One day at Magic Kingdom do the party or longer regular day?

[troydjames]

My family of 5 has 1 day to be at the Magic Kingdom the week before Christmas, Monday the 18th-the 22nd, a one day standard ticket for 5 people is almost the same price as the Christmas party ticket, the question is, would a longer more crowded day on a non party day and night ( I think touring plans has all non party day's as a 7 out of 10), would be better for hitting more rides or would the Christmas party starting at 4 thru midnight be more effective for riding more rides, not worried about stage shows, parades, etc. as we are about maximum riding time. I have done the MNNSP many times and feel the party would be the way to go based on crowd levels, but never been at the park at Christmas so any advise would be greatly appreciated.

 

[shanew21]

If your priority is rides only and nothing else that comes with the party, it might be better to get a park hopper, spend the day at MK until 6, then go to another park. That way you get low crowds at MK and still get a full day of parks in.

 

[Disneyepcot]

My experience has been that the park is less crowded on party days in the morning since most people without an AP either use a day pass or purchase the party pass, not both. Since so many purchase the party pass which does not allow them to enter the park until 4ish, the morning seems less crowded to me.

 

[Elsaalltheway]

I would go with the Park Hopper option too, depending on what the other park hours will be, but if not an optioin then I would go the cheaper route and get in the eight hours with lower crowds.

 

[disny_luvr]

We were just faced with this same question this past weekend. We decided to do the MK on Saturday, a non party day. I’m glad we did. The park was open from 8am-12am and we were there from 8am-10:30pm. We got everything done we wanted to, somethings we were able to do two and three times. It was quite busy, but with good planning, we made the most of our day. I’m glad we went with the longer day to enjoy the park more.

 

[marx]

If cost is part of the equation, you will get more rides in on the party night, in less time.

 

[BriLovesDisney]

I would do one full day in MK without the party.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

I would do one full day in MK without the party.

I agree with this. We've done both and, while it may be more crowded during a regular day, you will have more hours to do more things. I find with the party, the parade, party and other special events take up so much time that we barely get on any rides.