My take on MNSSHP

[palmtreelover08]

I went to the MNSSHP on the 4th, and was so excited, and ended up so disappointed.

My overall review-unless you have someone who can hold your spot for the parade, pictures and fireworks, you are not going to get to do/see much. If you take into considreation the 30 minutes you need to wait for the parade, and the 30 minutes for the fireworks, the 15 minutes waiting in line to see the the Mix and Mingle, and 1/2 hour to see Snow White and the Carriage, you are looking at almost 2 1/2 hours of the party just waiting. That is not including the time of the actual fireworks, parade and Mix and Mingle.

Photos-After literally speaking with 15 Cast Members starting at 6:00 pm, I was able to find where the line for where Snow White and the dwarfs would be. There was only one family in front of us (now 6:30). Approx. 6:45 a line started forming going the opposite direction, just on the opposite side of where we were standing. That line got very long, very fast. At exactly 7:00, 3 CM's showed up, along with Tweedle dee/dum and white rabbit. Everyone in line started to freak.. No one was moving to get pictures with them, and the CM's said that Snow White would not be out until 7:30... People in line were very angry, as was I. How could they put out one of the most popular character's for photo-ops out 1/2 after the party starts. Anyway, no one wanted to give up their spot, and then one of the CM's told my line that we would have to get at the end of the other line! WHAT?/ No way, not gonna happen. Riot was about to start. The other line stretched almost into toon town at this point. So, the Cm's decided that my shorter line (which had dwindled to about 5 families---the rest were tired of waiting)..would go first, then start the other line. It was very unorganized, and started off the disappointment. By the time Snow white arrived and was set up, it was 7:45. We waited just a few minutes for the photo-op at the haunted mansion (which is cool!). The line for Cinderalla's carriage picture was way too long to stand in.. had to be close to 45 minute line. We did get a picture with Tarzan--which was cool. About a 10 minute wait.

Parade-If you plan on going to the first one..arrive early.. We arrived about 15 minutes before the parade was to start, and ended up 3 rows back. We were in Frontier land for the record.

Next.. the candy. The candy that we rec'd.. was 90% sweet tarts and tooties rolls. The rest were lollipops and a few pieces of choc. (M&M)'s. Pretty disappointing. The fire works were ok, and had a different sound track than the regular wishes, but I would not say they were any better than the regular wishes (which I think are very good).. I was just expecting much more considering the reviews from previous posters. The Villians Mix and Mingle-Disaster.

Rides-No lines at all. If you are going to the party for the rides, you have it made!

Dance Parties--probably the highlight of the evening. Great character interaction and not too crowded.

Villians mix and mingle--one of the main reasons I went to the party--was because I wanted my picture w/Malificient.. what a mess that was. The show was great, but then the characters come down and stand in the masses. There are no lines set up, no specific spot where each character is to stand..and everyone there at the mix and mingle wants a picture. There was actually pushing and shoving in front of the Wicked Queen. There was no way I was going to try and work my way through the unorganized mess with my 6yo dd and try and get a picture. Just not safe. The characters did not stay out very long..maybe 10 minutes at the most, and many many people who had actually formed a line did not get pictures.

I will not be going again. Very unorganized, Very crowded.

 

[TivoQueen]

I totally agree with you. We went last October and my kids and I were so excited. We ended up going on the night of Columbus Day and it was a sold out party. It was so crowded we didn't get to do/see much. The only character line we stood in was for the carriage and it was about an hour. The other lines were so long we didn't even try. Most of the lines that we went to for candy were out of candy. We did find a few lines near the back of the park that still had candy. Even the lines for rides were long. We waited 40 minutes to ride Big Thunder Mountain at 11:00 PM. It was crazy and we were really disappointed. We paid a lot of money to go to that party and didn't get to enjoy hardly anything at all. That made me very scheptical about purchasing tickets for MVMCP. I took the plunge and bought the tickets and we are hoping for a much better experience. We are doing a Tuesday at the beginning of December so we are hoping the crowds won't be too bad.

 

[rlahsin]

Yikes. We have tickets for October 6th. I think I'll start preparing my daughters for "seeing" SW and the 7 dwarfs and "waving" at the carriage. Honestly, I don't think it's worth it to spend hours waiting to have your picture taken with the characters. I think we're going to enjoy seeing them from afar and maximizing the other events at the party. Thanks for the heads up!

 

[jenndla]

Thank you so much for the input! I wonder - do you think that since you attended the first party of the year that they were just working out kinks and organization issues? Did it seem like they were just new and "green" at the way things should go? I don't know, maybe that's wishful thinking on my part since I go to the party on October 2!

I am sorry you were disappointed - especially after all of the good commentary!

 

[Poohbear123]

Seriously, they have been doing these MNSSHP for what, about 10 Years now? AND they still have an UNORGANIZED MESS??? WTH??? Must have CM's that have NO idea how to handle a crowd like that! To see ONE line already formed and than form 2 more, and than wanting to form TOGETHER a final and last line? WHAT ARE THEY NUTS??? I would have gone to the front of the park and requested my Money back, or another ticket for another day, that is just unreal! I am so glad that when I go on the 30 of Oct, that Downtown will be giving out candy...and my 2 grandgirls will be dressed in costume, and getting as much as they can, as EARLY as they can! The 31 will be spent at MK till they kick us out at 7pm for the MELEE to start!

 

[matt&jakesmom]

Our family,too, went to the party on the 4th. We got to the Snow White line about 6:50 and experienced the disorganization. I said to the CM that by next party they would have this down pat. She said that the CM's move around to party after party. No wonder confusion not the same CM working the area to know what is going on. We did wait until 7:45 to see them. That was our main focus. My one DS did treat or trick at a station that was close to us as well as ride the Teacups and Barnstormer. I wasn't going to let him not do something that entire time. From there we went to Mickey's house. After that DH and DS went for FREE face painting and met my other DS and I in Minnie's house. By then it was probably close to 9 or so and we were meeting another family by the carrousel for the fireworks. We thought the fireworks were AWESOME. We had to constantly turn around because they were everywhere. WE really enjoyed them. From there we made our way to Frontierland. The rest of them were goiing to ride SM and I waiting for the parade. I had to see the Headless Horseman. I don't know how busy the 1st parade was but the 2nd was packed. When the parade ended we made our way back up to the castle for the 11:15 Mix and Mingle. Too short of a skit. By that time there were lines section for the characters. Malicifent was not one of them. I was bummed but oh well. From there we headed back to Tomorrowland. We didn't leave until 12:30. Wished the party would have lasted until 1:00. We never made it to Adventureland. As for the goodies. I have to agree that the Smarties and Tootsie rolls were a bit disappointing. Tomorrowland was giving out Star Wars tooth brushes that sing when brushing. My DS thought that was cool.

Overall we enjoyed it. We got out of it was we wanted to do. We did feel rushed and again wished it was from 7 to 1.

 

[lilys.mom]

Just started thinking today this might be fun to do while we are there the week of 9/20 i have a DD3 so now not real sure

So is there a certain time frame for charecters...shows etc?? for the party where do you find that information?

 

[matt&jakesmom]

Once you get your wristband, the CM's will give you a brochure/map of the park and the times. the parade is at 8:15 and 10:30. Fireworks are at 9:30. Villains Mix and Mingle is at 7:45, 9:00, 10:05 and 11:15. There are character dance parties in Fantasy land where we saw Donald and Daisy Duck dancing with kids and Chip, Dale and Goofy were at the Plaza Stage in Tomorrowland. Mickey and Minnie were in their houses. I heard Tarzan was in Adventureland but we never made it over there.

Personally I don't think a 3 year old would get that much enjoyment out it. It is dark so they might get scared. Most 3 year olds don't eat a lot of candy and it just so rushed to see everything. We did this back in 2001 when my DS's were 5 and 3 and by 10:00 they were asleep in the stroller.

 

[RMulieri]

I went to a party on a Tues in Mid-Sept last year...I have to agree with you.It was quite disorganized.The lines for pics at the hearse and the glass carriage were HUGE about a 45 min wait and didn't dwindle the whole night.COuldn't get near the villains after the mix and mingle, nor near Snow white and the dwarves..The candy was also mostly "filler" candy( sweet tarts,tootsie rolls,spree ,nerds etc.While I did enjoy it , I won't do any of the parties again.way too disorganized and crowded..unless you are there primarily to ride rides

 

[jeremysdisneymom]

My family was there on the 4th as well. We were part of the line that waited for Snow White that they walked to the other side to start a new line. We did get to see her about 10 minutes after she came out but it was frustrating and very disorganized. There was no photopass person there and from where I stood to take the picture, I had to take two to get all the dwarfs in a picture. As the other poster commented, Tweedledee and dum came out with the white rabbit first and no one wanted to see them. I felt so bad that I made my DS go up and get a picture. After that, DS was not interested in characters so I cannot comment on any other character lines.

Afterwards, we went right before the first parade and watched it from Sleepy Hollow heading into Frontierland. It was not the best location but we didn't have to wait too long. We watched the fireworks from the bridge and they were great. We decided to wait and watch the second parade. DH had no trouble finding a spot on Main Street to save for us. Actually, there were some good spots near the Emporium right before it started as I took DS to shop. The parade is fabulous. The best I have seen yet at Disney!

We trick or treated all over and DS got tons of candy---too much!

All in all, we had a fabulous time. I would definitely do it again. One last thought, the wait for rides was very minimal. But, we saw that all week when we were there at all the parks.

 

[palmtreelover08]

maybe the crowds and confusion were due to it being the first party of the year..but since Disney normally handles this type of thing with such control, and they have done this party so many times in the past, you would think it would be "just another party" to them.

 

[lilys.mom]

Once you get your wristband, the CM's will give you a brochure/map of the park and the times. the parade is at 8:15 and 10:30. Fireworks are at 9:30. Villains Mix and Mingle is at 7:45, 9:00, 10:05 and 11:15. There are character dance parties in Fantasy land where we saw Donald and Daisy Duck dancing with kids and Chip, Dale and Goofy were at the Plaza Stage in Tomorrowland. Mickey and Minnie were in their houses. I heard Tarzan was in Adventureland but we never made it over there.

Personally I don't think a 3 year old would get that much enjoyment out it. It is dark so they might get scared. Most 3 year olds don't eat a lot of candy and it just so rushed to see everything. We did this back in 2001 when my DS's were 5 and 3 and by 10:00 they were asleep in the stroller.

thanks for the Times I have jotted them down just in case. My DD could easily be at night owl and at home we are never in bed before 10:30. And honestly she loves scary stuff....her birthday is actually Halloween!

 

[polymerpig]

We also attended the 9/4 party, and I'd have to agree with the previous posters. The Snow White line was really a mess - the look on everyone's faces when the tweedles walked out at 7 was a collective "WT@#&$"??????. We were IN LINE around 6:30 - 6:45 talking to a CM and as everyone got into line he kept saying "You're in line to see Snow White. This is the Snow White line"...never mentioning she'd be out at 7:45. Big waste of time. Also the picture ended up looking awful because of the huge light behind us, and they cut half of me and my husband out of the picture!

Candy - junk. Not that I expected gourmet bon bons, but way too many sweet tarts, tootsie rolls, etc. We went to every station - some twice and never saw any tooth brushes. Paper rulers in front of Mickey's House were the only non-candy item we got. I read a lot about the handfuls they give out and we experienced a mix - some people gave out several pieces. Many just gave out one (and some CMs were pretty snippy about it when people would get one piece then go to the 2nd CMs barrel - they'd actually say "Only one") We started trick-or-treating mid-party and after hitting all of the stations my bag was less than half full. We went around again later and by the end of the party a lot of the lines were out of candy totally - before midnight. (HAHA Okay, re-reading this it sounds like I'm upset I didn't get 12 lbs of candy - I really wasn't. I was just surprised because I read all of the posts here before I left and everyone talked about the handfuls and lbs of candy you get and how they top off your bag if you go late. This simply wasn't the case for us.) I'm assuming this was all because it was the first night - they will probably judge how much to give out better as the parties go on, but our experience was that if you wait until the end, anticipating handfuls of candy to top off your bag, beware they may have already run out of candy. Also someone had mentioned Ghiradelli squares being handed out on your way out - don't know if they ran out or didn't do it this year, but we didn't see any. Oh yea - lots of raisins too (people's reactions were funny when they were given raisins instead of candy)

I'd have to say there is no way to do pictures, parade, fireworks and all of the candy stations in one night - simply isn't time because of the wait time for pictures. We didn't even do the Villain M&M or any dance parties, and only did two rides with no wait.

Oh, and pictures - only Mickey and Minnie were dressed for Halloween - the rest (that we saw) were simply the regular character outfits. We wanted pictures that would make this different for Halloween and just looking at the pix you wouldn't know it wasn't taken any other day.

At this point you probably think I just like to complain - not true - just being honest and agreeing with other posters and comparing our adventure to what people said about past parties.... Our overall impression was: loved it, glad we did it, would do it again. Here are the positives:

The parade was great! Really different characters, really fun to see Haunted Mansion take a front seat (loved the grave diggers), a mix of "spooky" and silly Disney to please all ages. Headless Horseman was fun - make sure you get there early - he comes about 15 minutes before the rest of the parade. Parade was the highlight for me.

Fireworks were also good - I guess I expected maybe more Halloween colors or shapes (at Disneyland they do smiles and other shapes, so I thought maybe there would be pumpkins or something). But it was a cute story and as always great fireworks.

If you want to do any rides you'll have no problem - no lines. I'd have to say the entire day was great for that (we were there all day) - we just walked on most rides and even Peter Pan just had a 20 minute wait when we went by.

Souvenirs - there are some Halloween things out at most of the stores now. They do put more out specifically for MNSSHP at 7:00. There are general Halloween 2009 T-shirts out all day, then a specific one for the party later. So if you want a shirt specifically commemorating the party, hold out until the party begins. Also, as someone posted in the previous giant thread about the party - the Emporium closes at midnight - we tried to get in at 12:05 and it was locked - just checking out the people already inside. I actually thought "wow - that's very un-Disney-like - not letting people shop 'til they drop." We actually would have spent quite a bit of $$ if they'd let us in So don't save all of your shopping until you're leaving the park.

Summary: Definitely worth experiencing. Definitely frustrating. Definitely not enough time. Definitely would do again.

 

[Sleeping Becca]

Yikes! I'm getting nervous!

We really want a pic with SW and the dwarves, DD will be dressed as the Evil Queen. Mom is dressing as Malificent and I am Cruella Devil, so we really wanted to get pics after the Villains Mix and Mingle.

We are attending 2 parties, DD is character crazy, so we will be doing mostly character meet and greets.

I hope the weather cooperates!

Raisins! Yuck!

I just need to take a deep breath and roll with the punches.

 

[polymerpig]

No problem if you are going to two parties. Just prioritize (SW + 7 line one party, Carriage the next maybe), and don't stress if you don't get something done the first night.

 

[Ktharee]

From what I've read, it's best to try and do the characters, trick or treating and parades late to avoid the crowds. Many people with small children try to do these first and then leave after the fireworks. Perhaps you would have had a better experience if you took that approach? At least that's what the "pros" say.

 

[TinkerBelle_325]

I have been to two MNSSHP, one on Halloween night and one the party BEFORE Halloween.

While I agree that the Snow White line-up sounds a mess, the rest sounds a bit like unrealistic expectations to me.

PARADE - did you expect front row seating arriving 15 minutes before the parade? I'm sorry but if you want a perfect view you need to arrive earlier than that, if you can settle for a good to decent view then by all means, arrive 15 mins prior. We waited 40 minutes for our front row Boo to You view on Halloween Night.

CANDY - Last time I checked...sweet tarts, tootsie rolls, m'n'm's and lollipops were all....CANDY! Disney doesn't profess to offer full candy bars or gourmet jelly beans, just your run of the mill, average candy.

HALLOWISHES - These fireworks are MUCH different from regular Wishes. They feature a 180 degree perimeter section! And far more shells than the standard show. Also, the music is classic Disney halloween!

Would you go into the Magic Kingdom on an average night at 7pm and expect to see Spectro with little to no wait and a perfect view, then Wishes and meet ALL the characters, and ALL the rides, by midnight?

I just don't think it is realistic to go in with an "I can do everything and should be able to" attitude. It doesn't work at Disney parks on a NORMAL attendance day, why should it at a hard ticket event? You are paying for access to the party, not the right to experience each and every aspect. What you see and do depends on preference, availability and crowd level.

 

[seadd67]

Now all herd was sw and the 7 dawerfs was that all the chacters? and twettle dum where the ones you had the biggest Issues with,Is this trure or was the other Chacters(If any where the same?). Its sounds pretty crowded and crazy thats ok with me,we are planing on going twice and the second week In Oct so maybe they will fegurie It by then.Sorry to all that It did not turn oyut the way you imagine It.I will diffetly keep a open mind and have plenty of patience

 

[mississaugamom]

September 4 was the first MNSSHP we have ever attended. My DH and I were there with two 13 year old girls and no real expectations other than what I had read here from previous party reports.

We arrived right at 7 pm, met all the Adventureland characters (including Tarzan) collected candy at several locations and found a good spot in Frontierland ~ across from the Country Bears ~ to watch the first parade. After two more candy stops, we rode Haunted Mansion (enjoyed the "dead" performer out front) and got our family photo in front of the hearse. We then went to watch the fireworks from the right of the castle (we thought they were awesome!) and walked through Toontown (huge lines for Mickey and Minnie which we skipped) but we met Alice and The Mad Hatter on the trick-or-treat trail. We joined the dance party in Tomorrowland for a little while and got our ToothTunes "Star Wars" brushes (we thought handing out toothbrushes was a great touch!). Bought our pins and t-shirts at Merchant of Venus (limited locations selling the special party pins ~ there are eight different ones) then went to Main Street to watch the second parade. It was raining a little before the parade came, but not enough to affect our enjoyment watching it again. We then moved up to the castle to see the last Villains mix-n-mingle. By splitting up, we managed pictures with the Evil Queen for one girl, Captain Hook for the other, then were lucky enough to get a picture with Cruella DeVille as well. We were two from the front of her line when Disney abruptly turned off the lights ending the photo session, but Cruella said that wasn't fair and she would stay out for the next three families!!!!!

By now it was 11:45, so we went to the Emporium and left the park, getting more candy that was being handed out just outside the front gates. It was very hot that night, so I don't fault Disney for the choices of Candy they were giving out. The chocolate pieces (other than the m&m's) all melted and some oozed onto the other treats. We had to wipe off candy back in our hotel room!

I never expected to do everything in five hours, so rides were never our focus. It would have been nice to get pics with Snow White or especially the carriage but we would have had to miss too many other things to wait for them. I would try to do those next time instead of Toontown or the Candy Trail.

We all thought it was a wonderful experience and were thrilled with the parade, Headless Horseman, and the fireworks. It would be hard to fit in too much more than we did, especially for families with younger children, but I would still recommend it!

 

[beattyfamily]

The party specific festivities are always crowded especially the character meet and greets.

I find that if you want to do the parade, fireworks, some trick or treating, rides, Villian show, then you'll probably only be able to do one or two character meet and greets tops.

If you want to focus on the meet and greets then you'll have to give up something else because some of the popular characters lines can be up to an hour each.

Rides lines are always minimal unless you are at a sold out party and even then they aren't as bad as the party festivities crowds.

If you are going to two parties, then focus on characters one night and then the rest of the festivies (or rides) the other.

Unfortunately, with everyone there wanting to do the party festivities and their only being 5 hours to accomplish it all, you have to accept that you won't get to it all.

You can get to a lot of it, but definitely not all. Prioitize and then just go with the flow.