What time should we eat before MVMCP?

[My2Angels]

What time should I try to make our ADR for dinner on the night we have tickets for MVMCP? We really want to eat at Chef Mickey's. Should 4:45pm be early enough to get to the party in time? Opinions please?

 

[sharen24]

4:45 should be fine. You can get into the park as early as 4:00, but the party doesn't start until 7:00.

 

[disneymath]

I've only been to MVMCP once ... but we opted to have a "late lunch" (2:45ish) at Whispering Canyon Cafe (at the Wilderness Lodge) and then head over to MK to get in with our MVMCP tickets shortly after 4PM. (We planned, and spent, the morning and afternoon relaxing at our resort.)

Our plan was to maximize our MVMCP tickets and spend the hours before 7PM doing rides etc. (We ended up needing to go back to our resort first, and got to MK around 5:30. Nevertheless, having the late lunch worked out better for us than an early dinner would have - had we opted for dinner, we would have gotten to MK well after the party started.)

Having the buffer time between our ADR and the "official" start of the party was nice.

Also, since CM is a buffet, if you're not on the dining plan, lunch is less costly than dinner I think.

In terms of being hungry later on that night, we just made sure to get our snack of cider and cookies and we were fine.

 

[bleeps]

We've done MVMCP and MNSSHP twice each, and have determined that either a really late lunch or a really early dinner is the way to go. For us, it's not about getting to the party on time, but more about feeling good walking around, doing rides, having room to try the treats, etc. If we eat dinner too close to party time, we just don't feel quite as up for the night of fun because we're so full.

 

[MMluvsWDW]

We also chose to do a late lunch 2:30 and then will snack if we get hungry later in the evening. This way we can maximize our park time and not feel rushed for the party. Enjoy!