"Official" 2015 MNSSHP thread

[inspectorgadget]

Yea I have to say Ill take the park any day if it was like last night.
Just have to plan ahead we had a great time.

Me too! I'm just glad to be there! And we usually go during the "off-season" so the parks aren't open during the evening hours for that long. I love MK at night, all lit up, and MNSSHP allows us to experience that.

We are not going for the Characters either. Stage show is not a must do. If it happens then it will be in passing. Parade, rides, candy, magic shot at HM and fireworks. Now trying to figure out in what order and where is another story. We have never been and I am trying to avoid the larger sea of ppl for navigating through with my family.

Oh and yes, I am told the cupcakes so I am going to have to go to the Bakery. What time do they start serving them? We have a 4:00 at the Plaza. I think I should get off of Main Street soon lol.

That is my goal too. Get off Main Street ASAP and don't return until we're walking out of park to leave. I always always always try to avoid crowds in my life, anytime, anywhere. It's hard to do that at MK but there are ways to make it bearable, like avoiding Main Street.

 

[5Hfan]

This cracks me up, too... I am from New Orleans, where during Mardi Gras, the crowds are up to 10 people deep. I'm seriously considering skipping the majority of the parade. I don't think my son will really "get" it since we are from New Orleans and they aren't throwing anything at the parade. haha.

Are Mardi Gras parade floats tall? Because the headless horseman, haunted mansion dancers, grave diggers etc are all ground level so if you are several people back I'd imagine you can't see much of the coolest elements of the parade?

 

[disneyfantotheend]

How many Magic Shots are party specific? I know the hitchhiking ghosts. That is at the Haunted Mansion right? Any others?

 

[KateP85]

For those who were here yesterday, did the Hocus Pocus shirts go on sale at 4pm? I would really like one of those!

Our only 3 must dos are the first parade, the first or second show, and meeting Pooh and friends. We'll just have to find a way to make that work!

 

[alliecat523]

so were the crowds REALLY that bad? Does anyone know how long the wait was for the dwarves and if it got short during the parade or fireworks? I think that's the only special characters he'd love to meet (he recently discovered them after watching snow white)

We are going next Tuesday and I'm hoping the crowds aren't like they were last night. I'm hoping the media was the large part of last night's crowd.

I am thinking it will be rides, candy, and fireworks and catching the parade if we pass by it.

My guess it that the crowds were much heavier last night due to opening night which also included media, bloggers, etc. Still, I'm thinking that the crowds are still on par with a medium park day. I think people expected it to be like a level 1-2 day and were not happy that it was more like a 5. I would wait until some other parties are completed before I determine how bad it is.

 

[bsj1701]

I'm sorry but I have to laugh at people complaining that the parade line was three people deep. I honestly don't understand how this is insane.

The last time I was there, there was only room for 3-4 people deep. They were trying to keep a fairly wide walk way on the sidewalk for traffic flow during the parade. I thought they could have gone with a narrower walkway and allowed more parade viewing area, but of course that is not up to me!

 

[GeorgiaHoo]

We are not going for the Characters either. Stage show is not a must do. If it happens then it will be in passing. Parade, rides, candy, magic shot at HM and fireworks. Now trying to figure out in what order and where is another story. We have never been and I am trying to avoid the larger sea of ppl for navigating through with my family.

Oh and yes, I am told the cupcakes so I am going to have to go to the Bakery. What time do they start serving them? We have a 4:00 at the Plaza. I think I should get off of Main Street soon lol.

Your plan sounds just about like ours. We have a 3:05 at the Plaza on Halloween and then have some FP+ to do and will hit the party stuff at 7:00. Probably will just do rides most of the night, try to do a bit of trick or treating if the lines aren't bad and maybe catch the last parade.

 

[tileman]

For those who were here yesterday, did the Hocus Pocus shirts go on sale at 4pm? I would really like one of those!

Our only 3 must dos are the first parade, the first or second show, and meeting Pooh and friends. We'll just have to find a way to make that work!

The shirts I do not know.
We got a spot for the show in front of the castle and right on the parade route so after the show we just turned around and was ready for the 1st parade.
We got to meet pooh and his buddy's around 11:30 or so was maybe a 10 min wait.

 

[Mitzicat]

So I think I have read all the comments...what I want to know is did someone get a true answer about the 1-day memory maker package? That really bums me out if it is not available until Oct. Won't ruin my trip, but I was hoping to have it since it was my boyfriend's first visit to Disney and we are only doing the the party.

 

[Spaceguy55]

Yeah, those Hocus Pocus Spelltacular shirts are up on eBay already - $65.00!!

Buying a commemorative Hocus Pocus Spelltacular T-shirt on Ebay...$65

"NOT" having to fight the chaos and hope you get there early enough to purchase the one you want...PRICELESS

There are some things money can't buy...for everything else there's MasterCard

 

[smitch425]

So I think I have read all the comments...what I want to know is did someone get a true answer about the 1-day memory maker package? That really bums me out if it is not available until Oct. Won't ruin my trip, but I was hoping to have it since it was my boyfriend's first visit to Disney and we are only doing the the party.

They still haven't responded to my question on their FB page. I'll be sure to report back as soon as they do, if they do.

 

[Fenway1970]

My family and I were there last night for our first ever MNSSHP. We had a good time but I will say I was a little surprised at how crowded it was. Not enough to ruin our nights but definitely more than we expected. While standing in one of the candy lines I was talking to a guy behind me who said he had been to the party several times in the past and he had never seen trick or treat lines like this for the first party of the year.

With that said, we still had fun. Space Mountain was a walk on, Mine Train was posted at 20 min but we didn't ride that. Mansion was about a 20 min wait. Most of the candy lines were long but moved fast. Can't say how fast the character lines were moving as we didn't do those.

We got stuck out of position and couldn't get to Main Street for Hallowishes, which may not have been bad since it looked like a mob scene up there anyway. We ended up watching from behind the castle near the Carousel. While I was a little sad we couldn't see the projections on the castle, we were literally surrounded by fireworks so that was pretty cool. My DS loved it. The music and the fireworks themselves were awesome.

The Hocus Pocus show was amazing. Do not miss it if you're going to the party. I have no idea how it compares to the previous Villains show since this was our first party, but I thought this one was incredible.

Anyway, overall I was happy. A little more crowded than I expected but we still had fun. I would probably go again but aim for the second or third party of the year, I'm guessing this one was a little more crowded than usual due to it being the first one.

 

[inspectorgadget]

So for those of you who were there last night, how were QS locations? My party is next week and I'm planning on eating at Pinocchio Haus around 6 or 6:30. Was dining crazy? Super busy or were most people in line for characters? Do you think my plan would work? Or would a different location be better since there are so many characters in Fantasyland (I think)?

 

[tileman]

So for those of you who were there last night, how were QS locations? My party is next week and I'm planning on eating at Pinocchio Haus around 6 or 6:30. Was dining crazy? Super busy or were most people in line for characters? Do you think my plan would work? Or would a different location be better since there are so many characters in Fantasyland (I think)?

We ate around 9:00 or so after the 1st parade at Pecos bill's was not to busy about 5 min to order food and finding a table was easy.

 

[mandy200587]

I popped into cosmic rays about 9ish for something to drink and snack on and was fairly empty

 

[mrsromy]

Originally our group was planning to arrive around start time for the party but now I'm rethinking it. Were any costumes walking around between 4 and 7 or did people change in time for the party?

 

[mandy200587]

I saw a good amount in costumes starting at 4

 

[Goofy'sPal]

Im going on my second solo trip. First night the 22 I will be at MNSSHP for the first time and again the 25. Excited. Looking to experience all the party has to offer. For anyone that went last night how were the meet and greets, shows, parades, fireworks, and trick or treating? Any surprises.

 

[GoofyforDisney3]

This is why we can't have nice things..........

I totally agree! I also heard of the magic bands the bloggers were being given were up for sale on ebay while the party was still going on. That's crazy! People can flame me if they want, but when you are given something like that for FREE don't sell it. If you don't want it or need it, either decline the item all together or give it to someone that maybe has two kids and only has one or something. People need to stop profiting on other peoples generosity!

 

[andie325]

Are Mardi Gras parade floats tall? Because the headless horseman, haunted mansion dancers, grave diggers etc are all ground level so if you are several people back I'd imagine you can't see much of the coolest elements of the parade?

yes. Mardi Gras parades are two levels- usually there is a group of guys throwing goodies on the bottom and another group up top. In New Orleans, we put our kids in "ladder seats" on top of a ladder so they can see everything better.

I watched the periscope of the parade last night and kept trying to show it to my 4 year old and he seemed indifferent. I am just thinking it won't be as "awesome" to him as a kid from another city who isn't used to having oodles of parades with goodies thrown... KWIM?