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

[KAT4DISNEY]

Ouch, I didn't even think of getting seated later than our res. time. We are staying Aug. 20-27 so it would be the only day we could do the party. The kids never experienced MNSSHP before...and I really want to try Ohana for dinner! Maybe we will get lucky and find an ADR for a different day as we get closer.

Thanks

I'd skip Ohana or try and find a different night. It just wouldn't be worth it to rush thru to get to the MNSSHP.

 

[UtahDisneyFan]

Awesome, thanks for everyone's replies. I'm super excited to be going. You guys are the best!!!

 

[rlg801]

Touring plans has a free ADR finder. They notify you if the adr you are looking for is found. They don't book it for you, they just give you an alert & you still have to try & snag it before anyone else does. Many posters have had good luck with that. Also, check out the dining reservations subforum here. They have threads for each month. People post if they have an adr to cancel & you try to coordinate them dropping & you booking. Good luck!

I don't know the ages of your kids, but if it comes to a choice, I'd go with the Halloween party. 'Ohana is ok, but it is just a meal. The party is a real experience!

My girls will be 9 and 6 when we go in August. They are already talking about this party, lol. I will definitely look into Touring Plans, thanks!

 

[rlg801]

I would keep looking for another day to do ‘Ohana. It’s my favourite ADR right now but personally I wouldn’t enjoy it as I’d constantly be thinking of getting to the party. Keep trying. Many times I’ve gotten a different ‘Ohana reservation closer to the date. Just keep checking numerous times a day. I find more open 30ush days ahead as this is when people need to make final payments on their trips. If you have TP subscription, use their reservation finder too.

I think you’ll want to arrive at the main gate (after security) by 3:00ish. Any later and not only are you fighting FoF crowds but also those arriving early for the party who are not eligible to enter until 4:00. I imagine the front of the park being extremely busy from 3:15 onwards.

That would be me, constantly looking at my watch and not enjoying the dinner! I will keep looking for another day for 'Ohana.

 

[coolingjupiter]

How late can someone get on line for a character on party nights?

 

[Kristina G.]

How late can someone get on line for a character on party nights?

For people who do not have party tickets, you cannot get in line for special characters before the park closes at 6 pm.

For people with tickets, I'm pretty sure you can line up for characters up until the party ends at midnight...you will have to talk to CMs/character handlers when you get there to be sure.

 

[mom2rtk]

For people who do not have party tickets, you cannot get in line for special characters before the park closes at 6 pm.

For people with tickets, I'm pretty sure you can line up for characters up until the party ends at midnight...you will have to talk to CMs/character handlers when you get there to be sure.

I'm sure someone will have specifics, but I'm pretty sure they cut the character lines before midnight.

 

[lvcourtneyy]

For people who do not have party tickets, you cannot get in line for special characters before the park closes at 6 pm.

For people with tickets, I'm pretty sure you can line up for characters up until the party ends at midnight...you will have to talk to CMs/character handlers when you get there to be sure.

It depends on the character. If there is a long line, the CMs will close the line early.

 

[sluggozmom]

I'm hoping to get an Oogie Boogie popcorn bucket this year.. I'm going to hit MK on August 17th (my arrival day) and stay until they close for the party, then head to another park.
Is there any chance they'll sell me a Halloween bucket without a wristband? I'd love to have the bucket for my whole trip. My party tix aren't until the 24th, our last night.

 

[Kristina G.]

I'm hoping to get an Oogie Boogie popcorn bucket this year.. I'm going to hit MK on August 17th (my arrival day) and stay until they close for the party, then head to another park.
Is there any chance they'll sell me a Halloween bucket without a wristband? I'd love to have the bucket for my whole trip. My party tix aren't until the 24th, our last night.

Last year they did not sell the popcorn buckets until the party started and only if you had a wristband.

 

[lvcourtneyy]

I'm hoping to get an Oogie Boogie popcorn bucket this year.. I'm going to hit MK on August 17th (my arrival day) and stay until they close for the party, then head to another park.
Is there any chance they'll sell me a Halloween bucket without a wristband? I'd love to have the bucket for my whole trip. My party tix aren't until the 24th, our last night.

No, they will not sell you party specific merchandise without a wristband. Last year, I'm pretty sure they didn't start offering the Oogie boogie popcorn buckets until the party officially started at 7 pm.

 

[monique5]

I’m 99% sure 6:00 was the cut off at MVMCP last year. I know I only had 2 FPs booked before our party.

Correct. I had 3, but only b/c AP.

 

[monique5]

I read somewhere that if using magic bands and not hard ticket for fast pass with the party, then its best to create an alternate group on mde so that the regular park admissions/fast passes aren't used (Can't find that post now) would that need to be done with purchase of party tickets or later? Do I need to come up with phony names now or can it wait?

That was several years ago when MB were 1st introduced. You do not have that problem now if you go through the correct line. There's a dedicated line for MNSSHP/MVMCP entry, typically to the right with large signs.

 

[monique5]

You’ll likely get mixed opinions on this, but we’ve done it many times as have others around us and in this thread. It’s a pretty common practice at parties for characters with open queues. We do generally all line up together, though, so that everyone around us knows our party size. Then I’ll send DH and the kids away for a bit.

This! I was 1st in line for Moana last year for MVMCP @ 4pm. Received WB around 3:50pm in Adventureland. Nicely told the PP behind me that my DH & DD9 would be joining me. I was done by 5:50pm.

 

[Haley R]

Do the Halloween magic bands sell out quickly? Do they save some to sell each night? We won't be there until October 23 or 25 and I was hoping to buy one.

 

[Livelovedance]

This! I was 1st in line for Moana last year for MVMCP @ 4pm. Received WB around 3:50pm in Adventureland. Nicely told the PP behind me that my DH & DD9 would be joining me. I was done by 5:50pm.

Did you start the line at 4pm? We're trying to decide if we want to do Moana's line or not, and what time we should get on line.

 

[hswillia07]

My kiddos will be 7 and 4 when we do MNSSHP. We'll try to do the earlier fireworks, parade, etc., but I'd also like to stay as late as possible! We'll have a very calm morning, no park, so hopefully that will help. ANYway, am I crazy to try to do an 8am breakfast at Epcot the next morning?? Also, our planned MK day is a party day, which is fine because we planned to leave after dinner anyway, but are crowds during the day on park days busier? same? This is a short trip for us - half the amount of time we spent last year - so there isn't a ton of room to move plans around. Thanks so much!

 

[Rich M]

My kiddos will be 7 and 4 when we do MNSSHP. We'll try to do the earlier fireworks, parade, etc., but I'd also like to stay as late as possible! We'll have a very calm morning, no park, so hopefully that will help. ANYway, am I crazy to try to do an 8am breakfast at Epcot the next morning?? Also, our planned MK day is a party day, which is fine because we planned to leave after dinner anyway, but are crowds during the day on park days busier? same? This is a short trip for us - half the amount of time we spent last year - so there isn't a ton of room to move plans around. Thanks so much!

If you happen to make it to close then you probably are getting back to your hotel or wherever your staying until 1 maybe even 1:30 depending on distance. I would try to avoid any early morning the next day if it was me with kids.

 

[FoxC63]

How late can someone get on line for a character on party nights?

It depends on the character. If there is a long line, the CMs will close the line early.

This is the correct answer

 

[BrianMcG]

My GF and I are staying at POFQ from Oct 16-21 and were planning on getting party tickets for the Thursday, 10/18 party. Right now, our tentative plan is to spend the day at MK and leave for an early dinner break at Ohana before coming back for the party. Many people have mentioned earlier in this thread that it may not be worth it to do go to Ohana as you would be wasting time that could be spent enjoying the party. However, neither of us really care about meeting any characters or trick or treating. We are mostly considering buying tickets because I think it is the best option for us to get MK done in one day and I also think the fireworks and parade would be fun to see.

Does anyone have any thoughts on this plan? I really would like to try Ohana and none of the dinner options inside the park really appeal to us. Also, if Ohana seems plausible, what time would you suggest I try to get an ADR for? My thinking would be to shoot for a time when the park is still open for both guests and party-goers, as I would imagine the lines for attractions would be the longest.

Thanks for the help!