"Official" 2016 Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party - Trick or Treat Fun

[COscrapper]

I would like to know what a sold-out party is like, since that is what we will experience if we go (our trip is over Halloween). How many tickets do they sell? Is it the same thing as the park being "at capacity"?

 

[mesaboy2]

I would like to know what a sold-out party is like, since that is what we will experience if we go (our trip is over Halloween). How many tickets do they sell? Is it the same thing as the park being "at capacity"?

Not even close, see my previous reply. Most educated guesses put the number of party tickets sold at 30K-35K max, MK capacity is approximately triple that.

 

[Day-Day]

Looking at Disney's site, I'm guessing that our dates in September that show Wishes Fireworks and 9pm closings are non-party days and the days the parks close at 7pm as party days. The exception is one day the park closes at 8pm with Wishes and Extra Magic Hours till 10pm. This would give 4 non-party nights and 3 party nights during our stay.

The site posts park days through 23-SEP today with our 180 mark coming up 4 days from now. (Today being 17-March.)

(Edited closing time to 8pm; incorrectly had 7pm for day with wishes and EMH)

 

[siskaren]

Looking at Disney's site, I'm guessing that our dates in September that show Wishes Fireworks and 9pm closings are non-party days and the days the parks close at 7pm as party days. The exception is one day the park closes at 7pm with Wishes and Extra Magic Hours till 10pm. This would give 4 non-party nights and 3 party nights during our stay.

The site posts park days through 23-SEP today with our 180 mark coming up 4 days from now. (Today being 17-March.)

What date are you seeing that? I've never heard of MK closing at 7 except for parties, and evening EMH is always 2 hours, plus as far as I know, they've never had Wishes during EMH.

 

[AtlantaDisneyDreamer]

We decided to move our dates around a bit, so in all honestly its still not too bad. However, when it comes to the adr's is, we are planning to go to BOG one of the nights we are there and, if its a non-party day, we would like to have a late (as late as we can) adr. Not knowing when the park is closing will be a problem. Although I have half a mind to just go to MK again on a party day, eventhough we have to leave early, simply because last time we went on a non-party day it was total CHAOS and hardly worth it imo.

That bad, huh? Last year we went on a day when the park closed at 7 because I read how the crowds would be low compared to the days when the park was open later. It turned out to be quite crowded the day we went and I had to work harder than I have ever worked for an ADR to get one, at any MK TS restaurant, between 6 and 7 pm. Not only were the regular day crowds there, but the party crowds came in at 4 so we had to compete with regular guests plus party guests for FP+ and ADRs during that time period.

I had made up my mind to go on a non-party day this year, but your post makes me think that is a bad idea.

Was it summer crowd chaos (which was our experience on a party day) or Christmas crowd chaos (in which case, I need to change my plans quickly before we make ADRs)?

 

[Day-Day]

What date are you seeing that? I've never heard of MK closing at 7 except for parties, and evening EMH is always 2 hours, plus as far as I know, they've never had Wishes during EMH.

Good catch siskaren. 8pm closing and 8pm wishes with EMH till 10pm on 21-SEP. Now I have to go back and edit my earlier post.

Evening EMH's used to be 3 hours which added to my confusion.

I messed up my quotes and had to edit this post as well. Must be past my bedtime.

 

[HappyGrape]

I hope they published dates soon
we too found party days really hard to walk around even - it's packed!

I hope they don't have party nights the full first week of november as we are there that week and it will mean no much chance to do MK on normal, none party week

but it would generate htem money so not sure

I hope they need some time to prepare for the Christmas party

 

[Disneymom1126]

I hope they published dates soon
we too found party days really hard to walk around even - it's packed!

I hope they don't have party nights the full first week of november as we are there that week and it will mean no much chance to do MK on normal, none party week

but it would generate htem money so not sure

I hope they need some time to prepare for the Christmas party

My guess is they may have one on Tuesday, November 1st, but that would most likely be the only November date.

 

[Disneymom1126]

I would like to know what a sold-out party is like, since that is what we will experience if we go (our trip is over Halloween). How many tickets do they sell? Is it the same thing as the park being "at capacity"?

We were at a sold out party last year and here is a summary of our night:

We had park hoppers so we hopped over from Epcot at about 2:30 that day. Since the party guests don't arrive until 4 I'll start at that time

- Picked up special Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom Card
- We did something else here until about 5:00 but I don't remember what it was haha
5p.m.
- Ate dinner at Columbia Harbor House (upstairs and we were one of two families up there)
- Changed into Halloween Costumes in the upstairs bathroom (again...we had park hopped and didn't want to wear costumes at Epcot)
- Rode Splash Mountain and Thunder Mountain multiple times
- Trick or Treated at the trails around those two rides
- Rode It's a Small World
- Trick or treated back through the area near Ariel's ride
- Rode Ariel's ride
- Rode the Tea Cups, Dumbo, and the Barnstormer
- Trick or Treated through the trail that's the back path from NFL to Tomorrowland
- Rode Space Mountain
- Checked out the Dance party with Monster's Inc. Characters
- Met Lotso
9:20 p.m. got a spot for CtM and Hallowishes
- Watched Celebrate the Magic and Hallowishes (we sat in one of the FP+ areas)
- Met the Hag from Snow White
- Rode Aladdin/Carpet Ride
- Trick or Treated through Tiki Room
- Got a space for the Boo to You Parade in Liberty Square at about 10:40
- Watched the Boo to You Parade
- Rode Seven Dwarfs Mine Train
- Watched the last Hocus Pocus show at midnight

The only time we dealt with crowds at all was during the last Hocus Pocus show -- we had a father with a child on his shoulders come stand in front of us after the show had started. The rest of the night we moved around without any trouble at all. The HUB area was packed all night, but the FP+ area where we watched CtM and Hallowishes was not crowded at all. We didn't try to meet that many characters and I know the lines for some are very long. The lines for some of the candy stations were long as well, but moved along pretty quickly and we didn't feel like we needed to hit "every" station. The ones that were the most crowded were the ones that were in more of the "main" walking areas (i.e. people saw them when they were walking where they would usually walk around the parks). The one by Ariel and the one by Barnstormer had no lines at all. The rides were virtually walk-on with the exception of Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, which we waited 10-15 minutes for at 11:40ish (we went there right after the Boo to You Parade which started at 11:15). To me, how "crowded" it is depends on what you hope to accomplish and how much time you need to spend in the HUB area or waiting to meet the most popular characters to accomplish it....but all of those things are going to be as "crowded" on a sold-out night as they are at any other party IMO.

 

[DiannaVM]

Was it summer crowd chaos (which was our experience on a party day) or Christmas crowd chaos (in which case, I need to change my plans quickly before we make ADRs)?

When we went I was hardbent on going on a non-party day because I really wanted to see the MSEP and Wishes, and it just so happened that the week we went, there was only ONE day in which they weren't having a party that night. I think maybe that's why we met such huge crowds, because people who didnt want to go to a party went on that day for probably the same reasons I did. By about 3:30/4 that afternoon pretty much all the FP+ were gone. The only thing we could get an FP+ for was Goofy's Barnstormer lol. I like it, but my DH felt it was a waste of a FP+.

I haven't been to WDW in the summer since I was a child so its hard to compare, and honestly when my sister went in August this year she said she was shocked by how low the crowds were based on what she expected (let's keep in mind that this is an objective comment). But I think our day could've been very much comparable to a peak time crowd. At one point it felt like we were constantly walking into walls of people. When we went to Tomorrowland it was horrible, and even Stitch was a long wait. It got to the point were, other than our FP+'s we were just going to ride whatever we could get on that didn't have more than a hour and a half wait. I was so glad that I finally had found an open FP+s at the last minute for SDMT, because otherwise I don't think we would've rode it that trip.

I definitely came back discouraging people from going to MK on a non-party day.

EDIT TO ADD: Our party day was honestly alot less crowded than our non-party one. And that is when you keep in mind that in my experience the park was crowded by my expectations, based on previous years.

 

[RachaelA]

My guess is they may have one on Tuesday, November 1st, but that would most likely be the only November date.

I don't know if they would do three party days in a row though (Sunday the 30th, Monday the 31st and Tuesday the 1st)

 

[lovethattink]

I would like to know what a sold-out party is like, since that is what we will experience if we go (our trip is over Halloween). How many tickets do they sell? Is it the same thing as the park being "at capacity"?

We've gone to many sold out parties. You definitely can't do everything the party offers, even on a not sold out night. But you'll cover less on a sold out night.

Last year, our night was sold out. I kind of had a plan, but shelved it. I knew ToT was highest priority for ds. There were thunderstorms ending just as the party started. Only indoor ToT was available, so we quick hit POTC and Tiki Room.

1st show of the Sanders Sisters was canceled. So we visited Tink and Mickey then got a parade spot. No headless horseman due to weather.

Watched the fireworks from New Fantasyland to avoid hub crowds. And hit ToT spots on our way there.

We met a couple more characters. Tried the candy corn soft serve.

It was a relaxing party for us. We didn't do our usual hustle to get to a character and wait forever in line. We skipped Jack and Sally, though saw they were meeting around 5pm when we walked by.

I think more would have been covered if it wasn't storming right before the party.

 

[Disneymom1126]

I don't know if they would do three party days in a row though (Sunday the 30th, Monday the 31st and Tuesday the 1st)

Hmm...very true...who knows, I guess we'll just have to continue to just wait and see when they put out the schedule! I think the poster I was replying to said she'd be there the first full week of November, so I'm assuming that would be the week of November 6 - 12th...definitely wouldn't be Halloween parties that week.

 

[River Country]

We went on 10-31 last year and that was our check in day as well.

-We got to the MK a little after 530 it was pretty smooth getting in got our wristbands
-headed to Jack and Sally got in line and they came out at 6PM yes 1 hour early but still needed a wristband to get inline
- headed over to the 7 dwarfs line and waited about 45 minutes for them and they came out right at 7.
-did some trick or treating
-went to get a pic with the old hag since DD was dressed as Snow White
-some more trick or treating
-minor character M&G's princesses, Country Bears, Donald, Mickey
- Watched first Parade which might be the best parade ever!!!!!! Love the grave diggers
-Saw Fireworks at 10 and then we bounced out of there DD was exhausted

A Sold out party is totally manageable!!!! Hope to see if I can swing it again this year

 

[Pixie Dust ✨]

We went on 10/31 last year as well.

• Arrived around 4 PM, got wristbands
• Picked up SotMK card
• FP+ Space Mountain
• Dinner at Cosmic Ray's
• Got in line for Jack & Sally around 5:30; done by 6:15
• Got in line for Seven Dwarfs after that; done around 7:30, I think
• Trick-or-treating
• Rode a few things... BTMRR, Splash (somehow we were the only people on it), 7DMT
• Met some of the princesses & the Country Bears
• Found a place to watch the parade in Frontierland & waited for them to put up the ropes so we could dash up for a good spot - I think we arrived about 10 minutes beforehand & it was still possible to do this
• WATCHED MY FAVORITE PARADE!!!
• Got a snack & relaxed while waiting for fireworks
• WATCHED MY FAVORITE PARADE AGAIN!!!
• A little more trick-or-treating & a few more rides

I know it was a sold out party, but it was completely possible to do everything you wanted to do if you had a plan.

 

[FeralCatRogue]

I have been to two sold out parties, well 3 if you count a mvmcp.
The first was halloween last year and it was crowded but managable since it wasn't overly hot.
Was able to doa lot that day got my sorcers card at 4 or so, ate at 5:40 at bog had m&g with a&e and just had fun.

The 2nd was this last early october where it was so hot you didnt want to move and crowds didnt help that. Spent most of the time in Pecos Bills with tons of other people since it was too hot to move. DID get to see the cadaver dans though THAT was funny.

I found that unless you wished to be on main street during parade/show you were fine at both. I'm planning to attend a sold out this year.

The only horror stories I heard were from that awful one last year where they forgot to send non party people out and had to refund a ton of people, but that was a fluke.

 

[RachaelA]

The sold out party reports are very helpful!

We are going either 10/30 or 11/1 depending on what day has the party.

10/30 is my youngest's 3rd birthday so I think that would be really fun for her actual birthday.

 

[DonaldDuck77]

What we did on Columbus Day party last year:

7DMT (FP+)
Big Thunder (FP+)
Churros
The Magic Carpets of Aladdin
Splash Mountain (FP+)
Pirates of the Caribbean
Sorcerer cards
MNSSHP starts now
it’s a small world
Mickey’s PhilharMagic
Space Mountain
Peoplemover
Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin
Mad Tea Party
The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
Under the Sea
Dumbo
The Barnstormer
HalloWishes (from Storybook Circus area)
Hocus Pocus Villain Spelltacular
Dole Whips
Boo to You Parade
Haunted Mansion
Peter Pan’s Flight (entered line at 11:59)
Shop

(I didn't keep up with when and where, but we did lots of trick or treating, as well)

ETA: not sold out

 

[policycobb]

Ahhh. Thanks to disney taking their sweet old time releasing any info, DH and I have decided to check out CityWalk on our trip instead of doing MNSSHP. The kicker is, we weren't going to do MNSSHP because of the cost...and while I was pricing out things to do at CityWalk....it'll probably be more expensive. DH is excited that he's bursting my disney bubble...

I'm kind of excited too...

The Cowfish is delicious. I ate there on March 4th for the first time. Would love to go back.

 

[smitch425]

What we did on sold out Columbus Day party last year:

7DMT (FP+)
Big Thunder (FP+)
Churros
The Magic Carpets of Aladdin
Splash Mountain (FP+)
Pirates of the Caribbean
Sorcerer cards
MNSSHP starts now
it’s a small world
Mickey’s PhilharMagic
Space Mountain
Peoplemover
Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin
Mad Tea Party
The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
Under the Sea
Dumbo
The Barnstormer
HalloWishes (from Storybook Circus area)
Hocus Pocus Villain Spelltacular
Dole Whips
Boo to You Parade
Haunted Mansion
Peter Pan’s Flight (entered line at 11:59)
Shop

(I didn't keep up with when and where, but we did lots of trick or treating, as well)

Do you recall of they made an announcement stating it was a sellout while you were there? I can't find any info on that date being sold out last year.