Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party Central 2005

[salmoneous]

Lake Howell Holiday Brass is a small marching band - brass heavy as you might guess - that does Christmas songs in the Area of Tororrowland between Space Mountain and The Speedway. Personally, they are the kind of thing you stop and listen to for a little while, but not something you schedule your night around to make sure you hear them. And I like marching bands

 

[Michelle2]

We just went to the MVMCP on Sunday December 4th, and had a GREAT time! We had also been to a MNSSHP in 2002, so had an idea of what to expect....
I was worried about crowds, and thinking of not going, especially after reading about the larger than normal crowds last year, but we never saw them! We must have been in different places at different times. (Thanks Tour Guide Mike!)
We did not have a chance to do the free photo though because the lines were always really really long, even at the very end.

If I had to do it again, I would have had us wear something matching...matching shirts, matching sweatshirts. I ran out of time before our trip. Almost everyone did, and it made it so fun and festive. The hats were the best though. I would have bought those at the beginning of the party too, I especially loved the light up Christmas tree hats. Aren't those so cool!????

And MICKEEP, if you are entering the park at 4:00 and after, they will give you the wristbands right there at the main gate. They did with us, and we entered about 5:15.

 

[MICKEEP]

And MICKEEP, if you are entering the park at 4:00 and after, they will give you the wristbands right there at the main gate. They did with us, and we entered about 5:15.

Thank You...I can always count on the people on these boards for answers to my questions. ...Thanks again

 

[JPN4265]

it's getting close to party time.

 

[eyenjeff]

We were at the party on Dec 1st and never experienced any part of the park being shut down. We were in the park since 2pm, and got our wrist bands about 4pm and then continued on with riding rides etc... We were not shuttled out of any land, just asked for our wrist bands once in a while. There were larger crowds than I expected, but all in all it was a great time!

 

[eyenjeff]

Although the ambiance of watching the parade on Main street has its perks, We prefer to watch it in frontierland because there are less crowds and you dont usually need to camp out 2 hours before the parade to get a seat. We usually show up about 20 mins early and there is always plenty of room, usually by country bear jamboree. IT gives a good view, especially if you are video taping or taking pics! It is the same parade no matter where you see it! GREAT!!! Very Festive!

 

[beattyfamily]

We were at the party on Dec 1st and never experienced any part of the park being shut down. We were in the park since 2pm, and got our wrist bands about 4pm and then continued on with riding rides etc... We were not shuttled out of any land, just asked for our wrist bands once in a while. There were larger crowds than I expected, but all in all it was a great time!

Maybe between 6 and 7 you were in an open area? Fantasyland was definitely closed. I believe Adventureland was open this year....

 

[ms.ojo]

We had a wonderful time! Arrived shortly after 4 aqnd were given our wristbands at the gate. It had rained in the morning but no showers all afternoon or evening. Temps in the 70's as we arrived dropped into the 50's at night but we were comfortable in pants, short sleeve shirts and a sweatshirt over later.

We started in Tomorrowland about 4:30 and walked onto Buzz...twice. Could have done the same for Space but opted to head to Fantasyland. It was still fairly crowded so we did IASW and continued to Fronteirland pin trading as we went along, enjoying the early ambiance and waiting for the crowds to leave. Had dinner at Pecos Bills and soon realized at Aladin's carpet ride was open so we hopped on, no lines. Headed to Fantasyland (by the Mansion) and they held us until 6:45. No one was in Fantasyland. We enjoyed Peter Pan, The Carrousel, Pooh, all the favorites multiple times...NO WAITING. Heck, even Dumbo was flying w/ empty seats each time!!!

We found our way to the front of the castle about 30mins before the 8:15 parade and had a great spot. Kids were on the curb, we were right behind them! The Christmas Parade was really cute. Ran about 30mins. We stayed in the center circle in front of the castle (moved back a bit) for the fireworks. Enjoying some warm funnel cake and cocoa while we waited. The fireworks were MAGNIFICENT! Best we've ever seen! During this time we heard people talking about how crowded it was in tomorrowland. Glad we started there at the end of the regular day and avoided it at the start of the party!!!

After we headed over to Frontierland for pics, cookies and cocoa but the lines were long so we interacted w/ Captain Hook and road Pirates. No lines. We walked back for the pics and it was less than 5min wait. Next we did Main Street. Shopping was easy...lots and lots of pin trading. My kids just love looking at all the pins and talking w/ the cast members.

We left the park at 11:30. It was a great evening. Overall, I have to say our family prefers MNSSHP...just more ambiance and the parade is better....but the fireworks can't be beat at MVMCP...and it was such a pleasant evening w/ no crowds...well that's great too!!

Hope everyone else has a great time. We did teh show in tomorrowland during the day a different day, and caught a portion of the castle show. My biggest tips...avoid tomorrowland early in the MVMCP...get to your eating spot BEFORE 6pm....get your pics later in the evening...DO fantasyland!! Have a great time!

 

[eyenjeff]

lets see, between 6-7 we were on splash mountain and thunder mt and saw the country bears. Maybe frontierland was open then.

 

[Mickey's Sister]

No one is saying anything about the Lake Howell Holiday Brass. Did anyone see them?? I come from a very musical family so this one is on the top of my list seeing that I also enjoy the small brass groups I've seen around the parks!!!!!!

We were at the party 12/1 & couldn't find the Lake Howell Brass anywhere in Tomorrowland...and believe me we searched. My son plays trombone & was really looking forward to hearing them. If anyone saw them, I'd love to hear where they were. (bride03 - if you love music, I hope you're going to Candlelight Processional - you'll LOVE it - the music is exquisite.)

I guess I'm one of the few who wasn't bowled over by MVMCP. I wanted to go for the longest time so maybe my expectations were too high. I didn't feel 'Christmasy' at all. I guess Florida just doesn't equal the holidays to me. Not that it was a bad experience overall. I do agree with another poster who raved about the parade - to me the best part - really impressive. But not enough for us to return at Christmas time. We did all the other holiday events - CP (the best part of the week), Osborne Lights, resort decorations... I'm glad we finally got to experience it all but I didn't feel that holiday magic till I came home to our snow covered PA mountains.

We didn't have overly long waits for anything except food. Pecos Bill was mobbed when we were there - the lines all stretched out the door - we gave up & went to Casey's - where everyone around us was complaining about the lines. No wait for the photos but the girl who waited on us was so incredibly rude that we reported her - 1st time that's ever happened to us at Disney. No wait for the cookies & hot chocolate at Frontierland. Plus the park was virtually empty after the 2nd parade. We watched the parade from the end of the route in Frontierland & had a perfect view.

Hope everyone going has a wonderful time!!!

Jessica

 

[cindyding0412]

Thank you for the information
I would like to enjoy the party!

 

[Keith]

We're planning on being at the park at 4 p.m. and were thinking of doing IASW, Philharmagic, eating counter service, and whatever we can before the party starts.

1) How long is the show at Galaxy Palace Theatre and how early do we need to be there before?
2) Is the 6:45 show too crowded, or is it the best one to be at?
3) Where do we start first?
4) When do we need to get there for the 10:45 parade? Would like to see the parade and then the fireworks at 11:30.
5) Where do we watch the parade?
6) How long is the parade?
7) Will we be able to do most of the things at the party, or we run out of time?

As you can tell, I've never been to MVMCP before.

 

[HarryLeg]

We're planning on being at the park at 4 p.m. and were thinking of doing IASW, Philharmagic, eating counter service, and whatever we can before the party starts.

1) How long is the show at Galaxy Palace Theatre and how early do we need to be there before?
2) Is the 6:45 show too crowded, or is it the best one to be at?
3) Where do we start first?
4) When do we need to get there for the 10:45 parade? Would like to see the parade and then the fireworks at 11:30.
5) Where do we watch the parade?
6) How long is the parade?
7) Will we be able to do most of the things at the party, or we run out of time?

As you can tell, I've never been to MVMCP before.

1. Galaxy Palace Theater (Twas the Night Before Christmas) was 30 min.
2. The 6:45 show is the best to attend as you can exit at 7:15 and the Christmas party is in full swing.
3. Start in TomorrowLand and work your way around. Mike Scoppa at Mouse planet has a good article on this.
4. & 5. Depend on where you want to watch the parade. For Main street viewing, people started lining up after fireworks were over, about 9:30. My mom found us a place on Main St. while wife, son, and I rode rides, If she hadn't we would have watched from Frontier Land.
6. Parade was about 30 min.
7. If paced properly you can do everything (Shows, parade, fireworks, a few rides).

 

[TINKERIFIC]

Holiday Wishes: 9:15
Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Parade: 8:15, 10:45
Mickey's 'Twas the Night Before Christmas': 6:45, 7:45, 8:45, 10:00,
11:00
[Galaxy Palace Theater]
Celebrate the Season- 7:00, 10:00, 11:30
[Castle Forecourt Stage]

OTHER EVENTS:
Belle's Enchanted Christmas- 7:30, 8:45, 9:45, 10:25, 11:15
[Fairytale Garden]
Christmas Brass- 6:45
[Adventureland]
Fanfare Trumpets- 7:00
[Main Street Train Station]
Main Street Philharmonic- 6:45 to 7:00
[Castle Stage]
Banjo Brothers and Bob- 7:40, 8:55, 10:00, 11:30
[Frontierland]
Dickens Carolers- 7:10, 7:50, 8:55, 9:35, 10:25, 11:40
[Liberty Bell Riverboat Landing]
Holiday Handbell Choir- 7:30, 8:45, 10:15
[Diamond Horseshoe]
Lake Howell Holiday Brass- 7:45, 8:45
[Tomorrowland]

MEET & GREETS from 7:00 to Midnight:
Santa Claus [Town Square Exposition Hall]
Holiday Hop DJ Dance Party w/ characters [Fantasyland Grotto]
Donald's Tree Farm [eastern Fantasyland]

this info came from allears

 

[triplefigs]

I have lots of pictures up from MVMCP and the Parade. You can click my link. BTW, CP was perfect for a 5:30pm ADR. They closed the restaurant at 6pm, but we got to stay and eat at a leisurely pace. Since there were only a few families, all the characters came out and did a group photo session.

The party was a blast! We went on Thursday, 12-1. We did the Castle Show at 7pm, then the Twas the Night before Christmas at 7:45pm, rode a ton of rides in FantasyLand (all walk ons). We saw the Fireworks from Fantasy Land and then got a spot for the Parade at 10:45pm. After the Parade we saw the Castle show briefly and then walked down Main Street with the snow. AWESOME PARTY!

 

[Keith]

For the 6:45 Twas the Night Before Christmas show, how long before the show should we be there?

 

[schradea]

We went Dec 4. Parked, took the ferry across, got our wristbands just after 4pm. We took the train to ToonTown, walked right in to get pictures taken with Mickey. Did Space Mountain (medium wait), then Pooh (short wait). We were outside of FrontierLand at 6pm but didn't encounter any "herding" that way. Walked on Splash Mountain a bit after 6pm (2 times), did BTM, went to saloon for cookies, cocoa and listen to silver bells. Then as we headed out the parade began. Watched half of it there, then walked around viewing rest as we went. We did Buzz, and as kids went to Stitch we checked out photos across the way. CM said it would be a 15 minute wait or so. We caught the fireworks right in front of the castle- kids enjoyed them a lot. Then Cosmic Ray's (bit disappointed in food there), then walked around, did Peter Pan, Small World, Snow White. Headed down Main Street under the snowflakes. All in all an enjoyable afternoon/evening.

 

[poober25]

Question I haven't seen addressed on here. I read somewhere that strollers were free during the party last year. Is this true this year. We are only taking a single, but will probably need a double close to the end of the night, and don't want to pay $18 for a few hours. Thanks for the info.

 

[salmoneous]

1) How long is the show at Galaxy Palace Theatre and how early do we need to be there before?
2) Is the 6:45 show too crowded, or is it the best one to be at?

The night I was there, everything was shut down in Tomorrowland, so people starting filling the theater and waiting. At 6:10 it was already 3/4 full. Others have reported that attractions stay open in Frontierland. Personally, I'd spend the time exploring the park or riding open attractions rather than wait for the 6:45 show.

4) When do we need to get there for the 10:45 parade? Would like to see the parade and then the fireworks at 11:30.

Out in Frontierland, I suspect there will be no need to get to the parade early (unless you have small kinds who need to sit on a curb). Keep in mind that the parade takes 20 minutes or so after the official start time to reach the end in Frontierland. Also, note that there is only the one fireworks show at 9:15.

 

[coffeedonut]

We picked up 2 double strollers on 12/1 and we were not charged. Even though two of my kids are getting older (8 and 7), we were really happy to have the strollers. It was very easy to leave the park at the end of the night.