MHP 2013 Check In Thread! Join us here!

[Panfan86]

I'll be going on Oct. 8 as a ninja, unless that pesky storm in the gulf decides to come over to play. If there's a meet for the 8th, I'd love to join in.

I was thinking the same thing! Maybe we should think of a time and place to meet on the 8th. Then anyone who wants to join can meet up there. This is my first party and im super excited!!! Would love to meet other DISers there!

 

[Tink121212]

I am getting SO excited! We are going the 11th. We are putting the finishing touches on our TRON costumes! They have turned out amazing. My DH has done an incredible job! So if you are there on the 11th and see a family of 4 (2 adults, DS5 & DS4) dressed as TRON (with light up costumes and all) that is us! Say hi!!

I'll look for you! We're going too. I'll be dressed as Snow White and hubby as an opening DCA cast member (too big to be a dwarf...lol). We can't wait!

 

[Dot2Vegas]

We attended the October 4th party. It was fabulous!!
Crowds- it was the same sold out party that we attend every year and I thought it felt significantly leas crowded than last year. We basically walked on to everything except HMH which was about 45 min when we rode at 6:30pm.
Trick or Treat- we don't focus much on this. We mainly attend the party to ride the rides and see the costumes. I felt that they were a little stingy with the candy this year. We didn't get nearly as much as years past. Doesn't bother us, just an observation. The treat trail near rancho del (I forget the name now!) Was fun and we saw goofy and Pluto dressed up.
Characters- we met captain Jack. He was amazing. My girls were convinced that we met johnny depp. Right before him we saw Hook, Peter pan and Wendy. Jack and Sally were out and had a long wait, as did mickey and Minnie in their Halloween costumes. We met the usual princesses in the royal theater. And the highlight of the night was meeting Pocahontas!! We did not meet any villains which makes me sad. We were heading to main st. At 11 to meet them. That's when we got to chatting with a CM who tipped us off to Pocahontas. Long story short, we ran out of time. But Pocahontas spent about 10 minutes chatting with us. She was the last princess that my girls were waiting to meet. It was special for them, even though it killed me to miss the villains!!
Costumes- lots of great ones! Lots of people not dressed up as well.
HMH was amazing this year. The gingerbread house is my favorite one so far!
Disappointments- Monsters Inc dance party. We hoped to see mike and sully. When we arrived there were a few girls in MU costumes dancing with a handful of guests. It was boring and not interactive at all. My kids lost interest about 2 minutes in. Also disappointing was the way CM handled the closing of FL for the fireworks (which were cancelled). We had a bathroom emergency with DD. We were directed to one restroom which was closed. So they sent us to another restroom which was closed. No one could point us to an open area. I finally had to yell at a CM and say that my daughter was going to pee her pants if the didn't give me some direction. It was weird and uncomfortable. I hate to argue with Disney CMs. I think they work hard and take a lot of unnecessary abuse from people.
Overall the party was amazing! They never disappoint!

 

[DZNEE4US]

Thanks for the info.! With all these dates selling out, I think it's more important than ever to have a plan.
Why would they close off restrooms? I understand they're trying to wrap up and close, but if the area is open to guests, then they shouldn't. Clean them after close! Besides, these have been some big crowds.

 

[DLmama]

We went to the Oct 4th party. It was our first party and we thought it was a lot of fun. We concentrated mostly on the treat trails and didn't end up going on any rides during the party.

Rancho was a fun trail. They had Goofy, Pluto & Donald at one point dressed up as pirates and they were dancing in a roped off area. They were interacting with the crowd, but it wasn't a m&g.

We did the pre party in Toontown. It was just a couple of treat trails and a couple of characters in costume. Nothing that really stood out.

The treat trail in Tomorrowland that goes up to the monorail station took forever! That was our least favorite part, but it was getting late and we were tired at that point, so that might have something to do with it.

We didn't meet any villains, but saw The Evil Queen, Maleficent, & Hades as we were leaving around 11:00.

We met Woody during the party in the Big Thunder Ranch area. That was a highlight for DS5 because he was dressed as Woody and he's his favorite.

We found it easier and much less crowded to meet Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Chip & Dale in their costumes the next day when Big Thunder Ranch opened at 10:30. DS had an appointment to get a pirate makeover, so we spent about an hour back there. They ended up not being able to do the makeup, I guess due to the crazy winds, but they didn't charge us at all! He still got all the stuff, just no makeup. He didn't seem to care since he still got a sword. LOL. We also did the Conjure up a Villain tent and met Maleficent.

We were disappointed the fireworks were canceled for the party, but thrilled that we got to see them last night!

 

[Pinup Mommy]

I was thinking the same thing! Maybe we should think of a time and place to meet on the 8th. Then anyone who wants to join can meet up there. This is my first party and im super excited!!! Would love to meet other DISers there!

We plan on being at Mickey's Pre-Party in Toontown on Tuesday 10/8. This maybe a good place for a meet....

 

[dnamertz]

We attended the October 4th party. It was fabulous!!
Crowds- it was the same sold out party that we attend every year and I thought it felt significantly leas crowded than last year. We basically walked on to everything except HMH which was about 45 min when we rode at 6:30pm.
Trick or Treat- we don't focus much on this. We mainly attend the party to ride the rides and see the costumes. I felt that they were a little stingy with the candy this year. We didn't get nearly as much as years past. Doesn't bother us, just an observation. The treat trail near rancho del (I forget the name now!) Was fun and we saw goofy and Pluto dressed up.
Characters- we met captain Jack. He was amazing. My girls were convinced that we met johnny depp. Right before him we saw Hook, Peter pan and Wendy. Jack and Sally were out and had a long wait, as did mickey and Minnie in their Halloween costumes. We met the usual princesses in the royal theater. And the highlight of the night was meeting Pocahontas!! We did not meet any villains which makes me sad. We were heading to main st. At 11 to meet them. That's when we got to chatting with a CM who tipped us off to Pocahontas. Long story short, we ran out of time. But Pocahontas spent about 10 minutes chatting with us. She was the last princess that my girls were waiting to meet. It was special for them, even though it killed me to miss the villains!!
Costumes- lots of great ones! Lots of people not dressed up as well.
HMH was amazing this year. The gingerbread house is my favorite one so far!
Disappointments- Monsters Inc dance party. We hoped to see mike and sully. When we arrived there were a few girls in MU costumes dancing with a handful of guests. It was boring and not interactive at all. My kids lost interest about 2 minutes in. Also disappointing was the way CM handled the closing of FL for the fireworks (which were cancelled). We had a bathroom emergency with DD. We were directed to one restroom which was closed. So they sent us to another restroom which was closed. No one could point us to an open area. I finally had to yell at a CM and say that my daughter was going to pee her pants if the didn't give me some direction. It was weird and uncomfortable. I hate to argue with Disney CMs. I think they work hard and take a lot of unnecessary abuse from people.
Overall the party was amazing! They never disappoint!

Dot2Vegas and DLmama, how long did you have to wait in line for each of the characters you met during the party?

 

[Dot2Vegas]

Dot2Vegas and DLmama, how long did you have to wait in line for each of the characters you met during the party?

We skipped the long waits for jack and sally and mickey and minnie. We waited about 15-20 minutes for captain Jack. It would have gonna even faster but they did a quick change out with the Peter Pan characters and that took about 5 min. We waited about 35 minutes to see the princesses. But we had been tipped off about Pocahontas and told to line up early. We were towards the front of the line at 11:15pm and done with all three princesses by about 11:55pm. The changing of the princesses was definitely a time suck. After they switched the line moved quickly.

 

[isisisme]

We are going Halloween night. I am going as a sith and my husband a Star Fleet science officer.

 

[Dot2Vegas]

Thanks for the info.! With all these dates selling out, I think it's more important than ever to have a plan.
Why would they close off restrooms? I understand they're trying to wrap up and close, but if the area is open to guests, then they shouldn't. Clean them after close! Besides, these have been some big crowds.

They seem to rope off the entire area at fireworks time. If I am recalling correctly its because it is a fall zone for the fireworks. What frustrated me was 1. The lack of communication. I expect them to know what bathroom is open. This is a regular closing of an area. No surprises there! 2. It was clear that the fireworks were being cancelled due to wind. After hearing that we have been dragging DD all over for a bathroom and hearing me express that I was concerned that she would not make it to the bathroom it would have been nice for the CM to escort us to the closed bathroom as a courtesy. But it is what it is!!

 

[Sherry E]

Kiwigirls --

I hope you don't mind. I merged another small thread into this one, in which DIS'er DZNEE4US was asking for reviews of the MHP.

Even though this is a 2013 Check-In thread, I thought that the reviews that came in to DZNEE4US's thread could be beneficial to some of the MHP guests who will be attending one of the remaining parties in 2013.

The general Halloween Time info/questions/answers can go in the Halloween Superthread.

 

[ten6mom]

We are going Halloween night. I am going as a sith and my husband a Star Fleet science officer.

Ooh fun! Any particular Sith?

Sent from the Death Star

 

[DLmama]

Dot2Vegas and DLmama, how long did you have to wait in line for each of the characters you met during the party?

We only met Woody during the party and waited maybe 5 minutes, if that. We met Mickey & Minnie in their costumes on Saturday morning in the Big Thunder Ranch. Walked right up to Minnie with no wait and waited a couple of minutes for Mickey. We were in the ranch right when it opened at 10:30.

 

[Kiwigirls]

Change of plans: I am going to be a bunny now in honor of Roger Rabbit.

Okay, okay, who am I kidding... I have to admit defeat. I can't sew for the life of me and failed miserably with my Mim skirt.

Well at least you tried! I wouldn't have had any luck either!! Sure you'll be a great bunny!

 

[Kiwigirls]

Kiwigirls --

I hope you don't mind. I merged another small thread into this one, in which DIS'er DZNEE4US was asking for reviews of the MHP.

Even though this is a 2013 Check-In thread, I thought that the reviews that came in to DZNEE4US's thread could be beneficial to some of the MHP guests who will be attending one of the remaining parties in 2013.

The general Halloween Time info/questions/answers can go in the Halloween Superthread.

Sounds good to me Sherry, happy to have them combined. Lots of great party info!!

 

[Kiwigirls]

We plan on being at Mickey's Pre-Party in Toontown on Tuesday 10/8. This maybe a good place for a meet....

Shall we set a time, and say in front of a certain landmark? Maybe 5.30pm or 5.45pm?

 

[crystal1313]

We leave in 4 days!!! I am SO excited!! We are putting the final touches on our TRON costumes and getting all our back up batteries charged up! CANNOT WAIT!!! And as an added bonus, DS5 just informed me he would like to meet Captain Hook and Mr. Smee and get their autograph! DS5 is usually afraid of characters for some reason, so this was a total surprise! Looks like we will be buying an autograph book.....now, if we can get DS4 to agree to getting autographs, that would really be amazing! LOL

 

[Panfan86]

We plan on being at Mickey's Pre-Party in Toontown on Tuesday 10/8. This maybe a good place for a meet....

Good idea! What time is that? Maybe we could all meet my the mickey statue or something

 

[sarahb86]

They seem to rope off the entire area at fireworks time. If I am recalling correctly its because it is a fall zone for the fireworks. What frustrated me was 1. The lack of communication. I expect them to know what bathroom is open. This is a regular closing of an area. No surprises there! 2. It was clear that the fireworks were being cancelled due to wind. After hearing that we have been dragging DD all over for a bathroom and hearing me express that I was concerned that she would not make it to the bathroom it would have been nice for the CM to escort us to the closed bathroom as a courtesy. But it is what it is!!

I was there on Friday too and the CMs generally seemed really clueless about what was going on. Different CMs (posted in New Orleans!) couldn't tell us where Jack Sparrow's meet was, and couldn't direct us to the trick or treat lines. Hopefully they get the hang of it for future parties.

 

[Diszona]

We attended the Oct 4 party and had a great time. We drove up from Carlsbad (we were really on a Legoland vacation with MHP thrown in) and got there at 4. It was a little crowded with the overlap between party guests and regular attendees but that was to be expected. As soon as we got there we headed to Blue Bayou for dinner and were able to get seated in less than 5 minutes without reservations. That gave us a chance to relax with a nice dinner and ride Pirates before the real party started. A couple of observations:

1) If you are interested in rides (that was our primary goal since it was our only time in the park) the advice about hitting rides first and trick-or-treating later was 100% dead on. For example, prior to being roped off for the fireworks that didn't happen, every ride in FL was a walk-up except Pan which was only a 10 minute wait (I haven't seen it that short before). In previous years we focused on the other stuff instead of ride so a ride-centric party was new for us so this helped out a lot.

2) Also, having a little girl made meeting princesses a priority. Luckily since we were able to get to the Fantasy Faire right at the start of the party there was no wait. The lines seemed much longer later on.

3) The only waits we had were for HMH and Pirates at the beginning. Space Mountain looked busy as well but we didn't try to ride it since my kids are not coaster fans.

4) I hate that the fireworks didn't go off and it made things briefly chaotic but not too bad.

5) Other than the trail by Rivers of America the trick or treat lines moved quickly. Even with focusing on rides, we still had huge amounts of candy.

6) Our only complaint was we had planned on getting our daughter a new princess dress and decided to wait until after the party to get her one on Main Street. We were told by several CMs that the stores would remain open as usual but it turns out that some of the stores on Main close at midnight for special events (including the one with princess costumes, I can't recall which one it was). However, on the bright side, when we talked to the folks at City Hall about this, they were able to contact World of Disney in DTD and let them know we were coming and offered us assistance in picking the costume. So even in what could have been a downer close to the evening, the folks at Disneyland went out of their way to help us and we really appreciate what they did.

I also have to say that after going to both MHP and Legoland's Brick or Treat party there is absolutely no comparison. I won't go to much into Legoland's party but I will say that I am SOOO happy we decided to include the Disney diversion, the trip would have really been missing something without it.