Please tell me about MNSSHP

[2littleprincesses]

Tell me about this please? Is it worth it? What nights is it? We are going the middle of oct (I think) and are wondering about this. THanks

 

[Perditamarie]

Well, it was fun to prepare...to plan our costumes and the kids were excited to go, but I wouldn't do it again until the kids are much, much older. They were 5,6 &7 when we went and I just felt rushed and we didn't even eat CS/TS.

We rode a few rides, including the awesomely creepy Haunted Mansion, but missed the dance parties and photo in front of Cinderellas carriage. We did hit several trick or treat trails, but didn't really see any character meet and greets. The parade was great and we watched the fireworks backing out of the park. We did get on one of the first buses back to the resort, and we must have arrived around 11...and the kids were wiped out.

So, unless your kids are nightowls and can stay up all night, I am just not sure its worth it, especially at the prices charged! I think to maximize the special Halloweeny things, you have to skip rides, which makes for an expensive parade. We were newbies at this, I admit.

 

[Sandy321]

ITA

it so depends - it was cheaper for me to buy a huge bag of candy from Sam's club for $7 than to pay $50 per person for the fireworks and parade (which are so awesome!!)
(we went when it was $25 per person and decided it was just too crowded for us )

I am in awe of all the posts on the Dis that love it, that have wonderful times with characters at the Dance parties, etc -

for us the parade was so crowded we were pushed and yelled at (we got there 45 min before the parade started over in Adventureland) it was just NOT a good situation (crowd wise) for us!

even at the candy trick or treat places adults were pushing and shoving kids out of the way - for that "penny candy"???

nope, not for us - esp not at the price increase!

 

[jmrdavis99]

IMO MNSSHP has the best parade. One of the floats broke down & the parade actually stopped in front of us. By "stopped" I mean the floats were no longer moving, but the music kept going & the characters/dancers kept going through their routine. We saw the Haunted Mansion float's routine 3 times before the parade started moving again.

We went over kind of late (8:00ish) & stayed until close. You could pretty much walk on any ride. Cinderella's carriage picture was the only thing that still looked busy. We even made it to several of the candy stops.

Our kids were 7 & 9 at the time. Pretty much a perfect age for enjoying the party & being able to stay out late for one night.

 

[Leajess99]

ITA

it so depends - it was cheaper for me to buy a huge bag of candy from Sam's club for $7 than to pay $50 per person for the fireworks and parade (which are so awesome!!)
(we went when it was $25 per person and decided it was just too crowded for us )

I am in awe of all the posts on the Dis that love it, that have wonderful times with characters at the Dance parties, etc -

for us the parade was so crowded we were pushed and yelled at (we got there 45 min before the parade started over in Adventureland) it was just NOT a good situation (crowd wise) for us!

even at the candy trick or treat places adults were pushing and shoving kids out of the way - for that "penny candy"???

nope, not for us - esp not at the price increase!

We never had any of those problems and definitely did NOT get "penny candy". We saw many characters to include Jessie from Toy Story 2 plus the villians were out. We are definitely planning to do it again this year. You could just walk on most of the big rides as it was not very crowded at all.

 

[MamaOfTwoPrincesses]

See my trip report.

 

[GRUMPY D]

we loved it , my kids are 4&9 and they talk about for weeks ,

 

[RMulieri]

We went last Sept with our then 4 yr old.We had a great time.We rode most rides between 4 p and when the party started at 7pm. We only did a little of trick or treating and still got plenty of candy.We did see the parade and fireworks and the dance parties.We did not get our pics at either the HM hearse or Cinderellas Coach.The lines were way too long even early in the evening.It was quite busy but still very enjoyable. We had DD take a very long nap in the afternoon before the party so she was good to go the whole night.

 

[tinkerlisa]

The only problem we had were the lines for the candy! We ended up getting candy from the parade and we don't let our kids eat too much of it anyway so it wasn't really a big deal! The fireworks are great and we taped the whole parade and enjoy watching it here at home. That is until my brother ruined the secret behind the "headless horseman". I actually only said rethorically "i wonder how they do that" and he answered. so it kinda wrecked the magic. not really for me but my kids.
Anyway, we had a blast and my fear is that we will just miss the start of it on our next trip! We loved seeing the castle in halloween colors and my son still sings the parade song and its been 2 1/2 years!

 

[Darcy03231]

I took my niece (4 y.o.) last October and we had a great time! She loved the dance parties and the trick or treating. We did a few rides but mostly saw characters, did the dance parties, saw the parade, and watched the fireworks. We did stand in line to see Cinderella (she begged to) and Mickey Mouse (we got there early and got right in line - took about 20 min). I knew it was going to be a late night so we slept in that morning, went to DHS and did a few things there, came back to the resort for a mid-afternoon lunch & swim and then had a nap before it was time to go for the party.

 

[maddiesmom0116]

Hello-

This is the very best thing I have ever done at Disney and changed my annual trip to September from May. It is a blast, the park was not at all crowded and we could ride the rides over and over again. They also usually add dinners too, so we do the Cinderella dinner at the castle after bibbity and she is all dressed up for the party and cindy's dinner. I am going again this year as always. Another benefit is seeing characters that you don't usually see, such as the villians and the Tarzan crew last year. The villians show is awesome and the parade is pretty neat too. I truly cannot recommond this enough. I always dress up too, last year I went as Cinderella and I had little ones trying to take their picture with me, I almost melted as Cinderella though. When picking costumes for your little ones, think short sleeves.

Have fun if you chose to go - I am sure you will think it is worth the spend.

 

[MJAJmom]

We went twice in mid october with DS3 and DS6. We all loved it. Most people were dressed up in costumes so it seemed very festive. Some nights are more crowded than others. The parade was fabulous. Fireworks pretty good too. Seeing the characters in costume is fun too. The weather and crowds in october make touring much more pleasant. See my trip report for lots of MNSSHP pictures of parades and characters, writeups and touring tips.