Poll: Mickey's Halloween Party

[nunzia]

If you've attended this year, please answer poll and give your opinions.

We just got back and attended the party on Friday, October 21. This was our first Halloween Party and all six of the adults attending decided it was not worth the ticket price and would not do it again.
We arrived for the party about 5:00 pm and wanted to enter with our regular passes and then collect our wristbands down at Carnation Plaza as suggested here. The turnstile CM would not let us enter anyplace other than the party entrance. This went smoothly and efficiently. The parade was ending and we were instantly caught in a huge gridlock unable to move, then finally shuffled through stores. We found Friday park attendance to be very crowded..example..by 9:30 am Star Tours FP return time was 2:55. We hoped after the park was cleared at 7:00 that things would greatly improve, but our party was sold out (aren't they all?) and whatever they consider to be sold out is far above what we all expected for an extra ticketed event.
Pros: very well staffed, lots of friendly CMs, cool effects througout the park, tons of candy, spectacular fireworks (see cons)
Cons: Again, far too many people, huge lines at most character greeting areas, too dark and a bit disorienting (some treat trails looked like they were at ride lines and couldn't tell which was which..never could get a ride in), really too dark in places (couldn't they string some extra lights along the darkest areas of the park?)and we couldn't find a clear open space to analyze the map (should have brought a flashlight). We never made it through the whole park or even areas we really wanted to see (partially blame our large group with several small kids and other slow movers, but really tough to get around effectively). Fireworks area was jammed..very difficult for shorter people or kids to see unless they were lifted. People were pretty pushy and some costumes were view blocking (HUGE hats). By the time the fireworks were over before 10 PM we had to leave as kids were wiped out (and we had taken a long afternoon break in preparation) many many other families with little kids also headed to the exit at this time (nice touch, CMs at the exit took your little provided Treat bag and stuffed them). I think this party would be great for teens or young adults or families with tweens who are quick moving, but not for families with little kids. Our main issue was the large number of people Disney felt was fair for an extra ticket event.

 

[DizMe]

I didn't vote because I'm unsure.

We had a wonderful time! However, it just wasn't as crowded the night we went as I've heard mentioned by others. We were there Fri, Oct 14. Yes, some things were crowded, like the character greets and treat lines. The treat lines went very fast, though, and the lines for rides were quite short! We didn't have trouble finding the treat lines because they had a giant lighted Mickey ghost to show you the entrance.

The day crowds were high but not horrendous. It was quite manageable with FPs, which were not hard to get if you started early. The day before (Th) we arrived after 10 and the crowds were actually worse, IMO, and we didn't get many FPs to help us out.

My kids had a blast and we were able to ride everything we had been unable to get to during the crowded daytimes.

However, the cost was very high for us--$300 for a family of 5. While it was great fun, I would hesitate to spend that much on it again. That's just a lot of money for our family and I'm not sure the return would be worth it again, especially if we hit a crowded night. Next year I think I may take the family during the holidays (but not in the most crowded times) and spend the money on a Holiday Tour, but I'll see what everyone thinks about that.

I will add that I would go by myself (with my sister or adult dd) without hesitation, but would likely balk at the cost of taking 5 again. This was my 3rd trick or treat party but the first with my family along. $50-60 doesn't seem so bad compared to $300.

 

[SarafinaPink]

I loved it and would do it again, but then again it was just me and BF. Not sure if I would do it with a big group or kids as it is a bit expensive and busy.

But as an adult, I LOVED it and had a blast. I thought it was a really fun change of pace and that they really did an overall fun Halloween job. I didn't wait for any photo ops, and trick or treated later in the party, so even though it was busy, I didn't really have much to wait for.

 

[GhostlyHitchhiker]

My girls are now older (10 & 13), but we've done this event when they were infants and pre-schoolers at WDW, at DCA when they were younger a couple of times, as well as going with friends (large group) with tiny ones and we would *definately* do it again even with little kids.

You really have to treat the event like any other time going to Disney and take lots of breaks, expect that the kids will get tired earlier even with breaks, etc. (Some kids just can't handle adjusting their schedule too much even with extra naps & breaks; Not saying OP's kids are like that though.)

The special events at DLR are *not* like e-Ticket nights at WDW where you almost had the park to yourselves. We've always done the events on "off-nights" (weekday vs. weekend) just as you would deciding to go Off-peak vs Summer/Busy times.

I'm not sure if they sell more tickets on a Friday night vs the weeknights, but our night was sold out and while it seemed a little busy for the fireworks it was never busy for anything else. We didn't go on any rides (too difficult for some of our elaborate costumes), but the wait times weren't awful when we noticed them.

We absolutely love Halloween (our favorite family holiday), so the trick-or-treating, being able to dress up at Disneyland (!!) and the decorations (and special rides - Ghost Galaxy) are all reasons we will do this event again and again.

We absolutely prefer it at Disneyland over DCA, but we still have fonder memories of WDW's MNNSHP as they seem to have more decorations/better land theming, but we'd hope that Disneyland would adopt that over time if it continues at the "main park".

 

[ludari]

I've attended Mickey's Halloween Party twice in the past two years. Granted being a season pass holder I am still required to purchase a ticket but I don't mind. I enjoy everything about the party.

 

[ichabody]

This was our second party and we loved it! We got there right at 4pm, which I highly recommend since you avoid parade traffic as well as maximizing your time in the park. We got on the Matterhorn first (our family tradition!) and then ate dinner at the Village Haus. We grabbed some FPs for BTMR and then did a little research on the trick or treat lines before it got dark. This helped a lot because we knew where everything was after it did get dark...and man, it is dark during the party! However, that's what makes it so much fun...that and seeing all of the zany costumes! Love it! Our favorite trick or treat line was inside the Golden Horseshoe...very elaborately decorated with lots of pumpkins and such. Very cool. We hit up all the trick or treat stations and got tons of candy. We danced away with Buzz in Tomorrowland. We are not really big on getting pictures with characters so we had time to ride several rides...the lines weren't too bad. The longest was Haunted Mansion Holiday at around 20 minutes. The fireworks and parade were a lot of fun. All in all it was perfect for us! We love it and will be going back year after year. The only bad thing was at 11:50 we headed over to Ghost Galaxy (we usually ride this last), but it was down and so we shot up Zurg instead. We have three kids (youngest is 6) but they love Disneyland so much and are used to the walking that they never really get tired! We left the park at 12:15am and sure enough, by the time we got to the tram our youngest was out like a light!

 

[Elk Grove Chris]

I was also at the party on the 21st with my Son. The park was packed all day. Saturday was like peak summer crowds. Last year I went to one of the parties with my Wife, we both thought it would have been worth it if our kids could have joined us.

Even though I was there during a party, it was really about timing for me (was down for a conference the prior two days), I just happened to be there on a Friday and I didn’t want to miss out on extra available Disney hours. For me, the extra $20/hour was worth it for me and my Son.

We concentrated on rides and the fireworks. Lines for most of the rides were pretty short. The fireworks were awesome. The parade is short and disappointing.

We got more than enough candy just by filling up when you leave the park. Show a CM an empty bag, it gets filled pretty quickly at the exit. We didn’t stay very long because my Son had been up since 4:30 to catch a flight down, we left around 10:15.

I would do it again if my kids were with me. Not so sure if it moves back to CA.

 

[rillsung]

Yeah I have to agree! We had a blast and trick-or-treating with DD2 and DD4 was a blast. BUT then you remember how much it cost (like DD4 was the same price as an adult?) We have avoided the Christmas party every year at WDW because of the price and you don't really get anything for it. After the party is done, they have the holiday parade and fireworks for everyone in the parks to see.

 

[kikiq]

We were in the park on the 21st before the party started and it was packed even before the "party folks" came in at 4pm. And I said at that time, as I was attempting to leave the park at 5:30, that I didn't know that I wanted to go to the Halloween party any time. That said, my DD talked me into going last night with my DGD(2) for her birthday. We had a blast.

Yes, in the beginning of the night, the Halloween treat lines in front of the park were LONG, but we talked to several families that went LEFT to the Haunted Mansion and Critter Country first and had shorter treat lines and walk on for the rides. It was our first time and just wandered around for the first hour or so, happening on the candy lines, enjoying the music and decorations. The only time the crowds were really bad was right after the first parade and we were trying to ride the carousel before they closed Fantasyland before the fireworks. Little did we know that there was a candy line going through the Dumbo area. But once pass that line, we rode the carousel and continued on to Thunder Ranch which was a great candy line and hardly anyone at all. Worked our way back to Main Street to watch the parade, some of our party walked on BTMR and met us on Main Street. We parked ourselves by the photo shop to be in the front of that section. My DD is short and stood behind several wheelchairs.

We loved all the different costumes and dance parties. Loved the special lighting and spooky music. We have decided that it will be my DGD's birthday event from now on!

 

[aprincess@mail.com]

Loved it! We did the Tuesday Oct 11th party and it was SO much fun! 4 adults, 3 kids Not as busy as Friday's party. We were in the park that day also, and about 4pm the park was crowded! We left the park at 7pm when we were escorted out due to the special event. We went across to CA Adv and that was overly crowded due to the early closure of DL.
We have done the special event 3 times, and we love it! Would do it again!
On a Tuesday night of course

 

[AZBeth]

I would do it again. My kids had a great time. We got more than enough candy without waiting too long in lines, had good seats for both parade and fireworks and only found our seats about 30 minutes before each started and rode tons of rides.But we did not get to do the meet and greets with the characters since the lines were too long, this was disappinting to me. I would go again but I feel for what you pay for the party they should limit the tickets sales so not as crowded for the special parts of the party.

 

[StephNJer]

We went Friday the 14th and had fun. Most likely, we will probably do it again sometime, but not for a long, long time . We'll wait until our kids are a bit older and can handle being up past their bedtimes. For us, we had fun, but again, it's a lot of money to spend for a few hours' worth of stuff.
When they did the fireworks, most of them were to the left of the castle. We were sitting very close to the castle, but were to the left, and a tree was blocking our site perfectly. Most of the people around us got up and left, most of whom were pretty upset. I wish they would have made it more clear on where was a good place to sit to watch them.

 

[merfsko]

As a pair of 20-something-year-olds, we had a blast and would totally do it again!

We had decided prior to the event that we weren't going to even try and do any rides. We rode Buzz once after we entered but before the party started, but that was it.

Still, we had a great time. I loved dressing up and seeing all the other costumes (the guy who was dressed as Walt was my favourite), and it was great getting to chat with other guests while waiting in line. We hit every trick-or-treat trail, and had some GREAT CM interaction on them (and brought home some delicious snacks). And of course, we hit as many of the character meets as we could, which was so much fun. I know you can meet the characters in the day, but it was fun to do it in costume, and some of my favourite pictures are from that night.

I absolutely LOVED the fireworks. Once everyone stood, we did have to shuffle to find a spot in which we weren't blocked by a hat or child-on-shoulders, but we had a pretty good view. The parade was really cute- I'm partial to WDW's Boo-To-You, but I still enjoyed the cavalcade. We didn't end up having much time to spend at the dance party areas (although that was only because my friend was being ridiculous, had I been on my own I would have had time to ) but we did stop by the Tomorrowland one for a bit and it seemed like a whole lot of fun. Great atmosphere.

I think what I loved most about it was the atmosphere. I'm the kind of person who loves to just sit on benches, or stand off to the side, and people-watch, so from that perspective the party was just magical

 

[nunzia]

We did manage to sit at the right of the castle(there was a big pole blocking part of the view) but if you leaned just right and the big hats leaned a bit more, then you could see the cool stuff After I think more of this, I think I might do it again in a few years, with an older better hustling group since I now understand better the crowd size and layout..really..park was so wonderfully done up and such cool effects, it may be doable again after I recover from this time