MNSSHP questions - odds of selling out in October, doing 2 parties?

[nkereina]

We personally wouldn't do it because it would be expensive and we'd rather do something different each night. Its like eating at the same restaurant twice in one trip - our preference is to do different things.

BUT, with as busy as MNSSHP has been at almost every party the last two years, I do see the value in going to two parties in one trip. It would allow you to enjoy the party at a more relaxed pace, and should allow you to experience everything the party offers. It also gives insurance if you have inclement weather for one of them.

 

[Brett Wyman]

Too much fun, no. Too much money, yes! Its true you cant even scratch the surface of all the party has to offer in one night.

 

[Minsc]

We often do two. The first to focus on rides. The second to focus on characters, events, and trick-or-treating. Sunday and Tuesday options are a must for us to do this. We avoid the Friday parties.

 

[jenjersnap]

Two parties are typical for our fall trips. Absolutely zero regrets, makes for a much more relaxing party, IMO.

 

[mamamelody2]

Last year we took our two boys (12 and 15) to MNSSHP. It was the first party for all of us. We went on Friday 8/31. We loved it. Boys said it was awesome, so we went on 9/7 also. We had a great time both times. The second one was slightly less busy, but both times we were able to walk on BTMRR (one of our favorites) several times in a row. Front row seats for the parade, great seats with plenty of room for the fireworks. We didn't really ToT that much, but still came home with lots of candy. I considered it a splurge, but we found it to be worth it. LOVE MK at night!!

This year, DH and I are taking a trip to WDW that same week. We will definitely do 1 party, 2 is not out of the question. I'm really hoping for DAH at MK, though. If that happens, we'll do that and 1 party.

 

[Selket]

I've been to two parties in the same trip on two different years - the MNSSHP is my favorite party or activity I've paid extra for. There's a lot of YMMV on it - the more people in your family it gets very costly. It's also true that you may feel like you'd rather do a dessert party or something else like a tour - if you haven't done those things. I also don't do many of the rides except for some of the ones with the overlay. Characters, special shows, fireworks, parade, trick-or-treating .... those are the things I wanted to spend party time on. If you're not going at the busiest time and want to play it by ear - buy tickets to one party towards the beginning of the trip and decide later if you want the 2nd one. I've always booked the 2nd party the day before or day of after I knew I wanted to go again and the weather looked good.

 

[randumb0]

Several people have mentioned choosing 1 day to focus on rides. Why not just attend the park during the day time on the day of a party? Wait times are not long on party days

 

[Minsc]

Several people have mentioned choosing 1 day to focus on rides. Why not just attend the park during the day time on the day of a party? Wait times are not long on party days

We do that too. How else are we going to get our 19 Space Mountain rides in on a single day?

We started a family tradition a while ago. Each year, we try to ride Space Mountain as a family (there are six of us) equal to the number of the year it is on a single day. This year will be 19 times. It only counts if the rides are done on the same day, and all six of us are in the same rocket. My wife thinks we are crazy, but she still participates. We have all of the pictures of each ride since the beginning.

 

[Childs1stTime2Disney]

We avoid the Friday parties.

Why? Are they usually busier?

 

[Minsc]

Why? Are they usually busier?

In our experience, yes. If you think about it, the parties go late, so it's less likely that locals will attend the Sunday and Tuesday parties if they have work or school the next day. All data like this is anecdotal, but Tuesday parties have always felt the least busy to us. We've been doing two a trip since 2007, and by 2013 started avoiding the Friday night parties. Irrelevant to this conversation, but I remember our first Halloween party was in 1997, when I believe it was offered for just two nights in October, and was only $17 a person. Imagine that compared to today's events, haha.

 

[Minsc]

My wife just reminded me that we were not able to do two parties in 2016 because of Hurricane Matthew. Disney closed the parks early that day, and that was one of our two party days.

 

[CheshireStripes]

We did 2 nights in a 5 night trip last year. My then 3 year old was obsessed with NMBC and when we got there at 5 the line to meet jack and sally was more than 2.5 hours long. He was so disappointed and kept asking to meet them so we decided to scrap our animal Kingdom day and head back to mk. Got in line for jack n sally at 3:45 and were able to meet them by 4:30.

 

[Kingoglow]

We are doing two parties this October. I personally love the parties and have been attending every year for the past four years. This year we are traveling with another couple, so I figure that the first party we will experience most of the activities like parade stage and fireworks shows. The second party night will be for the rides.

 

[tzeitel]

If you check the Halloween party thread there is a list of when each day sold out. If it is not on the new thread maybe check last year's thread.