Not-So-Scary Halloween Party throwing a wrench in 3-day birthday visit itinerary...suggestions?

Lazyfaire

Earning My Ears
Joined
Nov 28, 2015
DH and I get a three days to ourselves at WDW in September. Our original thinking was 2 days at MK, 1 day at EP as those are our fave parks. The final day of our trip is my 40th birthday, and I envisioned going over the hill literally and figuratively on all my favorite rides at MK. However, two of the three days (including my birthday) are NSSHP, and I'm not sure that's what we want to do. We also don't want to go to MK on an early close day either. We need to decide what we want to do.... Continue with our original 2 days MK, 1 day EP plan even if it means one short day at MK? Sub AK for one of the MK days (would like to avoid HS this trip)? 2 days EP, 1 day MK? If we did do NSSHP, what do we do during the day?

I'm curious for those who have attended NSSHP, what do you do during the day before coming to MK for the evening? Go to another park? Does anyone just do MK all day long? It'd be hard for me to justify more money to stay longer if I've already been at MK for the day.

Thanks in advance!
 
I’ll advocate for the short day: We went to MK on a party day last year and it was great! People stay away because of the early closing and crowds are light ( for Disney). We got a lot done and didn’t feel overcrowded. The only things we felt like we missed out on were the fireworks. The second night we had Cinderella’s Royal Table for dinner right at closing so we didn’t waste park time and we were also walking down Main Streer to leave as people were starting to party. It was a fun atmosphere.
 


You're going to need that extra day at MK. During party season, the non-party days are VERY crowded, so also having a party day to tour will insure you get to do everything you want to do.

Personally, I wouldn't buy any extra ticket or hopper. I'd plan my bday day at MK and then do a really nice dinner at one of the MK resorts. Find a place to watch the water pageant and just enjoy the evening.
 
We always go to MK during the day when we attend MNSSHP. The crowds are typically light, so we get all of our rides in during the day, do a TS meal around 5:30 pm to take a break from the crowds that build as party guests are let in at 4 pm and, by the time we are done with dinner, the party is typically about to start. Then, because we've gone on all the rides already, we just focus on the party-specific events. Yes, it's an extra cost, but I feel like it allows us to maximize our party time. I also don't like park hopping on our party day as I find it exhausting and a waste of time to travel from park to park when I can simply stay in MK all day and enjoy my time there.
 


I had two days at MK with MNSSHP nights and was able to get so much accomplished that I almost don't want to ever go to MK on a non-party day ever again. My new favorite strategy is to go to MK until about 4pm then hop to another park when the party crowd starts to show up. One of my days was a 7am EMH and I left at 4pm doing about 20 attractions with a sit down lunch at Skipper Canteen. One of my best WDW days ever.

If HEA is a must do, go on the one night that's not a party. It's much easier to stomach the crowds for the show if you haven't been in them all day. And MK on a day between two parties will be pretty awful, if I had to guess. Park Hoppers are our friends.

Hope you have a wonderful time!
 
Thanks for the input so far. With your help, I see a lot of scenarios that could get us to do pretty much everything we'd want to do. They all would just cost more. (When doesn't it? :)) We need to figure out which extra cost would give us the most bang for our buck (park hopper v. MNSSHP). We've never seen HEA because we've always had little ones with us who can't make it that late so being able to do that would pretty high on our "to do" list.
 

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