Tell me everything about MNSSHP!

[todzwife]

We are talking about making a fall trip. We've never seen the Halloween stuff but we have done the Christmas stuff.

When is it up? How much are the trick or treating tickets? Is it usually super crowded?

 

[skiingfast]

Have you been to MNSSHP? It's like that.

In DLR they have Mickey's Halloween Parties. It has moved back to Disneyland Park and I assume it will stay there.

The season start mid September and Parties start late September or Early October. Most parties are on Tuesday, Friday and Halloween Day, with some odd variations.

The party includes characers in costumes. A short Halloween parade. Special and excellent fireworks. Trick or treat station set up through out the park. It's very crowded in certain areas; during the parade and fireworks, most trick or treat stations and Space and HM. You can get a lot of candy. Kids as well as adults can wear costumes. With only the party ticket you could enter the park at 3 or 4 pm, and the park was only open to ticket guests at 6 or 7 and closed at 11 or 12am. Special characters will be out.

The season includes massive decoration throughout DL and some in the rest of the resort. A special overlay on Haunted Mansion that stays through the Holidays, and for Halloween Season only on Space Mountain. Extra Villains will be out.

Here is a thread about the Season with many party experiences included.
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2560082

 

[nbliss]

We went for the first time this last October to the party at DL. Tickets were about $50 per person (a little steep if you ask me). I wasn't sure what to expect. It was fun, but I didn't leave thinking "that was amazing". I agree, the fireworks are awesome! My son also got to meet Captain Jack Sparrow, which I think is the only time he is in the park these days. The four of us left the party with 15 pounds of candy. I think we will probably do it again this year, simply because we go mid week October, and it's the only night that we will see fireworks and get to stay in the parks past 8pm. There was some really cool lighting and effects with fog in the park. I would check out the Halloween superthread, it will give you a better idea and get you excited

 

[deejdigsdis]

I went to a Halloween Party with my mom and sisters on a Tuesday night during the last week of October in 2010. I wasn't expecting to have free-reign of the the park crowds-wise, but I was expecting to notice a difference between the daytime crowds and the nighttime crowds -- meaning I expected to feel like the crowds were lower given the supposed cap on tickets that would be sold. (I have no idea how many tickets are sold, by the way.) Anyway...I did notice a difference between the crowd levels. It most definitely felt MORE crowded during the party Tuesday night than during Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday during the day. That part was disappointing. We were checked for wristbands twice during the first 30 minutes of the party. That was it. I felt like that part wasn't monitored very well. Besides the larger-than-expected crowds and the not-checking-the-wristbands, I thought it was a lot of fun and would do it again. I remember people asking "Why don't you just buy a bag of candy at Target instead of wasting your time trick-or-treating during the party?" To me, it wasn't about the candy itself...it was about 2 of my childhood favorites -- Disneyland and trick-or-treating -- colliding. So fun to do that as an adult. I copied and pasted this review from my Trip Report linked below:

Party Thoughts:

*I think they sold too many tickets. Overall it didn't feel like an exclusive event.

*5 hours didn't feel long enough. 6 hours would be better. An overnight party would have been best!

*We only did 6 rides. Wish we would have had time for more. But when I think about it, there's nothing that we DID do that I would have traded out for more rides.

*Definitely not wise to eat dinner during the party if you want to get a lot of stuff done without rushing. (I guess I would trade out eating during the party for more rides.)

*Riding the carousel at night while catching glimpses of all the party-goers in their costumes and the creepy castle was AMAZING. One of my favorite memories from the night.

*Halloween Screams and the Character Cavalcade were worth the effort to see. Excellent! (I guess we didn't really put any effort into seeing the parade. We just walked over to the end of the route when we heard it coming. Not crowded at all. I'm so glad we decided to see it this way instead of staking out a spot on Main Street.)

*Trick-or-treating at Disneyland...yeah, it really is all that.

*Would I do it again? ABSOLUTELY.

 

[Halloweenqueen]

I've been to MNSSHP at WDW many, many times. I've only been to Mickey's Halloween party at DL twice. While I enjoyed both, you really can't compare the two.

First a tip...you can enter the party earlier than the published start of the party. This makes a ticket well worth the cost, if you plan to go in the afternoon anyway. Use this ticket on your arrival day for an example.

Since you asked about DL's party, I'll concentrate on that, making comparisons when appropriate.

The biggest plus to the DL party is the decorations! DL is decorated everywhere, where WDW only has certain decorated areas. The decorations alone make DL worth a stop in the fall, but remember these decorations aren't hidden during the day. You can enjoy them on a regular day.

Parties....The parties at DL seem much more lively and adult. The WDW parties usually have mostly children dancing with the characters.

Character meets...about the same. Expect long lines at the most popular characters. You want to make a plan if this is most important to you. I know some people wait 2 hours plus just to see the dwarves at WDW.

Trick or Treating...remember the candy is the same at every location. And you can go back multiple times. We save the candy gathering to later on in the evening. The lines get shorter and we don't have to haul pounds of candy on attractions. We wait until later in the evening and head over to Critter Country. There is usually no line and my children go back and forth several times to fill up.

The parade...The Character Calvade is sad and tiny parade compared to the fantastic Boo to You in WDW. DL needs a Boo to You like parade to really send the party to WDW standards. I always say they should have a Haunted Mansion themed parade with the characters that are put away to make room for Haunted Mansion holiday. A parade with the hitchhiking ghosts, Master Gracey, The Bride, etc would be awesome!

The fireworks are far better at DL.

If you can take advantage of using a Halloween party ticket as a half day ticket I would highly recommend it. I don't think you should go if your intention is to go trick or treating or just character meets. So much of the party is atmosphere and you can experience this on a regular night. The fireworks are fantastic, but not worth the party price alone.

 

[3Minnies1Mickey]

To address PPs comment about rides: don't go to the party to ride rides. They are the same during the day and any other night.

We really enjoy the party and focus on party specific events: trick or treating, parades, fireworks, special characters and dance party.