MNSSHP 2017 - Strategy in the making.

[Cluelyss]

Going to the party Sept 7th, can't wait! I'm hoping to be able to watch the fireworks, move closer to see the stage show and then the second parade. Are all of these viewable from the same area? Is there somewhere I should move to in between each one? I was thinking that for the fireworks I need to be back a bit from the castle, near Caseys but for the Hocus Pocus show I would need to move towards the castle and then where to for the parade?

Near Casey's is perfect for the fireworks. But get there early now that the plaza gardens will be used for the dessert party. I expect this will make the gardens by Casey's extra crowded. You will want to move closer to the stage for HP - around the Partners statue is ideal. For the parade, Main Street has the best lighting. Near the flagpole will be the least crowded. Frontierland is a nice option, too, but lower crowds, but not sure you'd make it there after HP. Personally, I'd head to the end of Main Street after the fireworks then catch the last HP show.

 

[DisneyChris2016]

Near Casey's is perfect for the fireworks. But get there early now that the plaza gardens will be used for the dessert party. I expect this will make the gardens by Casey's extra crowded. You will want to move closer to the stage for HP - around the Partners statue is ideal. For the parade, Main Street has the best lighting. Near the flagpole will be the least crowded. Frontierland is a nice option, too, but lower crowds, but not sure you'd make it there after HP. Personally, I'd head to the end of Main Street after the fireworks then catch the last HP show.

Actually, we were right in front of the ice cream shop, across from Casey's for the fireworks last night and there was lots of room, right in the middle of the street. It wasn't crowded at all, compared to a regular fireworks night. I was quite surprised. Not sure if that is normally the case at parties, but I wish we hadn't wasted so much time waiting for them to start. The fireworks were amazing, though, so it was OK.

 

[FoxC63]

Hey Everyone,

Enjoy the rest of the weekend, I'll see you on Monday!

 

[kizmet311]

That's so funny that she'd rather do BBB than meet Moana, but now that you know what her priorities are it'll make it easier for you to plan. What kids are interested in can change so quickly! My son is also suddenly all about Pluto. He met him at Garden Grove last trip and apparently Pluto made quite an impression. I've scheduled a Chef Mickey brunch just so he can meet him again.

So true that they change their minds so quickly! We just had her Moana birthday party a week ago and she still wants to listen to the soundtrack all the time. She even said she wanted to meet Moana before I even told her that she would definitely be there. Giving her an either/or scenario, though, really shows what she really wants to do!

 

[kizmet311]

Were you planning on purchasing Kenny the pirate character locator? I thought you had mentioned this. Pluto can be found at the parks during regular hours like Epcot Character Spot.

I wasn't planning to purchase this. If Moana isn't a priority, we won't be doing character meets for the MNSSHP. We have breakfast at Cindy's so that will cover several princesses, we have FP for Rapunzel/Tiana and Cinderella/Elena, and I'm hoping we can get Jasmine Day 1 in Epcot (not sure how long her waits are typically in Morocco). Also hoping to get Snow White and Mulan while at Epcot. We have a H&V Minnie's Seasonal Dine dinner that should allow us to meet Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Daisy, and Goofy, but I think Pluto is the only one that isn't there. So, we would be looking to meet Pluto during regular park hours I think, unless he's at the party and has a short line?

 

[kizmet311]

I've updated my itinerary with my party date and I think I've updated my times the way you wanted, but not sure. Also, I didn't realize until after I switched stuff around that it doesn't appear you can get FP for FOF Parade. Oops. I ended up moving our FP for Cindy/Elena to another MK day, but was able to get meeting Ariel at her Grotto at the same time. Not sure what I'm doing there, but it shouldn't affect my schedule much.

 

[Tmom5]

Updated my Itinerary, probably will many times between now and then!?! Especially with all these updates!

 

[lovethattink]

Tonight at 7pm there's a free webinar that KTP is doing about MNSSHP.

 

[Cluelyss]

Actually, we were right in front of the ice cream shop, across from Casey's for the fireworks last night and there was lots of room, right in the middle of the street. It wasn't crowded at all, compared to a regular fireworks night. I was quite surprised. Not sure if that is normally the case at parties, but I wish we hadn't wasted so much time waiting for them to start. The fireworks were amazing, though, so it was OK.

That's great to hear and definitely surprising! Not the norm for sure!

 

[TeresaNJ]

Awesome thread! Thanks for creating this! Going to MNSSHP on Sunday, September 17th! We've been several times before, but never this early in the season, so it will be interesting to see if there is a difference in the crowd levels.

 

[disneybeautyfnp]

I totally agree the quick purchase is fabulous! I won't get a t-shirt b/c of the color, which is fine with me. I will spend my t-shirt money on pins to put on my bulletin board at work!! So excited for our party day, Oct. 10!!

that's my party day too! What are you going as? Wanna meet for some pics?

 

[Dracarys]

Hi, I'm new to posting but have been lurking awhile. This will be our 3rd visit as a family(first as a family of 5) and first MNSSHP! It will be me, DH, DS4, DS2, & DS0 (5 months). I'm trying to keep in perspective that we can't do everything especially due to the age of our kids. We will be attending the Oct. 3rd party. Must do's are parade, fireworks, ToT, a few rides, and of course special snacks! I would love to do the 7 Dwarves M&G but don't want to wait so long with young kids. DS4 is drawn to the villains so I think Jafar would be awesome for him. Here is what I'm thinking so far:


3:30-3:45ish- arrive at front gate

4:00- enter park/ get bands and ToT bags

4:20-4:40 FP BTMRR 3:25-4:25 (Might change this to different ride on other side of park)

4:55-5:15 FP Buzz Lightyear 4:25-5:25

5:25-5:40 FP 7DMT 5:25-6:25

5:45-6:30 grab QS dinner (Columbia Harbor House)

6:30-7:20 maybe line up for Jafar?

7:20-8:30 ride some rides, ToT

8:30-10:30 line up around Casey's for BTY and Hallowishes; grab special snacks and maybe shop a bit between the 2?

10:30-? Either leave or see how kids are and hit up some more ToT, see Mickey?


I want to stay flexible since the kids are young. I'm just nervous that I will miss something, but I have to keep reminding myself I will come back again and have a chance to do more! I just want to do it all!!

Oh and thanks so much for this thread! It has been super helpful!

 

[Bex258]

Madame Carlotta or Rinotta at the Haunted Mansion?

https://www.disboards.com/media/mickeys-not-so-scary-halloween-party-2017-026.83873/

 

[JenniferinFL]

duplicate post

 

[JenniferinFL]

Aack, the internet ate my post.. lol

I haven't bothered to type up my plans before now because I knew they would change 100 times. I really think that a whole lot of this is really outside my control. Too much can be changed by crowd levels and weather. So, forgive how rough my plan is.. lol

Arrive at Magic Kingdom around noon 9/1/2017. (We're local AP holders, spouse works an early half shift) I have fastpasses.
12:20-1:20 FP Tinkerbell
2:00-3:00 FP Rapunzel and Tiana?
3:00 FP Cinderella and Elena? (Might have these backwards.. lol) Planning to arrive at 2:55 for 3 pm fastpass. Hopefully out around 3:30 bathroom, freshen up, snack, relax while keeping an eye on wristband distribution at Philharmagic.
4-ish line up for Jack and Sally. Depending on line, possibly send spouse out on quest to find desserts at Sleepy Hollow and Liberty Square Market (Jack and haunted mansion theme desserts)
5:-6ish Make big decision. Moana OR 7 dwarfs OR Cruella. Probably will be 7 dwarfs. Last night daughter (age 6) was really excited about meeting Moana but then this morning she said she doesn't care if we meet her. So, fickle kids mood will dictate. I really want to meet Cruella- but, end of the night might be fine too. If 7 dwarfs line is already crazy and Cruella line is better that may make decision for us. My goal is to be out of major lines around 7 or a bit after when the party officially starts.
7 Head to adventure land and wing it. From 7 on I just want to go from one land to another systematically and just do whatever has reasonable lines in terms of characters and candy. I think we will aim to catch the first parade in case rain ruins the second one. I don't really want to jump back and forth from land to land like we usually do.

 

[iujen94]

Hi! Any chance anyone wants to help me make a plan for our MNSSHP night? It's not until Thursday, October 19 but all of the posts about the party have gotten me really excited!! We've been to parties twice before, so I don't know why I'm overthinking this so much - maybe it's because my boys are older and more into rides now, so I know they will want some serious ride time with short waits worked in to our plan.

It will be me, DS11 and DS13. We should get to the park around 4:30, I'm hoping, and we will have 2 FPs to use in the 4:30-6:30 time frame (made using our APs).

Our "must do's" are - fireworks, parade (either one), some trick or treating, and a good amount of ride riding (especially BTMRR, Space and 7DMT - but we can do without 7DMT if the line is too long). None of us are worried about doing any of the M&Gs, which should free up a lot of party time for us. Like everyone I'm sure, we'd love good seats and a good view for the fireworks and parade, but don't want to camp out for very long to get that.

Anyone have a magical plan for us that will maximize our time?? Would love to hear anyone's thoughts and suggestions!

 

[seven dwarfs]

We went to the first party on Friday. It was insanely crowed and understaffed. We waited over 2 hours for the dwarfs, lining up around 6:30. Jafar was over an hour. And we left the Aladen characters after waiting 40 min with 5 families still in front of us, to watch the fireworks. A float broke down in front of us during the parade. We got to watch a tractor come in for the rescue. In my opinion, my family of 10 did not get our money's worth. I hope other parties are better organized and less busy. Just prepare for very, very long lines. We attended a party many years ago when less tickets were sold and it was a better experience.

 

[mousehockey37]

We went to the first party on Friday. It was insanely crowed and understaffed. We waited over 2 hours for the dwarfs, lining up around 6:30. Jafar was over an hour. And we left the Aladen characters after waiting 40 min with 5 families still in front of us, to watch the fireworks. A float broke down in front of us during the parade. We got to watch a tractor come in for the rescue. In my opinion, my family of 10 did not get our money's worth. I hope other parties are better organized and less busy. Just prepare for very, very long lines. We attended a party many years ago when less tickets were sold and it was a better experience.

If you don't have a plan for attending the party, you're going to feel let down. The parties are almost set up in a sense that you need to go to 2 parties to even remotely get anything done. 1 party could be for meeting the characters and some rides/trick or treating and the 2nd party for watching the parade(s) and fireworks with some rides maybe thrown in.

If you try and wing it at a party, you're gonna feel yourself getting pulled in too many different directions, especially with a large family.

When it was just 2 of us in 2014, we knew what we wanted to do and the night flew by. There wasn't much time to wing it.

 

[Farro]

If you don't have a plan for attending the party, you're going to feel let down. The parties are almost set up in a sense that you need to go to 2 parties to even remotely get anything done. 1 party could be for meeting the characters and some rides/trick or treating and the 2nd party for watching the parade(s) and fireworks with some rides maybe thrown in.

If you try and wing it at a party, you're gonna feel yourself getting pulled in too many different directions, especially with a large family.

When it was just 2 of us in 2014, we knew what we wanted to do and the night flew by. There wasn't much time to wing it.

Well...just the two of us did our first party in 2014. We had no plan at all. Still rode all the rides we wanted, watched the parade, the fireworks and the did the candy lines! No characters for us, but we don't care about that. We felt we totally got our money's worth.

We have the same plan of no plan for this year.

Not that I'm saying not to have a plan!!! Just that it can be done.

 

[mousehockey37]

Well...just the two of us did our first party in 2014. We had no plan at all. Still rode all the rides we wanted, watched the parade, the fireworks and the did the candy lines! No characters for us, but we don't care about that. We felt we totally got our money's worth.

We have the same plan of no plan for this year.

The biggest thing there is... no characters. That's what's saving you. It's the people who want to meet ALL the characters in 1 night, yet still do everything else. IMO, it just isn't humanly possible. Rides? After 7 the only must-do ride for us was the Mansion, we could do all the others whenever (but the mansion during a party is just cooler, lol). Characters? We wanted to meet Cap'n Jack, so we did. We actually got Mickey on the way out of the party at 11:45 that night.