For those of you interested, I have
MNSSHP info and pics in my 2009 TR! We went both times we went to WDW (well, my dd and I went twice) and LOVED it! We'll go again this year as well! If any of you are doing a PTR for this trip, let me know, I would love to follow you! I have one going...what can I say, I'm a planning fanatic!
so reading your TR now! i've been looking for October TR's to read!
Not sure if we're going to do MNSSHP.
DD will be 2.5 and though I know she'd like it, she's usually in bed by 8 p.m. Sure, it's vacation and she'll stay up later than usual but I just don't think she'll be able to last long enough to make the cost of the tickets worth it for us.
But I'm waffling because I TOTALLY want to go!!
We took my son to
MVMCP twice already and he is only 3.5. He went when he was 2 and 3. We made it until 11:30pm both nights. He was tired by the end, but didn't fall asleep. We even waited and saw the second parade at 10:30 and he loved it and stayed up. We just make sure we take it easy on the party day. If we do a park that day, we do RD and make sure we are back in the room early enough to take like a 3hour break so he can have a really good nap and then just relax in the room some. Then we head out to the party about 5 or 6 (we have APs, so no need to rush over). He did pretty well, but then again, he doesn't go to bed until 8:30pm at home (sleeps untl 7am).
Man, I've been getting so anxious for the time to go past so that vacation can get here!
Then I just realized today that the plan is to be newly pregnant with #2 when we go on vacation (start TTC end of August)... and now it seems like the time's going too quick!
We definitely want a #2 and don't want to wait too much longer because I don't want the age gap to be too large, but man, I'm already having guilt & anxiety over it all!
woo hoo! wishing you lots of luck! We are about to start TTC again too. William is now 3.5 and we want a second. We went through a few years of fertility issues (unexplained) with him, so I anticipate more of the same, but we will see. Maybe we will get lucky with some pixie dust this time and not have to resort to IVF again. But I am hoping against all hope that I will be preggers on this October trip. If not, hopefully shortly after. wishing you lots of luck!
So what is everyone doing from now until ADR time comes up to prepare for the trip. I read the disboards. DD and I read books on what to do, just for fun and helps her with her reading. I also pay weekly on the trip and going to have it paid off just in time to start booking my adr's.
How about everyone else?
Going crazy.

I am on the disboards way too much (see post count!). I love reading trip reports, i have my own PTR (see my signature for link- come by and say hi). I also have my disney 'box' where i keep all the stuff for our trip i buy all year- rain ponchos, toys for my son, toiletries etc. Plus i plan like a crazy person with my huge excel spreadsheet, must dos, etc. Then I change them, and change them again. We are also going to start doing a disney movie night once a month with my family with themed food and games. There is a thread on the community board of some fabulous ideas with pics. We also do a countdown calendar about 3 months out for my son to put a sticker on each day! I have a June trip to the Smokey Mtns with the entire family and then a Vegas work trip that I will extend a few days for fun (DH's 40th bday) in August, so planning both of those too helps.
I need all of you October and MNSSHP veterans to help me out. $$ will be tight for us this trip (that's why I held out on posting until it was booked) and so I hadn't planned on doing MNSSHP. I have trouble justifying the expense for glorified trick-or-treating. I know there is so much more than the dressing up and the candy, but I guess I just have sticker shock:


Is anyone else out there in the same boat as me or am I the minority?

For those that have done MNSSHP and continue to do it year after year, what makes it worth the $$ for your family?
Btw...the trip will be me, my boyfriend, my 4yo DS, my mother and my grandparents. It will be the 1st trip for my boyfriend and DS but the rest of us have all been multiple times, but never done MNSSHP. Any opinions/advice about MNSSHP would be GREATLY appreciated!
We haven't done MNSSHP, but we've done MVMCP many times, including the past two Decembers. I hear MNSSHP is better than the Christmas one, so I can't wait. We love the fact we get extra hours in the park, the amazing special fireworks, special characters and shows and more. I hear the parade is simply one of the best Disney puts on- i can't wait to see it. You can't see the parade i think except at the party. Same for the Hallo-wishes fireworks, unless they show it on actual halloween to the public (like they do with the Christmas ones- they start showing it to the public the week of Christmas).
With shorter park hours in the fall, we find the party is a great way to get in more time at the park. the MK will close at 7pm on party nights to non party guests, which means you won't have many chances for a late night at the MK, unless they offer late hours on a saturday or EMH and if they do, it is super crowded since everyone goes that night. We like having a night to see all the extras, in fact the trick or treating is exciting, but it is only one of many things we are excited about. just the atmosphere of all the guests dressed up and the characters too- so fun!
Plus, you can save by not getting a ticket that day. just buy the party ticket and you can get in at 4pm (usually). spend the am sleeping in, doing a late character breakfast at a resort (chef mickey's, Ohana etc.), explore the resorts, swim, do DTD or whatever and rest up then hit the MK at 4pm. Saves you buying a ticket that day----of course unless you are getting a length of stay ticket or are staying so long that adding that day is only a few bucks anyhow.
We are leaving BLT on the 22nd!
I am going crazy waiting for hours. it appears some hours were out as early as mid month last month, so hoping maybe next week we can see something- who knows. I can't make my final plans until i know the hours and EMH days. I usually start off planning using historical hours too- but they have switched up the EMH so often now, you just never know.
I have 2 vouchers on American (we live a few minutes from DFW), but i need to see if we can even use them or not- with all the lovely restrictions they have. I won them at work. Plus i have enough miles for a free ticket too- so hoping our flights will be free. I just checked and the direct flight from DFW to MCO is about $400 on AA for what we want. I used to pay no more than $250 most years. Last year it was $330. I checked SW too (for Sept since oct wasn't out yet) and it was showing as like $400 as well.

I have never been at Disney on the actual date of the Anniversary but I would think they would have something to kick off the year of celebration with some special guests maybe 
When i was working during the 25th anniversary (remember the pepto pink castle? yuck!)- they had special press events to celebrate, but it was media only. That was a bigger anniversary though. I don't remember anything else special for the public with any special guests or anything- all that I saw was for the media (and lots of celebrities at that one). I worked the big 25th anniv party they had for the media at the HS that night. But i just don't remember anything else going on. They tend to do more though now than they did 15 years ago.