Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party....Is it Worth the $$ ????

[Tigger113]

HI! I am going to WDW in December and I am wondering if the very Merry Christmas Party is worth the $$ ????? Has anyone been to this before? What is included in the price?? How long is the Parade??

Thanks for the info!!

 

[Tigger113]

 

[Goin4forty]

HI! I am going to WDW in December and I am wondering if the very Merry Christmas Party is worth the $$ ????? Has anyone been to this before? What is included in the price?? How long is the Parade??

We went to MVMCP 3 years ago and had a blast. My dd's were 5 and 8 at the time. I thought the money was well spent. We had no intentions of attending MVMCP, and decided to get tickets when we got to our resort. We went to the 2nd parade. (I think it was at 10 or 10:30!) While the 8:00 parade was going on, we went from one ride to the next. (but not all rides are open) I don't remember how long the parade was. Maybe 30 to 45 minutes. Whenever I hear "The Most Wonderful Time of the Year" on the radio, it takes me back to MK! Also, watching the snow falling out of the sky was wonderful. The hot cocoa and cookies were fabulous. And the fireworks were out of this world. I was standing by the Aladdin Magic Carpet ride and the fireworks were literally everywhere I turned. Not just in one area, but EVERYWHERE!!

We attended on a Thursday night, the first week of December. We did not go to any parks that day. We went to Cocoa Beach for the day, came back and went to MK for MVMCP. Hope that helps!! Whatever you decide, have a great time!

 

[WaltD4Me]

I'm sure I am going to be in the minority here, but I wasn't all that impressed with the MVMCP. It could be that I had built it up too much though. We plan to go back in early December again, but I doubt we'll do the party again.

The parade was great, but other than that, I don't know....I just didn't think it was worth $40 extra dollars on top of passes. I thought it was very crowded, which to me, was disappointing. Most rides were walk on, but to just walk around and enjoy the decorations and atmosphere, it was tough, it was impossible to get up and down mainstreet, you couldn't even get into any of the shops, it was standing room only for the shows and it was hard to find a seat for the parade and it wasn't even a sell out night when we went!

I have a thing about crowds though and I know MANY people LOVE the Christmas party, so you should probably take my opinion with a grain of salt.

 

[webprinter]

We went 3 or 4 years ago and it was the highlight of our trip. I would recommend not doing a park during the day on the night you do MVMCP. We are planning to go again this year and the two things I definately want to do are MVMCP and the Candlelight Processional. I say, Go and have fun!! Debby

 

[IanBond]

Its up there in the top 10 things Ive ever done in my 40 years of life

 

[Kteacher]

I went last December with my DS15. We went on a Sunday night. I thought it was worth it We got a picture, and free hot chocolate and cookies. The lines weren't that long ( but I hear it depends what night you go on- we went early in December ). The parade was really nice, and the fake snow that fell was cool I'd do it again!

 

[goofy4tink]

We went for the first time in '03 and loved it!! Went again last year and had a whole different experience! We liked it but it was much more crowded. I would do it again. I love the parade and the ability to do a lot of the attractions. It is a great way to kick-start your holiday season. But, I have to say that if I were given a choice between MVMCP and CP, I would choose CP. But, I am thinking about doing MVMCP again in Dec...we'll see. It sure is festive!

 

[pklein09]

I'm sure I am going to be in the minority here, but I wasn't all that impressed with the MVMCP. It could be that I had built it up too much though. We plan to go back in early December again, but I doubt we'll do the party again.

The parade was great, but other than that, I don't know....I just didn't think it was worth $40 extra dollars on top of passes. I thought it was very crowded, which to me, was disappointing. Most rides were walk on, but to just walk around and enjoy the decorations and atmosphere, it was tough, it was impossible to get up and down mainstreet, you couldn't even get into any of the shops, it was standing room only for the shows and it was hard to find a seat for the parade and it wasn't even a sell out night when we went!

I have a thing about crowds though and I know MANY people LOVE the Christmas party, so you should probably take my opinion with a grain of salt.

I must admit....I'm right there with you. We did dinner at LTT, which was lovely, and managed to ride BTMR and see the Country Bears before they corralled us into Tomorrowland. Then we couldn't move. It was wall to wall people. They had the barriers up for the parades, so you couldn't cut through the park, you had to walk all the way around. We had to watch the fireworks right under Dumbo and they didn't stop the ride. You couldn't hear Jiminy Cricket's narrations.

Oh, we went on the first Sunday in December, and to my knowledge it was not a sold out night. I much more enjoyed the Osborne Lights at the Studios.

 

[nrsldy]

We went for the first time last year,LOVED IT! I already have our tickets for it this year. The fireworks were wonderful!

 

[bobbiwoz]

When we didn't have annual passes, we didn't "do" any parks before the MVMCP. We used the day to visit the resorts, see the decorations and just get in the spirit of the season at WDW. This has worked for us, and it saved the cost of a day in the parks. We're two empty nesters, who will be going to a MVMCP with family members, mom will be 86 at the time, it will be her second one, and we'll have friends along who have never been to MK.

We have been to sold out ones, and ones that haven't been. We've never had a bad experience. We're going to try to see more of the shows this time, and yes, the fireworks were the best imaginable.

Bobbi

 

[hezreck]

I too would not pay for it again. We went the first week of Dec. on Tues. night. Very crowded!! You had to line up for the parade over an hour ahead of time. The shows were jam packed. We got to the theater for The Night Before Christmas almost an hour ahead of time and still barely found a seat. Squeezed at the very end of a row in the back and had to hold our 7 year old on our laps. Couldn't see at all. We were at MK during the day of the party and it was fairly deserted, but at party time it was packed. It was more crowded at the party than when we were there in June/July.
Just my opinion, but if they are going to bill it as being limited tickets they need to sell ALOT less than they do.

Save your money and just do MK during the day and you will see all you could care to see and more. If you go the first week of Dec., the parks are not crowded AT ALL!

 

[cobbler]

I love it. This will be our 3rd year going. I guess we have been lucky because it hasn't been very crowded in the parks when we go and the Christmas feel is fantastic.

To me, its worth the $$ for my family.

 

[lllovell]

My family will certainly go again (although for my children, the Halloween party was more fun - for me it was the Christmas party...but we all enjoyed both enough to go back again!).

There are some trade offs for the Christmas party. There are many shows and other attractions that are offered unless you attend, so you kinda have to decide in advance if you are going to ride the rides or if you are going to see the shows and parade. If you have older children, go and ride rides during the first parade and then see the 2nd parade later that night when the little ones are pooped out (although - that said, my 3 and 5 year olds made it til midnight during both parties and loved that it was an extra special night where they got to stay up late because they were being good.). Also, the show in front of the castle goes on at Midnight as the park is closing and if we had known that, we would have skipped it and waited to see it then because there was a very small crowd sticking around for that late of a show. (I thought it was fantastic - very Rockerfeller Centerish). The parade did have a wait, but while I sat and staked out our seats, hubby took the boys and rode rides, so on the whole, it worked out great for us.

Also, if you choose, in the past, they have allowed guests using just the party tickets to enter the park around 4. Get there early, go ride some rides, maybe make a dinner ressie for the time between 6 and 7 when the park is closed and everyone gets herded over to Tomorrowland to clear the park of non ticket holders. That way you get the best of both worlds. You get to enjoy the party and then also enjoy some rides.

Have fun!

 

[dianemb]

When we went 2 years ago it was at the beginning of dec. and on an off night not a weekend. It wasd only crowded when we got thee because we were all sent to tommarrowland till the people leavin got out of the parrk. There were basically no lines for anything!!! My husband thought it was the highlight of our trip and I just got tickets for this years yesterday. We are going to have dinner before hand at the Liberty tree tavern.

 

[rapriebe]

I'm sure I am going to be in the minority here, but I wasn't all that impressed with the MVMCP. It could be that I had built it up too much though. We plan to go back in early December again, but I doubt we'll do the party again.

I totally agree with you. If you don't have annual passes then I would maybe consider it because you don't need to pay for additional park admission for the party. But since I had already paid for annual passes, I didn't feel it was worth it to purchase another ticket for the party. The lines for the shows were long and the lines for the cocoa and cookies were outrageous. We were there during the week and it was not a sold out night but it was very, very cold. I just didn't feel there was enough extra things to do that warranted purchasing the extra party ticket.

 

[caribear]

We went for the 1st time last year and we were a little disappointed. We went on a Sunday night and crowds were much heavier than when we were there earlier in the day. The lines for the cookies/hot chocolate/pictures were long, but seemed to move fast. Lines for the rides were still very long. The parade was great, but only lasted about 15 minutes. Fireworks were very pretty though. Of course I think we went on the coldest day of the year in Florida, so that did not help. My dd was only 28 months at the time and she was so tired and cranky by 9pm that we had no choice but to leave. We did have a nap during the day, but she still gets cranky at her normal bedtime. When dd is a little older and can enjoy more of the night time activities then we might do another MVMCP, but it's not a must-do for us at this point.

 

[disneyfreakjackie]

Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party....Is it Worth the $$ ????

YES!!!

 

[tigerlilly]

I too have wondered if the party is worth is the addtional cost. For our family of four it is another $140 just to attend an evening event. Whatever happened to E-nights .....I wish it was 1999 again (which was the last time we went to WDW)
It sounds as if any night can end up being busy. I am thinking this year it is best to avoid A. Friday nights...locals will probably frequent this night. B. Any MVMCP night that is allowing the AP discount tickets to be sold (I figure if I had an AP I would go that night and since there seem to be a lot of AP'ers out there it makes sence?)
What do you think?

 

[crow11ad]

We went in Dec of 04. In fact we went twice on a Tuesday and Thursday. We went Dec 4-10. You should go if you can go twice. There is a lot to do and see. You can get in at 4. You get free hot coco and cookies and a free picture that you will recieve a couple of weeks later. That Friday and Saturday before the 4th, they filmed the Christmas parade that you will see on tv. It was well worth the money and time...