Reviews of Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party (Magic Kingdom)
Reviewed by MWS Review Date: 11/13/2015
Rating: (3) Not Recommended
After attending a couple of the MVMCP, I was very excited to attend the MNSSHP and score a poison apple mug. I know Disney can’t control the weather, but it rained all night and it definitely put a damper on the evening. Because of the rain there was no Headless Horseman, no Carlotta at the Haunted Mansion, no Hocus Pocus Villain show (after waiting 20 minutes for it to start) and no getting in line to see characters. According to a very nice cast member, the poison apple mugs were sold out weeks ago, so no mug either. However there were tons of people and large crowds in the stores and for both parades and the fireworks making it difficult to get around and see the parade. The candy lines were long, but moved quickly and most of the rides had short wait times. Next time I’ll skip the party and instead use the ticket money to buy the poison apple mug on eBay.
Pros:
Candy, short wait time for ridesCons:
Over crowdedReviewed by DisneyDana Review Date: 10/30/2015
Rating: (3) Not Recommended
This was my first Halloween party and unfortunately I wouldn't choose to do it again. We were at the party on Thursday night 10/22 and I'm not sure but I would guess it was sold out. We were there specifically to hit the short ride lines. No such luck at any point during the night. I was shocked that the crowd was so very light, maybe the lightest I've ever seen during the regular day hours around 5pm. I thought that was a good sign of things to come but boy was I wrong. It was packed and the lines for rides never thinned out. Peter Pan stayed at a good 40 minutes all night and we never got on the Mine Train because it ran anywhere between 30 to 60 minutes all night. We kept putting it off hoping that the later it got the shorter the lines, but it just seemed to get more and more crowded as the night went on. We did enjoy the fireworks and the parade but we waited for the second parade hoping for a good spot but that didn't work out either. I have been to the Christmas party 4 times and the first 2 felt like we had rented out the parks for ourselves, but as the years have gone on it seems that they are letting more and more people in and it defeats the whole idea of the party if you ask me. I prefer the Christmas party over Halloween but special fireworks and a parade are not worth it for me. The low crowds were what I always went for and if they do away with that, I might as well just go to the MK on a regular day. Disney has gotten so bad about making that dollar that they are starting to price me right out of my yearly vacations.
Pros:
atmosphereCons:
The huge crowd takes away from the eventReviewed by Minniegal5 Review Date: 10/22/2015
Rating: (10) Recommended
A group of 9 of us went on Oct. 20th ranging in age from 30-71. We had no trouble getting a table for 9 at Harbour House to eat, no trouble getting 9 on a ride, no trouble finding 9 spaces to watch parade! Our longest wait for a ride was 20 minutes for Peter Pan which, as you know, is not long at all!! I notice some people complain about crowds--well, it is a theme park and especially after a parade or fireworks there will be crowds, but all-in-all not that bad. We had no small children so therefore no waiting in line to see a character which, from what I read, can be long. We had our picture taken at Haunted Mansion, the photographer clicked the wristbands and voila! Great photos! (also had photos taken at other places) but Haunted Mansion photos have ghosts hitching along 🙂 The weather was wonderful which, of course, adds to the fun so I totally understand my friend who went on a day with downpours was not happy! But, I told her, there is always next year!! Go! Enjoy!
Pros:
EverythingCons:
NoneReviewed by tcg Review Date: 10/09/2015
Rating: (10) Recommended
I attended last night (it was my 3rd time, my 23 y/o son's 1st) and had a blast. Since I live really close by, I am able to go to the parks very often. The Halloween party crowds are the most polite I ever encounter! Everyone is happy, the costumes are great and the cast members are really into the fun. The Headless Horseman and fantastic parade are worth the entry price alone.
Pros:
Amazing parade, terrific Cast Members, polite guestsCons:
None!Reviewed by LLSS Review Date: 09/29/2015
Rating: (6) Recommended
This was our first time attending. I had read the earlier you go in the season, the less crowded, but as we pulled in, there were signs of the party being sold out for the night.
We arrived early (make sure you get there by 4 to get maximum time). By 5:30, we were in line for Jack and Sally. We met them at 8:30. The line was just absolutely insane. Not sure if there is much they could do for that, but man it was insane.
For this day, we had a nasty thunderstorm roll through at about 7. Because of this, it took them a REALLY long time to get set up with the outside characters, candy stations, etc. I heard complaints at around 745 (15 minutes after the storms) that the only candy place open was at the Circus, and the line went to the Ariel meet and greet (which has to be hundreds of people long). Of course the storms are not their fault, but you would think they would be ready as soon as the storms ended to get things up and running (obviously they weren't still waiting as there was at least one station open).
Aside from that, the parade was pretty interesting, the show was very cool, and the fireworks were great. However, I think the top thing for us was the lack of lines for everything the parks. We had a 15 minute wait for Anna/Elsa. We were 5 minutes for Rapunzel/Cinderella. We walked onto Buzz Lightyear and walked in to meet Tinker Bell. Even the mine train only had a 20 minute wait. So an interesting aside at this is to take advantage of getting to ride all of those rides you don't normally get to.
All that said, I'm just not sure it's worth it. I'm glad we did it once, but for $70 each, we essentially got a different set of fireworks, a different stage show, a different parade, and a couple different meet and greets.
Pros:
Characters you don't normally see, lines for ridesCons:
Price, lines for special charactersReviewed by minniemagicalmoments Review Date: 09/25/2015
Rating: (10) Recommended
Attended the party on Tuesday September 22, 2015. Arrived at 5pm because we dinner ran a little later than planned. Was able to use 2 of our 3 FP reservations made before 7pm. Many of the rides were a walk on: Splash Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain, Space Mountian were all under 5 minutes. Peter Pan and 7 Dwarfs were the longest lines but we FP Peter Pan and rode 7 Dwarfs twice, waited 25 min then 10 min even though posted times were double the actual wait. Rode every thing we wanted. Only went through 3 Trick or Treat lines. Those got much longer and we were too excited about the rides. Stopped to watch the Headless Horseman and the Fireworks and just a few minutes of the Hocus Pocus show. Really an enjoyable night. No FP options for the party really levels the playing field and I really like it! Saw several of the characters that only show up during the party from afar. Very fun atmosphere!
Pros:
short lines for ridesCons:
noneReviewed by CinCin Review Date: 11/15/2014
Rating: (9) Recommended
I loved the party! This was my first ever year and although it was a bit crowded on a sold out night, I still had a wonderful time and plan on doing it again. There was so much going on that I didn't have time to do and see it all. The whole park atmosphere was party ready with the lighting and the music, The castle was lit up in eerie shades of green and purple and there were bats on it. The whole place was themed well. It was fun seeing other guests dressed up and their fun Halloween costumes. These people (guests) plan this thing for months ahead and the costumes are really well thought out and executioned. I met some fun people waiting in line and made some new friends as we waited for the Seven Dwarfs meet and greet/photo shoot. I lined up at 6 pm for a 7 pm meet and the line was already well formed even an hour ahead. The parade was a huge highlight and the headless horseman was the star to be sure. The crowds were thin enough that I had a decent view even without staking out a spot for the parade, but ride lines which I heard were short to none in years past were long and I only rode one, The Haunted Mansion. Carlotta was out entertaining guests in the que at the Haunted Mansion and she is side splitting funny! Definitely a must see for the party. I wish I had attended a second party during my trip as I didn't get to any of the dance parties and didn't get to shop for any event specific merchandise and missed the event cupcakes and candy corn cotton candy too. I did get some trick or treating done and came home with a sack of candy. A nice variety of treats too from yogurt covered craisins and M&M's to Snickers, Butterfingers, candy corn and marshmallow peeps for the peep lovers. It was sold out on the night I attended and the next time I go I am definitely booking 2 parties! I loved it. I was able to see characters that are rarely out and get some great photos. The fireworks were amazing as was the show on the castle beforehand. All in all, I had an amazing time and it was worth what I paid to get in. It is advertised that it starts at 7pm but you can enter with your hard ticket as early as 4 pm through a special que and get your wrist band. The bands are different colors every night so you can't re-use them for another party.
Pros:
character meet and greets, special parade, hallowishes fireworks, Carlotta at the Haunted Mansion, headless horseman!Cons:
crowds, long lines for attractions,Reviewed by MouseBound4 Review Date: 11/02/2014
Rating: (4) Not Recommended
This was our 6th MNSSHP in the past 10 years. PROS: We love thinking up family Disney-related costumes & all dressing up. We also enjoy seeing others' costumes, & encourage everyone who goes to dress up because it adds to the fun. We noticed this year that more of the restaurants were staying open for the party, which is nice. The main advantage of the party is shorter lines on the bigger rides. We have enthusiastically endorsed MNSSHP to our friends & family for years; however, the cons now outweigh the pros for us & we will no longer be recommending it. CONS: The crowds are now extreme. WDW simply allows too many people in at the same time to the point it is bumper to bumper people, making it very difficult to get around. We had read that the crowds were less during the weeknights as opposed to weekends, so we went on Tuesday, Oct 21st. It was still outrageously crowded. The fireworks are wonderful, but there were so many people packed in to the park, we could not even see the fireworks except through the trees. We had looked forward to seeing the light show on the castle before the fireworks, but could not get anywhere near the castle to see the show. The ticket price continues to rise. We are huge Disney fans & it pains us to have to write a negative review, but I do think others need to know so they can be prepared for the crowds.
Pros:
All the great costumes!Cons:
Extreme crowds, rising costsReviewed by clane79 Review Date: 11/01/2014
Rating: (3) Not Recommended
We went on Tues 10/21 and it was just too crowded to enjoy anything. Rides lines were long, the character lines were long, even the candy lines were long. Parade route was crowded, fireworks were crowded. If you wanted to do anything you had to stand in line or spend your time staking out a spot. This was not worth the price in my opinion. The few things we wanted to do we didn't get to do, it ended up being a very frustrating night with disappointed kids. To top it off the monorail was down at the end of the night and it was chaos getting on the ferry.
Pros:
Good parade and fireworksCons:
TOO CROWDEDReviewed by tcg Review Date: 10/29/2014
Rating: (10) Recommended
My first WDW trip was in 1974, I am a DVC member since 1996 and I have been to WDW more times than I could ever count. I now live close enough to hear fireworks every night! Last night, I went to MNSSHP for the first time. I am in awe of the amazing cast members and creativity! Go, go now, go again and love it all over again. The Headless Horseman is stellar, the parade is fantastic and the cast goes over the top to ensure a good time. Go, now.
