We went to the party at
Disneyland on 10/25 and the one at the Magic Kingdom tonight. The MK one was WAY better and WAY less crowded. Despite a slow meal ending at 7:35, we got more done at MK. The ONLY thing I liked better about Disneyland is the trick or treating. At each party, we made it to two trails. At MK, one had two treat stops and the other had one. We left with virtually no candy. At Disneyland, there were so many locations in Toontown we left with enough candy to last a month.
My DH makes us leave right after fireworks, so we never get much done. At Disneyland, we did get a picture with Mickey and Minnie, watched the cavalcade, watched the fireworks and visited two candy trails. At MK, we did the two magic shots by HM, the PP in front of PotC, rode PotC, visited two candy trails, watched the fireworks and watched the parade. I also spent over 15 minutes for my SotMK card before the party started. The CM gave me a card for 2012 and 2013, so I felt special (until I read that others got the same perk).
All four trails had long lines, but only the one through Mickey's House in Toontown moved slowly. It was worth it too, since it had more than double the candy stops as other locations. My son could not get over Trick or treating through Mickey's House either.
Until my husband is willing to stay a little later (hopefully when our boys are older- they're 2 and 6), I would not likely return to either party. We had a fantastic time, but it is a large investment for 2.75 hours (technically 3 at Disneyland, since we made 15 minutes of the Toontown pre-party. We were walking out the gates of both parties by 9:45pm. Thanks to a quick boat at MK and staying on property at Disneyland, we were back to our hotels by 10pm each night too. That was nice.
Everyone should experience the party once if they can. I heard a lady on the bus to the MK inform another lady that she should not have bought a ticket to the party. She was having a late dinner and getting out in time to watch the parade and fireworks. She proceeded to tell her they only check wristbands for rides bad trick or treating. No wonder the parades are so crowded!
The ride lines at the Disneyland party were insane all night on 10/25. I never saw the HM or PotC posted at less than 30 minutes. We did however get a decent spot (second row) in the hub to the 8:30 cavalcade around 8:15.
The ride lines at the MK party were much better. We basically walked onto PotC (less than a two minute wait). Haunted Mansion was posted as 25 minutes, which would have been possible had we not left dinner 35 minutes into the party. Our parade spot was not as great. Despite the much longer route, we were toward the beginning in a second row spot. We arrived at 7:50 for the 8:15. I wonder if arriving at 7:45 would have gotten us a better location or at least the front row.
Lesson. Do not eat dinner after 5pm for an MK party or 4:15pm for a Disneyland party. The Toontown pre party starts at 6pm, so it would have been nice to catch more of that.
