This was our first MNSSHP. I am not a parade person, and I have to say that this parade was amazingly well done. The gravediggers stole the show; their routine was awesome! As first timers at this event, we were a little disoriented, and we thought the crowd level was very high.
Some of the candy lines were very long, and we had to skip some of them. The biggest disappointment of the event; the super long lines for the characters. Sadly, we did not have the ability to stand for over an hour for photos so we had to bypass every character. The 7 Dwarfs were hidden away in a tent, so we couldn't even see them. I feel strongly that due to the crowd levels, FP+ was needed especially for the characters. DGS has a DAS and cannot wait very long in lines so this became a problem last night.
We spent a good deal of time waiting in lines last night, even to buy the Halloween merchandise. Way too much waiting for a ticketed event. I don't know; maybe they oversold. We loved the parade and Hallowishes, but not overly impressed with much else.
I agree completely with everything you said here!