It is kind of a combination of both. There are clearly formed lines, but it is a swarm to form and get to them. You want to be at the show early enough to be very near the front. You also want to find out from a CM in the area exactly where the line for the villian you most want to see is starting after the show and you want to plant yourself right in that spot. We quickly discovered last year that the minute the show ends and the CM goes to the line spot, that it becomes a pushing and shoving match to get to that line and get near the front. If you happen to think you are the front of the line and the CM actually comes out and starts it a little to the side of you, you can get pushed far back really fast. The villians don't stay out that long, so the lines are cut off quickly. Sometimes, there is not a CM formally cutting them off, but after you have been in line a while a CM will come and advise where the last group to see the villian is, and there will be a bunch of unhappy people in line behind that spot.
Maleficent is by far the worst to get to, and I'm guessing it is going to be even harder this year with the movie out this summer. DD wanted to see Maleficent and the Snow Queen on our 2nd villians show last MSSHP (the first we did Cruella and Dr. Facilier). The Snow Queen was most important to her, so DH went and got in the spot where he should have been 2nd for the Maleficent line and DD and I got in the spot to be first for the Snow Queen who was not far from Maleficient, figuring that DH could let a group or two ahead of him if necessary. When the show ended, the CM who had directed us to the spot actually started the Snow Queen's line about 2-3 feet left of where we were standing. It was an absolutely shoving match to try to get to the spot. You can be standing right next to where the line starts waiting to be in front and if others shove over to the right spot in front of you, the CM will direct you to the back of the line. Didn't happen to us, as it was our 2nd villians show of the night, so we had learned to just shove sideways with every one else at the 1st show because we saw it happen to some others for Cruella. We were in the exact spot to be 2nd in line there because a CM had placed us there when I asked and specifically started that line at the exact point he indicated he would, but the people to the side of us who were there trying to see Cruella too got shoved by others and the CM made them walk back to the end of the line. We saw that happen at the Evil Queen too.
DH should have been 2nd in line for Maleficent, but several groups shoved in and pushed in front of him and in front of the group in front of him, who should have been 1st, so they both wound up being further back in line. Even though he was in the spot to meet her before the show even started, with the shovers that barged in front of him we barely made the cut-off for her, only a couple groups behind us saw her before she left.
As far as the villians castle show and
MNSSHP party in general, they are great, extremely fun, and in our opinion well worth the money.
