Anyone NOT going to MVMCP?

[tinkerhon]

Pirates and Princesses was a blast and we had really low crowds compared to anything we have ever seen at WDW.

It was soooo great ! Wish they would have kept it !!

 

[smooreo]

Ok. Question for this thread. If going to the Christmas party (approx $500 for us) would be the only time we'd see the castle lit up at night, fireworks or whatever over MK, would you recommend we do it? Both of our MK days are party days, so it's either go to the party or never see MK at night. Kids are 11, 9 and 5. This will likely be their only Disney trip as we live halfway across the world.

Is there any way to change your dates to visit on a non-party date so you can enjoy the park? We have two days at MK and picked one party day and one non-party day so we can enjoy the festivities and fireworks. Our plan is to leave the park around 1 or 2, rest, and then go back around 6 or 7. Our kids are 10 and 13.

If I was traveling from afar (I mean, I'm in Canada and our dollar makes this trip $$$) I'd make the most of it. Seeing the park all lit up would be very special.

 

[annemce118]

I’m going solo Dec. 16 to 18th and decided to do the party on the 17th since I have never done any of these parties before. I’m looking forward to it, esp. the parade!

 

[NurseNoa]

Is there any way to change your dates to visit on a non-party date so you can enjoy the park? We have two days at MK and picked one party day and one non-party day so we can enjoy the festivities and fireworks. Our plan is to leave the park around 1 or 2, rest, and then go back around 6 or 7. Our kids are 10 and 13.

If I was traveling from afar (I mean, I'm in Canada and our dollar makes this trip $$$) I'd make the most of it. Seeing the park all lit up would be very special.

This was the original plan. However, looking at pretty much any crowd calendar changed my mind. The differences in the crowd levels both at MK on a non-party day as well as any other park on a party day, convinced me that I should swap it. Josh at EasyWDW recently posted a comparison of MK on a party day vs a non-party day. It was frightening.

My kids don't know what they'll be missing (and neither do I). And if you think the Canadian- US exchange rate is bad, try us. We live in Israel! For comparison - our 5 day non- PH tickets cost the equivalent of my monthly salary. Adding on the Christmas party is the cost of groceries for a month!

 

[Miumiu4me]

We will be at WDW Dec 19-26, so we overlap the last two parties. I keep waffling btwn going or not to MVMCP. We had a not great experience at MNSSHP late Aug...rain and crowds threw us. Wondering if anyone else stuck on this decision.

The parties used to attract less people. We've done MNSSHP 2x in the last two years and it's always been jam packed on Fridays. We went last night and the cutting was out of control. We may do the Xmas party, but in November, not December. The parties tend to sell out the closer you get to Xmas.

 

[meghanb133]

I live within driving distance (about 2hours) and we are AP holders but I have vowed never to do MVMCP ever again. Due to the price and the crowd levels I just can't justify it. I would rather go during the day and enjoy the decorations and not pay an arm and a leg to not be able to move freely through a crowd.

 

[melanielll]

We went for years. Last year was our last time. As everyone has mentioned the cost and the crowds (oh my god, the crowds) are what will keep us away from now on. I see nothing near $100 in value per person. After last year, they would have to pay me to go.

 

[kathy884]

It was an easy decision for us to pass on this.

We're in Orlando Nov. 10-14 -- just three full days. Those in our party doing the MK opted to do a full day there on the 13th vs. doing the party. For our three days Day 1 is a family visit day (family in the area -- some will fit in the Titanic attraction, the wax museum, and the Orlando Eye too), Day 2 will be a big gang going to SeaWorld -- it's the one park everyone in the extended family group really likes -- the seniors, the 20 somethings, everyone. It's also the one place our Orlando relatives have a season pass for this year. And Day 3 some will be going to the MK (the classic Disney park that we always like to hit on a short trip) and others who don't care for Disney or who decided to accompany the non Disney lovers will be going to Gatorland.

Sure the MK is fun any time, but as for parties we did the Christmas party once -- been there, done that, bought the T shirt and although you never know we're not planning to do it again. I thought the party was way too crowed last time we did it. I like regular days more because doing rope drop, the first two hours of the day at least usually aren't very crowded. The party was crowded except for the last 20 minutes of ride time before closing when we did it. Now too party prices are almost as much as a one day ticket even if you are doing one and only one day at Disney and purchasing the expensive one day pass.

This is just me and my bean counter personality, but I think special experiences at Disney and parties at Disney are overpriced. I've tried a few different ones over the years, haven't been all that impressed, and just do the parks now. Interestingly enough though I think that regular park tickets, while pricey are a good entertainment value for what they offer. This is just my own personal opinion, of course. And I should mention too that we aren't into the characters. I think that for some getting to see special characters that you don't normally see in the parks is a big deal. This is not us.

 

[Carla1183]

We aren't. Just decided not to spend the money. Our plan is to do our 1st MK day on a party day since crowds look lower and duck out and go to Poly for dinner. Then our 2nd MK day we are going in later and staying until fireworks/HEA since we won't get to see them on party day.

 

[rileyz]

I’ll be there over thanksgiving and I’m not interested in going. We went last year and the number of ppl who didn’t have tickets and hung around annoyed me greatly. I also didn’t find the ride lines to be short. Not worth the cost for us anymore.

 

[BlueStarryHat]

We're there Dec. 8th through the 14th. Our first day (which we usually spend at the MK til close) is a party day and so we'll have to leave early because we're not planning on going then or at any time. Our budget just doesn't leave room for it.

 

[MNDisneyMommy]

Debated this quite a bit for our upcoming trip (first week in Dec). Two younger kids (6 and 3) and looking at the cost it just didn't seem worth it - we don't keep them up later and there is plenty of other Christmas stuff to do. The reviews I read aren't very glowing. We went to the Halloween party a long time ago and loved it, but the park was nearly empty and we could stay until close. As much as I want to see the different parade and the snow and the fireworks...it's a pass for this year. Maybe on another trip when the kids can stay up later and we can ride during the early peak hours and see the second parade, etc.

That said - since I'm assuming if this is still a debate there is some room left in the budget - the previous poster who mentioned crowd level differences for party days was right on. Our last visit was during Halloween party season and the night we went to see the parade and fireworks is seared in my memory due to massive crowds. We were going to ride a few rides, grab a quick service, and then see them but when we got there the parade route was lined already (2 hours early!) and so we found a little spot and did the same and sent someone for our QS and ate right there on the ground. I was so glad I brought a bunch of glow sticks otherwise the kids would have gone ballistic waiting that long. Without the parade I expect the fireworks waiting is even more nuts.

So, this trip we booked the Plaza HEA Dessert Party as our "treat" - it was much cheaper than the party, and I won't have to battle crowds or wait forever to get that right-on view of HEA so I'm happy.

 

[smooreo]

This was the original plan. However, looking at pretty much any crowd calendar changed my mind. The differences in the crowd levels both at MK on a non-party day as well as any other park on a party day, convinced me that I should swap it. Josh at EasyWDW recently posted a comparison of MK on a party day vs a non-party day. It was frightening.

My kids don't know what they'll be missing (and neither do I). And if you think the Canadian- US exchange rate is bad, try us. We live in Israel! For comparison - our 5 day non- PH tickets cost the equivalent of my monthly salary. Adding on the Christmas party is the cost of groceries for a month!

Isreal is a long ways away! I couldn't agree more about how busy the park will be. What changed our mind was getting a PPO BOG reservation, so we can be in the park early to ride 7DMT. We're also going Dec 3 - 8 and it seems like the park predictions are manageable.

Have you checked out the other website with lots of info for a touring plan? Josh says a great plan is the key even in a busy park. Might just be something to think about. Here are his plans for MK...

https://www.easywdw.com/easy/magic-...s-rope-drop-wait-times-and-fastpass-priority/

And rope drop makes all the difference.

Have an awesome trip!!!

 

[NurseNoa]

Isreal is a long ways away! I couldn't agree more about how busy the park will be. What changed our mind was getting a PPO BOG reservation, so we can be in the park early to ride 7DMT. We're also going Dec 3 - 8 and it seems like the park predictions are manageable.

Have you checked out the other website with lots of info for a touring plan? Josh says a great plan is the key even in a busy park. Might just be something to think about. Here are his plans for MK...

https://www.easywdw.com/easy/magic-...s-rope-drop-wait-times-and-fastpass-priority/

And rope drop makes all the difference.

Have an awesome trip!!!

Thank you! We are really looking forward to this trip.

At this point I booked our fast passes based on being at MK for 2 party days. Our trip is less than 60 days out and there would be no availability for the good rides.

I did pay for a touring plans membership (and Kenny the Pirate) so we should be able to see/do everything we want to, even with the early end to the day.

My brother may be joining us there, and if he does he'll be treating us to MVMCP tickets. That's pretty much the only way I think.

 

[CanuckGirl78]

Thank you! We are really looking forward to this trip.

At this point I booked our fast passes based on being at MK for 2 party days. Our trip is less than 60 days out and there would be no availability for the good rides.

I did pay for a touring plans membership (and Kenny the Pirate) so we should be able to see/do everything we want to, even with the early end to the day.

My brother may be joining us there, and if he does he'll be treating us to MVMCP tickets. That's pretty much the only way I think.

We were in the same boat and picked 2 MK days as party days because the crowds were supposed to be lower. But when I realized we wouldn’t be able to see HEA, I moved one of our MK days to be a non-party day...unfortunately, it’s also an EMH evening day, so the crowds are going to be nuts! But we’re spending our wi days so planning on taking our time each day to see everything and got FPs for all the rides we want, so we’ll bear with the crowds if it means we can watch HEA one night.

 

[SaintsManiac]

Went in 2015 and considered it briefly for this year. We decided we would rather do the HEA dessert party and an extra character meal instead. We had a lot of fun at MVMCP, but it's one and done for us. We'll be doing MNSSHP next year.

 

[MrsDuck]

We went to MNSSHP this year and were disappointed at the crowds. Doubt we will hit either party again. And, this is after years of going!

 

[karrit2000]

We used to always do one of the first MVMCP's at the end of our annual F & W trip in November. It has gotten so ridiculously expensive that we stopped going years ago. I always enjoyed it but it does seem way more crowded than MNSSHP.

 

[mamamelody2]

We're doing it, but we have never done it before and I consider it a splurge. Also, it's just DH and I, so about $200, instead of $500 if the kids were coming. We have gone to WDW twice in September, but have never done MNSSHP either, just because it's so pricey!

 

[joyjoy]

Ok. Question for this thread. If going to the Christmas party (approx $500 for us) would be the only time we'd see the castle lit up at night, fireworks or whatever over MK, would you recommend we do it? Both of our MK days are party days, so it's either go to the party or never see MK at night. Kids are 11, 9 and 5. This will likely be their only Disney trip as we live halfway across the world.

Well, that's a tough one. If it reaaaallllly will be their only trip to WDW (Never say never. You have no idea what kind of monster -a good monster- you're about to create) then I might be inclined to say pay the big bucks and go to the party. BUT. That's so much money. You know what else is super magical at Christmas time? Epcot. Other resorts. Animal Kingdom. I am willing to bet you have so much fun that no one, even you, will regret not doing the party.