My kids go to bed at 7:30pm...

[Shanti]

We are bringing our 2yr old and 5yr old to WDW in December. I'm trying to determine if we should do MVMCP. They typically go to bed around 7:30pm, so do you think it is worth the extra money for the tickets when they might not even be awake for the parade or fireworks?

I'd wait until they were 4 or 5 years older and could make the most of it.

 

[monorailsilver]

Depends on your kids and your next day schedule....or your daily schedule.

When my kids were younger we would leave at around 7am, return to the room by 1 and they’d nap til 5 and stay in the park til 10/11. No moans or cry’s from them...other kids around us yes but ours had an extra long nap (so did we).

At home bed time was around 8 and they’d be up between 6-7am. I also made sure to have a few non park days to catch up on sleep. But no...my kids were up and ready to swim win with me at 8 while my dh was still snoring away!

We are going in the summer and my youngest is 12 so there won’t be naps, well except for DH so instead we are doing a park every other day.

 

[Maggie at the Fort]

My kids definitely stay up later than normal at Disney. Normal is 8-8:30 and we have done illuminations, fantasmic, etc. That said, once we went back to the MK after dinner, planning on staying a while. We went in and saw Mickey at the town hall. Came out, watched spectromagic from the steps (this was a few years ago obviously). I was ready to go and do more and my 4 year old who is never tired, looked at me and said "can we go back to the camper? I'm ready for bed." She was just done. We did and she was fine and ready to go the next day. We only made it about 20 feet past the train tracks. I would have been upset if I had paid extra for that night. I would have tried to push longer and it would have results in meltdowns. Lots of people take small kids to the parties and love it. Knowing me (and how I get want to get my money's worth) and my kids, it would not work out well for us!!

 

[WantToGoNow]

Here’s my 2.5 y/o grandson just before midnight at MNSSHP. He had a blast. He did pass out on the way back to the resort.

 

[NYCgrrl]

Only you know how your children will react to a change in their regular schedule on this level.

Were I determined to attend this event I'd make sure the party attendance wasn't arrival or departure dates (already stressful for at least the adults and possibly the children) but somewhere in the middle of the trip and ensure the next day was a lot calmer- maybe a resort day?
If you are unsure in the least don't spend the money since Disney will be giving the party every year there after.

 

[VandVsmama]

I think that it really depends on your kids and your family. When my kids were 2-3 years old, it didn't matter WHAT time you put them to bed. They always got up like clockwork at the crack of dawn. Put them to bed at 10-11 pm? They'd be awake at 6:00 am on the nose all on their own. Put them to bed at 7:30 - 8:00 pm? They still wake up at 6:00 am.

We went on 1 family vacation when the kids were 3.5 and 18 mo. It didn't work out so well. They got to bed 9-9:30 pm each night and refused to nap during the day. So as each successive day went on of our vacation, they became more cranky and more ornery and more miserable to be around.

But a couple of years later when they were 4 and 6? They were just fine.

You know your kids best. If you DO decide to pay for the party and if your kids conk out or decide that they're just totally done and nothing will fix the cranky's unless they're asleep in a bed, don't get upset...look at the $$ you spent on those tickets as a "sunk cost" and be done with it.

 

[juxtapose]

I wouldn't unless you have zero plans the next day other than swimming. My kids are great at staying up late but they still wake up at 6:30am no matter their bedtime. We have never kept them at a park past 8pm because it's not worth it to us to waste the entire next day when they're grouchy. My DD is now 6 and is finally starting to sleep in when she stays up late so I'm hoping we are close to being able to do later nights.

 

[rg35]

All children are different. We don't know yours or how they will react being pushed beyond their normal boundaries.

Will you care if your kids fall asleep in the stroller and "miss" the party, even though you can still experience it?
Will you turn into one of those parents who yell at their kid for ruining their vacation if they get tired and want to sleep or leave early?
Will you be really aggravated about "wasting" money on the party if the kids sleep or you leave?

If the honest answer to those questions is yes then you should pass on the party. The question is more about how as a parent you will react if things don't go as planned more than how the children will be in a certain circumstance. With young children no plan should ever be expected to go 100% accordingly. ​

 

[RoyalJayhawk]

If your kids are anything like mine, they will have no problems staying up. Its vacation after all.

 

[YesterDark]

Are the tickets a big financial burden? My kids barely make it to the fireworks at night (2 and 4). Personally it would be a waste for me, but I would try it once because I'd love to see the park during the event.

 

[NYCgrrl]

Are the tickets a big financial burden? My kids barely make it to the fireworks at night (2 and 4). Personally it would be a waste for me, but I would try it once because I'd love to see the park during the event.

The party ticket prices are NOT insignificant.
Last December we stayed for 12 days arriving on December 22nd, the last night of the Christmas party which also happened to have the most expensive party tickets. Think the price was about $100.00 per person in addition to the regular price to enter the park.

I justified not going because:

A. I dislike paying twice for the same thing with extra candy thrown in as a bone.
B. Pretty much all of the parades were still going to be available at MK once the hard ticket time ended.
C. Re-read "A", .

 

[YesterDark]

I did the Not So Scary part a few years ago. Glad I did it once, but I'll never do it again because I can't justify the cost. The parade was cool though.

 

[kohlby]

We found that our kids wouldn't nap at Disney - even when 2 years old. It didn't matter if we went back to the room either so sticking to reasonable bedtimes was important for the enjoyment of all. So - we did MNSSHP on our last night. That way, it didn't matter if they didn't get enough sleep. When figuring out if it's worth it, think too of the next day, or days, not just if they will stay up long enough.

 

[scrappinginontario]

It really depends if you are willing to spend the money for the party knowing your children may sleep through a good portion of it. I took my 4yo and she lasted until about 8:45 and then crashed in her stroller. I enjoyed the shows, parade and even the dance party while she snoozed. Around 11 I decided to head home and she woke up as we were heading back down Main Street. She looked up from her stroller and said we couldn't leave yet so we turned around and enjoyed the final hour of the party together!! It was wonderful and I'd do it again but not everyone would feel that way. For me I enjoyed soaking up the experience even when she slept and then the totally different enjoyment of the party when she was awake. It's all about expectations I feel.

 

[ColoradoMom12]

My daughter (6) goes to bed at 7:30 at home. She stays up later at Disney (by which I mean 9 or 10). We’ve done MNSSHP (last year) and did not stay for fireworks. She got very worn out about 40 minutes before fireworks so we decided to just call it a night. We were at the CR and were able to watch them from our room at least. I didn’t feel like it was a waste of money at all. We really enjoyed the 3 or so hours of the party we attended and plan on going again this year.

 

[mster425]

I think we are going to skip the Xmas party for the reasons you listed. We'd lose almost 2 park days- the day of and the day after the party, and I'm not sure my kids would be able to hang that late. $400 is a LOT of money for maybes. Also my DD has food allergies so the snacks would be different, and I'd feel guilty stuffing $104 worth of Santa cookies in my face in front of her.

I'm not 100% on this decision, but maybe 92%. Nobody but me is amped about any of the characters at the party. OMG, maybe I could leave the kids with DH and go by myself. I'd sell it to him as a money saving plan.

I do wish Disney would have a babysitting option until midnight again (the new pixar one is over at 10:30). That might change my decision.

 

[Jimmy Mouse]

Our girls now 4 and 7 go to bed at 10:00 - 10:30 and have always stayed up late. They had no problem staying up for the whole MVMCP in 2016 and MNSSHP last year. I get home from work around 6:30 so I'm glad they stay up later so I can spend time with them. They don't nap either which is a curse as much as it is a blessing lol.

 

[mickey&minniealways]

We are bringing our 2yr old and 5yr old to WDW in December. I'm trying to determine if we should do MVMCP. They typically go to bed around 7:30pm, so do you think it is worth the extra money for the tickets when they might not even be awake for the parade or fireworks?[/QUO

Maybe start the day a little later and build some down time sometime in the afternoon also. That way they might be able to stay up later. They might be to excited to fall asleep early anyway.

 

[Sparty1833]

I brought my kids (1&2) last year and they didn't last very long. We stayed till the fireworks. I'm going again this year and probably wont do it again.

 

[shan981]

There's a lot of good advice here! We are planning to do MVMCP in November, our oldest is 10 and our twins will be a month shy of 2. The twins go to bed between 7/730 at home, but occasionally stay out later for big brother's baseball tournaments or other events. Never past 9/930 though yet. I'm hoping they'll do okay and be able to last at least until 10 or so....?

If not, does anyone know if you can exit the party then re-enter? I'm thinking if they are ready to crash at 8pm, one of us could take them back to the room for a couple hours while the other stays with DS10, then we could switch. Staying at CR, so while not ideal, it wouldn't be THAT hard, so long as we could re-enter.