MNSSHP, which day to attend?

[ebjjst]

Our flight will arrive at the Orlando airport at 6PM, and we're staying at the Port Orleans Riverside Resort. MNSSHP will be held on the night we arrive, a Thursday, and the following Saturday. My question is: will we have time to get to the resort, check in, and then get to the Magic Kingdom by 7-7:30PM? Or should we just wait until that Saturday night? We'll be there at the end of September; two adults, and no children. However, one of the reasons we chose this time of year was to attend MNSSHP. :wave:

 

[pacochran]

Generally I would say avoid the Saturday night, the weekends are busier and sell out more than the weekday, at least the couple of times we went in October a few years ago. But with the flight I think you might get to the party later than 7 to 7:30, with the flight (if it's on time) then getting transportation and dealing with traffic getting to the resort, checkin in and then catching the buss to MK you might be pushing it imo.

 

[JillC LI]

I would go on Saturday if only for the reason that your party ticket allows you entry to the MK at 4pm even though the party starts at 7pm, so you'd be losing out on 3 hours of park time for the money. But that's just me. Plus, you're talking about late September when not as many people are in Halloween mode so I would expect it to be less crowded than, say, a Saturday night at the end of October.

 

[dreamfinder]

I would do the Saturday party. It may be a bit busier. but I think it works better for you. You didn't say if you were renting or using DME. Renting a car you had a little more freedom in going straight to the park, but still Making it there for 7 would be very close, if not impossible. Using DME you would be lucky to get there by 8 or so.

As a PP said, they typically let party guests in at 4, so you would be wasting 3-4 hours of paid for park time.

 

[ClemsonTigger]

Generally I would say to avoid Saturdays if possible, but with your visit being late September, you should be OK. Thursdays are much better, but I don't think you would do yourself any favor by rushing it on your arrival date. Even if timing worked well (and assuming you are using a rental car or private car service), the earliest you could get into MK would be 8-8:30, later if you were planning on costumes.

Go with Saturday and enjoy the event at a much more leisurely pace.

 

[milewis78]

Definitely hit it on Saturday. I don't think there is anyway you could make it to the park at 7 if your flight gets in at 6pm. As far as crowds go, I have never really considered the park crowded any night for MNSSH. I have been on Halloween, weekdays, and weekends and have never had trouble getting on rides(except for Peter Pan, it seems that ride is on a perpetual 50 minute wait). Be sure to watch the parade, in my opinion it is the best parade that Disney does.

 

[corey154]

If it was me, I'd choose Saturday, what if your plane was late arriving on thursday..i'm pretty sure those tickets are non-refundable. plus the drive from the airport to the parks is about 20 minutes alone, so by the time you get off the plane, get out of the airport and on the road you'd still be pushing it.

to be honest with you I went on halloween last year, which was a night the party was sold out and the crowds weren't bad at all. most of the rides were walk on, yes the trick-or-treat lines were long, but we didn't go for the candy. So I think even though it's a Saturday night I wouldn't worry too much about the crowds.

just my two cents...lol