Is the Halloween party worth it?

[bethwc101]

We will be at DLR the week of halloween. We have the party on two of the nights. We will be staying onsite so will have EE each day. Is the party worth the cost? We will be a party of 5 so will be $650 in total cost. Is it worth the value?
What exclusive party things do they have just the fireworks and parade?
3 members of our party will leave Thurs morning so they will not have an opportunity to see other nighttime entertainment like Fantasmic!
For those who have done it, would you do it again?

 

[Skyegirl1999]

There have been a lot of "worth it?" posts lately, which are really tough because it's such a subjective question. For some people, $650 is much more significant than others, and of course, everyone prioritizes different things at Disney even on a normal park day.

Other than the fireworks and parade, there's entertainment like the Cadaver Dans, all the atmosphere decorations and details, and party-only characters. There are also treat trails, of course. IME, the non-Halloween-themed rides had short waits.

I've done the party and enjoyed it (it helped that I was highly motivated to meet Maleficent, although she sucked up close to an hour of our party time). Our fireworks were cancelled , but we did a handful of walk-on rides, met several rare characters, hit a few trails, and thought the parade was very cool (although short). It's not something I need to do every year (we're considering the first party this year but haven't pulled the trigger yet), but it's a fun thing to experience.

 

[tarheelalum]

Its probably a better value for your money than staying onsite if you love Halloween. If you don't really care that much about Halloween then it's probably not worth it.

 

[stickeymouse]

Is it worth it to go to Disneyland? How did you come to that answer? These questions are so suggestive that only opinions can be given as answers. I say yes, but that's just an opinion.

 

[ExcitedMama]

It’s really subjective and impossible to quantify. I had the same questions about it last year. There were two MHP during our visit, and our days were weekdays so no fireworks without MHP. My son loves Halloween so I thought it would be a fun treat. It was a great time, but worth it? Definitely to do once. I loved the fireworks and the parade was fun. We have another trip in October and I still can’t decide what we should do even after going. Same problem of no fireworks and two party nights closing DL while we are there.

A few things to consider. How much does your party enjoy characters? My kids loved seeing the characters in Halloween costumes. But on the negative side lines are long and fuzzy characters could switch out before you get to the front so you could miss one you want to see.

Any villain fans? They are everywhere! My son thought that was cool but my daughter absolutely hates all villains so keep that in mind if that applies.

How important is dressing up? Obviously for adults this is the only time you can dress up so that’s a big deal for some people.

You could also consider changing your tickets to save money. Spend some time at the pool or visit the area and use the savings for the EMH. I really think it’s impossible to know before you go, or even when you have in my case. It’s very pricey and just depends on how important those elements are to you and your party.

 

[ExcitedMama]

Another thing to consider is what you want to do when the park closes if you don’t go and/or the other party night that happens while you’re there. Last year on the night we didn’t go to MHP we left the parks because we figured DCA would be way too packed with all the people shut out of DL. I made reservations at Goofys and DTD was a zoo. Now that there is really not much going on at DTD I would imagine the crowds could be even worse. You might want to consider making reservations just in case or consider going somewhere else.

 

[otten]

For me, it's worth it to meet Maleficent while wearing my Maleficent costume. I'd buy a party ticket just for that but Maleficent has been my favourite since I was about 8.

 

[CO2CA]

YES!! It's worth it to us at least. I'm not sure how many times we've done them in the past (quite a few haha) but always love them. We went one of the first years that they had it, which was when it was over at California Adventure. Tons of fun! Lots of trick-or-treating, fireworks, parade, characters - I'm getting excited just thinking about it!

 

[BrianF]

If you look at the amount of park time you can get and take into consideration the things you can only get by doing the party I think it's a good value for a day that you don't use another ticket. Come into the park 3 hours before the party starts using your party ticket and save a day of other admission. We'll be there with some friends that only have 2 day tix and we will be doing the party on a 3rd day so they don't pay double for those overlap hours and they get some hours that will have lower crowds for rides and special characters and fireworks.

Long answer short, I think its best value is if you go on a day that it's your only ticket into the park. You save a few bucks on your regular ticket to offset the cost of the party and the party has some special features.

 

[Elk Grove Chris]

Brian has it, well worth it for use on a non-ticket day, bonus, you get to sleep in.

Everything else is subjective to the user, like staying at onside hotels. We have done 4 party nights and for us the "worth" diminished on each subsequent party over a 4 year span. So entirely different than some of the other posters above. It seemed like there were more people let in each year and less activities each year for us for the cost and we love us some Halloween.

 

[azdisneylover]

Each person can decide if it is worth it for them. Dh and Darrel it isn't worth it. Dd1, f2f and I feel it is, so we are going to a party while the guys have fun in dca. Being able to dress up and truck or treat with my teenage daughters is worth it to me and then too! What ever you decide, have fun!

 

[julesann]

I did MHP with my ds when he was 13 and with my dd when she was 23. It was an absolutely magical time. We were in costume (my daughter and I were coordinating Cruella and Perdita) and we enjoyed every moment of it! On the day of MHP, we did not go to the park until the start of the party both times.