My friend and I (and we don't have kids) went to the TOTP last year for the first time ever. At first I didn't really care too much about going, and I took my sweet time in trying to decide if it was worthwhile to go. Finally I decided we would go, but the date I wanted was sold out. Oh well, no big deal, I thought. We will just miss it. However, someone came through - who just happened to have tickets for the night I wanted and needed to get rid of them - and so we were back on track for the first night of the TOTP.
I am glad we went and I would definitely do it again. I am not sure that I could say that I would do the TOTP every year, but I wanted to at least do it a couple of times before retiring from it. I am still unsure of my plans for this year.
First of all, DCA has different Halloween decorations up just for the TOTP that are not up during the day in DCA or on other, non-TOTP nights. Those are cool. There are tons of "treat stations" all around DCA (even inside the Animation Building, I think) so if you see one line that looks too long, around a corner there will be another station. We didn't even stop at all the stations during the night, but we got plenty of candy. They give you chocolate such as mini Nestle's Crunch, Hershey's minis, Tootsie Roll, some healthier alternatives if you want them, etc. There is also special merchandise that only comes out for the TOTP too, different from the regular Halloween merchandise sold during the day.
Also, in addition to the many, many treat stations, there are all kinds of different character PhotoPass opportunities with various villains. Last year we saw the Wicked Stepsisters, and some other rare ones were there too, as well as Jack Sparrow (near "Pirates' Wharf") and the (non-villainous) Incredibles and Woody/Jesse & the Green Army Men. I think Buzz Lightyear was roaming around but we somehow missed him. There were a bunch of characters all over, including Mickey and Minnie in Halloween garb. The Incredibles were dancing at one of the dance floor locations. Overall, it is a fun, lively, festive 'party' atmosphere. Music is playing everywhere. Some folks are in costume, some are not (we were not). There are DJs and lots of dancing. And over near A Bug's Land (or was it Candy Corn Acres?), there were one or two creepy scarecrow guys (real human beings dressed in scarecrow motif) talking weirdly and making fun of the guests.
Oh, and as for rides, we rode TSMM, and ToT was definitely open too, as were several other things.
Overall, I would say it is a very fun time and worthwhile to try at least once.
Seriously, with a child under 3 you get 1 in free!! OK -- tell us what you are doing -- week-days, week-ends & how many days -- boys, girls, etc. We'll get you hooked up. No Disney....Gasp! where's the inhaler...
