Official 2021 Disney Very Merriest After Hours Thread

[0FF TO NEVERLAND]

After the reviews yesterday, I was ready to pull the trigger on Dec 19, one of the most expensive dates. I finally got a chance to talk to DH about it after work and he said go for it. For some reason, I stumbled upon DisneyTouristBlog (DTB), which is who I like to follow for most of my trips and I saw they had posted their review, which gave poor marks for several of the things I was particularly worried about. We are a family of 5, with kids ages 10-3, so all requiring a ticket. But there's no way the 3 year old will still be awake at 12:30 to catch the short waits that people of night 2 were seeing. Seeing the night 2 reviews of longer lines and crowds make me think its not worth the $1300 no matter how badly I would like to see it. TBH, one of my biggest pet peeves that I noticed in pictures before DTB even mentioned it was the fact the castle remained lit up for the 50th instead of the pretty Christmas colors! I thought I saw somewhere else that they would put the holiday colors on the castle on non-party nights, so maybe I'd be better off going on a non-party night and using our deluxe hours privileges for the same effect. Our last day is Wednesday, Dec 22, if they do like they have in the past and run the Christmas parade during the day after the parties end, we could still catch the toy soldiers and hopefully have low crowds during the deluxe event that night. Thinking about going ahead and adding a day ticket to our arrival and maybe departure day for a fraction of the party price. But these decision are so hard to make! Thanks everyone for continuing to post your reviews!

I mentioned this yesterday. Their review was the most honest and best review of the party so far. Telling you everything that is missing and if its worth the value. Their review has made me question going. I read reviews saying the parade was back to how it use to be etc, which is simply not true

I don't trust any vloggers on youtube regarding this either

 

[dez1978]

Oh another question. If I have 2 ph days and then teh party day, with just the party ticket, if I buy Memory maker, will it be good at the party too? or just my full day tickets

 

[sherlockmiles]

Oh another question. If I have 2 ph days and then teh party day, with just the party ticket, if I buy Memory maker, will it be good at the party too? or just my full day tickets

yes, it will be good at the party as well.

 

[dez1978]

yes, it will be good at the party as well.

Thanks. I wasn't sure how that worked.

 

[wideboty2000]

Can any fellow DVC owners please tell me if they were able to enter the party any earlier than 7pm?

 

[boop0524]

Could the idea that bloggers tend not to do the rides be playing a factor? Higher % of guests on the rides vs day 1?

Not sure if that’s enough to move the needle - but it makes me feel better than them purposely capping attendance to make it look better lol

Honestly it wasn’t just the rides. When we went to go watch the fireworks and parades the crowd size was much larger. The midnight parade crowd took up all of Main Street back to the tree and beyond and was several rows deep. Not sure about the hub or other areas. The hub was packed for fireworks when we showed up 10 minutes early. Stores and lines for things like meeting Santa were noticeably longer. Not trying to be a Debbie downer but there was definitely a difference in sold out night 1 and sold out night 2

 

[hereforthechurros]

at the end of the event are there buses running to disney springs?

No, buses from parks to DS haven’t been a thing since March 2020.

 

[Sb4]

Hello! We are getting ready to pull the trigger on tickets for 12/19. We are planning ONE day at Disney while visiting family. My thought is that splurging for this event with smaller crowds, included snacks (I have hungry teens) and all the festivities will be a better use of our time/money than attempting 10/10 crowd days during the week of Christmas. Plus there's the magic of Disney at Christmas, which we never get to see. We really want to see galaxy's edge, but I don't think this is the week to do it. Thoughts?

 

[Lsdolphin]

Honestly it wasn’t just the rides. When we went to go watch the fireworks and parades the crowd size was much larger. The midnight parade crowd took up all of Main Street back to the tree and beyond and was several rows deep. Not sure about the hub or other areas. The hub was packed for fireworks when we showed up 10 minutes early. Stores and lines for things like meeting Santa were noticeably longer. Not trying to be a Debbie downer but there was definitely a difference in sold out night 1 and sold out night 2

how were lines for drinks/ice cream and what were busses like returning to resorts?

 

[CampbellzSoup]

I didn’t like how they didn’t keep the projections on the castle to make it holiday it was the 50th light package

 

[HappilyEverAfter80]

Hello! We are getting ready to pull the trigger on tickets for 12/19. We are planning ONE day at Disney while visiting family. My thought is that splurging for this event with smaller crowds, included snacks (I have hungry teens) and all the festivities will be a better use of our time/money than attempting 10/10 crowd days during the week of Christmas. Plus there's the magic of Disney at Christmas, which we never get to see. We really want to see galaxy's edge, but I don't think this is the week to do it. Thoughts?

We are going the week of Christmas as well and figured the party will be a lot less crowds then the wall to wall Magic Kingdom Christmas week crowds. Even if we could use the LL etc I don’t want to have to push our way through the crowd. I don’t even know if we will do another MK day because of how busy that park gets, and yes I know they all will be but MK to me is always crowded now and I can’t even imagine it Dec 20-26 (when we are there). We also have a 12 yo and if we can get snacks, cookies, drinks etc - bonus.

 

[katyringo]

I think Disney tourist blogs nails the review in that you have decide why you want to go to the party and if that why is worth the price.

for me it's not the rides. I am a pay for fastpass , rope drop, traveling solo... rides aren't my main priority for the party.
For me it's the entertainment.. and from what I saw I am 100% in for this party.

if my only priority was short waits.. I may not find it worth it.

also the lowest ride waits are going to be that 11-1am time and if I had my kids with me..that's a much harder sell.

 

[Mango7100]

I mentioned this yesterday. Their review was the most honest and best review of the party so far. Telling you everything that is missing and if its worth the value. Their review has made me question going. I read reviews saying the parade was back to how it use to be etc, which is simply not true

I don't trust any vloggers on youtube regarding this either

Agree. Their review was brutal but very honest. Pointed out how floats are missing from the parade, the number of performers was reduced, and really no character viewing other than a handful with no real chance for taking selfies from a distance. We thought of adding it on for next week, but not after that review.

 

[EPCOT-O.G.]

I think Disney tourist blogs nails the review in that you have decide why you want to go to the party and if that why is worth the price.

for me it's not the rides. I am a pay for fastpass , rope drop, traveling solo... rides aren't my main priority for the party.
For me it's the entertainment.. and from what I saw I am 100% in for this party.

if my only priority was short waits.. I may not find it worth it.

also the lowest ride waits are going to be that 11-1am time and if I had my kids with me..that's a much harder sell.

Here's how I've rationalized it:

We are going Nov. 18. A ticket to the Very Merriest event cost $169 plus tax. We don't have any sort of annual passes and it's a quick trip, so not doing a park hopper or multi-day ticket, so a one day ticket to MK would be $133. So, a $36 dollar difference (before taxes). Assuming we had opted for Genie+ and/or a LL, you could see how it would be an equal cost (putting aside the 11 hrs vs. 6 hrs experience)

How do you quantify some of the intangibles? The experiences that we haven't done, the nighttime experience (getting to use the resort amenities during the day and better eating options). Generally lower wait times, treats, snacks, etc.

I really did appreciate the analysis done by DTB and think it's one of the more honest and discerning reviews of the experience, but the vast majority of the reviewers I've read are speaking from the perspective of those who frequently visit the parks (Vloggers, APs, etc) and are trying to justify the experience of a sunk cost vs. someone that has to use a day or two, or purchase an extra ticket, to experience the MK. Put simply, "You can save money buy just doing Genie + and LL" doesn't really add up if you also have to buy a park ticket for the day too.

I'm a little disheartened by some of the longer than expected wait times on Day 2 vs Day 1, and some of the lackluster food options, but still on balance am fine with the decision we've made.

 

[katyringo]

Here's how I've rationalized it:

We are going Nov. 18. A ticket to the Very Merriest event cost $169 plus tax. We don't have any sort of annual passes and it's a quick trip, so not doing a park hopper or multi-day ticket, so a one day ticket to MK would be $133. So, a $36 dollar difference (before taxes). Assuming we had opted for Genie+ and/or a LL, you could see how it would be an equal cost (putting aside the 11 hrs vs. 6 hrs experience)

How do you quantify some of the intangibles? The experiences that we haven't done, the nighttime experience (getting to use the resort amenities during the day and better eating options). Generally lower wait times, treats, snacks, etc.

I really did appreciate the analysis done by DTB and think it's one of the more honest and discerning reviews of the experience, but the vast majority of the reviewers I've read are speaking from the perspective of those who frequently visit the parks (Vloggers, APs, etc) and are trying to justify the experience of a sunk cost vs. someone that has to use a day or two, or purchase an extra ticket, to experience the MK. Put simply, "You can save money buy just doing Genie + and LL" doesn't really add up if you also have to buy a park ticket for the day too.

I'm a little disheartened by some of the longer than expected wait times on Day 2 vs Day 1, and some of the lackluster food options, but still on balance am fine with the decision we've made.

this is very true and the other thing the review does it compare it to the past. And I get that. We all want the parks back as the were March 2020..

but really that's just not reality. If we look at it right now. In the moment only- it's the only event you are going to see a parade, it has it's own fireworks, and a new stage show.

I also changed my plans elsewhere. I dropped
My park hopper for my trip.

 

[Sb4]

We are going the week of Christmas as well and figured the party will be a lot less crowds then the wall to wall Magic Kingdom Christmas week crowds. Even if we could use the LL etc I don’t want to have to push our way through the crowd. I don’t even know if we will do another MK day because of how busy that park gets, and yes I know they all will be but MK to me is always crowded now and I can’t even imagine it Dec 20-26 (when we are there). We also have a 12 yo and if we can get snacks, cookies, drinks etc - bonus.

That's my thinking too. We haven't been to Disney since 2017, so I didn't realize the fast pass system had changed. Even so, I feel like getting to ride much during the day would be a challenge, so the party is probably worth it. My 13 year old will probably eat the price difference in mickey bars.

 

[g3pak]

What rides are special for Christmas? Jingle Cruise? Haunted Mansion? Anything else? Also, are these all day every day or just during the party?

 

[BrotherCraig]

What rides are special for Christmas? Jingle Cruise? Haunted Mansion? Anything else? Also, are these all day every day or just during the party?

Tea Cups
Tomorrowland Speedway (lights)

 

[jmcross]

1) Park closes at 8. Party starts at 9. Does this mean you cannot get in line for rides between 8 and 9?

2) What happens if it rains and parade and fireworks cannot happen? Do they offer refunds?

Thanks!

 

[EPCOT-O.G.]

It's A Small World

I thought the seasonal overlay for iasw was only in Disneyland?