DH, DS14 and I will be arriving two days before going on a Halloween on the High Seas 7-night Disney Cruise in October. I plan to attend MNSSHP solo on the Thursday before the cruise.
What’s my strategy for MNSSHP? I plan to enter MK at 4:00, get Casey’s corn dog nuggets and the new apple/snickers churros, and hit some favorite attractions (Buzz, COP, People Mover, HM, Big Thunder). I was just in the parks in May and have ridden Tron and don’t plan to spend an hour of the party waiting in that line. Characters are not a focus since I can get that on the cruise. My focus will be party exclusive events and snacks.
Do I watch the first parade, then fireworks, and Hocus Pocus Villain Spectacular in that order or do I wait for the second parade and do the midnight Hocus Pocus?
If I watch the parade from Frontier Land vs Main Street, will I miss anything?
Where should I watch the fireworks? Can I show up about 15 minutes before and watch from Main Street rather than jostling for space in the hub for “optimal” viewing?
I’ll also watch the Cadaver Dans, ride Space in the dark, and hit a few trick or treat spots.
Give me your best strategies and Must Do/Eat/See list.
Always go for the first parade in case of weather. If it’s rainy, Headless Horseman will not ride, so if the weather is good for the first one, grab that in case that changes. You should watch from Frontierland, and if you can position yourself almost right across from Liberty Tree Tavern or Diamond Horseshoe, you’ll get a great view of Headless as he takes the right turn before Columbia Harbor House to head into the hub. You want to be on the RIVER side if possible. We snagged a great spot right up on the rope about 25 mins before the parade began, and had no issues whatsoever; it did fill up soon after we arrived though.
Yes then this. Watch from the hub if you can because there is some stage stuff that happens. We watched from the right-hand side of the hub, just near the entrance to Fantasyland, since that’s where we were headed next. That was a great spot and allowed us to make our next move (to WTP meet and greet) effortlessly. I think we only got to that spot around 15 mins ahead. As a solo traveler you can get a spot almost anywhere you like at any time; much easier than finding a spot for your group of 4+
After we watched the parade and then fireworks, we met some characters (WTP) and rode some things. We went to the very last Hocus Pocus show
Must eat: if they have those buffalo chicken hand pies over in Adventureland definitely get that. Those were delicious!
We LOVED our M&G with Captain Jack Sparrow, which was the first thing we did and with almost no wait.
Just FYI the Halloween “overlay” (lights out completely) doesn’t start til the party starts. But if you don’t care about that (and I wouldn’t worry about it again personally) definitely a good one to tick off your list before the party begins, especially if you’re in that area anyway.
These are all great! I’m doing it solo for the first time in September. I’m already planning on being in Frontierland for the parade, but hadn’t considered the weather issues!
Here’s what I have planned. Please give any advice!!
So you’re not really eating at Cosmic Rays but using it as a Tron placeholder?
If you are then Sleepy Hollow 2hrs later feels a little soon
I would definitely “pencil in” the early parade… you’ll be in that vicinity anyway and can tweak a couple of things if need-be. If there’s ANY chance of rain later you won’t want to do the second one because Headless won’t ride.
Yesterday the TP would only give a 5 minute wait for Tron. That’s why I put in Cosmic Ray’s. Today, the wait was there, so I was able to take that out. (Does Cosmic Ray still perform? I remember his maintenance issues in the past.)
Because of the accurate Tron wait time working, I had to move other things around as well. I have decided to focus on the seasonal offerings more than anything else now. I have Tomorrowland as my main area for the night. I feel like I should get to do everything I want.
If it goes well, I’m considering doing MVMCP in December. My idea is to focus Adventureland then!
If you are up for the hub for the parade and fireworks, this spot and tactic gets you a terrific view of the whole thing:
First time I used this spot, I had just wandered up aimlessly with a snack while the sisters show was on - then as I stood eating off of the dining table, er I mean garbage can, I noticed the CMs come to set up poles and essentially guarantee me a clear view.
After parade, everyone sort of cleared out and I wandered up to one of the fences in the hub to easily grab my fav HEA spot - no one in front of you because of the garden and I don’t think people were trying too hard for a fireworks spot yet.
I would be at the bus stop for 3 at the absolute latest. That way you’re there by 3:30 or so and can be front of pack. It gets very line-y and squish-y the closer to 4pm you get.
And from there I’m going to the right behind Main Street to get my wrist band? Or should I avoid that crowd and pick it up in Tomorrowland (which is where I’ll be headed first).
I’m leaving Universal around 2pm to get over to the TTC as close to 3pm as possible!
I have done MVMCP. There were a bunch of CMs slapping wristbands on people pretty much as soon as you got through the turnstiles… (along with the designated areas)
They’ll give you your wrist band right after the taps, before you even go under the train tunnel. I would not skip it and then be forced to backtrack after. It takes seconds.
They’ll direct you to the pathway that goes between Tony’s and the Confectionery (usually closed) to get your trick or treat bag and I think also just to mitigate the huge influx of people onto Main Street.
