Crowds During MNSSHP

[Going2HeavenRU]

We are going to attend the MNSSHP for the first time this year. Since there are only a limited amount of tickets sold for the event and arm bands are required, are the lines and crowds really better than during regular park hours?

An additional $50 per person is too much to pay to stand in long lines and in packed streets IMHO.

[Kenny1113]

We have gone twice, two different years. I have found the crowds to be much better, especially for the rides! I know someone who went and wanted to see characters and said the lines for characters were outrageous. for us it is not an extra $50, we use that as our day at MK. I love MNSSHP, but I also love halloween, too.

[GottaLvDisney]

We've only been once so I don't exactly have tons of experience with it, but we didn't think the lines were bad at all. We didn't try to see any characters, so I don't know about those lines.

We had a great time and plan to return again this year :mickey:

[GrmGrninGost]

We have been to several MNSSHPs. :mpumpkin: The ride lines have been very short at all of them! The later it gets, the shorter the lines are as a rule. Like a lot of people though, we hardly ever ride anything during the party. We trick or treat, watch the shows and look for characters. They have a lot of characters out who are almost impossible to find except for at the party. All in all, the MNSSHP is my most favorite time to be in the MK! :mickey:

[TheMartellFamily]

We feel that it is worth the extra money to go trick or treating in the MK with the kids. The crowds are sometimes quite heavy in the early evening but nothing that given time thins out. By the end of the evening we are able to stay on rides and go again since there is no one in line. One time we rode Splash 4 times in a row since we were the only ones there. We have noticed that on all nights Halloween evening has been the busiest.

[g8rgirl29]

We went for the first time last year with our DD4. We had a great time, lines were short and moved rapidly. The longest we waited was for a picture with Cinderella's carriage. It really was the best parade I have seen in MK!! The fireworks were amazing. I was hesitant about the cost of admission but found it to be worth every penny!! We plan to do this again this year!!

[Gregandmel]

We went for the first time last October and didn't have a great experience, but we would give it another try. We went right at opening and it was PACKED as people were trying to get in the gates. It was ridiculous. It also started POURING POURING POURING within about 10 minutes of arriving, and it lasted over an hour. We were soaked and partially miserable due to the rain and wet shoes and socks. A few rides were down and we had already had a long day at HS so between the initial crowds, the downpour, wet shoes and being tired, we didn't really enjoy it the way we "could have". In fact, DS #2 (8 yrs) fell asleep during the last parade and missed ALL of it. I couldn't wake him up! ha ha. So - if we go again, we plan on arriving closer to 8pm instead of at opening, and have a quieter day the "day of" so we aren't pushing it. Can't do anything about the weather though. From everythign I"ve read on these boards, it's an AWESOME experience and worth the $$, we just hit an "off time" I think. So - my advice would be (depending on the ages of your kids) to make sure not to overdo it during the day, as the kids may be wiped out by 8pm and just want to go to bed! And if you want to avoid a bit of the mad rush at the beginning at 7pm, either get there earlier (I think you can actually get into the park closer to 4pm if you have a ticket) or wait until the crowd thins out a bit closer to 7:30pm. Have a great time - I really think it'll be worth the $$ for you.

[Disney Doll]

We tried MNSSHP last year for the 1st time and we are going back this year. We loved it and I think it's worth the extra money. We use that day as our rest day so we sleep in and nap before the party. We usually arrive around 5:00pm (I have heard you can usually get in around 4:00 with your party ticket). We're not big into characters so we mostly enjoy the decor, the special fireworks and parade, and the rides. Crowds were minimal and we rode almost everything in Fantasyland with no wait. Ther atmosphere is so fun and it's just a great experience.

[tinksmom02]

Like Disney Doll, we had a relatively good experience last year. We went in mid-Sept, that may be why. We rode BTMRR and Splash each 2x in a row, front row both times. There were no lines for the trick or treating we did.

We missed out on a lot, though, the Alice treat trail, and meeting Snow White and all 7 Dwarves. The lines for that was ridiculous. I told my daughter that if she wants to meet them this Sept., we need to line up for them ASAP.

[haley's mom]

So when we went to the Halloween Party in 2005 it was our first trip and we did not know what we were doing. We spent most of the night finding the treat spots (walked right past the rare Alice characters on the trail to get candy) and watch the shows.

Please tell me the characters that are out during this event. And where does Snow White and the dwarfs meet?

[epceddie]

My wife and I went on a Tuesday this past October and the MK was very crowded. We liked the parade so much though that we bought tickets for the following Thursday and the crowd was about 1/2 the size that it was on Tuesday.
We were able to get front row seats on the second floor of the train station for the parade and the fireworks. It was amazing to see the parade come rolling down Main Street U.S.A. and seeing the fireworks go off behind the castle was one of the highlights of our trip.
MNSSHP is always a blast! We love the headless horseman.

[Ms. Darling]

My mother and I went last October. We found it to be pretty crowded during the day, but come the night of the party (Oct. 19, which was Mom's B-day :party:) I was SHOCKED at just how much the crowd dwindled down. During the parade and fireworks we were right in front of the castle and didn't even have to fight to find a good seat. (Watched fireworks from the bench in front of the castle). I do know that if we intentionally tried to find a good spot for the parade early, we'd have been right up front with no problem.
MNSSHP was a blast. You're going to have a lot of fun. It's definitely my favorite time of year at WDW. :thumbsup:

[Simba'sBud]

My DW and I were there last year Sept. 6-13 and went to the party one of the nights we were there. It was everything we could hope for. The crowds weren't that bad, great viewing for parade and fireworks, and rarely had to wait for rides. The best part of our experience was when we ran across the Dapper Dans (aka Cadaver Dans for the MNSSHP) and no one else was around, so they serenaded my DW and I with 'Grim Grinning Ghosts'. It was the coolest thing ever, especially being able to film them doing this in their halloween costumes. The only lines were for characters so be sure to get those out of the way quickly and spend the rest of the evening riding and trick-or-treating!!

Have fun and know that I'm jealous!! :sad:

[mrsgaribaldi]

We are going to attend the MNSSHP for the first time this year. Since there are only a limited amount of tickets sold for the event and arm bands are required, are the lines and crowds really better than during regular park hours?

An additional $50 per person is too much to pay to stand in long lines and in packed streets IMHO.

We love both the Halloween and Christmas parties. Usually no lines for the rides. That's when we do rides that usually have really long waits, like Peter Pan's Flights and we even did Dumbo once:blush:

[Villains0501]

It all depends on the night you're going. If you go on Halloween night, you'll wade in shoulder to shoulder crowds, but if you go on Nov. 1st, I've heard crowds are at their smallest. Also, no matter when you go; the crowds will ALWAYS dwindle by the end of the party!

[marlaine]

We're going to go for the first time too! I'm going to try for Sept. 15th. I'm hoping the crowds won't be bad that early in the month.:mickey: