Is MNSSHP worth it?

[Kapp]

Going mid-October and was considering attending (with the wife and daughters, 7 & 11). The cost seems pretty high (and this comes from a HDDR fan!) especially considering we will already have park access.

Anyone care to talk me into it?!??!

KAPP

 

[travelin' tigger]

I went for the first time last year with friends from DIS (TLinden16) and we had so much fun. The trick-or-treating was great and we all ended up with a ton of candy. Did many rides, but the parade was the best!!! Many villians, seeing the characters dressed up in costumes, plus many other things you never see at MK. Also it's fun to go in costume and see everyone else's!!

In fact I had so much fun I did it again a few days later with my DBF!!!

Definitely do it (at least once)!!!

PS Almost forgot - free photos!!!

 

[tink85]

I'd have to agree, you have to do MNSSHP at least once. It's so much fun to go trick or treating throughout the park, do the rides with few lines (don't forget the Haunted Mansion, extra fun on these nights) and plus the parade is one of the better ones of the MK. Make sure you don't miss the ride of the Headless Horseman! Everyone dresses up for the night so make sure you have a little "costume" even if it's just a hat or something, makes for a great picture (which is free!) Hope you enjoy!

 

[beattyfamily]

Yes, it's absolutely worth it. It's the ONLY time you can see WDW decked out for Halloween. The atmosphere is amazing! The music and lights shining on the buildings and the Castle. The decorations.

The parade alone is worth going.

For us it's absolutely worth it.

 

[jckdisneybound]

We went for the first time in 03 and had an amazing time. The atmosphere is awesome! The parade is awesome, as were the fireworks! We all had a great time! And we got to pretty much walk on to everyride we wanted!

 

[pandamom]

We went for the first time last year (Halloween night) and had such a great time we plan to go twice this year! The parade is a must see!

 

[2x_dis_dad]

We went lat year for the first time. We had a great time, but it was packed. The parade is awesome, the best part of the parade is the begining when the headless horseman rides. You get a lot of candy trick or treating. It is all good name brand candy too, not some cheap generic candy. I would say go for it, it is a lot of fun.

 

[kilee]

We went the first time in 2003. Made a trip back in 2004 based around MNSSHP. If you go from 4pm (when they usually allow you to enter) and stay until midnight I think you're getting your full money's worth. You don't use any part of your regular park media ticket to get in. We usually use our MNSSHP day to relax at our resort and swim.
We are currently planning on going back again this year, only I'm really hoping to hit up 2 parties instead of 1.

 

[valeriekc]

We went to MNSSHP when it 1st started a few years ago (2000 ??) and wow, what a blast! Lots of candy, great sound and decorations and nobody had discovered yet. In fact we didn't even know about it beforehand. It was so much fun we immediately got tickets for another party 4 nights later that week!
Well....fast forward 5 years and plug in the Disney marketing machine and you have still a wonderful setting....but lots and lots of people.
We have been down 4 times for the party since our first trip and have still enjoyed it but, that 1st trip was awesome.
With the bigger crowds each year it is no longer a "private party". I would certainly not do (2) nights each trip as we had done before.
I would recommend not doing a Friday night (as they seem to be busiest) and trying for a weekday.
The cast members have been much stingier with candy and the candy lines were so long last time that we pretty much skipped trick or treating altogether.
We invested our time in rides & attractions as opposed to gathering candy we would have loads of after Halloween anyway.
The tips from previous posters are correct, Don't miss the parade (especially the start), the decorations are great fun, make sure you "experience" Haunted Mansion.
Be sure to arrive when the party 1st starts to avoid using a park day on your regular tickets if that is an issue for you.
They also offer a free (ooops included ) family portrait that you should take advantage of. We've found that waiting till later in the night is best to avoid the long lines for these pictures.
Anyway, hope some of this helps!

 

[DrTomorrow]

Going mid-October and was considering attending (with the wife and daughters, 7 & 11). The cost seems pretty high (and this comes from a HDDR fan!) especially considering we will already have park access.

Anyone care to talk me into it?!??!

KAPP

Keep in mind that the park closes early to everyone except those with MNSSHP tickets, and they use wristbands to indicate to all CMs who's "supposed" to be there.

We loved it - it's an entirely different feel for the MK.

 

[ncbyrne]

DH and I will be there during MNSSHP, but our reason for that time of year is the Food and Wine festival at EPCOT. We have zero interest in Halloween, so we'll be skipping the part at MK, and saving our $ for other things.

 

[nygrl]

DH and I will be there during MNSSHP, but our reason for that time of year is the Food and Wine festival at EPCOT. We have zero interest in Halloween, so we'll be skipping the part at MK, and saving our $ for other things.

for the price i wouldnt skip it ... it is worth it to save a park day and just do mnsshp at night... there are no lines and you can do the whole mk in a couple hours... if you are planning on going to mk at all i would just do mnsshp and save a park hopper for another day

 

[SamanthaL]

Keep in mind that the park closes early to everyone except those with MNSSHP tickets, and they use wristbands to indicate to all CMs who's "supposed" to be there.

We loved it - it's an entirely different feel for the MK.

I was going to point this out too. You will be ushered out of the park at 6pm on the party nights if you don't have a party ticket. The park will open back up at 7pm but only to party guests. It is a fun night and totally worth it! Love the story tellers and the decos and the atmosphere and the whole thing!

 

[winniedapooh]

DO IT! We went twice alone and then last October took the kids back. They had a blast, it is a different experience with kids. We loved alone and with the kids! This is coming from an anti-Halloween person too!

 

[ValerieK]

Our family loved it, we went on Halloween night last year. We would do it again in an instant. It was well worth the money.

 

[frannn]

MK just has a different atmosphere when the party is going on. The rides are the same, but the whole park is dressed up differently, and all the additional activities (as mentioned above) are fun! We have gone twice, both on weekdays, and found the ride lines to be shorter, especially later in the evening. The characters will more accessible, and we took plenty of pictures with Pooh & Friends. The photo gets mailed to your home after you're back from your trip, and it's a wonderful souvenier. There are pins, tees, frames, and other things available only during the party hours. I find it fun to see all the guests dressed up in cute costumes. I try to compare the price to a character meal (which we also do a few of). For about $32/person, I can have dinner with Mickey & Friends, get autographs, and great pictures. It is only a few $ more to go to the MK and have access to 6 hours (I think) of party fun with the characters in costume. Don't know if I would go every year without DDs, though. I'd at east give it a try once.

 

[Brianne]

We went for the first time this past year and had a blast. My kids loved getting to dress up, and were amazed by all of the other costumes. The rides were all walk-ons that night, and the free photo was great (I should say photos---because there were 4 kids in the picture, they actually sent 4 copies! It was great to have those to give to the grandparents).

For some reason, I found more value to it than the Christmas party, but I can't really explain why. But we chose to pass on the Christmas one, although we may consider going this year.

 

[Mom to Will and Finn]

Definitely worth it. We didn't do the trick or treating (lines were long and it just seemed to take too much time), but we were able to walk onto most rides and ride them over and over. That alone makes it worth it to me. Then there's the parade, and all the spookiness. You should definitely go. We debated, too, but I'm so glad we did it.

 

[AngieBelle]

If you are into Halloween at all, I wouldn't miss it! Last year it took all my willpower not to buy tickets for a second night! I looooooove costumes, and the parties are the only time an adult can dress up at MK. Plus all the candy you want! They don't care if you come back to the same stations later in the night. hehehe. My friends and I kept going for pixie sticks right before closing.

I did MNSSHP for my birthday last year and my friends and I were almost all in our 20s, and almost all wore costumes.

 

[nursemelis374]

We also loved it! It was worth every penny!