StephSalyer said:
Bought mine in Juy due to this very reason. Like I said before, my family goes to one of the last parties every year and they have all been sold out.
Even though the parties have been sold out, it has all been very manageable. The only long line we have ever waited in was to get our photo done. The picture in 2003 was of such bad quality, we didn't even bother last year. Other than the photo line and the parades, it seemed as if we had the park to ourselves.
The one thing I did notice though was that no matter what time you go to Tomorrowland it always seemed the busiest. Could this be because that is where the holding area has traditionally been and people just get hung there all night??? Hmmmmmm.......... Or is it that Tomorrowland is always busy??
I noticed on Friday night that Tomorrowland was crowded as well, and couldn't figure it out..... in fact after the fireworks EVERYONE seemed to be walking back into Tomorrowland.
I have found after attending 3 XMAS parties and 4 Halloween parties, that the most crowded area seems to be Main Street when folks are lining up for the early parade, but once you get through it the park is great! There was a great line entering the park - we got there about 7:15 from dinner at the Contemporary - I'm used to being in the park early on party nights.
HINT - the late parade is much less crowded. It started at the front of the park, and we had spots right near the candy/hat stores and everything stopped there for a moment - great for picture opportunities! It was nice too, since those leaving after the parade emptied out from the front of the park rather than the folks in the back of the park trying to leave while the parade was still moving up Main St towards the train station ---- Logistically speaking it makes more sense to me! I'm sure they have their reasons for starting the parade at the back of the park too!
Fantasyland was great - 5 min wait for Peter Pan (normal wait always at least 45 min), walk on to Small World, etc. We had to hurry from Fantasyland to Tomorrowland for the Christmas show at the Galaxy Theater and the only "traffic" we encountered was around Merchant of Venus area. We also did Buzz after with maybe a 10 min wait, and due to the coolness of the evening, when we rode the People Mover - there was a fog around the park - I'm guessing because of all the heat near the ground - it was very pretty!
Someone said that they are not sure the extra money is worth some cookies and cocoa (which we never seem to get) and a free picture - which we did wait about 25 min for - but it is the extra holiday spirit in the air! This was the coldest it has been in the three years we have lived here and attended (always been the same week, as my sister visits the same time) - so it was nice to have a chilly nose! This was my 81 year old mother's first
MVMCP, so it was extra special! We didn't cover as much ground as we might have, but it was important to my sister and I and my DD that we did this as a family!
It was a wonderful evening, one that I will remember for a long time. It's as Magical of and experience as you make it!