I have gone ahead and booked this for later in May and I will leave a review.
Hopefully, someone will be able to leave a review sooner.
The CM told me that you can drop kids off as early as 5pm, but the festivities don't kick off until 6pm.
I did have to pay in full at the time of booking. For my two children, it came out to $138 and some change.
Also- characters will be there, however, the characters that are onsite on any particular evening are subject to change.
Pizza, chicken nuggets, burgers, fries and some healthy options will be available to the children, but meal time is served at a specific time (maybe 6:45, I think).
As I mentioned, I will give a detailed report later this month. Hope this helps.