There are still lines but significantly shorter than regular hours.My aunt and I were at DCA at 7 pm and waited for the non party people to leave DL. We got to DL around 7:30 and it was nice empty. CM's are at the entrance of the lands to make sure you have your wristband. The ride times I experienced were: 10 minutes for Space, Star Tours and Buzz were walk on (like the CM's were begging people to get on lol), Indy was 15 minutes, Haunted Mansion was 25 minutes, and pirates was 15 minutes. Big Thunder was sadly closed so we didn't do it then.
When I did the party in 2016 just about every ride was a walk on except Space (running a posted 15-30 throughout the night) and Peter Pan. Haunted mansion was running a posted 15-20 most of the night but was a walk on at the end of the party.
Special Dinner Package During Mickey’s Halloween Party
I would go with the Friday night party because I felt like there was more ride time with low crowds after the fireworks finish. A good number of guests do leave the party after fireworks, so there is about 2 hours of time to try and do attractions with fairly short waits. The Wednesday parties only have about an hour or so after fireworks, which isn't that much time if you really think about it. On the Friday parties I've gone to, by the last hour or so, many of the attractions are near walk on, except Space (which was still running at about 30 minutes; when I got in line it said 15 minutes, but it ultimately took 30 minutes), Haunted Mansion (still about 15 minutes) and Peter Pan (I didn't try that one).
They only did the Mystical Spirits dinner that one year and since then it's been the Frightfully Fun Parade Package instead. They've got the description of the package on the Blue Bayou's dining page. While it's not clear, any reservation after 4:00 pm on the party day will be the dining package (it says "Mickey's Halloween Party Dinner Package at the Blue Bayou" when you make the reservation). We did the dining package the first year it was offered and it was fun. The viewing area for the parade was on Main Street (about half way down the street, first parade only) and offered a good view of the parade. That being said, I don't know that you need to get the dining package to get a good view the parade (especially if you go to the second parade).
The package starts at 4:00 pm, so if you got a reservation at that time and didn't request a waterside table, you could probably be done by 5:30 pm, which is technically before the start of the party. Assuming they have the Toontown Pre-Party, you would miss out on most of that. Still, that being said, I don't think you need the package to a get a good view of the parade, especially if you're willing to watch the second parade.
The party doesn't start until 6:00 pm, and during the overlap period, the lines for the attractions will be long because you'll have both day guests and MHP guests in the parks. I also didn't feel like the Wednesday parties were quite as efficient in terms of attraction lines. The party starts at 6:00 pm and for the first hour or so, you'll have day guests still in the attraction lines. The entertainment times didn't change, so the groups that don't leave until after fireworks were still there until closer to the end of the party (so there was only one hour after fireworks instead of two hours). It's hard to explain, but the Friday night parties seemed to have more "good" ride time after the bulk of the party exclusive entertainment had finished.
Correct. And yes, you can park hop all night if you would like.
In 2016 I came home with M&Ms (regular and peanut), Reese's, Hershey's (Hershey's milk chocolate, KitKat's), Snickers, Peeps, and a bunch of other name brand candy.
