MVMCP Should I even Bother???

[MNRMommy]

I really want to go to MVMCP. We have been at Disney several times when MNSSHP was going on and DH never wanted to brave the crowds he imagined would be there. So, my questions to the experts are:

1) we will be there Dec 13th through Dec20th. Last year they only had one advance purchase night after the 13th (the 16th). I assume it will be similar this year and I also assume that the last night it is offered is very very crowded. So, if there is only one night during our stay how bad will it be?

2) is the party really worth it. What do you experts enjoy when you do it? Is it going to be basically spending the whole evening staking out a place for the parade and fighting crowds or is there some magic I can use to convince hubbie to take a chance.

Help me make my decision as I am at a total loss.

 

[Condorman]

When we first started going in 2004, it was the greatest deal going. Disney would close the park by 6:00 pm to anyone who wasn't attending the party, and filed those who were into Tomorrowland. Though they sold 20k tickets, only 10k sold. It was much less expensive per ticket, there were no crowds, five-minute waits for all rides, walk-up to parade spots -- in other words, perfection.

2008? They (Disney) sell 25k tickets and no longer filter out non-party guests at all. They claim to check for wristbands before heading into the various lands, but I saw way too many without wristbands sneeking by and the CMs could not enforce the system. Those who don't have wristbands can still hang out on Main Street and around the hub, lingering through the first parade and the fireworks, IOW, for three hours. This bottlenecks the area and sends (forces) those with wristbands into the lands. So rather than 10k, or even 25k, you now 30-35k people in the park. Ride waits are 30 minutes and you can forget about prime viewing for the parades. Keep in mind, you are paying $45-60 more for all this -- for a hard ticket just to attend this six-hour event, when a single day ticket to any park is, what, $75?

We attended three MVMCPs in 2008 so this was no aberration. Of course WDW was a lot more crowded in 2008 then ever before, but that doesn't apply to how the MVMCPs were handled. When we go to WDW in 2009, we will not attend any MVMCPs. We learned our lesson, and I truly hope no one else is so careless as to give in to this rip-off. Disney is lucky they do not have a class-action lawsuit for charging a service to one group of people and practically allowing anyone else who didn't pay to reap the same benefits.

You may get opposing opinions to mine, but anyone who accepts Disney's new practices with regards to MVMCP has been hypnotized by the mouse.

 

[greg126]

I agree about decreased value. The only way I would do MVMCP is if it was an arrival day and I couldn't get into the parks til about then anyway.

 

[autumnpalm]

For us, the party worked perfectly.

The only day my father and brother were visiting MK was on our arrival day, the day of the MVMCP. We didn't buy park hoppers, so we were able to use our admission that day at Epcot (flight landed at 10 AM) and then headed over the the MK around 4.

Because my brother is not a "show" person, we skipped all the shows and saw them later on the trip during our MK days since we were there after the last party. We hit the rides full force and got to:

Jungle Cruise
Pirates of the Caribbean x2
Splash Mountain x2
Big Thunder Railroad Mountain x3
Haunted Mansion
Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
Space Mountain x3
It's a Small World
Mad Tea Party

PLUS we caught both the parade on Main Street (got there about 10 mins before it started) and Holiday Wishes.

If we hadn't done the party, there is no way my family would've gotten on all of those rides. They were all literally walk ons. The parade and fireworks were great. Under normal circumstances I'm not sure the party would have been worth it but for us, it was definitely worth the cost of the tickets and I would spend the day in exactly the same way if I had to do it over again. We also got some great photos, met some of the special party characters and had a lovely time. Perfect way to start off the trip!!

 

[MNRMommy]

For us, the party worked perfectly.

The only day my father and brother were visiting MK was on our arrival day, the day of the MVMCP. We didn't buy park hoppers, so we were able to use our admission that day at Epcot (flight landed at 10 AM) and then headed over the the MK around 4.

Because my brother is not a "show" person, we skipped all the shows and saw them later on the trip during our MK days since we were there after the last party. We hit the rides full force and got to:

Jungle Cruise
Pirates of the Caribbean x2
Splash Mountain x2
Big Thunder Railroad Mountain x3
Haunted Mansion
Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
Space Mountain x3
It's a Small World
Mad Tea Party

PLUS we caught both the parade on Main Street (got there about 10 mins before it started) and Holiday Wishes.

If we hadn't done the party, there is no way my family would've gotten on all of those rides. They were all literally walk ons. The parade and fireworks were great. Under normal circumstances I'm not sure the party would have been worth it but for us, it was definitely worth the cost of the tickets and I would spend the day in exactly the same way if I had to do it over again. We also got some great photos, met some of the special party characters and had a lovely time. Perfect way to start off the trip!!

Do you mind me asking what night you went? Was it early in the offerings or closer to Christmas?

 

[autumnpalm]

We were there on December 18. Second last party.

 

[tgropp]

It is a lot of fun, The Christmas parade at night is soo nice, the extra shows and fireworks make it worthwhile but, as has been posted before, I saw so many people without wristbands around for the parade and fireworks I wondered why I paid the money to be there while others stayed there for free. Until Disney empties the parks of the non paying guests, I will no longer go the MVMCP

 

[fairestoneofall]

We went November 30. Main Street and the Hub were literally wall-to-wall people. I saw many people with no wrist bands around this area. We opted to skip the first parade. And we didn't even bother trying to get there for the fireworks. We watched the fireworks from Tomorrowland, which wasn't a perfect location but it worked. Ride waits were really not too bad at all. And the lands weren't overly crowded. But it was more crowded than the party we attended in 2006. But really, other than Main Street and the Hub, the crowds weren't too bad.

I agree with others that Disney needs to get the non-party guests OUT of the park. It's not right to charge me $200 for my family to attend and then we can't even enjoy the snow on Main Street or watch Holiday Wishes from a good spot because of the people hanging around. DS didn't get to see the parade because he was SO tired that DH took him back to the resort. DD, my sister and I did get a great spot for the second parade. But it still would've been nice for my whole family to enjoy it. DS would've loved it.

I wanted my DS and DH to go to the party (they had not gone yet). I don't know that we'll do another MVMCP though. It's just that I've been twice and that's good. They'd have to totally change up the parade and the special offerings for me to go again.

That being said, I DO want to go to MNSSHP.

 

[Silver Queen]

We were at the Dec. 9 party and it was very crowded, especially on Main Street. We worked our way over to Tomorrow Land and rode the TTA just to get away from the crowd and relax for a bit. After that we were able to go on Buzz Lightyear two times in a row. After that we did Peter Pan, Winnie the Pooh and Mickey's Philharmagic with little or no waiting. We took a break for cookies and hot chocolate and watched the loading at It's a Small World. Then we went on to the Haunted Mansion and rode Big Thunder twice again with little or no waiting. After that it was time for Christmas Wishes which we viewed from in front of the castle. After Wishes we positioned ourselves on Main Street for the second parade. After that we went to the last performance of "Twas the Night Before Christmas."
As the night wore on the crowds lessened. Bottom line we were able to do a lot of things and were satisfied. We decided that we will probably not go back to another MVMCP. We've had the experience but feel that you didn't get that many extras for the money that you were spending. We can enjoy that park just as well on another evening during holiday time.

 

[ms*mountaineer]

We went on Dec 7 - it was more crowded than I expected. I think your decision should be based on what you want to do at MVMCP. Are you looking to see the parade, fireworks, shows? Are you looking to ride rides instead? Do you want to soak up the Christmas atmosphere?

If you are staying until Dec 20, they may start doing the Christmas parade (and some other MVMCP things) during regular park hours. So, for example, if you were hoping to see the Christmas parade during MVMCP, but you will be able to see it on Dec 19 or 20 - that may factor in to your decision.

 

[RobinFabulous]

It was our first time, so we did it. I believe we did the 14th party? It was a Sunday, and I think the last Sunday party. Anyway we went with kids. They really enjoyed the shows, it was too hot for the hot chocolate, the parade was great. We missed the characters. One of the dance parties was too much for my middle child (he's autistic and loves to dance, but doesn't know left from right and kept getting knocked dowm) and the other dance party was dead. They did ride Dumbo & the golden caurosel with no wait... The snow on Main Street was magical. It was crowded because people were interested in the areas we were, the parade, the shows, I think the ride areas were dead.


It was a lot of money, but I thought worth it once. I don't know if we'd do that party again, but we hope to do the MNSSH next trip

 

[WhateverLolaWants]

We arrived shortly after 4pm and stayed until the end of the 12/7 party. I thought time flew by so quickly and that we didn't get to do much. I will note that we had dinner at LTT so that took up maybe an hour and a half of our time. Really all we did was watch the fireworks and the parade, eat dinner, and rode about six rides. We didn't get much done so I didn't really feel like we got our money's worth. I can't even imagine how much the people who do the character greets get done.

 

[joy13]

I've never been to the MVMCP but I've been to MNSSHP twice and loved it. At the two parties I went to in 2005 and 2007 they got everyone out that didn't have a wristband - I hope that hasn't changed

 

[RobinFabulous]

I've never been to the MVMCP but I've been to MNSSHP twice and loved it. At the two parties I went to in 2005 and 2007 they got everyone out that didn't have a wristband - I hope that hasn't changed

Everytime we crossed into a different land they were checking wristbands. They also checked as you were going into some of the shows & to get the cookies/hot chocolate. They checked getting on rides as well

 

[Shannalee724]

When we were there last April, we went to the Pirate and Princess party and had a great time. We loved the emptiness of the park and the VERY short lines. We also enjoyed the light parade.

Is the Christmas party much like that one?

Also, when do they usually start the Christmas parties? We will be there from Nov 29th through December 6th.

 

[joy13]

Everytime we crossed into a different land they were checking wristbands. They also checked as you were going into some of the shows & to get the cookies/hot chocolate. They checked getting on rides as well

Yes, but at the MNSSHP's I went too, people without wristbands weren't allowed to linger on Main St. either. There were many CM's ushering people out.

 

[kristilew]

We've done it twice and will not be doing it again. Yes we could ride without a wait, which was nice. But there were a lot of little things that made it annoying, and we kept going "I spent extra for this?"

The thing that really got me was how crowded the shows were. We expected that, so went early and got seats. But when others showed up just before it started, the CMs crowded them in and forced those who had been sitting for half an hour or more to scrunch down to the point of complete discomfort. They continued to do this throughout the show, and the newcomers took their time getting settled, so it basically ruined the shows.

The dance parties are also super crowded - you really have to play some strong defense to keep your kids from getting trampled.

I think you get the most out of MVMCP if you can stick around til very late. If your kids can handle that, it's worth a try. They do a good job of setting a Christmas atmosphere, and the parade is pretty cool. Also, if you have ride warriors, there really isn't a wait for them, as so many people are doing the other stuff.

For us, the Osborne lights are a better Christmas treat. It's included with your park admission, there's plenty of "snow," the music is great, and the crowds clear out pretty quickly.

 

[ms*mountaineer]

We've done it twice and will not be doing it again. Yes we could ride without a wait, which was nice. But there were a lot of little things that made it annoying, and we kept going "I spent extra for this?"

The thing that really got me was how crowded the shows were. We expected that, so went early and got seats. But when others showed up just before it started, the CMs crowded them in and forced those who had been sitting for half an hour or more to scrunch down to the point of complete discomfort. They continued to do this throughout the show, and the newcomers took their time getting settled, so it basically ruined the shows.

The dance parties are also super crowded - you really have to play some strong defense to keep your kids from getting trampled.

I think you get the most out of MVMCP if you can stick around til very late. If your kids can handle that, it's worth a try. They do a good job of setting a Christmas atmosphere, and the parade is pretty cool. Also, if you have ride warriors, there really isn't a wait for them, as so many people are doing the other stuff.

For us, the Osborne lights are a better Christmas treat. It's included with your park admission, there's plenty of "snow," the music is great, and the crowds clear out pretty quickly.

This is a good description of how I felt about MVMCP too. Well said!

 

[december14disney]

We have gone on Dec 14th in 2007 and 2008. We got engaged there in 07, so I may be biased, but I love the MVMCP. Neither year was the party that crowded, walk on rides and we got spots for all shows and parades. I love the Twas the Night Before Xmas show! Either way. Im one that totally recommends it!

 

[unicorn1]

I think the detemining factor for many in whether or not to do the party is can your group last until midnight. If there are little ones in the group and everyone is tired, cranky, and leaving with the crowd around 10:00-10:30, you may be among those that say it's a miserable experience and not worth the money. On the other hand, if you are fairly certain your group will be going strong at, say, 11:00, you are more likely to have a great time. A MVMCP is totally different at 11:00 vs. 9:00.

I just love ALL of the holiday stuff, so I won't miss it, BUT, I realize going in it's gonna be a little crazy 7:00 - 10:30