"Official" 2019 Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party - A Frightfully Festive Celebration

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Over crowded parties is not new. They've been this way for years. Some people luck out and get a party not so crowded and assume they're all not so crowded- until they get one that isn't. The pass will make it worse, but without them, they're still over sold.

It's rare that we attend them anymore, but we just booked today. We know up front it will be packed, but we want to see the show, fireworks and parade. That's it. We won't do character meets, will only ride HM, POC and Space, a couple of magic shots and do very little TOT because we don't need the candy- just enough to make my grandson happy. Adjusted expectations is the only way to walk out not frustrated and angry. I wish they were like they used to be, but they aren't.

I've been attending these parties for years and have a general knowledge of how they run. As stated earlier I have been keeping track of them, here's just some of the info I'm referring to:

2018
AUGUST
Friday, August 17
: Starts on Page 301 - Post #6017 Sold Out Day Of. Most commonly used “Overly crowded”
Friday, August 24: Starts on Page 355 – Post #7096 Lite Drizzle Post #7156, Crowded
Also see: Rained a bit after sunset Undercovertourist
Tuesday, August 28: Starts on Page 376 – Post #7519 Pouring Rain Post #7519.
Also see “Separate Thread” Post #7532, Rain ended around 8pm Post #26, Refund via phone Post #34, Switched days #39
Friday, August 31: Starts on Page 393/Post #7856: Moderate Crowd level, 15 min rain, Entered at 3:51 Post #7863,

SEPTEMBER
Monday, Sept. 3
: Starts on Page 404/Post #8070: Low crowds, perfect party. Itinerary See: #3114
Friday, Sept. 7: Starts on Page 424/Post #8474: 3pm Drizzling , low crowds, great party. Itinerary See: #3125
Sunday, Sept 9: Starts on Page 431/Post #8605: Crowd level: Medium low, Rain & lightning. Itinerary Post #3148
Tuesday, Sept. 11: Starts on Page 442 / Post #8835 Crowd Level: Hard call due to weather Rain & lightning. Itinerary #3170
Friday, Sept. 14: Starts on Page 451 / Post #9008 Crowd Level: Sold Out, Entrance time: 3:48pm
Sunday, Sept. 16: Starts on Page 451 / Post #9131 Crowd Level: Medium low, Entrance time: 3:47pm, Light rain at 10pm

Though I do agree last year was more luck of the straw this year is different as there are two more elements to consider other than the weather SWGE & the Unlimited Pass.
 
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I'm heading there with my family in late september, and decided we wanted to do the party. My children are in the spectrum, and we don't really need to do the headliner things, be at the front for the fireworks or for the show, although they do want to see the parade. It's how we did Magic Kingdom on our Last trip, during a regular Day, we'll see what we'll see and do what we can, and still have a magical Day.
Having said that, we won't mind riding the Barnstormer 5 times in a row, you know? And I wanted to ask expert MNSSHP goers if the Minor attractions have truly low wait times? And also if there are characters with 5 or 10 minute wait times, regardless of Who they are, because that's pushing the limits of what the Kids Will endure. It doesn't really matter which character, just that it's a short wait.
We'll be using DAS for the rest of the trip, and just take it easy during the party, but I still wanted to ask. Thanks!

I think you need to hold off for now, the parties have just started and we need more information on how things are progressing. Just keep reading these posts as DISer's are giving insight to what they're experiencing. @Love Tink just posted above:

"Couple things: The Gravediggers were the best thing we did this year. They were a great meet. But we had to stop by three times until we got it right. They do short sets and they don't meet during the parades. We came there a couple minutes before their last set (10:30-11:00) and that was perfect.

Aladdin and Abu also do not meet during the parades. So it is easier to get Jasmine and Genie - the line gets shorter during the parades. You can time Aladdin and Abu because they come out on the hour after the parade."

This kind of information is essential when planning.
 
Anybody know if any of this years magic bands make a sound or light effect?

I keep checking but even Ethan still isn’t showing anything.
 
Will do
I am in the Moana line now!
Good Morning! It's the morning after our first Halloween Party. Heading out to the Bon Voyage character breakfast followed by Keys to the Kingdom tour today! We got in the Moana line at 5pm. They let people in at 5:40. We were in the 2nd aisle once let in. Turned the curve to the 1st aisle at 6pm. Just as we got close to the rope, Moana took a brief break! We made it to Moana at 6:30.
 


Will do
I am in the Moana line now!
Good Morning! Yes, it is possible to go the Plaza viewing dessert party right after the first parade. We watched the parade right outside of Peco Bill's in Frontierland. We ate dinner there and found ourselves outside at 8:00pm. Debated about going on another ride but then decided it was too easy to hang out and people watch. DD16 was exhausted and was losing her interest! We loved seeing the Headless Horseman! The parade was awesome. It passed us at around 9:30. Then, we followed the parade in the street and were behind the rope until the parade made the turn and we kept going straight through Fantasyland. We arrived at party at 9:48. I was afraid there wouldn't be anything left and it was fully stocked!! We grabbed a few desserts and the cider. Sampled those quickly then got ice cream to go and were taken to the Plaza viewing area at 10:05. There was plenty of room in the area. DH was even able to lay down and stretch his back. It was very relaxing to eat our ice cream while we waited. We thought the fireworks and projections were great, especially the projections. You would miss a lot if you don't have a good spot for the projections. Music and narration didn't bother us since it was our first time and we have nothing to compare it to. After FW were done, we made our way towards the castle stage for the Hocus Pocus show. There was space to make your way to a decent spot. We were in the area that starts to go uphill a little bit before one of the round flower bed things with the railings. DD16 loved the show!! Right afterwards, she wanted to leave since she was beat as she was up since 4am. I insisted on her going on the tea cups since it's her favorite with DH together. They make me sick! Walked right on that. Tot on the way out in Monsters Inc and I forget the other one. Made out way behind down Main Street behind people waiting for the parade. Left the exit at 11:30. There were people lined up for the Headless Horseman Magic Shot. We did that on our way in and didn't want to wait in the line. Were on the bus by 11:34 and in our room by 11:50!! Off to breakfast!!
 
Good Morning! It's the morning after our first Halloween Party. Heading out to the Bon Voyage character breakfast followed by Keys to the Kingdom tour today! We got in the Moana line at 5pm. They let people in at 5:40. We were in the 2nd aisle once let in. Turned the curve to the 1st aisle at 6pm. Just as we got close to the rope, Moana took a brief break! We made it to Moana at 6:30.

I looked at the Moana line around 8 and it didn't look bad so we figured what the hell. i asked the CM how long it was and she said about an hour. I was shocked. She told us they was good bc it has been upwards of 2 hours.

Needless to say we didn't meet Moana.
 


I think they are saying they did not have tickets for a FW Dessert party and still had a great spot for the FW.

Oh, ok. It was unclear in my reading.

I agree you can get great projection-with-some-fireworks (if you bother with that) or parade locations without paying. I've seen Festival of Fantasy three times directly across from the Tony's lunch seating location right on the curb getting there less than 30 minutes before the parade.
 
Oof. That doesn’t sound like a great start...I’m sorry.

I can’t believe it took an HOUR for your daughter to ride Splash during the party!

I just checked wait times on the app and they look high to me (as a person who has never been to the party before.) 50 minutes for 7DMT, 40 for pirates...

I was there last night. The times were somewhat exaggerated. We got in line for pirates with a 40 minute wait. It took 15. Space also said 40, it took 25. 7DMT said 45, it took about 30. BTMRR said 15, if room 5. Same with Buzz Lightyear. I found touring plans Lines app estimated waits to be more accurate. I don’t know about splash because we had a fastpass for that.

The party did feel crowded. I was surprised since it was a Tuesday in August, but I think the number of passholders here is impacting crowds. We have met a ton of people who planned a last minute trip for SWGE previews.
 
Good morning! I have been posting but I wanted to give a rundown in one place of my thoughts. We attended the August 20 party last night. It was crowded. I think the biggest impact may have been the number of passholders in town for SWGE previews. We have noticed a lot here in general and tacking on an extra party (or the pass) seems like a good idea... But despite the crowds we had a great time.

Our priorities were the parade, show and fireworks. We also wanted to see the ride overlays at space mountain and Pirates.

3:45 Bus pulled in and they were just starting to scan magic bands
4:00 Through the ticket line and with the wristband. The ticket process took a while.
4:01 it started to pour. As a result we didn’t get pictures we wanted on main street. We just went straight to Tomorrowland for our Space Mountain fastpass
4:20 done riding space mountain
4:20-4:35 haunted mansion without fastpass
5:00-5:20 splash mountain with fastpass
5:30-5:50 Jungle Cruise with fastpass
5:50-6:00 Flying carpets
6:00-6:30 snack at Aloha isle - kids wanted to sit, use restroom, also grabbed great bags during this time
6:30-7 dinner at Pecos bill
7:10-7:30 POTC with overlay. Wait posted at 40 minutes, it was much shorter. Actors were in line as well as inside the ride. We all enjoyed this.
7:25-8:15 7DMT posted wait was 45 minutes, more like 35
8:25-8:40 space mountain. Posted wait was 40. Took less than 30. We loved the overlay here. It was much scarier than normal
8:45-8:50 monsters inc laugh floor ToT. We sat for a minute during the show. We caught the tail end or would have stayed longer
8:55-9:10 Buzz Lightyear, gift shop, bathroom
9:30-9:45 auntie gravities, strolling towards castle with milkshakes. The pumpkin spice one is delicious
9:50-10:15 wait for fireworks. We found a good spot at the hub by getting in there right at the end of the first parade.
10:15 - 10:30 fireworks
10:30-1040 walked to Frontierland. Crowds were crushing. It was insane.
10:45-11 BTMRR. My oldest didn’t want to ride so she saved a spot for us right across from Pecos bill. We still would have gotten a spot but we were front row.
11:10 headless horseman
11:15-11:30 parade
11:30-11:40 followed parade towards liberty square
11:40-11:45 pictures by haunted mansion
Midnight hocus Pocus show

Bus lined were awful. We waited 45 minutes for a bus to Coronado springs. In retrospect I should have gotten a Minnie Van.
 
Good Morning! Yes, it is possible to go the Plaza viewing dessert party right after the first parade. We watched the parade right outside of Peco Bill's in Frontierland. We ate dinner there and found ourselves outside at 8:00pm. Debated about going on another ride but then decided it was too easy to hang out and people watch. DD16 was exhausted and was losing her interest! We loved seeing the Headless Horseman! The parade was awesome. It passed us at around 9:30. Then, we followed the parade in the street and were behind the rope until the parade made the turn and we kept going straight through Fantasyland. We arrived at party at 9:48. I was afraid there wouldn't be anything left and it was fully stocked!! We grabbed a few desserts and the cider. Sampled those quickly then got ice cream to go and were taken to the Plaza viewing area at 10:05. There was plenty of room in the area. DH was even able to lay down and stretch his back. It was very relaxing to eat our ice cream while we waited. We thought the fireworks and projections were great, especially the projections. You would miss a lot if you don't have a good spot for the projections. Music and narration didn't bother us since it was our first time and we have nothing to compare it to. After FW were done, we made our way towards the castle stage for the Hocus Pocus show. There was space to make your way to a decent spot. We were in the area that starts to go uphill a little bit before one of the round flower bed things with the railings. DD16 loved the show!! Right afterwards, she wanted to leave since she was beat as she was up since 4am. I insisted on her going on the tea cups since it's her favorite with DH together. They make me sick! Walked right on that. Tot on the way out in Monsters Inc and I forget the other one. Made out way behind down Main Street behind people waiting for the parade. Left the exit at 11:30. There were people lined up for the Headless Horseman Magic Shot. We did that on our way in and didn't want to wait in the line. Were on the bus by 11:34 and in our room by 11:50!! Off to breakfast!!

Thanks so much for your review! We have the dessert party booked and also want to see the first parade so this is really helpful! I’m wondering, if we were to view the parade in the Pecos Bill area, what is the latest do you think we could show up? Also, did you check in to the party at 9:48 pm or earlier during the party?
 
I'm heading there with my family in late september, and decided we wanted to do the party. My children are in the spectrum, and we don't really need to do the headliner things, be at the front for the fireworks or for the show, although they do want to see the parade. It's how we did Magic Kingdom on our Last trip, during a regular Day, we'll see what we'll see and do what we can, and still have a magical Day.
Having said that, we won't mind riding the Barnstormer 5 times in a row, you know? And I wanted to ask expert MNSSHP goers if the Minor attractions have truly low wait times? And also if there are characters with 5 or 10 minute wait times, regardless of Who they are, because that's pushing the limits of what the Kids Will endure. It doesn't really matter which character, just that it's a short wait.
We'll be using DAS for the rest of the trip, and just take it easy during the party, but I still wanted to ask. Thanks!

Regarding characters with short lines: last year I met Cinderella and another princess at their normal spot in fantasyland around 6:30. There was only one family in front of me. I think it’s called fairytale hall or something like that. It is inside.

Jafar and Goofy had short lines at the first party this year after the fireworks and before the second parade. By short I mean 5 to 10 minutes.
 
For those of you who grabbed a spot for the fireworks as the first parade was leaving that area, how was it getting through those crowds? We're not going until October, so I'm hoping the crowds die down a bit by then, but I want to have a game plan well beforehand.
 
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