We rarely ride the rides at
MNSSHP and MVMCP and we usually do either 2 or 3 parties in a trip. My DD's top priority has always been the characters, so we spend the first party focused solely on characters. The 2nd party would be the shows, parades, and dance party, and picking up any important characters we did not get to the first night. . If we did a 3rd party, it would be picking up the things we did not get to at the first 2 parties, enjoying the atmosphere, maybe riding a few rides; and DD always wanted to go back to the dance parties. Also, there are almost always a couple of characters, that involve getting in line hours before the party starts to avoid a long wait (for example for us for MNSSHP it used to be Jack and Sally and 7 Dwarfs). We would split those between 2 nights- catching one each night- so we didn't spend a ton of party time having to wait for one or the other. Kenny the Pirate does a great guide of what characters are there and the best times/way to meet them. You definitely want a plan for the characters, and to do your research ahead of time, because the lines for several of them can be really long. If you focus on just characters the first night-- then you know who you didn't get to, that you need to make sure to catch at one of your other two parties so you don't miss any that are really important to the kids. Again- I'm speaking from the perspective of the characters being the absolutely most important thing at the party to my DD-- that was our top priority. Looks like your kids are really young--- my DD at that age could go from character to character all night and think it was the best night ever even though there were lines for each character. DH and I might get tired of waiting in character lines, but she never did. You will want to be flexible so if yours get tired of the lines, you can break it up by doing something different.
Your biggest issue in how to plan is going to be wanting to do the early parade each party. The late parade is typically really easy to get a spot--- the early one it can be very difficult without planting yourself in a spot for a long period of time- especially if it is a sold out party night. I would think at that least one of your 3 nights would not be a sell out night. If you get to your first party night and it is not sold out, I would definitely be flexible to stake out a spot and do the early parade that night even if you originally planned it for other nights. I can recall when DD was 2 on a sold out night trying to get a spot on Main Street anywhere in the first 2 rows of people over an hour before the parade and having no luck at all. We gave up and went to Frontierland and still couldn't find a decent spot. We finally gave up and did the 2nd parade-- we got a front row spot on Main Street, she slept on my lap until it started we work her up when you could see it coming and she got excited and watched it- and then she was asleep in the stroller before we got out of the MK gate. If you can't get a decent spot on Main Street for the first parade, we have had a lot of luck with Frontierland for the earlier parade.
The show in front of the castle can get very crowded. I would also do that before your last party if you are doing 3- because every now and then it can get cancelled for technical or other reasons. I remember one year we got a prime spot by sitting and waiting an hour, only to have them cancel the showing due to a technical problem-- we were not happy we wasted that party time. They did have the characters come out and stand and wave, and I think they did a couple of Christmas carols- but certainly nothing we would have waited for. Again, if you can hit that one on a non sold out night, it is best. Also, for an earlier show, if you want to be near the front for the castle show, that one is going to involve staking out a spot for a significant period of time.
As far as the Tomorrowland Christmas Show, unless something has changed, that one is not hard to catch and isn't overly crowded.
The dance parties- like the Jingle Jam are pretty much a constantly going- anytime it fits with what you are doing thing. Do look at the schedule to be sure of the hours-- sometimes they end before the party ends. The characters rotate-- I want to say about every 15 minutes- so you definitely want to spend some time there, so see who else comes out. At age 2 and 3, my DD could have spent all night at the dance parties if we let her. My DD always loved the dance parties....well except the time when she was little Bullseye bent over and clocked her in the head and flattened her to the ground and left her with a goose egg on her head. LOL.
Have a great trip!!!
