Need help with Dec. trip

[vicb]

So my Nov. trip planning has been for naught, it is looking like early Dec. if it is going to happen (have only been in Feb, March and May). We are trying to plan a trip with our young adult children, four work schedules are hard to coordinate. Anyway, need some help with understanding how the parks will be working with MVMCP and Candlelight Procession.

We usually try to do an eve. emh at MK but will that even be available with MVMCP 4 nights?

And, I read about CP in Epcot, I don't really understand if you do the dining pkg. do you pre-pick which time of show you will attend? Do I understand correctly that the benefit to the dining pkg is that you get "reserved seats" and you don't have to stand in line? And will Illuminations still be performed every night?

Lastly, if we can't go the week right after T-giving and go the first full week in Dec. it sounds like it might be Pop Warner week. Do I need to be concerned about that? Likely we will be staying at Dolphin or an Epcot area resort.

Thanks for any help!

 

[shanew21]

MVMCP isn't every night, so there should be a night that you can spend in MK without a hard ticket.

 

[Serenebean]

Like PP says - MVMCP isnt every night, but the nights without it and especially the one with PM EMH will be crowded. As for CP - we did the dining package....they changed it the year we did it so that it assigned a time, but I think if you didn't like the one it picked you could call and switch it. I believe there is a requirement that your meal time has to be a certain number of hours before the show you select. This does not stop you from having to wait in line though....just not as crazy of a line. The package guarantees you a seat, but not in a specific section. We lined up about 45 minutes early for ours as it was Neil Patrick Harris and we were pretty far in the back. Illuminations will still be performed. The last CP show is at 8:15

I don't think POP warner will affect you much.

 

[JennyDrake]

I'm going to echo much of what has already been said. With the CP dining package you are guaranteed admission to the show. You WILL still have to wait in line, possibly a very long line.

Pop Warner is a non-issue. Really. I've been at least 10 times during Pop Warner including at the SAME resort. I found the kids well behaved and supervised. April cheerleader OTOH.......

 

[vicb]

So those who've been to CP... was it worth the effort/hassle in your opinion? And I'm curious if you did the dining pkg for lunch for dinner? Thanks.

 

[dkrauss]

My wife and I did first week of December in 2015............weather was nice.........not hot not cold. Crowds (back then) were more than manageable. We stayed at AoA for those days and the PopWarner kids never made an impact........only saw them once and a while in the parks. They tend to stay at the AllStars and CB. Nothing to worry about really. We didn't do the CP package but the people who say you'll still wait are correct. We were there when Whoopie Goldberg was there. We stood in the back and could see everything real well.........so, for us, the package wasn't required......although we did stand the entire time. We did a MVMCP during our short 4 day stay and just loved it. Crowds very low........walked on to most everything except 7DMT. Did 7 Dwarves M&G around 10:30 with a 5 min wait...........our wait to me Jack Skelington........was about 40 min around 6pm. The part we really enjoyed during this trip was all the decorations in the resorts. We enjoy resort hopping.......we try to work it into our plans for times like this. Worth the trip to WL and GF as they have wonderful decorations.

Have a great time.

Doug

 

[disneygolfer1985]

So those who've been to CP... was it worth the effort/hassle in your opinion? And I'm curious if you did the dining pkg for lunch for dinner? Thanks.

We go almost every year either over Thanksgiving or Christmas and usually go to the Candlelight Processional. We have always done the dining package. It kind of depends when you want to see the show, but if you eat lunch, then the package will be cheaper if you are paying out of pocket. If you are on the dining plan, then it will still count as 2 table service credits (things to think about). We usually have seen either the 6:45 or 8:15 show, but this past Thanksgiving, we went to the 5pm show and ate around 1:30 pm (I think). We got in line just before 4:30 and still got a seat in front of the trees. I would recommend getting in line 45-60 minutes before the show. Also, know that you may not know what narrator you have when you went the dining reservations. All that aside, I would highly recommend it if you have never experienced it. I hope this helps.

 

[Mal6586]

So those who've been to CP... was it worth the effort/hassle in your opinion? And I'm curious if you did the dining pkg for lunch for dinner? Thanks.

We were there Dec 4-11 this past year, and we did our CP "dinner" package for breakfast actually, and it was one of my favorite, but most meticulously planned days of the whole trip. Basically, we started our day with our dinner package at Garden Grill where we had a 9:45am breakfast. Then we spent all late morning/afternoon hitting the Holidays Around the World storytellers. I think we managed to see 3/4 of them. (They definitely do not plan them such that you can start at one end of World Showcase and work your way around!!) Then our CP was the 5:00pm showtime. It took a couple of tries to get the CP time we wanted when I was booking the dinner package as it seems to just randomly assign you a showtime when you book the dining reservation. I had to let it go and rebook it a couple of times to get the 5:00pm one. Then we spent our evening in Future World. It was really great!