Mickey's Very Merry - Anyone else disappointed??

[Missyrose]

I wonder how uncrowded parties in previous years were. We did the Fri, Dec 9 party, which was sold out, and we thought there was a lot of elbow room in the park. In fact, the park was far more crowded in the early afternoon than it was as 7pm approached. During the party, headliner lines were really short (SM 20 minutes, iasw a walk-on, etc,), and it was easy to walk across the park to hit the cookie stations--where lines were only a couple of minutes each. We didn't do any character meets, and we do agree that the hot cider was better than the lukewarm (at best) allegedly hot chocolate. But we also thought it was chintzy that the same blue-snowman sugar cookie appeared in more than one location. We had no problem standing in the middle of a relatively uncrowded Main Street to watch the fireworks, and no problem sitting down on the curb after the fireworks to watch the 2nd parade. In fact, we've done a couple of Disneyland Halloween parties before and thought Magic Kingdom's Christmas party was much less crowded than those and much better organized. Our only real problem was the hour we spent sitting on the curb. Dec 9 that evening was in the mid-50s (and falling--we and everyone else were bundled up), and sitting beneath the nonstop, blasting fake snow after the fireworks was f-r-e-e-z-i-n-g!

I bet there's a law of diminishing returns, though, as the ticket prices rise and you've already seen the parade multiple times year after year. We felt that same thing in just two years of Disneyland Halloween parties. But for us as first-timers, the MK Christmas parade alone was worth it. I've wanted to watch those toy soldiers march down Main Street forever, and to me it was almost as enchanting as my all-time favorite Disney parade (DL's Soundsational.) So overall for us, MVMCP was definitely expensive but also very manageable and magical.

We did the party on Dec. 9th. I don't think it was a sold out party but it was extremely crowded!
We only got the snowman cookies as we walked in and the molasses cookies with eggnog (the eggnog cup was only filled a quarter of the way--literally only two swallows).
We were able to get on the Jingle Cruise with only a 5 minute wait at the beginning of the party.
We got our picture with Mickey immediately after the first parade with no wait (we were the first ones in line after the parade).
We saw the second parade in a relatively uncrowded area near the barber shop.
I waited in line at Cosmic Ray's for 50 minutes.
I am not sure we will do the party again. It is so expensive and the crowds were just overwhelming for us.

And here, my friends, is how subjective this question truly is. Two people, same party. One said it "felt" crowded, the other said it didn't. The more time you spend on Main Street in the Hub and Fantasyland during a party, the more crowded the party will feel. If you spend a great deal of time in Frontierland, Adventureland and (to some extent) Tomorrowland, you will likely come away thinking the party wasn't as crowded as everyone warned.

 

[hoffman1]

And here, my friends, is how subjective this question truly is. Two people, same party. One said it "felt" crowded, the other said it didn't. The more time you spend on Main Street in the Hub and Fantasyland during a party, the more crowded the party will feel. If you spend a great deal of time in Frontierland, Adventureland and (to some extent) Tomorrowland, you will likely come away thinking the party wasn't as crowded as everyone warned.

I guess it is a matter of perspective. This was the third Christmas party we have been to in the past 5 years. It was much more crowded than the previous Christmas parties we have been to.

 

[Missyrose]

I guess it is a matter of perspective. This was the third Christmas party we have been to in the past 5 years. It was much more crowded than the previous Christmas parties we have been to.

It can be weird. I went to two MVMCPs in the same week in December 2014, one was a sellout and the other wasn't. The sold-out party felt like a ghost town, while the not-sold-out party felt terribly crowded.

 

[SuperTink]

The price increase isn't subjective.

 

[cedricandsophie]

We have gone several times the last being the Sunday after thanksgiving this year. We always love it. And try to stay at bay lake so it's easy walk there and back. But we would never use a day ticket plus buy a ticket for the party. We just go to the party. You can get in as early as 4. We had early dinner at liberty tree tavern and then got all the rides we wanted. Some with no lines others with lines about 20 min. We don't care about waiting for characters. We stay until closing. We saw the parade, two shows and fireworks. Love the decorations and the overall ambiance.

 

[rangerxenos]

We went once and don't feel the need to do it again.

Same here, I was not impressed, WAY too many people, and I'm not waiting 1 - 2 hours for a character meet and greet, it's ridiculous.

 

[pangyal]

I felt somewhat disappointed in the overall value of the party for sure. It may very well be because we have a young child who can't last past 10:00, so I would definitely revisit this in a few years. Having done an adults-only MNSSHP this year where we stayed until the end and comparing that to the Christmas party, I thought the Halloween party provided far more value overall. We attended on 12/13 and found it way more crowded and worse for wait times than arriving at the park at rope drop any day of the week. The characters our kiddo wanted to meet had wait times so ridiculous that you had to spend three hours or more in line to meet them (which we did indeed do the previous year and just couldn't fathom doing again). We lucked out with a short line for Jack Sparrow, but it was tense because he was going on a long break in fifteen minutes and the CM would not close the line, so we didn't know if we were going to be able to meet him or not. Zootopia characters were swamped when we checked around 10:15, so we had to skip them. We ended up going on maybe five rides, watching the parade, and catch the fireworks. We were not able to see any of the shows or other things going on. I feel these events are at this point way oversold and that you can accomplish the same thing just arriving early to the parks. We saw the snow and the decorations throughout the week, so that wasn't unique, and saw the fireworks from our room. Granted, not everyone will be staying in a room that allows for that, but it's just as easy to see the fireworks from the Poly beach, etc. if one were so inclined. Long story short, I honestly don't see the value of tickets approaching $100 each for a few cookies and a parade. Sorry if I sound bitter, but we were fairly disappointed with the small amount of things we were able to do due to crowds. That being said, if we weren't AP holders and could use the tickets to spend an afternoon at MK without burning a day off park tickets, I'd definitely feel differently. I think that's where the real value in these parties lies.

 

[disneydreamer781]

Not really. I can't compare it to the MNSSHP as we've never done it. I'm not really a M&G person so that didn't have an effect for me. We got there early enough to do some rides but we were done with them by the time the party officially started. We also had a really good variety of cookies and drinks.

We went on a Sunday night in early December and it didn't feel too crowded. The only thing I was disappointed in was it was such a humid night. I was also under the weather for the first couple of days of our trip so wasn't feeling up to par. We actually did the first parade which is a first for us as we usually hang around for the second but we did get a good spot for the parade and my much anticipated Toy Soldiers. Next year I plan on doing the MNSSHP on our October trip. I think I will enjoy that although I will miss my Toy Soldiers immensely.

 

[Happy2BMommy0812]

My family of 4 went to the 12/22 and loved it. We did the Halloween party a few times, most recently last year and have done the Christmas party many years ago before kids. This party was our most favorite. We met a few characters we normally would not meet - judy/nick and jack skellington. We rode many rides, hit a few of the cookie stops, saw the fireworks and part of the parade. My kids stayed ina good mood and we had a blast. The price for sure was crazy - $400 for the 4 of us, so it is not something we would do every trip. But, we have zero regrets. We rested all morning and did not try to enter the park until 5pm. It was busy trying to get in and until 7:30 or so, but after that it didn't feel too bad. Sure, we had some waits for rides, and no we did not ride everything we hoped for, but we were there to soak up the atmosphere and enjoy what we could. We kinda knew what to expect, so maybe that helped. It exceeded our expectations.

 

[Sydrox]

For so many years I have read such wonderful things about MVMCP and have heard it was a "don't miss" from several friends and read so many FABULOUS things about it. I have wanted to take my dd for 16 yrs to this but always declined because it was a splurge and I was nervous about committing to paying for it and not being able to go for some reason. FINALLY after reading about how the waits are never longer than 15 minutes (even on sell out dates) for the rides and many of the character greets were walk ups or minimal waits and how wonderful the castle show is and the parade, etc. etc...we went for it!

Maybe we expected too much?? Just trying to figure out what the $100+ pp gets you other than the parade, a holiday castle show & too many cups of moderately warm chocolate (as non of it was actually hot & it was a cold night) and tons of sugary cookies (that gave us the ultimate sugar hangover the next day).

Yes there were many character meets if you wanted to wait in a line of 25-30+ people--we got onto the Speedway quickly but by 8:00 the waits on many of the popular rides were 30+ minutes?? Maybe that doesn't seem like a lot to many on a given MK day but you are limited on time here folks and when I read in past years the longest wait was 10-15 minutes that's quite a difference!

We basically felt like we walked in circles all night looking for something different and extraordinary or a "walk-on" ride while "dodging" tons of people like we would on a regular park day...the highlight of the night was actually being able to see the parade and not having to save a spot for an hour (which would only be obstructed by some rude person pushing their way in front of us once the parade began)--we actually could see the parade up close with no pushing and shoving and it was a wonderful parade, but for $100, no just didn't make up for it.

Just wondering if anyone else has been disappointed by this event? We were so excited about going and were so excited once we got there but were SO let down & disappointed by the end of the night which even hungover into the next day. Are we the only ones who feel this way?

 

[Sydrox]

We went to the Dec 18 party..and then we went to Sea World on the 19. I think my overall disappointment was Disney compared to Sea World. I know I will get flamed for that comment alone.
We got to go on every ride we wanted to with about a 20 min wait max. The kids did the dance party (they loved it). We stopped at all the cookie locations. All the cast members were great and we loved the Jingle Cruise So there is really no complaints. OK my only complaint is that the bathroom in tomorrow land was beyond disgusting. It was completely out of soap/ no Tp in most stalls and smelled dirty. Disney was gorgeous on Main Street and we loved the snow. But it seemed to be lacking something And I love Disney. It is my happy place and we go multiple times a year.

Sea world had the wow factor. It was beautifully decorated throughout the park , the landscaping (everything was red and white) it also had 4 special Christmas shows (ice skating/ o wondorous nite) the bathrooms were immaculate and had workers in them constantly cleaning them. It was magical....at Christmas.

We were so glad to be able to visit both places. MIckeys Christmas party was great since it was Disney but Sea World was the superior park to visit for Christmas IMO. If you have the time to visit both places you will have totally different and great experiences.

 

[Madonna3]

Went to the party on the 22nd. Last night of the Season. I didn't care for it and there was no one specific reason why, other than I think we just compare it to Halloween and like that one so much better.

We did find it crowded, but I know another poster above me attended the same party and doesn't agree with that. However, we found wait times for Space Mountain at 45 minutes whereas we didn't wait more than 15 to ride Big Thunder Mountain Railroad and no wait for the People Mover. My son waited 20 minutes to ride Tomorrowland Speedway.

The cookies were plentiful. Every time I turned around someone was shoving a cookie in my face. We saw the parade in its entirety as we waited 90 minutes to do so (we chose to. We parked ourselves and then took turns shopping and looking around. This was not a negative) We also saw the fireworks from Tomorrowland and while not directly in front of the castle, we felt we had a pretty nice view, but again, we didn't find them as well done as we do Halloween.

We just didn't think this was our "thing". We are glad we got to do it once, but we have no desire to do it again.

 

[michelleiada]

We did the party on 12/2 and this was our second time, the last time being in 2013. Both times were enjoyable but I believe that the lines for characters are crazy long. Both times I was surprised at how crowded it is. I had expected it to be a bit less being a private ticketed event. We entered MK right at 4 pm and took advantage of 2 fast passes before 7 pm. Ride lines were moderate in my opinion but we got on several rides. We waited until the second parade so it would be less crowded and had a great view. The parade is fun and festive and I think Disney does a great job with it. The castle show was ok but nothing worth raving about. I was disappointed that they no longer have the castle projection show during the party, or at all during the holidays. I know the projection show has recently changed. They did have it back in 2013 during the party, I think it was "celebrate the magic". We loved it, gave me goosebumps. We had raved about it to "first time" family members and they were disappointed that they did not get to see it. I think the cookies are meh at best at this party. Seriously, Disney could do much better! The cocoa was ok, but traveling with my daughter who has celiac, I think the cocoa should be gluten free so that everyone can enjoy it. Swiss Miss is gluten free. Overall, we enjoyed the party, mostly for the parade, the snow on Main Street, and the fireworks (although I think Wishes is far more moving). Will we do the Christmas Party again? I'm not sure. I will add that we did not use a park ticket on the day that we attended the party and only used the party ticket. I certainly don't feel that we have to do this party every time we visit during the holiday season...nothing made me feel "wowed".

 

[Gillbob316]

I was uniquely fortunate enough to go to both a Not-So-Scary Halloween Party and a Very Merry Christmas Party for the first time this year (which is all the more amazing considering I live in Chicago)… and my Nutshell opinion is while they’re similar… Not-So-Scary is better.

I went to Not-So-Scary Mid-September and Very Merry Mid-December, and the fall crowds were 10x better, even for a separate ticket event. Very Merry crowds weren’t terrible… but it wasn’t until I came back in December that I realized just how good the crowd in Sept actually was. My friend and I walked into the courtyard for Hallowishes 10 minutes before it started, found a spot right up front to plop down on the ground, spread out, and enjoyed an amazing view right in front of the castle (WITHOUT staking it out an hour in advance, or anyone walking into it)… That, I found, would be impossible in December, where castle-front real estate for a fireworks show is shoulder to shoulder and people will sardine in front of and behind you.

I found Hallowishes much more enjoyable than Holiday Wishes as well… Standard Wishes and Hallowishes both rely heavily on character quotes, Disney Music, and Disney Nostalgia to give you the warm and fuzzies (Standard Wishes uses whimsical dreamy Disney moments. Hallowishes uses Creepy Cooky Disney Villain moments. Both of which hit a Disney fan at home perfectly in different ways.) Not so with Holiday Wishes. Holiday Wishes is mostly Red, Green, White & Gold fireworks set to choiry, orchestral Christmas music. While it’s fine in the Fa La La La’s… It doesn’t have 1/10th the Specifically-Disney Charm of the other 2 shows, imo, and could be generic Christmas Fireworks anywhere you put it.

Same story with the Parade. Arrived slightly beforehand at Halloween. Found some curb to plop down on. Enjoyed a great view. Not an inch of curb open at Christmas… was asked to move by a CM several times. Finally squeezed in behind a couple… where I was able to sit down, because the girl was sitting, and I could see over her, even seated. View was okay but partially obstructed by other people crowded in around us. Both parades were the first of two of the night. (Very Important Caveat to that Story: I watched the Boo to You parade in Frontierland. I watched the Once Upon a Christmastime parade on Mainstreet, which I imagine makes all the difference in the world. Frontierland felt appropriate for Halloween/The Headless Horseman. Mainstreet felt appropriate for Christmas/Snow/Santa. *Shrug*)

Unlike the fireworks. I felt both parades were pretty equally charming and had a flare unique to their Holiday, while still bringing loads of Disney nostalgia/feels. But again, one in a “Happy Princess Fairytale” way, the other in a “Creepy Cooky Villains” way.

Kind of the same with the castle shows tbh… but the Halloween castle show does feature the Sanderson Sisters from Hocus Pocus, and if you love that movie (as many do) … that makes it all the more amazing. The Christmas Show is a little more standard Disney, wheras their presence in the Halloween show makes it feel more like… a uniquely special occasion.

That said… wait times: I didn’t find I waited very long for a ride at either event… but I do think I waited just a LITTLE bit longer for most at Christmas than I did at Halloween. There were a few I passed on at Christmas because the waits were too long, but then came back to later and they shortened up. I felt I rode an ample amount of rides at both events, with minimal waits.

I didn’t wait for characters at either event, as I’m an adult and it’s not important enough to me to justify the wait. That said… the lines honestly seemed longer at Halloween (at a glance). I think people are more in the mood for Jack Skellington or Villains at Halloween than any given character at Christmas… so that makes sense to me, to some extent.

Paid seasonal stuff is comparable. Special cupcakes. Special desserts. Special Caramel Apples. An event exclusive popcorn bucket and pins and shirts and such. I bought the special Magic Band at both events. HERE’S a real complaint (at both events!) I bought the Not-So-Scary Band, and didn’t find out until I came back AT CHRISTMAS… that it has special lights and sounds in the Magic Kingdom! Because there are no fastpasses at the parties and they only let you buy the bands AFTER the party starts! So I had ZERO reason to actually USE my Halloween band at the Halloween Party! This amazed me… I was listening to “Boo to You” all day on my December trip. And I said, “That’s so stupid! I wish I’d known this was a thing during Halloween! Why don’t they let you use these AT the ACTUAL PARTY!” That said, while I bought the Very Merry Band… same problem. I never got to actually use it. I’m dying to go back next year and see what kind of Christmas lights and sounds it has when used in the park.

But finally… Value… I wasn’t actively TRYING to get cookies or candy at either event for the most part. Just stopped to when I happened upon a treat station… that said, I walked out of Halloween with a metric butt-ton of candy. So much so I had to pay $25 to check a bag on my flight home and take it with me (not that I’m complaining, I had other souvenirs as well)… whether or not a giant sack of candy is worth the money (as one could argue it isn’t)… it makes you FEEL like you’re walking away with more. Wheras 90% of the cookies/cocoa you get at Christmas is unwrapped, so you mostly just walk away with a stomach ache from feeling you have to horf it down on the spot to get what you paid for. I was also upset that like… 4 out of every 5 treat stations had the same generic sugar cookies, and the unique cookies new to this year were scattered very few and far between. I didn’t mind the warm cocoa, I don’t want my cocoa to be scalding when I’m hurrying around a crowded park, frankly. It was adequately warm for me. Anyway, I only left Christmas w/ 2 wrapped cookies… which I just carried in my pocket on the plane. I shared neither with my family, which makes me feel bad, haha. Ate one shortly after I got home, and one on Christmas day. Wheras I shared my Halloween candy… and it still isn’t all gone (Wow that just dawned on me)… Halloween definitely made me feel like I came home w/ more (and like I could share my leftovers w/ my family)… I wish they’d given me more wrapped cookies I could take home w/ me, if they were going to hand the same sugar cookies out everywhere anyway…

ANYWAY… yeah. I already plan to do Halloween again next year. If I have the vacation time/money available to do Christmas again (as I did this year)… I might do it again, but I’m not dying to at the current time, and could see myself skipping it, now that I got it off my bucket list. I basically only talked myself into it this year because I’d enjoyed Halloween so much, and while Christmas was fun and I don’t regret it… it didn’t live up to Halloween’s precident. I’d rather just do a longer Halloween trip next year.

Bonus Info: Epcot has Food & Wine Fest during Halloween & Holidays Around the World During Christmas. Both were fun, and had their own charms… but on the whole, Food & Wine was better. And had some of the best food I’ve ever eaten in a themepark in reasonable portions and reasonable prices. However, exact opposite of Magic Kingdom crowd wise. Food & Wine was the absolute most crowded I'd ever seen Epcot. Holidays Around the World was pleasantly uncrowded, and I coasted from country to country pretty easily. Both were on a Saturday. Even saying that, I still preferred Food & Wine and was wowed by the quality of 4 out of every 5 dishes I ate.

Not to mention if you're of a mind to go across the road to Universal, they go all out for Halloween, wheras Christmas at Universal feels like an afterthought in 90% of the park... outside Seuss Landing and the Holiday Parade.

 

[hiroMYhero]

Moving to Theme Parks Community now that MVMCPs have ended for this year.

 

[Dizjunkieee]

It is interesting.....so many differing thoughts on the same parties. But that is what makes us all unique individuals, right? I am in the minority in that I have found the Halloween parties over the last couple years to be way too overcrowded for a hard ticket event (imho) If i am paying nearly $100/pp I want a slightly more exclusive feeling experience. I far prefer the Christmas Party for that reason. Perhaps I have just been unlucky in my choice of when I attended the Halloween parties and lucky with the Christmas Parties, but after attending both parties again this year, I decided that I won't be doing the Halloween party again in the near future. The Christmas party however, I will continue to visit annually!

 

[Lightsoutx12]

I was planning to go to MVMCP but I never really got to going to it this year, reading some things on here seems like it could be disappointing but I will be attempting to still go next year. On the other hand I was able to go to MNSSHP for the first time this year and I fell in love with it. I felt so immersed in the Halloween spirit and even though I have been to MK so many times it did feel like a different park. I am also a sucker for Disney merchandise so seeing all the Halloween Disney merchandise was really amazing and getting free candy is fun too! I will for sure be going back to MNSSHP next year possibly more than one night. I will have to check out the Christmas party as well.

Edit: forgot to mention the crowds! I'm assuming it may have been the night we went but the longest we waited was 30 min for Haunted mansion. We rode Space Mountain about 4 times, the highest I saw the wait get up to was 30 as well. Overall the rides were very easy to get on and not long waits at all.