Last night’s party was great! It was crowded, but manageable (depending on what your plans/expectations are). We did a lot, but I’ll just highlight some specifics.
There was a lot of formal cast member presence. I wondered if they were filming promos for advertising because I noticed quite a few cameras.
I found some of the trick or treat lines to be very generous pretty early on in the party.
I didn’t feel the merchandise was managed well. You had to get on line to see the merchandise (expected), they passed two papers down the line with the merchandise and prices so you can get an idea of what you want (unexpected), but after waiting in the line not all of the items were back there (unexpected) - they were in a different area of the store (for example, we wanted to see the Alex and Ani bracelets - if that was all you wanted you didn’t need to stand on that line at all). I never saw the Sanderson sisters passholder bag at all in the store, idk if I missed it or if it was in another different part of the store. I didn’t know about it before hand, so I was a little disappointed when I saw someone with one in the park, but I wasn’t willing to go look for it again as I had already bought the reusable bag.
Despite it being sold out we found a front row spot on Main St for the first parade. Cast members were announcing there were more front row spots in the front of the park as it got closer and closer to the parade, so I guess it wasn’t too difficult to find a good spot if you were willing to walk to the front of the park.
We went on Pirates and Space Mountain for the special overlays. I thought both were disappointing. For Pirates, there were 3 pirates, one on the line behind bars talking to/yelling at people, one by the loading area talking to people on both sides, and one during the actual ride. I expected more, especially because the second pirate made it seem like there was some sort of extra story line to follow. We went on Space as the second parade was going towards the hub. 15 min posted wait. It had new music, and was completely in the dark. I’m not a huge Space fan, but I didn’t enjoy it. Not being able to see anything made the ride much more jarring. When we left, the line was muchhhhh longer. Probably everyone that left the parade. We went in the trick or treat lines in that area afterwards, and then headed to the hub for the last Hocus Pocus show.
The midnight Hocus Pocus show was far less crowded than I expected, especially because we only got there about 5-10 min before 12. We were able to stand on the right side, in the street in front of the castle without being in front of anyone who had waited there longer than us! (I was fully prepared to stand far away because we got there last minute.)
Overall we had a great time! I wouldn’t be opposed to attending the first party again, but I wouldn’t choose it if I had multiple options. The only reason why is the unknowns. If we knew ahead of time we wouldn’t have done the overlays, and would’ve done more of the characters if we knew who they were and where they were.
