"Official" 2018 Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party - A Spooktacular Celebration!

[Fall1]

Do you think there will be a big crowd difference from Thursday 10/4 and Friday 10/5 party?

 

[Tigger in a kilt]

Do you think there will be a big crowd difference from Thursday 10/4 and Friday 10/5 party?

Touring Plans is projecting that the Friday party will be significantly busier than the Thursday. This is presumably due to locals and those who come for the weekend. I don’t have any experience of it, but from everything I have read, the weekday parties are generally quieter until the end of October.

 

[GADisneyDad14]

Do you think there will be a big crowd difference from Thursday 10/4 and Friday 10/5 party?

I did both the Thurs and Fri parties Columbus Day weekend last year. There is a price difference and no AP discount on the Friday party for a reason.

 

[Livelovedance]

Man I really HATE when people put their phone above right in your face that has to be my only Disney pet peeve

This drives me crazy as well. I'll also add when people are video taping with the flash on...

 

[FoxC63]

Man I really HATE when people put their phone above right in your face that has to be my only Disney pet peeve

This drives me crazy as well. I'll also add when people are video taping with the flash on...

And kids on their shoulders

Well at least NOT the way @GADisneyDad14 does it!

 

[CampbellzSoup]

I can promise you when my kiddo comes I won’t do that to people it’s jjst so rude to other people in back too

 

[pangyal]

Spirits restored. Fun parade!

I don’t think my make shift strategy to watch the parade from the Plaza Garden turned out all that bad. DD on my shoulders had a great view. Only a couple of other people had the same idea. Walked up 5ish mins before the parade got there, super easy. The garden elevation is a precious few inches higher which helps.

Obviously not ideal, but good enough for us to get a parade fix in.

View attachment 352942 View attachment 352943

That’s actually not a bad idea at all- thanks for the photos of the views!

I take it that you were not offered parade viewing with the dessert party, then?

 

[Dean1953]

I’ll be staying at Bay Lake Tower. I plan on leaving MK at 12:45 AM and be in bed by 1.

 

[CinderellaDream]

I’ll be staying at Bay Lake Tower. I plan on leaving MK at 12:45 AM and be in bed by 1.

That’s my plan as well and one of the main reasons we booked BLT for this trip!

 

[hereforthechurros]

Could have done without the nearly hour long trek back to GF after the party (left MK around 12:20), but sometimes Disney transportation mojo just doesn’t work in your favor.

All in all, a fun evening. Arrived at 6:45ish. I was bummed by crowds at first. I usually find at a party if it’s crowded you can zig or zag and find something else to do. Early on it seemed as all options - rides, photopass, treat lines (we don’t do characters) - were painfully long at every turn. I’ve been in plenty of long treat lines in the past, but the ones we tried seemed so slow for some reason. At one point it was so congested trying to walk from Fantasyland to Liberty Square that I did let the thought of “bailing” creep in my mind.

But things loosened up closer to first parade time, it seemed. Generally speaking.

We did the Plaza Garden Dessert Party and watched the parade from the garden, which I posted above. The fireworks view was of course great and it was nice to stay seated on the fake grass. It was a relatively small crowd of Dessert Party guests. It made the dessert and viewing areas quite pleasant.

Did a lot of the dance party next to Storybook Circus with Timon, Doc, and Vamparina. DD could have stayed there all night.

I’d say we had a more “successful” party post-fireworks as it was more manageable... more rides, more treat lines.

In full disclosure, we did Disney After Hours last night so that probably had my mind twisted at the start of tonight.

Always amazed at the creativity of some of the costumes.

So overall, a good night with some ups and downs. We didn’t technically “do a lot” but that’s OK for what we want out of the party. I can appreciate how that might not work for many.

Happy to answer any questions.

I think most of us here trust your POV on all things WDW so I appreciate the honest review. Glad you were able to bounce back and enjoy the evening!

As far as it being crowded at first, did it seem as if CMs were having issues removing people without bands in a timely manner? I frequent another board where it seems like once a day someone posts a thread or comment about being upset about the shortened park hours (due to party) and looking for ways to stay in the park (aka attend the party) without getting caught. Worries me to think maybe quite a few people think this way making 4-7 PM or even beyond, where both batches of people are in the park, a nightmare.

Second do the crowds feel more like an average park day or a busy park day?

 

[NCVA]

Hi! My party attended on 9/21 and had a really good time! It was me, my DD (7), DS (5), my sister and BIL. This was our third MNSSHP around the same weekend the last three years. We make the trip for a long weekend to do MNSSHP, F & W, this year AK and for Sis and BIL Horror Nights. Obviously, we are Halloween and Autumn fans and really enjoy the atmosphere, excuse to dress up, TOT, parade, ect.

This website is SO helpful with planning and even DVC point rentals, I thought I’d share a slightly different perspective. We did end up at a Sold Our Party two years ago (last night of CM discount) and that was more crowded than I cared for, so I get that crowds can impact enjoyment.

Due to afternoon naps, we arrived about 4:20 and missed our first Peter Pan Fast Pass. We made our Jungle Cruise Fast Pass, walked on Magic Carpets, and Small World (which my BIL swore was scarier than anything at Horror Nights but my DS and I love). We then dragged the reluctant kids onto Seven Dwarves and they loved it. Rode the carousel to calm down and then went to dinner at the Plaza which was cute (and served wine!). On the walk over the ladies from BBB glittered my children with some Pixie Dust which was sweet. We did watch a LOT of people stream in the Halloween access during dinner. Really enjoyed seeing all the costumes while enjoying the meal in AC. Our favorite was three larger gentlemen dressed up as the Three Little Pigs and their much smaller female companion as the Wolf.
After dinner my kids and I did Little Mermaid and Dumbo as walk ons. The lines looked long for TOT for Ariel’s Grotto so we passed. Then headed to HM to meet back up with Sis and BIL and stopped for a couple of very fast moving TOT. Did HM and then found a spot for the parade while SIS and BIL went to Space Mountain. They said much more crowded than last year. Our parade view wasn’t the best but was fine for us (honestly my kids did a little worming but I think it was fairly benign and did not block anyone - no dirty looks!) and we enjoyed the parade with our candy. That’s about all we could manage and like to watch the fireworks on the boat back to hotel over the water.

Writing this it doesn’t sound like a ton, and I can think of a good handful of things we missed that I wished we could have gotten to do (Pirates, Dance Party, some special treats). But since we think we’ll be back, we focus on enjoying ourselves and the fun and not a check list per se. While I do wish there were fewer people in the Hub, I’m not sure that we were really that negatively impacted and if I’d planned a little better or we could actually make it to midnight we could have done more. And I may be in the minority here (and I understand why) but I actually don’t feel that bad about the cost of MNSSHP. It’s 8 hours (if you can make it) of pretty great silly fun and great rides. Unfortunately, family fun is expensive these days - movies, aquariums, boat rental, zoo - it all adds up. And well, my DS said it was ‘Best Night Ever’ - so I felt I got my money’s worth.

Boo to you!

 

[SquashBanana]

I wanted to follow up on the email response I got from a Photopass Rep. The Headless Horsemen magic shot we got at the front of the park as we were leaving around 12:55 actually showed up as a hitchhiking ghost. The rep told me that because our party was too large, they could not fit the Headless Horsemen in the picture and substituted the ghost instead. It looks pretty ridiculous. We're looking up at the tree with a look of terror and the ghost barely comes up to our knees. I'm not happy at all, but it is only one picture. I just wanted to pass that along in case anyone had a large party and wanted to do that shot. You may want to split up before taking the group shot just in case.

 

[CampbellzSoup]

Can we add some slight criticism?

I just felt like the decor can be extended to more areas of the park...outside of Main Street you don’t get the Halloween feeling.

However I thought everything else was fantastic!

 

[zipuzee]

Yeah, I hate to join the crowded chorus too, but this is bordering on that not worth it scale to me. Sad because I love MNSSHP.

This is my 5th year of going. Can’t tell if it’s just me, the date, or what.

Still smiling though!

I’m working my way backwards thru the thread as we just returned home and attended the party on Sunday 9/16, but I wanted to mention that I got a survey request email about my party experience and I commented at every possible place about the large crowds. I don’t know if it will make any difference but it made me feel better. We spent all day Sunday at MK and it was way more crowded during the party then it was during the day. We did score a good view for the parade where it turns in Liberty Square by the stockades and initially had a good place in the hub for the fireworks until they were postponed due to weather. It had Star to rain so we went in the shops along Main Street until the fireworks began and watched then from MainStreet outside the confectionary.

 

[letsgotowdw]

Our family has visited Disney from the time it opened. Our children are college age and have grown up vacationing at WDW. My DW and I just returned and for the first time attended the MNSSHP on Sep 16. I know others have posted this but as said earlier we have been to the parks many many times including 4th of July. The night of the party was Very Very crowded. We had a great time however Disney should not sell as many of these special event tickets as they do and should limit the number attending. They could add nights if the demand is this high. One of the reasons we wanted to attend was to visit the park when if was less crowded however the crowd in some spots were as large as I have seen it. Another issue we noticed is that a lot of CMs did not and could not answer basic questions about memory maker photo pass or our dining plan. Don’t get me wrong visiting Disney is still great and a good time was had however hopefully they start paying more attention to some of these issues. This is a great blog and if any one has questiones about MNSSHP I will try and answer.

 

[letsgotowdw]

Our family has visited Disney from the time it opened. Our children are college age and have grown up vacationing at WDW. My DW and I just returned and for the first time attended the MNSSHP on Sep 16. I know others have posted this but as said earlier we have been to the parks many many times including 4th of July. The night of the party was Very Very crowded. We had a great time however Disney should not sell as many of these special event tickets as they do and should limit the number attending. They could add nights if the demand is this high. One of the reasons we wanted to attend was to visit the park when if was less crowded however the crowd in some spots were as large as I have seen it. Another issue we noticed is that a lot of CMs did not and could not answer basic questions about memory maker photo pass or our dining plan. Don’t get me wrong visiting Disney is still great and a good time was had however hopefully they start paying more attention to some of these issues. This is a great blog and if any one has questiones about MNSSHP I will try and answer.

Sorry. Our date to attend the party was the 14th not the 16th.

 

[FoxC63]

I wanted to follow up on the email response I got from a Photopass Rep. The Headless Horsemen magic shot we got at the front of the park as we were leaving around 12:55 actually showed up as a hitchhiking ghost. The rep told me that because our party was too large, they could not fit the Headless Horsemen in the picture and substituted the ghost instead. It looks pretty ridiculous. We're looking up at the tree with a look of terror and the ghost barely comes up to our knees. I'm not happy at all, but it is only one picture. I just wanted to pass that along in case anyone had a large party and wanted to do that shot. You may want to split up before taking the group shot just in case.

Super sorry this happened to you. It's not a new Magic Shot so PhotoPass photographers should have known better.

I did make mention of this on the Itinerary thread Sept. 3rd. [URL="https://www.disboards.com/threads/%E2%80%9Cofficial%E2%80%9D-2018-mickey%E2%80%99s-not-so-scary-halloween-party-%E2%80%93-strategy-and-itinerary-thread.3672288/page-153#post-59696760"]Post #3050[/URL]

 

[ManalapanDad]

I was at the party on 9/16 it wasn’t nearly as crowded as 9/18 we didn’t get much done on the Tuesday compared to the Sunday night. We also tried to go 9/14 but by the time we decided it was sold out and I’m glad we didn’t make it because I can only imagine how crazy that must of been

 

[Haley R]

Best way to experience hocus pocus for the first time

 

[Best Aunt]

And well, my DS said it was ‘Best Night Ever’ - so I felt I got my money’s worth.

My favorite post on this thread. It's a reminder to me to keep things in perspective. Disney trips and events are not about doing every single possible thing. They are about enjoying what you are doing.

I wanted to follow up on the email response I got from a Photopass Rep. The Headless Horsemen magic shot we got at the front of the park as we were leaving around 12:55 actually showed up as a hitchhiking ghost. The rep told me that because our party was too large, they could not fit the Headless Horsemen in the picture and substituted the ghost instead. It looks pretty ridiculous. We're looking up at the tree with a look of terror and the ghost barely comes up to our knees. I'm not happy at all, but it is only one picture. I just wanted to pass that along in case anyone had a large party and wanted to do that shot. You may want to split up before taking the group shot just in case.

How many people were in your group for the Headless Horseman Magic Shot? I'm just wondering how many was too many.

I’m working my way backwards thru the thread as we just returned home and attended the party on Sunday 9/16, but I wanted to mention that I got a survey request email about my party experience and I commented at every possible place about the large crowds.

I went to the first party and came home the next night. I did not get a survey about the party. I did not get a survey about my hotel stay. I did get a survey abou the DVC Member Magic event I attended at Epcot, but apparently that survey was ony good for a very short time because by the time I was able to sit down and complete it, it had expired.

If people get a survey and want to do it, I suggest you do it as soon as you can and don't wait.