Honestly, August 17th, when we first started our plans, we actually attempted Stitch and Space, but those lines were out of both buildings before 7. (I think Space said 60 minutes at 6:50)
We headed to Pirates and saw the lines EVERYWHERE for everything. (candy lines, popcorn buckets, characters lines, Pirates was clear our by the stroller parking)
I was EXTREMELY nervous and feeling overwhelmed and disappointed.
A CM reassured me the line for Pirates was only 15 minutes, so we got in line clear back by stroller parking. And I timed it. Yep, it was exactly 15.
We then headed to Splash and BTMR, both were under 10. By that time we did the bridge walk, hit a candy stop, and the Grave diggers, and then headed to the Flagpole.
After fireworks candy lines were very low, so that was when we got our bags filled to the tops.
We did watch the Hocus Pocus after the fireworks instead of at midnight, which was my original plan, but we found a clearing in front of the Hub, so decided to hit it then.
I didn't have plans to do BTMR and Splash, we were hoping to meet Jafar and Stitch. Had to change it up. (My teens will not wait in a 30 minute plus line to meet a character.)
I underestimated the lines for those.
(My DD22 and I walked up to Jafar 2 years ago, and had 1 group in front of us.)
Having the dessert party with parade view, honestly, gave us a breather. We were able to sit, and relax, and be away from all the crowds. It saved our night I think, from the reports I have read elsewhere. From that point on, it never felt "crowded" to us.
We did attempt to get in line for SDMT at 11:58 but it was packed, so we hit more candy stations instead.
Walked out and got my Headless horseman magic shot, the only magic shot I really wanted.
I guess, if you have a party like last Friday, have a back up plan ready and be prepared to change up your plans on the go.
We had no intentions of other meets, or magic shots, so our plans aren't like most.
Yes, I was naive in my thinking that Stitch would be under 30 at the beginning of the night. I underestimated the love for Elvis Stitch...
(Just posting this to maybe help those with future sellout parties that have similar plans.)