Last night I attended the 25th Anniversary and Beyond Bash at Magic Kingdom. The official event time was from 9:30pm - midnight, but I showed up around 7pm to get dinner and do a couple fast passes (Haunted Mansion and Space Mountain). Wishes was at 8pm, so I also saw that before the party actually began. I checked in for the event around 8:30 near Stitch's Great Escape in Tomorrowland and was given a wristband. I attempted to grab a 25th anniversary button early, but was told they wouldn't be giving them out until 9:30 so I went to do a few rides in the meantime.
Cast Members started checking for wristbands at 9pm, at which time I started riding a few rides with short wait times. I rode Dumbo and Little Mermaid, got my button, and started roaming around to find out what exactly the party had to offer. As I discovered, there was a dance party in Tomorrowland, which I expect would have been fun for the kids. There were also some unique characters out for meet and greets, but with extremely long lines (which is to be expected, I guess).
The refreshments came out right at 9:30pm, although there did seem to be some confusion in Fantasyland about where the tables were supposed to be placed. I expected something similar to the Halloween and Christmas parties, but the refreshments were actually more self-serve. There was water, lemonade, chips, chocolate chip and sugar cookies, as well as ice cream (although the ice cream lines were long).
Some of the ride lines stayed long throughout the night, although shorter than during a normal day, obviously. By the time I left, the line for the Mine Train was still about 40 minutes long. I did leave before the fireworks though since my dogs had been at home alone the whole time I was gone and I was honestly pretty drained by 11. Everyone I've talked to has raved about the fireworks though, so I'm guessing they were pretty awesome.
All in all, I did enjoy the party and the fact that it was a free event was definitely a plus! Honestly, I had expected a little more from the 25th anniversary bash. I do wish the entire park had been open instead of closing off Adventureland, Frontierland, and all the stores except the Emporium, but the shorter lines were nice. I was also surprised that there was no special merchandise available for sale! I definitely would have purchased something if it had been available.
Was anyone else there last night?
Cast Members started checking for wristbands at 9pm, at which time I started riding a few rides with short wait times. I rode Dumbo and Little Mermaid, got my button, and started roaming around to find out what exactly the party had to offer. As I discovered, there was a dance party in Tomorrowland, which I expect would have been fun for the kids. There were also some unique characters out for meet and greets, but with extremely long lines (which is to be expected, I guess).
The refreshments came out right at 9:30pm, although there did seem to be some confusion in Fantasyland about where the tables were supposed to be placed. I expected something similar to the Halloween and Christmas parties, but the refreshments were actually more self-serve. There was water, lemonade, chips, chocolate chip and sugar cookies, as well as ice cream (although the ice cream lines were long).
Some of the ride lines stayed long throughout the night, although shorter than during a normal day, obviously. By the time I left, the line for the Mine Train was still about 40 minutes long. I did leave before the fireworks though since my dogs had been at home alone the whole time I was gone and I was honestly pretty drained by 11. Everyone I've talked to has raved about the fireworks though, so I'm guessing they were pretty awesome.
All in all, I did enjoy the party and the fact that it was a free event was definitely a plus! Honestly, I had expected a little more from the 25th anniversary bash. I do wish the entire park had been open instead of closing off Adventureland, Frontierland, and all the stores except the Emporium, but the shorter lines were nice. I was also surprised that there was no special merchandise available for sale! I definitely would have purchased something if it had been available.
Was anyone else there last night?
