MNSSHP - worth it?

[KELLY]

It is worth it IMO. We had a great time the past couple of years we have done this.

This year we are skipping it. Not because we didn't enjoy it. But last year we went twice. And my girls are still young 2 and 5 so they have a hard time making it past 9 pm.

 

[hrh_disney_queen]

Not so many adults dress up, although some do. We usually wear Halloween t-shirts since it is still pretty warm at night. The time on the tickets say "7:00", but you can go in as early as 4:00. If you are on a budget and using tickets as opposed to AP's you can save that day's ticket since you can consider the party as a day at the parks. You will get more rides in for the duration of the party than you can an entire day at the MK. Of course, if you have expiring length of stay tickets, you don't have to worry about using a park ticket to go somewhere during the day.

I think a day at a waterpark and then on to the party is overdoing it. But we cannot nap at WDW. I don't know where that time would come from since you can go in for the party at 4:00. We usually go to a waterpark the day after the party, since they don't open until 10:00. Then we go to bed early that night and are ready to go out early the next day.

 

[kkwis2]

I have to give another vote for NO, don't spend the money! I asked this same question before we went in October, 2008, and got so many positive responses that I, too, went ahead and bought the tickets. I have to say that for the money, it was a huge disappointment. I would NEVER spend my money on a party again. We went on Oct. 29, the same time you are going. It was crazy busy! We had to wait on the curb for 1 1/2 just to see the parade. There were lines everywhere - both for trick-or-treating and for rides.

So from one frugal mom to another, I have to disagree with most of the others and say that it was not money well spent. I know it's a tough decision, though, especially when everyone talks it up so much. Perhaps it's different when it's not so close to Halloween.

A couple of tips, though: It starts late. Do you have late-night kids or early-to-bed ones? That will make a huge difference. Also, when we arrived, many families that weren't staying for the party were leaving, so we grabbed a stroller that had been left near the front entrance (but was obviously not being used any longer). Even though your kids are older, it might help when they are tired at the end of the night.

 

[Mom3girls]

We are going for the first time in October. It's actually going to save us a tiny bit of money as we won't be going to the parks that day-only the party and the ticket is less than park admission. We are only going to be there for 3 days-using our GAD pass on one, MNSSHP one evening and the 3rd day is up for grabs but probably another Disney Park-maybe we will check out HP at Universal...?

Just wanted you to know even though the party is supposed to begin at 7pm they will let you in the gates at 4pm. Those three extra hours will mean the world if it's your only day going to MK. Virtually walked onto everything both times when we went to MNSSHP!!! Would do it again in a heartbeat!!!

 

[momplus3]

We LOVED MNSSHP last year! The only downside for us was that beacuse it rained earlier in the evening, the Headless Horseman did not ride that night! The fireworks are amazing(try sitting at the rose garden to watch them!) and the parade was very spooky(LOL)! My kids got TONS of candy - it was everywhere! CMs were even trying to give us candy as we were leaving!

We were going to go this year but the early September dates were cancelled. I am looking at it as saving money for souvenirs!

I think that this is something you should do at least 1 time!

 

[rumrunnergirl]

.

 

[KELLY]

We went over Labor Day week and there was NO wait for rides. Some of them we rode several times without getting off! The closer to Halloween, the busier it will be.

I am super frugal and we think it is money well spent. My kids loved going in September, then celebrating Halloween again at home. My DD said she got to "double dip", LOL. The candy we got that we didn't like we gave away at Halloween, so that also saved us money!

This is pretty standard Halloween week. But the rest of the parties are not that crowded. Last year we went on the 27th not crowded at all. Went the 31st big mistake. I think it was more crowded than a park day.
But it was Halloween night!

 

[busy mom]

Don't flame me, but we thought it was way too crowded and the candy was cheesy. It would be much more enjoyable if they did not sell so many tickets...

 

[cheekymonkey]

Just wanted you to know even though the party is supposed to begin at 7pm they will let you in the gates at 4pm. Those three extra hours will mean the world if it's your only day going to MK. Virtually walked onto everything both times when we went to MNSSHP!!! Would do it again in a heartbeat!!!

That's what we were banking on. We are going to Epcot one day, MNSSHP the next afternoon evening and leaving the last day up for grabs-it will probably end up being another MK day. We were just there last April during Spring break. It was just too crowded and we had planned too much so this trip is going to be relaxed and hopefully not as crowded

 

[nov02mom]

We love it! The 1st year we did the candy lines etc....but then my son realized he could just ride pretty much the whole night and now that is what we do. He is begging me to costume up this year!

 

[daisy2jae]

We were going to go this year but the early September dates were cancelled. I am looking at it as saving money for souvenirs!
QUOTE]

Where did you get the dates for this years MNSSHP? I called and they couldn't give them to me other than possible dates.

 

[2005s4]

Don't flame me, but we thought it was way too crowded and the candy was cheesy. It would be much more enjoyable if they did not sell so many tickets...

this is how HHN got. they sell way too many tickets and then you are pretty much forced to buy a fastpass for $70 extra if you want to do anything at all

 

[crisi]

Another no. The parade was cute, but it was not $200 for the family cute. The candy was candy - my kids get plenty of it and most of the stuff we got at MNSSHP hit the trash in the hotel room rather than getting dragged home. Many of the decorations are up during the day, and when we went, MK didn't have a lot of lines during the day, and our kids really wanted to go back to the hotel and go to sleep at nine or ten - so we weren't even there very long.

I will say if you have "Mountain" age kids - the majority of kids when we were there were the under 7 set. If you want to ride the mountains over and over and over again, it might be worth admission.

 

[neatokimmo]

If this is the only park thing you are doing, I'd say go for it. You can do rides too.

If you are adding it to an already long trip I'd skip it. We went last year in addition to 10 park days to just do the Halloween stuff. There wasn't enough special event stuff to fill the evening. We found ourselves waiting for the parade (meh) waiting for the fireworks (good) and wasting a lot of time.

 

[MattMatts-Momma]

I was undecided last year on whether we should do the party or not. I am also very frugal and was afraid to spend the money, but bought the tickets anyway. They do start letting people in around 4:00 PM, that's when we arrived because we had reservations to have dinner at the castle at 4:30PM.

The lines were very short, most were walk on. We rode everything we wanted to ride, caught the parade and so on. The parade was excellent. We didn't leave until the park closed after midnight. My kids were 4 and 6 at the time and they didn't have any trouble staying awake or being grumpy.

We got a ton of candy, most of the candy was good. One CM loaded up my bag with chocolate, she asked what I liked.

I say do it!! Go you will have a great time. We are going again this September, I can't wait myself.

 

[MattMatts-Momma]

We were going to go this year but the early September dates were cancelled. I am looking at it as saving money for souvenirs!
QUOTE]

Where did you get the dates for this years MNSSHP? I called and they couldn't give them to me other than possible dates.

I hope they are not cancelled...where did you hear this?

 

[tinkmom2]

I plan on going to the MNSSHP in 2011. I loved the MVMCP and want to try something new. We have been there 3 times in March, once in November and then will be going in October this next time and cruising on the Dream too. What we did during the MVMCP was go see the monorail resorts before hitting the MK at 4. We plan on doing the same this next time in 2011 before the party or hitting downtown Disney. We are only staying for 5 days/4 nights so we are doing 1 MNSSHP and one other park and possibly Blizzard Beach.

 

[daisy2jae]

I hope they are not cancelled...where did you hear this?

I'm wondering the same thing. I've called disney 3 times and the only thing they will tell me is tickets go on sale tomorrow april 29th. I know it sounds crazy but we planned our trip around the date we read online that were expected dates for MNSSHP for 2010. We go 4-11th of sept. There is no way I can change my dates now. Airline will cost me $600, plus having to change hotel dates-dinning-work request, the list goes on and on. I've been so excited and after reading it's been cancelled for my dates totally bummed me out. I hope they are wrong but I can't find anything that says different!

 

[MattMatts-Momma]

I'm wondering the same thing. I've called disney 3 times and the only thing they will tell me is tickets go on sale tomorrow april 29th. I know it sounds crazy but we planned our trip around the date we read online that were expected dates for MNSSHP for 2010. We go 4-11th of sept. There is no way I can change my dates now. Airline will cost me $600, plus having to change hotel dates-dinning-work request, the list goes on and on. I've been so excited and after reading it's been cancelled for my dates totally bummed me out. I hope they are wrong but I can't find anything that says different!

We are going the same time. I was planning on going to the party on September 10th. I just checked the Disney website and the MK does close early that day, so I have my fingers crossed that it is for the party. I think I am feeling a little short of breath, just thinking that it may be cancelled for that time...It is such a fun time. You would think the Disney would announce the dates before the tickets go on sale. I will post back if I find anything.

 

[MattMatts-Momma]

These are the dates that I found in the AllEars newsletter, I hope I am allowed to post this. I called Disney and they said they haven't been announced yet, but it should be anyday now.

Seasonal Parties Announced:

-- Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party allows guests to trick-or-treat while immersed in the fantasy of the Magic Kingdom. The evening includes Mickey's "Boo-to-You" Halloween Parade; trick-or-treating throughout the Magic Kingdom at numerous locations; and the special Happy HalloWishes fireworks. Lots of characters are out in the park, wearing their favorite costumes -- you're encouraged to wear yours too. 2010 party dates and times are: September 14, 18, 21, 23, 25, 28, 30; October 1, 3, 7, 8, 11, 12, 14, 17, 19, 21, 22, 24, 26, 28, 29, and 31; November 1. The party runs from 7 p.m. to midnight; Mickey's "Boo-to-You" Halloween Parade is at 8:15 and 10:30 p.m. with the Happy HalloWishes fireworks at 9:30 p.m. Prices for the party are as follows (all prices listed include tax):

Advance Purchase: $57.46 for adults 10 and older / $51.07 for ages 3-9 (Not available all dates)
Passholder and DVC Member Discounts: $53.20 / $46.81 (Not available December 7, 10 through 19)
Day of Event (if still available): $63.85 /$57.46

http://allears.net/tp/mk/mnssh.htm