Anyone who did MVMCP and didn't like it

[kbkids]

I agree with the poster who said if you're already in the park that day that it isn't worth it. But we went last Thursday night just for the party and had a blast. We got in at 4:00 - the park was EMPTY!! - rode all the big rides twice by 6:00. Total walk-ons for the rides, front seat first trip, back seat second trip. We even managed to watch the 8:15 parade which is supposed to be the most crowded - had an awesome spot right on Main Street and only got there 30 minutes ahead of time. Main Street was deserted for the fireworks, everyone crowded around the castle, and it was so pretty. We stayed until midnight, riding all the other rides. Longest wait for a ride was Haunted Mansion and that's only because it broke down, and we had to wait for them to fix it.

In our case, we only went for MVMCP. So, we had 8 hours in the park with no crowds for less money than your standard one-day ticket. That was worth it for me.

I love the Christmas parade, and to my knowledge, it isn't shown during the day in early December. No way would we ever go closer to Christmas. This is our second time going to MVMCP, and I would definitely do it again if we didn't have another day to be in MK. If we were planning to be in MK at another time, probably wouldn't spend the $ on MVMCP.

 

[WDW Poly Princess]

I like MVMCP, but I probably won't do it again for a while because I don't think it's worth it, especially now that they have the evening extra magic hours. Snow on main street is cute, and the "free" cookies and hot chocolate are nice, but I don't see how the event is worth the price. If they had an option where you could get a ticket for around $10 if you already had park admission, then I would probably like it a lot more!

 

[mama22]

I just wanted to comment I was there on 12/4 and it was crowded! I had a difficult time believing all those people spent so much money for a few hours of party but hey whatever!

I'm glad we did it but honestly if I picked on one thing it was the crowds. We never walked onto any rides like I had heard from people in years past.

We were also there on 12/4 and the crowds were terrible. Of the 5 days we were at the parks, the MVMCP party was the most crowded day. We rode 2 rides, saw the parade, the fireworks, went for the pictures but the lines were impossible(!!!) and couldn't find any hot chocolate. The crowds were just so bad we left at that point. Don't plan on doing it again.

 

[LoveWDW]

We were also there on 12/4 and the crowds were terrible. Of the 5 days we were at the parks, the MVMCP party was the most crowded day. We rode 2 rides, saw the parade, the fireworks, went for the pictures but the lines were impossible(!!!) and couldn't find any hot chocolate. The crowds were just so bad we left at that point. Don't plan on doing it again.

This actually sounds like our experience, too. Same day. We did find the hot chocolate- no lines for that anyway.

I don't think the snow was bubbles- it was very very light- hardly visible actually. Not like snowfall, more like snow float.

 

[carol-lamb]

I also have to agree with most of the posters. We went to the party on Friday the 9th. It was pretty crowded. I had originally purchased tickets for the 8th, but spent that whole day in the rain at Animal Kingdom and we thought it was going to rain at night. They let me exchange our tickets for the 9th, but they charged me $5 extra for each ticket because it was on a Friday! That to me was the biggest "ripoff" I have ever experienced at Disney. They actually charge more for the party on Friday nights. Why??? Now - all that aside - I'm glad I did the party because this was my first visit at Christmas. I had a very nice time at the party. The shows and the parade were great. We thought the cookies and hot chocolate were really good. The snow on Main Street was very pretty also!!! Oh - and the Holiday Wishes was excellent. However, I don't think I would do the party again. I just feel it was too expensive, especially because we did use one of the days on our passes to go to Epcot that morning & afternoon and it kind of seemed like we paid for park admission twice that day. It wouldn't have seemed that expensive if all we did that day was MVMCP, especially since they let you start coming in at 4:00. We were only at Disney for 5 days and I wanted to go into a park in the morning and afternoon of the party so we would be able to see as much as possible.

 

[kjs1976]

We went on Sat night. I agree that if you spend the whole day in the park, it makes for a long day. But with out the normal heat taking everything out of us, we were able to make it until midnight. To us it was worth it to see the parades, fireworks, and see the park let up in red and green lights. The cookies were very tasty and easy to locate. The maps were nice and I don't understand why people couldn't "find" things because they were easily pointed out on the MVMCP maps wheich we found everywhere.

It was hard to get to see all the shows and special x-mas events. We waited 45 min. to save a spt for Wishes and rested and ate our cookies then. We waited a 1/2 hour for a spot on MS for the parade...we really wanted to see it there so we waited longer for that spot. Country bears was always packed so we never waited to see it. Never made it to see the Night Before performance as we were waiting for other things.

Not a lot of characters out like it said on the map....met Scrooge McDuck by Exposition Hall. Saw Aladdin and Rafiki but no one else. People were crazy over merchandise...only kids shirts in Toon Town which was disappointing but we got adult shirts at Star Traders.

Picture lines were short...but would've been nice to get it with a character. Lines for rides were walk-on status except for PPF and Dumbo. Really nice!

We loved it but won't go again until we have kiddos and they are older.

 

[mariolatry]

We went on a Thursday night in 2004 (12/4 or 12/6, I think) and it was PACKED!! More people than there were during the day. The photo line was 45 minutes, Winne the Pooh line was 40+ minutes. They had cast members with flash lights directing traffic outside Stitch in Tomorrowland ("Keep moving, there's nothing to see here") The show in Tomorrowland was standing room only (people were there reserving seats 60 minutes early). A waste of money.

I talked to a woman who had gone to MVMCP almost every year and she said they had really scaled down; fewer characters, decorations, attractions.

 

[civileng68]

. The cookies were much better. They handed out free buttons during the party. Now its just basic with a little holiday flair.

Agreed.

I didn't think the cookies were very good this year. They tasted fine but definately were not "fresh baked", at least on 12/1. They were quite dry in fact.

 

[MHTeacher]

I guess I'll be one of the few posters who actually had a great time at MVMCP. We went to our first one a couple of weeks ago--Tues., Nov. 29. I noticed that a lot of posters who were complaining about crowds went on Thursday, Friday, or Sunday nights. We chose Tuesday, because we hoped there would be a lighter crowd on an early weeknight. The crowds were great for us---we walked on most rides, with a max. wait of maybe 5 minutes.

Would I do it again? I don't know. The entire reason we went to the party, was because I was unable to book a breakfast with Cinderella in the castle. While my DD's (ages 9 and 11) would have enjoyed the breakfast, our whole family had a blast at MVMCP, for almost the same cost.

 

[WaltD4Me]

We went Dec. 9th of 2004 and I don't think I would do it again. It was ALOT more crowded than expected, we never even managed to get the cookies and cocoa or the picture!

The two best things were the Christmas parade, which was awesome and Holiday Wishes. I'm glad I got to see those, but other than that it wasn't worth the extra money. I was excited to see the snow on Main Street...and it was very pretty, but they also make it snow at the Osbourne Light display in MGM,
and it was just as pretty.

If MVMCP ever went back to being truly limited like it was apparently in the past I would probably give it another try though.

 

[mrsv98]

We wnet twice last year, once with DD adn once without. In our opinion, it is not worth the money. We went on a Tues and Thurs early in the season, supposedly "light" evenings and it was packed both times. The only good time was as the park was closing for the evening before the official party opened. Other than that, the waits for rides were long with no FPs.

Unless you want to sit around for a long time, you couldn't get anywhere near the parade routes. And we are not big "show" people, we want to go on the rides and not wait forever.

I think for us, it was fine we did it once, but we won't go again. We are going in late Jan and will trade off the weather for low crowds.

 

[beattyfamily]

As someone who LOVES MVMCP, and has gone 4 times now, I'm hoping this thread will mean that MVMCP will be less crowded in the future!!!

 

[MyGoofy26]

We went once years ago when it was still a relatively "small" event and fewer tickets were sold. It was wonderful then. The only line was for the hot chocolate and cookies. Everything else you'd walk on and ride as much as you like.

We did it again two years ago and it was packed. You couldn't find an inch of space to breathe. Definitely not the same experience. I wouldn't say I'd never do it again, but I'd certainly avoid sold out nights.