Everywhere you turn in Disney World it seems you are bombarded by either pirates or princesses. When Disney first announced the Pirate and Princess Parties I thought it sounded interesting. I guess I may have been expecting too much because I was a little let down by the party. It pretty much seemed just like a Halloween party, but in January. There just wasn’t that WOW thing that would make you say I am so glad I shelled out the extra money for this.

There were plenty of places around the park to collect "loot" which was in form of beads and chocolate (mostly Hershey’s which was nice). Felt like we were trick or treating though.

Crowds were light (much lighter than Disney expected I bet). It was rather chilly which may have made some people rethink buying a ticket if they hadn’t already. What Disney did expect for January nights?

There was a special parade (short as it was) and it was cool to see Tink in a parade! There was also special fireworks - which were good but also seemed to be missing something.

Kids could join a dance party in either Fantasyland or Tomorrowland - both of which looked like fun. There was also the Pirate tutorial (which seemed the same as we have seen before) and a princess protector demo in Adventureland. There were a few carnival type games tucked away in he back corner of Toontown. There were also some cute photo ops around the park, but maybe it was bad timing on my part but it seemed as though the photopass people were missing.  We did find a photopass person on Main St and got our picture taken but were very disappointed when we went to check out our picture and it was all dark behind, no sign of the castle or any of those cute digital effects we are used to.

There just seemed to be a lot of things missing - such as some kind of special "freebie" perks for party goers like maybe a photo or even hot chocolate would have been nice. I also did not see any special exclusive merchandise other than the really large balloons, which seemed odd. It also was not easy to find something to eat or drink since most of the carts around the park were closed.

All and all it was an enjoyable evening (made me wish Halloween could have small crowds like that again) but if you have already shelled out a lot of money for your Disney vacation you may want to save the money, skip the party, and just enjoy the Extra Magic Hours which are free. Without any big bang or holiday to draw you to this party I can’t see paying all of that money just for small crowds and some candy - but that is just my 2 cents.

Coleen

Coleen@MouseFanTravel.com

Everywhere you turn in Disney World it seems you are bombarded by either pirates or princesses. When Disney first announced the Pirate and Princess Parties I thought it sounded interesting. I guess I may have been expecting too much because I was a little let down by the party. It pretty much seemed just like a Halloween party, but in January. < more... >