Not So Scary Halloween Party - convince me!

[Penmac]

Ok, we are going to Disney this August and have purchased a 3 day pass. This is not our first visit so we have chosen to do our three days at our favorite parks- Epcot (1) and MK (2). We are skipping HS (went last year and did love it), and AK (never been!).

The day we are due to leave (and we are driving so we can change this), is the first Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party. I am considering purchasing tickets to this an extending our trip by one more day. If we do this, we will skip MK on one of the other three days and do Animal Kingdom. We are not into Pandora yet as our kids are little, and I am sure fastpass for that is long gone anyway. But, I think the safari and Everest would be fun to try.

The tickets to the party will cost us around $400. Then we have to factor in an extra night in a hotel ($200), and other incidentals (quick service at the park), $100.

Trying to decide if $700-$800 extra is worth it. How good are these parties? My friend swears the lines are nothing and kids will be able to ride endless rides while everyone else stands in line to meet the 7 Dwarfs. Is this actually true? We are ok with skipping AK and HS this year and just doing the original plan of 3 days if we can expect big crowds at this party. We are just happy to be going back and seeing our favorite park twice, MK! But I am SO tempted to extend our trip by a day so we can do this once in a lifetime opportunity. I doubt we will be back here again at this time of year and the Fall is so busy with my job that I would never hit Disney between Sept-Nov.

I need advice and if anyone feels like sharing their experience with this, it would be great. We have 5 kids, oldest is 8 and youngest two won't require a park ticket.

 

[Tessaf]

We did MNSSHP twice the first time we went (2015- kids 7 and 5 then) and loved it so much we are doing 4 nights of MNSSHP for our upcoming trip! The lines for rides were almost nonexistent on most ... except 7 dwarfs and haunted mansion. We didn't have any wait at any of the other rides on either night. I have pictures of my family riding Splash Mountain and we are the only ones in the boat. We also stood in line to meet the 7 dwarfs, spent maybe 20 minutes waiting for them, had a 7-10 minute wait for Anna, Elsa, Cinderella and Rapunzel at the castle. I was so excited about that! My girls wanted to meet Anna and Elsa so bad but their FP was booked up 60 days in advance and I refused to wait 60+ minutes during the day. We had no wait meeting Tinker bell and Mickey Mouse The parade and firework show was awesome! My kids didn't care so much for the trick-or-treating part of the party. They were so busy enjoying the rides and meeting the characters. I know that during both the nights we went the party was also sold out and it didn't feel bad at all. If you don't think you will ever be going back during this time of year and could afford it, I would highly recommend going... as long as you think your youngest kids would be okay being out that late. Hope this helps

 

[Goofy mailman]

It' a blast! Main reason we went to WDW for the first time ever last year. We went on Halloween night and most of the rides were walk up and hop on. The Seven dwarfs and Winnie the Poo lines are insane. The fire works and the Hocus Pocus show are amazing. We're headed back to WDW in september for MNSSHP

 

[Felicis]

If you do do AK, I think you will probably be able to score Navi river FP, which is suitable for all ages.

 

[mindeola]

I think you should add the party- not just for the party, but so you an do AK as well! I love that park. The party is great. Rides are a walk on mostly. You will encounter long lines for special character meets though!

 

[goofyintoronto]

I would totally do mnsshp! Its so awsome!! Trick or treating is a lot of fun, for both adults and kids. Dont concentrate on just the rides, because frankly thats a waste of a party ticket. You can do the rides on a regular day. Go trick or treating, watching the cadaver dans (dapper dans), go see the boo to you parade, watch the special stage show they put on, see hallowishes (you cannot miss hallowishes!)...its such a blast. And about the candy....goodness gracious, every year i leave with SO MUCH CANDY. Its great!

 

[lady_hlh]

We have been to the party twice and it was great. My daughter was little and she loved the dance parties plus the trick or treating. Also the fireworks are great. We're going to be at CR during the first party in August and I'm debating if we should buy tickets for it. Our DD is almost 16 now and she is begging to go one more time.

 

[lady_hlh]

If you do do AK, I think you will probably be able to score Navi river FP, which is suitable for all ages.

Yes there are plenty of those FPs left on every day of our trip. I slacked off and didn't book FPs on our open date so forget about the Avatar FPs.

 

[DisDreaming4116]

My only thought is how late will your kids be ok staying up? You said you have two kids under 3. The party starts at 7 (though you can get in at 4) and goes until midnight. If your kids need to leave by 9:15, that makes a difference as to whether it is worth the cost.

 

[Mickey's Best Girl]

I love love love the parties but I'm going against the grain here.

I think if you have to say "convince me" then maybe it won't be $700+ well spent for you. If it's a no brainer for you to decide to go then I think you'll get your money's worth.

Just my .02. Good luck deciding and have a great trip!

 

[fely1st]

Visited the party 2015 and had the best time ever at Disney. We rode Big Thunder with no line at all maybe 10 times and also could get on all other rides with no wait. Even rode 7dwarfs with only 20 min. wait time, but we rode it during the firework. CM were more than great, and the atmospere was terrific. We just decided to do two partie this year. We think it's the best experience we ever had at disney. Try and go, you will have a blast and your childs will love Trick or Treat.

 

[HHMcG]

We are doing MNSSHP for the first time this year. We skipped the parties in the past because my kids would not stay up late enough for them to be worth the cost. As long as your kids are 'night owls' or at least some of them will stay up past 10 it would be worth it.

 

[Grmnshplvr]

YOLO

 

[GrumpyGal43]

The Halloween party is the best thing Disney offers at that time...my friends and I are going twice (no kids and we're all over 40 LOL!) It's our favorite thing to do there! So much fun! Definitely worth the money!

 

[NileNellie]

If you think the younger kids can hang until midnight, and you don't think you'll have the chance to come during the fall again, I'd say do it. It's expensive, but a really fun and unique party.

 

[Ava L]

Attending MNSSHP is to this day one of my favorite childhood memories! I loved dressing up with my family (me & my cousin dressed as Mickey and Minnie and got SO much special treatment from CMs), trick or treating, and the parade! That being said, I was also a night owl and stayed up for the whole thing. I think if your kids can stay up, it will be money well spent.

 

[Disney Khaleesi]

I think it's something that everyone should try at least once and go from there. It really is a great experience, though.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

With kids that young, I wouldn't do it. I finally took DS to MVMCP when he was 7 and he barely made it through the fireworks and this was with a full day of rest at our resort. If you want to extend a day, I would seriously consider simply adding a day to your existing 3 day ticket. It will cost less and you would get more park time than you get out of the party.

 

[Selket]

The MNSSHP is probably my favorite thing at WDW - love love love it. I wouldn't pay that money though just to go and do the rides - the best part is the actual party stuff - parade and fireworks are a must. I don't often do characters greets but there are some special ones at the party that are fun to meet. I think the parade and fireworks are the best of any I've seen in the MK. I love the trick-or-treating and just the atmosphere ....so fun.

I'm wondering if the 1st party will be quite crowded this year as it's the first and earlier so more people may plan a trip to catch it before school starts. If you're going for party stuff - well it may not matter if it's more crowded but that might impact the rides (if you really really want to ride). I also agree that staying until the party's end is the best way to get your money's worth.

 

[ZoZo]

With kids that young, I wouldn't do it. I finally took DS to MVMCP when he was 7 and he barely made it through the fireworks and this was with a full day of rest at our resort. If you want to extend a day, I would seriously consider simply adding a day to your existing 3 day ticket. It will cost less and you would get more park time than you get out of the party.

I would agree with this. With kids that little, what's the likelihood of them staying up late enough to make it worth the money? When you add in the extra cost of Hotel and food, that's a lot of money to spend if they only make it till 9:00 pm (and the party doesn't officially start till 7:00). That's your call, but if they only make it a couple of hours, the "cost per hour" is huge.

That said, I've been to three parties and enjoyed them. The parade is awesome, ans we loved the walk-on rides. But we were there for a whole week, and it really didn't cost us any extra beyond the party ticket cost.