Just back from MNSSHP - My thoughts & Tips

[bewy mom]

We were at the party Sept. 21 and endured all the rain also. This was our first MNSSHP and may be the last. It didn't seem worth the extra $ for the ticket when we could have added another day to our park tickets for only $10.The only candy we got was Lemonheads, Smarties, Now and Laters, and Twizzlers not much chocolate at all! The lines were not long for the rides and we didn't get to see the parade due to riding. The night went by so fast!

 

[mesaboy2]

We were at the party Sept. 21 and endured all the rain also. This was our first MNSSHP and may be the last. It didn't seem worth the extra $ for the ticket when we could have added another day to our park tickets for only $10.The only candy we got was Lemonheads, Smarties, Now and Laters, and Twizzlers not much chocolate at all! The lines were not long for the rides and we didn't get to see the parade due to riding. The night went by so fast!

If you're going there to get in some ride time I agree, it isn't worth the money. An additional day at $10 makes much more sense.

 

[capeseal]

We were there too. It felt a little busy, but we had an amazing night. DD got to ride her favorites multiple times and met several characters. It was too short a night for us as we closed the park still hoping to see and do more . It was absolutely worth it for us, especially paying the military rate. I was surprised about how busy the second parade was but we walked up 15 minutes before start time, completely prepared to stand a few people deep when an amazing man reconfigured his group so that DD and I could sit up front. I was so amazed and really grateful. It was such a lucky moment and DD loved the parade.

We actually skipped the trick or treating in order to see more characters. DD got a lollipop handed to her during the parade and was thrilled. I told her that we could get candy later but could only see Disney characters on our trip and she was happy to wait until Halloween at home for candy.

The most magical part for me was that DD (4) and DS (17 months) didn't melt down at all and babbled quietly and contentedly throughout the bus ride back.

 

[sixkristy6]

Thanks for the tips! We're going on 10/16, and I am hoping we can meet the princesses and their princes. I was looking at the party info. on Kenny the Pirate and it looks like the princesses and their princes are meeting at Towne Square so we'll be getting in line for that meet and greet first. I don't anticipate spending the night in lines for characters, just that one. (DD will love it!).

 

[MyGirlLovesTink]

We will be at the Oct. 21st party. I can't wait, it sounds like so much fun!!

 

[Geordietyke]

Great feedback! We are there on Halloween night too - it's our 1st time and we are pretty excited Hubby not dressing up (grouch ) but me and my 2 DD's will be dressed as black cats

 

[MadzMum]

this is our first MNSSHP AND we're going on Halloween! I'm so excited!!
it's our last night there, so I'm not going to stress about rides or every-day characters--just looking forward to the experience (and DYING to meet captain hook!!)

 

[maryj11]

Wow that sounds like lots of candy ! How big are the trick or treat bags they give you ? I'm wandering how we will take that much candy home on the plane since we will only have carry on bags

 

[sixkristy6]

Wow that sounds like lots of candy ! How big are the trick or treat bags they give you ? I'm wandering how we will take that much candy home on the plane since we will only have carry on bags

I thought the same thing and how we don't really need all that candy in addition to candy from Halloween. So I figure we'll take the good stuff with us (but we're also going on a Tues. and flying home on a Sat. so we might eat it anyway )

 

[worco]

Wife and I are doing an adults only trip and decided to go to MNSSHP on the 16th. We are both wearing costumes and are so excited we feel like kids already. May do a little trick or treating ourselves.

 

[Nutbean]

We LOVED it!

ENTRANCE TIME & PARKING: We called the general info number to ask a non-related question and I happened to mention to the CM that we were going to the party that evening. She said, "You know you can get in before 7, right?" So, I would do just that! Don't wait until 7:00!!!

We are annual passholders. We were able to show our passes at 5:15 to the parking attendant and receive free parking since the regular park hours are until 7:00. The CM didn't even bat an eye and she told us, 'Have a great time!'. I'm not sure if there is a cut off time for this or not.

Crowds getting in at 5:30ish were light. There was no wait for the monorail and security lines were very short because they had extra lanes open. Same for the ticket turnstiles.


CROWDS: We went last night (Tuesday September 25th). Compared to last year's party on a Friday night in early October, the crowds were much better. The longest wait for any ride was 15 minutes at Peter Pan and Winnie the Pooh. Average wait times for other rides were Haunted Mansion 10 minutes; Pirates of the Caribbean 5 minutes; Small World 5 minutes; no wait for carousel; 10 minutes Dumbo. Anyone who has/had a three year old knows that no waiting in lines for rides is a BLESSING. We took full advantage.

We never saw a line at the Fire Station to get your free collector card either. We walked right in after the fireworks.

There were parts of the park that were always crowded, but they were the areas that are usually congested at any time: Main street, Fantasyland corridor, etc. But other areas had really light traffic.

We have a very shy 3 yr old so we weren't interested in any of the character meets. She was content to watch them in the parade or see them in passing. I didn't pay any attention to times at the character stations, but several had really long lines.

PARADE: I know it's been said 1000x that the second parade tends to be less busy than the first, but we didn't find this to be the case at all. I don't know. Maybe the crowds were better up around Main Street, but around Liberty Square we saw no difference. For both parades, people began lining up super early. We snagged a front row spot around 40 minutes before start time, but we had to stalk the 'rope stringers' to find a place. LoL The parade is amazing! Be warned that if you have a child who scares easily, front row seats may not be the best as many of the parade characters interact with you along the way. Fortunately, our little one loved it, even when Jafar loomed right over her.

FIREWORKS: Spectacular! I would find a spot further away from the castle (its is SO crowded up there, anyway) and closer to the entrance as there are quite a few peripheral fireworks that are better viewed further back.

CANDY: Oh my goodness, they give you so much! The lines weren't bad at 7:00ish (another reason to go early) but did get more busy as it got later. Lines looked intimidating, but seemed to be moving at a quick pace. Honestly, we only went through the 'trail' between Fantasyland and Tomorrowland and we got so much candy we didn't bother doing any more TrTing. I weighed our loot on our scale and between the 3 of us we had 2 lbs of candy just from that one trail alone!!! I can't imagine what we would have gotten if we had done any other stations! They gave us tons of chocolate including Reese's cups, Snickers, Milky Way, Twix, Butterfinger, and Almond Joy. Yum!


I think the value of this ticket is great, especially if you take advantage of the early entry time. I can't wait to go back next year!

We were there that same night. Our first time going. We got in just before 5 and 8 of us dressed up in costumes. Crowds were very light when we arrived (walked on Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Teacups, Pirates, etc.) but once the party was under full swing, we found it was wall to wall people. We only got one handful of candy (outside Woody's dance party) because the line ups and crowds of people to fight through were just too much. We waited for the second parade and found it still overwhelmingly busy.

We had practiced the "Calling all the Monsters" routine to do on main street and we could hear it from where we were sitting waiting for the parade but we were much too hot and tired to try to fight our way through the throngs of people to get there to participate.

I never did see many characters other than in the parade and on stage in the very last Villains Mix and Mingle of the night much less get in line to get pictures with any of them. We never made it to Tomorrowland or Adventureland after the party started. We got stuck in the massive wall of people somewhere between Woody's Dance Party, Haunted Mansion and the corridor/bottleneck up to Fantasyland.

The parade was very cool and the fireworks were awesome but in my opinion not worth the extra money for those alone. Maybe our expectations were too high but I (incorrectly) assumed that going on a Tuesday in September would have much lighter crowds and it kind of ruined it for us. Based on our experience, I personally wouldn't do it again.

 

[luvmikids]

Can't wait! We are going on the 23 and the 28. Hoping for great weather! We will be pirates for the first party and where's Waldo for the second! So excited!!

 

[HappyGal]

We were at the party Sept. 21 and endured all the rain also. This was our first MNSSHP and may be the last. It didn't seem worth the extra $ for the ticket when we could have added another day to our park tickets for only $10.The only candy we got was Lemonheads, Smarties, Now and Laters, and Twizzlers not much chocolate at all! The lines were not long for the rides and we didn't get to see the parade due to riding. The night went by so fast!

We went to the party on the 21st also and it was so disappointing. The parade and fireworks were ok. It rained and the characters were hard to find. And my kids collected mostly Lemonheads and smarties. Never again.

 

[Dommiekazommie]

We went to MNSSHP on Tuesday 18th September and it was great!!! ADmitedly we only rode one ride (haunted mansion at 11.30pm), but had 1 and a 1/2 other MK days to enjoy everything, and just wanted to soak up the party that night

We had spent the day at MK, went back to resort to change about 2pm (we were Megara and hercules). and came back to the park at about 5. the park was dead the whole day, and only started getting bus about 7ish, even then i'd still say it was overall quiet. we hit up the princesses and princess first (lined up for the princesses at 6.45ish,waited maybe 10 mins after 7) and mickey and minnie (straight after, maybe 15 mi wait) and came into main street about 10 mins before the first parade. got a great spot with no effort (even as the parade came past people were only standing maybe 3 people deep at the deepest). the parade was amazing!

From there we just wondered around maybe, got some great chaacter pics (buzz, alice and mad hatter, king louie, princes, princesses, mickey, minnie) got some yummy candy (The trail between fatasyland and toorrowland was the best). and just had a great night wandering around and chatting to people about their cosumes. the CM interaction was great, everyone called us Meg and Hercules and had whole conversations with us, and the atmosphere was excellent. easily the best time of our 12 day trip! Can't wait to do it again one day! (and just so you know, I went with DF, bth 25).

Also, in case anyone else needs to know, you can swap out any candy your allergic to with safe candy at City hall / guest relations. I'm allergic to nuts, so DF and I pooled all our nutty candy and swapped it out. we got SO much in return, was great, much more than we gave them to be swaped!

 

[jm0925]

Glad to hear you had a good time. We went to this event last year for the first time and LOVED IT! My boyfriend hadn't been to MK since he was a little boy and didn't remember anything about it as a child, but he loved this event. He enjoys fireworks and his eyes lit up like a child's at their firework show. For me, what makes the ticket worth it is the lighter crowds. That for me is fabulous. This year we decided to go to the Merry X-Mas Party to do something different.

 

[mickeyluv'r]

It's kind of odd to me to hear all the reports on candy....I mean, a whole bag of Kit Kats is what, $2.50 at ANY grocery store in America? There are so many things unique to WDW and the Halloween party, that I don't see why anybody would focus on something as hum drum as candy.

I'm not trying to be mean, I just don't understand why anybody would focus on it.

 

[capeseal]

It's kind of odd to me to hear all the reports on candy....I mean, a whole bag of Kit Kats is what, $2.50 at ANY grocery store in America? There are so many things unique to WDW and the Halloween party, that I don't see why anybody would focus on something as hum drum as candy.

I'm not trying to be mean, I just don't understand why anybody would focus on it.

Exactly why we skipped candy. I thought people waiting in long lines for candy were a little bit silly since it is nothing exclusive and there were so many other things going on. I told DD from the beginning that we would trick or treat on Halloween, but we were there for all of the special things that couldn't be done or seen at any other time or place.

 

[heather13]

Also, in case anyone else needs to know, you can swap out any candy your allergic to with safe candy at City hall / guest relations. I'm allergic to nuts, so DF and I pooled all our nutty candy and swapped it out. we got SO much in return, was great, much more than we gave them to be swaped!

Thank you for the info & where to go! Another thread about this got so out of hand with people debating, that the details of the actual question got lost in the shuffle

 

[steeners81]

It's kind of odd to me to hear all the reports on candy....I mean, a whole bag of Kit Kats is what, $2.50 at ANY grocery store in America? There are so many things unique to WDW and the Halloween party, that I don't see why anybody would focus on something as hum drum as candy.

I'm not trying to be mean, I just don't understand why anybody would focus on it.

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

 

[Jkpark]

We were also there on the 25th and were surprised by the candy lines. We waited to meet the Dwarves - for a VERY long time - but it a priority for us. That meant we missed the first parade. We did a few rides, ate a quick bite, let DD7 and DD5 trick or treat through two lines before they fell asleep... We watched the fireworks and 2nd parade - and were surprised by the crowds - but still LOVED it. Went back to Tomorrowland and danced with some characters and then just got some more candy if we passed it on the way out. We had a blast!