4 Halloween parties in 10 days in August

[brockash]

I know this is not going to be popular and I will get flamed but I am going to say it.

Halloween party August 17th? Really?

Is Disney getting a little nuts about these parties?

I am there for 10 nights starting 8/21 and there are 4 parties where the Magic Kingdom closes at 6PM. Should I not be mad about this? I thought Disney was trying to reduce crowds by jacking up ticket prices. This is only make things worse. On 8/21 for instance HS AND AK close at 8:30pm. So the only choice is EPCOT with EMH from 9 to 11. What do y’all I think that’s going to be like?

Sorry MNSSHP fans but this is ridiculous.

8/21, 8/24, 8/28, 8/31

It's all about the money. I mean honestly as a business why not charge ppl. twice in 1 day for admission (or have them pay the full amount for half a day etc), if the consumer is happy to pay it? They've been and will continue to push it as far as they can and as long as we keep paying, it's a total win for them.

 

[sharonabe]

Take a look at July hours for HS. Yes they have EMH every day, but 7AM to 8AM. You would think it would stay open later. July 8AM to 10PM every day but in August 9AM to 9PM with 1 EMH morning on Sunday. Then starting on the week of 8/19 in drops to 8:30PM. Someone has lost their mind. I hope they come to their senses.

It's TOO EARLY for the August hours to be finalized, some of them were just posted. They will adjust them.

 

[mi*vida*loca]

I'm not a huge Halloween fan so I think August parties are completely ridiculous.

We used to go in late August to avoid parties. I like ending our evenings in MK some nights and with 4 parties a week it just seemed like a buzz kill so we avoided them. This trip we decided to do Jersey Week to see some decorations and go to MVMCP. I figured I would deal with the Xmas party nights. I'm glad we picked that week. Had we done late August this year and had to deal with all of those parties I would have been really irritated.

 

[NJlauren]

As I mentioned in my prior post, my trip is in 8 days they just updated the hours last week! It will change!

 

[DisDreaming4116]

These August MNSSHP dates will be well attended and enjoyed by the summer crowd that are unable to go to WDW during school. We were at the 8/29 party last summer and besides the heat, thought it was fantastic. Can't wait to go again in late August.

 

[mi*vida*loca]

Have they released the party dates already?

 

[GADisneyDad14]

Have they released the party dates already?

No, the August MNSSHP dates are speculation based on the 6pm closings that currently show up on the park calendar (and speculation that Disney will use a 6pm park closing time for MNSSHP in 2018 like they did for MVMCP in 2017). Also other clues, such as the FoF parade, which adjusts to 2pm on 8/19 per the current schedule (which is typical during MNSSHP season).

 

[Kelly25]

i feel your pain. we ran into the same issues last oct. there were so many parties...which i get because at least it is oct, but it made going to see the fireworks absolutely crazy. we only had a few nights they were showing during our stay. MK was INSANE with people there for the fireworks.

 

[BrianL]

I don't really see it as Disney going nuts, but rather catering to demand. The parties are very popular. Sure, it doesn't hurt that they are profitable to Disney as well, but they wouldn't be putting the parties so early if they thought nobody would buy tickets for it. I am betting that people will though.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

In late August, the parks always close earlier than during most other times of the year. We've gone the last week of August for the past 7 years, so it's just something we've gotten used to. That being said, as others have mentioned, it is highly likely the closing times for both DHS and AK will change. When we went last year, though they didn't keep the very late EMH they had introduced when Pandora opened, they did extend the AK closing time to 9:30 pm.

Also, keep in mind, the crowds during that time are generally lower anyway, so I don't think you are going to run into the HEA crowds on a non-party day like you would, say, the week before Christmas. I think, with a good plan, this really won't affect you all that much as I'm assuming you weren't planning on being in MK for all 10 nights of your trip?

If you don't have park hoppers, I would simply avoid the party days at MK. If you have hoppers, I would plan to go to MK on party mornings and then hop to one of the three other parks. Park hours will generally be the same for the other three parks, so, IMHO, the crowds will be equally dispersed. I would also plan on going to MK at least one non-party night to see HEA. It sounds like you have 6 nights to choose from to do this. Disney has events running year-round at this point from festivals in EP, run events, hard ticket events and new attraction openings. I don't think any time frame is immune to having to do some strategic tour planning around these events to make the most out of a trip.

I will also add, we went to the first MNSSHP last year and it was fantastic. We've now been to 2 MNSSHP and 2 MVMCP and it was by far the best because the crowds were quite low. I'm not surprised they are popular and I'm not surprised they are pushing them earlier so families whose children have to go back to school in late August/early September can go. I was hoping for years to take DS, but was not going to take him out of school to do it. By scheduling them in August, it gave me the opportunity to do so. And it didn't feel "early" to me. WDW offers immersive, environment-changing attractions all over the parks. You board Space Mountain and your are transported to space. You get on Soarin' and suddenly you are flying over Paris. You attend MNSSHP and suddenly it's Halloween. It was completely on par with other WDW experiences.

 

[micheleq]

We attended the 8/29 party last year and it was so much fun! I agree, it was a little challenging beforehand to get in the Halloween spirit, but the party was very manageable. That day we purchased tote bags for our kids so they could hold more candy, everyone wore fun Mickey ears, and since my girls aren’t into character meets anymore, they were able to ride their favorite rides multiple times like Big Thunder and Space Mountain.

Halloween in August does ask us to suspend reality a bit, but that’s part of what makes WDW so much fun for my family at least!

 

[BarbieGal457]

I can totally understand the frustration, but I feel like I can see it from both sides. Hours at the other parks will almost definitely adjust, and in all my trips I've found crowds at MK on party days (both Halloween and Christmas) to be noticeably lower as well. We have gotten a lot more done on those days compared to non-party days. If you have hoppers, I would do what PPs suggested and take advantage of the lower MK crowds on party days and hop somewhere else later that night. I have to say, while I get that it's August and not really a Halloween feel yet for most - me included, I think it's nice they're offering them for a bit in August for the families that may not be able to go Sept/Oct due to school being in session.

 

[BarbieGal457]

I do wonder if some of the understandable frustration with this is a result of the park hours being so prone to changing and also being released on the later side. I feel like if everyone had more time to plan around it, it might not feel so up-and-down with planning things.

 

[piglet1979]

I wouldn't go the the time the parks are closing to be a party night. A few years ago we went by that and thought we would be able to go to the party only to find out when the dates came out that it was not a party night and they changed the hours to being open until I think 11. We were bummed.

 

[sweetnjmom]

To be perfectly frank, I'm somewhat frustrated about having the Halloween parties start before September. But it is what it is and I'll deal with the crowds on the other days. I expect there will be one party during my 5 days at WDW (Tuesday 8/28) and we'll probably make that our Hollywood Studios day. We won't do the party, there is no way my son would make it up that late -- he's the kid who crashes by 9:30 pm (regular bedtime is 8:30). Thankfully this is not my first trip and won't be my last trip - we're going with the attitude of "we'll see what we see and do what we do and just have fun."

 

[lvcourtneyy]

This is catering to a group of people who have otherwise never been able to attend a Halloween party, think teachers and families who can't pull kids out of school. For us, this works as my sister is in college and wouldn't be able to attend a party otherwise.

I can see how it's not appealing to those not interested in a party but to play devil's advocate, in 2 weeks there are 4 party nights and 10 other nights without parties. As others have said, party days are great MK days because crowds are lower. With PH, you can go to another park at night or you can make a dinner reservation at Ohana and watch Hallowishes from the Poly beach.

 

[CAS239]

Take a look at July hours for HS. Yes they have EMH every day, but 7AM to 8AM. You would think it would stay open later. July 8AM to 10PM every day but in August 9AM to 9PM with 1 EMH morning on Sunday. Then starting on the week of 8/19 in drops to 8:30PM. Someone has lost their mind. I hope they come to their senses.

Hours for April still aren't finalized. Way too early to be looking at hours for July

 

[sharonabe]

Also, keep in mind, the crowds during that time are generally lower anyway, so I don't think you are going to run into the HEA crowds on a non-party day like you would, say, the week before Christmas. I think, with a good plan, this really won't affect you all that much as I'm assuming you weren't planning on being in MK for all 10 nights of your trip?

No, they won't be week before Christmas crowded, but I can attest that even during slower times, the HEA nights are a madhouse with the party schedule. Most people aren't there for 10 nights, and for many they only have one or maybe two nights that they can even choose to go see it. It will be PACKED no matter what the crowd calendar says.

 

[Pluto80]

We went to the first party last year. Honestly, it felt really strange. It was too hot to dress up, and we saw very few people doing so. Don’t get me wrong, we still had a fantastic time, but we didn’t feel very Halloween-y. Was a great chance to do the rides with less wait though.

 

[WedWayPilot]

I was excited to see the August dates added because last year we were leaving on the first party day and now this gives our family a chance to enjoy it since we won’t be back in October. I completely understand people not wanting to celebrate Holidays out of season, but as long as there is a demand they will keep offering them. Same goes for $5 coffee and $1000 cell phones. One benefit is that the early parties tend to be much cheaper than the ones closer to the actual holidays.