Reviews of Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party (Magic Kingdom)
Reviewed 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 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 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 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 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 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 Fitzboyzmom Review Date: 11/18/2015
Rating: (10) Recommended
I was hesitant about going to the party because we had had a terrible experience at the Christmas party a few years ago. We really enjoyed this. They allow party goers with their bands to purchase event merchandise starting at 4PM. That was awesome for us because you ended up spending a lot of time in lines at 7 or after (they could not start selling until non party goers left).
The cast members were beyond helpful and pleasant all night. The candy lines were long, bit moved really fast.
The fireworks were beyond awesome. The only thing I thought was not that great was how long it took the parade to get going. The headless horseman came out, but then we waited and waited and waited for the rest of the parade to start. It was well beyond the published time.
We attended on October 29th and the event was sold out. It was crowded, but not unmanageable. I look forward to going again in the future.
Pros:
—Cons:
—Reviewed by Fredd Review Date: 05/18/2016
Rating: (5) Not Recommended
I attended last years 'Not so scary Party' in September, my 3rd party over the years.
I was amazed at the size of the crowds, much larger than on any previous visit to the Magic Kingdom going back to 1983.
The transition between the day & night crowds was very well handled but the volume of the crowd meant that there were long queues for everything, including the restrooms!
Not all attractions were open on the night we attended and the queue for the Seven Dwarf's Mine train was unbelievable.
The handouts at the 'Goofy Candy Company stands were very small in contrast with previous years but the queues very, very long and slow moving.
If you hadn't attended a 'Not so scary Party' before don't miss it but if you have been before consider saving your money for something else like a good meal at one of the better restaurants!
Pros:
Halloween costuming of guests & Park.Cons:
Huge crowds & reduced trick or treat candies.Reviewed by TeacherGrandma Review Date: 09/20/2016
Rating: (7) Recommended
I attended the party on 9/16/16, a Friday night. It certainly was festive, and many costumes were almost professional looking. I had no idea people went all out on their costumes. There was a lengthy torrential downpour just as the party began, which lead to standing room only in the Emporium. I thought it was quite crowded (more crowded than 2 of the Christmas parties I attended last year). There were lines for candy, lines for photos, lines for party merchandise, and humungous lines for characters! Wait times for rides were pretty low. Hallowishes was amazing! The Celebrate the Magic was the same version shown every night. I was unable to see the show, which is supposed to be great, and saw most of the second parade on Main Street (could see easily; crowds low). The 5 hours of the party goes by in a flash. Some tough decisions need to be made.
Pros:
Stunning Hallowishes FireworksCons:
Wicked CrowdedReviewed by BarbD Review Date: 09/21/2016
Rating: (1) Not Recommended
It was so crowded and we couldn't enjoy the shows, people were placing their kids on their shoulders (which I can understand) but it made it so difficult to enjoy the show. Line for rides too long. Didn't even bother. Was like being there during the day. Parade crowds were 6 rows deep, couldn't really see. They were directing the crowds throughout the park which made it seem like the park was even smaller. I went years ago and it was an amazing experience, on and off the rides you could see the shows and parades. Sad to say but I think Disney is becoming way too crowded and no longer enjoyable.
