Our first Christmas trip to WDW! Is the MVMCP worth it?

[ashleycade]

I'm pretty new to the disboards, so I hope I'm doing this right. We always go to WDW in the summer. This year we get to experience Christmas the Disney way! We are soooo excited!

We are leaving Alabama on Thanksgiving day & driving 9 hrs there with our 2 boys ages 13 & 2! I have a couple of questions.

1. Is the MVMCP worth the extra money?
2. Any tips on parks & packing for this time of year?
3. Is it usually crowded after Thanksgiving?
We are used to WDW in June & July.. in other words HEAT & CROWDS!!
We will not be going to a park on Thanksgiving. We will go to DTD & Tour the deluxe resorts 2 look at the Christmas decor. So we will be at the parks Friday 11/23-11-28. We are thinking about attending the MVMCP on Tuesday the 27th.

 

[siskaren]

Check out this article to help you decide if the MVMCP is worth it:

http://www.easywdw.com/worth-2/is-2010-mickey%e2%80%99s-very-merry-christmas-party-mvmcp-worth-the-cost/

 

[brendasol]

I'm planning to surprise my children for our first Disney Christmas trip in December! I can't wait to see MVMCP, and I think we'll attend 2 parties to make sure we don't miss anything. We've done the MNSSHP and I wish we would have attended more than one of those parties. My children LOVED the character dance parties, which we didn't even know about before we went!

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

I would say that if this is your first trip to WDW for X-Mas and you may not get to spend X-mas at WDW for several years to come, then go ahead and do it.

As far as packing. Remember Florida is not exempt from cold weather! I would pack one or two pairs of pants, sweat shirts and a light jacket.We have gone for Thanksgiving before and we were thankful we had packed our coats because it got cold when the sun went down. We go in Feb and I always take a pair of the strechy gloves with me and have used them from time to time.

Word to the wise. Disney will be crowded for Thanksgiving. DTD will be a packed MAD house for Thanksgiving beginning the day before Thanksgiving through Sunday. So if you want to go to DTD do it early in the morning!

 

[skriegerjr]

For the cost of two parties, you could stay in the parks two whole more days, including hotel. IMO, you'd prob get more out of an entire extra day or two of vacation, and going to the party once, if at all, then paying to go twice to the party. Just my $.02

 

[ashleycade]

Thanks everyone! I think we have decided to do the MVMCP! We can't extend our trip because of school. We are already pulling our oldest out for a few days! Now I have to rearrange our ADR's!

 

[ashleycade]

I'm planning to surprise my children for our first Disney Christmas trip in December! I can't wait to see MVMCP, and I think we'll attend 2 parties to make sure we don't miss anything. We've done the MNSSHP and I wish we would have attended more than one of those parties. My children LOVED the character dance parties, which we didn't even know about before we went!

We surprised our boys last July! It was great!! We didn't tell them anything. We already had the car packed & got them up at 3am to go on a surprise trip! We waited until we were about 30 mins away from home and told them! We wanted to wait till we got to WDW but we were to excited! They were so excited!! It was very hard to keep it from my 13 year old! We loved it!! Can't wait for our upcoming trip! 159 days & counting!!!:

 

[brendasol]

You can enter the park at 4:00 on a MVMCP day. MK on one of these days is quiet all day because the park closes earlier to the public. So you can go early and enjoy the rides before the party officially starts. Then you can enjoy the special parades, shows, fireworks (they are even more amazing than nightly fireworks...if you can imagine that), and character meet and greets.

My children loved the special attention they got from the characters at one of the dance parties. And the crowds were so much smaller than during a normal day! (FYI...Now this was at the Halloween party, because we've not been to the Christmas party yet, but they're similar)

So 4:00pm to 12:00am....8 hours in the park? That IS a day in the park for us. So we can sleep in, swim, nap, and then spend a "day" (aka evening) in MK at the party.

I will also make a meal ressie about 3:00 at a nearby resort (chef mickeys, trails end, grand floridian cafe, etc). This way the kids will eat a good meal before going into the park. Once we've arrived they get too excited and it's a fight to get them to settle and eat. Then later we can pick up a counter service meal as we go.

 

[chipdale74]

Totally worth it. Going to the party makes Disney seem even more magical! They do such a beautiful job for the holidays! Enjoy! It's my favorite time to visit.

 

[Art 1]

Not worth it if your going to be in the MK as part of your normal trip.

 

[churchpilot]

We have been numerous times and I can't say that the crowds were light at any of them. They were lighter the earlier in the season you go, but a couple of them felt like they opened up the door to everyone. That being said, it was still magical and seeing it snow on Mainstreet was awesome. Take the kids to HS and let them see the Osborne Family Lights if you need some extra holiday magic---cheaper than buying two tickets for the Christmas party. Enjoy!

 

[churchpilot]

I'm pretty new to the disboards, so I hope I'm doing this right. We always go to WDW in the summer. This year we get to experience Christmas the Disney way! We are soooo excited!

We are leaving Alabama on Thanksgiving day & driving 9 hrs there with our 2 boys ages 13 & 2! I have a couple of questions.

1. Is the MVMCP worth the extra money?
2. Any tips on parks & packing for this time of year?
3. Is it usually crowded after Thanksgiving?
We are used to WDW in June & July.. in other words HEAT & CROWDS!!
We will not be going to a park on Thanksgiving. We will go to DTD & Tour the deluxe resorts 2 look at the Christmas decor. So we will be at the parks Friday 11/23-11-28. We are thinking about attending the MVMCP on Tuesday the 27th.

Sorry, should have read your entire post before I replied. Yes it is crowded---very crowded! Your mantra should be get up early and get it done! We have worn shorts this time of year, mixed in with pants and light weight jackets. Touring the Deluxe Resorts is a great idea and try and not miss The Yacht Club too. It is always easier to just hit the monorail resorts, but The Yacht Club is gorgeous with its decorations. So is Wilderness Lodge. Since the Fast Pass system has changed, it has changed the way we tour. We stay mainly in one park for the entire day so we can use our FPs. We used to store them up and then go to another park and come back to our original park and ride, ride, ride. Can't do that anymore, so keep an eye out on the time you can get another FP and use them! During the cooler months, we are very careful about water rides and the potential of getting soaked. Bring ponchos if your kids are deadset on riding them! Again---have a magical time!

 

[McKelly]

The Xmas Disney parade is my FAVE parade in all of WDW. For that reason alone, I would go....

It is only shown during the MVMCP leading up to Xmas.