MNSSHP too busy

[momof3+twins]

Last year when we went to MNSSHP it was really busy. Do you think it was a freak thing? I keep reading that it is dead. I just didn't see that. It actually made it unenjoyable for it to be that busy. Ride lines were very long. And trying to see the characters was completely crazy. Anyone have comments? The kids want to do it again but I am afraid to waste the money if it is that busy.

[FriendsofMickey]

I don't know if it is a freak thing or not, but we went about 3 years ago and it was packed as well.
However, we have decided to try it again now that the girls are a little older and can stay up a little later. We are going on a Tuesday, so I am hoping it is much less packed.

I have also decided not to sit for the first parade. Not sure we will stay for the second parade, but last time we sat for the parade, watched the fireworks, and then left the park shortly after. It was a huge waste of money (IMO).

Did you go on a weekend? I think we might have done a Friday or Thursday last time... I just cannot remember.

[minnie04]

I hope its not that crazy...we are going Halloween night and it is sold out already, so Im thinking it will be crowded. Oh well we have never been on Halloween and it bets staying home so will see....:mickey:

[minnie04]

oops beats staying home....

[Darbylew]

We went last year as well and it was crowded.
But we went on a weekend night. I think that it
would be less crowded during a week night if
you can attend then. We do the Halloween one
year and then the next year Christmas. This is
the year for the Christmas party. I love them
both. I am sure that if Halloween night is sold
out then it will be packed. :mickey:
BEEN THERE, DONE THAT AND GOING BACK IN
NOVEMBER!!!! :D

[CanadianWDWFan]

We were there for the first night, Fiday September 4th, and it was VERY manageable. All rides were walk ons, even Peter Pan!! There was no waiting anywhere. Sure the First parade was a bit crowded but lines for Trick-or-Treats were never more than 6 guests.

The only really crazy character line was to see Snow White and the Seven Dwarves. It was something I had never seen before for a character meeting. We were told it was over an hour wait.

[Daisy'sMom]

We are going next Friday, the 25th. This always is so special, along with MVMCP and the Processional. We try to do them all.
This year we are going to Disney on Christmas Eve (coming back the same day :(). I would love to stay overnight but feel to pushy asking sis to sit the dog. She does have a family also, she will remind me. LOL
Anyway, we are looking forward to the Halloween Party, counting the days.:mickey:

[NJGIRL]

We have been to many halloween parties and while we have never found it to be dead we have found the lines to the bigger rides to be a lesser wait than during the day. I think most people are enjoying the "special" entertainment & trick or treating during the party and aren't going on the rides as much.

[FamilyBand1]

Bummer. We missed last year, but had gone 4 years in a row, prior, and it was always empty. We're planning on going 11/1 this year.

[momof3+twins]

Does anyone have a good touring plan for MNSSHP? Somthing that works out where you can see most of the party festivities and maybe fit in a couple of rides.

[biodtl]

We've never hit bad crowds, but we have always gone in early-mid October and always on weeknights. I think it gets worse on weekends and closer to Halloween. We've been lucky with low crowds and short lines.

[11290]

Last Friday night almost every attraction was either a walk-on or no more than a 4 to 5 minute wait.

Tonight's party was scheduled to be about 50% of what the in-park crowd was (at 2pm), so should be relatively short lines as the park was very manageable today.

[SurferStitch]

We went on Halloween night in 2004, and actually thought the crowds were quite manageable.

We then went in early October in 2005 and 2008 (Tuesday and Thursday nights). The Tuesday night in 2005 was sold out, and Thursday (10/16) was packed. It wasn't sold out, but it was VERY crowded. Character lines were ridiculously long, and there were some ride lines (Peter Pan was about 20 minutes, Splash was only about 5-10 minutes, BTMRR was around 15 minutes, Pooh was actually pretty long at over 30 minutes, but it thinned out later in the evening, and Dumbo was just crazy).

I don't think there are dead nights. We were hoping that the crowds would have thinned out significantly after the fireworks last year, but they didn't. I mean, it did get better, but at the end of the night the Peter Pan ride was still a long line. We were pretty surprised.

[Disney Doll]

We went last year the 3rd week of Oct. It was a week night and crowds weren't bad at all. Most rides were walk ons. This was the one time we rode Dumbo that trip because otherwise the lines were too long all week. We did all of Fantasyland in record time.

We did see lines for character meets, but that's not something that was super important to us so we weren't affected.

Trick or treat lines weren't bad.

[vws_and_disney]

We went in '06 and it was busy but right after the first parade it seemed to thin out.

[RocknBev]

We are going Oct 9, a Friday night, so I am afraid that it will be crowded!
But we have NEVER been before so I am very excited! I look at every MSSNP strand for every bit of advice I can get!

[Phantasia]

We went to MNSSHP last year in the 2nd or 3rd week of October ... and it was CRAZY packed.

All it all, it was not a very good experience. The Trick or Treat lines were ridiculous and the candies were definitely not worth the wait.

Because many attractions are closed, this forced this MAMMOTH crowd into the remaining open attractions ... lines were much longer than we'd anticipated, even as the closing time approached (40 min for Peter Pan.) It was shoulder-to-shoulder crowding in Fantastyland.

Apparently in previous years (2006, 2007) they had an area in Adventureland where they were taking family photos and printed them up with a special MNSSHP overlay and stuff. (I have ones that my sister's family gave me.) They didn't do this in 2008, and it was really disappointing, as they'd put a lot of work and time into their costumes and it was very tough to get a good shot of them ourselves.

The highlight of the event was DEFINITELY the parade. It is the only thing that would make me consider going again.

This year, instead of spending the cash on MNSSHP, we're doing the Hoop-De-Doo Musical Revue. Never seen it before!

[tnpoohbear]

We were there last year I forget the date but I know it was during the week and it was not bad at all. Pirates was practically walk on and so was Haunted Mansion. We love it and will be going back on Oct 15th and will attend that party that night. Can't wait!

[thatkindofday]

We went last Friday and though it was busier than I thought it'd be, it wasn't packed. The character lines were busy, and the parade was busy, but the rides were practically walk on. The trick or treat lines were very good, too. Overall, it was a great experience and we will definately add that to our must do list when we can.

[marlaine]

We were there last Tues. the 15th and we were ABSOLUTELY THRILLED with the whole party!
My DS5 was the most interested in rides. We rode every ride in the park except Astro Orbitor and everything was a walk-on! We rode Splash Mountain 5 times! BTMR twice! We hit every trick or treat stop, and both dance parties. The crowd was low enough that my DS got to dance with each character at both dance parties. We waited about 15 minutes for the magic shot by HM, but it was SO worth it. We got a great spot for the fireworks 5 minutes before it started and found a spot for the 2nd parade about 15 minutes before it started.
MNSSHP was the best experience we've ever had in MK. We'll be back next year! (We didn't wait in lines for character pictures--those lines seemed long.) :thumbsup:

[Ransom]

Crowded or not, we're going in a few weeks!

Really, for us, the hard ticket events are all about the fireworks, parades, music, and different feel of the park. And it doesn't really matter how crowded it is for those events. The rides are just a nice fringe benefit of being at MNSSHP or MVMCP, IMO.

[badkitty]

We were there last Tues. the 15th and we were ABSOLUTELY THRILLED with the whole party!
My DS5 was the most interested in rides. We rode every ride in the park except Astro Orbitor and everything was a walk-on! We rode Splash Mountain 5 times! BTMR twice! We hit every trick or treat stop, and both dance parties. The crowd was low enough that my DS got to dance with each character at both dance parties. We waited about 15 minutes for the magic shot by HM, but it was SO worth it. We got a great spot for the fireworks 5 minutes before it started and found a spot for the 2nd parade about 15 minutes before it started.
MNSSHP was the best experience we've ever had in MK. We'll be back next year! (We didn't wait in lines for character pictures--those lines seemed long.) :thumbsup:

Hi Marlaine. What is the magic shot by HM?

[CaptainSad]

The closer you get to Halloween the busier it gets. Same as MVMCP.

[SurferStitch]

Hi Marlaine. What is the magic shot by HM?

If it's the same as last year, they put a ghost in the driver's bench of the horse drawn carriage near the entrance to HM. It really makes a cool photo.

[badkitty]

If it's the same as last year, they put a ghost in the driver's bench of the horse drawn carriage near the entrance to HM. It really makes a cool photo.

How cool! Thanks so much!

[sizzle]

We were there for the first night, Fiday September 4th, and it was VERY manageable. All rides were walk ons, even Peter Pan!! There was no waiting anywhere. Sure the First parade was a bit crowded but lines for Trick-or-Treats were never more than 6 guests.

The only really crazy character line was to see Snow White and the Seven Dwarves. It was something I had never seen before for a character meeting. We were told it was over an hour wait.

The only time we have ever seen Snow White and the Dwarfs is at the MNSSHP. That is probably the reason foe the crazy wait times.
Also, we did not do the party this time du ethe the rates raising. Haven't been there for two years prior to last weeks trip and prices have gone up roughly 40% since the last time. I did not feel it was worth the price due to it being so crowded. They are suppose to have a maximum number of tickets that they sell, but it appears that number has gone up tremendously over the years. I cannot confirm any of this, just prior experience.

[marlaine]

Hi Marlaine. What is the magic shot by HM?

In front of the carriage, the photopass guy told us to look scared. Then in the picture, a ghost appears. I just love that photo!

[thrillme]

It was pretty packed. Epcot was a disaster saturday night.

I think our problem was we went on columbus day weekend. Maybe that was our mistake. My son's in middle school and I'm not comfortable with taking him out for a long period of time. I did pull him out for two days and those days didn't seem to be nearly as crowded.

Next year we hope to try universal for columbus day weekend. We'll probably take off a couple of days...hopefully we'll have some real scares and lower crowds.

[Disneyfirsttimer]

We went in October 2007. We picked a night recommended as one of the quieter nights. I was absolute madness! Packed to the gills. Lines for all the rides. It was crazy. We found we managed the parks better during spring break.

The seem to advertise it as being a smaller crowd, but I think they sell way too many tickets:fit:

[Kathy Jetson]

We will be doing the party on Thurs. Oct 22 does anyone know if this is a crowded night?

[Ian]

We were there for the first night, Fiday September 4th, and it was VERY manageable. All rides were walk ons, even Peter Pan!! There was no waiting anywhere. Sure the First parade was a bit crowded but lines for Trick-or-Treats were never more than 6 guests.

The only really crazy character line was to see Snow White and the Seven Dwarves. It was something I had never seen before for a character meeting. We were told it was over an hour wait.Eh ... We were there that night, too, and while the ride lines might not have been too bad, I thought the crowds were pretty heavy.

The parade route for the 8:15 parade was jammed and it was ridiculously crowded trying to get down in front of the Castle for the fireworks. It did thin out after that, though.

But yeah how crazy was that line for Snow White and the Seven Dwarves?? I felt really bad, because I think DD would have loved to wait but there was just no way I was going to stand in an hour long line for something like that.

We compromised and had her picture taken with Cinderella's Coach instead.

[CanadianWDWFan]

Eh ... We were there that night, too, and while the ride lines might not have been too bad, I thought the crowds were pretty heavy.

The parade route for the 8:15 parade was jammed and it was ridiculously crowded trying to get down in front of the Castle for the fireworks. It did thin out after that, though.

But yeah how crazy was that line for Snow White and the Seven Dwarves?? I felt really bad, because I think DD would have loved to wait but there was just no way I was going to stand in an hour long line for something like that.

We compromised and had her picture taken with Cinderella's Coach instead.
See for us, manageable means lower than middle of summer crowds!:D But really once the fireworks were over the park seemed to empty a bit. We avoided the first parade and hit the second one. There was tons of room in the central hub to wait for the Headless Horseman's ride.

As for Snow White, I couldn't imagine spending my night in line. Cinderella's Coach is a good compromise.:thumbsup:

[Ian]

See for us, manageable means lower than middle of summer crowds!:D But really once the fireworks were over the park seemed to empty a bit. We avoided the first parade and hit the second one. There was tons of room in the central hub to wait for the Headless Horseman's ride.

As for Snow White, I couldn't imagine spending my night in line. Cinderella's Coach is a good compromise.:thumbsup:That's so funny you say that, because I just posted something similar to this in a different thread ... how when you typically visit can dramaticaly influence what you consider "busy."

For me, if the lines are longer than 10 minutes each, I consider it busy!!

[PrincessJadesMom]

We went last year at the end of September and the crowds were very low. Some rides they actually let us stay on and ride 2 or 3 times in a row. Most rides we just walked right on.