We were at MVMCP last Friday - any Questions?

[Dolby1000]

Here is a quick review of our evening. We had a wonderful time and found out this was the time to go as the party was not crowded at all.

We arrived at the TTC at 4PM, the will call windows were open and ready and we had our tickets in less than 60 seconds. Very efficient, the person knew exactly what to do.
Went ont the monrail, excitement building. Realized we should have took the ferry when the monorial stopped for a good 15 minutes just outside of the Contemporary resort and then crawled to the station. No explanation given. It was the first of many such delays.

So, it was't dark yet, the park was rather empty, let's go on some rides!
First one - Splash Mountain as the sun was still up and it was still somewhat mild. Early in ride, just after we sailed by the finale drop (on the lower part), the ride comes to a halt. 2 delays in a row! It took about 10 minutes, then we proceeded through the rest of the ride, until the end, when we met a back up of 10 cars due to the previous stop.

Cast members told us that Space Mountain was going to be open, so over there we rushed and, yes, sure enough, it was open, yeah! The line was short, but not moving. 10 minutes later, Space Mountain was closed for the day, test failed. 3 for 3 (although this was a soft opening, so I'll give them a break here).

Return to Adventure land for Big Thunder (Oh, btw, no fast passes during MVMCP, so all the FP were gone). After waiting 20 minutes, guess what, ride failure, don't know when they will re-open. 4 for 4.

Go over to the Haunted Mansion. Halfway through the ride, it stops for 10 minutes. 5 for 5. Don't they maintain any of these things?????

Oh yes, one final delay, when we stopped for cocoa and asked for sugar free (my DW is a diabetic), all you got was a packet and some hot water. It took them more than 10 minutes to figure out how to get the hot water. It was a bit annoying watching everyone march past us as we waited and waited. I did not ask about sugar fee cookies.

Later on, while riding the TTA, we also had an unexplained 10 minutes delay, not quite 6 in row, but yet another ride interuption. This was a bit cool, as this was long after Space Mountain had shut down, but all the lights were on, so we could see them testing it (no riders) in the light.

Thankfully, that was the last of the ride failures. At least for Disney, at Universal, we also encounted delays and failures on The Mummy and Popeye. On Popeye, we actually had to be evacuated after they drained the ride, that was fun. Oh yes, sitting soaking wet, waiting for someone to show up to tell us what to do, watching the water drain, wondering what the heck was going on, look for the whole story on the Universal board later this week.

Oh well, back to the party. By now, it was getting dark, but not quite 7 yet. At 6:30 the castle lit up, while we were on Dumbo. During the evening, we also enjoyed Mickey's Philharmagic, IASW, Pirates, TTA, and Buzz Lightyear's thingy and finally, a ride on Big Thunder around 11:45. So, as you can see, getting rides in during the party is not a problem. We rode everything we wanted.

We also saw the Christmas show at the castle. This was very enjoyable and full of holiday spirit. It features Michey, Minnie, Pluto, Goofy, Donald, and the Chipmunks plus a cast of dancers and elves. We actully paused to watch it again on our way out. We watched the early time parade from the train station. The park was not crowded at all and there was space for everyone to see and enjoy the parade. Disney brought out all the stars and it is a can't miss event. I espcially liked the wooden soldiers marching in front of Santa, they are incredible.

After the parade, we walked down main street and listened to the barbershop quartet, they were very good. We also grabbed a couple of surprising good (if not expensive) hot dogs at Casey's. We never found the Pirate singers.

Then came Christmas Wishes. Well, Disney KNOWS fireworks and this show doesn't disappoint. We then went back on some rides and when we got off of IASM, the parade started again. This time, we watched it near the begining, at ground level. The crowds were very light and we just walked up to the rope and watched. Try and do that in December!
It was just as much fun the second time around.

So, I would say overall it was a 8 out of 10. Not cheap, but we had a good time. Glad we did it early in the season, I can imagine it being not so much fun with a larger crowd.

Oh yes, we skipped the Stich and Buzz show. While on the TTA, we saw a couple minutes of it and it was soooooooooo lame.

And, while I was getting cookies (I know, a bad example for the DW), the DJ in the restaurant by Tomorrowland and Fantasyland had everyone up and dancing. I think the Chipmunks were there too.

If anyone has any questions, I'll be glad to answer them. I think I have included everything we did.

Dolby1000

[stacyleigh1978]

We were also there Friday night and had a great time. We walked right onto every ride we wanted to go on. We got to see a lot of characters that are normally not out during the regular day (Queen of Hearts, Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee, Scrooge). DS, who is 2 1/2 held Alice in Wonderland's hand during the fireworks. He also highly enjoyed the dance party at Cosmic Ray's- Pluto, Chip, and Dale were dancing with all the kids. This is our second time at the party and we can't wait to go again!

[quantumottle]

Thanks for the review Dolby1000. I'd like to ask a question or two, but it sounds like your party had such light crowds most questions I have wouldn't apply. Other than the delays, it sounds like you guys had a great time though.
=)

[UncleOrville]

Thanks for your review - sounds like you picked a great time to go! But, man, experiencing that many ride/ transportation breakdowns in one evening must be some kind of a record!

[Maine-iac]

Go over to the Haunted Mansion. Halfway through the ride, it stops for 10 minutes. 5 for 5. Don't they maintain any of these things?????

Don't forget that some rides stop to load and unload people with special needs or wheelchairs.

[BenA81]

thank you for the long review!

[adctd2WDW]

I was at MVMCP last week on Tuesday and Thursday and got this picture of the pirate singers. Just wanted to share. They were funny.


And, just because Goofy was so amazingly funny, here is video of him at the Cosmic Ray's dance


Also, I must agree. My new favorite part of any Disney parade ever are the toy soldiers.

[3darlings]

We were at MK during the day on Friday and we had numerous ride failures and delays just like OP. And we were on the monorail at the same time and sat outside the Contemporary for 15 minutes as well (making us late for our ADR). My kids just kept saying that Disney needs to do a better job of maintaining the rides. It really was pretty bad. Maybe it was just a bad day! It is interesting that OP thought the crowd was light - I thought it was much more crowded than I expected.

[fla4fun]

Has anyone noticed if they have any MVMCP specific toys at the party this year? Two years ago I got really cute gingerbread men, but last year they didn't have anything.

By the way, as far as crowds go, I found out that there are some ticket brokers who are selling MVMCP tickets that are not date specific, other than they can not be used for the very last MVMCP. This means that it will be much harder to predict which nights will be crowded because even Disney will have no idea when the guests will choose to attend, or when a particular party reaches "sold out" status. I do not know how many of these tickets will be sold, but my contact at one ticket broker has sold about 200 of them so far. I don't like this at all. I like the parties being limited to a certain number of people so that the park feels like an "exclusive" party. Between this, and the extension of AP discounted party dates (which have historically been more crowded) I'm not sure what night to go.

[adctd2WDW]

I was there for the first two MVMCP and this is what they put out ONLY during the
7 different pins, and two different shirts. The first night, Nov. 10, they put out a fleece blanket that was for sale or available at a lower price with a purchase. The next day the blanket was out during the day and the two shirts and pins were not. I am an avid shopper once I get on Disney property. I was in every store on Main Street at least twice during each party. The pins weren't even out for the public to see. You had to ask a CM at a register to see them. I will post pictures if anyone would like- of the shirts, pins or blanket. The blanket is beautiful and very soft. Just ask.

[Stitch_Is_King]

We did two of the MVMCP on this past trip one on 11/12 and the other on 11/15. Both parties the crowds were fairly light. As far as the shows, the show at the castle was very good. The new Totally Tomorrowland Christmas was not bad but the show at the castle was much better. The parade was very good as well, though I do not think there were many changes from the party we went to in 2007. The fireworks were amazing. After the fireworks the crowd really went down. We were able to walk on any ride with no wait including Peter Pan's Flight!!! That was the first time that ever happened. Also when we were at the party on 11/12 it did not seem they were checking for wristbands but at the 11/15 party, every ride we went on they asked to see our wristbands, which was actually nice to see since it cost $110.00 for two tickets.

[CapJack]

Originally Posted by adctd2WDW

I was at MVMCP last week on Tuesday and Thursday and got this picture of the pirate singers. Just wanted to share. They were funny.


And, just because Goofy was so amazingly funny, here is video of him at the Cosmic Ray's dance


Also, I must agree. My new favorite part of any Disney parade ever are the toy soldiers.

Glad you had a great time. Thanks for posting the video. Looks like DW &DD will love it. That Goofy is awesome!!! Can't Wait until we go on the 15th.

[auntyjenn]

How far in advance did you get spots for parades and shows?

[fan1080]

Was everyone laughing at all the guests who didn't have tickets being escorted out of the park?

[glasslipper]

Originally Posted by adctd2WDW

I was there for the first two MVMCP and this is what they put out ONLY during the
7 different pins, and two different shirts. The first night, Nov. 10, they put out a fleece blanket that was for sale or available at a lower price with a purchase. The next day the blanket was out during the day and the two shirts and pins were not. I am an avid shopper once I get on Disney property. I was in every store on Main Street at least twice during each party. The pins weren't even out for the public to see. You had to ask a CM at a register to see them. I will post pictures if anyone would like- of the shirts, pins or blanket. The blanket is beautiful and very soft. Just ask.

Ok, I'm asking, may I see the pictures please? We'll be going on12/18 the last party day, so I hope they aren't sold out of merchandise! Thanks!