Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party 2019

Bastet

Active Member
We did this on the 24th sept, last time we did it was 6 years ago (havent been to wdw in that time). Parade was excellent, fireworks a bit meh, nice to meet some rare characters but SO crowded, just seemed like a normal day
 

networkpro

Well-Known Member
In the Parks
Yes
Am I missing the positive experiences or have people only had bad experiences? My family bought tickets and will be down in three weeks but I am wondering if I should return the tickets and do something else.

My wife and I were at the party on the 6th of September and had a fun uncrowded experience. We always choose days where the following day is a school/workday and earlier in the year as the crowds are less. The closer you get to Halloween the larger the crowds get.
 

trainplane3

Well-Known Member
Here at the 10/3 party. Obviously wasn't a sellout and crowds have been nice so far. Haven't waited more then 20 minutes for anything. Did SM, PotC, BTMRR, and HM. I definitely was lucky from the sounds of it.
 

Goodeone

Active Member
My family has tickets to the party for the 31st. I fully expect it to be a sold out evening, but I'm hoping the fact that it isn't eligible for the party pass may stop it from being oversold.

I've been to MNSSHP a couple of times, but not since 2011, so I'm trying to keep my expectations in check for crowd levels.
 

SoFloMagic

Well-Known Member
For those that were at the crowded parties... did you guys send a complaint to guest services? Because if you haven't yet then I definitely would so they could be made aware people aren't happy about this and (hopefully) change it
I was at a sold out party a couple days ago and had a great time. We met a bunch of characters (ended up with like 35 photopass photos in total for the night), saw both parades and fireworks, and each got a full bag of candy. We had plenty of time to just walk around and enjoy the party, and got to try a couple fun treats too. We prioritized party-exclusives over rides. WDW has gotten more crowded, but if you go into it with reasonable expectations you can still have a great time!
 

DryerLintFan

Premium Member
For those that were at the crowded parties... did you guys send a complaint to guest services? Because if you haven't yet then I definitely would so they could be made aware people aren't happy about this and (hopefully) change it
I was at a sold out party a couple days ago and had a great time. We met a bunch of characters (ended up with like 35 photopass photos in total for the night), saw both parades and fireworks, and each got a full bag of candy. We had plenty of time to just walk around and enjoy the party, and got to try a couple fun treats too. We prioritized party-exclusives over rides. WDW has gotten more crowded, but if you go into it with reasonable expectations you can still have a great time!

I agree with SoFlo. I did not complain because while the crowds were heavier, it really didn't impact our good time. We had an enjoyable party experience. We rode a lot of rides, ate ice cream, watched the parade and fireworks from good positions. The only time the crowd impacted our evening, really, was when we were trying to get from one side of the park to the other. It was like walking through a swarm of bats. Nobody has any situational awareness.

Would I love Disney to be less crowded, in general? Yes. Would I love the parties to be less crowded? Yes. Worth complaining about? No.
 

ToTBellHop

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Part of the reason people aren't enjoying themselves is a total failure on their part to plan their evening accordingly. It is entirely possible to ride almost all the attractions, meet a character, watch the parade, fireworks, and Hocus Pocus. People just aren't willing to put in the effort.
Yes. It’s not that hard to check the entertainment schedule and make a game plan. We had a wonderful time. Honestly the fireworks were the low-point. I just liked Hallowishes better. More optimistic for the Christmas show since the old one was already saccharine sweet. How can they screw up Christmas carols with fireworks? JUST KEEP OOGIE BOOGIE OUT!
 

Timmay

Well-Known Member
Part of the reason people aren't enjoying themselves is a total failure on their part to plan their evening accordingly. It is entirely possible to ride almost all the attractions, meet a character, watch the parade, fireworks, and Hocus Pocus. People just aren't willing to put in the effort.
I planned for a significant amount of time. Knew where each and every special food item would be, knew all the show times and locations, each “overlay,” every trick-or-treat location...had everything planned out. My ROI was disappointing, at best.
 

DryerLintFan

Premium Member
Part of the reason people aren't enjoying themselves is a total failure on their part to plan their evening accordingly. It is entirely possible to ride almost all the attractions, meet a character, watch the parade, fireworks, and Hocus Pocus. People just aren't willing to put in the effort.

We went into the evening without a game plan and we had great fun. That doesn't make it any less valid that the park was more crowded during the party than it was at any other time during our week long trip during the day.

Yes. It’s not that hard to check the entertainment schedule and make a game plan. We had a wonderful time. Honestly the fireworks were the low-point. I just liked Hallowishes better. More optimistic for the Christmas show since the old one was already saccharine sweet. How can they screw up Christmas carols with fireworks? JUST KEEP OOGIE BOOGIE OUT!

I really didn't care for the fireworks either. I kept hoping my daughter would grow bored with them so we could leave, but she didn't. I loved Hallowishes. This year's show was just.... dumb. It was like a disjointed episode of Scooby Doo.
 

MotherOfBirds

Well-Known Member
Part of the reason people aren't enjoying themselves is a total failure on their part to plan their evening accordingly. It is entirely possible to ride almost all the attractions, meet a character, watch the parade, fireworks, and Hocus Pocus. People just aren't willing to put in the effort.

It's not all about that. For us, it was the overall experience of being in the park. There was not enough space to maneuver or rest, which in turn made people more rude and aggressive than normal. The cast members seemed stretched thin, too.

As much as I dislike MNSSHP creeping into August, I can definitively say that my experience at the first August party last year was significantly better than two weeks ago.
 

fngoofy

Well-Known Member
We did this on the 24th sept, last time we did it was 6 years ago (havent been to wdw in that time). Parade was excellent, fireworks a bit meh, nice to meet some rare characters but SO crowded, just seemed like a normal day
Glad to hear about the 24th. We were there on the 27th (it was sold out) and we thought similar, parade was ok, fireworks were great, and it was very crowded. Glad to hear, because I was thinking we should have gone on the 24th. Glad to know it would not have made a difference.

I think we are done with these for a few years. I wish I could get the rest of my family on board with going in the summer, but they say it is too hot.
 

"El Gran Magnifico"

Bring Me A Shrubbery
Premium Member
About 6 years ago, it was capped at about 25,000 people. Average day at MK is about 50k. The cap has most likely increase.

(These numbers are from 2012-2014, they have changed)

The variable here may be the Annual Pass for MNSSHP. It'd be kind of hard to anticipate that volume. I'd wager many locals may opt for that - and hit a series of parties. My guess would be that Friday and Sunday would be prime for that.

So that if the cap was 25,000 and 7,500 additional passholders show up on any given Friday or Sunday - then you've got 32,500 in the park. Yes, less than a "normal" day. But Navigating the park within a given time frame, the M&G's, Parade, etc... - it will make a difference.

My recent experience at the 9/22 party was still enjoyable for the most part. Just not as enjoyable as in the past.
 
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Schema

Member
My family and I attended MNSSHP on Sunday, October 6th. We arrived around 4:20 PM, received our wrist bands, followed the path to the right to receive our bags and Mars Wrigley packs they were handing out, and then rode a few rides for which we had Fastpasses. We then had dinner at Columbia House while we waited for the party to officially start and for crowds to improve after the day guests left. They did get a little better, but not much. To echo what many have said in this thread, we felt like it was very crowded, especially to be a Sunday night. We had not attended a party in about four years and it just felt like there were a whole lot more people than there were at the party several years ago. The lines for candy were crazy long early in the evening, so we didn't go to a candy station until around 9:30 and we only went to three total. Oh, there was one station at the Carousel of Progress giving out GoGo Squeeze Apple Pumpkin Spice that had almost no one in line, so that was nice.

We skipped the first parade so that we could wait in line for a ride. We then watched the Not So Spooky Spectacular. It was fine, but we all agreed that we liked Happy HalloWishes a lot better. It started raining after the fireworks, and while this was a bit of a bummer, it really helped with crowds. We walked back towards Frontierland to find a good spot for the late parade. There was no Headless Horseman, which we were assuming was because of the rain. Then, towards the end of the parade, the Buzz float died. There was a gap of time where Buzz and all characters behind him had to stand in place and improvise while they scrambled to bring out a vehicle to hook up to it and pull it along the course. As we were leaving at midnight, we saw that the float was sitting on the left side of the hub. We weren't sure why it was parked there and not taken back stage. We guessed that maybe there was some damage that wouldn't allow it to go any farther.

As soon as the late parade ended, we speed walked over to Big Thunder Mountain and rode it twice. The first time, it was only a 10 minute wait and the second time, there was no wait. We tried to get in a third, but we got to the entrance at 12:02 and they had the rope up. Thanks to the rain and the late hour, it was a nice way to finish the evening since almost everything we did earlier in the party required a long line.

We went to WDW specifically to attend this party. If this is the way they are going to be from now on, I will not do that again. If a WDW trip happens to coincide with a party in the future, we may see about attending, but I'm not going to make a special trip just for the party. I didn't feel like it was worth it. That doesn't mean that we didn't have a good time, because we did. It is just that I don't want to pay that much money for the party, accommodations, travel, food, etc. if they party is going to be that crowded.

Oh, to end on a positive note, we really enjoyed the totally dark Space Mountain. I had forgotten about it, so it caught me by surprise and I really liked it. It helped me forget about all the time I spent waiting in line to get on it.
 

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