MNSSHP - Tips for last minute

[mekay1012]

I just booked the party for Tuesday. Any tips or must dos for the party? Best place to see parade and fireworks? Any must have snacks? I’m a huge planner, so this last minute thing is driving me crazy.

 

[Dean1953]

Look in this section , at the top where it says “doing the happy dance.” In it, there is a thread for MNSSHP stradgy and planning.

 

[Best Aunt]

https://www.disboards.com/threads/o...een-party-a-spooktacular-celebration.3665880/

 

[Selket]

• Biggest tip is that the 2nd parade is much less crowded so if you'll be staying that late - then I'd hit the 2nd parade.
• I'd plan to watch the fireworks from the hub - I think they're better there. You don't need to see the castle so straight on like for the regular fireworks. The Halloween ones don't have the same projections on the castle - the projections aren't detailed pictures like HEA.
• I think you can show up fairly close to when the fireworks happen and stand and get a decent spot - 30 mins before would be plenty and 15 mins is probably enough.
• I'd spend party time doing stuff unique to the party - and not on too many rides - except the rides with special overlays for the party (Space M., Teacups, Pirates). The Haunted Mansion is fun cause the CM's really dress up - and the man and woman outside on the carriage are great fun to watch.
• I really enjoy trick-or-treating but that's up to you if you like it lol - try it.
• If there's a special character you want to meet, then some need a lot of planning (Jack and Sally for example - you can spend 2-3 hours in that line but you can get in line very early - as soon as you get your wristband).

 

[dancin Disney style]

You have to decide if you want the focus to be on the party specific things or on just an evening in the park (which means rides with somewhat short lines) with a few party things woven in. The fireworks can be seen from many different places and you really don't need to be in the hub. There is very little projection on the castle. We had a great spot on the bridge to Tomorrowland including a seat and arrived only about 5 minutes before it started. There are also great spots in the Liberty Square area. The second parade is also very easy to get a spot for without waiting more than 10-15 minutes. Remember that the Headless Horseman goes through approx 10 minutes before the parade starts if you want to see him.

Overall, the best plan of action is to be very well informed on how the special party events run and have a plan of action.

ETA: The special ride overlays are enormously disappointing. It literally felt like they tossed it in the day of. They could have done SOOOO much better, in particular on PoC.

 

[TJA]

Depends largely on what your priorities are for the party. We are a family who does not do the character lines, but instead focus on the no-wait rides, trick or treat when there are no lines (like 9pm-ish), and we LOVE the parade. We are not parade people at all, but the MNSSHP parade has always been our must-do since we started going years and years ago. We went to the 2nd parade and got a front row spot in Frontier Land about 15 minutes before the parade. For reference, this was on Aug 28 and it had rained earlier in the evening which may have affected crowd level.

As far as the fireworks, we do not find a spot to watch. There are not a lot of Castle projections, so we don't feel the need to be near the hub. We stopped for a few minutes to watch from wherever we were in the park when they started.

As far as snacks, my DD had the candy corn milkshake and thought it was pretty good. Though she thought it mainly tasted like vanilla/marshmallow, she still enjoyed about half of it, while my other DD and DH shared the rest. It was SUPER cute and very nicely presented, but I'd recommend sharing one if you were interested in trying that.

Hopefully they'll work on the 3 special ride overlays for next year and keep improving because it's a really cool concept. We did go on Pirates and my DDs thought it was neat seeing the different things they incorporated, so I'd say it was worth the ride. Helps that there was no wait too!