I hear so many people raving about MNSSHP, and I was so excited to go last year… and then it was a total let-down. It was crazy crowded, the lines for rides weren’t short, the lines for candy were long… I guess I’m just not seeing the appeal. What am I missing?
Candy- lines were long, I can buy the same stuff at home
Rides- lines were a little shorter than during the day, but not dead like DAH
Villains- I’m not super in to character M&G’s
Special treats to purchase- I did enjoy some of these, but there’s only so much a person can eat…
Adults in costumes- yeah, I have no desire to dress up, and it’s not a highlight for me to watch other adults dressed up either.
Parade- the parade was cute.
Fireworks- also a good show
What do you guys love about MNSSHP? What brings you back again and again?
Last time I went, it was not real crowded, only did two rides; no trick or treating, no character M & Gs. Pretty much there for the entertainment. I enjoyed it, but confess if it was super crowded I would not want to be there, especially for those prices
I went in 2017 and would go again, but I don’t think it’s a must-do. I absolutely loved the parade, loved the fireworks, and loved that you could meet rare characters (we did Winnie the Pooh and friends in their Halloween costumes- I’m a sucker for characters dressed up). It was a fun night, but we’ll be there this fall and aren’t doing it. It’s a lot of $$$ for something that seems to be more and more crowded.
my husband and I are planning an anniversary trip to WDW Oct 31 thru Nov 5th, and i’d like to attend the Nov 1 MNSSHP… DH is on board too… i wonder how the crowd will be since it’s after halloween night, but day of the dead still applies… halloween is my favorite holiday!!!
We are doing it for the first time, but part of a long weekend where we won’t get park tickets that day (and are only buying 3-day passes so the 4th day would have been a considerable amount). Given it’s only costing us around $20 more than a park day and we can enter at 4 and spend the rest of the day doing resort meals/pool/etc., seemed like a good chance for something different this trip.
For me, it’s the parade, fireworks and the Magic Shots. This was also the first party DH and I went to on our first trip to Disney so it is now an annual event. But, we schedule it for our arrival day so we are doing that in lieu of buying a park ticket for the day.
I long for the days of my 2003 visit to MNSSHP when most rides were walk-ons or less than 10 minute waits. We are planning to skip the party this year.
I actually went twice last year - two different trips with two different groups and both wanted to go. I went October 5 and 25th. Not sure why but I had way more fun at the second one. Two possible ideas – the first one was a Friday and felt more crowded and was also MUCH hotter. The second one, although closer to Halloween, was a Thursday night and it was perfect weather. The lines were much shorter for everything, including candy. We rode Splash Mountain 3 times without getting off. We also sprang for the fireworks dessert party on the 25th and that was awesome – we had a place to sit and were allowed to come and go before the fireworks started – we snuck in some shopping and a ride on the peoplemover and still got a front row seat.
Honestly I think it’s great to do with people who haven’t been before or in certain circumstances – like for us the party was on our arrival day and we didn’t buy a regular park ticket that day so we got a lot done for a little less money. In the case of the Oct. 5 trip, it was my friend’s daughter’s first time to the World and we only had four days total, so that was our MK “day.” She was also all about finding the Halloween treats and she’s a frequent DLR visitor so we mostly hit the rides that are much different than the California versions.
If I were down for a week and it was only me and others who have been before, I’m not sure I’d spring for it again. Although as a side note I collected enough candy on the 25th that I didn’t have to buy any to give to trick-or-treaters, so that’s worth what, like ten bucks?
We went Sunday Oct 28, 2018. Our ride lines were very short - except for 7DMT (45 min). We even rode BTMR several times in a row because the lines were 5-10 min long. We did not wait for characters though as our primary purpose was rides. None of us are huge Halloween fans, but my daughter and I enjoyed dressing up. We liked it so much we are doing it again Oct 2019.
