MVMCP how much can you really get done?

[littlejen22]

If you arrive at 4:00 and do rides and get a bite to eat before 7:00. I want to do the parade and fireworks, and meet the Princesses and Princess at Fairytale Hall. I am trying to figure out how much more is realistic. They haven't released the times for the new stage show yet so I don't know when that will be. I want to check out the dance parties at least for a few minutes. I would love to check out the Tomorrowland show but will likely wind up skipping it. I know my kids would also love to see 7D and talking Mickey but I don't see how that's possible.

 

[SaintsManiac]

We lined up for Flynn and Rapunzel at about 6pm and were 2nd in line. After that we headed to what used to be the Wishes FP area and just stayed there the rest of the night. We didn't mind skipping rides as we had used 3 FP before 6. We grabbed Casey's and ate that while we waited for the parade.

We didn't even try to see 7D because the line was crazy by the time we got out of Fairytale Hall. Maybe you can FP Mickey before 7? We did use one for Tink.

 

[littlejen22]

I won't try to do any rides during the party and in the end I will likely skip Mickey because we will be doing Chef Mickey for breakfast and likely do Mickey on my kid's birthday in MK plus maybe even at HS. I just love the idea of a talking Mickey but my kids won't know that they missed anything. Right now I am leaning towards the second parade unless someone says to do it differently.

 

[Accident]

It really depends on the crowd. When you talk parties there is 3 types of crowds. 1 is a crowd that doesn't do anything with the rides so characters and things happening tend to be where the lines are, they are also out and about so it feels really crowded. If it's a crowd that is really into the rides then it feels empty but the rides lines are huge. the 3rd is somewhere in the middle which is less common than you might think.

I don't really care about being in the hub or main street for the fireworks as there is nothign special and I like them from behind even more when the castle isn't doing much with projections and it's a larger 360 around you display which every party or holiday special fireworks are. Parade I usually catch the second one when everyone is not there and the first is usually a pain to find a spot and a waste of my party time to wait for it (and the rides are empty to hit a few). We tend to only have 1 or 2 characters to catch and we'll do that right away, that's the most time consuming thing for us for the entire night.

the rest of the night is just wandering around, enjoying hte season and street performers. enjoying the snacks.. hopping on rides that interest us. having a good time...

 

[mrsR123]

Last year on a Sunday in mid-December DD21 and I were able to enter at 3:40 FP Peter Pan and Pooh, ride Ariel's undersea adventure, meet Sandy Claws, Princess Fairy Tale Hall before the party changed over, FLynn and Rapunzel right at 7:00, eat at Pinocchio Village Haus, PIrates, tried to see Jack Sparrow, but bailed on the too slowly moving line, see both parades, fireworks, meet Peter Pan and WEndy, Reindeer and Elves, SEven Dwarfs, Talking MIckey, Mary Poppins and Bert-- a penguin just escaped two parties ahead of us, and I want to say JIngle Cruise. We skipped our FP for SM. Cookies and cocoax2.

I was exhausted by the end, but it was a blast.

Edited to add: I forgot a stop in the very fun Phineas and Ferb dance party

 

[dkrauss]

How much you can do is predicated on what your goals are. To me there are 3 possible goals. They are #1 the parades and entertainment offerings. There are 2 parades and castle shows......plus shows in other places......... #2 & #3 are rides and M&G's.

For my wife and I when we did the party last year.........M&G's were are #1 priority. We got to the party early and got in line by 5pm for Santy Claws........since they started early we were done by 6pm. For the next few hours we walked around and caught the show in Tomorrowland..........did 7DMT, Dumbo, Space Mtn.......etc. We then went back into Fantasyland and watch the fireworks. On our way to Frontierland to wait for the 2nd parade........we stopped at the 7 Dwarves M&G because the line was 10min (this was around 10:15 - 10:30). Got to Frontierland for the 2nd parade.............strolled to the castle and caught the last castle show............then walked in the snow down Main St USA........phew .......... You'll note we didn't do a ton of rides...........and even with M&G's as our first priority we only did two............we actually spent more time on parades and shows.

Its a personal decision. What ever you do "Enjoy it"!!!

Doug

 

[Ceryssa]

We've done the party twice. Like others have said it depends, but I felt like we got a ton done. Last year we used our 3 FPs, met Tiana, watched FoF (it was pushed back for the parade taping that day), got a snack at Sleepy Hollow, and got in 2 or 3 other rides before the party started at 7 (I think Haunted Mansion and a couple of the Fantasyland rides). We got in line for Jack Skellington but my kids didn't want to wait so we hopped out. We got in line and met the princesses right as the party started, rode the teacups, rode Buzz and the Peoplemover, did Laugh Floor, waited while my husband rode Space Mountain, watched the Tomorrowland show (super cute, I definitely recommend seeing it if possible), popped into the dance party at Cosmic Ray's for a few minutes, watched the Castle lighting from the bridge (I don't remember if that was on the way to or back from Tomorrowland), watched Celebrate the Magic and Holiday Wishes (we didn't worry too much about having a perfect spot since we'd done the party last year, so we were on the edge of the Hub, but we were able to see everything fine), stayed for the Castle show and the second parade, and I'm pretty sure we called it a night after that about 11:15 or so. We had time to do another few rides but I was getting a cold so I think we just headed out. I recommend picking just one meet and greet (although Jack/Sandy Claws usually comes out early--I think he was out by 5:30 the night we were there and the line really wasn't terrible, so you could get in 2) and focusing on that. I saved the Tomorrowland stuff for our party day since I knew we wanted to see the stage show there, so we did the rides we wanted to in that area that night before the show. If you stay out of the Hub and off Main Street as much as possible, you can get a LOT more done. Don't forget you can watch the parade other places, although obviously the fireworks present a problem.

 

[DisneyParkLover]

We did several rides before the party started, then watched castle lighting. After the party started at 7 we were able to eat dinner; ride PeopleMover, Space Mountain, BTMRR X 2, Pirates, Enchanted Tales with Belle, Jingle Cruise, and Haunted Mansion; get party merchandise; watch the stage show, fireworks, and parade; got cookies and cocoa X 2; got Photopass pictures in front of the castle; and met the Pooh characters in costume. Not too shabby.

 

[DisneyLove2015]

Not MVMCP but we did MNSSHP this year. Obviously has some smal differences from the parties but close enough to compare.

DH, DS 8, DD1 and myself. Here's what we accomplished:

3:45 entry, DH went to get in line for Jack and Sally, I went to get trick or treat bags and checked in for HalloWishes dessert party (highly recommend!!)

4-5:08 waiting in line for Jack and Sally. DH took DD to meet Cinderella and Aurora all dressed up with FP+

5:15 photopass pics in hub, including magic shots.

5:30 met Ariel at grotto with FP.

5:30-6:45 DH took kids to ride rides. I went to get a frozen raspberry lemonade, checked Big Top souvenirs for party ornament and headed to Pooh and gang to line up. I was first in line there, got there about 6:10ish.

7:05 met pooh and gang (they were a few minutes late coming out).

DS decided he was hungry at this time so we went to go get him food at Cosmic Rays.

Trick or treating in Tomorrowland 7:45

8:10 headed down Main Street for parade at flagpole. Stopped to get magic shots taken on Main Street. Grabbed sorceres of the magic kingdom cards.

8:20-9:05 parade spot

9:05 magic shot headless horseman at front entrance

9:05-10:15- went to Tomorrowland Terrace for Happy HalloWishes party. DH and DS went to ride Buzz while I stayed at our table. They were back by 10.

10:15- DH In line for Lotso. DS and I met Buzz (3 people ahead of us)

10:30- met Lotso.
Trick or treating again
11:20 met Donald, Daisy and Minnie (DS and I trick or treated in new fantasy land while DH was in line). This was our longest line, about 30-40 minutes.

11:20 Headed to haunted mansion for magic shots, trick or treating.

11:50 got spots for Hocus Pocus show that started at midnight.


Now that being said- we did MVMCP three years ago but we didn't have as solid of a plan. We met 7 dwarves, princesses and princes (both sides), pooh and gang, saw fireworks from Tomorrowland bridge (we mistimed this because of Pooh) saw second parade, did dance party at midnight.

 

[msminnieears]

We will be in MK all day with tickets for the MVMCP on the 18th of December. This is our families first time for the Christmas Party and we are very excited to experience all the Christmas things Mickey has to offer. What are some of the MUST DO experiences of this party? I know the parade and firework shows... Where is the best place to watch these other than the hub? Other things that happen that you usually can't experience any other time...

 

[toonaspie]

It would be interesting to do the outdoorsy rides in Fantasyland (Regal Carousel, Dumbo, and Mad Tea Party) at night during the party. Though I imagine alot of people have the exact same idea but that's still something I want to try and do. We also wanna try doing Haunted Mansion at night since the party night will be our only night in MK.

We're not meet and greet people so that saves us alot of time.

 

[littlejen22]

People who did a meet and greet like Sandy Claws which started early, how did you know it was starting early and not after 7? Was it written somewhere, did a cast member tell you or you just walked by and saw it?

 

[mrsR123]

People who did a meet and greet like Sandy Claws which started early, how did you know it was starting early and not after 7? Was it written somewhere, did a cast member tell you or you just walked by and saw it?

THere were lots of reports from parties that occurred earlier than mine. People post lots of info from the first party onward.

 

[Iowamomof4]

We did several rides before the party started, then watched castle lighting. After the party started at 7 we were able to eat dinner; ride PeopleMover, Space Mountain, BTMRR X 2, Pirates, Enchanted Tales with Belle, Jingle Cruise, and Haunted Mansion; get party merchandise; watch the stage show, fireworks, and parade; got cookies and cocoa X 2; got Photopass pictures in front of the castle; and met the Pooh characters in costume. Not too shabby.

This sounds like almost the perfect party to me! I'd skip the Pooh characters and try to meet Flynn & Rapunzel at the beginning, but otherwise...

 

[jon18uk]

We did Sunday 2nd October and I really don't feel like we got enough done, but we did get a lot of candy.

We arrived about 5:30 (should have been earlier but we overslept when napping). Ate at Pinoccios and joined the seven dwarves line about 6:15. We got out of there about 7:30.

Then did Candy then met, Minnie, Daisy, Donald, they took at least 45mins. By this point it was after 8:45 and we had done two meets! We met Cruella (who was late returning from seeing the Sanderson Sisters).
We then did all the candy stops round to Haunted Mansion, got the Herse ghost photo, more candy and headed to Main St for fireworks. Got ice cream and watched the 10:40 Hocus Pocus then waited til 11:30 for the parade. After the parade we headed back to Adventure land, but the line just closed for Jafar and Jack Sparrow had gone. So we got some last candy stops done and headed out the park, getting the Headless Horseman magic photo in front of the Mickey planter.

It felt very difficult to get in all of the characters as the lines were just so long for the unique ones. For example Alice line was tiny, but Queen of Hearts was huge.

Also for us fireworks, hocus pocus and parade took up an hour and a half.

 

[dramadrew]

Here are the two sets of characters I want to meet that are on the top of my list Pooh & Gang and Mary Poppins & Gang. What time should I line up to see them? I saw from a previous reply here someone lined up for Pooh after 6 PM for the Halloween party. Any suggestions would be appreciated. I'm also secretly hoping they add Clarabelle Cow for a meet and greet or the dance party. I'll at least get to see her in the parade.

 

[Lisa F]

We did several rides before the party started, then watched castle lighting. After the party started at 7 we were able to eat dinner; ride PeopleMover, Space Mountain, BTMRR X 2, Pirates, Enchanted Tales with Belle, Jingle Cruise, and Haunted Mansion; get party merchandise; watch the stage show, fireworks, and parade; got cookies and cocoa X 2; got Photopass pictures in front of the castle; and met the Pooh characters in costume. Not too shabby.

This sounds like almost the perfect party to me! I'd skip the Pooh characters and try to meet Flynn & Rapunzel at the beginning, but otherwise...

this is kind of my plan sort of... right now we are leaning toward doing some rides before the party starts with FP+, watch the castle lighting, we are right now booked for the dessert party, which people seem to think takes too much time but if you want to do first parade it actually SAVES time in waiting, then go grab some desserts in the down time between the parade and the fireworks and then head out into the hub to watch the fireworks because I am not into the off center view but see the value for the parade... then after that just do rides. my kiddo is not so much into the in-park m&g stuff because those lines are the least tolerable for him (ride lines move faster even if they are longer and there is more to see while in them). If we walk by and see anyone with a 10-15 minute wait we might try it.

My feeling is that after the fireworks is a good time to do rides. I know when I took kiddo to MNSSHP at 6 we were done after fireworks (we went in at 4, did a bunch of rides, did parade, did fireworks, he was toast)... I suspect most parents with little kids will do the same (there was mass exodus when I was there at that time). Then you have the remaining park crowd, although it is not AS crowded as the first parade, some large portion of those people will be catching the second parade. So during the parade will be a good time to do some rides.

Also I am in the MK on 3 separate days and I have most of my headliners booked as FP+ - 2x 7DMT, 2x Peter Pan, the mountains. I would like to ride PP as standby during the party but I don't want to wait forever, but I would like to see the standby queue. I think the party is a good time to do less difficult to get on rides, like all of adventureland, haunted mansion, secondary fantasyland stuff... stuff that might have a 20-40 minute wait during the day would probably be near walk on during the party (exception might be HM during halloween party for obvious reasons). Even if stuff that has 60-120 minutes during the day is only 45 minutes during the party that is too much to wait for my son.

So I guess I am saying to answer the OP you can actually get quite a bit done but it depends what you WANT to get done. If you want to do the headliners like characters with long waits and 7DMT you will get less done, but that may be ok. If you want to get less crowded rides done I think it is a great opportunity to nearly walk on things that are probably much more busy during the day.

 

[Themadhatter21]

We lined up for Flynn and Rapunzel at about 6pm and were 2nd in line. After that we headed to what used to be the Wishes FP area and just stayed there the rest of the night. We didn't mind skipping rides as we had used 3 FP before 6. We grabbed Casey's and ate that while we waited for the parade.

We didn't even try to see 7D because the line was crazy by the time we got out of Fairytale Hall. Maybe you can FP Mickey before 7? We did use one for Tink.

Do they have an individual line for each princess with her prince or is it like fairytale hall where there are two princesses on each side?

 

[SaintsManiac]

Do they have an individual line for each princess with her prince or is it like fairytale hall where there are two princesses on each side?

I am pretty sure it was Cinderella and Rapunzel with their princes on the one side. We have pictures of all of them and we only waited in one line.

 

[MaleficentRN]

You'd be surprised how much you can cram in. We entered a tad before 4 and FP SDMT and PP, got in line for Jack Skellington, who came out about 6:15 and we met him 6:30 ish. We FP TS, did standby for PM and Buzz and had hotdogs at Casey's all by 7pm. We aren't show people, but we could have gotten a spot at this point. Instead, we did JC, watched the Pirate Choir and then road PotC. We then went to Frontierland, grabbed funnel cake and a spot for the parade, saw parade, moved to better fireworks area, watched fireworks, at that point we did some other rides and went in shops. We left just as the second parade hit Main Street because we were beat.
You just need to do a little bit of planning. Make FPs for SDMT and princesses and then plan what you want to do after 7pm

Editing to add it started to rain about 6:30 and people started heading out, so PM and Buzz were walk on..