Park hopper or Mickey's Christmas Party (or jollywood)

[imnotsancho]

Hello,

I'm looking for some advice. We are going with our 6-year-old (she'll almost be 7 at the time) during the week after Thanksgiving. We will be having our first park day on Sunday and we have a 4-day park ticket. The first plan was to do Sunday HS, Monday, Epcot, Resort Day Tuesday, Magic Kingdom Wednesday, and Animal Kingdom Thursday.

We have been twice before when our daughter was almost 2 and the last time was when she was 5. The last time, our Magic Kingdom day was during Presidents Day Weekend and we had to leave on the earlier side due to crowd, overheating, etc., and we didn't bother going back at night. This time though, we want to enjoy the fireworks and things like that, so we're trying to figure out the best way to manage this.

Anyway, sorry for the long story. Haha. We are trying to decide if because of feeling overwhelmed due to crowd size, would it be better to get a park hopper option or would it be better to forget it and spend the money on a holiday party. We were thinking that the holiday party might be good to pair with our Magic Kingdom day to try to get on things that maybe we wouldn't have time for in our one day at Magic Kingdom. But I think we've seen to not plan on going on rides during parties and to just enjoy the party?

The park hopper ticket would be more for going to Magic Kingdom the first Sunday and then maybe going back to the hotel and taking a break and going to Hollywood Studios at night for Fantasmic. We are staying at Beach Club for reference... Then maybe we keep that Magic Kingdom day on Wednesday to have a full day at Magic Kingdom and we can take it a bit easier with more break times during the day. We are anticipating the Sunday of Thanksgiving weekend to be busy and later in the week to not be as busy, but there's just something to us about Disney World that we feel like we should at least see the castle the first day we are in Disney World. With the park hopper, the ideal schedule would be (due to party days and what's not closing early) MK/HS first day, Epcot 2nd, Rest 3rd, MK 4th, AK/HS 5th day....

Also, what's the target audience of the Jollywood Nights party? It gives off the vibe that it's for slightly older children/adults, but that could be an option too as we could make that our Hollywood Studios day because usually Hollywood Studios has been a bust for us (mostly due to going pre-Galaxy Edge and the last time being super crowded).

Thanks for any advice! Sorry for being so jumbled but trying to figure out the best course of action to have the best time and also how to manage the anxieties of family members.

 

[rainbowredpanda]

You can enter MK from 4pm with the Christmas Party ticket so I would do that on your resort day. Sleep in, enjoy the resort and then head over to MK for 4pm. While there is plenty to do at the Christmas party, there is also plenty of time to do rides. I wouldn't do the party on your only MK day if possible with 7 year old. We have done it as adults and it's exhausting.

 

[scrappinginontario]

You can enter MK from 3pm with the Christmas Party ticket so I would do that on your resort day. Sleep in, enjoy the resort and then head over to MK for 3pm. While there is plenty to do at the Christmas party, there is also plenty of time to do rides. I wouldn't do the party on your only MK day if possible with 7 year old. We have done it as adults and it's exhausting.

Correction: a party ticket allows access to the MK at 4PM.

 

[scrappinginontario]

To me the decision would be based on what we wanted to see and do re: party events. If you want thd party festivities then it could be worth it. I agree that Jollywood nights gives off a more ‘adult event’ vibe but it’s Disney so I’m sure it will be family friendly too.

We enjoy going to MK on party days as crowds tend to be lower so a PH is a good for us. If larger crowds can be overwhelming and wanting a less stressful visit crowd wise, a PH option offers flexibility to change plans if you wish. (We’re headed to Disney tomorrow and have chosen ph over party,)

I hope this is helpful. We want to do it all but the budget tells us otherwise, so we find ph works for us..

 

[jimmymc]

In my experience, you can get a full Magic Kingdom day in with the Christmas party. You can get on most of the big attractions, see the Christmas castle show and parade, and get plenty of cookies all in one night. The only things with long lines are the exclusive character meets. If there's a party on my trip, I will book a shorter park-hopper ticket and just do the party on those days.

Since it seems like Sunday would be the long day, you could always see the park when you first arrive, take a break, then come back in for the fireworks. Or you could use that first day to get Studios done, including a break and returning for Fantasmic.

 

[AnnabelleTheTalkingTree]

For me, it would depend on how late your kiddo will (happily) stay up. MVMCP lets you into MK at 4, but doesn't officially start until 7:00. If she's just going to fall asleep by 9:00 (or otherwise get cranky), you may want to skip the holiday party. We booked it for our upcoming trip with our 3 and by-then 7 year old. Oddly it's not the 3 year old I worry about, bc he'll just go to sleep. It's the older one I worry about bc she VERY gets cranky when she's tried but absolutely refuses to admit defeat I'm not sure if I'm going to regret this!

 

[rainbowredpanda]

Correction: a party ticket allows access to the MK at 4PM.

Yes, it's 4pm. That was a typo. Thank you.

 

[Apiary]

A note on crowds, MK tends to be busier on non-party days. If you do get party tickets, consider making your regular MK day on a different party day. Unless you really want to see the fireworks twice.