

[chrissiecutie]

Yes you can trick treat last and get shorter lines.
I wish there was a schedule of the chr greets meets but i havent found it.
I want to know the villens (melifcent is who we want)

So then how do you know where the characters will be so you can line up for them??

I see several people mention here that they waited in line for 30 mins to see a certain character because their kid was dressed like him. And the rest of the characters they didn't bother with because the lines were so long.

So how will I be able to find THE character we want to meet???

 

[JadeDarkstar]

villens are by small workld, jack and sully are by hm, pirates by poc from what ive heard. I dont know where they put mickey and friends last year. but they do have a map at 4pm when you go in for the early entry and i dont think chrs line up till party starts