MVMCP - is this normal?

[Laketravis]

I thought the Epcot fireworks show (Reflections) was actually better, and it didn't cost us $50 a head to see.

 

[disneynutsss]

We went on 11/30 (last Sunday) to MVMCP and we arrived about 6:30pm - they were announcing that the party was sold out for that evening and that the park was closing at 7pm. We hit the rides until 9pm with no waits at all. The CMs even let us stay on the rides multiple times before we got off. At about 9-915pm we staked out a spot for the fireworks and after the fireworks we were able to get a spot right on main street for the parade, no problems! it was a great night. sorry that you didn't have a better night

 

[WUVmyDISNEY]

I'm trying to prepare myself for large crowds. I think (hope) if I go in knowing that it might be super crowded it will be okay. It's better than going in thinking it's going to be low crowds. We're doing Sea World on the 17th and I'm looking forward to that. My DH doesn't know we're going there yet. I'm going to tell him when we get to WDW. Have fun!

I hope you guys have a great time! My best piece of advice would be to stay clear of the tomorrowland bridge at fireworks time - I wanted to get out of the area but we literally could not move. Also, I think some of the difference of how we view how crowded it was is that many people mention the low wait times for rides and for the few rides we did, I wouldn't say they were walk on, but the waits were low. But we don't really go to the parties for the rides, mainly the shows etc.

I am still debating what night we are going to Sea World. I really love EMH at Epcot and that is on the 17th, so we may be going on the 19th, our last night. Depends on how cold it may be as well. We won't have a car so we will be taking a cab to Sea World and I want to make sure we go on whichever night is warmer since we can't just get back to the room for adding layers and I hate toting around extra stuff!

 

[DISHoppy]

Tonight was an abject disaster. No more MVMCP and Pop Warner ever again. Tonight really sullied my opinion of the MVMCP and the Mouse in general. Crowds and waits were like a level 5-6 day, but the CM crew seemed to be halved. Hell, trying to BUY a bottle of water was nearly impossible after the party started. Cosmic Ray's looked like a level 10 day because one of the bays was converted to a cookie/hot chocolate station EARLY. Waits were 30-50 minutes for many popular attractions as well. It just seemed the whole party was less festive overall. One lady one the bus back to SSR said that it seemed like they sold 30K tix to 10K party. Indeed. I spent $280 for the privilege of riding 4 rides, spending $40 on QS dinner (and awaiting 15 minutes for it with nearly impossible to find seating). Yes, it was a joy to see and hear our DDs having fun, but the reality is that it was a MAJOR ripoff.

EDIT: yes, the parade improvements were nice, but overall the experience lessened significantly since our last MVMCP in '08.

-Kevin

 

[cheerful chickadee]

I'm planning for our trip next year in early Dec., we're planning on doing MVMCP as we have not experienced wdw at this time of year before and want that christmasy feel. We're staying at wdw for 10 days so I was not planning on using the party to get many rides in, we'll do the rides on our regular MK days. Of course...if the rides are dead then sure we'll hop on a ride or two but it is not my main objective. I'm more so interested in the party for the stage show, Christmas parade (cannot wait to see the toy soldiers) and overall christmas party feel. My family is full of night owls so we'll be staying late and plan on doing the 2nd parade. I'm hoping we do not have a terrible time as others have reported.

I've read about how crowded it has become over the past few years which stinks, they really should limit the amount of tickets available!

 

[ppony]

I've read about how crowded it has become over the past few years which stinks, they really should limit the amount of tickets available!

Or more to the point, lower the limit they current have because obviously, its WAY to high.
Hope your experience is a good one. When the crowds are low, it's wonderful and FULL of holiday feeling! Trouble is, I'm the only one w/ a crystal ball and I don't share.

 

[djo]

My family was also at the Dec. 3rd party and I totally agree that it was a waste of money. We were all very disappointed!

 

[MSFCH10]

I was also at the party on 11/30, and feel the same way you did. I have been at the parks when it was super crowded. In my opinion, this was not one of those nights. I got all the character pictures I wanted (dwarfs, princesses, etc.), and the dance parties I saw were not crowded. When I got the pictures for the seven dwarfs and the princesses, I was done with both by 7:35 p.m. The first parade and the fireworks were understandably busy, but that is to be expected. The second parade was pretty light. It was a good party night to me. The only drawback, was getting tired around 11:30. I gave this MVMCP .

Me too. I had no issues with the crowds at the party. We had a blast and I am still surprised my two girls made it all the way to midnight without losing it.

 

[LilGMom]

We went to the MVMCP on 12/3.

I feel like I need to shake Mickey's hand because he absolutely pulled one of the best con games on me ever.

We paid $50 a head * 5 people, and couldn't run from the park fast enough.

The crowds were so thick you couldn't move. Forget the rides - Space Mountain was a 50 minute line.

Although the parade was nice, I thought that MVMCP was a waste of money --- they probably sold 4x too many tickets.

Anyone else feel this wasn't worth the $$$? Are all of these a crowd nightmare, or did we just get caught in the wrong party?

It has been a few years since we've done a MMVMCP but the last MNSSHP we did two years ago was as you described. I felt like the we were at the MK during a summer weekend day it was so crowded. We went on a mid-week day in the middle of October and it wasn't even a sold-out night. I feel that when they first started doing the hard ticket parties that it was great and they didn't sell as many tickets as they do now. I've never seen the numbers (how many tickets they used to sell vs. how many they sell now) but it sure feels like they are selling a lot more. While I really like the MNNSHP and the MMVMCP I can't justify the extra expense for our family of four if it is basically just like PM EMH with a different parade thrown in.

 

[tinkerbarb]

I just read that our night (Dec. 19th) is sold out... The first party I ever went to was rained out, and this one is my son's first. It's just the two of us so horrible crowds is not what I was hoping for. The entire reason I got the tixs was to avoid the standard Christmas crowd I expect for the rest of the week. Geez.. I'm so bummed.

 

[tyniknate]

MNSSHP was well worth the money we spent. MVMCP will never happen for us again. The crowds were intolerable for the ridiculous amout of money they charge.

 

[DisneyDude_82]

I think it all really depends on when you go. It's disappointing to see people complain, however the wife and myself went to the first MVMCP this year on Nov 8th and we had a blast! There were no lines, cept for maybe Peter Pan, but there is always a line for that.

Maybe what disney needs to do is limit even more to how many people can go and make more MVMCP dates? I dunno how frequent they are, but maybe thats the solution right there.

 

[twinboysmom]

We have attended several of the Halloween and Christmas parties over the years and have always found them to be horribly crowded. We may go to one more Halloween party when the boys are old enough to get the trick or treating experience but otherwise we have made a decision that for us it is not a pleasant experience and money down the drain.

 

[RMulieri]

I think it all really depends on when you go. It's disappointing to see people complain, however the wife and myself went to the first MVMCP this year on Nov 8th and we had a blast! There were no lines, cept for maybe Peter Pan, but there is always a line for that.

Maybe what disney needs to do is limit even more to how many people can go and make more MVMCP dates? I dunno how frequent they are, but maybe thats the solution right there.

The parties in early November are usually not too bad.I don't think adding more parties is the solution...Last year during our trip Dec 12-19th..There were parties 5 nights out of the 7 we were there..and all of the parties were STILL sold out and gridlocked.Not sure what a solution is, maybe less tickets..but i doubt that will happen.Disney hard ticket events have become more about the money than anything else

 

[Scuttle]

I was very leery of paying all that extra money for being in the park, especially after we paid the money for the park passes, but I agreed to try it ONE time. We did MVMCP in 2008.

Our children were almost 5 at the time, and for them, it was extra magic and special. The parade was awesome, but the special times that they were able to dance and interact with the characters was the best part.

The rides that they wanted to ride were all walk ons without wait times. Some of the rides they were even able to stay on and go again. I've never had that experience before in this decade!

The parade was very crowded, but the rest of the park experience was lovely.

I am sorry that you had a bad experience. For us, it was probably the most magical part of our trip!

 

[wbarkhur]

We attended on 12/2 and I was surprised how crowded it was. The ride wait weren't too bad. We never got on Peter Pan because it was 20 minutes all night. I think we got our money's worth because we entered at 4pm, rode rides, saw the shows, fireworks and parade. We also enjoyed the cookies and hot chocolate. All in all okay!

We were there 12/2 also and didn't think the crowds were bad at all. The longest wait we had for anything was to see the 7 dwarfs, and that line is always long, so i had expected it. We rode dumbo, peter pan, snow white, the carasal, space mountain, buzz light year, and a few other rides with little to no wait, the longest was 10 min for dumbo. We were also able to see the shows, and parade with no problem finding seats min, before it started.
I think that how crowded a party or park is a very individual thing, what is crowded to one person may seem light to another. For us the crowds at the 12/2 party were nothing compaired to the crowds the week before, during Thanksgiving, now that was crazy.

 

[junebug]

Count me in as another who will not do MVMCP again. I have traveled to Disney during many times, many of them with higher crowd levels and never have had such a negative experience as I did on Dec 3. I will not ever again pay extra money to do a party that leaves me wanting to get out of the sheer madness of wall to wall people as soon as possible!

 

[Tumbleweed]

We've been to the Halloween Party ON Halloween night
every year for the last 7 years. Every year it is sold out.
Last year was a little more crowded than the year before.
This year was WAY more crowded than ever! You could hardly walk anywhere. We had friends who had gone with
us 2 years ago, and they thought it was twice as crowded.
I guess the mouse has to make a living too!

 

[ppony]

It's really hard to know exactly what would solve the problem w/o konwing the costs of operating the event, but, I for one, would pay more for MUCH more limited crowds. But I'd want utter assurance that thse numbers have indeed been limited enough to keep it from feeling opperssive.

I know personally, I'm going to keep mentioning how bad the crowds are on sold out nights to help others make more informed decisions. Keeping quiet about it isn't helping anyone but Disney and though I love Disney, I own DVC, but I'm not going to help in this respect. If enough people complain and speak w/ their pocketbooks, maybe something will change. I'd be interested to see if the party operates at a loss on the nights where crowds feel relativly low and wonderful. If they don't lose money then gosh, why not up the price a LITTLE and limit it to that number?!?? They are still making money, but they are not ticking off guests.

I'm going to be writing a letter of extreme compliments to Disney about a few things on our last visit, perhaps I'll just embed this issue in there. Maybe it might be taken a little better if couched with a LOT of good things. All one can do is try.

 

[MarieA]

We did it last year for the first time and will not go back. My DH and I thought it was a waste of money. The fireworks were the only positive for us and they weren't worth the $50 each we paid.