We plan to visit MK on a day when MNSSHP is happening but not attending the actual party. The park closes at 6pm. We are ok not being able to stack LLs past 6pm since we have small children and they are usually very tired by then.
My questions for you:
What happens at 6pm? Do we get escorted out? What if we get in line for something at 5:59pm? What happens then?
Can we still stay for an ADR at 6pm?
Are there sections of the park that become off limits prior to 6pm?
They start checking for party bands right at 6. If you’re still in a line at 6 they won’t clear you out of it, but they will not allow you into anything past 6. This includes stores and whole lands. I would not risk making a dining reservation after 6 in the hopes of getting in. If you’re still in the restaurant at 6 they won’t kick you out, but when you leave your options will be slim on trying to stay in the park.
You can hop in line right at 5:59 just like you can at park close.
Prior to 6pm, they will open a trick or treat trail behind Main St that you won’t have access to without a party band. In 2019 they also closed Tiki Room, the characters in Storybook Circus, and Tink (?) early to allow for lines for Moana, Seven Dwarfs, and Jack and Sally, who all began meeting before the official 7pm party start time. Not that any of those are huge attractions… Without a band, you won’t be able to enter these lines even though they start early.
Agree with PP about ADRs. You can make one for 6pm and be in the area to check in as the park closes. But, don’t try to get deeper into the park to make it to an ADR after the 6pm official close.
This. And you start to get turned away from everywhere. Cannot enter shops either. They aren’t unkind, but they do a good job of making it a little uncomfortable to stick around.