MTOTP-Is there a strategy?

[QueenDoOver]

Hello,
I have been reading the trip reports from last year and see a lot of mention of lines and crowds. Wondering if anyone has cracked the code for how to minimize the effects of these crowds?

Background: Will be arriving in CA just before the party, so it is our first opportunity to get into the parks. It will be a Thursday night. We will have two first time visitors. Is there a place in DCA to get them "First Time" buttons? I know the boys will want to do some rides, but probably characters and candy too.

okay, your thoughts are much appreciated. I will be doing a trip report on what we figure out.

 

[Huff]

Hello,
I have been reading the trip reports from last year and see a lot of mention of lines and crowds. Wondering if anyone has cracked the code for how to minimize the effects of these crowds?

Background: Will be arriving in CA just before the party, so it is our first opportunity to get into the parks. It will be a Thursday night. We will have two first time visitors. Is there a place in DCA to get them "First Time" buttons? I know the boys will want to do some rides, but probably characters and candy too.

okay, your thoughts are much appreciated. I will be doing a trip report on what we figure out.

Guest services to the left of the Disneyland gates or to the left of California Adventure gates as well as the ticket booths and also Guest Relations inside the parks all have the 1st time buttons for free. Many of the Disney stores around the parks also have them behind the registers.

 

[Mom of three]

We went last year with no strategy and had a blast. Our focus was to enjoy the fun atmosphere and take advantage of the rides with little to no wait. The candy was simply a "bonus" to us, as I did not travel all that way and purchase the tickets for the sole purpose of getting candy...we could get that at home.

We made our way from ride to ride and stopped at candy booths along the way if the lines were reasonable. The same for meeting characters. The line for Mickey and Minnie was outrageously long and after standing in line for 20+ minutes with not much progress...we bagged it and moved on.

I would gladly pay for the price of a ticket to enjoy it all again. It was truly spooktacular.

 

[WebmasterMaryJo]

I had to read through your post before I realized that you were talking about Mickey's Trick or Treat Party. I had no idea.

I've gone twice, and both times I have had no strategy, other than to go from land to land. The first time we went clockwise, and the second time we went counter-clockwise, and were able to do everything we wanted to.

The lines were long for the candy, but they went really quickly, so I didn't consider it any kind of issue. Sometimes they ran out, but they soon restocked, so you can either wait or go on & come back.

 

[iheartdisney]

Our two times, we learned to do rides first, then candy. By the end of the night, there are no lines, and they are scooping it into your bag by the fistful.
We've never bothered with the characters, though, so no advice there. But it is alot of fun, just enjoy yourself!

 

[fayt19]

This'll be our first year attending the party and I've been wondering the same thing! We're still trying to figure out whether to go the week of the 8th or the 15th. I feel like I need a plan for everything now. My family also doesn't care too much about the candy(we'll maybe get some on the way out, as others have suggested) but I'd love to get some cute pictures with the characters in costume. Does anyone have tips on when to go see certain characters? Is there anywhere to get a list of the characters with times? I've also heard there are little 'dance parties' with the characters? And when should one line up to get an awesome spot for the parade?

 

[mom2pirateNpooh]

We've also gone twice and learned to do the rides early in the evening, before the lines got too long. Even in the lines, though, the kids enjoyed seeing all the other guests' costumes, which helped pass the time. Last year, we found that our best chances for character interaction were at the various dance parties - we ended up with some great videos of our kids interacting with various characters, which we liked more than the stand-in-line photo opportunities. Our two-year-old was somewhat intimidated after dancing with Woody, and ran back to us; we were very impressed when Woody and his handlers actually sought him out afterwards to give him a souvenir button.

 

[QueenDoOver]

Thanks Everyone! I know it is not critical, but I feel better with a general plan. It is good to know to focus on the rides, and characters as lines allow, and then gather up candy on the way out. I'm good with that plan

 

[disneyfan4ever54]

Here's some information from last year's party about the different things that will be going on at the party and where the character meet and greets are, etc. Hopefully it will be similar this year, but with all the constsruction going on there, who knows. At least it will give you an idea of what kind of characters might be there. We will be doing things a little different from everyone else, it seems. We have a long visit to DLR planned this time so we won't be focusing on rides that night. Instead, we want to make sure we get pics of the characters in their costumes. Since I hear the lines for these can be very long....esp. Mickey and Minnie.....we plan on heading there as soon as the party starts and then doing everything else later. I don't know if this will work, but hopefully the lines for characters will be the shortest this way.

http://allears.net/dlr/tp/dca/mht.htm