The four of us (Wife & I with kids 8 & 6) did the party last night. Yesterday was our first full day on this trip which is resort focused (first stay at Animal Kingdom Lodge). So the party was our only planned park day of this trip. We explored the resort and spent a couple hours at the pool but otherwise, a very relaxed day before leaving around 4:00 to head to Magic Kingdom.
Entry to the party was a breeze. Tickets were linked to our Magic Bands through
MDE.
We stashed away rain gear in a locker because the forecast was iffy and t-storms in the area mid-afternoon quite ominous - ended up being an unused $12 insurance policy but an action I’d take again.
Our overall focus was on rides and seeing the parade. We didn’t wait in any lines to take photos with characters, but ended up seeing many as we were out and about, and of course in the parade. Due to the heat, characters swapped regularly and could be seen up close as they walked past.
We checked out the line to meet Stitch in Tomorrowland a few times and it was consistently long throughout the night - a CM was giving us a 45 min estimated wait time we didn’t care to experience as it was hot and muggy all night.
The heat also limited our appetite - before the party I was eyeing several different sweet treats but mostly ended up sticking to what we wanted in the moment - like cheeseburger spring rolls and a dole whip in Adventureland. Eating inside was a needed break from the heat - I enjoyed the sweet & spicy chicken at Cosmic Ray’s.
We easily did all the attractions we wanted, a couple of them multiple times - granted, we didn’t do many thrill rides. The highest consistent wait time I remember seeing was 35 min for Tron. Most waits were less than posted. Space Mountain was a posted 25 min wait during the early hours in the party which actually took no more than 15 min since the one line was splitting into both loading zones.
Trick or Treating was smooth everywhere we went. The lines were kept moving and generous scoops given. Thanks to a recommendation by an earlier poster, the ToT at Mickey’s Philharmagic is a double hit (treat stations both before and after the theater) and we happened to catch a costumed Donald inside (just a coincidence I think).
We watched the late parade from near Pecos Bill’s. We had settled on a viewing spot just a few mins before the Headless Horseman rode by 10 mins before the parade. The borders of the parade route were “filled in” but not very deeply, and our kids were easily able to watch it all standing directly behind those sitting in front. To get a good seated viewing spot, you’d have to be there by the end of the fireworks show, and that was an hour of time we spent doing more rides.
Overall we had a great time. We stayed until close and were absolutely spent, but enjoyed the theming and overlays. The CMs were top notch all night. Bus transportation at the end of the night went smoothly - multiple buses waiting to keep the lines as short as possible.