First MNSSHP - Oversold?

[bethbuchall]

Good advice. I actually stopped into guest relations before leaving the park that night. I am usually pretty easygoing about managing experiences and expectations (and we visit every year, so we don't worry too much about missing things). But I felt that this event was very far from what was advertised.

It was a bummer because we had looked forward to the party the whole trip - it was on our last night. We ended up exhausted, frustrated, and let down - not how we wanted to feel as we left WDW.

I wish I had stopped by guest relations. It was crazy that night, and it was our last night, too. I went to my first party last year, and this was such a different experience. I had my husband (who doesn't do well in big crowds) and son for their first party, and it was definitely a disappointment.

 

[SarahC97]

I wish I had stopped by guest relations. It was crazy that night, and it was our last night, too. I went to my first party last year, and this was such a different experience. I had my husband (who doesn't do well in big crowds) and son for their first party, and it was definitely a disappointment.

That sucks. I'm so sorry it was such a disappointment for you all.

 

[bethbuchall]

That sucks. I'm so sorry it was such a disappointment for you all.

I probably sounded a little too harsh. It was a disappointment, but we did still enjoy ourselves. It did feel like I couldn't move around the park much at all. Fortunately, I insisted on picking out our spots in Frontierland for the second parade really early (my husband complained that we were "wasting time" until he saw how it filled up). I will say that the treat lines were long, but they really loaded us up with candy at each stop. Last year, they gave my daughter and me only a piece or two at each stop. I was more disappointed because I talked this event up so much to my husband, and it ended up not being what I thought. Around 5:00pm, he was already complaining about the crowds. I told him that they'd drop dramatically by 7:00pm (because they had last year), and he pointed out that everyone that we could see was wearing a party wristband. So, I told him that I heard that the first party had a lot of bloggers and media, so at least the ride and treat lines would be short...and then they weren't. But it wasn't completely unenjoyable. And the CMs were fantastic!

 

[Farro]

Well I'm gonna be "that" person, but we went to two parties - one in late October in 2014 and then again in late October 2017. A Sunday and a Thursday.
We noticed NO difference in crowds. In fact if anything, the candy lines last year were non-existent! The only walkways that were slightly crowded were by Main Street. Walked on all rides with the exception of Mine Train, we didn't go on it. Got a seat about 20 minutes before the first parade right on Main Street.

The hard to get characters always have lines, it's not new.

Hopefully someone reads this post and continues to look forward to their party!

 

[HopperFan]

There is no such thing as "oversold" when Disney does not promise a set number of tickets will be sold. We as guests are at the mercy of Disney any given party because as long as they are under legal park capacity they can sell as many tickets as they want. WHEN they decide they are done selling tickets that day, they proclaim sold out and put up the sign in front. Honestly, they could proclaim every night is sold out ...

I started going to MNSSHP in 2006, 2 parties a year, through 2015. In about 2013-14 I noticed the parties has gotten noticeably bigger the last few years. I used to go to at least one "sold out" party each year ... often a Friday but I will say most my weeknight parties were also sold out. We were still able to make it on rides with no lines (and that was before New Fantasyland was added), we could easily meet a large number of characters, we managed two bags of candy each, watched the parade, the fireworks and the stage show ... which afterwards we were able to meet the villains because they came off the stage. By 2013-14 ... it had changed. Rides had lines, sometimes no different than daytime, candy lines were longer and a few years they gave out crap for candy, characters seemed not just fewer but their sets shorter making it very difficult to do more than a couple, second parade was no longer easier to see than the first parade and I can't tell you the last time we made it to sit the front row. The saving grace was the new Hocus Pocus show - it's one of the best Disney has put together.

In 2015 I decided we weren't going at all. Other than Hocus Pocus the party had not changed since 2006. Same fireworks and same parade other than a character change on the candy float. When you add in the increasing crowds and ever increasing prices, I was having a hard time justifying going again. BUT my DS1 loves the parties so I did take him to 1 party in 2016 and 2017. Last year I got excited about the new special Haunted Mansion desserts but instead we went to several listed locations only to be told "sold out" ...........

I will be taking him again this year because it's really important to him. I have accepted we won't go on any rides because we aren't going to waste the time in lines when there is party stuff. We don't let him trick or treat at home anymore so this is his chance. When I try to justify it I just compare it to a dessert party and then YES I can well get my monies worth compared to those. If I were going for short lines and low crowds ... I wouldn't be going.


PS: Also note the first party is almost always a cluster. Not only are all the bloggers there but MANY of the CMs are BRAND NEW on the job, barely trained and for sure have no idea how to run a party. If Disney were smart those first few parties they would severely limit the tickets to let the CMs get in the groove .... but the money.

 

[Shanti]

I can only give a personal reaction but we were at the party and thought the crowds were ridiculous. It felt as busy as mid-day. There were long lines for everything, including rides (and it didn’t help that the Mine Train was down).

I heard people complaining everywhere. I spoke with several party veterans (while waiting in long lines) who said they had never seen party crowds like this.

My research had assured me that crowds would fall off as it got later. Nope - the second parade was packed.

One of my sons left at 8:30 because he just couldn’t take the crowds. We splurged on the party after years of thinking about it. It was a huge disappointment.

Yikes! We're going on Friday and I hope it's not like that.

 

[Shanti]

I mean there WERE walkon rides like Flying Carpets and Under the Sea... But popular rides were more... BTMR and Splash were 10-15 minutes, even though line was long it moved fast due to no FP line. Space Mountain was 20ish.

That's a good point about no FP making lines move faster. I really notice the difference with that during EMH, too. So at least that will be a consolation, if it is crowded on Friday.

 

[GADisneyDad14]

PS: Also note the first party is almost always a cluster.

Surprised this comment hadn’t been mentioned yet. If I dig around enough I can probably find a number of past bad “first party” threads that tend to pop up this time of year or at the first of any special event (the first DAH night this year comes to mind).

Not using that as an excuse or anything, just an observation. Whether it’s park clearing, crowd management, etc, always seems like something at a first party that leaves some guests with a bad impression.

 

[HopperFan]

Surprised this comment hadn’t been mentioned yet. If I dig around enough I can probably find a number of past bad “first party” threads that tend to pop up this time of year or at the first of any special event (the first DAH night this year comes to mind).

Not using that as an excuse or anything, just an observation. Whether it’s park clearing, crowd management, etc, always seems like something on first party that leaves some guests with a bad impression.

And with the parties starting even earlier this year ... the DCP CMs have literally just started. Many are deer in headlights and not prepared for working at Disney let alone a party. At least when parties started in September most the Fall kids had been there almost a month.

 

[Love Tink]

Surprised this comment hadn’t been mentioned yet. If I dig around enough I can probably find a number of past bad “first party” threads that tend to pop up this time of year or at the first of any special event (the first DAH night this year comes to mind).

Not using that as an excuse or anything, just an observation. Whether it’s park clearing, crowd management, etc, always seems like something at a first party that leaves some guests with a bad impression.

Yes, I have a feeling that being the first party and on a Friday, the crowds at this one were probably worse than they will be tonight, for example.

Of course, that doesn't help those of us there last week...but it should offer comfort to others whose trips are still ahead.

 

[Ladyfish77]

I think it will be interesting to see how the next few parties are described. We're headed to WDW in December and were thinking of doing the MVMCP. Now I think I'll wait and see how the parties look after the first ones before even considering spending the $$ on the party.

 

[madscrapper]

My daughter and I were there as well and thought the night was way too crowded. I was expecting it to be more crowded that previous MNSSHP events that we have been to, mainly because it was opening night. But this was more than I expected. We didn't even try for candy until the last hour as the lines that we saw were way too long. Many of the higher-demand rides were 45 or more minutes, and just walking around was tough at times. Yes, we had fun but I would rethink attending again. The lines and crowds were not worth the cost.

 

[juuuliebeth]

If you're looking for low crowds and the Halloween Festivities aren't the big draw of MNSSHP, visit during a party day. Especially if you can arrive early. I can't recommend it enough.

I was at MK during the day on Friday and left around 3:30pm or so. I arrived for the 7am EMH and got about 18-20 attractions done, as well as a long lunch at Skipper Canteen. I rode 7DMT around 9:30am with a 25 minute wait. And that was 2.5 hours after guests were let in! I either FastPassed or walked onto everything else. Found a good spot for the parade in front of the castle right at 2pm. One of the best Magic Kingdom days I've ever had!

 

[hereforthechurros]

If you're looking for low crowds and the Halloween Festivities aren't the big draw of MNSSHP, visit during a party day. Especially if you can arrive early. I can't recommend it enough.

I was at MK during the day on Friday and left around 3:30pm or so. I arrived for the 7am EMH and got about 18-20 attractions done, as well as a long lunch at Skipper Canteen. I rode 7DMT around 9:30am with a 25 minute wait. And that was 2.5 hours after guests were let in! I either FastPassed or walked onto everything else. Found a good spot for the parade in front of the castle right at 2pm. One of the best Magic Kingdom days I've ever had!

Currently struggling with this! We will be at Vero Beach and wanted to come up for MNSSHP one of the nights. However between the overcrowding reviews and the low daytime crowds (TP shows MK as a 2 on the day were are eyeing up!) I’m considering just going during the day with a regular ticket to enjoy the decorations and treats that are available.

 

[MIAMouseketeer]

If you're looking for low crowds and the Halloween Festivities aren't the big draw of MNSSHP, visit during a party day. Especially if you can arrive early. I can't recommend it enough.

I was at MK during the day on Friday and left around 3:30pm or so. I arrived for the 7am EMH and got about 18-20 attractions done, as well as a long lunch at Skipper Canteen. I rode 7DMT around 9:30am with a 25 minute wait. And that was 2.5 hours after guests were let in! I either FastPassed or walked onto everything else. Found a good spot for the parade in front of the castle right at 2pm. One of the best Magic Kingdom days I've ever had!

That's just it. I WAS interested in the party festivities. In fact, we didn't plan on riding any rides once the party started because we wanted to partake in the party. With it being so crowded, we immediately adapted and changed our plans. We have a toddler, so the rides he likes had short lines. Walk on for small world, 10 minute wait for Barnstormer. But we even had about an 8 minute wait for the PeopleMover. We had a Magic Kingdom day on Sunday and it seemed less crowded than Friday night and we enjoyed ourselves so much more. I hope for others sake, this was a first party issue. If not, I think Disney has raised capacity so much that the party just isn't what it used to be and we would think twice about doing it again.

 

[TISHLOVESDISNEY]

I will say I too was surprised at the crowds. I expected it to be crowded, just not as bad as it seemed for the first 2 hours. We didn't hit candy lines until after the fireworks. The usual "lower" character lines were long too. We did Splash and BTMR with under 10 min waits each.
Now, we didn't plan to ride them, but changed our plans when the crowds were crazy. After fireworks, things seemed less crazy, we got our candy bags filled to the tops, and enjoyed our night.

 

[anomamatt]

Every MVMCP and MNSSHP party I have been to has been what I consider quite crowded (all of which have been 2016-present). This seems pretty consistent with the reports here, that the parties are crowded. And we have also gone each christmas week since 2016, so I know what it means to be in a crowded park.

We went to the first MNSSHP last year and it was super crowded. We were told by GS it was sold out (as an aside: people here dispute that it was actually sold out). Anyhow, the lines for everything were pretty crazy last year.

But we still go to the parties... for the atmosphere, for the parades, for the special fireworks... we don't go anymore expecting to ride a lot of rides with no wait and we usually don't want to wait in the long M&G lines.

That said, I'm not sure what "oversold" means... WDW has never posted a limit or expected party size, so whatever they sell is what they sell. It's not oversold by any standard definition of that word.

 

[sharonabe]

Currently struggling with this! We will be at Vero Beach and wanted to come up for MNSSHP one of the nights. However between the overcrowding reviews and the low daytime crowds (TP shows MK as a 2 on the day were are eyeing up!) I’m considering just going during the day with a regular ticket to enjoy the decorations and treats that are available.

You'll be able to enjoy the decorations, but there aren't any treats during the day. Not sure if that matters or not, but didn't want you to be disappointed.

 

[hereforthechurros]

You'll be able to enjoy the decorations, but there aren't any treats during the day. Not sure if that matters or not, but didn't want you to be disappointed.

I read there were a couple available at Main Street Bakery and that the zero waffle sundae would be at Sleepy Hollow as all day treats. I’ll have double to check that! We are going in mid October.

 

[Love Tink]

That said, I'm not sure what "oversold" means... WDW has never posted a limit or expected party size, so whatever they sell is what they sell. It's not oversold by any standard definition of that word.

"Oversold" is not being used here in reference to a specific or promised number. People are not making an argument that the attendance violated a contract.

"Oversold" refers to so many people being admitted to the party that the party is no longer able to provide a quality experience. If you allow in too many people, you cannot deliver on the experiences that the party is supposed to include. It is actually a very standard use of the word.

Of course, you could also say the party was "oversold" by another standard definition - as in the advertising that PoC would allow one to "join some rookie pirates on their search for 'Gunpowder Pete.'" when really it entailed one guy yelling "I'm Gunpowder Pete!" as you sailed beneath him.