Strategy involving MNSSHP? Need suggestions.

[Disney_Queen34]

We are arriving on Sunday, mid afternoon, Sept 27th and leaving mid afternoon on Friday, Oct 2nd. Hoping to do a MNSSHP either Sunday the 27th or Thursday the 1st. We have a 5 day non-hopper pass. Party of 4 adults and 4 kids (9, 8, 5, 4).

Not quite sure how to maximize our time. We are staying at Wilderness Villas so we have easy access to MK. Would like to spend a day at each park and also some time at DTD to shop. Does it make sense to hit up AK on a MNSSHP day? Everything I'm reading says to avoid the EMH because they will draw large resort guest crowds. Thought I had it all figured out but I know my kids will really want to see MSEP and that's not offered on the Halloween party nights.

My thought is since MK closes at 7pm on 9/27 due to the Halloween party that it doesn't make sense to head over there and waste a park day. Or is it better to use that day for the Halloween Party? I was worried kids would be exhausted after getting up early for our flight. We'd be ready to hit a park by 3pm on Sunday but would have to leave a park by 2pm on Friday due to our flights.

Any experts out there on how to structure our visit to get the most bang out of it?

 

[MolonLabe]

We usually do a resort day on our Party nights (we've done two MNSSHP's and one MVMCP).

You can get into MK as early as 4pm on a party night with your party tickets. That time between 4-6 will have a very light crowd presence. You can get a lot of rides in between 4-6.

The party goes till midnight and we usually don't leave the park till 12:30 or 1 because we're in line for something / doing something that runs late. Flying in early could make that tough. Also, you're going to be dragging for the next day after that.

DTD for shopping. This is a personal thought but with so few days in the area, why waste it at DTD? "Shopping"... there is hardly anything at DTD you can't find in one of the parks. We do DTD from time to time but usually on the night we arrive for dinner or something because we aren't doing a park day/night that day. Between the parks and lego.com / amazon there isn't anything you *have* to go to DTD for that I can think of. If it's jewlery between the specialty shop in MK and in Grand Flordian (short hop off the monorail, assuming its working properly) you are all set.

The MNSSHP parade blows away MSEP.. however I still love MSEP so make sure you have a full MK day separate from the party.

IMO, hit a park Sunday and "take it easy". Thursday do MNSSHP and sleep in Friday and don't do a park day since you'll have used all your tickets by then. If you try and fly in Sunday and then do the party you'll be wrecked on Monday and it'll put your whole week on a bad start.

As to AK and EMH, I assume you mean thursday? Do EMH that morning and then leave AK around noon or 1 (you'll get most of AK done if you hit it at rope drop and I suggest a taxi that morning so you can sleep in a little and get dropped off right at the gate) .

Noon-1 get back to resort and relax. 3:15 get changed into party clothes and get on the bus to MK by 3:40. 4pm walk up to the Mk gates and get all your redo's or misses done between 4-6. 6 grab QS meal. 6:15 line up (with your food) for your "must see" character. Eat while you are waiting in line. 7pm you are one of the first people to see a character and by 7:10 you are rocking it out and happy as a lark!

 

[MolonLabe]

Oh, make 100% sure to see the MNSSHP parade and the stage show at least once. My girls love trick or treating and we did a little but I told them basically "I'll buy you each a big bag of candy if we don't spend the night doing this..."
Don't miss the fireworks either. Best fireworks show of them all IMO.

 

[alvernon90]

Does the MNSSHP see the same kind of parade insanity as the other parades, such as shoving, iPad filming, and occasional fistfights? I generally have no interest in seeing the parades because no parade is worth dealing with other parade viewers. (Seriously, check any thread about rude park guests and about 50% of the stories you read will involve fighting about parade viewing.) But so many people love the Halloween parade that I wonder if it is worth it to go to war. Would parade time at a party be better spent on rides?

 

[MolonLabe]

The parade for MNSSHP is great. Definitely worth checking out. The parade runs "backwards" compared to the regular MSEP parade, so it's starts in frontier land.

Find a spot there or anywhere up to the Hub for it. Avoid mainstreet if possible.

Yeah it's similar in respect to the jockeying for position and idiots with their Ipads but I've never seen a fistfight over it. Get right up on the rope line in frontierland and you should be fine. Just realize if you leave 2 feet between you and "the line" someone will try and fill that space.

 

[mesaboy2]

Does the MNSSHP see the same kind of parade insanity as the other parades, such as shoving, iPad filming, and occasional fistfights? I generally have no interest in seeing the parades because no parade is worth dealing with other parade viewers. (Seriously, check any thread about rude park guests and about 50% of the stories you read will involve fighting about parade viewing.) But so many people love the Halloween parade that I wonder if it is worth it to go to war. Would parade time at a party be better spent on rides?

I don't deny these things happen, but in my experience they are rare. I would not let anecdotal reports impact my decision to see a Disney parade, and especially not MNSSHP's.

 

[Angel Ariel]

We are arriving on Sunday, mid afternoon, Sept 27th and leaving mid afternoon on Friday, Oct 2nd. Hoping to do a MNSSHP either Sunday the 27th or Thursday the 1st. We have a 5 day non-hopper pass. Party of 4 adults and 4 kids (9, 8, 5, 4).

Not quite sure how to maximize our time. We are staying at Wilderness Villas so we have easy access to MK. Would like to spend a day at each park and also some time at DTD to shop. Does it make sense to hit up AK on a MNSSHP day? Everything I'm reading says to avoid the EMH because they will draw large resort guest crowds. Thought I had it all figured out but I know my kids will really want to see MSEP and that's not offered on the Halloween party nights.

My thought is since MK closes at 7pm on 9/27 due to the Halloween party that it doesn't make sense to head over there and waste a park day. Or is it better to use that day for the Halloween Party? I was worried kids would be exhausted after getting up early for our flight. We'd be ready to hit a park by 3pm on Sunday but would have to leave a park by 2pm on Friday due to our flights.

Any experts out there on how to structure our visit to get the most bang out of it?

I would consider doing Epcot on Sunday...you could have a dinner ADR scheduled there, schedule FP+ for the late afternoon/evening...stay for Illuminations if you're up for it, or head back for early bedtimes.

Monday - head to MK

Tuesday - Hollywood Studios

Wednesday - Animal Kingdom (closes at 5) - maybe dinner at a resort, timed for the fireworks at MK?.

Thursday- sleep in, resort/DTD during the day, MNSSHP at night(entering the park at 4pm w/party ticket)

Friday - Epcot (if you want more time here, or want to have 2 epcot FP+ days, to get TT and Soarin' on different days)

This plan would get you a morning and evening in Epcot (on different days), at least 1.5 days at MK, and full days at AK and DHS..

 

[Angel Ariel]

I don't deny these things happen, but in my experience they are rare. I would not let anecdotal reports impact my decision to see a Disney parade, and especially not MNSSHP's.

I agree. Boo to You should not be missed! It's a great parade!

 

[Disney_Queen34]

Thanks for the suggestions. I never thought about doing Epcot on Sunday night. If MNSSHP wasn't happening we would have just hopped the boat to MK but I'm not wasting a park day on only 5 hours at MK. Better to get 7 hours at Epcot. Here's an additional question...do we avoid the parks that have EMH and hit the opposite parks in hopes they are more dead? We've always done the EMH parks before but honestly I can't remember a time where we ever stayed late enough at night to enjoy it because by then the kids are dog tired.

 

[ktlm]

We have done a party on an AK day and it worked out well. We are typically open to close people though, and we always do a park on MVMCP or MNSSHP days. DD(9) was apparently born with the commando gene- because she has been happily doing open to close since she was 2. It isn't too much for our family, but I don't know how it would be for yours. You would want to leave AK early enough to get back to your room and get costumes on and maybe rest a few minutes. Also, if Jack and Sally or the 7 Dwarves are a priority at MNSSHP, you want to be in line for them well before the party starts- and by well before I'm talking over an hour, unless you want to spend a good portion of the party waiting in line for them. Last year we got in line for Jack and Sally about 5:30 and we were just a few groups back in line. By 5:45 people were flocking to the line and it was getting huge. Jack and Sally were coming out early last year to try to keep the line down somewhat- so they came out at 6:00 and we were done by about 6:10. We went to see if we could get in line for the dwarves after that since we were done well before the party, but their line was already huge- it would have been at least an hour wait once the party started and they came out (in addition to the 45 minutes before the party), so we skipped them. We would have enough AK and be okay with that schedule, but I don't know about your family.

I would not do the party Sunday. I would be worried sick that something would happen with our flights and we would miss the party. We had a trip 2 years ago around that time of year that our plane (which was supposed to leave at 9:00 a.m.) had mechanical issues and they were telling us they were not going to get us there until the next day because by the time the plane was fixed (scheduled for 6 hours later as they were bringing a part in from another airport) they would not be able to get us on a connecting flight that was not full. Ultimately, after some begging by me and some tears by my then 6 year old, they got us switched to another airline, but we got there about 4 hours after we were supposed to and missed our evening ADR as well as most of our park time for the day. I wouldn't want to pay for MNSSHP party tickets and have that happen. MNSSHP party is so much fun though!!! You definitely should find time for it!

On a trip as short as yours, I would be inclined to skip DTD entirely. We would just focus on the parks, and I would probably add a 6th day to the ticket to squeeze some park time in on Friday before leaving.

 

[FeralCatRogue]

I tend to sleep in and just hang around the resort on MNSHHP day. And I agree with what others say i did party day after coming in and i was so tired by end. This year i'm pushing it to later in the stay.