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

[Pdollar88]

A recap for anyone interested! Apologies that I made it a narrative and not bulletin points

Accomplished everything that I wanted to do. I think I was just thrown after doing DAH the day before and normal park attendance being so low - made it *appear* more crowded than I anticipated.

Got my wristband at 3:50 at Buzz. Went and purchased my Hocus Pocus party merch at Big Top then went to res at BOG. Picked up SOTMK card, bypass Photopass and bags after BOG (around 5:30).

Knocked out the meets I wanted - Ariel/Eric and Queen/Tweedles in 40 minutes total split between two times - 7:00 (Queen) and 9:20 during first parade (Ariel). Rode Space and the teacups. Space is a must without the lights on.

Did a treat trail and the magic mirror shot. Got a pretty good spot for the fireworks at 9:50 - centered in front of the castle in the middle of the street. Filled in pretty quickly after that. I liked the new fireworks - Jack was really cool. Some music tweaking would make it perfect.

Hocus Pocus was really my priority, all shows. Last Hocus Pocus show was packed because of the rain earlier. Sacrificed a good view of the parade so I could be in the front row for HP. But the movie and the show are my absolute favorites, so WORTH IT.

 

[CampbellzSoup]

Ok I guess I should have detailed my plans a bit more for comparative sakes.

I entered the magic kingdom at 7 pm that night as I was at Epcot being destroyed by the brutal sun all day.

As soon as we came in we hit up the grave diggers and they were awesome. - 20 mins

Met Goofy! - 10 mins

Daisy and Donald - 1 hour and 10 minutes. Their interaction per guest ate up a good minute or two instead of a hug and shove. I ensure I got my interaction in too daisy was amazing!

Minnie - 15 mins

Then I literally filled my bag with candy going to every treat trail and hitting up both cast members on both sides as I was pressed for time after all these meets. Stingy with the candy! Sometimes between the two I got 4 pieces of candy!

The new fireworks show is to die for....beautiful but again the choices in music just don’t work for me....

RAN to haunted mansion...

Then stoked out a parade spot on main street for the second parade...I’ve been doing the parties for years now and the ripe age of 33 I’m getting old as my feed HURT walking al day in Epcot and bouncing like a pin ball in Magic Kingdom.

Then I got a spot for the Hocus Pocus Spelltacular which was awesome!

Also there’s this new trend when people are recording fireworks they leave their light on to their phones which makes it insanely bright for people it’s probably one of the most self centered things I’ve ever seen...

First off theirs a 4K version on YouTube if your heart wishes to watch it again.

Secondly your light ruins the ambience and mood for everyone in attendance...why do that?

 

[grumpy28]

I think they'll need to go to Will Call if they don't have a physical pass or magic band to link it.

Thank you for the info!

 

[wuzzle02]

Agree with Fox's comments. Can you switch Mickey and Minnie?? I know for a fact that the Mickey line stays open until midnight and it will be very easy to head into his M&G after the parade and before wrapping up at Cruella's
Perhaps move the Gravediggers a bit earlier in your plan, hit Minnie, then photos on Main Street on your way to Cruella's?
I'd also recommend just doing the HH MS on your way out of the park - no need to exit and re-enter in the middle of the party.

Thank you both for the advice!

 

[BattyMcDoon]

This year PhotoPass is offering a special deal for MNSSHP guests. The One Day Memory Maker is $10 off, plus you get a free 8x10.

How much does that make it then? Trying to decide if this would be worth it or if we should just do the military discount offer for our whole trip.

Edit: Nevermind I saw your reply to someone else. Looks like the military option is more of a deal than this for us.

 

[mommamouseca]

We have 4:00 FP for PPF the night of our Halloween Party. We will be driving and want to be in line as close to 4:00 as possible. How much time should we plan to get from the parking lot to the line? Will we be doing the bypass at that time or will we be walking straight down Main Street? Any other detours or hold-ups I should plan for at this time? TIA.

 

[Robn752]

Has anyone done the terrace view dessert party during the party? I was wondering with the new fireworks show projections, if it was even worth the money.

 

[Best Aunt]

We have 4:00 FP for PPF the night of our Halloween Party. We will be driving and want to be in line as close to 4:00 as possible. How much time should we plan to get from the parking lot to the line? Will we be doing the bypass at that time or will we be walking straight down Main Street? Any other detours or hold-ups I should plan for at this time? TIA.

Just wanted to remind you that parking is not at the Magic Kingdom itself, it is at the Transportation & Ticket Center. You have to take the ferry boat or monorail to get from there to the Magic Kingdom. And you have to go through security. After you enter the park, you have to wait for a cast member to put a wristband on each person in your group. The cast member I had was ridiculously slow at the first party, but by now they probably know what they are doing.

Even if they make you go through the Bypass, you can just walk right through (assuming everybody in your group knows ahead of time that you plan to do this). You do not have to stop to get pictures taken. You do not have to get the candy bag there. They have a candy starter pack which you can only get in the Bypass but you can skip it if candy is not a priority.

I realize I haven't specifically answered your question - sorry about that. I never drive to Magic Kingdom and I never get to the party at 4:00.

 

[mommamouseca]

Just wanted to remind you that parking is not at the Magic Kingdom itself, it is at the Transportation & Ticket Center. You have to take the ferry boat or monorail to get from there to the Magic Kingdom. And you have to go through security. After you enter the park, you have to wait for a cast member to put a wristband on each person in your group. The cast member I had was ridiculously slow at the first party, but by now they probably know what they are doing.

Even if they make you go through the Bypass, you can just walk right through (assuming everybody in your group knows ahead of time that you plan to do this). You do not have to stop to get pictures taken. You do not have to get the candy bag there. They have a candy starter pack which you can only get in the Bypass but you can skip it if candy is not a priority.

I realize I haven't specifically answered your question - sorry about that. I never drive to Magic Kingdom and I never get to the party at 4:00.

Thank you for your reply. Yes, I remember it being a long process getting from the parking lot, through bag security, monorail ride, etc. before actually getting in the park. It's been a long time since we've been to MK and we've never been to a party so I was just hoping for a general idea of how much time to plan. Is an hour too much?? 30 minutes ok??

 

[Cluelyss]

Thank you for your reply. Yes, I remember it being a long process getting from the parking lot, through bag security, monorail ride, etc. before actually getting in the park. It's been a long time since we've been to MK and we've never been to a party so I was just hoping for a general idea of how much time to plan. Is an hour too much?? 30 minutes ok??

I’d probably allow an hour to be safe. Should be plenty of time to park, wait for ferry/monorail and get through bag check. 30 minutes feels too tight as there will likely be many others arriving at the same time.

 

[kwdw]

Okay - given a new traveling companion - we (well, just her!) need to do the allergy free trick-or-treating this year (avoiding tree nuts). I saw the post with the picture of the treats available. So - how's this work? You ask the allergy free bag, then collect tokens at the regular trails and then go for treat pick up someplace else? Do they give you more with more tokens - or do you just get a pre-set up bag? Like - does it matter how many regular treat stands she collects tokens from? I've been enough times that I don't spend much time with this activity normally as I don't need to gather a ton of candy - but my companion should experience it as it will be new to her.

 

[GADisneyDad14]

Has anyone done the terrace view dessert party during the party? I was wondering with the new fireworks show projections, if it was even worth the money.

I have not personally done the terrace view for MNSSHP, but have for HEA (and follow the reviews for that party closely on other threads). Generally speaking, that party still gets reasonably good reviews, even with the off center viewing angle and less than ideal location for projection viewing. Generally speaking it appeals to those who want to stay seated / have a dedicated spot, like that it's mostly under an overhang in case of weather, like the smaller/more intimate setting, etc.

It wouldn't be my first choice as I'm more picky about where I watch the show (would rather be more front/center), but it's fine if the attributes of that party appeal to you/your preferences.

 

[MelOhioDis]

I’ll try to write a full report later but just a few things. We made this a full MK day and we’re at the park at 7:30am! I’m surprised we all made it! DD9 did so amazing all day!
For the person who asked about Descendants Dance party, we stopped by for only a few minutes. It looked like a lot of fun! They had a couple random “Descendants” characters and were playing songs from all three movies. There were a lot of people dancing and singing, including adults! I’d recommend stopping by if you have a fan! My daughter didn’t dance because she doesn’t “dance in public” News to me since she’s been in dance and cheerleading for 5 years!! She still really enjoyed it.

During the day the park was not crowded at all. We walked on a lot of rides. Even did Space Mountain twice! It definitely picked up once the party started. Waits were longer, but not too crazy. Lines for candy looked long but moved fast. We waited maybe 20 minutes for space mountain and 10 for tea cups.
We did the dessert party. My fiancé and daughter loved this! The desserts were nothing special but yummy! I like that we got to try a lot of the special desserts! Wedding cake was really good! Our favorite was the pumpkin cheesecake brownie!! They also had cheeseburger egg rolls, cheese and fruit. We ate then did a few trick or treat stops then found our place in the garden. The hub was pretty packed by then. We found a great place on the back left rail. Plenty of room around us. My daughter was able to sit on the rail and we all saw jack clearly. Great show!
We left through the front to try and get a closer spot for the show and saw that there was a ton of space on the curb right where Main Street curves into the hub. Right by the fountain. We had a great view of the show (that didn’t fully happen)and a spot for the parade. People quickly started filling in quickly after that.

That ended up being a lot longer then I thought!!
I’ll try to do a full report when I can be on my laptop.

 

[keishashadow]

Tried the search function but not working. The thread does move fast, haven’t checked in since end of august, wow lol

Still on fence whether to keep res @ tony’s For Cruella. Initial reviews were dismal considering the price IMO.

has anyone here visited after the opening night that can give any input?

 

[mixmastertoy]

We went to the 9/13 party and I was surprised it wasn't as busy as I thought it was. I have never been but have been to the Xmas party every year for almost 20 years now. This was not even a 1/3 as busy as that.

I will say this...
1. Trick or Treat later in night... lines are super short and go to Monsters Inc for best bang you get two stops instead of 1
2. We were able to get curbside seating on Main Street 30 minutes prior to the first parade and people came behind us 10 minutes before it started.
3. The stage show may be the best stage show they have. I loved it and my wife said the same thing.
4. The fireworks were amazing with the projection mapping at the same time encompassing the story. Do NOT get too close to the castle as you want to experience the turrets and fireworks from all angles. We were right in the middle of the street by Caseys and that was perfect.
5. Wait times for everything were very low
6. We did all the magic shots and waited no more than 10 minutes.
7. Stitch came out at 6:45

Thats about it It was so fun!

 

[garthbarth1]

In line for Jack and Sally now! They gave us our wrist band as we entered. Got here around 3:20 about 10 groups back. No one has come in after us.
I was able to get oogie boogie popcorn at cart by castle going to Tomorrowland early this morning.
I also saw a ton of Halloween magic bands in baskets by the cashier at the space mountain gift shop.

Are the Halloween magic bands party-specific or Halloween in general?

 

[sheila14]

Where is the magic mirror pic at??

 

[scullylam]

Ever since Best Aunt shared the cool Vader Halloween bag, I was surprised I saw it at my local Meijer store. It and other styles are priced at $2.00.

I bought the Mickey/Minnie ghost background version.

(sadly looks like i can’t quote or upload images yet since post count is low but really appreciate this thread and all everyone has shared.)

 

[scullylam]

I forgot to ask but is it true that for meeting Mickey they are not using normal photopass photographers? A box camera thing is now in use? Heard this is a very recent change for his meet and greet in the theater.

So if anyone has had their photo taken with the camera box thingy, how did it go?

 

[FoxC63]

Tried the search function but not working. The thread does move fast, haven’t checked in since end of august, wow lol

Still on fence whether to keep res @ tony’s For Cruella. Initial reviews were dismal considering the price IMO.

has anyone here visited after the opening night that can give any input?

Yes, I did. Go: HERE