Quick report from our party last night (Tuesday, 8/30). We were there just before 4 to tap in, there was a delay as someone passed out right in front of our tapstile, but there's nothing to be done about that. She was sitting up in a wheelchair by the time we got in, so I'm hoping she was ok, just overheated.
Once we were in, we went through the bypass and hopped into Merida's line (her set started at 4:15) to a very manageable wait. At that time, 7DMT was only posting 35 mins, PP went down to 5 mins at one point, as did BTMRR. So, even with day guests and party guests able to be in the park, the lines for day guests didn't go nuts. We opted to meet Belle as well, only about 5 groups waiting at 5pm.
There was thunder in the area while we were on Small World, so all of the outdoor rides shut down around 5:40ish and stayed closed until about 6:30. I got in the Pooh and friends line at 5:45 while Hubby took the girls to ride some low wait lines in the area. Pooh and crew started meeting at 6:40, but they were only doing 20 minute sets with a 10 minute break, so the line crawled. Once the party officially started, Hubby and I continued to tag team the Pooh line while taking the girls to ToT spots in the area. I'm not sure if we just had a bad night or if it's a regular problem, but Eeyore was 10 minutes late to the second set (so about half of it) and then also wasn't there by the time we got to the front of the line at 7:50 (so, 10 minutes into the 3rd set). The CMs could give us no information about if/when he'd come out, nor would they let people wait to the side who wanted to see the full group. I was extremely disappointed in the way this was handled. If Eeyore can't make it that night, then just don't bring him out. But, for little kids to wait that line and see other people get the full meet but then they don't? It's not right.
Next up, we went down to ride Space in the dark, which was surprisingly fun. Hubby stayed in Tomorrowland for the dance party and some ToT with the girls while I got in the Tweedle/Red Queen line. The Queen was meeting when I got in line (about 8:20) and the CM came through and told us she'd be switching for the Tweedles, whom we met at 8:40. We then hopped right back into that line, as we wanted to meet the Red Queen as well. While Hubby and the girls went to check out Storybook Circus, I waited once again. This line never got particularly bad (I'd guess maybe 25-30 minutes) and the timing was perfect for us as the CM came through once again and told us that the Tweedles would be leaving but the Queen was coming out. If you want both of these characters, it should be very doable if you do them back to back. By the time you get to the front the second time, they will have switched. We met the Queen at 9:10.
Alice and the Hatter don't meet during the parade, and we were hungry, so we grabbed Cosmic Rays. The kids danced while the adults ate and then I got back into the Alice line once I was done eating, about 9:40. There were only 3 family groups ahead of me at that point, and the characters were back out at 9:48. At that time, only a few people were in line behind me, so I'd say hopping into any of these lines right at the end of a parade would be excellent timing for a short wait. After meeting Alice and the Hatter at 9:52, we headed to the hub for a fireworks spot. While it was by no means empty, there was plenty of room for people to fill in. We are picky about our spot because we need good sightlines for eight year olds, but we were able to find a spot about even with the partners statue on the Liberty Square side of the hub. The folks around us were very kind, too, about shifting a bit so that the girls could see the fireworks. (The fact that they had enough room to shift a big also speaks to the level of crowds for the fireworks show, even up in the hub.)
We headed into Liberty Square to a maybe 8 party deep wait for the headless horsemen and hitchhiking ghosts magic shots. They were running one line where you got both and it was moving really well. Rather than trying to squeeze things in, we opted to grab a seat on the rope for the second parade. The girls went to ToT at country bears and at 10:50 the characters came out and invited the kids to do a costume promenade. It was really cute and a great way to keep the energy up while we waited for the parade. At 10:45, there was still plenty of room on the ropes, but by 10:55 when the promenade was over, things were much more filled in. I'd say that's the sweet spot for Frontierland 2nd parade viewing.
After the parade, the girls' priority was more ToT, so we hit the Tiki Room, Tortuga Tavern, and then cut across for Monster Inc Laugh Floor and the walk-in photo op in Stitches queue before finding a spot for the midnight stage show. Again, with little ones, we were picky about finding a spot with good sightlines but we were in front of the partners statue at 11:58 and with enough room in front of us for them to see.
We attended the 2019 party that was also the last Tuesday in August, which was very much NOT a sell out, and I'd say these crowds were comparable or slightly lighter. Definitely the 4-6pm hour was much more jam packed in 2019 compared to the super low waits this year. We found similar fireworks and parade spots with the same timing in 2019, so this sell out this year certainly didn't make that any harder. That said, I think the character lines are just going to be worse all around this season. People haven't been able to many of these characters for 3 years and two of the biggest draws from 2019 aren't there this year. The remaining character lines are just going to be longer.
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. We attended the party on the 23rd and it was nowhere near the crowd level of 2019, which was our last party. We might have just been very lucky since it was just me and DS for this trip, so not a big group, but we got a front row spot for the first parade across from Pecos Bills 20 minutes prior to start. When the parade ended, we went straight to Splash (walk-on). From there, we went to the Hub and got a pretty good spot for the fireworks fairly close to the left turret 15 minutes prior to start. When those were over, we moved into the spots closer to the castle stage to watch Hocus Pocus at 10:45. All in all, it was by far the easiest and smoothest entertainment-watching experience we’ve ever had at a MNSSHP, and we have been going for years. I genuinely think that they put a lower cap on tickets this year and it made for a much more enjoyable time.
