Official 2021 Disney Very Merriest After Hours Thread

[theotherlostprincess]

Perhaps someone answered but I've seen them set up lines of cast members at key points so if you don't have a wristband you can't go past. Eventually that gets non-party people in less and less areas of the park. I actually don't know what would happen if you just tried to park yourself ...say in front of the train station or the exit tunnel. Since they plan to do a parade with this Christmas after hours event, I'd think they would eventually have you out to the area in front near the turnstiles if not all the way out. I've always wondered though exactly how they get people to move if they've sat down somewhere - do they ask them?

FWIW I've always had a ticket and will have one for the upcoming Christmas AF event.

so obviously I’m not sure for this exact event what they will do but in previous Halloween and Christmas parties they don’t let you stay on Main Street. They look for wristbands as you walk down Main Street and will ask you to leave if you don’t have one. I know I’ve sat down for the parade for a previous party on the curbs on main street and the group next to us didn’t have wristbands and they told them they had to leave as the tickets were sold out for that night so they couldn’t be purchased to stay.

 

[JoJoGirl]

The CMs are pretty vigilant at clearing out day guests once the party begins. One time we had a later (but still pre-closing) reservation at Skipper Canteen on a party night, but no party tickets. While making our way to the exits after dinner, we were approached three different times by CMs making sure we were leaving the park. Almost made me feel guilty to be there, even though we had done nothing wrong.

 

[Lsdolphin]

The price of the tickets is soooo high for this event that I would like to think it is truly a “low capacity” event but then I can’t imagine them having a special fireworks show as well as a parade for a low capacity crowd....I think many must be waiting for reviews before plunking down over $200 per person.

 

[Mrs~Incredible]

Dis friends…. I am so so torn about this one. Can you help me decide? We did MVMCP in 2018 on a Tuesday night and honestly we thought it was so overcrowded and declared it a “one and done”. We met a couple characters, did a couple rides, and were jammed in like sardines for parade and fireworks.

When the prices came out for this years Merriest After Hours I honestly laughed out loud. But now I’m wondering….

I don’t think we will be springing for genie plus or ILL (I hate the nickel and diming sooo much, plus I don’t want to be tied to my phone)…. So I’m wondering, will this be a super nice splurge and allow us some ability to walk on rides?

I can’t wrap my head around how crowded this will be. No sold out dates. High prices. But special fireworks etc so you’d think they would have a high capacity cap.

Gah!!

also, we never did get to see snow on Main Street in 2018, and it’s a big regret since we love it in Hollywood Studios.

what do y’all think??? I’ve been reading the boo bash reports, but still, this will be different.

how crowded will this be?

should we do it??

thanks for your thoughts!!!

 

[Selket]

how crowded will this be?
should we do it??

When's your dates? If it's not one of the last parties in December or around Thanksgiving you may be able to wait to buy the ticket until the reviews come in on crowds and see what you think.

Personally I wouldn't do it just for the walk on rides - I'd probably spend the money on the Genie+ and LL uncharged rides vs. this to cut down my wait times overall for the entire trip. I think the better value of this will be to see the fireworks and parade - as I think there are special Christmas ones that are only for this AH event unlike the Boo Bash. Of course hang out on Main Street and enjoy the snow, eat treats, and hopefully some of the rides are being re-themed for the party (like Space Mountain was a few years ago). And meet any special characters you're interested in.

No one can really know the crowd situation until the event starts running.

 

[Mrs~Incredible]

When's your dates? If it's not one of the last parties in December or around Thanksgiving you may be able to wait to buy the ticket until the reviews come in on crowds and see what you think.

Personally I wouldn't do it just for the walk on rides - I'd probably spend the money on the Genie+ and LL uncharged rides vs. this to cut down my wait times overall for the entire trip. I think the better value of this will be to see the fireworks and parade - as I think there are special Christmas ones that are only for this AH event unlike the Boo Bash. Of course hang out on Main Street and enjoy the snow, eat treats, and hopefully some of the rides are being re-themed for the party (like Space Mountain was a few years ago). And meet any special characters you're interested in.

No one can really know the crowd situation until the event starts running.

Thanks- good thoughts! We are looking at early November. I am missing the all-inclusive vibe and even though this is super costly, wondering if it would be worth it to get the feeling that we can run around the park and have fun with very low crowds, plus the special fireworks. We will be there after the first few parties, so maybe we will wait for some reviews… thanks for your thoughts

 

[CampbellzSoup]

Dis friends…. I am so so torn about this one. Can you help me decide? We did MVMCP in 2018 on a Tuesday night and honestly we thought it was so overcrowded and declared it a “one and done”. We met a couple characters, did a couple rides, and were jammed in like sardines for parade and fireworks.

When the prices came out for this years Merriest After Hours I honestly laughed out loud. But now I’m wondering….

I don’t think we will be springing for genie plus or ILL (I hate the nickel and diming sooo much, plus I don’t want to be tied to my phone)…. So I’m wondering, will this be a super nice splurge and allow us some ability to walk on rides?

I can’t wrap my head around how crowded this will be. No sold out dates. High prices. But special fireworks etc so you’d think they would have a high capacity cap.

Gah!!

also, we never did get to see snow on Main Street in 2018, and it’s a big regret since we love it in Hollywood Studios.

what do y’all think??? I’ve been reading the boo bash reports, but still, this will be different.

how crowded will this be?

should we do it??

thanks for your thoughts!!!

I did MVMCP 2016-2019 it was some of the best times I’ve ever had at disney world. Christmas at disney is truly magical.

I feel like the parties now are a huge rip off…but this one doesn’t seem as bad as boo bash at least you get a full parade and fireworks!

I would say if you never saw snow on main street Just do it…if Covid taught us anything that life isn’t guaranteed and let’s do what we can while we can!

 

[CSLucas]

We've been wanting to do an after hours event for a bit and were too late making moves on Boo Bash. Opted to do Very Merry on the 18th and we are PSYCHED.

We're gonna use the day to sleep-in, have a slow start, dinner at Narcoosee's at 5 before heading to MK... then be ready to rock, roll, and carol until they kick us out. I'll caveat that by saying we are a young couple that do not have kids and want to ride space mountain a bajillion times while enjoying feeling like "we have the park to ourselves". We definitely know we paid the premium for the event but don't mind since we are folks who know that our disney trip will always include many forms of the Mickey Tax.

I'm sure you will have a blast! We went to Boo Bash (with 2 young kids - 4 and 6) and LOVED it. The park didn't feel empty by any stretch, but we also didn't have to wait for rides and there was plenty of space around to where you didn't feel crowded. I just bought our Christmas after hours tickets for the 17th today because some DVC rooms finally opened up

 

[CampbellzSoup]

I'm sure you will have a blast! We went to Boo Bash (with 2 young kids - 4 and 6) and LOVED it. The park didn't feel empty by any stretch, but we also didn't have to wait for rides and there was plenty of space around to where you didn't feel crowded. I just bought our Christmas after hours tickets for the 17th today because some DVC rooms finally opened up

Did you feel boo Bash was awesome as an after party or Halloween event?

 

[merry_nbright]

Did you feel boo Bash was awesome as an after party or Halloween event?

I’m going to jump in here and say it was more of an After Party to me. It was missing something. It was fun but I’m not sure I’d do it again. The Christmas one is going to be different with the inclusion of a parade and special fireworks. I wouldn’t have bought tickets if it was just like Boo Bash, though.

 

[Lsdolphin]

So with the resorts putting up Christmas decor and displays will guests be able to freely travel to different resorts by car or will this continue to be limited to those with TS reservations?

 

[ENJDisneyFan]

So with the resorts putting up Christmas decor and displays will guests be able to freely travel to different resorts by car or will this continue to be limited to those with TS reservations?

I guess no one knows for sure but I wouldn't be surprised if it continues to be limited.

 

[merry_nbright]

So with the resorts putting up Christmas decor and displays will guests be able to freely travel to different resorts by car or will this continue to be limited to those with TS reservations?

If you’re using Disney transportation, it’s fine. I was able to tour different resorts last year, they didn’t check anything, and that was at the height of the restrictions.

 

[CSLucas]

Did you feel boo Bash was awesome as an after party or Halloween event?

We had never been to an after hours or a party before, so I'm probably not the best data point on that. The kids really enjoyed the Halloween aspect of the parades, costumes, and trick-or-treating (and surprisingly hung in until almost the bitter end). For us it was completely worth the cost (and apparently worth more since we just spent the $$$ for the Christmas party). Totally guessing here, but I would think that if someone wanted either an after hours or a party experience then they would have been disappointed - from what I can gather, it really wasn't like either one. It felt like a slow day at the park with a theme added (which is more our speed). When we go for the Christmas party we aren't doing any days in the parks - none of us like crowds, and the cost is a bit more palatable when you look at it as a replacement for a day in the park. It sounds like Disney is putting a little more effort into entertainment for the Christmas one, but honestly we would still be perfectly happy if it didn't have anything more than what Boo Bash had.

 

[ENJDisneyFan]

If you’re using Disney transportation, it’s fine. I was able to tour different resorts last year, they didn’t check anything, and that was at the height of the restrictions.

Yes, but the person you quoted asked about traveling by car, not by Disney transportation.

 

[merry_nbright]

Yes, but the person you quoted asked about traveling by car, not by Disney transportation.

That’s true, but if you travel to Disney Springs via car and take a bus to said resort, that’s an option.

 

[Lsdolphin]

If you’re using Disney transportation, it’s fine. I was able to tour different resorts last year, they didn’t check anything, and that was at the height of the restrictions.

Yes, thank you....I was just there the end of Sept and had no problem going over to Poly via monorail from park but was told I needed a TS reservation in order to gain entrance via car....just wondering if we will be able to visit resorts to view Christmas displays via car without dining reservation.

 

[shaqfor3]

Well the first Party is on the last night of my trip.

I was excited as I never been on Xmas in Disney. But then I saw it is $200 with taxes. For 6 hours. Without seeing any review of it as it is the first night and will probably be full of bloggers around. At least for me, it would be a very poor financial decision to spend that kind of money blindly.

Of course I am an idiot so I already bought my ticket and I will see you there.

 

[BroadwayHermione5]

Dis friends…. I am so so torn about this one. Can you help me decide? We did MVMCP in 2018 on a Tuesday night and honestly we thought it was so overcrowded and declared it a “one and done”. We met a couple characters, did a couple rides, and were jammed in like sardines for parade and fireworks.

When the prices came out for this years Merriest After Hours I honestly laughed out loud. But now I’m wondering….

I don’t think we will be springing for genie plus or ILL (I hate the nickel and diming sooo much, plus I don’t want to be tied to my phone)…. So I’m wondering, will this be a super nice splurge and allow us some ability to walk on rides?

I can’t wrap my head around how crowded this will be. No sold out dates. High prices. But special fireworks etc so you’d think they would have a high capacity cap.

Gah!!

also, we never did get to see snow on Main Street in 2018, and it’s a big regret since we love it in Hollywood Studios.

what do y’all think??? I’ve been reading the boo bash reports, but still, this will be different.

how crowded will this be?

should we do it??

thanks for your thoughts!!!

Having done Boo Bash and MNSSHP-I highly prefer boo bash! It’s an after hours, so way less people for more money. Plus you get the ice cream, popcorn, soda and water throughout the night. We also felt for the first time that they were really truly checking wristbands. The last MNSSHP we attended in 2019 we saw people without wristbands all night. While the price was steep, it was worth it.
I don’t know if I’d do xmas though with those prices. We at least had the cheaper time tickets for Boo Bash.

 

[2vets]

Well the first Party is on the last night of my trip.

I was excited as I never been on Xmas in Disney. But then I saw it is $200 with taxes. For 6 hours. Without seeing any review of it as it is the first night and will probably be full of bloggers around. At least for me, it would be a very poor financial decision to spend that kind of money blindly.

Of course I am an idiot so I already bought my ticket and I will see you there.

Hey, I bought two tix for my 4-day trip the following week. And also fireworks party tickets for beforehand. So you can comfort yourself - that makes me, what, over 3x the idiot you are? Have a blast!