To MNSSHP or to not MNSSHP...

[BradChristian]

To MNSSHP or to not MNSSHP...

Hey Guys! I'm an AP who is preparing to come down for my second trip of the year this September. Our first 'no kids' trip!
My plan for the first day (Sunday - September 9th) for a while now is to do Brunch at the Top at the contemporary, relax at the resort, and then head to MNSSHP that night around 4-5pm
My wife has a 4 day ticket (for use Monday-Thursday), and the 5th day would be covered with the MNSSHP ticket as it would be after 4pm when we went into Magic Kingdom.
I do enjoy the Boo to You Parade... but Hallowishes could be enjoyed outside the park. We could watch from the California Grill where we had the brunch earlier in the day.
My wife would not be interested in the candy at all... and we aren't stand in line to meet a character people.

We both appreciate the movie Hocus Pocus, but I've seen the stage show before. My wife has not, but this is definitely not a must do for her.

Really the big draw outside of enjoying 'the party atmosphere' would be getting to ride pirates with the live actors. I'm a little nervous about the line for this, but we may be ok with it being an early party and there not being any fastpass users during that time.

With my wife already having a 4 day ticket... If we don't do MNSSHP we are looking at $20 to upgrade to an additional day - and we could just go to MK during the afternoon (or another park) and leave at 6.
I'm trying to figure out if the additional $120 for the party is worth it?
Thoughts?!

 

[wfjny]

A hard question. I suspect you will have an equal number of people telling you to go to the party, and those telling you to skip and use the money elsewhere.

As an AP holder, a big part of me feels like I have already paid to get into the parks, why pay again, especially when the net difference is only a few hours.

However, we did the Christmas party years ago as we were meeting up with friends who were going on a cruise, and their only day in the parks was for the Christmas party.

All in all, the extras were nice, the lines were short. But as an AP holder, not sure the short lines were worth the money. It was nice, but do I really care if I went on 7DMT 14 times last year or 15 times. I think you really want to concentrate on the things you cannot normally do. The parade and the hot chocolate were nice touches, but that was a lot of money for a free hot chocolate.

On the flip side, you will get to see a few things that you don't normally get to see, and since the AP is already paid for, your cost of tickets for "This Trip" is not that bad. At least that is how I justified it to myself.

In the end, I would say you should try it once. You really won't know for sure until you try it...

 

[gharter]

We did MNSSHP as an AP holder a year ago. We really enjoyed it a lot. The parade, fireworks are different. The stage show is really good. However, we are not going back to it this year, but will in a few years. I think if you have not been to it, it is definitely worth doing once.

 

[BradChristian]

A hard question. I suspect you will have an equal number of people telling you to go to the party, and those telling you to skip and use the money elsewhere.

As an AP holder, a big part of me feels like I have already paid to get into the parks, why pay again, especially when the net difference is only a few hours.

However, we did the Christmas party years ago as we were meeting up with friends who were going on a cruise, and their only day in the parks was for the Christmas party.

All in all, the extras were nice, the lines were short. But as an AP holder, not sure the short lines were worth the money. It was nice, but do I really care if I went on 7DMT 14 times last year or 15 times. I think you really want to concentrate on the things you cannot normally do. The parade and the hot chocolate were nice touches, but that was a lot of money for a free hot chocolate.

On the flip side, you will get to see a few things that you don't normally get to see, and since the AP is already paid for, your cost of tickets for "This Trip" is not that bad. At least that is how I justified it to myself.

In the end, I would say you should try it once. You really won't know for sure until you try it...

Exactly... On Facebook many folks are pointing out how short the lines are for the rides... but as an AP - its the 'extras' that I would be interested in. I didn't mention the extra effects in Space Mountain and I'm really thinking that would be fun to see in addition to Pirates and all.

 

[BradChristian]

We did MNSSHP as an AP holder a year ago. We really enjoyed it a lot. The parade, fireworks are different. The stage show is really good. However, we are not going back to it this year, but will in a few years. I think if you have not been to it, it is definitely worth doing once.

I did MNSSHP the year Hocus Pocus premiered (3 years ago? 4 years?)

Very little has changed at the party, but the ride 'enhancements' during the party do sound intriguing. Disney may have won me back with those simple upgrades.

 

[gatorlisa]

We did MNSSHP last year on our first trip with our APs. We enjoyed it. We did get some candy, but not a ton. The only character meet we did was Donald Duck, because we had had our photo with every other Donald Duck the previous day when we did 4 parks in a day and I wanted Halloween Donald to complete the set. We didn't do the parade or the shows, and only caught part of the fireworks as we were walking through Tomorrowland. That said, we really enjoyed ourselves. We liked the much less congested feeling in the park, the late hours (which you really only get in early September if you attend a party), and the very short, sometimes non-existent, lines for the rides. We're going back this September, still on our APs, and already have our tickets for the party.

 

[MomOTwins]

The only benefit for us was getting to ride more rides on our short 3-day trip last year at a crowded time. But as you say, that is not a huge draw for you, and September crowds likely won't be terrible anyway. I like HEA better than the specialty fireworks, I'm not crazy about desserts, and while I think I might enjoy the parade theoretically, the crowds to view the parade were sooooo bad, we stayed for about five minutes on our first trip, and skipped it altogether on the second trip. Since you don't have kids though, you could take advantage of the lower crowds at the second parade. The other thing I would point out is that since you are going just as adults, you might prefer something like world showcase that is more adult-centric on your 5th day, especially given the lower cost. Another option could be a water park on the extra day.

I'm not going to give you a recommendation because I think it is a bit of a toss up, just some observations.

 

[markb681]

Like the Xmas Party its a one and done IMO....IF they would cut the amount of tixs sold in half...then it would b worth it... plus they allow the day people far to much time to exit the park...and all the hard to find meet/greets are backed up for hours!

 

[Grapicosoda]

We went 8 years ago and still talk about how much fun it was! We are going back Late September this year with my kids now and can't wait to do it again! I say go for it!

 

[rentayenta]

Fun but a one and done. Give it a try!

 

[CampbellzSoup]

Just do it...

 

[BradChristian]

We did MNSSHP last year on our first trip with our APs. We enjoyed it. We did get some candy, but not a ton. The only character meet we did was Donald Duck, because we had had our photo with every other Donald Duck the previous day when we did 4 parks in a day and I wanted Halloween Donald to complete the set. We didn't do the parade or the shows, and only caught part of the fireworks as we were walking through Tomorrowland. That said, we really enjoyed ourselves. We liked the much less congested feeling in the park, the late hours (which you really only get in early September if you attend a party), and the very short, sometimes non-existent, lines for the rides. We're going back this September, still on our APs, and already have our tickets for the party.

Excellent point... Parties are the only 'late night' option in the fall for sure...

 

[BradChristian]

The only benefit for us was getting to ride more rides on our short 3-day trip last year at a crowded time. But as you say, that is not a huge draw for you, and September crowds likely won't be terrible anyway. I like HEA better than the specialty fireworks, I'm not crazy about desserts, and while I think I might enjoy the parade theoretically, the crowds to view the parade were sooooo bad, we stayed for about five minutes on our first trip, and skipped it altogether on the second trip. Since you don't have kids though, you could take advantage of the lower crowds at the second parade. The other thing I would point out is that since you are going just as adults, you might prefer something like world showcase that is more adult-centric on your 5th day, especially given the lower cost. Another option could be a water park on the extra day.

I'm not going to give you a recommendation because I think it is a bit of a toss up, just some observations.

Solid observations... We are set for EPCOT the next day... but an evening in World Showcase could be nice for sure.

I was shocked at how crowded the parade was when I did MNSSHP awhile back. Perhaps watching in Frontierland could help... I was on Mainstreet and then Near the castle for the two parades I did. Wondering the park with lower crowds could be fun as a first day experience...

 

[BradChristian]

Like the Xmas Party its a one and done IMO....IF they would cut the amount of tixs sold in half...then it would b worth it... plus they allow the day people far to much time to exit the park...and all the hard to find meet/greets are backed up for hours!

Since I've done MNSSHP before... I was really leaning this way. It would be my wife's first time, and they are adding the space mountain and pirates new elements. If they had not added the new content I would 100% be doing something else for sure.

 

[Missyrose]

We went 8 years ago and still talk about how much fun it was! We are going back Late September this year with my kids now and can't wait to do it again! I say go for it!

Just a warning, the party will feel very, very different than it did eight years ago.

 

[OhhBother]

We do the Halloween party every year. It's my favorite thing at Disney - love seeing the costumes, love trick-or-treating, love the music, the parades, the fireworks... Last year, we went to two parties in one week. We'd do the same thing this year, but our nights are going to be full with DAH and Moonlight Magic.

 

[bluejasmine]

We go as just adults for the party feel, the extra lights and actors and things they have out for the party and the smaller lines, the parade is exceptional, I am not a parade fan but the Boo To you parade is great! You can get a good bit of candy if you keep going through the lines if you wanted to. I think both the MNSSHP and MVMCP is a must do atleast once. I am a HUGE Christmas person but I favor the Halloween party more