MNSSHP 2012 Official Information

[mesaboy2]

mesaboy2...you seem to be a reliable expert on this subject so I hope you can help with some info....

DS LOVES villians. We are going 10/26-29 primarily for MNSSHP (we are aslo going in Aug.) MNSSHP is 10/26 and 10/28. I already pruchased tkts for 10/26We have late lunch at WC (2:10p) then plan to head over as soon as we can get into park (do not have park tkts for that day).

Since it's wkend before Halloween I am assuming it will be crowded. We only care about the villians...seeing them in the castle show, the parade, fireworks and of course as many autographs and photo ops as possible. Plus I'm sure DS (6 when we go) will want to get some Halloween candy.

Do you think to make sure DS gets full experience we should also get tks for the 28th? We plan to go to EPCOT that day to see some of F&W - we do not have PH tkts so we will leave EPCOT early to get to MK in time for MNSSHP. I am assuming it is best to get tkts for 28th in advance instead of chancing that they will still have them when we get down there. Do you think 28th may be a little less crowded than 26th because it is a school & work night for the locals?

Thanks for your input...we've been to WDW many times but this is first MNSSHP and it's a B'Day present for DS so I want to do my best to help him enjoy the full experience and get to see as many villians as possible. He aleady ordered his Hook costume and DH and I get to be Smee (I found perfect Smee t-shirts at JCP this weekend).

My answer is based on last year's party as a guide. Also, the party I went to was sold-out, so it probably represents a worst-case as far as meeting characters.

There should be a handful of villains spread in the Hub area (in front of the castle) on and off throughout the night. They will generally disappear when parades and the Villains Mix and Mingle show are going on. The villains that appeared like this last year were Lotso, Gaston, the Tremaines, and I believe Jafar. There may have been one other, but I don't quite recall. I would describe the lines for these M&Gs as moderate--somewhere in the 15-20 minute range mostly.

The challenging villains to get are the ones that appear in the Villains M&M. There were four showings a night (assuming good weather), and after this show six of the villains come down in front of the castle stage and take preset positions. These villains do not sign autographs, only pose for pictures, and are out for 10-12 minutes after each show. This makes getting more than one of them after any one show a big challenge--if you get two consider yourselves lucky. The six villains that took these spots I believe were Maleficent, Hook, Queen of Hearts, Snow Queen, Cruella, and Facilier. Frollo also came down afterwards, but just wandered in the crowd a bit--he at least was not too tough a "get".

Other rare characters appear throughout the night, but are not villains: princes (with their respective princesses, including Rapunzel/Flynn), the Seven Dwarves, and Jack Sparrow. In all we managed to grab 17 characters at one sold-out party last year, but only 5 were villains. Three villains appeared together (the Tremaines), so that 5 is a bit of a cheat, and you can get 6 prince/princess (3 pairs) after one line, so that's another cheat. Still and all, we were happy with who we got. Our number one priority was Maleficent, followed by Gaston. (Thanks to early party reports and helpful posters here, I knew exactly where Maleficent would appear and we were second or third in line for her when she took her position. Even with that excellent placement, we did not make it up to Cruella for our second M&G before she got pulled back.) We had already caught Hook, Queen of Hearts, and Snow Queen on other visits, so none of these were a priority for us.

So my long-winded answer is if you want to get all the villains, one night probably isn't enough. Two should do it though, but if you're intent on getting all the VM&M villains you'll need to sit through several of their shows.

I think both the dates you're considering, that close to Halloween, stand a good chance of selling out.

Last party we went to (2 years ago now) we couldn't get off main street without wristbands - which possed a problem b/c they closed the main street wrist band distribution nd only had the ones at the gate and by Stitch's - long story short - if you don't have a wrist band, they don't care and will herd you out of the park.

We even explained our dilemma to them and showed our tickets - didn't matter we were herded out of the park too.

If you had tickets, there's no reason why that should have happened. At the very least, you should have been able to reenter the park with those tickets where you would have been issued wristbands.

 

[amandaw]

We are going to MNSSHP for the 1st time this year! We will be at the Sept. 30th party. A few questions for all of the MNSSHP experts here:

1. Cpt. Hook is our only "must meet" character for this night since we are going with a Peter Pan theme in our costumes. My 4 y/o son is dressing up as Hook so I would LOVE to get a picture of him with Hook. How long before the Villains Mix & Mingle starts should we go to the castle to get right at the front? Is 30 mins prior to the show normally enough time or should I budget more time for a better spot? Does the Mix & Mingle crowd lessen with each show?

2. I know in the parade that Mickey, Minnie, Donald & Daisy are in costumes. Do they also do meet & greets in their costumes?

3. We are staying at our resort on this day & hope to get to MK around 430 or 5pm to have a quick dinner before the party starts. When we enter with our party tickets, will we get our wrist bands right there or will we have to go somewhere else to pick those up?

Thank you!

 

[mesaboy2]

We are going to MNSSHP for the 1st time this year! We will be at the Sept. 30th party. A few questions for all of the MNSSHP experts here:

1. Cpt. Hook is our only "must meet" character for this night since we are going with a Peter Pan theme in our costumes. My 4 y/o son is dressing up as Hook so I would LOVE to get a picture of him with Hook. How long before the Villains Mix & Mingle starts should we go to the castle to get right at the front? Is 30 mins prior to the show normally enough time or should I budget more time for a better spot? Does the Mix & Mingle crowd lessen with each show?

2. I know in the parade that Mickey, Minnie, Donald & Daisy are in costumes. Do they also do meet & greets in their costumes?

3. We are staying at our resort on this day & hope to get to MK around 430 or 5pm to have a quick dinner before the party starts. When we enter with our party tickets, will we get our wrist bands right there or will we have to go somewhere else to pick those up?

Thank you!

1. Thirty minutes before the VM&M should be plenty, you might be able to get away with twenty. YMMV. I wouldn't count on crowds lessening as the night wears on. I recommending checking this site after the first parties to find out exactly where he will appear after the show concludes--it'll give you a great leg up on the rest of the masses. Also, simply ask the CMs in the area where Hook should set up shop and take your seat there. Talk them up a little and let them know who you want (if your DS's costume doesn't make it clear), so when the lines form they may remember you in case people around you forget the queueing concept.

2. Yes.

3. You'll get the wristbands and your treat bags as you enter the park, just inside the turnstiles.

 

[amandaw]

1. Thirty minutes before the VM&M should be plenty, you might be able to get away with twenty. YMMV. I wouldn't count on crowds lessening as the night wears on. I recommending checking this site after the first parties to find out exactly where he will appear after the show concludes--it'll give you a great leg up on the rest of the masses.

2. Yes.

3. You'll get the wristbands and your treat bags as you enter the park, just inside the turnstiles.

Perfect! Thank you so much for your help!

 

[Wendybird55]

Thanks mesaboy2! My gut is telling me to get the extra set of tickets...I just don't want to go the first night then have DS tell me he wants to go again and not be able to get the tkts. PLus DS loves the the "biggies". I'm sure if he can he would want pictures wth Cruella, Malificent, Queen of Hearts, Jafar and of course Hook. I'm hoping we can get Hook another time/day while in the park as he's usually around for phot ops. I would love a pic with all 7 dwarves as well. I think 2 nights would put less stress on us...DH will just have to eat fast during F&W!

 

[robinbutterfly]

How do they make sure people without a MNSSHP ticket leave the park? I know for the rides they have to have the wristbands, but I was wondering what about for characters or to eat and shop etc?

 

[mesaboy2]

Thanks mesaboy2! My gut is telling me to get the extra set of tickets...I just don't want to go the first night then have DS tell me he wants to go again and not be able to get the tkts. PLus DS loves the the "biggies". I'm sure if he can he would want pictures wth Cruella, Malificent, Queen of Hearts, Jafar and of course Hook. I'm hoping we can get Hook another time/day while in the park as he's usually around for phot ops. I would love a pic with all 7 dwarves as well. I think 2 nights would put less stress on us...DH will just have to eat fast during F&W!

Alas, Hook does not make regular appearances at any park during normal hours anymore. Your best second option, even though the odds are still relatively low, are to find him (with Smee sometimes even) at a "random" character spot such as Characterpalooza in the Animation Building at DHS.

The Seven Dwarves line is consistently the longest of any M&G. My standard advice is to get in line for them no later than 6:15p, and some here will tell you even sooner. That's an automatic 45+ minute wait of course, but consider that time is not wasted during the party. They only meet as a group, and also do not give autographs.

In your case, I think two MNSSHPs sound like the way to go. That's an easy call for me though since it's not my money!

How do they make sure people without a MNSSHP ticket leave the park? I know for the rides they have to have the wristbands, but I was wondering what about for characters or to eat and shop etc?

Basically the entrances to everything (attractions, restaurants, shops) are checked to ensure everyone entering has a wristband. Also, CMs sweep the park and are stationed at key chokepoints looking for those without wristbands. Anyone without them is firmly but politely pointed towards the exit.

 

[Cheshire Figment]

How do they make sure people without a MNSSHP ticket leave the park? I know for the rides they have to have the wristbands, but I was wondering what about for characters or to eat and shop etc?

If you go to the locked sticky Everything About WDW Tickets in this Forum, especially Post #16, you can get a lot more information. An easy way to get to the sticky is by clicking on the link in my signature. The ticket sticky is your friend!

 

[zeferjen]

Since the 7 Dwarfs meet is recommended to be the first, is there any time where we meet the princesses without a massive wait? Or do I basically have to choose between the two? Dd really wants to meet Flynn, so that will win out if we have to pick.

 

[Finally08]

Since the 7 Dwarfs meet is recommended to be the first, is there any time where we meet the princesses without a massive wait? Or do I basically have to choose between the two? Dd really wants to meet Flynn, so that will win out if we have to pick.

Go DURING a parade. We noticed the shortest waits during the second parade of the night but sadly if you're there on a busy night there is no such thing as a short wait to meet Flynn.

 

[Berlioz70]

Just throwing my report from last year into the mix (character wait times/pictures):

We attended the party on a Monday - it was quite slow...

MNSSHP CHARACTER REPORT - OCTOBER 10, 2011

 

[Wendybird55]

Thanks for the link berlioz! What was the private meet and greet about? My son would flip if he could be in a picture with all those villains at the same time. Is this something special?

 

[mesaboy2]

Thanks for the link berlioz! What was the private meet and greet about? My son would flip if he could be in a picture with all those villains at the same time. Is this something special?

Berlioz has connections. Normal park goers like me and you are pretty much out of luck for these kinds of things.

 

[Wendybird55]

Well guess it was worth a try...looks like we'll try for the individual shots...
I think I figured out what we will do on our short weekend trip...

Arrive Fri 10/26. Late lunch WL then MNSSHP

Sat 10/27 EPCOT F&W and maybe visit to BW area as DS likes it there. No ADRs this day..just snack around the World and use CS if want to.

Sun 10/28 ADRs at Chef Mickey for Breakfast (DS favorite) & Crystal Palace late lunch/early dinner. MNSSHP Night #2.

Mon 10/29 Go home...

I thought there might be an outside chance that EPCOT may not be as crowded on Sat. as people may go to MK that day since there's no party that night. Plus we can have entire day at EPCOT instead of going Sunday and leaving early for 2nd MNSSHP.

Since we've never done MNSSHP the 2nd night might help in that we will need the first night to get our bearings and understand how things work so the 2nd night we will be ready to focus on the things we miss or REALLY like.

Now just figuring out 2 nights of costumes. We can wear the same ones (Hook for son and Smee for me & DH) or I was trying to think of something easy that we can wear all day for the 2nd night..we are from NY - and DH loves Giants footbal. We all have Giants superbowl T-shirts. I thought we could each wear a Giants t-shirt and one of those propellor hats and go as "Giant Fans"...get it?

Thanks again for all the info...it's really appreciated.

 

[puddinpie]

Can't figure out how to quote everyone who has replied to my question about ADR's, but just wanted to say thanks for all of the helpful information Called reservation line back and she did not know for sure, so she transferred me to Guest Services. Really didn't get a concrete answer, seems to be a gray area, since we are supposed to show up around 6:40 before 7 for the pics that they take. Guess I will get the tix to the party just in case. We will just have double the fun

 

[lillieandlilahsmommy]

I need some information from the experts, I figured I could find them on the "official" page!

I have been to MNSSHP twice, both in late September. I thought the crowd level during the party was fine, not bad at all.

We have booked our third trip during Halloween and had planned to go to the party Friday Oct. 26. Is this a mistake? Are the crowds going to be so heavy for the party that I should move my trip up? I have already scheduled my daughters at Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique and dinner following at CRT all on the afternoon of the Halloween party. I wanted to make the night EXTRA special for them by adding these two activities, plus they will be made up for the party, less work for me!

If it is going to be an awful nightmare I may look at moving my trip up to earlier in the month, but I don't know if I can get these ressies worked out (I tried for other dates the party was held during our current scheduled trip--no such luck. CRT is completely booked!).

So please experts, tell me, how bad might these crowds be? We do stay till midnight for these parties, if that helps.

 

[Bella Rose]

I need some information from the experts, I figured I could find them on the "official" page!

I have been to MNSSHP twice, both in late September. I thought the crowd level during the party was fine, not bad at all.

We have booked our third trip during Halloween and had planned to go to the party Friday Oct. 26. Is this a mistake? Are the crowds going to be so heavy for the party that I should move my trip up? I have already scheduled my daughters at Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique and dinner following at CRT all on the afternoon of the Halloween party. I wanted to make the night EXTRA special for them by adding these two activities, plus they will be made up for the party, less work for me!

If it is going to be an awful nightmare I may look at moving my trip up to earlier in the month, but I don't know if I can get these ressies worked out (I tried for other dates the party was held during our current scheduled trip--no such luck. CRT is completely booked!).

So please experts, tell me, how bad might these crowds be? We do stay till midnight for these parties, if that helps.

We went on October 29th a couple years ago. All the rides were walk on except Haunted Mansion and even that wasn't a particularly long wait. All the characters we wanted to see you could walk right up to except the Prince and Princesses. We didn't see the dwarfs but even their line didn't look crazy. And we waited a little bit to get photos in front of the Haunted Mansion and Cinderella's Coach. The parades were pretty full though if you want to get a good spot. We went earlier to get one. We stayed until midnight and saw everything we wanted.

 

[Koh1977]

Just found this thread!! Will have to get caught up and read all of it tonight! Going to the party 9/14! First time! Some tips would be much appreciated!

 

[Koh1977]

Wahoo so excited.

So what is everyone going to be?

My DD (7) is going to be Tinkerbell, Im making a Wendy style dress and Im dressing my husband as John...just cant wait to see him walking around in a nightshirt all night

DS5 will be Jake from Jake and the Neverland Pirates. DD16months will be Belle. DH and I are just planning on wearing MNSSHP shirts? Do they have something like that?

 

[hokie98]

It's probably stupid to ask, but, I'm assuming MNSSHP is a 'don't miss'? We'll be in WDW 10/20-10/26, celebrating DD's 7th bday (we'll also have DS, who will be 16months at the time with us....could be a long night for him). I was starting to think it may not be worth it, but then saw some pics, and now I'm thinking it looks like too much fun to pass up....