rdearth
Ears Earned
- Joined
- Feb 12, 2008
- Messages
- 254
I wouldn't plan on being at MK before the party with a separate ticket, that makes for way too long of a day and might kind of ruin the party for your group if they don't have the energy to go until midnight, but I would definitely do all that I could to be through the gates at 4 pm, which means get on the ferry or monorail at about 3-3:15, get through security and all that and then enter at 4. There is also some chance, depending on the day, that they'll let you in a little before 4.
Not only does it feel like you're getting your money's worth by being in the park from 4 to midnight, there's something really fun about hitting the rides in that extra time between 4-7 pm. A lot of times, the lines are shorter and you can hit some main attractions because people that aren't going to the party are making their way out of the park or at least to the front of the park just like the end of any night in the Kingdom.
It's not for everbody, but it's also pretty fun to walk around the park in costume among other guests that are not. For one, they get a kick out of it. For two, I have to admit it makes you feel kind of special getting that attention and knowing you are going to a special event. It almost feels like you work at Disney for a day. It depends on your personality though and not everyone likes that attention or is comfortable dressing up in costume. And you have to keep in mind the mobility needs and most likely the heat and humidity and your feet. I would say once the party starts probably over 50% of the guests either have a full blown costume on or at least some form of shirt, hat or pin that is Halloween related. It's also possible to change into a quick costume once the party starts.
Our 4-7 pm strategy is to go to rides and not do things that eat up a lot of time, like shows (Philharmagic, Country Bears, that kind of thing). If you have little ones, this is generally an outstanding time to hit Fantasyland and have very little waits.
Our first year, we made reservations at 4 pm and ate in costume in the park. That was fun, but it did take away from some of our touring time. On the other hand, once the party starts, you can't really eat anywhere (at least not easily) and I highly recommend staying until Midnight if at all possible.
You also want to save things like the Haunted Mansion for the party. It's nearly worth the price of admission all by itself. The line forms quickly for it though and it stays pretty long except during parade times and closer to midnight. But if you wait too long, you'll miss the amazing Cast Member who interacts with you while you're in line (can't think of her name).
You need to see one parade, but we've never really been into the villain show on the Main Street stage. We've watched some of it from a distance as we walked past and that's pretty much all we needed. In general, we like stage shows like that because they pull people away from the lines, but some people like them, so that's fine.
Depending on your group, you might also want to end up in Tomorrowland when the party starts at 7 since they do a lot of concert type stuff back in that area and it's a good land to start with and then fan out to wherever else you want to go.
To my knowledge, there isn't any big event on Main Street when the party starts at 7. And you can see all of the effects and decorations when you walk in at 4 just the same as you would if you walked in later (only it's not as dark out). And there's always plenty of time to see these things in the dark when you are walking out at the end of the evening.
We also don't spend a ton of time making sure we hit all the candy stations. If they're convenient to where we are going or not that far out of the way, we definitely hit them, but we don't go nuts about it trying to make sure we hit each one. They're basically all the same and some have crazy lines for some reason, while others have don't.
At this point, if you're not planning on going on Halloween night, I would not stress out about tickets being sold out. I don't think you really need to worry about a month out and even then the non-Halloween night tickets probably won't sell out.
Also, I always make sure that our plan for the next day isn't too taxing. If you go until midnight, you're probably not back to your room until nearly 2 am no matter where you're staying. So, if we don't take the next day off entirely from the parks, I always plan on going to a park that we might have already been to earlier in the week which usually means Epcot and we don't even consider anything close to rope drop and then we just kind of take it easy that day. It all depends on your group and their ages and energy though.
MNSSHP is a blast. Have fun.
for everyone
this seems like a silly question, but can you make ADRs without a reservation? Ie: can I make ADRs for December when the 180 date comes without moving my stay till dec officially????
