MVMCP Touring Tips & Plans

[Serenity]

I also would like information about the shows. I have asked this a few times on these boards but have not gotten any answers.

Please, anyone who has seen Belle's Enchanted Christmas - what is it? Is it Belle telling a story like she does during the regular hours - just a different Christmas Story rather than the traditional B&B stroy? Or is is more like a Christmas version of the B&B show at MGM? What about Santa's Snowflake Special??? What is that? And Mickey's Twas the Night before Christmas - what can I expect to see here. Celebrate the Seasons - is that with the Princesses or other characters?

Any input would be wonderful and a great help in trying to do our tentative plan for MVMCP.

 

[vmkids]

I want to know about the shows too!

 

[FatCow]

From the sound of it, it seems like everybody claims that they've been to MVMCP but none of them have seen anything other than the parade and the fireworks.

This seems odd to me.

Where are these experts? I'm getting frustrated.

 

[happyonhorseback]

Greetings!
It's my first MVMCP too, and I hear you can go in at 4:00. Do the festivities also begin early, or do you have to wait until 7:00 for the pics & hot cocoa? We have dinner reservations for 4:30, but I'm wondering if I should plan an earlier dinner so we have more time in the park. Also, does anyone ever dress up in Christmas attire? Thanks - I am so excited I could BURST!!!!!!!!

 

[FatCow]

LOL! Seeing the lack of real information of MVMCP on this forum, it seems like the attendees of the previous MVMCPs are more into having dinner at LTT and nothing else.

 

[TigerLaw]

In order to protect the honor of those of us who went in years past (and BTW, I have never stepped foot in LBT) let me see if I can help!

As far as the shows go, I have only seen the main two-the castle and t'land show. I really don't know how to describe other than to think of both of them in terms of xmas type versions of cindy's suprise celebration. the characters will be there, there' singing, etc. (there isnt a lot of seating for the other shows, and given the location, I don't think they are major productions-but I could be wrong)

as for the 4 pm start time-no the festivites do not start early. the park is open to 6pm and the party starts at 7. what happens is in order to prevent massive lines, they let people in who have party tickets at 4pm (prior to that, you have to burn a park hopper) from 4 to 6 its just like a regular day at the park. at 6 they shut down all the rides (except for in t'land) and people start to leave. if you come in betw. 4 and 6, you'll get an armband which shows the CMs you're for the party and can ride the t-land rides from 6 to 7.

for the 6-7 period, I THINK if I remember right that the picture stand (by timekeeper) is open-we got our pictures and pin there and it was no problem. be sure to fight them if you have a family and they try to only allow 1 pic for say 4 passes. (or easier, dad gets sent the pic to only place and then mom gets sent a seconf pic taken at a another stop somewhere else) I have heard they have issues w. this, but my fiancee and I never had a problem.
also during this time, there are usu. characters out by cosmic rays. finally, one other suggestion is that they usu. do a rope drop for the other lands at 645 or so, so this is a good way to be the crowds into fantasyland (make sure you see what they do to dumbo-no spoilers, but its very cute) I got pics w. holiday pooh, tigger, and eyeore across from the pooh ride.

hope this helps a bit-if anyone has any ohter questions, Ill try to help. I would also recommend reading the party report from previous lyears on wdwig.com and/or doing a title search from last year using "mvmcp"

 

[Kaycee]

TigerLaw,

You are a hero to all us MVMCP newbies! Thanks for taking the time to answer questions and share details.

 

[FatCow]

Thank you very much TigerLaw... I'm not worthy!

 

[Serenity]

Tigerlaw,
I know you said you were unsure about how to describe the 2 main shows - so you may not be able to answer this, but please try. Is it just the Castle show that is more like a Christmas version of Cindy's Surprise Celebration or both? Is Mickey's Twas Night Before Christmas like that too?

Also any other MVMCP vets out there, what is Santa's Snowflake and Belle's Enchanted Christmas like?

Thanks for your input Tigerlaw!

 

[Lucky4me]

Tomorrowland-Mickeys night before Christmas-acts out the story. Characters, dancers, etc.

Castle forecourt- Characters, Christmas music, dancing, etc.

Both shows are about 20 minutes long. Both were enjoyable, but not something along the lines of Fantasmic. Just your basic Disney shows with Christmas themes. Maybe that's why no one remembers exact details.
Both shows are crowded and if you want to get a seat, be there at least 15 minutes before the shows start.

You must remember, even if the party is sold out, you are only going to be in the park with 20,000 people, not 50,000. I really don't think you need to have an itinerary set in stone for this one. Just get there early, get your photo taken right away, ride the rides during the first parade and have fun!!

 

[Kteacher]

great thread! Thanks for the tips Tiggerlaw

 

[TigerLaw]

glad to help everyone-another thing I thought of was check for mickey and minnie bt tony's on your way out fromt he party and donald's tree lot (I think its by the xmas shop)

 

[Judy from Boise]

gee, sorry thought we were helping I have never stepped foot in LTT either.
there really are very few hard and fast tips ! Relax have fun....ride the mountians during the 1st parade time, see the fireworks in front of the castle, drop by for cookies whenever you are walking by a station and feel the urge...we did it 3 times one year. Try the two big shows.....I like the TL one best, relax have fun.....I personally think it is more important to plan to stay in the park till closing than to worry about getting in the park by 4:00. After one expereince with the "cattle drop" in TL we swore to never do that again. After the fireworks many families with young kids leave the park, so even the capped attendance goes down by at least a third. Many people dress up both in Christimas, and I have seen girls in princess outfits too. This looks especially nice when posed by Cinderella's coach in FL.

 

[dolphindan1]

One suggestion I have that we found out on our first time was to decide if you are there for shows or the rides....Alot of people get so excited about no lines on the rides that they just hit rides all night....thats what we did and although we rode just about everything we missed every show besides the parade and fireworks....I suggest if you want to ride some rides arrive at 4PM go to adventureland and frontierland till 6 then ride some stuff in Tommorrowland till 7 u should get the main ones in the hour...then at rope drop head to a show or fantasyland and have the pictuers done right by its a smal world.....then relax do what you feel you must do...any ride or show you feel you have to do....Its all about the atmosphere to me.......

 

[Diamond_Girls]

Where are the pictures? And is this open all night long? Just wondering if we should do this first, or if there are long lines at first...?

 

[Pats Dragon]

We'll be at the party the 17th!! My advice: 1. Do you want to see shows or ride or do both. Decide and then make plans. The castle show is neat and has some surprises so we always see that one. We love the Christmas parade. It snows on main street during the parade and when the party opens at 7. It is definitely worth catching. We like to see the bears at the party because they are christmasy. We have been when the weather is perfect but one time it was 34 degrees and blowing a gale. We almost froze. No one else went hardly. Plan for anything. We went once and just saw shows and parades and it was fun. There are numerous picture stops. You are mailed 1 picture per person but they are sent to one address. You can have hot choc. and cookies all night but the lines can get long. Have fun!!!

 

[northern michigan]

but it'll be our first time. We're arriving in Orlando early afternoon. Are there MVMCP schedules accessible prior to arrival? We definitely want to focus on the shows as we'll have almost two weeks to get all the rides in!

 

[Claudia Kellenberger]

My advice is that you must always get the MVMCP program as you go into the party. Decide which shows you would like to see. GET TO THE SHOW EARLY !! One year, I got to each show about 10 or 15 minutes ahead of time, and it was always too crowded to get in. That was very frustrating !

Get your picture taken as early as possible !

One year I wore to MVMCP a long sleeve, black, polyester dressy type shirt, and I was so awfully hot all evening.
The very next year, I needed to wear a heavy flannel shirt, and a heavy zipper sweatshirt, and I even needed the hood.
So it's really a toss-up on how cold it might be.

During the first parade it is a great time to do "The Mountains",
unless of course, you want to leave after the first parade.

 

[JoEllen]

This may have already been posted, but be sure and get your MVMCP t-shirts, sweatshirts, etc the night of the event. They are only for sale in the shops the event night.

 

[Serenity]

Tentative plan so far - let me know if you think this is doable:

We will be arriving on 12/17 and hoping to get to the park between 4:30 and 5 pm. Plan to go to Tomorrowland and ride Buzz, Stitch, and hopefully Space Mountain before getting a seat for the 6:15 showing of Mickey's Twas the night before Christmas. Then when that lets out we will have done most of the rides here so can just enjoy the atmosphere and see if we can get in line for our picture (if they let us do this early). Plan to catch a character or 2 and enjoy the decorations as we walk to Fariytale Garden for the 7:25 showing of Santa's Snowflake Special. Next Walk through fantasyland - get pictures in front of Cinderella's Carriage and any other Christmas decorations in Fantasyland. Then get a seat for the 8:40 show of Belle's Enchanted Christmas. Then rush for a spot for the 9:15 showing of Wishes. More character finding and decoration looking (getting Cookies and Hot Choc as we can) before the 10:45 showing of the second parade. We will try to do some shopping before the midnight showing of Celebrate the seasons.

So is this doable??? We have never been and are very excited.