Is the Christmas Party worth it?

[Maggie'sMom]

I'd say it's worth it. We went on Friday the 11th and loved it. It was my second MVMCP, the first was in 2010, and we didn't feel it was over-crowded. We entered at 4:00 and left when the party was over. So we had 8 hours of enjoyment. We concentrated on doing things that you only see at the parties, e.g. meeting the 7 Dwarfs, meeting the princes, watching the parade and fireworks, etc. We did not use a ticket day to enter any park earlier in the day. I think using another ticket earlier in the day would make me feel I was wasting money. Instead, we toured the resorts to look at Christmas decorations and did some shopping at DTD, oops, I mean Disney Springs. I would definitely do it again.

 

[mamabahama]

Totally worth it for us. DDs (17 yo twins) and I went on 12/17 which was sold out. We don't do meet & greets so it was all
about the rides, parade, and fireworks.

We parked at MK around 2pm and took the monorail over to the Grand Floridian to see the decorations. We got back to MK and were through bag check and got our wrists bands by 3:45.

We had three fastpasses in fantasyland (Pooh, Peter Pan, and Dumbo), saw Enchanted Tales with Belle and rode the tea cups and the Barnstormer standby, got a snack at Gaston's tavern then took the train to Frontierland right as it got dark.

We rode splash mountain twice and thunder mountain twice with posted five minute waits but basically just the time to walk through the queue. Strolled around with cocoa and cookies and rode the magic carpets before heading to Main Street for Celebrate the Magic and fireworks. I think the expanded hub makes it so much easier to get a spot. We found a great spot right in front of the castle and sat for maybe ten minutes before it started.

We finally decided that seven dwarf mine train line was short enough so we waited maybe 20 minutes for that (only line all night!) then sat down and split a flatbread at Pinnochios.

We headed back over to Frontierland and rode splash one more time then walked up to the parade route and squeezed in three minutes before it started.

After the parade we wandered around some more, enjoying the atmosphere and more cocoa. We rode small world and the carousel then walked slowly towards Main Street to do a little last minute shopping. Could have gotten back in line for 7dmt but we were pretty tired.

Totally worth it for us for the almost non-existent lines and nighttime Christmas atmosphere. I grew up in Orlando so have been to MK many times and this was the most walk-on I have ever seen rides.

 

[katt789]

I personally think it's worth it to go at least once, especially if you're there early in the month when the shows/parades are different during the day.

There's free cookie & hot chocolate (or apple slices & apple juice) stops all over the parks, extra characters, more rare characters, xmas outfits on characters, a fun parade, 2 cute different stage shows, and holiday fireworks, and way less crowded attractions.

The main pull for us is the characters, and I've gone multiple times the past 2 years because of them.

 

[GaSleepingBeautyFan]

If you have never been, it's definitely worth experiencing for the fireworks and parade. I also like the character meet and greets. I've never gone for the rides but did squeeze a few in this year during the party since I wasn't doing many meet and greets. The rides I did had short lines.

I've gone 4 times now and I'm done until they add more new characters or change up the parade.

 

[bc7ate9]

We went the MVMCP on Dec 3 this year. We definitely thought it was worth it. The draw for us is the characters (Sandy Claws and Scrooge McDuck were our priorities this year) and the parade. Our party wasn't crowded, though. The Halloweeb party we went to this year was very crowded and I agree with others who say the crowded parties are not worth it. It's hard to predict that, though.

 

[mshanson3121]

Absolutely not. It was horrendously crowded. And it was dark. And we couldn't see anything.

Except for the fireworks. We could see that. Still not worth it for the cost for a family. E-gads.

What do you consider horrendously crowded? I'm curious what it would compare to for crowd levels. I mean, we went in summer during 8/9 days, so... I somehow really doubt it would be *that* bad, but to someone used to 3/4s maybe it is? How bad were wait times?

 

[cmorris303]

We went for the first time in the middle of Dec. For us it was worth it. I read a lot about it on these boards and had a good strategy going in. We got to the park right at 4 and used our fastpasses before the party. We enjoyed the meet and greets and walking onto some of our favorite rides. We opted to watch the parade in Frontierland and had a great view with a lot of character interaction. We were glad that we did it.

 

[kitkat4622]

We did it on our very first trip to disney for me it wasn't worth the money. One and done for us

 

[OhioStateBuckeye]

We've going to the World the first part of December 2016. This will be our first trip during Christmas and are considering doing the Christmas Party. Is it really worth it? The biggest advantage I've heard is that the attractions are much less crowded. Besides that, is there anything else that brings people back year after year?

It really depends.

Do you have kids who will be able to stay up until midnight? If not, then maybe it won't be worth it
Do you like special or rare characters? If yes, the party might be for you
Do you just want short lines for attractions? If so, you can probably find short wait times during nighttime extra magic hours

 

[Kiddosx7]

Yes I think it is worth it to at least experience it one time. We did it in December and loved it.