MNSSHP Disappointment

[ENJDisneyFan]

We were there on the 20th also. I was surprised at how crowded it was for the 2nd party of the year, but I still enjoyed it immensely. We didn't wait more than 15 minutes to ride anything, although we didn't ride 7dmt. We're not big on charachters, but the parade and fireworks were fantastic. I did have a tough time getting into the holiday mood in the August heat, though.
I've read somewhere that they cap the Halloween party at 30,000 people and the Christmas party at 20,000, but I don't know if it's true or not. I hope so - looking forward to MVMCP in November!

Curious if you rode HM or the rides with overlays during the party? Specifically wondering about wait times for HM, POTC, and Space?

 

[gharter]

Oh no, I am reading all of these comments and now I am worried. Part of the reason why we booked our trip was to go to the MNSSHP because we've never done it. Fingers crossed that we have a good experience.

I was glad we did it. It was fun.
When we went, I was reading about people talking about short lines to the rides and characters. Part of the problem, was we went in with that expectation and that was not our experience at all. People were in line to see Jack and Sally starting at 5 pm and the party started at 7. The line never got shorter.
If you go in knowing that it will be crowded and you need to plan what you want to do, it will be fine.
As I said, the parade, stage show and fireworks were worth the price.

 

[Scubadaddy32]

Bummer that it wasn't what you were hoping for. I get it.

We pretty much only went for the different mood/environment and even moreso for the different parade and fireworks. For us, that alone was worth it. By the time we did our first MNSSHP in 2013 it was our fourth annual trip to WDW and we needed something different for a change. MNSSHP fit that bill perfectly. We've been back for MNSSHP twice since.

We never did any of the character meet and greets and did very limited trick or treating, so those didn't matter much. It's typically busy, but not packed.

As with most stuff it's all about expectations. We were just hoping there was good weather, since the tickets are non-refundable, and something new/different.

Dan

Could not agree more with this^^^^
We attend every year and yes, it's more popular no doubt, but for us it's mostly about the shows and atmosphere. Personally, I spend two or more times the money for sporting event tickets, Vegas and Broadway Shows and Cirque performances, all of which lasted 2 hours max with no rides or free candy. ha
Yes, you have to pick your poison at Disney, but as they say, "You can't have your cake and eat it too! If you just want to ride rides I'd recommend AH, but there isn't much atmosphere.

Also, 8/20 is still in summer crowd season with kids still out of school, everything is more crowded. Traditionally, the crowds are lower from mid-Sept. thru early Oct.
They are starting these way earlier than ever before. Pre 2016 they started MNSSHP in Sept. and in 2017 they moved it to the last week in August. Then in both 2018 and 2019 they started mid August to catch the last of the vacationing families before school starts back. ha Yes, when kids are out of school WDW is much more crowded this goes for the Halloween event too.

The dates people attend can be apples and oranges as far as crowd levels for all of these special events. I heard many complaining about the crowds last season as well, but that was early on in August. By the time we attended mid Sept., the crowd levels were at an event low and we accomplished just about everything we wanted in six hours of park time.

 

[Disneylover99]

Oh no, I am reading all of these comments and now I am worried. Part of the reason why we booked our trip was to go to the MNSSHP because we've never done it. Fingers crossed that we have a good experience.

We’ve been going since 2013 and honestly, for me, it’s just as crowded now as it was back then. We do have a habit of picking the more crowded parties though. Lol.

We always have a blast walking around, checking out costumes. We enjoy the parades, fireworks, Hocus Pocus show and trick or treat trails. We do skip the rides and character meets.

Pray for good weather, expect the crowds and go with the flow.

 

[Sallysue82]

I booked my MNSSHP tickets since 9/27 is my ONLY MK day in a very short (3 day) trip I am very nervous now as i read remarks on how crowded it has been.

I'm not keen on ToT - mainly wanted the extra time in the park for rides since i only get the one day vs my normal 2 touring days. Group of 6 of us - it WAS NOT CHEAP and i definitely don't want my overseas visitors to be disappointed as they are coming all the way from Australia (but this is their only MK day also).

Any advice on must do's for first time oversea visitors who have a 5 yr old in tow - He is special needs and I am urging her to get the disability pass as he cannot stand in line. Should this help also at the party?
Myself and DS were just in there in March - but we did miss alot of the evening shows/parades/fireworks.

So far the plan is : Aussies arrive 9/23 late PM - Take 9/24 as waterpark day / rest up after LONG flight
9/25 - Epcot FP 9:35 Soarin - 10:35 Mission Space & 1135 Spaceship Earth
9/26 AK - FP 8:55 EE 9:55 Dinosaur & 12:40 Safari
Me and DS arrive late this night
9/27 MK - (plan to RD SDMT) 7:40am BoG FB 8:35 Peter Pan 10:25 Buzz Lightyear & 11:25 Space Mountain Dinner at Crystal Palace 6:30PM then MNSSHP
9/28 HS - EEMH plan to RD MFSR in SW:GE then FP 9 TSM FP 10:55 Star Tours 12PM Frozen sing along and 12:30 Lunch at HW&V for Fantasmic reserved seating FP
9/29 - Fly home day - check out and hold bags to spend morning at AK with 2PM lunch at Rainforest. . .

Feedback is appreciated on this - I'm torn on going back to MK on 9/29 but it would just be tease We're staing at ASMo so AK is closest.

 

[Love Tink]

It astonishes me that people are still surprised by this. Virtually every reputable disney blog (plus thousands of people on these boards) have been reporting on the increased attendance cap in the past couple years and how uncrowded parties are a thing of the past. Heck we have a thread on the first page of this board with literally hundreds of posts saying just this. Disney no longer markets the parties as a low crowds event: instead their marketing all focuses on the "festive" holiday offerings.

Did someone say he/she was surprised by this?

 

[Scubadaddy32]

I booked my MNSSHP tickets since 9/27 is my ONLY MK day in a very short (3 day) trip I am very nervous now as i read remarks on how crowded it has been.

I'm not keen on ToT - mainly wanted the extra time in the park for rides since i only get the one day vs my normal 2 touring days. Group of 6 of us - it WAS NOT CHEAP and i definitely don't want my overseas visitors to be disappointed as they are coming all the way from Australia (but this is their only MK day also).

Any advice on must do's for first time oversea visitors who have a 5 yr old in tow - He is special needs and I am urging her to get the disability pass as he cannot stand in line. Should this help also at the party?
Myself and DS were just in there in March - but we did miss alot of the evening shows/parades/fireworks.

For sure get the disability pass.... It does my heart good to see families with special needs get a little special treatment at Disney.
Just enjoy yourself and don't get all worked up about MNSSHP. Pin point a few early must do rides like Pirates and Haunted Mansion and then go have a good time. If you have never been, just the Hocus Pocus show, fireworks show and Parades are worth the money in my book.

 

[CampbellzSoup]

When was it ever advertised that it’s lower crowds then the day crowds?

I think the fans and YouTube got the word out and now it’s never going back

 

[Welsh_Dragon]

He is special needs

He has special needs.

 

[BayouQueen]

Isn't this the first year they are selling a "party pass" to go to any and all Halloween parties? I'd imagine this would bring quite a few more people to each party.

 

[Davey Jones II]

The parties used to be great, particularly for short ride wait times. We haven`t done one for the past few visits, but it`s pretty clear that Disney is selling more tickets for each one, because it`s yet another way to milk the parks for cash.

A couple tips: the treat trails have short waits toward the end of the night, and if you tell them you haven`t had candy all night, they`ll give you a double handful. Also, the second parade of the night has a less crowded route.

 

[UpstateMick]

I had the opportunity to do 2 parties last week (opening night and then the 20th becasue of a glitch in getting me in on the original night). I had never done the party before. I would have to say I am glad that I got to experience it, but in my opinion, WAY TO OVERSOLD. Both nights the crowds were simply ridiculus, and this is coming from someone who goes every year over Presidents Day week. It is really cool to see the park decorated, but the lines and the crowds were outrageous. Maybe other nights are more manageble, but there is NO WAY I would pay that much money again to attend.

 

[THEDISNEYTHREE]

We were also at the 8/20 party. We found it crowded as well. We used to do the October 31st party for years and I was expecting lower crowds for this one. However, it was just as bad.

 

[blbrodger1]

Sadly I agree with you. The lines for the meet and greets for the most popular characters started to grow long before the party officially started. I was surprised at the big crowds and the big lines. I would not pay to do this party again in the future.

 

[amcnj]

We went last year and enjoyed it. But, we didn’t wait to see any characters or try and see how many pounds of candy we could collect. Overall it was neat to do, but we are not repeating it again this year. Not saying I would never do it again, but not in a rush to repeat it either.

 

[Liz/Disney Diva]

Another long time special ticket event family guest here as well. My family and I have attended MNSSHP and Christmas party for about ten years now (switching between the two.) and I would estimate a turn around that occurred in 2015 in our opinion. Post years there is deff a line even if short for attractions. In addition securing a "good spot" for the first or last parade even among showing up early to a spot is much more complex to accomplish. Also the days of "let's catch the last parade so attractions will be open w/o a line during the first parade" are gone." Now Dis is cutting the party time by an hour which is disliked by me.
I remember a refreshingly overt travel website cited that Dis has a cap on how many tickets they sell but when asked what number they did not provide any answer. Do not know if that is misinformation but the fact is they do not reveal a number. A change I noticed is the glowing/lit candy stations and the allergy swap treats. 2018 for us was stressful because we flew in August for our vacay and we were lucky the parade and attractions at the even were active because it literally rained two hours straight prior to the party. (Yes I timed it with my watch.) We did save (dismal) by purchasing for the second night of the party. We also noticed obvi due to a larger crowd that you have to act quickly for the party dining like Cinderella's or BOG because it goes quick and when we dined it was packed. Unrelated but connected I can also say this July we attended the Toy story land early morning magic event and it was blatantly *oversold. We arrived early before seven thirty and just rode each ride/attraction once! We were not concerned with the provided breakfast that we did *after the event ended because we received the free dining plan. My husby and kids wants to attend 2020 MNSSHP but I'm indifferent. Still love it to an extent. I can understand why the Cruella venue is selling for the party. You need the "extra special ticket" in addition to the "extra ticket."

 

[Mambo Junkie]

Oh no, I am reading all of these comments and now I am worried. Part of the reason why we booked our trip was to go to the MNSSHP because we've never done it. Fingers crossed that we have a good experience.

I started going when Disney was having the Princess and Pirate parties, so yes, they have changed a lot, gotten more crowded. I wouldn't do this is I had the kids with us this time, but this year we have party tickets in the place of spending for a whole day at MK, as we know we can do everything we want to do.
Last year we went on Halloween and we had a blast! We got lots of candy, in fact, I thought they were giving out excessive amounts Wait for Jack Skellington was 1 1/2 hours, but only waited 30 minutes for Moana. Met Alice, Mad Hatter, Tweedles, Queen of Hearts. Jack Sparrow, Jasmine, rode Haunted Mansion, Dumbo, Little Mermaid, Carousel, Pirates, Tomorrowland Speedway, Magic Carpets, Those were goals, though. Got lots of magic shots (also a goal), watched both the fireworks and parade, and closed out at midnight with the Sanderson sisters.. Most of the rides were for the kids, but we had other park days last year. We also got there at 4:00, had fast passes for BTMRR and Jungle Cruise. I think it's all in the mindset, and expectations. Having seen the crowds steadily increase every year, we KNEW there would be a monster crowd for Halloween night. It was a great experience, though, and the kids still talk about trick or treating at the Magic Kingdom.

 

[DisLiss]

When was it ever advertised that it’s lower crowds then the day crowds?

I think the fans and YouTube got the word out and now it’s never going back

It's described as "limited", which it is. But I think people sometimes have a different idea about what "limited" would mean. And Disney is never that forthcoming about the actual numbers in regards to these kind of things, so I can see where people may be confused about what events are limited as in 30,000 people and which events are limited as in 13,000 people. A quick Google search says that the average daily attendance at MK is around 56,000 people. So even if there are 30,000 there for a party, it's still a reduction of nearly 50%. But yet it's still a far cry from a nearly empty park.

 

[3cuteboys]

Curious if you rode HM or the rides with overlays during the party? Specifically wondering about wait times for HM, POTC, and Space?

We were there on 8/20 as well. We found it to be more crowded than expected but we haven’t done the party in a couple years. That being said, we had a great time. Every “long” line we were in was actually very deceiving, they all moved very quickly and I don’t think we waited longer than 20 minutes for anything. This includes HM, BTMRR, PoTC and Space Mountain. We also got a great spot for the second parade by heading to front of the park at the beginning of Main St, plenty of good spots to be had there right before parade started. We are not ones to find a spot early and sit around holding it for an hour, we’d rather get on more rides.
Getting candy was extremely easy as well if you did it a little later in the evening the lines moved very fast and they gave you handfuls. We got all our candy in TomorrowLand and filled up our bags after going through maybe 4 lines.
That was our experience, I still think it is a great party even if it was more crowded, definitely didn’t prevent us from doing everything we wanted to do.

 

[MyTwoPrincesses]

I was there the same day. I think the posted wait times were inflated but the party felt very crowded. I was surprised even after reading about crowds at MNSSHP. I was at EMH in MK the next day and 10-12 was much less crowded than those same hours during the party. While we had fun, I don’t see myself doing another MNSSHP anytime soon.