So you’ve already purchased a special ticket for Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party. Should you splurge and add another special event - Cruella’s Halloween Hide-A-Way - to your plans? If you are a foodie, love special character meet and greets and look for the best viewing of parades, then the answer is YES!
On the night of the first party, we entered the Magic Kingdom around 7 p.m. and headed straight to Tony’s Town Square Restaurant. This was our first time in the restaurant. At the reception desk we were greeted, provided wristbands, and told that the setup was buffet-style community eating and to return around 9:30 p.m. We also learned that as part of the event we would be entitled to a preferred viewing area for the second Boo to You Parade of the night.
With all that information in hand, we went about enjoying the festivities, getting treats, a special meet-and-greet with Moana, and even seeing part of the first parade.
Around 9:15 p.m., we returned to Tony’s to line up for the event. I will say it was a media preview so the experience may have been influenced by media attendance.
We entered the main seating area, which was decorated in Cruella’s traditional black and white. A bar was setup to the right as you entered and the buffet was set up to the left. The food was fabulous, with a wide variety of savory dishes and sweet treats. There were hors d’oeuvres like international and domestic cheeses, assorted canapes, spinach dip with ciabatta crostini and assorted flatbreads.
We were able to easily get our food and the buffet was constantly being replenished. Two seating areas are open so finding a spot to sit down was not a problem.
We sat in the second area where the dessert table was set up. If you know me, desserts are my thing. There were so many options — chocolate-dipped strawberries, cheesecake and mini cannolis, Kanine Krunchy cake and Mini De Vil brownies. Disney does desserts best and these themed desserts were adorable and delicious!
Character meet-and-greets are always a special part of the MNSSHP. However at this special event you get one-on-one time with Cruella De Vil. She was positioned in the main room, next to a pair of her red high heels. While there were not any PhotoPass photographers present at the end of the night, you could take pictures with Cruella either as a selfie or having someone in your party take your picture.
Now here is where I have to place a disclaimer. As I mentioned before this day was a media preview. So a lot of the media influencers were at the event and had a bit of preferential treatment in terms of access to Cruella. So much so that it was almost time for the new fireworks show (10:15 p.m.) and we were still not able to get to see her. She even went on break so that limited the time.
So you are thinking, oh boy we didn’t see Cruella. Well, we did ...
The event runs until midnight and Cruella is there the whole time. So we finished our desserts, went to see the new fireworks show (which was the best), and then went to the reserved area for the second Boo to You Parade. The area was at the hub near the train station facing the castle. We had a clear view of the parade as it was coming down Main Street. The spot has great lighting for photography, in fact the spot we were at was originally designated for the media for the first parade. We got great shots of the headless horseman and Constance!
After the parade we went back into Tony’s where they were still serving food, drinks and desserts. It was then that we met with Cruella who was perfectly in character and made us laugh. We love to meet characters who take their role to the next level, and she did!
So all in all, we enjoyed this event. Do I recommend spending the extra money for this event? Yes and No. Like I said at the start of this article, if you are a foodie and want to have some food at the party that is more like fine dining, you will enjoy this party. If you are looking for that special character meet-and-greet or are willing to pay to get a prime stop to take pictures, then this event is for you. However, if you have budget concerns or want to spend more time getting treats and going on rides during the party, you may want to pass
If you do decide to attend this event, we would love to hear your thoughts on it. Just remember it is Cruella’s, so make sure you hide the puppies!
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