Mickey's Halloween Party and Halloween Time Superthread 2018!!

right? I can't with the trees. I mean, it adds ambience except when we're trying to watch fireworks. haha. So by "bottom of the hub" you mean the south end, right? We went on halloween last year and even though I thought I found an awesome spot we couldn't see the jack head at all...I am determined to see it this year on halloween and I'm already anxious about missing it!
I was concerned about seeing the Orb this year and had a great spot... we watched the parade just south of Coke Corner and when the parade passed, we moved on to Main Street and ended up about 10 feet off the curb directly in line with the 'Film' sign to the left of the Kodak Corner store...
 
We were at the party last night- we entered at 7pm as we had a bunch of fast passes in DCA we wanted to use first.
At 7 we were able to walk in with only a couple people in front at the turnstiles. We headed up Main Street as the first part of the park seemed really crowded. We mainly wanted to ride rides and did a few treat trails if they were on our way/not crowded.
We started off with a dole whip, then headed to the jungle cruise- this was where we first noticed a bit of an issue with riding rides- some of the rides were going with less cars/capacity, so although the lines weren't long, the wait sometimes to get on a ride took a while- ie jungle cruise only had 3 boats going. We then did Indy, and went to check the wait on Haunted Mansion- 35 min I believe so we passed, went out to the water area, the waterfront treat trail looked quite busy, so passed on that, I think we then did do the Golden Horseshoe trail as i thought it would be more decorated.
We then rode the wildest ride in the wilderness and then walked up, doing the treat trails as they were empty. It was nicely lit up. I think we stopped by fantasyland but things were closing for the fireworks, so we went up and took the train to Tomorrowland. We then went into launch bay to see if there were any SW character meets- had awesome meets with Vader and Chewie. We were surprised how many people just wanted the candy in there, and didn’t stop to meet them.
We then did space (basically walk on), Buzz, and Star Tours- ST took ages- I think they said one of the rooms broke down. After that I believe we did some Fantasyland, finishing with Alice- we grabbed seats between Alice and the Teacups for the second parade and there were only a few others with us.
We didn’t meet characters (lines crazy) or see the fireworks (we’ve seen them a few years ago)
Overall I wish we hadn’t gone to JC/Indy way first- it was super crowded and hard to move. I thought some areas seemed crazy busy and others pretty dead. We were disappointed that the heathy options seemed to run out as that’s what we were interested in, not candy. I think when we did the party a few years ago each stop almost had healthy options.
Overall we had an ok time but prob won’t do again.
We saw lots of people dressed as cast members and as Disney food
 
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We were at the party last night- we entered at 7pm as we had a bunch of fast passes in DCA we wanted to use first.
At 7 we were able to walk in with only a couple people in front at the turnstiles. We headed up Main Street as the first part of the park seemed really crowded. We mainly wanted to ride rides and did a few treat trails if they were on our way/not crowded.
We started off with a dole whip, then headed to the jungle cruise- this was where we first noticed a bit of an issue with riding rides- some of the rides were going with less cars/capacity, so although the lines weren't long, the wait sometimes to get on a ride took a while- ie jungle cruise only had 3 boats going. We then did Indy, and went to check the wait on Haunted Mansion- 35 min I believe so we passed, went out to the water area, the waterfront treat trail looked quite busy, so passed on that, I think we then did do the Golden Horseshoe trail as i thought it would be more decorated.
We then rode the wildest ride in the wilderness and then walked up, doing the treat trails as they were empty. It was nicely lit up. I think we stopped by fantasyland but things were closing for the fireworks, so we went up and took the train to Tomorrowland. We then went into launch bay to see if there were any SW character meets- had awesome meets with Vader and Chewie. We were surprised how many people just wanted the candy in there, and didn’t stop to meet them.
We then did space (basically walk on), Buzz, and Star Tours- ST took ages- I think they said one of the rooms broke down. After that I believe we did some Fantasyland, finishing with Alice- we grabbed seats between Alice and the Teacups for the second parade and there were only a few others with us.
We didn’t meet characters (lines crazy) or see the fireworks (we’ve seen them a few years ago)
Overall I wish we hadn’t gone to JC/Indy way first- it was super crowded and hard to move. I thought some areas seemed crazy busy and others pretty dead. We were disappointed that the heathy options seemed to run out as that’s what we were interested in, not candy. I think when we did the party a few years ago each stop almost had healthy options.
Overall we had an ok time but prob won’t do again.
We saw lots of people dressed as cast members and as Disney food
The party I went to two weeks ago had healthy options on just about every trail but the one I went to two years ago was the third to last party and while there was some healthy options they weren’t on every trail.
 
We are going on Halloween. What is the best strategy for getting the most out of both parks ride-wise?
Must Do rides for us= Radiator Springs, Toy Story Mania, Guardians of the Galaxy, Splash Mountain before it gets cold at night, Space Mountain, Indiana Jones, Haunted Mansion.

We don't care about parades or fireworks, but like hitting the candy trails. Right now we have reservations for dinner in Downtown Disney at 7pm.
If your priority is getting the most out of the parks ride-wise during the party, are you sure you want to spend prime party time outside the parks in DTD doing a TS dinner? That will keep you out of the party for up to 90 minutes, assuming you are seated on time. (If you have to wait for your table, you could miss 2 hours or more of party time.) If doing rides is the priority, it might be more efficient to use CS dining (with Mobile Ordering on the app) while staying inside the parks. Just a thought...
 
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That’s one positive that MK’s hub has going for it but it sucks during the day without the shade.
I was trying to figure out how to state the exact same thing. lol.

So by "bottom of the hub" you mean the south end, right?
I am not real sure of the north, south, etc. But if the you are on Main Street facing Sleeping Beauty's Castle and that is north, then yes the south end of the hub.
 
If your priority is getting the most out of the parks ride-wise during the party, are you sure you want to spend prime party time outside the parks in DTD doing a TS dinner? That will keep you out of the party for up to 90 minutes, assuming you are seated on time. (If you have to wait for your table, you could miss 2 hours or more of party time.) If doing rides is the priority, it might be more efficient to use CS dining (with Mobile Ordering on the app) while staying inside the parks. Just a thought...

Agree very much with this
 
I was trying to figure out how to state the exact same thing. lol.


I am not real sure of the north, south, etc. But if the you are on Main Street facing Sleeping Beauty's Castle and that is north, then yes the south end of the hub.
I always say you want to be where the trolley tracks end the circle and start to go down Main Street.
 


My family attended our first Halloween party on 10/23. We were so excited! We had heard great things about the parties from friends. The weather was great and warmer than I expected. But the park so CROWDED. I'm not sure if the streets had more people in them because they weren't doing rides, but it was hard to navigate. I'm a DL veteran and used the be a cast member so I know a packed street. I was not happy. We saw people leaving the park at 6pm when it closed but do people just stick around and not leave?? We only saw a few cast members checking bands at the very beginning of the party.

The treat lines were all long. Some moved faster than others and especially ones with cast members on each side/two lines. The treat line next to Golden Horseshoe was insane. I did think they were a bit cheap on the candy. They had candy (some chocolate/sour patch kids/skittles), apples, carrots, graham crackers, cheez its, and pirate booty.

The lines for the characters were all long. If we waited for a character we would have no time for anything else. The kids had fun at the Tomorrowland dance party. We only rode Big Thunder, Space Mountain, Star Tours, and Buzz - they lines were short for the rides. We watched the fireworks - got shoved into the street just past tomorrowland in front of the castle. When waiting for the fireworks we noticed that there were more adults in attendance than kids and noticed that trend when we watched the second parade. I tackled Happily Ever After this summer in WDW with better ease.

Overall we didn't have a good time. We thought it would be less crowded than a regular day and it felt like a busy day. We had just spend the 2 days previous to the party in the parks and it felt less congested (we didn't go in on Saturday but heard it was awful). I liked the projections on main street and the fog on the river. We weren't impressed with the parade. The fireworks were ok.

We aren't sure we will spend the money again. We might if it is moved over to DCA. I think DCA could actually handle the crowds better. Have a Halloween World of Color. We did like seeing all the costumes.
 
The lines for the characters were all long.

Sorry to hear that you and your family did not have a good time. I was at the 10/23 party as well and yes, some of the character lines were long. I came across Jane and Terk, right near the Jungle Cruise, and waited maybe less than 10 minutes to meet them. I also met Sally the Tightrope Walker, from the Haunted Mansion, in under 10 minutes. I almost got in line for Jack and Sally. I was told it was about an hour wait. In comparison to what I have seen at the Magic Kingdom during MNSSHP, an hour wait for Jack and Sally is really good. I didn't really look at the other character lines, but I am sure some of them were long. Maybe it was a timing issue.

Since I had never been to a MHP party before, I do not know if the party was more crowded than previous years or parties. Was it more crowded than earlier that day, probably. But I was at Disneyland today until a little after noon. It felt more crowded today than the party on the 23rd. Even later in the evening around 6:30 or so tonight, it was still really congested in Disneyland.

I would be curious to see how a Halloween Party would be handled at DCA. I guess we will find out next year with Star Wars Galaxy Edge opening and if the party is moved to DCA.
 
The complaints about crowds, especially in the front part of DL when the party guests enter and the day guests are leaving, the lines for M&Gs, the TOT trails, etc. have been addressed repeatedly throughout this (admittedly, by now, very long) thread. There are so many tips and suggestions from MHP veterans about how to avoid the most congested parts of the parks, how to make the most efficient use of your party time, how to avoid the long/est lines, where the best views are for Halloween Screams and the parade (especially with the least wait time), etc. This superthread may be long, but the time spent gleaning valuable information can pay off big on your party night. MHP isn't for everyone, but for those who do enjoy it: use the knowledge gained here to enhance your fun. :)
 
We went to MHP on Friday, 10/26. While the parks were crowded in the afternoon (the line for POTC was crazy long -- winding over the bridge!) and in the crossover hours, things calmed down pretty quickly once the party started. We had a really nice lunch at BB, took some photos, wandered over to Starcade for our wristbands and AP gifts (no lines at all), headed for Town Square for some photos, leisurely made our way up to TT for the pre-party. Overall, this was one of the most relaxed parties we've been to in years! Never waited in a line longer than 20 minutes for anything (ride, food, or M&G) the whole night! For rides, 10 minutes was our average wait, if the ride wasn't a walk on. We walked up to a great spot on the Small World mall for the first parade and the Headless Horseman about 5 minutes before the show (third row behind 2 rows of seated kids -- so not only could we see everything, all the characters came over to wave!). Headed to IASW for fireworks and found the terraced area facing the ride building almost empty. Took spots at the railing and relaxed until the show started. Great view (except for the fencing in front of the building, but that wasn't really a problem). Rode more rides, met more characters, filled our treat bags more than once (apple slices were very popular -- we got many more bags than we did at our first party), ended the night at Starbucks, then found a bench at the train station for the villains show. Received lots of compliments from guests, CMs, and characters on our costumes -- DH was really pleased. Met some really nice guests -- including one family that was gifting two MHP tickets, just to make pixie dust for strangers! I think they found a newlywed couple on their honeymoon. :)
And, in good news, we discovered that, unlike what we had been told in previous years, DAS does work at MHP. Just ask at the Information Kiosks for help.
ETA: not all CMs working the rides knew how to scan a DAS return time (it appeared that newer CMs were partnered with more experienced CMs). So be prepared to be patient -- your wait may be a little longer than expected -- and factor this into the equation if it will cause a problem for you. This only happened to us twice, but both times it added over 5 minutes to our wait time. Not a problem for us, but I can see how it might throw off someone who wasn't expecting any extra wait.
Anyone else here attend last night's party? Any reviews or costume photos?
 
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My party day was 10/16. I was prepared for the worst after what had been posted here, but honestly thought the crowds were okay, even less bad than some years before.

The only thing I absolutely hated was how they did entrance to Toontown for the pre-party. In the past they had taped lines on the ground. People were fed into these lines and then walked in one line after another. This time no lines, instead they grabbed people from the front rows and made us inch forward a couple of yards. This was totally ridiculous. Many families sent one person to push in and then jumped to the front because CMs let the pushers take their whole family with them. I was third on arrival and almost 100 people back when we finally walked in.

Not that it mattered much. I had seen that Max had been out and was really trying to get into the Goofy/Max line. The only lines they were allowing to form were Mickey and Minnie - only to have then Donald and Daisy walk out. By the time I had my Daisy photo done a Goofy line had formed, but he was not there. I asked a CM and was told Max was kept up at school and Pluto may be coming out after Goofy.

So if you don't know me: hello, my name is Vala and I am a character fanatic. :D My priorities were characters, characters and more characters and then maybe the parade.

There were so many new things at the party that I decided it wasn't worth the risk waiting for Max who may never show. So I left Toontown.

There is a treat trail at Fantasyland Theatre which opened about 20 minutes after Toontown. It's just 4 stops, but it also has a character stop that I didn't really see advertised anywhere. And it's a good stop - Horace and Clarabelle are swtching with Chip and Dale! I was the first to see Horace and Clarabelle and then went through the trail again. The CMs kindly allowed me to wait to the side til the munks were back.

I was out and heading for Zocalo to find the Mickey and Minnie line a little after half hour before the party started. Arriving at Zocalo there was a bit of a surprise. They hadn't actually set up a line - again. Told us they would do so at party start. With about 30 people lingering in the area you can imagine how that worked - not.

We were then walked into the Zocalo seating area eventually. All chairs still out and everything. I hope no one fell over something. With lots of strollers behind me things seemed to get a bit hectic because again quite a bit of pushing ensued.

I was 10 minutes into the official party at that point and off to my main meet: Sally and Constance at the French Market. Imagine my surprise when at that point not only there was only one family in front of me, but the French Market also had not been cleared up on time and they couldn't let us in because there were still people eating. So... time out for me. :P

By the time they finally let us in the "line" was 5 groups deep. Shocked doesn't even begin to cover my state of mind at that point. Two totally new characters and probably the biggest addition to the party in years and no one is in line?

I guess it didn't help that the meet is not in the line or the times guide. The CMs hosting mentioned that they had only had one mention on Instagram and Twitter before, and at other stops CMs were constantly telling attendees about this meet.

Sally Slater was the first character coming out for the meet, and she was an absolute joy. The set up is done really cool too. If you love the Mansion please go to this meet.

I asked the CMs when Constance would come out and figured I could check out the Jane/Terk line meanwhile. Baloo and Louie were still out at that point and in hindsight instead of waiting a few minutes to meet Jane I could have met Baloo and Louie too - the lines for both pairs really were that short.

Went back to French Market and when I arrived Constance was already meeting, and she was a walk up. A walk up. :o I asked on here if they sign and can hereby confirm: yes, they do sign. :)

I still had time before the first parade and wasn't sure who'd still be out at Town Square at that point, so I headed for the pirates meet. Long line there, easily over an hour. I can see why they added a second spot for the pirates - Neverland Gang and Captain Jack rotating always had long lines. However, feeding both stops from the same line may not have the best idea. I gave up and went for Town Square, where the set villains meet had crazy lines, but the rest was fairly light. Got Pluto, Goofy (set up meet) and Facilier, Sailor Donald and Pirate Chip and Dale roaming in fairly quick succession - still got second row parade spot.

After the parade had gone through I managed to wing it to New Orleans Square and met Sally Slater again and listened to the Cadaver Dans a little while. I was regretting a little letting Baloo go, but that's water under the Bridge. The Pirates stop line was under 10 minutes, so I jumped in there and met Captain Jack, Hook and Smee. On the way back it was still Jane and Terk in Adventureland and o I tried my luck at Town Square again. I would have really liked another picture with Lady Tremaine, but as usual she and the girls were hard to get and I failed being solo. I did get Gaston though. After front row spot for parade they opened the set villains meet again. I decided to chance it and met Hades fairly quickly. While I was in line the Villains Kiss good night started, so I got to enjoy this too. Took way longer than usual too - no CMs came to clear a path for the villains and they ended up being stuck in the train station for a good 20 minutes...

EDIT: I did get my party ticket very early in the afternoon at the Starcade AP center. Was before 2 PM. No line at all. I was a bit disappointed about this year's gifts though. They seem to become cheaper every year.
 
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Oh and I will make this a separate post seeing this is important info. Tickets for sold out parties. I asked because I had a friend unexpectedly showing up my party day.

They do no longer keep tickets for hotel guests, and neither are tickets available in the morning anymore when you go with someone who has a ticket.

A decision is made in the early afternoon if extra tickets will be made available. You need to ask at the ticket booths around 3 PM.

No idea how reliable this is, but this is the info I was given 10/15. My friend decided not to chance it.
 
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Oh and I will make this a separate post seeing this is important info. Tickets for sold out parties. I asked because I had a friend unexpectedly showing up my party day.

They do no longer keep tickets for hotel guests, and neither are tickets available in the morning anymore when you go with someone who has a ticket.

A decision is made in the early afternoon if extra tickets will be made available. You need to ask at the ticket booths around 3 PM.

No idea how reliable this is, but this is the info I was given 10/15. My friend decided not to chance it.

Someone here posted that they were offered tickets at their on site hotel upon check in. Their party was the first one to sell out, so it was a little surprising that the hotel was still selling tickets. So, as usual with Disney information: ask different CMs, get different answers! We'll see what happens next year...
Glad you got some great character meets this year! We did, too -- especially Chip and Dale and Peter Pan and Wendy. Hook and Smee were fantastic at our first party. CMs were great about helping arrange things that weren't happening otherwise. (Reminder to self: send in those CM Compliments!) And characters remembered us outside of the M&Gs at both parties and interacted with us again! :)
 
...They do no longer keep tickets for hotel guests...
I was able to purchase party tickets for Tuesday 10/9, while staying at GCH.
Purchase need to be done the morning of 10/9, although we checked in a few days before.
We stayed Club Level, but likely tickets are available for all onsite guests (I did not ask).
 
Hallmark channle is already showing Christmas movies. They started showing them on Friday afternoon. It's too early for that. Now they'll show the same movies over and over again until Dec. 26th
 
I went to the party on 10/26. Weather was perfect compared to the party I went to on 10/12. Got to finally see the parade since it was canceled on 10/12, I got lucky on fireworks the they showed them on 10/6 for day guests since they were canceled for the 10/5 party. Came home with lots and lots of candy and other treats. It was fun going through all the treat trails since quite a few of them either disappeared with the rain or became combined with other trails and were "shortened". By the end of the night most cast members weren't counting out how many pieces of candy they gave out they were just giving out fistfuls, but I think that in part has to do with as the parties get closer to halloween they become less stingy. I always recommend bringing extra bags to put the candy in as the bag they give you holds a fraction of what you'll go home with if you hit up all the treat trails. Longest treat trail lines were the ones in Toon Town but they all moved pretty quickly.
 
I was able to purchase party tickets for Tuesday 10/9, while staying at GCH.
Purchase need to be done the morning of 10/9, although we checked in a few days before.
We stayed Club Level, but likely tickets are available for all onsite guests (I did not ask).

So either something changed within a week, or there was some "miscommunication" again. Somehow I am not surprised. I didn't ask further either as I was crashing with friends and that option was of limites to me anyway.
 
Sorry for the double post. I just learned that I will have to go to hospital tomorrow and probably won't be out for a couple of days. I at least wanted to drop off a few photos from Photopass before Halloween is over.

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