I’ve been told that going to MK on a party day is great. So we plan on taking advantage of the CL1 on our 1st MK day. My question is what happens during the witching hours (pun intended) of 4-6pm. I know the crowds will increase but what other things should we be prepared for? I’ve got all our character meet & greets before 4pm on my TP. Btw, we’re not staying for the party. Any advice, tips, etc.
We are in the same boat. Our first day is a MK MNSSHP day with a CL1. We plan to bail and go to Epcot around 4 when the crowds start to increase.
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That is what we are doing as well in Oct.
I’ve been in MK on MVMCP days and left as the crowds arrived–they had CMs blocking foot traffic in places and heading people toward the exit if they were without party tickets but aside from a mini-exodus toward the exit while crowds were entering, it was no real difference for us.
Depends what you have planned for the evening and whether you want to go against the tide on your way out
QUESTION - what is the day /date that you are going?
I can give you better information with that question answered. But let me put some of the other information out here for you now, as we’ve been going to this party since 2015.
It’s kind of odd as it gets closer to 7 you start seeing cast members set up what are essentially ways to shuffle non partygoers out of the park. The party doesn’t start till 7 so if you plan to leave by 6, it won’t even affect you.
If you are Die Hard and plan to stay until they kick you out of the park at 7, what will happen is you’ll have to start going through these I don’t know what to call them dates made of ribbon held by cast members? Essentially the kind of line this ribbon and then let people that are wearing party bracelets go through the center however if you’re not you get pulled to the side so you can’t go forward in the park, while cast member explains that you’re going to have to head to the front of the park and exit as they’re getting ready to start a party.
A lot of people start entering the park for the party can do so at 4 p.m. . Some of these people will be heading right to lines in odd places. They are waiting to meet a character that is only out for the Halloween party, like Jack Skellington and Sally.
I wouldn’t worry so much unless you’re going to stay until it’s time to leave. But I’ve been researching the heck out of this party for years, have you really happy to give you any more information if you should request it.
I’m no expert, but we love this party. We’re paid to go 3 times this year. Can’t wait is it time to go yet?
Hope you have an amazing time!
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I would honestly just be planning to leave around 4/5. It sounds like that is when your TP wraps up anyway. You certainly don’t have to rush out at that point, but if you want to hop this gives you a good dinner time plan anyway. If you are leaving at this time, I can’t think of anything you really need to worry about. You may even be better off transportation wise because a lot of people will be arriving and the buses/ferry/mono will be running a little more.
If you do stay later, one thing I can think of is you may start seeing the party merchandise come out in the stores and you won’t be allowed to buy it without a wristband. Just might want to be aware if you think maybe your kids would covet a Halloween party shirt or something!
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@imaginette We are going on 9/18. if that helps. My TP has us finishing right around 5:30 but honestly, this is our first trip so I don’t know how well we will follow it. So it sounds like it’s best to start heading toward the exit and not linger. We’re coming back the next night for HEA and evening EMH, so we can linger then! Thank you for your advice.
@melcort10 Interesting tip knowing that you can’t even buy Halloween merch w/o a party band. Not that I had even thought about that but good to know!
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It TOTALLY helps!
Tuesdays are generally the best days (aka - less visitors) early in the season for MNSSHP. So it may not get crazy busy on 9/18… you could PROBABLY hang out until 6:30pm with no issues. It’s kinda fun to see the people in costumes coming into the park, btw, so it’s no worries if you go a little over - have fun!!!
ALSO - the TP calendar shows that day as level 1 (lucky you!) for Magic Kingdom, so that should be fun.
@imaginette I squealed with delight when I got the updated CL email a few weeks ago!! I checked our resort’s act calendar from Sept 2017 & they had a campfire on Tues evening. So if they do that again, that’ll give us something to look forward to as we leave MK that afternoon. Thanks for your advice!
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