Official 2013 MVMCP Information

[Itinkso]

Great to hear! Thank you so much. I'll be sure to link them tonight. I may try to do FP+ for Jingle Cruise as well and another busier ride.

Try for Peter Pan!

 

[Dislover1991]

Try for Peter Pan!

Good idea! We spent 12 hours at MK last trip and never saw the line shorter than 60 minutes!

 

[WDW Princess 71]

My mom and I attended the MVMCP on Monday, 11/11 for the first time. We arrived right at 7:00 PM since we had a lovely dinner beforehand at California Grill. I was worried that having dinner beforehand and not being able to arrive until 7pm would mess us up, especially with character pictures, but it really didnt. We went straight to the Dwarves (which was a bit hard to find, had to ask a CM even though I had a map of the rough idea of the location, but this was our first trip with New Fantasyland so everything was a little disorienting for us at first, finding our way around.) In fact this was one thing that I didnt like with the official party map, it didnt specify specific character locations or timesjust a generic mickey icon showing where some character would be. If it werent for Kenny the Pirates amazing breakdown, chart and handy map, it would have been so much more confusing and less enjoyable because you would have no idea who was where. Anyway, we got the Dwarves just after 7pm and the CM said the line was about 35-40 minutes, which was spot on. It moved really quickly. Shockingly, this was our fastest and most pleasant character line of the evening, and I had feared it was going to be our worst because of reading all of the tips saying their line would be 90 minutes to 2 hours long easily. It was so great that they allowed only 1 picture per family and no signaturesmade it go so much faster!! I wish all of the party lines were like that. The other ones the rest of the night were painfully slowwe waited 25-40 minutes for everything else but they felt so much longer because they moved so slowly with all the multi-picture family shots and signatures. After the Dwarves we headed to Frontierland to the shop selling pins, thankfully a CM had told us to go early because merchandise sells out quickly. I am glad she gave this advice because since we were going to only the 2nd party of the year I thought there would be tons of pins/etc. but apparently they only release a certain amount for each party so you must go early. The pin line was about 10 minutes long but very organized and once you got to the front you could take your time and examine the offerings closer up (although in line they had samples to show you also). It was very efficient and we got our Mickey/Minnie snowglobe pin and then moved on for some hot chocolate which we found surprisingly good. Next we headed to Adventureland to meet Aladdin with Abu, but the CM said their line was ending and would switch to Jasmine/Genie soon which we didnt have an interest in, but she said Abu/Aladdin would be back right after the parade. At this point my mom made the excellent suggestion of just staying right where we were to watch the parade right from Frontierland, since we would be so close to getting back in line for Aladdin. I told her that was a great idea, even though we had planned on doing the 2nd parade due to the lower crowd tips, but really since we were right there it made no sense to meander through the crowds to look for more characters. So we stayed put and had a great view, only 2nd row back and it was cool because Id never watched a parade from Frontierland before. We both loved the parade and the festive atmosphere it brought.

After the parade we got back in line for Aladdin/Abu. It was still Genie/Jasmine there but the CM reassured us by the time we got to the front it would be Aladdin/Abu. 30 minutes later sure enough it was. This was one of my favorite meets since Abu is so rare and also Aladdin was so nice and personable with us. After this meet we made our way to the hub to get ready for the fireworks. It was mass crowded. In fact, the entire night felt PACKED to us. It was wall to wall people for most of the evening and I dont know if our party was sold out, but if not, I cant imagine what a sold out one looks like. It really reminded me of being there for New Years Eve when we went in 2010, just masses of people and difficult to even move anytime around a parade and the fireworks. This was the only negative of the party for usthe atmosphere was so beautiful, the holiday music and snow were neat, the characters and shows and parades and fireworksbut it would be so much better with less people. Id rather pay twice as much for the ticket and have half the amount of people be there, it would make it feel a lot less frazzled in my opinion.

The show of light projections on the castle/music (I forget what it was called) was really good. It reminded me of the amazing Disney Dreams show I saw at Disneyland Paris over the summer, which is my favorite Disney nighttime show at any park. The Christmas fireworks were also great since we love the holiday music incorporated. Plus it was great seeing these and then getting to see regular Wishes the following night!

After the fireworks we headed back to Fantasyland where I had to choose between either Rapunzel/Flynn & Snow White/Prince or Cinderella/Prince & Aurora/Phillip. I wish they had been individual lines because I really wanted Snow White and Cinderella but there was no way I could wait for both. This was the most painstaking 45 minute line of the evening because the princes and princesses HEAVILY interacted with each party. It was so slow. Plus when I got to the front, only 4 families in front of me and could see that Rapunzel was the first set to meet, I asked the CM if I could skip ahead and go right to Snow White since I didnt care for Rapunzel, and she said no. so I had to wait another 20 minutes for 2 characters I couldnt care less about only to watch Snow White and Prince just standing there with no one for several minutes before the first family even got to them. Major waste but what can you do. After I got out from them we fortunately just made the line for Pooh and Friends, literally the last family in and this was before they even came out for the set, the line was cut. But it was so awesome getting them all together!!

After Pooh we went to the store at Big Circus and got a nice red long sleeved MVMCP shirt. Wasnt thrilled that it was almost $40 but I wanted something to commemorate our evening since it was our first party, and it is very festive so Ill wear a lot during the holiday season. Our feet were really killing us by now (we had on sandals instead of sneakers, because wed had the California Grill dinner earlier in the daynext time wed just keep the sneakers on and forget how silly it would look in nice clothes!), and it was just after 11pm, but I saw Scrooge and his line wasnt too bad, it ended up about 25 minutes. Overall I think we did really good with characters. There is no way you can get them all in, so you just have to make a priority plan and see how it goes.

My overall thoughts on the party, it was a fun night but it felt very rushed. It was very crowded and everyone wanted to do the same thing: hit the parades, fireworks and special characters, so it just felt like one wait and line after another. I would go again but take it much easier and only plan to see 2-3 characters so that I could spend more time just sitting on Main Street watching the snow, listening to music, and have more cookies and hot chocolate at leisure. I really love the character pics we got but in retrospect it felt like a whirlwind powerwalk rush from one meet to the next. So, I would definitely downplay my strategy next time and just go to enjoy the night and see a few things instead of everything. But overall for our first party we really enjoyed it and it really got us excited for the rest of the holiday season!!

If anyone has any questions about anything, I'd be happy to help answer! Thanks to all who previously posted tips who greatly helped us in our planning!

 

[glk2009]

Using a Fp+ does not take a day away from your tickets. Just be sure to enter the park with the hard plastic Party ticket and your regular tickets remain untouched on your MagicBand.

This is our first Dec trip and first MVMCP... what if we were already planning on a MK day the same day as the party?

Will it screw up my MK FP+?

And do I have to go back to the front of the park and re-enter w/ my ticket after 4 pm?

Thanks!

 

[Itinkso]

This is our first Dec trip and first MVMCP... what if we were already planning on a MK day the same day as the party? Will it screw up my MK FP+? And do I have to go back to the front of the park and re-enter w/ my ticket after 4 pm? Thanks!

No, it won't mess up your selected Fp+. Your regular ticketed day allows you to choose Fp+ up until park closing @ 7:00; no Fp+ during the party.

You can receive your party wristband inside the park...look for for CMs near Tortuga Tavern or Stitch's attraction in Tomorrowland. No need to return to the front of the park.

 

[matthewhavens]

My mom and I attended the MVMCP on Monday, 11/11 for the first time. We arrived right at 7:00 PM since we had a lovely dinner beforehand at California Grill. I was worried that having dinner beforehand and not being able to arrive until 7pm would mess us up, especially with character pictures, but it really didnt. We went straight to the Dwarves (which was a bit hard to find, had to ask a CM even though I had a map of the rough idea of the location, but this was our first trip with New Fantasyland so everything was a little disorienting for us at first, finding our way around.) In fact this was one thing that I didnt like with the official party map, it didnt specify specific character locations or timesjust a generic mickey icon showing where some character would be. If it werent for Kenny the Pirates amazing breakdown, chart and handy map, it would have been so much more confusing and less enjoyable because you would have no idea who was where. Anyway, we got the Dwarves just after 7pm and the CM said the line was about 35-40 minutes, which was spot on. It moved really quickly. Shockingly, this was our fastest and most pleasant character line of the evening, and I had feared it was going to be our worst because of reading all of the tips saying their line would be 90 minutes to 2 hours long easily. It was so great that they allowed only 1 picture per family and no signaturesmade it go so much faster!! I wish all of the party lines were like that. The other ones the rest of the night were painfully slowwe waited 25-40 minutes for everything else but they felt so much longer because they moved so slowly with all the multi-picture family shots and signatures. After the Dwarves we headed to Frontierland to the shop selling pins, thankfully a CM had told us to go early because merchandise sells out quickly. I am glad she gave this advice because since we were going to only the 2nd party of the year I thought there would be tons of pins/etc. but apparently they only release a certain amount for each party so you must go early. The pin line was about 10 minutes long but very organized and once you got to the front you could take your time and examine the offerings closer up (although in line they had samples to show you also). It was very efficient and we got our Mickey/Minnie snowglobe pin and then moved on for some hot chocolate which we found surprisingly good. Next we headed to Adventureland to meet Aladdin with Abu, but the CM said their line was ending and would switch to Jasmine/Genie soon which we didnt have an interest in, but she said Abu/Aladdin would be back right after the parade. At this point my mom made the excellent suggestion of just staying right where we were to watch the parade right from Frontierland, since we would be so close to getting back in line for Aladdin. I told her that was a great idea, even though we had planned on doing the 2nd parade due to the lower crowd tips, but really since we were right there it made no sense to meander through the crowds to look for more characters. So we stayed put and had a great view, only 2nd row back and it was cool because Id never watched a parade from Frontierland before. We both loved the parade and the festive atmosphere it brought.

After the parade we got back in line for Aladdin/Abu. It was still Genie/Jasmine there but the CM reassured us by the time we got to the front it would be Aladdin/Abu. 30 minutes later sure enough it was. This was one of my favorite meets since Abu is so rare and also Aladdin was so nice and personable with us. After this meet we made our way to the hub to get ready for the fireworks. It was mass crowded. In fact, the entire night felt PACKED to us. It was wall to wall people for most of the evening and I dont know if our party was sold out, but if not, I cant imagine what a sold out one looks like. It really reminded me of being there for New Years Eve when we went in 2010, just masses of people and difficult to even move anytime around a parade and the fireworks. This was the only negative of the party for usthe atmosphere was so beautiful, the holiday music and snow were neat, the characters and shows and parades and fireworksbut it would be so much better with less people. Id rather pay twice as much for the ticket and have half the amount of people be there, it would make it feel a lot less frazzled in my opinion.

The show of light projections on the castle/music (I forget what it was called) was really good. It reminded me of the amazing Disney Dreams show I saw at Disneyland Paris over the summer, which is my favorite Disney nighttime show at any park. The Christmas fireworks were also great since we love the holiday music incorporated. Plus it was great seeing these and then getting to see regular Wishes the following night!

After the fireworks we headed back to Fantasyland where I had to choose between either Rapunzel/Flynn & Snow White/Prince or Cinderella/Prince & Aurora/Phillip. I wish they had been individual lines because I really wanted Snow White and Cinderella but there was no way I could wait for both. This was the most painstaking 45 minute line of the evening because the princes and princesses HEAVILY interacted with each party. It was so slow. Plus when I got to the front, only 4 families in front of me and could see that Rapunzel was the first set to meet, I asked the CM if I could skip ahead and go right to Snow White since I didnt care for Rapunzel, and she said no. so I had to wait another 20 minutes for 2 characters I couldnt care less about only to watch Snow White and Prince just standing there with no one for several minutes before the first family even got to them. Major waste but what can you do. After I got out from them we fortunately just made the line for Pooh and Friends, literally the last family in and this was before they even came out for the set, the line was cut. But it was so awesome getting them all together!!

After Pooh we went to the store at Big Circus and got a nice red long sleeved MVMCP shirt. Wasnt thrilled that it was almost $40 but I wanted something to commemorate our evening since it was our first party, and it is very festive so Ill wear a lot during the holiday season. Our feet were really killing us by now (we had on sandals instead of sneakers, because wed had the California Grill dinner earlier in the daynext time wed just keep the sneakers on and forget how silly it would look in nice clothes!), and it was just after 11pm, but I saw Scrooge and his line wasnt too bad, it ended up about 25 minutes. Overall I think we did really good with characters. There is no way you can get them all in, so you just have to make a priority plan and see how it goes.

My overall thoughts on the party, it was a fun night but it felt very rushed. It was very crowded and everyone wanted to do the same thing: hit the parades, fireworks and special characters, so it just felt like one wait and line after another. I would go again but take it much easier and only plan to see 2-3 characters so that I could spend more time just sitting on Main Street watching the snow, listening to music, and have more cookies and hot chocolate at leisure. I really love the character pics we got but in retrospect it felt like a whirlwind powerwalk rush from one meet to the next. So, I would definitely downplay my strategy next time and just go to enjoy the night and see a few things instead of everything. But overall for our first party we really enjoyed it and it really got us excited for the rest of the holiday season!!

If anyone has any questions about anything, I'd be happy to help answer! Thanks to all who previously posted tips who greatly helped us in our planning!

Thank you for taking the time to recount your wonderful evening.

My crew (myself, DW, DD5, DS3) is a little different than yours but we will be entering our party at about the same time.

Because we only travel to the World once a year (at the most) and this is a short 5-night trip for us, we need to maximize our park time and will be spending the day in MK on our party night.

Although everyone says not to, we have a 5:25pm dinner reservation at Chef Mickey's to give us some time to take a breather outside of the park.

Like you, we may be entering the party closer to 7:00pm. Can you describe what it is like entering the party at that time? I know party guests can "officially" enter closer to 4:00pm but were the turnstiles backed-up? Is is hard making your way up Main Street? As the park is closing to non-party guests at that time were you fighting a sea of guests going the other way? Will I make the entry to the party not an enjoyable experience for my family by doing it at this time when the two sets of guests are crossing over?

Thanks.

 

[Itinkso]

Thank you for taking the time to recount your wonderful evening. My crew (myself, DW, DD5, DS3) is a little different than yours but we will be entering our party at about the same time. Because we only travel to the World once a year (at the most) and this is a short 5-night trip for us, we need to maximize our park time and will be spending the day in MK on our party night. Although everyone says not to, we have a 5:25pm dinner reservation at Chef Mickey's to give us some time to take a breather outside of the park. Like you, we may be entering the party closer to 7:00pm. Can you describe what it is like entering the party at that time? I know party guests can "officially" enter closer to 4:00pm but were the turnstiles backed-up? Is is hard making your way up Main Street? As the park is closing to non-party guests at that time were you fighting a sea of guests going the other way? Will I make the entry to the party not an enjoyable experience for my family by doing it at this time when the two sets of guests are crossing over? Thanks.

Are you planning to be in MK between 4:00 and 5:00 before you head to Chef Mickey's? If so, pick up your Party wristbands before you leave MK.

When you return after dinner, you won't have to wait in the long wristband line, you can enter MK and head straight to your first Party destination.

 

[Dislover1991]

Sorry for all of my questions, but does Minnie & the Scrooge gang have a set time they meet or is just throughout the party?

I always seem to make it to character meets just when the line is cut!

 

[matthewhavens]

Are you planning to be in MK between 4:00 and 5:00 before you head to Chef Mickey's? If so, pick up your Party wristbands before you leave MK.

When you return after dinner, you won't have to wait in the long wristband line, you can enter MK and head straight to your first Party destination.

Yes, we will be in MK all day and we'll have our party hard-tickets on us.

I think I've read there will be a couple locations starting at 4pm to get wristbands (near Stitch and somewhere else?). We'll definitely plan to do that before we leave.

I'm curious if anyone has entered at 7pm if there is a wall of people exiting Main Street that will overwhlem my double-stroller?

Since we will be re-entering, it's not as though we need to take in the scenery but it's not as though we want to start the party by fighting crowds.

 

[WDW Princess 71]

Thank you for taking the time to recount your wonderful evening.

My crew (myself, DW, DD5, DS3) is a little different than yours but we will be entering our party at about the same time.

Because we only travel to the World once a year (at the most) and this is a short 5-night trip for us, we need to maximize our park time and will be spending the day in MK on our party night.

Although everyone says not to, we have a 5:25pm dinner reservation at Chef Mickey's to give us some time to take a breather outside of the park.

Like you, we may be entering the party closer to 7:00pm. Can you describe what it is like entering the party at that time? I know party guests can "officially" enter closer to 4:00pm but were the turnstiles backed-up? Is is hard making your way up Main Street? As the park is closing to non-party guests at that time were you fighting a sea of guests going the other way? Will I make the entry to the party not an enjoyable experience for my family by doing it at this time when the two sets of guests are crossing over?

Thanks.

It was very chaotic entering the park at that time, but it was doable. There wasn't a line at the bag check or turnstiles, but once inside it did seem like mad craziness with people entering at the same time as others leaving, like a big clash. They had people giving wristbands as soon as you entered and we didn't have to wait for those, they had many CM's doing it. However, with the chaos of 50% people leaving and 50% entering simultaneously, I honestly don't know how they could tell who was supposed to get a wristband from who wasn't supposed to. Maybe they had it roped off somewhere around and in the chaos I didn't see it. Once inside, Main Street wasn't too bad, we were able to walk leisurely to Fantasyland.

I think your reservation at Chef Mickey's is a great idea to give your family a break since the kids are so young. I would keep it and I think you will have a great night.

 

[matthewhavens]

It was very chaotic entering the park at that time, but it was doable. There wasn't a line at the bag check or turnstiles, but once inside it did seem like mad craziness with people entering at the same time as others leaving, like a big clash. They had people giving wristbands as soon as you entered and we didn't have to wait for those, they had many CM's doing it. However, with the chaos of 50% people leaving and 50% entering simultaneously, I honestly don't know how they could tell who was supposed to get a wristband from who wasn't supposed to. Maybe they had it roped off somewhere around and in the chaos I didn't see it. Once inside, Main Street wasn't too bad, we were able to walk leisurely to Fantasyland.

I think your reservation at Chef Mickey's is a great idea to give your family a break since the kids are so young. I would keep it and I think you will have a great night.

Thank you so much. I feel much better now.

It's good to know the craziness is more around the entrance to the park and it settles down once you get inside and on your way.

 

[WDW Princess 71]

Thank you so much. I feel much better now.

It's good to know the craziness is more around the entrance to the park and it settles down once you get inside and on your way.

Yes, it really was just the entrance and then of course during the fireworks it was a packed crowd if you want to view from the hub. I highly recommend watching the parade from Frontierland, it was so much less crowded. As my review stated, we didn't plan it that way, but were in that area waiting for Aladdin, so we ended up only 2nd row behind the rope for only 20 mins before the 1st parade, and it was perfect!

 

[Itinkso]

Yes, we will be in MK all day and we'll have our party hard-tickets on us. I think I've read there will be a couple locations starting at 4pm to get wristbands (near Stitch and somewhere else?). We'll definitely plan to do that before we leave.

Tortuga Tavern in Adventureland is the other location for wristbands.

 

[Harters2WDW]

If you are staying onsite and have MagicBands, you can link your Party ticket and select a Fp+ for Mickey between 4-7.

Be sure, though, to enter the park using your separate Party ticket and not your MagicBand.

Question: if we are going to AK in the morning and have FP+ booked. If I link my tix, can I get FP+ for 4-7 at MK or does the 3 limit still apply? I have the plastic tix and know to use those to enter even if we link, although it is our last park day.

TIA!!

 

[Itinkso]

Question: if we are going to AK in the morning and have FP+ booked. If I link my tix, can I get FP+ for 4-7 at MK or does the 3 limit still apply? I have the plastic tix and know to use those to enter even if we link, although it is our last park day. TIA!!

Most people were finding they could book Fp+ from 4-7 when that was their only park entry for that day. But, because it is your last park day, you can always link your Party ticket to MDE and then experiment to see if it gives you three Fp+ for MK.

The easiest way to check is to go onto the MDE app and then try to add in Peter Pan or Jingle Cruise and see if it adds or if the app tells you it isn't valid. Nothing to lose by trying as it won't cancel out anything you already have scheduled.

 

[Dislover1991]

I'm working on linking our party tickets to MDE and it's allowing me to make FP+ selections for the entire day at MK even though we'll just be there for the party. Is it okay that it does that as long as I just choose attractions between 4-7?

And also, since we have a split stay & 2 MBs each, will the party ticket be on a specific MB? I know we won't use that to enter the park, but do we need a certain MB when using them for FP?

 

[Itinkso]

I'm working on linking our party tickets to MDE and it's allowing me to make FP+ selections for the entire day at MK even though we'll just be there for the party. Is it okay that it does that as long as I just choose attractions between 4-7?

Yes! Good luck with everything...sounds perfect!

 

[Disney_Princess83]

I'm working on linking our party tickets to MDE and it's allowing me to make FP+ selections for the entire day at MK even though we'll just be there for the party. Is it okay that it does that as long as I just choose attractions between 4-7?

And also, since we have a split stay & 2 MBs each, will the party ticket be on a specific MB? I know we won't use that to enter the park, but do we need a certain MB when using them for FP?

It doesn't matter for FP as long as your park tickets are linked. BUT now for EMH, they are scanning your magic band at each attraction before you enter. You will need the right band for your current resort or you might be turned away

 

[Disney_Princess83]

Sorry for all of my questions, but does Minnie & the Scrooge gang have a set time they meet or is just throughout the party?

I always seem to make it to character meets just when the line is cut!

They are just there from just after 7pm to 11pm or later. They only go for short breaks.

 

[lovesdumbo]

It doesn't matter for FP as long as your park tickets are linked. BUT now for EMH, they are scanning your magic band at each attraction before you enter. You will need the right band for your current resort or you might be turned away

Are you sure about that? I haven't used MBs yet but my understanding is that the band links to your MDE account so if you have more than 1 it shouldn't matter which one you wear.