Is MVMCP really worth $75??

[goofy4prez]

For me once was enough doing MVMCP. The whole idea of having the park exclusively to those who purchase the hard ticket event sounds great; an exclusive parade and fireworks, snacks, meet & greets, lower lines for attractions, less crowds... The only thing wrong? Disney oversells this thing so that it is so packed. Main Street was a cluster mess, trying to watch the fireworks cm's would holler and herd you like cattle to pack the massive crowds into a small area, the lines for attractions were long, forget about the meet & greets... Unless Disney stops overselling these events, I have attended my first and last one.

 

[keishashadow]

We used to do MVMCP when it was "cheap" and use as a park day when short on tickets. The 'snow' is as cute as it can be to those of us who have to shovel the real stuff. Hot chocolate was just ok & I recall the snicker doodles were pretty darn good. Other than that I don't remember much. GD asked to attend for upcoming trip...guess where I'm going? will be nice to see it through her eyes.

However, MNSSHP is well worth it to us. Halloween is our thing. DH was less than a week over bacterial pneumonia a few years ago, it was drizzling and he was still happily staked out to 'capture' the headless horseman with his camera.

We did the Villains add-on last year and thought it well worth the $ for the perks, including not being cheek to cheek for the parade. Disappointed it's not offered this year. The AKV A.M. excursion into AK was another thing we really enjoyed. They were both were typically sold but yanked. Honestly, don't mind spending some extra $ for something we consider worthwhile, just make up the difference somewhere else in the vacation budget.

 

[Rochester Disney Fan]

I am going to MVMCP for the first time. This actually worked out for our family because we were taking an impromptu trip November 18-22 since I had to cancel our summer vacation plans due to an accident. We were going to go park free and are staying at SSR. I normally buy Annual Passes every other year starting them in August and revisiting in July to get at least 2 trips out of the passes. I didn't want to start a pass in November but when I saw the DVC discounted night for the 19th I figured this was a good compromise ( compared to a 1 day park ticket) plus I could see what the event is all about . We will have no problem keeping busy the rest of the trip now.

 

[caracarn]

For $75 I do not feel they are a good value. When we used to take out kids when they were younger it was only $35 and so felt like an add-on rather than purchasing a whole day ticket. The things you can do at the party versus just during regular park admission are definitely more geared to the young children (candy, face painting etc.) and while they are enjoyable as adults, that cost for anyone is worth a second thought.

 

[Mazz519]

Totally not worth the cost.... We used to do them every year in the mid 90s... we noticed as the price went up every year, they would take things away every year also... its nice to experience once but when you do it on a steady basis you can see how it has gotten worse and worse every year... very disappointing

 

[WilsonFlyer]

The sad news for the rest of us is that there will always be enough "once-in-a-lifetimers" there to buy up the tickets that the pricing will likely never go down. The benefits won't go back up either. The overall value at WDW in general continues to diminish yet we all continue to go. Why? It's still better than all the alternatives. Sad actually.

 

[jlwhitney]

I wouldn't count on lower crowds. If you do a search for the MNSSHP threads you'll see that apparently these parties are way too crowded now and Disney hasn't been very good about clearing the park of non-paying guests.

Others who have attended can give you feedback (maybe the MVMCP's are better?), but I doubt our family will be paying extra for any of these parties on future trips.

We did the halloween party on the 20th and it was very manageable crowd wise. It was only the first party that was terrible.

I think the parties are totally worth it and so much fun.

 

[WilsonFlyer]

We've had pretty good experiences with the Halloween parties too but this thread is about the Christmas party and with that one, not so much.

 

[mac_tlc]

We used to go to MVMCP every year, have probably done 10-12, but not any more. The price is too high and they must be selling a lot more tickets than they used to because the crowds are so much bigger than they used to be. The "perks" have also declined .. no free pictures and souvenir buttons anymore.

mac_tlc

 

[Lakegirl]

We went last year during the week and I thought the crowds were fine. We had a lot of fun!

 

[luckyman_apd]

We have done the MVMCP twice and are going for a 3rd. Original was supposed to be a 3 day trip, but became 5 because of airfare. Upgrading to an annual pass while there so I'm actually considering skipping it because of the price. Don't get me wrong, I've enjoyed it....but the first time was definitely better than the second. As far as clearing the park, it takes them a good hour to really clear the park and Main street is a crowded nightmare. People leaving SLOWLY and party goers trying to reserve their parade spot 2 hours in advance = no room to move.

My kids loved it the first time. Danced with woody, Jessie and Bullseye in the Diamond Horseshoe and filled up on cookies all night. The second time we had learned our lesson from the first and stayed in the far corners of the park at 7 so we could do some rides and avoid the masses on main street. IMHO if you were going to do it, Mid November before Thanksgiving crowds come in would probably be the lowest attendance. We've done the MNSSHP once in early September and that was much better. Lower crowds, shorter lines, and the trick or treating was awesome. My wife is a Christmas freak so I doubt I'll be able to talk her out of the party this year.

 

[monique5]

We attended our 1st MVMCP last year on December 18th. Our 10 yr anniversary. Saw negative reviews about non-ticket holders, long waits, too many tickets sold, etc. Decided needed to are least try it once. GLAD WE DID! Had a plan based on a few sites & threads here. Low expectations, too many said last party extra crowded. Booked CRT @ 2:30. Reserved FP+ for 4, 5 & 6. DH got in 7D line @ 5:30, 3rd in line. Family in front had 2 girls & a boy. Men stayed in line, girls rode Little Mermaids then meet Ariel, then rode WP. Got refreshments while waiting on 7D, finished by 7:20. Then meet the princesses with Princes across the way. Then Frozen Holidays @ castle. Did NF M&G. Then parade. Paid for Wishes Dessert Party for fireworks. Worth it. Then back to NF, Dumbo & Barnstormer. Meet Sandy Claus, 5 min wait. May have times mixed up, but all of the above accomplished plus a few more things. Left around 12:20. Did photo opportunity in Town Square heading out.

IMO, TOTALLY WORTH IT!

 

[disneynutz]

The sad news for the rest of us is that there will always be enough "once-in-a-lifetimers" there to buy up the tickets that the pricing will likely never go down. The benefits won't go back up either. The overall value at WDW in general continues to diminish yet we all continue to go. Why? It's still better than all the alternatives. Sad actually.

Prices go down??? You know better than that, less benefits and a higher price is guaranteed!

Bill

 

[Sammie]

Do not going thinking the crowds will be low, as they won't. Also I would not buy in advance until you see what the weather is like. I went to one rainy, cold one and never again will I do that.

As to clearing out non paying party guests, I think it is one the thing they do very well. We have never seen them not get people out. I have even seen them escort out some of the stragglers and ask those sitting outside of Liberty Square eating a funnel cake to take it with them and move toward the exits.

As to those that think Disney is getting to be not worth the cost, why do you keep going? There is so much that is great to see in other locations, I would never go if I was dissatisfied with any of it.

 

[Popouri DVC]

We loved it last year and are doing it again this year!!! The snow was fantastic and the 'Once Upon a Christmastime' parade was the best. Of course last year was my first time so I have nothing to compare it to...

 

[Luv2trav]

No not worth it. We have gone a few times and our last time was 2 years ago and it was painfully crowded. I am not sure if the new hub has helped with the crowded feeling but we were miserable.

 

[HannaBelle]

I am glad I found this thread! This is my big debate for our trip in Dec 2016. MVMCP or no? I am thinking no...

For those that loved it, what did you love most?

We are traveling the 2nd Sunday in December, staying at BLT, doing 1 day in each park and we are not getting hoppers. I am going to try to plan a relaxing trip that won't include hitting the parks commando style. This will be our 4th trip to WDW and I think we can cherry pick what we want to do. I am really banking on the lower crowds and mild weather to make this a great trip. My thought is we will catch the fireworks for MVMCP from the Top of the World Lounge. Is it safe to assume they will pipe in the music?

Our kids are older (will be 18 & 23 at the time of the trip) so we are not huge on pics with the characters or parades. Free hot chocolate and cookies is not really worth the price of admission for us. Am I missing something that would make the party more attractive for us?

We stayed at the Contemporary over NYE in 2008 with a theme park view and were blown away by the fireworks. Everything else has paled in comparison.

We have done several different tours and I am considering booking the Wild Africa Trek at Animal Kingdom... I want to do the Candlelight Processional at Epcot.

 

[Anal Annie]

OP here. We leave on Sat. morning and did not sign up to go - as HannaBelle said, hot chocolate & cookies is not worth $75 pp. We saw the "snow" last summer at the Frozen Summer Fireworks in HS. It was very cool but I'm assuming kind of sort of the same kind of deal. WE . JUST . CANNOT . FIND . ENOUGH . PERKS . TO . BE . WORTH . $75 . That said, I AM sad to miss it. But we just don't have extra money to piss away right now with DS a freshman in (a private) college. The only reason we're even going right now is for DH's conference at CSR Mon-Wed - I am just tagging along 'cuz I didn't want to stay home completely alone. We already had AP's so all I had to do was buy my airfare since his company is paying his way and for the room. We have another family trip planned Jan 2 - 8 while DS is home for winter break - so along with Christmas money we have to come up with some more funds for that trip. I hope to find time to slip over to HS to see the Osbourne lights on this trip. So maybe we'll go to MVMCP on another trip, once DS is out of school (although by then it will probably be $100 pp)! LOL

 

[Deb & Bill]

I might see buying the ticket if you had tickets by the day (not APs). $75 would be cheaper than $103 (or whatever they charge now for a single MK day).

 

[southerngirl528]

Deb & Bill summed up just one reason my family and I LOVE Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party. When you have as large a family as I do when most of the kids are together, it is a good way to get us all into the MK at a lower price. And we LOVE Christmas! For me the parade and the snow on Main St. USA, the shows, the fireworks, the dance party for the little ones, and the overall festive atmosphere is great fun. I did the Not So Scary party once and thought it was "meh". JMHO. I much, much prefer the Christmas party. I do have to agree that they have increased the park numbers allowed for the party too much. Just moving around the Hub and Main St is a mess. For me that is the only real downside.