MNSSHP 2015 - Be Prepared For Chaos

[LadyDiznee123]

Don't stress. We hit our last party last night. It was sold out, but we never felt like it was horribly crowded and we had a great time. We had a wonderful dinner at BOG at 4:35, got out just before 6 and went to check the Dwarfs line and it was not horribly long. They came out at 6:45 and we were done right about when the party started. Walked right up to Terk, she left after us and wewere told to stay put a few minute and TArzan, Jane and Terk all came out together. Walked up to Jafar. We were over in Storybook Circus and Cruella and Jack and Sally's lines weren't any busier than on the non sold out nights we were there, I thought they looked shorter. Minnie, Daisy and Donald's line was insane again- longer than Jack and Sally or Cruella's line. Some trick or treat lines looked long , but we saw others with no wait. All a matter of location I think. We had no trouble getting a front row spot for the 2nd parade in the town square area about 5 minutes before the headless horseman came through. You can still have a great time!


So another instance of party merchandise being sold elsewhere, we saw the poison apple mug being sold at AK today.

Wonderful! Thanks so much for sharing this. This is going to be my first party and it's good to get a variety of perspectives on this. Since I have no other prior party to compare it with, I am expecting to enjoy it just as you did! I refuse to expect disappointment.

Thanks so much for sharing!

 

[ktlm]

Wonderful! Thanks so much for sharing this. This is going to be my first party and it's good to get a variety of perspectives on this. Since I have no other prior party to compare it with, I am expecting to enjoy it just as you did! I refuse to expect disappointment.

Thanks so much for sharing!

You are welcome! I don't know if you have really little ones who can't stay up that late, but if you can, hit the late parade, and if you don't get a good spot for the hocus Pocus show earlier, then the midnight show is the least crowded. Also if main street turns out to be too crazy for you for fireworks, back by the carousel/new Fantasyland area is a great spot because they are all around you.

 

[LadyDiznee123]

You are welcome! I don't know if you have really little ones who can't stay up that late, but if you can, hit the late parade, and if you don't get a good spot for the hocus Pocus show earlier, then the midnight show is the least crowded. Also if main street turns out to be too crazy for you for fireworks, back by the carousel/new Fantasyland area is a great spot because they are all around you.

Thanks for the tips! The good part is no kids! I don't have kids and it's my first SOLO trip! So this is going to be a til closing adventure for me. I'm getting my every dollar's worth! lol. Can't wait!

 

[mickey1968]

Thanks for the tips! The good part is no kids! I don't have kids and it's my first SOLO trip! So this is going to be a til closing adventure for me. I'm getting my every dollar's worth! lol. Can't wait!

One of the best things about solo touring is that even when it is crazy like at the parties it is easy for you to dart in and out of the crowds like a Ninja!

 

[larryz]

The trick-or-treating wasn't bad at all! I have attached a pic of my kid's haul in one hour so you have a frame of reference.

Nothing shabby about that haul!

 

[JaxDad]

Nothing shabby about that haul!

I will trade all my Tootsie Rolls for the Smarties, Butterfingers, and/or Whoppers!

 

[LadyDiznee123]

One of the best things about solo touring is that even when it is crazy like at the parties it is easy for you to dart in and out of the crowds like a Ninja!

lol. Don't I know it!

 

[erinmarie82]

We did the Christmas party in mid-November last year, and it was so crowded, that I probably will never do another party night again.

 

[LadyDiznee123]

Hi everyone - this thread has been so helpful to me in planning I wanted to join to add my review. Like the poster above we also went last night (10/9) but we thought it was terribly crowded. Maybe not 2pm in the summer crowded but much MUCH busier than previous years. Our last party was Christmas 3 years ago and this was nothing like that. Main St and the castle forecourt were no-go areas the whole night. We couldn't get close to watching the show there - any of them. We got to the park at 5:45 (had to drive there after school so that was the soonest we could make it) and we were able to use a fast-pass to get on Space Mountain which was standby of 40 mins. This dropped to 25 mins once the park closed at 7 but it never really got below that. It was 20 mins during the fireworks as an example. Buzz was 10 mins for most of the party and rides like Small World and Winnie were walk-ons but others had waits that I wasn't expecting - well before reading this thread anyway! Snow White was 40-50 mins all night. We went on it right after the last parade at 11:45pm - the wait time posted was 30 mins but it took only about 20mins to get on. Splash Mountain was down all night as far as I could tell but Thunder Mountain was only 10 mins most of the time. The longest wait we actually did was the Haunted Mansion that was 25 mins posted and took every minute of it.

My kids aren't so much into the characters but we did meet Lotso (no wait) and Buzz (5 mins). The other characters I couldn't tell you about. The second parade was packed but we did manage to score some decent spots about 15 mins before because a scooter person got moved on and we slipped in to their spot. Otherwise we would have been out of luck.

The trick-or-treating wasn't bad at all! I have attached a pic of my kid's haul in one hour so you have a frame of reference. I was unable to find Werther's or Peeps despite much effort. Somebody told me they ran out but I have no proof that that fact. There were a couple of places were there should have been stations that were deserted. We didn't start trick or treating till 10pm but the kids hit it pretty hard. The station by Tomorrowland raceway was empty and they were able to go through multiple times. The trail was also not busy - we hit that right before heading to the parade.

So all in all - this will be my last party. If you're like me (obsessive lol) and get to the park at rope drop and have all rides done by 11 then you're going to hate the crowds. It's a shame because the parties used to be amazing!

Nice Candy Haul. Can't wait to get mine. Only a couple going in my mouth.. the rest I will save for the gang at work.

 

[MomtoDisneytrips]

I have a question about Be Our Guest Dinner on a party night. If someone has a reservation for 9:25PM and fireworks are at 9:30PM can we check in at 9:40PM? Will they close check in at 9:30pm?
30

 

[jhaig]

lol. Don't I know it!

Especially in a ninja costume

 

[vinotinto]

I have a question about Be Our Guest Dinner on a party night. If someone has a reservation for 9:25PM and fireworks are at 9:30PM can we check in at 9:40PM? Will they close check in at 9:30pm?
30

Fireworks are at 10 pm.

 

[MomtoDisneytrips]

It showed 9:15 castle show 9:39 fireworks

 

[Rigby]

We were at our first party on Columbus Day and I was concerned after reading some recent reviews. We had the best time! Got to do everything we wanted, saw the parade, fireworks, and hocus pocus show and hit every major ride sometimes twice. It was amazing. If you've been stressing like I have Don't! You're going to have a blast!!!

 

[pmaurer74]

The last Christmas party we went to, we only saw the 7 Dwarves, the parade and the fireworks... I was disappointed in the lack of things we were able to do.. some of it were my kids being young but mainly the line were so long and we lined up for the Dwarves an hour early. This is my plan for the MNSSHP:

6:15ish line up for Alice in Wonderland characters (this is what we are dressing as so it is a priority) do they allow you to line up early?
7-7:45: Cruella De Ville and hit two ToT
7:45 - 8:20: head to frontierland via Peter Pan/It's a Small World route and hit a few Tot
8:20-9:20: parade
9:20-9:40: Jafar and/or Tarzan & Jane (hoping since the parade just went through the line may not be long?
9:40 - 10:20: fireworks by Crystal Palace area
10:20? - IF we are still awake and not tired.. Tomorrowland Dance party and Lotso


Is this doable?

 

[vinotinto]

It showed 9:15 castle show 9:39 fireworks

What is "it"?
The castle projection is at 9:45 and fireworks are at 10. This is different than previous years.

 

[CarolAnnB]

The last Christmas party we went to, we only saw the 7 Dwarves, the parade and the fireworks... I was disappointed in the lack of things we were able to do.. some of it were my kids being young but mainly the line were so long and we lined up for the Dwarves an hour early. This is my plan for the MNSSHP:

6:15ish line up for Alice in Wonderland characters (this is what we are dressing as so it is a priority) do they allow you to line up early?
7-7:45: Cruella De Ville and hit two ToT
7:45 - 8:20: head to frontierland via Peter Pan/It's a Small World route and hit a few Tot
8:20-9:20: parade
9:20-9:40: Jafar and/or Tarzan & Jane (hoping since the parade just went through the line may not be long?
9:40 - 10:20: fireworks by Crystal Palace area
10:20? - IF we are still awake and not tired.. Tomorrowland Dance party and Lotso


Is this doable?

1. They definitely let you line up early. There were 2 separate lines for Alice characters on Tuesday: one was Alice and Mad Hatter and the Queen of Hearts was separate. This was around 7:40 and then about 5 minutes later we were told they were taking a break til 8:15. I think half hour breaks are a bit excessive during a 5 hour party, but Pooh and friends were also on break for that long so apparently that is what they do.
2. We had lined up for Cruella around 6:15 and were first in line. She didn't come out til around 7:15-7:20 which was VERY annoying when you have been waiting that long, then it eats into more of your party time. Same thing happened to us on Monday for Jafar, they said he would be 20 minutes late so we did not wait for him. We did wait for Cruella and she was great.
3. Parade starts at 8:35 in Frontierland so I don't know how great a spot you will get if you don't get there til 8:20?
4. We were up by the Partners statue for fireworks so I don't know what Crystal Palace are is like
5. Tomorrowland dance party was fun. Mike and Sulley were leaving as we got there but they were back in 5 minutes. We were dressed as Mike, Sulley, Boo and Roz so that was a definite for us. We also met Lotso after that. Kind of a long wait. He spent a LOT of time with one group of teen girls dancing to the Cupid Shuffle or whatever was playing at the dance party. I know no one is a fan of the "love and shove" meet, but when there are 40 people in line you have to be reasonable and move things along.

I felt the same disappointment you felt about your Christmas party. We had booked 2 MNSSHP to be able to do everything and we still could not. One good thing was opening Jack & Sally at 5. We got wristbands at 4 and went right there to line up, were done by probably 5:15-5:20.

We all loved the Hocus Pocus show, parade and fireworks.

 

[BigMommaMouse]

1. They definitely let you line up early. There were 2 separate lines for Alice characters on Tuesday: one was Alice and Mad Hatter and the Queen of Hearts was separate. This was around 7:40 and then about 5 minutes later we were told they were taking a break til 8:15. I think half hour breaks are a bit excessive during a 5 hour party, but Pooh and friends were also on break for that long so apparently that is what they do.
2. We had lined up for Cruella around 6:15 and were first in line. She didn't come out til around 7:15-7:20 which was VERY annoying when you have been waiting that long, then it eats into more of your party time. Same thing happened to us on Monday for Jafar, they said he would be 20 minutes late so we did not wait for him. We did wait for Cruella and she was great.
3. Parade starts at 8:35 in Frontierland so I don't know how great a spot you will get if you don't get there til 8:20?
4. We were up by the Partners statue for fireworks so I don't know what Crystal Palace are is like
5. Tomorrowland dance party was fun. Mike and Sulley were leaving as we got there but they were back in 5 minutes. We were dressed as Mike, Sulley, Boo and Roz so that was a definite for us. We also met Lotso after that. Kind of a long wait. He spent a LOT of time with one group of teen girls dancing to the Cupid Shuffle or whatever was playing at the dance party. I know no one is a fan of the "love and shove" meet, but when there are 40 people in line you have to be reasonable and move things along.

I felt the same disappointment you felt about your Christmas party. We had booked 2 MNSSHP to be able to do everything and we still could not. One good thing was opening Jack & Sally at 5. We got wristbands at 4 and went right there to line up, were done by probably 5:15-5:20.

We all loved the Hocus Pocus show, parade and fireworks.

Thanks for this write up, give me ideas on how to plan. The only characters on our list is Jafar and Alice with the Mad Hatter.

 

[derryprenkert]

We were at a sold out party last night. Had a blast! We arrived at 4 pm and did fp+ for Mickey, Tink and Buzz. Ate supper at Columbia Harbor House. If you want a fun spot to sit and enjoy the costumes, go upstairs and sit at a window on the overpass. So many creative costumes!

We never felt the crowds. We hit a ton of attractions (All Tomorrowland and Fantasyland except 7 Dwarves and princesses, all mountain). Walked on every one except Philharmagic... Just timed it bad... and Pan (10 min right at the end). Had great spot by Casey's for the fireworks and outside Liberty Tree for late parade then hit the final Hocus Pocus show and stood nearly front with very small crowds.

We did not do any of the unique characters as our kids were just uninterested. I honestly think this is where the crowds and stress comes from. I totally understand why people want to get to these, but that's where all the lines were. Just wanted to let those of you reading up on this know our experience.

Oh, and the candy. Hit every spot (some a few times). I jokingly told DW I wanted to get one-ticket price worth of candy... We tried our best:

 

[Disneylover99]

We were at a sold out party last night. Had a blast! We arrived at 4 pm and did fp+ for Mickey, Tink and Buzz. Ate supper at Columbia Harbor House. If you want a fun spot to sit and enjoy the costumes, go upstairs and sit at a window on the overpass. So many creative costumes!

We never felt the crowds. We hit a ton of attractions (All Tomorrowland and Fantasyland except 7 Dwarves and princesses, all mountain). Walked on every one except Philharmagic... Just timed it bad... and Pan (10 min right at the end). Had great spot by Casey's for the fireworks and outside Liberty Tree for late parade then hit the final Hocus Pocus show and stood nearly front with very small crowds.

We did not do any of the unique characters as our kids were just uninterested. I honestly think this is where the crowds and stress comes from. I totally understand why people want to get to these, but that's where all the lines were. Just wanted to let those of you reading up on this know our experience.

Oh, and the candy. Hit every spot (some a few times). I jokingly told DW I wanted to get one-ticket price worth of candy... We tried our best:View attachment 129854

Great haul!