Need Help Deciding on MVMCP Please

[ryan840]

We're on a very limited budget but I don't know if we'll ever be back to WDW in December again to do MVMCP as we prefer to go in May. This year we can't so we will be going when our DVC points come in in order to use the Give a Day Get a Day tickets before they expire. I have been to MNSSHP and the Pirate and Princess Party and loved them both so I really would like to do MVMCP too but am wondering if it's worth the $200 it will cost us to go.

The things I'm excited for are the parade (but could live without that if I had to), the snow, the lights and the fireworks and the "special" atmosphere in general. Do they only make it snow for the party? If we went to the Poly to watch the fireworks from the beach do they pipe the music through the speakers like they do for wishes? Are the characters only in their holiday gear for the party or would we see them in it during a normal day too? Any other points I should consider? Thanks!!

 

[ashleyasiegel]

We went to the MVMCP last year in November and had a great time! We didn't catch any of the shows as our DD was 17 months at the time and was on the go go go! We did try to meet most of the characters in their holiday wear. Loved the Fireworks and the Parade. They make it "snow" on Main Street however they did make it snow during the Osbourne Lights at Hollywood Studios also when we were there. The park was not crowded at all so we rode a lot of rides and let DD run around in the Pooh Playground. The parade is wonderful which is a little bit different than what they show on TV Christmas Morning but not much. I am not sure when in December you are going. They do start showing the Christmas Parade everyday during regular park hours after they stop the MVMCP. Lots of people complain about the free hot chocolate and cookies but I didn't think they were bad.

Overall I thought it was worth the extra $100 we paid for the two of us. Plus it allowed us into the park at 4:00 so we spent the day at the resort and still got in a full day at the park.

Hope that helps you!

 

[thelionqueen]

You can see everything you want without purchasing the MVMCP tix. We went for the first time last year and were very disappointed. It is not like mnsshp. At MNSSHP you can only see the parade and fireworks at the party, this is not the case with the christmas party.

I have been to MnssHP over a dozen times and would pay to go every time, i will never do a MVMCP again, it was just not that great

 

[ryan840]

Thank you for the replies, they have pushed me towards not going and being ok with that. I love MNSSHP, it is my favorite event at WDW so I do have high hopes for MVMCP and would hate to be disappointed.

Our dates will likely be 12/6 - 12/11 or 12/13, would we be able to see the parade on a regular day during that time?

Does anyone know about the music for the fireworks, or do they actually replace Wishes at some point with the Christmas fireworks?

 

[budbeerlady]

I have to agree, MNSSHP is well worth the $$$. MVMCP is not anymore.

 

[puffkin]

I have to agree, MNSSHP is well worth the $$$. MVMCP is not anymore.

That is our feelings as well.

There are so many other holiday things going on that we really didn't miss MVMCP this past December. The prices and the crowds just got too ridiculous for us. We are AP holders so we couldn't even justify saving a day on our tickets to do the party.

 

[ryan840]

That is our feelings as well.

There are so many other holiday things going on that we really didn't miss MVMCP this past December. The prices and the crowds just got too ridiculous for us. We are AP holders so we couldn't even justify saving a day on our tickets to do the party.

I'm thinking the same thing on justifying the cost, even though we didn't do AP's this year. If we do 3 day tickets we might as well do entire stay since the difference is so nominal, and to add another $200 to that seems pointless. If we only end up doing 2 park days then we will do MVMCP as it would be $100 cheaper for us than doing 2 full day tickets and we would be going to MK anyway.

Is it crowded even in early December (MVMCP, not the parks in general)? I know it's value season so I was hoping it wouldn't be!

 

[thelionqueen]

I had very high hopes for the christmas party because the halloween party was SOOOO great and was very disappointed.

Yes you can see the parade and fireworks at other times during your stay. Wishes is replaced with "Holiday Wishes" every night after a certain date (not sure of what that date is but thinking it is the first or 2nd week in Dec). The parade is also replaced with the Christmas parade during the same time frame (or close to the same time frame) so you won't be missing anything except free hot cocoa and apples IMO anyway.

The crowds are much less than normal. I would say they are very close to the same volume in October, we always go off peak (May & October) and thougt the crowds to be similar as in december.

Hope that helps, have a great time!!!

 

[ryan840]

OK, so I have my answer. We will either go or not go.

If we can swing more park days we will not go and we won't feel like we're missing out on anything. If we can only add one more day then we will go just for the $100 savings vs adding a full day ticket.

I'm so glad I posted this because MNSSHP is my favorite and I figured for Christmas it must be even better, right? It sounds like I would have been really disappointed so now I know what to expect.

Does anyone know where I can find a schedule listing when they replace the parade and begin Holiday Wishes?

 

[Darcy03231]

We loved Pirates & Princesses and MNSSHP and had high hopes for the Christmas Party. We were very disappointed. I definitely wouldn't spend the money to go again.

 

[disneyfox]

I went to Disney this year for the first time in December and I decided that I would spend the extra $200 for my family to go to the MVMCP. I had read a lot of mixed reviews on it and decided to go and check it out for myself. I have to say I was very disappointed!! It seemed to be very unorganized and the map was not helpful at all. It did not really pinpoint where characters were so it was sometimes hard to find them. The lines for characters and rides was ridiculous! It was a longer wait for rides then it was for them during the day. The only thing that I really enjoyed was the parade and holiday wishes but not enough to justify spending the additional $200.


I went on a Tuesday 12/8/09

 

[WDWFigment]

Given your dates of travel, everything at MVMCP will be unique to the party. If you went closer to Christmas (week before), you could see the fireworks and parade without going to the party, but the tradeoff is far worse crowds than during the time you're going.

We went to the MVMCP around the same time of year a couple of years ago, and we loved the party. Personally, I like MVMCP more than MNSSHP, but I think I'm in the minority on that one. I think you'd find few people who would prefer the P&P parties over MVMCP, so if you liked the P&P parties (we did, too!), it's likely that you'd like MVMCP as well.

When we went, we had 10-day no-expire tickets that we carefully used over the course of several trips. Since we could get in at 4 p.m. due to the party, we decided to do a tour of the resorts in the morning (to see the Christmas decorations) so as to not waste a day on our tickets. It sounds like you might be in a similar boat. When viewed as a half day park ticket plus a hard ticket event experience, the price isn't that bad!

In other words, I vote GO!

 

[ashleyasiegel]

Givin your travel dates you won't be able to see the parade/fireworks during regular hours. This doesn't start until AFTER the last MVMCP which I think last year was around Dec 18th which is the week before Christmas when it starts to get crowded. Again I love the Party but is just me and I went mid November so the crowds for the party was probably a lot lighter than Dec. Parties. Hope that helps you!

 

[PoppyGirl]

Given your dates of travel, everything at MVMCP will be unique to the party. If you went closer to Christmas (week before), you could see the fireworks and parade without going to the party, but the tradeoff is far worse crowds than during the time you're going.

We went to the MVMCP around the same time of year a couple of years ago, and we loved the party. Personally, I like MVMCP more than MNSSHP, but I think I'm in the minority on that one. I think you'd find few people who would prefer the P&P parties over MVMCP, so if you liked the P&P parties (we did, too!), it's likely that you'd like MVMCP as well.

When we went, we had 10-day no-expire tickets that we carefully used over the course of several trips. Since we could get in at 4 p.m. due to the party, we decided to do a tour of the resorts in the morning (to see the Christmas decorations) so as to not waste a day on our tickets. It sounds like you might be in a similar boat. When viewed as a half day park ticket plus a hard ticket event experience, the price isn't that bad!

In other words, I vote GO!

I've been starting to wonder about going to MVMCP during our dates too--we'll be there 12/8 - 12/15. We went to P&PP and really enjoyed it--partly because of being able to get on rides with very little wait and the festive atmosphere. I found the map for P&PP completely useless. It was too dark to read it! The parade and fireworks were awesome. So....debating if we should spend the extra to go to MVMCP--we'll never go in December again due to DH's work schedule.

So, at what point does it change so that you get the same experiences during regular park hours as opposed to only at the party?

 

[PoppyGirl]

Never mind...I just re-read the whole thread and my question was already answered! (stupid swiss cheese brain of mine!)