MNSSHP - Would you go again? (Had bad experience 2 yrs ago and now reluctant to try again)

[jhammond3966]

So, 2 years ago we went to MNSSHP with our kids (then 5 and 7). We did costumes, got some fun pictures, wasted time doing a few trick or treating stations, a few rides, parade and fireworks, then they were wiped by that point and we headed back to BLT. .... BUT it was packed, way more than i expected for a "limited hard ticket" event, there were LOTS of single/non-family 20-30 somethings there that were incredibly rude, shoved my kids out of the way to jam themselves in front of us at the parade when my wife went to the bathroom, then berated her when she tried to get back behind the rope with us and argued very rudely that they "paid a lot to be there" and were "pretty sure they would at least remember the parade and our kids wouldn't" this who cares if our stupid kids could see the 1st parade. Ruined the evening for my wife. To their credit, the cast members nearby intervened and made them get back behind us, but my wife had already taken off crying by that point. She sucked it up and we moved on for the kids (who thankfully were young enough to be oblivious to what was happening). Hallowishes was great though.

We are coming back to WDW in late October and I am trying to map out our park schedule so I can figure out ADRs to book in a few weeks. I originally swore that we would not do MNSSHP again. But... MNSSHP is on 3 of our 5 full park days, leaving only Saturday night and Monday night without a party, which sucks for planning purposes and means the non party nights will be far more crowded than normal. setting all other scheduling considerations aside, as there are many, I started thinking about trying MNSSHP again but with a different game plan (no trick or treating, skip the 1st parade and hope the kids and my wife will make it to the 2nd parade time, do more rides during the parade, and still see awesome Wishes, but maybe from Fantasyland instead). Then I started reading the blogs and people's posts to see if our experience was an anomaly. Looks like it wasn't. Seems like the party has become a "party" for 20-30 somethings to go to during Halloween season and others have had similar bad experiences. Now I am reluctant to go again. So I am looking for the feedback and experiences of others here for guidance.



QUESTION 1: Who else had similar bad experiences with the different crowd this event seems to draw? If so, what did you experience and would you try it again? AND what night of the week were you there?

QUESTION 2: Wait times for rides during the party? We did so few rides, I didn't get a feel for the wait times during the party at all. Part of the sales pitch is "limited ticket" event and a hope for shorter lines, but sounds like that has not been the case at all. What do you remember? Worth it for shorter lines or not at all?

QUESTION 3: Is it worth even doing if part of my plan is to skip the parade to hopefully benefit from shorter ride lines during that time? The Parade was cool, but chews up so much time to get a spot, wait, wait, wait, then you essentially have to head to the hub to stake out a spot for the fireworks. So it seems like most of my $250 night was spent on the Parade and HalloWishes. Would you pay to go to the party and not do the parade?

QUESTION 4: If you went with elementary school age kids, what suggestions do you have that made it work/better for your family?

NOTE: we are not character meet and greet people and won't be doing any of those character things that are only at this party.

All of your collective experiences, input, wisdom, and suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

[kohlby]

We went to the party for the first time in 2014 and our experience was very different from yours. BUT we went in September and it was far from sold-out. Wait times for the rides were quite low - as in a walk-on for most of what we tried. We had two other days at MK so we weren't rushing around trying to get all the rides in though. I was surprised that Seven Dwarfs line was quite reasonable right after the fireworks. That was the only time crowds were tough - right after the fireworks got out. We didn't rush to Seven Dwarfs actually only ended up going that way because it was impossible for us to move the other way. It wasn't a plan, just how it ended up. We really enjoyed the parade but there was plenty of room to just walk up and see it when we went. I would have felt differently if I had fought for a viewing location and had to be their early. We didn't stake out a spot for the fireworks but found one though it was crowded and two of my kids struggled with that crowd. We had a stroller then so that helped one child.

However, for our next trip, we plan to do it differently. The reason is the number of park days we have. We had 7 full park days plus the Halloween party last time. This time we only have 5 and can't increase them because they're a special type of ticket. After being spoiled with essentially 8 days to do the parks, I really want another day. By adding the Halloween party, we're getting a 6th day for less than the price of adding on one day tickets. Two of our kids want to skip the parade AND fireworks, but we'll likely still do fireworks. We'll focus on rides more. We'll do a small amount of trick-or-treating - stopping only if we just happen to pass by a place.

Also, keep in mind that you can get in at 4pm. Our original plan was to go then but due to having so many other things during that trip - we also had Legoland and the water parks and more option which we used several times - we didn't get there until about 5:30. Next time, we'll get there right for 4pm and focus on the rides. It was more crowded right when we got their for ride lines. We had fast passes for two rides though so that helped until the party started. (There aren't fast passes during the party, but are during that overlap time).

*Oh - and we're not character people at all either. That helps with lines too. A lot of people do the party to see the characters.

 

[ktlm]

QUESTION 1: Who else had similar bad experiences with the different crowd this event seems to draw? If so, what did you experience and would you try it again? AND what night of the week were you there?

We went to 3 parties last year, either 2 or 3 in 2014, and 2 in 2013, and we have never experienced anything like what you described. Last year we went on a Sunday, Tuesday and Friday. We have seen lots of groups of 20-30 somethings and from talking to them, a good deal of them have been Disney CMs enjoying the parties. They have always been absolutely nice to us and polite, and in 2014, we were in the new HM Memento Mori shop on a later day that week, and a young man whose costume DD (then 8) had gone nuts about at the party, was working in the store and remembered us and came over to say Hello. We've had lots of good experiences talking to the 20 somethings as well as families while we waited in lines or waited for parades shows etc. We've never had anyone be rude to us at MNSSHP, other than your typical people that you run across any park day who will jump in front of you at the last minute for shows, fireworks etc, and then hold the ipad up to film it so that you can't see a thing even though you waited at that spot for a long time. Most of those people are not single 20 year olds either. I'm sorry you had a bad experience. We have never experienced anything remotely similar- we have never seen any of the 20 somethings acting poorly at MNSSHP (now we have seen a few things at Food and Wine). We have always really enjoyed the MNSSHP atmosphere.

QUESTION 2: Wait times for rides during the party? We did so few rides, I didn't get a feel for the wait times during the party at all. Part of the sales pitch is "limited ticket" event and a hope for shorter lines, but sounds like that has not been the case at all. What do you remember? Worth it for shorter lines or not at all?

We don't ride too much during the party. We focus on the characters, castle show, Haunted Mansion area, parade etc. I don't think we would spend the money if the only thing we were interested in was shorter ride lines. I can say that Dumbo and Barnstormer are definitely walk on all night- DD always rides those a few times in a row when we are back seeing characters in that area. PP and 7DMT typically still have lines that are at least 30 minutes for most of the night- we do look at those and would jump in those lines if they were shorter, but they never are.

QUESTION 3: Is it worth even doing if part of my plan is to skip the parade to hopefully benefit from shorter ride lines during that time? The Parade was cool, but chews up so much time to get a spot, wait, wait, wait, then you essentially have to head to the hub to stake out a spot for the fireworks. So it seems like most of my $250 night was spent on the Parade and HalloWishes. Would you pay to go to the party and not do the parade?

Again, I don't know that I would pay the money just to try to get shorter line time- but if you are doing it because you will not get enough MK time otherwise with it closing early 3 or your 5 nights, then I might consider it. MK is typically less crowded earlier in the day on party days. We have started at rope drop and done full days at MK on party day more than once (for MVMCP we don't even leave the park- for MNSSHP we typically make a quick trip back to the resort to put on costumes). You say you are not interested in the characters. That is the main reason we go to the parties. You can see characters there that can not be seen during regular hours. Characters have always been a huge deal for DD. In fact, that is why we typically do multiple parties. We spend one night almost entirely going from character to character. The other night we focus on parade, shows, and dance party. As far as the parade, we have been able to grab a spot for the later parade with very little wait- as a result we usually do wind up seeing the parade most every night we go to MNSSHP. We often watch the fireworks from back in the Fantasyland area instead of messing with staking out a spot in front of the castle. We don't bother with trick-or-treating much. DD doesn't care about the candy. It sits in the room and maybe a couple of pieces get eaten and then it gets left in the room when we leave to go home. She might run through a line or two, BUT never before it gets closer to the end of the night and there is pretty much no wait. It doesn't sound like you cared for the atmosphere much- which may just have been a bad experience. For us, the atmosphere with all the adults in costume and everyone acting like kids, is a big part of what makes the party. If you don't care that much about the atmosphere, characters (including the Haunted Mansion sisters Carlotta and Renetta who tell stores and who we adore), parade or castle show- then to me it wouldn't be worth the extra money unless you really need that extra MK time.

QUESTION 4: If you went with elementary school age kids, what suggestions do you have that made it work/better for your family?

DD is 10, we have taken her to MVMCP (age 2-6) or MNSSHP (age 7-9) every year since she was 2. Age 2 was the only year we did not go to more than one party. She is a high energy night owl, so we have never had issues with the party. We usually spend the day at a park before the party too. Many kids/families do better with a later morning or afternoon break that day. You just have to figure out what works for your family. Most of the suggestions I could give you would be for character meets, which wouldn't be much use for you. You can see some pointers in my above answers which may work for your kids if they are okay with late nights-- i.e. late parade, trick or treating later in the evening etc. Fireworks from Fantasyland if it is not too big a deal not to see them from the front of the castle, etc. As far as doing it for short ride lines, I don't have much to help you with there, other than we would just enjoy the flexibility and walk around and jump in whatever lines we found that were fairly short.

 

[TWK]

We went a couple years ago also (kids were 6, 4, 2) We would not go again unless kids were at least in middle school. It was too late for us, my kids were petrified of the villains! I didn't expect that, they never acted like that before. The candy lines were too long, and not even that good of candy. And the parade/fireworks were all cancelled because of possible rain. (I know they can't help it, but still...) We did have a good time dressing up, but I didn't think it was worth it to pay extra for.

 

[supertinyluckycat]

We've gone every trip to disney and will not be going this year after our experience last year. It was so crowded and even though it was early in september it was a sold out party. We spent the whole time waiting for the parade pretty much. Just was not enjoyable.

 

[jhammond3966]

We went a couple years ago also (kids were 6, 4, 2) We would not go again unless kids were at least in middle school. It was too late for us, my kids were petrified of the villains! I didn't expect that, they never acted like that before. The candy lines were too long, and not even that good of candy. And the parade/fireworks were all cancelled because of possible rain. (I know they can't help it, but still...) We did have a good time dressing up, but I didn't think it was worth it to pay extra for.

TWK - sorry to hear about your experience. I agree re not great candy, I let them do 2 candy lines because we happened to pass them and they happened to be somewhat short and went quick, but it still wasted time and wasn't anything I couldn't buy elsewhere. That REALLY sucks that they cancelled the Parade and Fireworks. I agree that was out of WDW's control, but that's a huge part of the justification for going to these parties and you don't get a raincheck if they get cancelled. Our kids also had a great time dressing up (as did my wife and I). Middle school might be a good age to return and try again.

 

[Dis703]

QUESTION 1: Who else had similar bad experiences with the different crowd this event seems to draw? If so, what did you experience and would you try it again? AND what night of the week were you there?

We didn't have any bad experiences at MNSSHP last year. We went on a Tuesday and it was a sold out party. I didn't have our kids with us and we were traveling as 3 adults but I didn't see anything out of the ordinary happen while we were there.

QUESTION 2: Wait times for rides during the party? We did so few rides, I didn't get a feel for the wait times during the party at all. Part of the sales pitch is "limited ticket" event and a hope for shorter lines, but sounds like that has not been the case at all. What do you remember? Worth it for shorter lines or not at all?

Waits were definitely short. Only line that we had much of a wait for was 7DMT and that was 30 minutes so still well under the norm. We had several walk-on rides and the rest were 10 minutes or under. But if we walk by a ride that is 20 minutes or more we swing back later. HM had longer waits earlier so we waited and got in with no wait later on. We also had no wait for the Photopass Pic with the ghosts out front because we timed it immediately after the 2nd parade. Interestingly, there were reviews here from others with very different views on the wait times that night. So perhaps it was a matter of right place at the right time for us or maybe we just had a great touring plan.

QUESTION 3: Is it worth even doing if part of my plan is to skip the parade to hopefully benefit from shorter ride lines during that time? The Parade was cool, but chews up so much time to get a spot, wait, wait, wait, then you essentially have to head to the hub to stake out a spot for the fireworks. So it seems like most of my $250 night was spent on the Parade and HalloWishes. Would you pay to go to the party and not do the parade?

The parade is a big draw for me so I wouldn't skip it personally. But we've also never had long waits. In fact for the parade last year we walked out of Peco's Bills with barely more than 5 minutes until the start of the parade and we snagged a front row spot.

QUESTION 4: If you went with elementary school age kids, what suggestions do you have that made it work/better for your family?

I didn't bring my kids this time around and to be honest I'm not sure I would only because to me in order to get the most out of it you have to be able to stay late. My 7 year old isn't likely to manage being out until midnight or likely even 10pm without getting really crabby and miserable. My twins (4 years old) might do a little better but then they'd be a mess the next day so it's just not worth it to me.


NOTE: we are not character meet and greet people and won't be doing any of those character things that are only at this party.

We didn't do characters either. Lines for those were much too long, and we weren't really interested.

All of your collective experiences, input, wisdom, and suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

[mom2grace]

We did the party in 2010 when our kids were 7 & 9. I thought it was over priced.

In 2013 we did a Hallowishes cruise. It was awesome, except that DS fell asleep half way through.

This October (2015) we did a evening EMH at MK when it was open until 12 or 2, our kids are now 12 & 14 and it deflnitely screwed up the 'rope drop' strategy, but it was amazingly fun to be there so late.

 

[AshleeH]

We do two parties every time we go on an October vacation and never have issues. I would never let rude guests dictate whether or not I wanted to go back to a Disney park or event. But I think it's very telling that you said you "wasted time" doing trick or treating, a few rides, the parade the fireworks. That's the entire event - and it is what you make it. By saying you wasted that time, makes me think you just didn't want to enjoy it at the start, so maybe just have a night at the pool instead.

 

[Lulubelle17]

We did the party last year on Halloween night so it was obviously sold out. The lines for candy were not long at all, we hit all of them and were done in less than 5 minutes per line. The lines for the rides were definitely shorter, with many just walk ups. I don't know if maybe I had low expectations because oyr first time at WDW was Thanksgiving of the previous year, so to me it was not at all that crowded. Maybe it's a matter of perception? We will most likely go back this year.

 

[jhammond3966]

We do two parties every time we go on an October vacation and never have issues. I would never let rude guests dictate whether or not I wanted to go back to a Disney park or event. But I think it's very telling that you said you "wasted time" doing trick or treating, a few rides, the parade the fireworks. That's the entire event - and it is what you make it. By saying you wasted that time, makes me think you just didn't want to enjoy it at the start, so maybe just have a night at the pool instead.

I hear you re the "wasted time" comment. I guess I meant that more in reference to the trick or treating part, as yeah, they got candy at the end of that line (which wasn't even bad), but of all the things going on at the party, trick or treating is the least unique/exciting/disney-ish part. The parade was really cool, despite our rude guest incident. Hallowishes was really cool too and the kids loved it. Getting a spot for the parade and fireworks and waiting there until they start is just part of both of those events (party night or non-party night). I don't have a problem with that. The night just seemed to go by in a flash and it didn't "feel" like we did much more than the parade and fireworks. A "feeling" that we wouldn't have if it was any other MK park night because we wouldn't have paid a ton extra to be there that night. Part of that feeling 2 years ago was due to the age of our kids at the time (then 5 and 7) and them not being able to keep going after Hallowishes was over at 10:30 or so. Reading everyone's comments and reflecting some more on that night, I agree that I am not going to let those rude guests determine whether or not we go back to MNSSHP and I am glad to hear that other families did not have similar experiences. That is reassuring. But the consensus seems to be that to truly get the "value" out of paying an extra $70-75 per person to go to that party, whomever you are taking needs to be old enough or rested enough to stick it out until after the 2nd parade or even better until the party is close to over. Going to the party from 7pm-10:30pm just isn't enough time to do all or even most of what the party has to offer or really to get the value for the cost (I personally don't count the 4-7pm time into the decision because that is just regular MK park time that I can do any other day and that is usually when we are eating dinner anyhow).

If we were staying for longer, I could get on board with the "skipping MK in the morning of the party day and just showing up at 4pm plan" and staying late. But I have to tell you, the crowds in the morning on MNSSHP days were so light and lines almost non-existent until we stopped to go eat lunch at noon, that I REALLY can't justify NOT doing rope drop on party days since we only have 5 days at disney this time. Which means we would do MK rope drop, take a long mid-day break at Poly, get dinner, then go back for MNSSHP, probably not worth it with my kids still only 7 and 9. My plan right now is to hit MK for three party day mornings, and go to other parks or do other things those evenings. We will probably just park hop over to MK Monday night to take in the evening MK magic and Wishes (if they hopefully put that back on the calendar), skip MNSSHP this year, watch HalloWishes a night or two from the beach at Poly, and I'm pretty sure my wife and I will blow through the $280+ we saved not doing MNSSHP at the EPCOT F&W festival the next night.

I sincerely thank everyone for sharing their experiences and suggestions. All were tremendously valuable! This forum is wonderful.

 

[AshleeH]

I know a lot of people who skip the trick-or-treating entirely. We've actually done that once or twice, to maximize our time on the big rides with minimal waits. It's what is important to you in the moment. Lately, we've done the party so often, we usually hit two stations and get plenty of candy - takes maybe five minutes - and then move on to what we want to do.

We've skipped the parade a few times too - it is a very cool one, but we're not parade people, so we don't feel the need to watch it every party we go to. Odds are you won't encounter rude guests like that again. And I've found that the worst of the worst come out during the parades (one reason we opt to skip them more than watch them - and that's all parades, not just MNSSHP).

The party is actually until midnight - we usually take a break midday so we can make it to the end with no exhaustion or whining. It's fun to close it out!

And I agree with you about going to MK during a party day - there's only been one day when it was packed and we left and went to another park, but it's usually a good time to go because people don't want to waste a day if they're not going to the party and don't have a hopper. But if you do have the option and a long stay, it's fun to do something like Epcot and then go to the party at 4:00.

If it's not the last time you'll be there for MNSSHP, there's nothing wrong with waiting until you think you'll get the most out of it.

 

[cvjw]

We have been lucky enough to attend a Disney Halloween party every year since 2001. We have always been huge fans of the Halloween party, until the last couple of years.

In 2014, there were so many non-paying guests still in the park for the parade and fireworks - it was very frustrating. They were loud and obnoxious, putting down the party and no CM's were to be found to report them too.

In 2015, we attended the party on September 22nd - a Tuesday night. It ended up being sold out. I have never seen so many people at a sold out Halloween or Christmas party. I am convinced that Disney increased the number of tickets being sold for the parties. There were so many people in line for trick-or-treating on the treat trail behind Space Mountain that the line started at the train station In 15 years of Halloween parties, we have never seen lines anywhere close to that long.

We are visiting in October this year, and for the first year aren't attending a party. Just isn't worth it for us anymore and that saddens me so much.