MVMCP...To go or not to go that is the question

[LadyntheTramp]

So I have been debating this for several weeks. My family is going to Disney the end of November and I am just not sure if the price is worth it. It would be 6 adults, a 2 year old, and a 4 month old. My biggest conflict is the possibility of Moana meeting at the party. This is my kiddo's favorite movie but I not sure the price is worth it so fellow Disers...What your opinion is it worth it? Should we wait and see? Is it not worth in our case? (I will also add that we are on MT and my kid has done well with traveling to the east coast in that she tends to stay up late EST but is her normal bedtime MT..if that makes sense)

Thanks in advance!

 

[JennyDrake]

I would wait until the kids are older. The parties can be VERY crowded, even during a weekday and to get your money's worth it involves staying up soooooo late. For adults, the parade is fun and there are some unique character interactions, but expect long lines for characters, food, drink, etc. I have been 4 x and with the ever increasing ticket prices and crowds (last time I waited 45 min in line to buy a soft drink) I have a hard time justifying the cost.

 

[mi*vida*loca]

I'm going for the first time with DD who is 12. I wouldn't have gone with my kids at the ages of your kids unless I knew they would sleep in the stroller with no issues. If I even thought they would be cranky and I would have to go back to the room I wouldn't take the risk.

 

[shanew21]

Pros:
Night parade, look at my avatar
Holiday Wishes with much more room than HEA
Lines are better than normal days
Exclusive characters
Free snacks

Cons:
Expensive
Park still fairly crowded
Snacks are fine but not worth the price you pay
Lines for characters are crazy

The night parade and more room for Wishes was easily worth it to us, but it was just the two of us. The lines were still fairly long for rides and VERY long for characters, so we didn't see much benefit in terms of the crowds.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

I wouldn't do it with kids that age. Even if Moana is at the party again this year, the lines to meet the special characters are incredibly long. There is no way I would spend that kind of money just to see Moana. MVMCP is just ok, IMHO. We went to both MVMCP and MNSSHP last year and felt the Halloween party was far superior - better decorations, candy (instead of tasteless cookies), better parade and better fireworks. If your child loves Moana, I would, instead, consider having a meal over at Poly (Kona or O'hana) and have a Polynesian themed evening. I think it would be a better use of your money.

 

[loves to dive]

Worth it is subjective, we have been going to WDW for more years than we want to admit and have never done either of the parties. It just doesn't seem like worth the extra money to us for a parade and fireworks. We aren't big fans of character interactions, don't eat cupcakes which is what a lot of the snacks are so for us no.

 

[100acreHiker]

We went once when our kids were 9 and 5 and they were just too tired to get our money's worth. Also, it began to rain for an hour or so and it was chilly. They just couldn't push through and I was sorely disappointed to miss Holiday Wishes and we only got a couple of extra rides and we spent an hour at the parade. Was not worth it to us. I would go if I were doing a solo trip or adults only or maybe now that my kids are older (9&13) but even now they mostly just want to hang out our resort and go on the pool slide and go on a couple of rides a day. The cookies are not good and the hot chocolate was watery. Again, I'd consider it if I were going solo. In that case I would not buy a park pass for the day, but go shopping at Disney Springs or relax at the resort and then head to MVMCP at 4pm.

 

[piratepride]

Years ago this was a very worthwhile and affordable event....not so much recently. Much higher price, tickets were $71 for an event in mid December in 2013 and $67 in 2009. Crowds were light and wait times were basically walk on for most rides. This is not the case the last couple of years. The same thing is happening with MNSSHP. We are going December 12-16th and will not be attending the event this year due to the reasons I have listed.

 

[wdwjeffc37]

I would suggest not doing the party with kids that young. It is a late night and will still be very crowded not to mention the expense. I suggest that people experience MVMCP at least once. For us it was once and done. Too expensive for what you get. JMHO. Cheers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[miTnosnhoJ]

I was in the camp that "we already have Season Passes so why would we pay more to go back after hours."
But we have a policy of trying at least one new thing every trip, and last December, we went to MVMCP. I thoroughly enjoyed it. The parade is way better than the standard 3PM parade. The marching toy soldiers alone are worth the price. The parade does get very crowded. We waited for the 11PM parade, which wasn't too bad.
The fireworks show is spectacular, although I don't recall a lot of castle projections, just great fireworks. I highly recommend it. The rides were short waits.

But in your case, with a family of 6 with 2 little ones, I would consider whether it is likely that you would return in future years in the Christmas season when they are a little older. If so, I would wait. If one of the adults would stay at the hotel and watch the little ones, sure, take the other five adults.

 

[Hauntedmickey]

I think I would wait until your kids are a bit older, it's a long night for little ones! We're also trying to decide if we want to go
or not, our is more the price of the party these days. We are huge MNSSHP fans, we've gone many times, but have
only done MVMCP once back in 2010, at that time it was only my husband and I. This trip it would be us and our 19 year old
daughter and her friend. We much prefer the MNSSHP, but my daughter has never done MVMCP, so decisions, decisions!

 

[disneydreamer1980]

We used to do this every year, but as it’s gotten more expensive and more crowded we’ve stopped going and stopped recommending it. As others have said, it’s very crowded with ridiculous waits for characters and food. The parade is cute but the fireworks weren’t as good as HEA In my opinion. Not worth the money. Do a HEA dessert party instead.

 

[lorilclevelandrn]

Personally, I would wait w/ children those ages. I brought my 4 1/2 year old last November and had a difficult time getting her through the parade. She loved the meet and greets, few rides, and although she was excited about the parade, she was anxiously ready to hit the exits as soon as Santa waived Bye. It is a very late night for 5 and under. If u are interested n an adding an event to your trip, I would recommend using the money on either Early Morning Magic, Pirates & Pals Firework Cruise, or HEA Plaza Garden viewing dessert party. My daughter loved Pirates & Pals. She still talks about it at least once per week!

 

[Selket]

I love the special parties (MVMCP, MNSHP) but it can be diminishing returns with little ones. If you think you'll be able to come back in the future when the kids are a bit older then perhaps waiting is a good plan. If you're not sure you'd be back (at least in a very long time) for Christmas, then it may be worth it. Any chance you'd want to leave the little ones with a babysitter and have just the adults go? Could be another option.

 

[ppony]

Years ago this was a very worthwhile and affordable event....not so much recently. Much higher price, tickets were $71 for an event in mid December in 2013 and $67 in 2009. Crowds were light and wait times were basically walk on for most rides. This is not the case the last couple of years. The same thing is happening with MNSSHP. We are going December 12-16th and will not be attending the event this year due to the reasons I have listed.

I concur. The parties have been so wall-to-wall crowded for years now. Just not enjoyable anymore. I don’t like paying that much extra to be packed in and have much if not most of the special merch sold out early in the schedule.

 

[LadyntheTramp]

Thanks everyone! You all basically confirmed what I thought but sometimes talking to just my family isn't quite enough since they defer to me...lol

We used to do this every year, but as it’s gotten more expensive and more crowded we’ve stopped going and stopped recommending it. As others have said, it’s very crowded with ridiculous waits for characters and food. The parade is cute but the fireworks weren’t as good as HEA In my opinion. Not worth the money. Do a HEA dessert party instead.

Personally, I would wait w/ children those ages. I brought my 4 1/2 year old last November and had a difficult time getting her through the parade. She loved the meet and greets, few rides, and although she was excited about the parade, she was anxiously ready to hit the exits as soon as Santa waived Bye. It is a very late night for 5 and under. If u are interested n an adding an event to your trip, I would recommend using the money on either Early Morning Magic, Pirates & Pals Firework Cruise, or HEA Plaza Garden viewing dessert party. My daughter loved Pirates & Pals. She still talks about it at least once per week!

Thank you for the suggestions. We are probably going to do a dessert party, esp since it will be mine and my brothers birthdays. I would love to do the Early Morning Magic but since we are on mountain time I worry about getting up early (7 am would be 5 am here and the kiddo sleeps until 8:30 our time normally) and I don't want to mess with the kiddos sleep schedule too much.

I love the special parties (MVMCP, MNSHP) but it can be diminishing returns with little ones. If you think you'll be able to come back in the future when the kids are a bit older then perhaps waiting is a good plan. If you're not sure you'd be back (at least in a very long time) for Christmas, then it may be worth it. Any chance you'd want to leave the little ones with a babysitter and have just the adults go? Could be another option.

Normally I would say a babysitter would be an option but the family that is coming lives on the east coast and we live out west. They don't get to see the grandkids much so this time a babysitter is a no go but thanks for the suggestion.

 

[DisneyChristmas]

Years ago this was a very worthwhile and affordable event....not so much recently. Much higher price, tickets were $71 for an event in mid December in 2013 and $67 in 2009. Crowds were light and wait times were basically walk on for most rides. This is not the case the last couple of years. The same thing is happening with MNSSHP. We are going December 12-16th and will not be attending the event this year due to the reasons I have listed.

We have attended MVMCP a number of times since 1996. What a disappointment the recent parties have been. Twenty years ago many fewer tickets were sold. Special entertainment by local groups as well as the Main Street Brass and Voices of Liberty added to the party atmosphere. There were event-only tee shirts, sweatshirts, plush Mickeys or Reindeer to purchase, free buttons, and FREE family photos, and more. Special decorations just for party night were everywhere. Gradually many of these party perks have disappeared. The parade and fireworks still are excellent, but the crowds are daunting.

 

[piratepride]

We have attended MVMCP a number of times since 1996. What a disappointment the recent parties have been. Twenty years ago many fewer tickets were sold. Special entertainment by local groups as well as the Main Street Brass and Voices of Liberty added to the party atmosphere. There were event-only tee shirts, sweatshirts, plush Mickeys or Reindeer to purchase, free buttons, and FREE family photos, and more. Special decorations just for party night were everywhere. Gradually many of these party perks have disappeared. The parade and fireworks still are excellent, but the crowds are daunting.

You are so right! Years ago you felt like you truly where at a special event with a limited number of people involved. Not now...just another day w/ a packed park at MK. I never thought twice about buying a ticket because you knew you were getting your moneys worth and receiving perks that very few would get. Now I would not even consider going knowing what the event was like as recent as four years ago! The event price for MNSSHP and MVMCP has almost doubled in the last 5 years!