"Official" 2015 MNSSHP thread

[houseofmouse5]

This is probably a silly question but I'm going to ask it anyway. We are getting MM for our trip and we are attending a party, will the MM be good at the party or do we need to purchase the other one at TTC if we want MM on the party night? Thanks so much

 

[dekkerdisneydreamer]

This is probably a silly question but I'm going to ask it anyway. We are getting MM for our trip and we are attending a party, will the MM be good at the party or do we need to purchase the other one at TTC if we want MM on the party night? Thanks so much

It will be valid for your entire trip, so yes, the party is included.

 

[andie325]

we went to the party on 9/22 (so sad we are back home now!!!) and it was crowded (sold out) but the rides had very low waits. My husband was able to ride space mountain 2-3 times in a row, and we were able to ride Buzz 3 times in a row and the barnstormer many times as well. We watched Hallowishes from the frontierland bridge and that was a great perspective!

We watched the parade at the very end on our way out... it was cute, but for us, it was ok, since we are used to bigger parades in New Orleans.

Overall, we were pleased. We noticed teh crowds thinned out a good bit after 7 so they must have been enforcing the armband rule big time!

 

[andie325]

This is tempting me. I have seen some people post about waiting in line for some of the magic shots. We wouldn't really be interested in those, would we encounter lines at the other photo pass photographers? We have two little kids (5 and 8 months) so avoiding waiting is best! Also does the quality of photos go down when it's night time? I have a dslr and shoot on manual, would I be better off setting up my own shot and just handing my camera to the photographer?

we stood in a very small line for the hitch hiking ghost shot.. .I think maybe 5 minutes? it was worth it for us... (we have a 4 year old) we stood in line around 10ish, right after the fireworks I think?

 

[kamynv]

We are going to be attending the party on 10/13. I read some previous posts regarding use of FP before 7 pm that just ended up confusing me a bit since some of it seemed conflicting & wondered if anyone who knows for sure could give some clarification?

We have magic bands for park entry for all days, but received hard tickets for the party. In the morning we will be at another park, leaving for rest/naps & then heading over to MK around 4'ish. We already have our 3 FP+ reservations for the a.m.

Is it correct that if we enter MK for the party between 4-7 pm using our magic bands that we would only be able to make our 4th FP (or any additional after that) as long as they end before the 7 pm cut-off (so really around 6 pm would be the latest)? But, if we enter the park using our event hard ticket, that we would be able to make 3 new FP reservations before the cut-off?

It's not really of critical importance, but hearing how the crowds have been so far, just thought that if we could get 3 FP on the hard ticket instead of just one at a time using our bands, we might have a better opportunity to ride some things before 7pm that might still have longer lines later during the party - especially if it rains.

Our group is returning separately to the MK gates, and want to be able to tell everyone which they should use. I was thinking the lines @ turnstiles that are just for event ticket-holders wouldn't be quite as long either, at least before 7. But we still have to get event wrist bands inside the park regardless of whether we used magic band or event ticket to enter, right? Otherwise, if there's no other advantage to entering on the hard ticket, then I'll just tell everyone to use the shortest line!

Thanks in advance for any help & info! Everyone's posts are incredibly useful to someone going to the party, especially for the first time.

 

[bookgirl]

It actually doesn't matter which you use to enter the MK. Once you have made 3FP in advance, either on your day ticket or event ticket that's it. So if you made three FP earlier in the day at another park and use you MB, those are your three preset FP. Once you enter the MK you can make your 4th on your MB or a RFID event ticket. They all live in the same MDE account and it only lets you pre set 3 no matter what form.

 

[kamynv]

Thanks for the info. That's what I had originally thought. But then, I think it was over on KTP's site, people had started saying they were able to book 3 additional on their event ticket after using the 3 on their MB. Maybe they just never linked the event tickets to their MDE or something & that's why they were able to do that. At least we'll still be able to do our 4th when we get in the park & that's better than nothing! Now, we'll just aim for the shortest turnstile line when we enter.

 

[once]

That really sucks..we've had incidents like that too where you waited so long to get pictures and then they barely took any. But almost every trip we have there are missing photos and you just have to write them (there's a form for missing photos) and just give them the about time, date, what your wearing,etc and they normally get back to me in less than a day with my missing photos..so maybe the photographer did take some and there just lost.

Thank you for your suggestion. I have written them to claim any missing photos. I really, really hope that there really were more photos from that party

 

[spindarella]

where do you go to exchange your hard ticket for a party wristband?

 

[DVC4US]

where do you go to exchange your hard ticket for a party wristband?

If you use the ticket to come in the gate, they will give you a wristband as you enter. If you are already in the park there are locations in the park to get the wristband. I think I have seen reports of locations in - Tomorrowland, Adventureland, and maybe Fantasyland.

 

[spindarella]

We will already be in the park. Thanks!

 

[PenguinoMF]

We are doing 2 parties and then doing a 3rd day at MK on party day. On the 3rd day we were planning on going to a monorail resort after 7 to explore and watch the fireworks. What's the best one for watching fireworks from?

 

[bookgirl]

We are doing 2 parties and then doing a 3rd day at MK on party day. On the 3rd day we were planning on going to a monorail resort after 7 to explore and watch the fireworks. What's the best one for watching fireworks from?

Poly Beach

 

[ksromack]

I had a friend go to the party last night and she said it was wonderful, it seems like they're finally hitting their stride and getting things right. She did say the crowds were crazy, but I wouldn't be surprised if Disney just sold more and more tickets to this each year, I'm guessing it's only going to get busier. But I'm glad it seems with good weather, people are starting to post good reviews.

DH offered to buy us another set of tickets for sometime this month; I was 100% against it, but now with good reviews coming in, I'm torn. We could just go for the first few hours again and see if we can get those character photos done for DS, or DH said we could always go on our own and have a date night. Still deciding if it's worth it!

We basically just did M&Gs during our party on thursday......we did NO ToT but we did get 2 of the magic shots (haunted mansion and hitch hiking ghosts). Dh started feeling ill (I had been sick the last 2 weeks with a bad cold virus so it looks like he's getting it.......and of course, his virus is 1000 times worse than mine was ) We left at about 9:30 but we were able to get in the Jack and Sally line at 4:15 and were done by 5:10. Then we headed to 7 Dwarfs and were about the 15 or so group in line.......they came out at exactly 6:45. We were done there at about 7:20. Headed to Cruella right after. The line was cut off 2 groups in front of us and she took a 15 minute break. She's really funny and I enjoyed her interaction with everyone, especially the "Cruella look-alikes and puppy costumes! We tried to get the Pooh gang but the line was cut 1 person in front of us. We thought the CM said we would be let in line in 9 minutes.....turned out it was going to be 9 pm. At this point it was 8:20. We didn't want to wait since we were going to another party this sunday. Basically we would like to get the Pooh group and the Hag and possibly Minnie/Daisy/Donald on sunday. We saw a little bit of the parade while cutting through Frontierland on our way to the Hitch Hiking Ghost Magic shots.....Frontierland is NUTS during the parade! We tried to catch the 9:20 castle show but I thought it was at 9:40 so we were late getting there......and there wasn't much chance of seeing anything at that point. We still need to do the castle show, parade, and fireworks on sunday

No. CMs will not let you walk off with party wristbands. They place them on each guest's wrist.

Getting a wristband just takes a few seconds and there is no need for them until after 7:00 anyway, unless you're going for an early character line. I wouldn't worry about getting them too much...just go after dinner.

If you want any party merchandise, you'll need a wristband. CMs were checking bands just to let people into the party merchandise area to look! <-makes me happy!

This is tempting me. I have seen some people post about waiting in line for some of the magic shots. We wouldn't really be interested in those, would we encounter lines at the other photo pass photographers? We have two little kids (5 and 8 months) so avoiding waiting is best! Also does the quality of photos go down when it's night time? I have a dslr and shoot on manual, would I be better off setting up my own shot and just handing my camera to the photographer?

Ours turned out pretty decent but I would let them use your camera......I rarely handed over my dSLR but hubby handed over his cell phone for a photo often. His phone takes great pictures!

I think I have decided to do MM for our whole trip and not just the party night. Can some one clarify though why I was told not to look at the photos before getting home? I am like a kid on Christmas morning and I do not know if I can go with out sneaking peaks. We will be there for 10 days.

We did the whole thing too. I enjoy having the pics. If you want to see your photos without the watermark you will need to download them. I usually wait until we get home.

Once I view them I begin that 30 days then? Is that right? I have not purchased it yet or does that matter by when you buy it? We go in a couple of weeks and I was wondering when to buy it based on what you say too. TY so much. Like you, I will have to look

Once you download them your 30 minute clock starts.

I've just decided to go tonight and Sunday (I have a problem. I know) and the weather looks infinitely better. Hoping to get the rest of the characters in tonight and then doing who knows what on Sunday. My candy stash should be impressive by the time this is all over

We're going sunday too!

i also forgot to mention thete was no candy bejng given out on exit

On our way out at 9:40ish CMs were handing our yummy Dove caramel bites. I love that stuff. We received about a dozen pieces

I did not want to vent but while we’re on the topic of Photopass photographers, I was not happy with my party photos. I waited 2 hours for the 7 dwarfs. When it was my turn, the photographer took what seem like a good amount of photos (I heard a lot of shutter clicking sounds). When I checked my photos the day after, I only found 3 photos. That was surprising. I thought he took more. The worst part, there was only one photo of me and all 7 dwarfs. ONE! I could not believe it. 1 photo was of me and all 7 dwarfs (in which my face was almost blocked by Sleepy), 1 photo of me and 4 dwarfs, and 1 was of myself.

Serious, I was so disappointed. I did not stand 2 hours in line to get a picture of myself. When I stood in line for the 7 dwarfs, I want photos of all 7, not just 4 of them!

This seemed to be the norm with other party photos. I took some photos in front of the castle. The photographer zoomed in way too much and the castle is barely visible in the background. It’s nice that they took guest portraits but I was not at all aware that they would take so many close ups.

Did you view them from the app? If so, you have to scroll to the right on each group of photos. Hopefully you'll find more!

we stood in a very small line for the hitch hiking ghost shot.. .I think maybe 5 minutes? it was worth it for us... (we have a 4 year old) we stood in line around 10ish, right after the fireworks I think?

If you use the ticket to come in the gate, they will give you a wristband as you enter. If you are already in the park there are locations in the park to get the wristband. I think I have seen reports of locations in - Tomorrowland, Adventureland, and maybe Fantasyland.

We did, indeed, get our bands in Tomorrowland at Fantasy Faire, right next door to Philharmagic and in front of the gift shop there.

 

[j2thomason]

We had a blast at MNSSHP tonight! We did everything on our wish list except we didn't get to see the headless horseman because of the rain and I didn't get my picture with Mickey. We had gotten pictures with Jack & Sally and the Dwarves at our last MNSSHP party a couple of years ago so they weren't really a priority for us. We focused on pictures with characters we hadn't met before, seeing the stage show, the parade and Hallowishes. We had so much fun, left with full bags of candy and sore feet, but we would definitely do it again. Here is our timeline for our day.
12:30 tram
12:45 monorail
12:55 entrance pic (we have APs, so we got into the park before 4:00)
1:00 pics on main st
1:15 jungle cruise FP
1:40 10 min wait for posted 20 for pirates (got soaked sitting on 2nd row)
Took a break on bench by Splash
2:20 BTMRR FP
3:00 Pinocchio's for lunch
3:15 carousel of progress
3:50 buzz ride FP
4;00 armbands
4:10 Castle pic
4:15 pin
4:20 castle show
4:45 Ariel ride
5:05 small world
5:30 tea cups
5:35 shop
5:45 laugh floor
6:20 7dmt
7:05 cruella pic
7:35 tot trail fantasyland to tomorrowland
7:45 lotso pic
7:55 rest
8:05 hag pic
8:15 Haunted Mansion (during rain)
8:45 tot at Liberty Belle
8:50 got out of rain
9:15 Tarzan & Jane pic
9:30 tot at Jungle Cruise, Tiki Room. & Pirates
9:20 caught end of parade in Frontierland
9:30 hitchhiking ghost magic shot
9:40 tot at Splash & BTMRR
10:00 magic shot at Haunted Mansion
10:20 Hallowishes from Fantasyland
10:35 Pooh ride
10:55 Hocus Pocus
11:40 parade
12:20 Hocus Pocus
12:50 cauldron magic shot
1:00 monorail
1:20 Tram

 

[lovethattink]

We had a blast at MNSSHP tonight! We did everything on our wish list except we didn't get to see the headless horseman because of the rain and I didn't get my picture with Mickey. We had gotten pictures with Jack & Sally and the Dwarves at our last MNSSHP party a couple of years ago so they weren't really a priority for us. We focused on pictures with characters we hadn't met before, seeing the stage show, the parade and Hallowishes. We had so much fun, left with full bags of candy and sore feet, but we would definitely do it again. Here is our timeline for our day.
12:30 tram
12:45 monorail
12:55 entrance pic (we have APs, so we got into the park before 4:00)
1:00 pics on main st
1:15 jungle cruise FP
1:40 10 min wait for posted 20 for pirates (got soaked sitting on 2nd row)
Took a break on bench by Splash
2:20 BTMRR FP
3:00 Pinocchio's for lunch
3:15 carousel of progress
3:50 buzz ride FP
4;00 armbands
4:10 Castle pic
4:15 pin
4:20 castle show
4:45 Ariel ride
5:05 small world
5:30 tea cups
5:35 shop
5:45 laugh floor
6:20 7dmt
7:05 cruella pic
7:35 tot trail fantasyland to tomorrowland
7:45 lotso pic
7:55 rest
8:05 hag pic
8:15 Haunted Mansion (during rain)
8:45 tot at Liberty Belle
8:50 got out of rain
9:15 Tarzan & Jane pic
9:30 tot at Jungle Cruise, Tiki Room. & Pirates
9:20 caught end of parade in Frontierland
9:30 hitchhiking ghost magic shot
9:40 tot at Splash & BTMRR
10:00 magic shot at Haunted Mansion
10:20 Hallowishes from Fantasyland
10:35 Pooh ride
10:55 Hocus Pocus
11:40 parade
12:20 Hocus Pocus
12:50 cauldron magic shot
1:00 monorail
1:20 Tram

Considering the rain, you made an excellent use of time! !

 

[FeralCatRogue]

Its good to hearthey were giving candy out earlier and that there were photopass people in the busy areas. I'm already planning next years halloween fun!

 

[vinotinto]

We had a blast at MNSSHP tonight! We did everything on our wish list except we didn't get to see the headless horseman because of the rain and I didn't get my picture with Mickey. We had gotten pictures with Jack & Sally and the Dwarves at our last MNSSHP party a couple of years ago so they weren't really a priority for us. We focused on pictures with characters we hadn't met before, seeing the stage show, the parade and Hallowishes. We had so much fun, left with full bags of candy and sore feet, but we would definitely do it again. Here is our timeline for our day.
12:30 tram
12:45 monorail
12:55 entrance pic (we have APs, so we got into the park before 4:00)
1:00 pics on main st
1:15 jungle cruise FP
1:40 10 min wait for posted 20 for pirates (got soaked sitting on 2nd row)
Took a break on bench by Splash
2:20 BTMRR FP
3:00 Pinocchio's for lunch
3:15 carousel of progress
3:50 buzz ride FP
4;00 armbands
4:10 Castle pic
4:15 pin
4:20 castle show
4:45 Ariel ride
5:05 small world
5:30 tea cups
5:35 shop
5:45 laugh floor
6:20 7dmt
7:05 cruella pic
7:35 tot trail fantasyland to tomorrowland
7:45 lotso pic
7:55 rest
8:05 hag pic
8:15 Haunted Mansion (during rain)
8:45 tot at Liberty Belle
8:50 got out of rain
9:15 Tarzan & Jane pic
9:30 tot at Jungle Cruise, Tiki Room. & Pirates
9:20 caught end of parade in Frontierland
9:30 hitchhiking ghost magic shot
9:40 tot at Splash & BTMRR
10:00 magic shot at Haunted Mansion
10:20 Hallowishes from Fantasyland
10:35 Pooh ride
10:55 Hocus Pocus
11:40 parade
12:20 Hocus Pocus
12:50 cauldron magic shot
1:00 monorail
1:20 Tram

That's great! From your times, it seems the ToT were not too bad?

 

[Gracie0423]

HELP!! I really hope someone here can help me b/c I'm not sure what happened but I was able to book FP for a party night (4-7pm) but I only have 4 day theme park tickets, the party will be on day 4 of our trip and leaving one day after the party for our tickets- so 5 days total, 4 reg admission, 1 party only day, I wasn't sure this was possible but it allowed me to book so I did, now what I'm thinking is... will this take over my next day FP's or what?? Sorry if this was confusing but to be honest- I'm very confused myself and I thought I had the hang of this until now! In years past we had hoppers to cover our trip so wasn't an issue
Thanks so much, love this board!
Grace

 

[Melanie1437]

I forgot to mention at the 9/27 party I asked every photographer i saw if they could do a magic shot and almost all said no and couldn't direct me anywhere who could. We did get the mainstreet shot with dancing ghosts including a video and the HM herse shot. But no apple cauldron or hitch hiking ghosts (which we really wanted). Could be from all the rain. We also had to call to get the HM shots as they were "lost" but they did find them.