Very Merry Christmas Party or Downtown Disney? We don't have time for both

[Jnbm63]

Hi!

We are going to Disney 11/29/15-12/4/15. I made out my daily plan and we can either go to Downtown Disney/Disney Springs or the Very Merry Christmas Party on the evening of our Animal kingdom Park day. Which one would you choose?

This is our first trip to Disney with my husband and DS7, DD 6 and DS 4. They would love the Lego and Disney stores, but we will probably never be at Disney again, when they are little during the holidays. Is the party really worth the $300 plus price?

Thanks!

 

[cgattis]

Personally I would choose MVMCP, if you can handle the extra $$$. Heck, you can spend that in 10 minutes in the Lego store with 3 kids! LOL I don't really care that much for Downtown Disney (it's really just food and shopping, with some random entertainment thrown in), and I especially don't like going in the evenings when the crowds are highest. The party brings some unique M&Gs, and the parade is quite cute, especially from Main Street (the only parade I bother to watch from there). Plus cookies and hot chocolate are a fun "freebie."

 

[dkrauss]

Since you've never been before...............the Very Merry Christmas Party! These are unique, limited crowd parties............you get special meet & greets and all that Christmas spirit. Hey but that's me

Doug

 

[Alesia]

MVMCP, no question.

Downtown Disney is fine, but it's basically just an outdoor shopping mall.

 

[mom2rtk]

We're not huge DTD fans. There's lots of shopping and dining in the parks already. We typically only visit DTD if we have a day with no park access (generally quick stops in the area).

We enjoy the Christmas party. A lot. If we went back in December, we would definitely go. But if our group was 5 people with a price tag of $300, I'd be hard pressed to say it was worth it.

That said, I think it's something worth trying once. I would probably advise doing the party. But buy your tickets now, and do your best to forget about the price tag between now and then.

FWIW, I think your kids are at a great age to really enjoy the parade, complete with Santa at the end. You might be back at Disney again with a chance to see the parade, but never again with kids this age.

IMG_5845B by mom2rtk, on Flickr

IMG_5869B by mom2rtk, on Flickr

IMG_5895B by mom2rtk, on Flickr

 

[ruthies12]

I will be there the same time as you!

I haven't been to the party yet but plan on going ourselves. I think with your kids ages you would need to ask yourself if they can make it late at night after being at AK in the morning? I know for my trip I am planning an AK morning and then Disney springs BUT I have a longer trip than you and we are going to the party earlier in our trip. If I were in your place I think I would let the kids sleep in, do AK like 11 to 3, then head to MK for the party right at 4 and stay as late as they can last.

As others said, Disney springs is nothing more than shopping really. Even if the kids would be excited for those few stores, it isn't going to keep them entertained that long and you can always find those stores in other cities, you can't find MVMCP anywhere else.

 

[CarolMN]

Hi!

We are going to Disney 11/29/15-12/4/15. I made out my daily plan and we can either go to Downtown Disney/Disney Springs or the Very Merry Christmas Party on the evening of our Animal kingdom Park day. Which one would you choose?

This is our first trip to Disney with my husband and DS7, DD 6 and DS 4. They would love the Lego and Disney stores, but we will probably never be at Disney again, when they are little during the holidays. Is the party really worth the $300 plus price?

Thanks!

Since you haven't done it yet and probably won't be back at that time, I think it would be worth it. The parade and Holiday Wishes are very special and you won't have a chance to see either if you don't attend a party.

However, your children are quite young. If you decide to go, make sure everyone, including Mom & Dad get a good nap the afternoon of the party. If anyone gets too tired, you'll have to leave early, making that $300 seem less worth it. Also, you can enter the park with just the party ticket as early as 4 pm, so you might be able to buy one less day of admission to help with the party cost.

My advice is not to do another park on MVMCP day - it's just too much. Consider a resort morning (or maybe DD) that morning so that you have time for a good nap and then time your party arrival for 4 pm or shortly thereafter.

The time you have chosen to attend is my favorite time of the year. There will be so much to see and do. Enjoy!

 

[Jnbm63]

Thanks for all the replies! The MVMCP will probably be a once in a life time thing for the kids and it sounds like it would probably be worth it. I will bring our double stroller, incase someone dozes off. I plan on doing AK in the morning, leaving by 2. Go back to our resort, BC, for a nap/rest. Then leave for the party around 6. My kids like to get up early, so sleeping in isn't an option. They usually are pretty good troopers, if it is something they want to do. Thanks!

 

[mom2rtk]

Thanks for all the replies! The MVMCP will probably be a once in a life time thing for the kids and it sounds like it would probably be worth it. I will bring our double stroller, incase someone dozes off. I plan on doing AK in the morning, leaving by 2. Go back to our resort, BC, for a nap/rest. Then leave for the party around 6. My kids like to get up early, so sleeping in isn't an option. They usually are pretty good troopers, if it is something they want to do. Thanks!

I understand you want a fairly long break. But if everyone is up a little earlier, you can get into the MK with your party ticket as early as 4. I would try to get out a little ahead of 6 so you miss the heaviest traffic on Main Street with everyone entering and leaving at the same time.

I hope you enjoy it!

 

[larryz]

Personally I would choose MVMCP, if you can handle the extra $$$. Heck, you can spend that in 10 minutes in the Lego store with 3 kids!

Indeed -- MVMCP may turn out to be the less expensive option.

 

[mom2rtk]

Personally I would choose MVMCP, if you can handle the extra $$$. Heck, you can spend that in 10 minutes in the Lego store with 3 kids! LOL I don't really care that much for Downtown Disney (it's really just food and shopping, with some random entertainment thrown in), and I especially don't like going in the evenings when the crowds are highest. The party brings some unique M&Gs, and the parade is quite cute, especially from Main Street (the only parade I bother to watch from there). Plus cookies and hot chocolate are a fun "freebie."

Indeed -- MVMCP may turn out to the the less expensive option.

good point!

 

[bumbershoot]

Dtd is a mall. There is absolutely nothing special about the Lego store there. The Disney store is huge, but for kids that age that can be a big overwhelming negative.

That said, I've never felt the need to hit the Christmas party either. With such a short trip (to me...if we are flying cross country we are in FL at least two weeks) I personally would just focus on the regular parks. Easy for me to say though, since when DS was that little we were at Disneyland, where we saw the same basic holiday parade for free.

 

[kaetra]

I vote Christmas Party - totally worth it. Completely and utterly worth it. Don't waste all the party time in the character greet lines though - go ride stuff while it's all walk on! The parade is very cool and worth seeing for sure, but character greet lines are VERY long because that's what everyone seems to want to do at these things. Meanwhile the rides have almost no one on them.

If they advertise a "special" "Jingle Cruise" for Jungle Cruise I'd skip that one if the line is more than 15 minutes - it's not that special.

 

[uccats97]

MVMCP hands down!

 

[sunsetbeachgal]

The last two times I went to DTD, in January of this year and March, 2014 honestly I was disappointed. The construction seems endless. I used to enjoy the shops a lot more, but as time goes on the shops have less and less uniqueness and they all seem to have exactly the same Disney merchandise that you see in the parks and the resort gift shops. We enjoy walking around, and maybe get a snack or ice cream, but that is the extent of it.

Definitely do the party if the money is not an issue!

 

[SadieDawn90]

I like DTD...there are some great shops and we always spend part of our first day there. But there's no contest, MVMCP. Unique M&Gs are amazing. In December, rides like Splash Mountain and BTMR are walk on. I could stay on Splash and ride as many times as I wanted lol. The parade is great. Definitely worth it, in my book.