MNSSHP extremely over crowded

[wdisney9000]

My wife just returned from a trip w/ her mother and they attended MNSSHP on a weekday (Tuesday). My wife and I have attended MNSSHP many times over the years and it has always been enjoyable with crowd levels and wait times for attractions that were very tolerable. This year....not so much. She said the crowd was absolutely insane. Way more crowded than any normal day they visited MK. Walking from Frontierland to Liberty Square, she said the crowd was so thick that people were taking a few steps at a time then coming to a complete stop and waiting for the crowd to move. She said it was claustrophobic and quite dangerous had their been a panic and the crowd tried to rush out.

The line for Haunted Mansion stretched all the way to Liberty Square Riverboat entrance. They returned a few times and the line had not gotten much shorter. Long waits for the M&G's and most attractions and 80+ minute waits for the mountains and Peter Pan throughout the night, with the exception of BTMRR which they were able to ride. They also rode Pirates and IASW and that was it. And please keep in mind we understand MNSSHP is not about walking onto attractions by any means. And my wife is far from a complainer, but she has attended the party enough over the years to know the difference when its more crowded than normal. She said crowd levels matched a busy day during Spring Break or a Holiday. She said it was the type of crowd where you get to MK and just decide to leave and come back later or another day.

They did get half decent spot in near Frontierland to see the parade but no headless horseman. They had fun with the candy stations and seeing some really nice costumes but aside from that she said it was miserable. The only thing I could guess is that they are over selling the event or selling way more tickets than normal on some nights. Has anybody else attended the party this year and noticed a difference compared to years past? Or did they just pick a bad night to go? My wife absolutely loves MNSSHP but she said after this experience, she may be done with it.

 

[larryz]

Now would be a good time for one of the insiders to post an actual number as to how many tickets they're selling to MNSSHP and MVMCP.

 

[Tony the Tigger]

I thought I heard somewhere (maybe read here?) that the last AP discounted party of the season was crowded? Was that the one they attended?

That sounds crummy, and that’s part of my hesitation about doing one of these parties. (We’re considering the Christmas party this year.) They’re not cheap. There are no guarantees. And that experience did not sound worth it to me!

 

[Master Yoda]

Now would be a good time for one of the insiders to post an actual number as to how many tickets they're selling to MNSSHP and MVMCP.

Supposedly, the number of tickets sold is/was the capacity of the parade route. I have heard numbers for that capacity being between 20k-30k. No idea if that is accurate, but I have been on sell out nights in the past and it seems to be roughly correct.

Where the problem lies is the majority of the guests there want to do the parade, fireworks, meet and greets and the HM. A sell out or close to sell out night feels really crowded because the parade route and castle forecourt are often packed to capacity for a good chunk of the evening where as the rest of the park (save for HM and the meet and greets) tends to be really light. This is why MK feels more like Christmas day vs an odd Tuesday in September on a sell out part night.

Since more and more parties are selling out or being near being near sellouts, the days of the parties feeling light attendance wise are pretty much over.

 

[pax_65]

Disney is driving up demand for these paid events by not dealing appropriately with crowds and then holding these events which limits the number of nights Magic Kingdom is open late pretty much all Fall. It's getting to the point where if you want to enjoy the MK at night in the Fall, you almost have to buy one of these tickets.

Now that these events are getting too crowded, maybe it's time for Disney to start a "Next Level" exclusive event... if you already paid for a park pass AND you bought a MNSSHP ticket, you can now purchase a THIRD ticket for just $25 that grants you entrance to another special event...

 

[larryz]

Disney is driving up demand for these paid events by not dealing appropriately with crowds and then holding these events which limits the number of nights Magic Kingdom is open late pretty much all Fall. It's getting to the point where if you want to enjoy the MK at night in the Fall, you almost have to buy one of these tickets.

Now that these events are getting too crowded, maybe it's time for Disney to start a "Next Level" exclusive event... if you already paid for a park pass AND you bought a MNSSHP ticket, you can now purchase a THIRD ticket for just $25 that grants you entrance to another special event...

Too late -- they've already done MNSSHP Dessert and Villains Parties.

 

[networkpro]

Too late -- they've already done MNSSHP Dessert and Villains Parties.

The Villains' Sinister Soiree was a little bit more .... as in $99 per person and there were two seatings (but very few slots).

 

[disneyflush]

Some good points here. Is it a case of 'I want as much magic as possible!' with regards to purchasing these event tickets for most people/families? Would opening up another couple of rides alleviate the crowding during the event or is the parade/show focus always going to produce an issue once it goes past x number of guests? My family has never been.

Always thought it would be cool if Monsters Inc Laugh Floor had a holiday themed version that ran during these events.

 

[pax_65]

Some good points here. Is it a case of 'I want as much magic as possible!' with regards to purchasing these event tickets for most people/families?

Definitely. My family and I went years ago. The parade was cool (loved the headless horseman!) It was a fun event, something different to do. But we didn't go specifically to avoid crowds (the crowds weren't that bad back then) or to enjoy the MK at night (they had fewer parties back then so we enjoyed many nights at the MK. It was just for the fun experience. We also felt that it was a little pricey (even back then) and probably not worth repeating. So we haven't done it again.

Always thought it would be cool if Monsters Inc Laugh Floor had a holiday themed version that ran during these events.

Not that long ago, the talk was doing special holiday-themed versions of different attractions to celebrate the seasons in the parks - like Disneyland does with the Haunted Mansion/Nightmare Before Christmas. Wouldn't it be cool if we could just enjoy all the parks have to offer throughout the year with our AP, without having to pay more for a special ticketed event?

 

[LaughingGravy]

Sell as many MNSSHP tickets as people will buy ( no real cap) , make no promises and charge a premium for "limited edition" gear.
Kick out people early who paid for a full day. Charge them an extra premium to park hop to another park.
Charge for parking at the hotels where the parking lots have not changed since opening and are never at capacity.
Yeah!!
People will still come...and they'll do it again.
Repeat.

 

[Maeryk]

The last one we were at they didn't actively start throwing non-ticketed (wristband) people out until well after the event started (hoping for those last minute shopping and eating customers, maybe?) and even then, it wasn't until they got to the front of the line at an attraction that the CM would then have to argue with them for 5 minutes that they weren't allowed to ride, and in one case, finally have to have someone escort them away.

Not sure if they are still doing it that way, but I noticed a marked difference between the one we went to where they shut the park down then reopened it, and the one where they just did bracelets for everyone who had the ticket.

I'm sure logistically and financially, the former is harder on the park and it's employees, but it sure seemed, IMO, to work better overall.

 

[JIMINYCR]

We experienced more crowded conditions than in the pastbut it was expected as the word got out that it was a fun event and more interest grew. We knew Disney might look at the ticket sales as being profitable and extend the numbers sold. They can promote it as limited but limited to what number... we'll never know. The selling point to guests besides the events and special character M&G's is that its limited so they think they are getting in on short lined attractions and events. its still fun and IMHO worth doing. It just requires more patience ands an understanding that you will be doing less than in the past.

 

[Maeryk]

Definitely. My family and I went years ago. The parade was cool (loved the headless horseman!) It was a fun event, something different to do. But we didn't go specifically to avoid crowds (the crowds weren't that bad back then) or to enjoy the MK at night (they had fewer parties back then so we enjoyed many nights at the MK. It was just for the fun experience. We also felt that it was a little pricey (even back then) and probably not worth repeating. So we haven't done it again.



Not that long ago, the talk was doing special holiday-themed versions of different attractions to celebrate the seasons in the parks - like Disneyland does with the Haunted Mansion/Nightmare Before Christmas. Wouldn't it be cool if we could just enjoy all the parks have to offer throughout the year with our AP, without having to pay more for a special ticketed event?

Wouldn't it be cool if those of us who paid for a full park day didn't have to pay extra to attend part of said full park day? That doesn't just affect APs.

 

[LeighM]

We went to the Halloween party in both October 2015 and 2016 and each party was extremely crowded. Both nights were on Tuesdays in October because I read that Tuesdays had lower crowds. I think a lot of other people had the same idea. After the 2016 party, we decided it was enough for us and the crowds were too much for us. We want to try the Christmas party at least once but are done with MNSSHP for a while.

 

[Maeryk]

We experienced more crowded conditions than in the pastbut it was expected as the word got out that it was a fun event and more interest grew. We knew Disney might look at the ticket sales as being profitable and extend the numbers sold. They can promote it as limited but limited to what number... we'll never know. The selling point to guests besides the events and special character M&G's is that its limited so they think they are getting in on short lined attractions and events. its still fun and IMHO worth doing. It just requires more patience ands an understanding that you will be doing less than in the past.

Also, it greatly depends on what is running and what is not at the time. with the riverboat out of commission currently, as well as (from reading what's available), apparently, tiki room, jungle cruise, monsters inc, and carousel of progress closed during the event, you have more people in the street, even if there are fewer people in the park.

 

[pax_65]

The last one we were at they didn't actively start throwing non-ticketed (wristband) people out until well after the event started (hoping for those last minute shopping and eating customers, maybe?) and even then, it wasn't until they got to the front of the line at an attraction that the CM would then have to argue with them for 5 minutes that they weren't allowed to ride, and in one case, finally have to have someone escort them away.

A few years ago we were kicked out of the Magic Kingdom as one of the parties started. Our plan was to take our time leaving, maybe do some shopping. But they were actively patrolling and kicked our non-party-going butts out of the park. Now... I get it... I didn't pay for the ticketed event... I had to leave... but as an Annual Passholder, DVC member, Disney stockholder, and loyal customer who has been to WDW dozens of times, it definitely wasn't a "magical" experience.

 

[macefamily]

Our 'go-to' used to be if we were visiting during NSSH or VMC we would consider our Magic Kingdom trip to be one of those special events. It used to work out well when wait times were 20-30 minutes because crowds seemed much more controlled in the past. We went last year for NSSH and I found it to be super-crowded. We did some rides during the first parade, and we knocked off four rides in the first hour. After that, we were standing and waiting for everything. For those of us who remember the good old days, it's disappointing. But I guess times, they are a changin'.

 

[Touchdown]

Friday October 5th, got in at 3:45
group: my brother and me
-Space Mt (FP) 10 min wait
-Philharmagic 5 min wait
-Splash (FP) 5 min wait
-Country Bears walk in
-Peter Pan (FP) 10 min
-Columbia Harbor House dinner
-Little Mermaid walk on
-Dumbo 5 min
-Shopped at Pete’s silly sideshow
-Pooh Ride 5 min
-TTA walk on
-Pirates 15 min
-Hocus Pocus (40 ish minutes saving a spot on parade route)
-Boo To You Parade
-Hallowishes
-Splash 5 min
-BTMRR 10 min
-Haunted Mansion 5 min
-7DMT 30 min
-Midnight Hocus Pocus

This was simply a break from our Universal HHN trip and our only trip to MK this year so we skipped the meet and greets. I think I got my money’s worth, the place wasn’t too crowded.

 

[Chef Mickey]

It only makes sense that it will get more crowded as Halloween approaches. I went in late August and it was the best money I spent at Disney. It was about 50% the normal crowd.

 

["El Gran Magnifico"]

Was there Sep 28th. Wasn't bad. Only comment is that it's not long enough. They should start this thing at 5pm and go until 1am.

Technically the party goes for 5 hours. I've got 2 small children who WANT to meet the characters so a good 2 hours is spent in line for characters, then add in another two hours (10pm - 12am) for Hallowishes, Hocus Pocus, Boo to You plus a little shopping.....it leaves about an hour to an hour and a half for everything else. I might be able to hit a quick ride while navigating the treat locations. But usually I'll use my AP and get in about 2 and line up some FPs before the party starts.

Back to the OP...I think what you have is intense crowds around the hub starting with the early parade and extending all the way until the late parade. Walking around the various lands isn't to bad. I didn't experience the wait times you referenced. The longest line was for HM. I did walk on Splash with a 5 minute wait and if memory serves I believe Space was about 20 min.