This thread contains so much good information we used!!! We attended the party this past Friday the 13th. We had a very specific plan of attack and it worked to perfection, we even were able to add some things in on the fly. We had 4 adults (1 in a wheelchair, last minute knee injury during our trip) & 2 kids (age 9 & 6). We purposefully stayed away from Main Street except right at 4:00 to avoid crowds & thought the crowds elsewhere were very light, loved it! Times below are approximate but pretty spot on since I tracked us using our PhotoPass time stamps. We did not make trick or treat stops a priority but we were pleasantly surprised at how many we did/could have done, & it made the kids happy so that was good. Here is what we did (long post alert):
-Got there super early (didn't do a park that day), around 3:00, since we were in front of the line, we were in the shade, which was VERY nice; we were first in line at the party turnstiles, let in at 3:45 & got bands
-Me & kids went through bypass & did photos & picked up treat bags; 1 adult went to Emporium & felt super VIP being let in special shopping area; other 2 adults went to Starbucks for coffee & Amuck cupcake (amazing & very rich; it did stain our mouths but went away quickly also); all posed for castle pics
-Big Thunder 4:30 (posted & actual about 15 min wait)
-Splash Mtn FP for 4-5 at 4:45; posted wait 40 min
-Peter pan meet (not planned but no line, we literally walked up & waited for 1 family & met him)
-7DMT FP for 5-6 at 5:15; posted wait 40 min
-Hit Friar's Nook (half of us) & Pinocchio's (other half); we all ate inside Pinocchio's, it was empty & they were in the process of closing at 6 to change to a treat station, which was cool to sit & watch while eating
-Dumbo & Barnstormer rides (walked on both)
-Big Top Souvenirs killing time waiting for 7:00
-Little Mermaid ride (walked on)
-Half lined up for Ariel/Eric meet about 6:45-7, they came out at 7 & met us at 7:25; other half of us went to middle of Fantasyland near carousel to wait & find Cruella, she came out at 7 from somewhere and we interacted with her about 7:05 (near Friar's Nook); did the magic mirror magic shot at 7:15
-Belle/Gaston were entertaining & lots of laughing when we walked by there
-Rode carousel (walk on) & Peter pan (15-20 min wait); treat stop in the middle of the line was a nice bonus
-Hit Tangled bathrooms, thought the lantern photopass photo was cool; actually saw a kid dressed as the lantern taking a photo with the lantern, which was awesome; very cool costume idea
-Haunted Mansion was amazing outside & in during the party; posted wait 40 min, we probably only waited about 30 min but it was exciting & fun and didn't feel that long due to this; ride photo 8:40
-Half of our group stopped at Aloha Isle about 9 (no line, likely due to parade starting at 9:15); other half did country bears treat stop 3 times in a row while waiting for the others to sit/rest/snack (just walked in & through & back around haha; the cast members were laughing at us & didn't care at all); Frontierland still had plenty of spots for parade viewing at 9, did get more crowded right at 9:10-9:15 but not awful
-Pirates at 9:30 (posted wait 20 minutes, we essentially walked on); live actors in line & ride were awesome and very spot on
-Walked through Adventureland & into hub, street was practically empty about 9:45; grabbed a street spot (very close to the curb on the Adventureland side) essentially even with the Partners statue; fireworks at 10:15; maybe we were a little too close, but still great; had an excellent view of Jack Skellington on stage as well as castle projections and it was so good; fireworks & music were a little lacking to me (as others have said)
-Stayed in that same spot but moved up about 10 feet and got the corner of the tape where the hub street meets parade route from Liberty Square; watched 10:45 Hocus Pocus from there (abbreviated show due to rain at the end of fireworks; was still a great show & honestly would have been happy if that was the whole show haha); had an amazing front row view of the parade that the kids are still talking about
-Me & the kids immediately went under the rope and followed the end of the parade; the kids felt like they were in the parade & it was a super cool experience; followed it around the hub & cut through to Tomorrowland bridge & got in line for Space Mtn about 11:50; ride photo 12:10
-Walked towards the exit to meet up with the rest of our group and made it almost to the end of Main St as the 12:00 Hocus Pocus was ending, so beat the crowds out of the park; the monorail line was already insane though; luckily we had valet parked at Contemporary so we walked over there and got out of dodge before any traffic
So 11 rides in the end, including all headliners, and very little (if any waiting), which was awesome!! 100% will do the party again; already looking forward to next year!!
