Just back from MNSSHP - My thoughts & Tips

[luvmikids]

Thanks for the update! We are going twice on our trip. I too, don't think it's about the candy. Its the atmosphere that we are going for! Candy is just a bonus!

 

[Dommiekazommie]

We hit up the trick or treating stations at the end of the night. Usually about 11:30 because at this point most of the character meet and greets are closed off so we start at adventureland and make our way over to tomorrow land and hit anyone without a line.

I do agree I would not wait in a line to get candy

Trick or treating is one of the best bits for us. But even I wouldn't wait more than 5 mins in a line for it! We don't really celebrate haloween at all over here. So MNSShP is one of the ony times well ever get to experience trick or treating. And you guys have much better candy than we do!


What was all the controversy about the allergy candy thread? I didn't see that one!

 

[maryj11]

My DGD cant wait to trick or treat for candy at the MK ! I dont think we are focusing on the candy alone but just having fun We also are looking forward to watching the parade and fireworks.

 

[ebtbmom]

Trick or treating is totally what I'm going for! As a kid t or t was the highlight of my year, I'd trade it for Christmas morning anytime!

 

[Mom2darlingboys]

Our experience was different from OP. We went on the night of rain too - ugh. Spent much of it huddled in the shops on Main Street, and in the Princess building waiting to see Flynn, and Mickey and Minnie in costume (almost an hour wait).

We returned on the 26th, and in truth, it was the most disappointing part of our trip. We had gone last year in late October, and I don't recall it being as busy as this year. It made me truly appreciated the need for a plan - due to timing, we spent much of our time trapped in the Hub by parades and fireworks.

Our main objective for the second party was to see the rare characters that only come out for the parties, particularly Jack Sparrow and Lotso, and possibly Maleficent and the Snow Queen. And, as the only woman in our crew, I really wanted to see Cinderella's coach. After being directed first to Peter Pan's flight to see the carriage, then to the flagpole at the front of the park, we were advised that it was not making an appearance at the parties this year AT ALL - not sure how I missed that in my hours of trip research on DIS, but somehow it slipped through the cracks.

Jack Sparrow we lined up for at 8 p.m. After waiting 35 minutes in line, we were told that Jack would be leaving around 8:45 and returning in about half an hour. At this point, we decided to hustle over to find a parade spot (about four people deep at this stage, 45 minutes before the parade was to start!) The second parade was definitely not lighter than the first. I took pictures of the crowd, it was so busy!

After the fireworks, we went in search of Lotso. Am I the only person frustrated by the lack of direction around characters at these events? I knew he was supposed to be "in the Hub somewhere" (I later learned by Crystal Palace), INTERMITTENTLY (which I swear is Disney speak for "whenever you're not there"). We looked until closing time, to no avail. And what was worse, none of the cast members we asked help from seemed to know where anything was, or if it was even appearing. Some of them didn't even know who Lotso was. My kids were really disappointed they could not find him. They wanted to know if he smelled like strawberries!

So, long story short - bad weather (clearly not Disney's fault, but no fun none-the-less), super crowded parks, poor crowd control and super huge lineups for the characters. Personally, I think the parade and fireworks are worth the price of admission alone, and the ride lineups were light, but if you want to do the "Halloween" stuff, pick one or two things you want and throw caution to the wind - you may achieve them, you may not.

At the risk of sounding paranoid and begrudging, I would almost say Disney sets up these events to make it hard for people to get from one thing to the next and messes up the timing to limit the experience and have people come back again!

Based on our experience this year, we will not be attending MNSSHP again. It really was a let down. On the flip side, it was our last night in the parks, and it made the heavy hearted task of leaving easier - by the end of the night, we just wanted outta there!

I did make my hubbie and kids wait while I voiced my concerns at the Town Hall customer relations desk (sorry, the name escapes me right now). The cast member I spoke with didn't seem overly concerned, said that they'd had no complaints about the party (what, EVER?), and was happy to give me a business card for me to reach out with my concerns.

(And before the flames come out, it was our last night there - I was NOT expecting anything to be done for me, just for my concerns to be passed on.)

All that said, the fireworks and parade were great. And meeting Flynn was a blast - he's awesome!

 

[pixarmom]

It's really interesting to read about the different experiences MNSSHP. We're going next Monday, October 8, and Aviendha's report is very helpful to us because it covers the same activities that interest us.

We have WDW APs, and over the past few years, we've been to WDW and DL multiple times and on two Disney cruises. So we've met LOTS of characters, and while the rare characters are interesting to see, we don't plan to meet them. At the most, we'd like a photo with Alice and Hatter (because that's our costume theme) and maybe Cruella and Gaston, if that works out.

So we're going for the general atmosphere, the fun of dressing in costume, the trick-or-treating (sure, you can get candy anywhere, but trick-or-treating at MK just sounds fun), the parade, the fireworks, the extras at Haunted Mansion (CMs in costume), the Villains show, and a few late-night rides without waits.

Point is, I hope our experience is more like OP's because we're targeting the same activities!

 

[FancyNancy]

Thank you for this review! I am going in September next year and was really on the fence about weather to purchase a ticket or not but after reading your review I am definitely going!

 

[jacksa]

We were there on Tuesday, Sept 18. It had rained all day and then stopped around 5pm. So we were lucky with the weather .

We arrived around 5 too and got a bunch of rides in. The place was really empty due to the rain and the early close time.

We watched the first parade - got front row seats maybe 20-30 min before it started. We were a little worried that the headless horseman wouldn't ride with the wet ground, but he did! It's such a great parade - so much better than the MSEP. (We really missed Spectromagic .)

We ended up watching the fireworks from Fantasyland b/c I forgot what time they started. Definitely not the best viewing location - it's like watching a tennis match.

Rides were essentially walk-ons all night. My kids were doing Space Mountain right up until midnight. I don't know how many times they rode.

I was surprised by the lines for candy. I only lined up for candy when it was a short line or I was waiting for dh/kids to meet up with me and other kids somewhere. We went through the line near the Carousel of Progress just before midnight and they were out of candy!!! We got there just as they emptied the barrel. I never thought that would happen.

We waited for the late showing of the Villains show and they ended up not doing it b/c of the rain. It had been sprinkling/misting off and on and I guess they decided it wasn't safe. But the Villains still came down and did their meet and greets.

I only waited in line for Aurora/Phillip. It was right after the fireworks and I'd say it was 20-30 minutes. They weren't out yet when I got there. That wasn't too bad. But I was directed to the wrong place by 2 CM's before a 3rd CM showed me the right line/place.

Leaving was a mess. They didn't seem to be running enough monorails. Only the resort line was running, so we opted for a ferry. So that was kind of an unpleasant way to end the evening.