1. We tried at various time throughout the night, starting right at 7pm and giving up on it about 10pm. The first we tried was by tomorrow land near Cosmic Ray's. It was crazy because you couldn't even find the end of the line....and by the time you found it, you couldn't get to it because people were coming so fast from all directions it seemed to "never" be the end. Please note we love Disney and are having a great vacation overall. We also have done this party before and loved it - it has never been like this when we were there in years past. Many people were grumbling about not being able to get to the end of lines either - and the people were scooters had a terrible time - they pretty much just cut in because it was impossible for them to get to the end before it grew again. Another station was Mickey's Philharmonic and a third was in Fantasyland by the Barnstormer.
2. Allergy station was Liberty Square. We did it fairly early - about 9pm because last year they ended up only having jelly beans and trail mix at Main St at the end of the party - so we wanted more of a choice. Last year they were generous with the blue chips - this year I never got more than 1 chip at a location and Liberty Square literally counted out the candies to the few tokens I had.
3. We tried for two snacks - one was the place where you get the waffles with nutella (sorry, my mind is blank on the name) and the other was at a popcorn cart trying to get a Mickey Bucket. We wanted the "Wedding Cake" but skipped it when we saw the long line once again.
4. Parade - 11:30! Yes, the late parade. That's why it was so shocking to still not be able to get a decent view on Main St. at all. We had little choice since they had taped with white tape all down the street and you had to be within the tape so walk ways remained open to people leaving - there was almost nothing open. We were "lucky" to find a place to stick our feet in (my daughter and I are both very petite) so we could view it at all - about 15 min before it started. I counted - we were 5 rows back.
For comparison, today we went to Magic Kingdom during regular hours - it was wonderful! You could walk and actually breathe - not be packed in constantly like sardines. We got on rides with little wait. Food lines moved along at a nice pace (Casey's and Be Our Guest) and today I got a popcorn bucket with only a couple people in front of me - it was A to Z. And this didn't cost us any extra. No, they didn't have the special parade or fireworks - but their regular parade and Happily Ever After were both wonderful and fully enjoyed.....without the chaos of last night.
We have had many moments of pixie dust this trip and it's one of our best trips all around - with the big exception of the Halloween Party. We won't let it ruin anything though - just won't spend the money for that experience again next year and hope it helps others who are on the fence - honestly, save the money and put it towards something else, if other parties are anything like last night.