MNSSHP 10/11 - Review

[mmccoy]

Howdy.

Got back Wednesday evening. Figured I'd give a quick review of our activities/perceptions of MNSSHP. First, the facts:

1) Spent four days at WDW - Sat thru Tues
2) Nine in our party, ranging in age from 6 to 78.
3) MNSSHP on 10/11, the evening of our 4th day (fatigue?)
4) WDW veteran, MNSSHP rookie.
5) These are my opinions. Yours may differ significantly.

My comments:

1) We arrived at the park a few minutes before 7:00. Although the park was busy, it took us very little time to get in.
2) A lot of people were in costume. Almost all the kids. Lots of pirates, princesses, and Incredibles. My DS17 wore a Captain America costume. People constantly hollered out to him as we walked through the park. Four different people asked to have a picture of him. All knew he was a park patron. He loved the attention and played it up. Very funny.
3) Although the park was busy, for the most part, there were no waits on rides for us. Around 7:15, we rode Buzz consecutively, with no wait in between. The wait at Space Mountain was five minutes, tops.
4) Got our group picture around 8:30, in a small ballroom off the breezeway between Adventureland and Frontierland. Wait was around 10-15 minutes. Not bad.
5) Getting character autographs was very time-consuming. The wait for Snow White and the Dwarfs was over 30 minutes. Lines were long for the villians. Seems like more people wanted autographs than rides.
6) Headless Horseman was cool. The horse's shoes made sparks on the pavement as it trotted by. Very disappointed in the parade. Would advise skipping it. For example, the villians all walk down the street as a group, not in separate floats. Waste of time.
7) After the 10 pm parade we went to Fantasyland. My DD26 was dressed as Snow White, and wanted a picture with the Dwarfs. She eventually got the picture, but it took a loooonnngggg time. In addition, Fantasyland was VERY busy. Lines for all rides were 20-30 minutes long. The exception was Philharmagic, for which we waited about five minutes Around 11 pm, I wandered over to Toontown. It was still hopping. The lines for Donald's and Mickey's autographs were still long. I was surprised so many people were still in the park. Crowds thinned around 11:15-11:30. My DS6 and I rode Dumbo and Snow White with little wait.

In summary, 1) skip the parade, 2) if you want autographs, be prepared to wait, 3) ride the rides/attractions, 4) wear a costume.

Although it may sound silly, I suggest you have a specific goal in mind. If you try to maximize riding rides and getting autographs, I don't think you'll succeed with either.

FYI, characters we saw:

1) Pooh, et al, in Pooh's playground
2) Mickey and Donald in Toontown
3) Jessie, Bullseye, Woody in Diamond something saloon in Frontierland
4) Baloo, King Louie, Jane and Terk in Adventureland, in area where you can captain the remote-controlled boats (close to Jungle Cruise)
5) Villians in front of the Castle
6) Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs behind Dumbo
7) I believe some of the Pinocchio and Cinderella characters may have been available in the dance area in front of Ariel's Grotto
8) Princesses in Toontown
9) Jasmine and Aladdin behind the Aladdin ride

 

[bjakmom]

My gang of 7 (ages 2 - 50+) did MNSSHP 2 nights, on the 2nd and 6th. I just wanted to say that we all LOVED the parade ! On our first night we spent the early hour doing HM, Splash, Big thunder, eating at Pecos Bills and trick or treating - then lined up by Pecos bills for the early parade - we loved that so many of the characters 'walked' the parade as they came over and interacted with everyone as they went by. We loved seeing the unique parade floats like the hitchhiking ghosts and the grave diggers with their shovels were awesome - we even loved the "Boo to you" music! The little ones were right in front and held out their bags for the CMs who came through and gave out candy throughout the parade. On our 2nd night we had an early (5:35 ADR, seated at 5:55) dinner at LTT and then skipped the early parade to go right to Fantasyland - we walked on every ride - as soon as the first parade passed by (about 8:30) Fantasyland became mobbed! DO NOT miss the fireworks !! They were wonderful and there were lots of special effects on the castle, too - even the big kids had to watch it again on the 2nd night - then I watched the late parade with the little ones while the big kids ran off to do the rides they wanted - said they walked on after 11. We didn't do a lot of autographs - a few times we'd come upon one that had just come out and didn't have a long line - I agree that the lines for characters were really long most of the night. It was our first MNSSHP, too, and we enjoyed it so much, we were glad we went twice ! I also agree that wearing costumes was fun - my sis and I and little ones wore them - I had made the 20-somethings halloween Tees and even they said next time they wanted costumes.

 

[Momof4girls]

It's neat to hear someone else's experience and recommendations.

We typically skip all the rides at special events because we can ride them on one of our "park days" - and just do the things that are exclusive to the party (hey, that's what we're paying for, right?)

I can't wait for the headless horseman -and the fireworks - and all that goods stuff!!!

 

[TSR6]

Very disappointed in the parade. Would advise skipping it. For example, the villians all walk down the street as a group, not in separate floats. Waste of time.

I disagree. I loved the parade! The song...hah...yeah, catchy huh?

Then I loved the Haunted Mansion float, and the guys with shovels afterwards...

Definately go to the second parade though. Seeing the first parade is tough, as everyone and their brother, sister, cousin are all lined up to see it. It thins out for the second parade, and we had front row viewing after walking up to the parade route about 2 minutes before the horseman.

 

[mmccoy]

I admit, I did enjoy the guys with the shovels. They did a cute little routine. The rest of it...

As another poster said, the fireworks are awesome.

 

[GinaGrumpyDwarf]

i thought that the fireworks were great..but I dunno...just not what i expected. I guess that's part of Disney..eh?
Not that i was expecting WISHES..but Just not THAT. I like halloween, but I think that the CHRISTMAS party was better...