MNSSHP In 2015 - What To Expect

[jhaig]

We did the Halloween party last year on Tuesday, September 16, traditionally what was supposed to be a "slow" time, since it was early and it was a weeknight. In theory, this should have lessened the crowds since it was a school night. Imagine my surprise when most of the night was wall to wall people right up to midnight. 7DMT had no less than a 60 minute wait for the entire party and the lines for characters were nuts. I was told this party was not a sellout, but you can't tell me that Disney didn't oversell this party.

So this time around in 2015, will Disney learn their lesson from Villains Unleashed, which they oversold immensely, and limit ticket sales to MNSSHP, or will they continue to cram in as many guests as possible, make as much cash as they can, and create uncomfortable guest experiences all around?

The crowds at Magic Kingdom that day were probably about half of what they were at the party that night. Why would anyone want to pay extra for more crowds and less time to do things?

 

[Disneylover99]

Why would anyone want to pay extra for more crowds and less time to do things?[/QUOTE]

We go for the party atmosphere. We love to dress up and see others dressed up. We love the Hallowishes and the parade too. The whole Halloween vibe can't be beat!

 

[GatorMama]

I can't remember if we were there on the 16th or on the 19th, but I didn't think crowds were bad at all. My family rode 7DMT in just under 45 minutes. We had a great spot for the second parade without getting there too early. It was a rainy and miserable evening but crowds weren't bad. And we had a larger group than I was used to. We also had been to the party twice before and knew what were must-dos. In 2012, we waited 2+ hours to meet Flynn and Rapunzel. And in 2013 we waited almost 45 minutes to meet Mickey. I don't think we did ANY characters in 2014.

 

[pigletgirl]

I'm not sure what to expect this year with MNSSHP. It'll be our first time going to it. I'm hoping crowds arent too bad.

 

[LadyRayado]

We went on a sold out night in October and I honestly didn't think it was bad at all. All of the rides except maybe HM and SDMT were walk-on or less than 10 minutes. We got a great spot for the second parade in Frontierland only 10 minutes before it started. Some of the very popular characters, Seven Dwarfs and Jack, had extremely long lines all night - as I'm sure they did at every single MNSSHP and MVMCP. I went in mid-September the year before and it was busy then, as well. We go with the expectation that it will still be a moderately busy park, especially around the Hub, Main Street, and the popular rides and characters. However, like others said, we go for the atmosphere, parade, and costumes.

 

[FamilyMan4]

Speaking of crowds at the MNSSHP....

What are the buses and transportation lines like to go back to on site hotels?
Are they pack most of the night or pretty much a walk on at most times?

I am trying to decide on an on-site hotel for this night, and am leaning towards monorail for the convenience, but if the buses are not bad then that may change my hotel options.
We will be at MK for the better part of the day, with a break in-between before the party, then taking in as much of the party as we can for as long as we can, so we expect to be pretty beat out by the end of it, and are looking for a smooth transport back to the hotel as we will be flying out the next day.

Any ideas?


Thanks!

 

[godders]

I was there on the 16th and didn't think the crowds were bad in the slightest. Only had a 15 minute wait to meet Sorcerer Mickey and probably the same for Gaston, the Princesses and Capt Jack.

The rides were all pretty much a walk on and the longest queue at HM that I saw/was in was probably only 20 mins and that was right after the first parade. Heard about this before where it can feel like two different completely different parties depending on where you are at any given time.

For the PP -the first party I went to I stayed until close (and even managed to sneak in to see Anna & Else with a 15 minute wait) and walked straight onto my bus to POR and even got a seat.

The tuesday night party I left after the 2nd parade so had to wait for the 2nd bus so only for about 10 minutes. The waits for the transportation depends on so much. If you're willing to hang around a bit when till park closing then the crowds for transportation will be less. Also some hotels will have a much longer wait than others because either buses are the only way back to them or the buses go to more than one hotel. A monorail hotel for the night sounds like a good idea!

 

[FamilyMan4]

For the PP -the first party I went to I stayed until close (and even managed to sneak in to see Anna & Else with a 15 minute wait) and walked straight onto my bus to POR and even got a seat.

The tuesday night party I left after the 2nd parade so had to wait for the 2nd bus so only for about 10 minutes. The waits for the transportation depends on so much. If you're willing to hang around a bit when till park closing then the crowds for transportation will be less. Also some hotels will have a much longer wait than others because either buses are the only way back to them or the buses go to more than one hotel. A monorail hotel for the night sounds like a good idea!

Awesome thanks for the info!

 

[Goofy'sPal]

Im going back to WDW in late Sept or early Oct specifically for MNSSHP. Last time I went was May 2008. This will be my second solo trip. Last time I went in May and loved it. Heard MNSSHP is awesome so I want to go an experience that. Really excited and cant wait to experience this solo

 

[Missyrose]

We did the Halloween party last year on Tuesday, September 16, traditionally what was supposed to be a "slow" time, since it was early and it was a weeknight. In theory, this should have lessened the crowds since it was a school night. Imagine my surprise when most of the night was wall to wall people right up to midnight. 7DMT had no less than a 60 minute wait for the entire party and the lines for characters were nuts. I was told this party was not a sellout, but you can't tell me that Disney didn't oversell this party.

So this time around in 2015, will Disney learn their lesson from Villains Unleashed, which they oversold immensely, and limit ticket sales to MNSSHP, or will they continue to cram in as many guests as possible, make as much cash as they can, and create uncomfortable guest experiences all around?

The crowds at Magic Kingdom that day were probably about half of what they were at the party that night. Why would anyone want to pay extra for more crowds and less time to do things?

The biggest key to enjoying the hard-ticket parties is avoiding Main Street like the plague. People are jammed in wall-to-wall from before the party started, right through the fireworks. Fantasyland can also feel especially jammed early in the evening.

It also helps to go in with reasonable expectations. Pick your top three things you'd like to accomplish and let everything else you do that night be gravy.

Yes, the party is expensive. But for me, the character interactions, atmosphere, parade and fireworks make it totally worth it. My DH and I are even planning to attend two MNSSHP this year because there's just so much to do!

 

[To the honeypots]

We were there on September 16th party as well. Our experience was the exact opposite. We even walked right on 7DMT with no wait at all. I actually don't remember a lobby line all night. Even the trick or treat were short when we went through them.

 

[RubySue]

We were at a sold out MNSSHP in October 2014. We had a blast (and I hate crowds and waiting in long lines). This was our first MNSSHP and even though we are not usually parade people, we loved, loved the parade! As PP have said, Main Street is crowded and some character M&G lines are long, especially during the first half of the party. We didn't have small kids, my grandsons are older teens, so we didn't worry about trick or treat or M&G until late in the night when lines were much shorter. Main Street was crowded, but the rest of the park was very manageable. We people watched and rode rides during the first half of the party and during the first parade. Saw the second parade in Frontierland and had a good spot with a moderate/light crowd. We stayed until the end of the party and loved it.

The OP said something about WDW overselling the party. From what I've gathered from DIS posts (and I hope I remember the numbers correctly), a high crowd day in MK is approximately 50,000 and MNSSHP and MVMCP are capped at somewhere between 25,000-30,000.

 

[FeralCatRogue]

Crowds depend on when you go for buses, on Halloween they were coming 2 buses at a time and we finally got on bus 4 and stood from Pop century. If your going in costume make sure you know the best way to be on the bus in it and whatever makeup and accessories you use, my costume/make-up/accessories wasn't really made for standing for 30 mins. so I was kinda cursing out not waiting the entire bus ride.

On way back the buses keep coming til your all gone, i think we waited about the same amount of buses for back as well.

 

[jhaig]

Will those numbers stay the same this year?

 

[Kohara]

How and when do you get information about character meet and greets and all the other details?

 

[mousehockey37]

A key to going to MNSSHP is getting there at 4pm when you're allowed to enter with your Party ticket admission. It may not be the same as riding in the dark, but at least starting at 4pm, you can start to get on rides and "get them out of the way" since there are 2 parades and fireworks in between.

We went to the party on Sept. 9 this past year and it wasn't a sellout by any means, but that doesn't mean that it wasn't crowded around the hub and certain other areas of the park during the night. We were right at the front of the line for Capt. Jack and the other characters we wanted to see were unfortunately a victim of the Soiree (Maleficent and Facilier).

That said, there is a cap for every night of the Halloween party ticket wise. Villains Unleashed was a disaster all its own, but the MNSSHP and MVMCP have always had a cap on tickets as far as I know.

 

[mousehockey37]

How and when do you get information about character meet and greets and all the other details?

All the character meet and greets start at 7. The maps from the previous years are pretty close each year. There may be a few changes depending on if they switch up characters in the Soiree this year from last.

 

[kimieko]

I was there on the 16th last year and didn't think the crowds were bad at all. We did the first parade and had reserved seating because we were doing the Villain’s Sinister Soiree. After the parade we did meet and greets and walked on all rides....we didn't see anyone when walking onto Space Mountain. During the parade, along the parade route it is crazy, but other than that the crowd wasn't bad at all....and I hate crowds and tend to overexadurate crowded areas.

 

[2Pirates2Princesses]

I'm also curious about this as well. Looking into either a MNSSHP or MVMCP day this fall.

 

[nkereina]

When will official information about MNSSHP released? Dates, ticket prices, etc. I couldn't recall what time of year that normally comes out.