Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party Central 2005

[JoannaOhio]

I think we must have been riding Haunted Mansion about the same time...we were nearly to the attic and experienced a delay...I suspected they were loading or unloading a special needs car...and there were many empty cars...I even managed to snap a couple of pix of HM without any people in them.

Cars #1 & #2 both have the cutaway side for easier transfers. When we got on, DD & her fiancee were in the first car, and my DGD & I were in the second one. When we came to the end of our first ride, there was another party with someone in a wheelchair who could transfer by himself - as long as he could use the cutaway car. As soon as we realized the situation, DGD & I moved back a car so he could use #2. He seemed so surprised that we did that, but I thought it was something that anybody with half a brain would do.

I wish you'd have been able to get the photos...ours actually turned out nice and was waiting for us when we got home. The lines in Adventureland were not long at all...CMs were standing in the walkway toward the hub shining flashlights to draw people inside for the photos.

I think we could have gotten them in Tomorrowland toward the end of the night, but by then my future son-in-law was absolutely frozen, and just wanted to get back to our rented villa. Being in a wheelchair with MD, his circulation isn't the best, and he really got chilled during the parade. (DD had insisted on leaving our warmer coats and gloves in a locker at the front of the park - thinking she would be able to run back and get them at some point - but, it was never convenient. When we went to MGM & Epcot, I overruled that plan. We figured out ways to take everything we needed with us throughout the day, so watching Fantasmic and Illuminations was much more pleasant - in spite of the cold.)

Have a happy new year!

You, too! We rang in the New Year sitting in the hot tub, watching fireworks going off in "our neighborhood". We're supposed to check out of the villa in about 9 hours, so I guess I'd better sign off & get to bed.

 

[momsgoofy]

Cars #1 & #2 both have the cutaway side for easier transfers. When we got on, DD & her fiancee were in the first car, and my DGD & I were in the second one. When we came to the end of our first ride, there was another party with someone in a wheelchair who could transfer by himself - as long as he could use the cutaway car. As soon as we realized the situation, DGD & I moved back a car so he could use #2. He seemed so surprised that we did that, but I thought it was something that anybody with half a brain would do.I think we could have gotten them in Tomorrowland toward the end of the night, but by then my future son-in-law was absolutely frozen, and just wanted to get back to our rented villa. Being in a wheelchair with MD, his circulation isn't the best, and he really got chilled during the parade. (DD had insisted on leaving our warmer coats and gloves in a locker at the front of the park - thinking she would be able to run back and get them at some point - but, it was never convenient. When we went to MGM & Epcot, I overruled that plan. We figured out ways to take everything we needed with us throughout the day, so watching Fantasmic and Illuminations was much more pleasant - in spite of the cold.)
You, too! We rang in the New Year sitting in the hot tub, watching fireworks going off in "our neighborhood". We're supposed to check out of the villa in about 9 hours, so I guess I'd better sign off & get to bed.

What a way to ring in the new year!!!

I understand about the locker situation...it's why I made DH carry a jacket everyday. He's colder natured than DS or I. I just tied mine around the waist and went on with things, but he didn't want to look like a geek...told him to either put it in a locker and pray he could get back to it when he wanted or just carry it. And it was down right chilly that night at MVMCP...I wanted my gloves so badly, but couldn't operate the camera buttons with them..so I just sucked it up for the sake of good photos...lol

I agree with you about the Doombuggies...so many people are a bit caught off guard when you do something so natural as give up the seat to someone who really needs it. DS got that look several times on the bus at night when it was crowded. I have to brag on him...he's such a gracious kid who does that and holds the doors open for folks all the time...just because he wants to be nice and respectful. I'm a proud momma!

Hope you have a safe trip home!

 

[beattyfamily]

We were at MVMCP this year on the first day (Dec 11) of our first ever Disney vacation, a land/sea vacation. It was awesome!! We've rebooked for another cruise next December. Our cruise leaves on Saturday and we'd love to go to the Christmas party before we leave. Does MVMCP always take place on Fridays in December? And when do tickets go on sale? Thanks for your help.

Yes, they are usually held on Sun, Tues, Thurs and Fri's in December. 2005 tickets went on sale April 30.

 

[sodaseller]

WE have gone three years in a row. We were going to skip this year but one of my DD9's friend's family wanted to go as a group, so we relented. We had a great time. The best part of the night was the Fantasyland Hop (dancing with characters to a DJ. As the girls get older, they love that as much as anything. It was fun "dancing" with a combination of teenagers, grandparents et al

 

[larklynn98]

We are planning on going in dec 2006 and would love any secrets or info we can get on this.

 

[mgpan]

My info, don't go! We were at WDW a few weeks ago, December 8-18. The most crowded, longest waits, etc. at MK we experienced were as follows:

1) Saturday Dec. 17 - Estimates of 50,000 by cast members.
2) MVMCP Dec. 13th
3) Sunday Dec. 18

And we were in parks from opening to close most of our stay.

1) and 3) were possibly mainly due to crowds picking up before the holiday rush and locals looking for holiday spirit on the last Saturday before Christmas Eve. The Christmas party was not worth the money in our opinion (ours only, others have different ideas). $40 bucks each for cocoa, fair tasting cookies, a parade and fireworks. We did as suggested, seeing later parade, trying to go against the flow, arriving early and leaving at closing. Lines for rides were consistently some of the longest during our stay, with barely room to walk.

My suggestion would be to save the money spent on tickets for a family and use it towards and extra room night and extra day of regular park admission.

Yes, the fireworks were great (we liked the holiday ending to Illuminations better) and the parade was cute, just not $40 bucks each cute. If you're just looking for the special activities and cheap looking photo they give you, you might enjoy being elbow to elbow with half the planet. If not, and you are planning to enjoy many of the regular attractions, you may be dissapointed. We have been to MNSSHP party and it was nothing like this. Remembering the monorail speil talking about the party being "an exclusive night in the park" still makes me laugh.

If you go in '06 I wish you much better luck than we had.

 

[macphrsn]

Go early in December, we usually go the first week of December and have never found the crowds to be an issue. We enjoyed walking up to the rides and not waiting in long lines.

It was just beautiful to enter the park, see the decorations and it snowing on Main Street. I thought the cookies - snickerdoodles were wonderful, of course the hot chocolate was too hot and we like planning on wearing our christmas sweaters for the photo.

I guess it is just a matter of opinion. Here is one of my favorite photos from the MVMCP the first week in December 2004.

 

[Patty3]

We were there Dec 3 through the 10 and the parks were packed. It was more crowded with Pop Warner and others wanting to see the decorations than it was in August. I thought too this was going to be a slow time. Lines for rides were long.

 

[missymagic]

We went Dec 7-11. It was rainy almost everyday but I didn't think the lines were too horribly bad. The weekend was horrible at MK but that was due to rain all week and locals. We attended the Christmas party on Thurs the 8th crossing our fingers all day that the rain would stop. Luckily it did and we had a great time. It was pretty crowded in the main areas but if you go off in your own direction and do your own thing it wasn't too bad. We saw the fireworks and the 2nd parade but didn't have to hard of a time finding seats. After being thier numerous times for the party you learn alternate routes and how to work it.

The day we went to MGM and Epcot is was pretty much a breeze. Only waited 20 minutes for Soarin. Then went again with fastpass.

 

[Julie L]

We were there between the 30th November and 10th December. Being our first trip to Disney during the 'Holiday' season we all thought it was wonderful!! On the whole the parks, we found were not busy at all with the exception of MK, but when ever you go I think this is the case. The first full day we went to MK was on 3 Dec- one of the days they were filming the Xmas parade, a big mistake It was heaving! Arriving early the queues werent too bad but by about 11.00 queing was everywhere. We went to the MVMCP on the 6 Dec and we all personally felt that it was not worth the money and again it was very very busy!!! But dispite that we feel that it is the best time of year to visit the parks and cant wait to go again - but wouldnt do the party nite!!

 

[ms.ojo]

We were there between the 30th November and 10th December. Being our first trip to Disney during the 'Holiday' season we all thought it was wonderful!! On the whole the parks, we found were not busy at all with the exception of MK, but when ever you go I think this is the case. The first full day we went to MK was on 3 Dec- one of the days they were filming the Xmas parade, a big mistake It was heaving! Arriving early the queues werent too bad but by about 11.00 queing was everywhere. We went to the MVMCP on the 6 Dec and we all personally felt that it was not worth the money and again it was very very busy!!! But dispite that we feel that it is the best time of year to visit the parks and cant wait to go again - but wouldnt do the party nite!!

We were there the same time. I think the 3rd was packed at MK as it was a Sat....w/ the filming....AND, one of the few nights people could see Spectro and the FW. We only hopped to the park in the evening for the parade and FW and couldn't believe how crowded it was! You couldn't move!

We also went to the party on 12/6 but thought it was a very reasonable crowd level. We arrived late in the afternoon and did Tomorrowland. By the time the park was closing for an hour we were in Frontierland/Advland. Did a few rides there during this "down time" w/ no waits. At 7 we were positioned for Fantasyland and it was wonderful. No crowds at all! Came out fantasyland/toontown w/ less than 30mins b4 the 1st parade and scored a beautiful spot in the loop in front of the castle for the parade and FW! We are a family of 4 w/ 2 strollers so we took a good size spot. My plan had been to cut through the loop over to Adventureland to watch the parade but when we saw the oppty to be near the castle, we grabbed it. And this was only about 20mins before parade start! I thought that was amazing. After the FW (which were indeed incredible) we went back to Advland, for pictures. The line was quite long so we went on Pirates (no line) when we came out...there was no line for pics or cookies so we snared both and did another ride. Then shopped main street at our leisure and watched portions of the 2nd parade. I guess we zigged when others zagged but my thought was the park was not very crowded on 12/6. Especially compared to a typical parade/FW night like 12/3. No comparison.

But I too agree, we probably wouldn't do MVMCP again. It was nice...but not that great. I am a BIG fan of MNSSHP however!!!!!

 

[sjpwhelan]

We were there on 12/20 and thought it was great. We arrived around 5:15 and headed into Adventureland to tour (Tiki and JC are not open during party hours)> We hit many rides, enjoyed Country Bears Christmas show, ate at Pecos Bill while watching parade, saw Holiday wishes, got the snacks, and were busy until 12!! Our second MK day was 12/24, this is when we concentrated on holiday shows and character greetings as the ride lines were going to be longer this day. Our touring plan was great for our family, we accomplished 99% of the attractions and loved our souvenir picture too!

 

[macphrsn]

Here is my favorite photo from the MVMCP again, sorry I moved it yesterday.

 

[raven69david]

We were there 12/11 through 12/17. We did MVMCP and enjoyed as we has last 2 times. After our first MVMCP we made up our minds to only visit during the holiday season. The parks are beautifully decorated and the atmosphere around christmas is just so special. With our 1 year old DD this trip was truly magical. It was magical to see her eyes light up at the lights and characters. I can't wait for MVMCP '06.

 

[lvdsny]

We were in WDW 12/14 - 12/19. It was our first time before Christmas - and i loved it. It was just my DH and me.
We went to MVMCP on Friday the 16th. It was crowded - but i thought the entertainment was fabulous! We arrived about 4 pm and went on a few things that would be closed later on. The show on Cinderella's stage was great! We watched the parade in Adventureland and the fireworks from Main Street. I love Christmas and this was a fun place to be the weekend before.
Christmas day i kept thinking back to this week and wishing i was back..........
Sunday we went to Epcot and did the Segway tour and the Candlelight Processional. It was a great trip and i hope to go again another year!
Mary

 

[TiggerStac]

We went for MVMCP on 12/16 and didn't think it was too bad. The only wait we had was for dumbo and that was about 10-15 minutes. I made DH ride dumbo w/me as we never wait in line for it....as we were going up in the sky, the fireworks started, it was beautiful!!

We will definately do this again...probably not in 2006, as we are going on DCL 9/06...but maybe 07.

 

[brack]

My info, don't go! We were at WDW a few weeks ago, December 8-18. The most crowded, longest waits, etc. at MK we experienced were as follows:

1) Saturday Dec. 17 - Estimates of 50,000 by cast members.
2) MVMCP Dec. 13th
3) Sunday Dec. 18

And we were in parks from opening to close most of our stay.

1) and 3) were possibly mainly due to crowds picking up before the holiday rush and locals looking for holiday spirit on the last Saturday before Christmas Eve. The Christmas party was not worth the money in our opinion (ours only, others have different ideas). $40 bucks each for cocoa, fair tasting cookies, a parade and fireworks. We did as suggested, seeing later parade, trying to go against the flow, arriving early and leaving at closing. Lines for rides were consistently some of the longest during our stay, with barely room to walk.

My suggestion would be to save the money spent on tickets for a family and use it towards and extra room night and extra day of regular park admission.

Yes, the fireworks were great (we liked the holiday ending to Illuminations better) and the parade was cute, just not $40 bucks each cute. If you're just looking for the special activities and cheap looking photo they give you, you might enjoy being elbow to elbow with half the planet. If not, and you are planning to enjoy many of the regular attractions, you may be dissapointed. We have been to MNSSHP party and it was nothing like this. Remembering the monorail speil talking about the party being "an exclusive night in the park" still makes me laugh.

If you go in '06 I wish you much better luck than we had.

Man! It is amazing that two different people could have so different an opinion. We were there from 12/7 until 12/23. The crowds never seemed overbearing. I never felt that any wait was too long. We had a great time. The MVMCP was well worth the money. The cocoa and cookies were not the only thing that made the night. We went on the 13th for the party amd wanted to do another but they were all sold out.

We will definitely go again at this time and also do the party again.

I am sorry that you felt that the trip was not worth it. We did ... by far.

 

[mgpan]

Oh, sorry if my post was misunderstood. The trip itself was wonderful and filled with magic moments. We loved being there at holiday time. It was just the party we were not fond of. The Saturday the MK was packed didn't bother us, we just went to a different park and had a blast. We paid regular admission for a regular day receiving what we paid for and really enjoyed it just like all the other days. Our opinion on the party is shared by some but of course not by all. I really wish we could have felt it was worth the money (quite a bit of money actually) for what we received. Especially since they advertise it heavily as that "exclusive night in the park" and that tickets are limited. I guess in hindsight, every day tickets are limited...to park capacity! I think it speaks volumes that Disney will not release the number of tickets they sell, because if they did it would keep many from shelling out the extra bucks. We love MNSSHP but felt that this was way oversold. Glad you enjoyed it as did others!

 

[Danaans]

We were there on the last night 12/20. Although it was crowded. I wouldn't say it was unbearable. The grandchildren got to see the parade, got some autographs, got to see the castle with snowflakes....ate cookies, and drank hot chocolate, did some rides....when you go at the holidays --expect some delays, some crowds etc...But I would recommend this to anyone who hasn't done it...

 

[Just_Me_06]

wow do all of you live in flordia ?! lol not much is here in little old california...not including Universal Studios and disney land