MNSSHP 2015 - Be Prepared For Chaos

[Frozen2014]

I'm sorry you found it unbearably crowded. We went last year on the last Friday before Halloween. It was a sold out night, but we found it manageable. We were in the gates by 4pm and we stayed until 11pm. Rides were good at that time, grabbed a quick dinner, and we caught the parade, castle light show and fireworks (all amazing). We didn't bother with any long meet and greets, but we did meet Gaston (who was hilarous) and saw Tiana later in the evening. We got a few magic shots and did some trick or treating too.

We loved it and were glad we came. And it sure was nice wearing our costumes (even DH and I sortuv got dressed up) without having to put on heavy winter coats like we do back home on Oct 31st.

I hope others will find it more enjoyable and your expectations were just off.

 

[karrit2000]

The failure of Disney to continue the original procedure of hard closing the park is a major contributing factor to the overcrowding conditions at these events. I've been before & after they did away with this process. It is a major reason why I no longer shell out my hard earned money for these events. The CM's are not able to get rid of non-paying guests because they can get fired if someone lodges a complaint against them for trying to do their job. If they would clear the parks of non-paying guest during daylight hours when it's easy to see who does or doesn't have the party wristbands there'd be a lot less overcrowding. Once it's dark it's impossible to find party crashers among the crowds of people lining the parade route & show areas. While there may not be "thousands" of crashers on any given night each one puts a strain on the system. We aren't talking individuals here because I've seen large parties who cause issues when they are confronted by CMs and asked to leave or pay up. I remember threads years back when they changed from doing the hard close where there were individuals who believe that if the park is open and they have paid for admission for that day they are entitled to remain in the park as long as the park is open for anyone else no matter if it was clearly posted at the entrance that day that they would be required to leave the park if they did not purchase a Party ticket. There unfortunately is no easy answer but the hard close was IMO way more effective in purging the park of non-paying guests.

 

[McGreezy]

What if the park CLOSED at 6...meaning nobody without a park ticket gets in after 6, but the party doesn't START until 7pm? That would give them an hour to sweep the park of non-ticket holders?

This is what I was thinking. Give em an hour to clear out. Stop letting people on rides by a certain point. It would definitely eliminate a good chunk of stragglers. I'm not going until the end of October. I certainly hope they have their act together by then. If not, we will absloutely be asking for a refun and will not return again. First and last. I'm gong to to stay positive though and hope even if it's busy it's not so much so that it's a waste of money.

 

[jpeden]

I clearly don't think they are selling 75K, but they do have reduced attractions operating and a lot of the focus of the events is on Main Street and in front of the Castle which is where people tend to congregate. While it might feel incredibly crowded in those two areas, back by the Tea Cups it might feel empty.

Treed by 5Hfan

My wife and I went to the first party. We arrived at MK about 2:00PM - it was relatively empty. As the night progressed, it got more and more crowded. I can promise there was a crowd back by the teacups.

About 5:45 we got in line for the Dwarves, and we were in that line for two hours (the Dwarves had to go check on the mine about 30 minutes after they came out, and stayed gone for about 20 minutes...). By the time we got done at 7:45, rode Haunted Mansion, hit a few treat lines, and then rode BTMRR, and then went and checked in for the Dessert Party. Took us almost thirty minutes with the crowds to get from Frontierland to Tomorrowland Terrace. We checked in and went and rode Buzz since they weren't letting people in yet (had a 5 minute wait - really a walk-on). We came back, got into the dessert party, ate dessert, watched Hallowishes, left and went to see Mickey in his Halloween costume (posted 15 minute wait - closer to 30). Got out of there by 11 and sat down on the curb at town square for the 2nd parade.

So, for the $274 my wife and I paid to attend the party (including the dessert add-on) we rode three rides, saw the fireworks w/ desserts, did two character lines, and watched one parade. There was no way we could have made it back to our "reserved" viewing for the first parade due to the crowds. I can say that it was a mad-house and while the fireworks and the parade were AWESOME, the over-selling of the event makes me not want to go back. Why should I spend an extra $68 on an event ticket when I could have ridden everything I wanted during the daytime, and then watched the fireworks from the GF Dock or some other place.

If we hadn't of had the dessert party, I'm not sure we would have been able to find a decent place to watch the fireworks without camping out for an hour. The party was very much oversold and I'm seriously thinking about asking for a refund. There were a lot of people in that event without wristbands, and there were only two places in the park to get bands if you were already in (why they didn't have them at guest relations I still don't understand). For it to be a "special, hard-ticket event", it was certainly not limited the way it has been advertised in the past. I was extremely disappointed and it was clear from the reaction of staff members that the MK was under-prepared for the event. Even if the event sold out day-of (which I believe it did), there is no way that they sold 10,000 tickets day of. They had to know that party was close to selling out, yet did not staff it appropriately.

 

[cousinbb]

What if the park CLOSED at 6...meaning nobody without a park ticket gets in after 6, but the party doesn't START until 7pm? That would give them an hour to sweep the park of non-ticket holders?

I like this idea although its great to know party tickets can get in the parks early, Id be willing to give up that bonus for a definite exclusive time in the MK for a party that I paid extra for.

 

[jpeden]

For someone who has been or is going tonight...... were the FP Wishing viewing areas open to the public?

From what I could see, yes it was - but I can't swear to it as we spent as little time as possible in the hub. Literally just used it to pass through.

 

[patrickpiteo]

Disney no longer markets it a a limited ticket event.
Couple of years ago I was one of those people who didn't get out of the park until 8pm on a party night. We had walked into Monsters Inc. at around 6:55 (park still open legally), so by the time we got out it was 7:30. We then headed for the exit, but it took us forever to get to it. Just imagine if you got into 7DMT line right at 6:55, you might not get out of the attraction until almost 8. And on the flip side of thing, how upset would you be if they enforced the 7pm start time? It is possible that people who do not have a day ticket are entering at 4.

True but you didn't wait on the candy line wait for the parade or get in line to a interact with the characters.
Honestly I would have no problem with a 7 PM start.

 

[shameless3]

Every year it's the same complaint. I just don't think there are thousands of people staying in the parks without tickets.

Every year there are MNSSHPs that are crowded and every year people blame it on non-ticket holders. Doesn't matter if it's the first one of they year like this or a random one in the middle of Oct. Disney selling more tickets to the party has more of an effect, especially since people tend to gravitate to Main Street and the Hub during the party.

I'm sorry, but there WERE hundreds of people without tickets, several people here have mentioned it, Kenny the Pirate has blogged about it, and I personally witnessed it (I don't remember one person WITH a band on around me at the first parade). Maybe they are selling more tickets, but in this case, the non-paying guests played a huge role in the over-crowding.

 

[jhaig]

If those who felt the party on Tuesday was so overcrowded that they couldn't enjoy it actually asked for a refund, Disney would lose money. The only way things will change is if there is a threat of financial loss for Disney. They forgot about the guest experience long ago anyway.

 

[jtowntoflorida]

For someone who has been or is going tonight...... were the FP Wishing viewing areas open to the public?

Someone on one of these threads reported that they were in there to watch Hallowishes. I believe the poster said that the area was relatively uncrowded, too, since I suspect most people would assume that it was a special reserved area unless they found the gate and actually tried to get in.

 

[jhaig]

Every year it's the same complaint. I just don't think there are thousands of people staying in the parks without tickets.

Tuesday night they were, without a doubt. I personally saw many, many unbanded guests strolling around. CM's had that deer in the headlight look about them. They were there because they weren't told to leave. That is all on Disney. They whiffed. Anyone who went to that party should ask for their money back.

 

[ArwenMarie]

that is the thing, from a customer stand point it stinks. Too crowded, hard to enjoy the parade, long candy lines etc. But from a business point of view its fantastic. Money money money. No mater what people think, Disney is in the business to make money. They want the parks filled to capacity, hotels filled, restaurants booked solid etc. and they will do whatever they can to accomplish that i.e. parties, discounts, free dining etc.

Yeah, when you think about this it's fascinating. So for more than half of the days in October, WDW will be selling TWICE the number of MK tickets each day, a day ticket and a night ticket. Maybe a little less if you think that some people will switch their MK day to a normal MK day. But still, same idea. Wow. Their challenge is to make sure that both sets of ticket holders feel like their portion of the day was still worth using a ticket on.

 

[lugnut33]

I'm sorry, but there WERE hundreds of people without tickets, .

Hundreds of people are not going to jam the park.

Keep in mind I'm not saying they should be allowed to stay. They should in fact get the hell out, but also keep in mind that Disney allows the park to stay open until 7. As somebody previously posted, the park was dead around 2 pm that afternoon. Heck, take a look at current wait times today, I wish I was there right now!!

 

[JimmyV]

I like this idea although its great to know party tickets can get in the parks early, Id be willing to give up that bonus for a definite exclusive time in the MK for a party that I paid extra for.

Ooooh. That's a close call. Entry at 4:00 with the likelihood that there are free riders in the park, or entry at 7:00 knowing that all those without tickets have been swept out of the park. I don't know if I'd make that trade. I guess it depends on how many total tickets they are selling and how many freeloaders currently add to the mix. If they could turn MNSSHP back into the equivalent of an "E Ticket Night", (I seem to recall that those capped out at 10,000 and didn't sell out all the time), then I would take the 7:00 entry.

 

[OhioStateBuckeye]

Someone on one of these threads reported that they were in there to watch Hallowishes. I believe the poster said that the area was relatively uncrowded, too, since I suspect most people would assume that it was a special reserved area unless they found the gate and actually tried to get in.

That was me. It was empty enough in there that we could sit and watch.

 

[JohnDaleswife]

I won't ever purchase a ticket to one of these parties. From the sounds of it, back in the day, the parties used to be a good splurge, but Disney's greed is becoming absurd.

 

[MrsSkellington]

Way back in the day the park used to "close" at 6 and the party started at 7. Those were the days when it was cheap and not crowded at all! That was back when they had the Princess and Pirates party too.

The last time we went to Disney was back when they had the Pirate and Princess party. I remember the boats of people leaving as we were coming in. It was easy to go on whatever ride you wanted, there was candy, it was wonderful. I'm so sad to hear that this will not be the case anymore. *sniff sniff*

 

[jpeden]

If someone knows the email address that you should send the complaint to, I'm more than happy to post their response here and let you know what they said - I just don't know where to send the complaint.

 

[alicat130]

If someone knows the email address that you should send the complaint to, I'm more than happy to post their response here and let you know what they said - I just don't know where to send the complaint.

I used the 'contact us' link on the Disney World page. I've just received the standard email back so far.

 

[mummabear]

LOL at "sea of thieves". I really think people on this board are once again trying to see things through their Disney colored glasses. People hanging out in the park without tickets is NOT as big a problem as you think it is.

Would you think stealing something that costs $80 is ok? You don't think that is a big deal, and if you were in a store paying for this $80 item you would be okay with the store doing nothing to stop other people just walking out without paying for that same item?

What if the park CLOSED at 6...meaning nobody without a park ticket gets in after 6, but the party doesn't START until 7pm? That would give them an hour to sweep the park of non-ticket holders?

Great idea. I can understand why those without park tickets want to use all of their park hours and why shouldnt they. The trick is for Disney to time things so they are not getting into an hour long line 5 minutes before they are meant to be out of the park, and certainly doing something about them watching any parades,fireworks etc.