What would you do? Christmas Party Question

[cwilso1987]

Good Morning! Intially my family of 4 (kids are 11 and 5), were planning a trip which originally consisted of just a short 3 night cruise to the Bahamas. Since the kids will already be out of school the week for Thanksgiving, we have decided to start vacation early and do a trip to Disney World as well. After extensive research, I figured out that the Mickey's Christmas Party isn't held at all the week of Thanksgiving. Is it worth leaving even earlier, which would result in taking the kids out of school 2 additional days to go? I know that this question is a personal perference however, I have never been to the party so I don't really know what to expect. Any suggestions/opinions would be greatly appreciated! TIA!!!

 

[disneydreamer1980]

I’ve gone to the party several times but I skipped it this past trip. There’s a special parade they only show at the party (until right before Xmas), characters you don’t normally see, dance parties, snow on main street, free cookies and cocoa, and access to select rides. The party seems to get more crowded every year, so there will still be some waits for the rides though maybe not as long as during the day. So if it’s absolutely important to you to see or do any of those things, that’s up to you. For me, I’ve done it before and it’s just not worth the money anymore.

 

[disneydreamer1980]

I forgot to add that there are also special FW for the party, and you can use your party pass to enter the park a few hours before the party (usually 4) so you don’t have to use a ticket to get in that day. Also, There’s a little show where Elsa lights up the castle, though they did this on nonparty nights too. And there are other shows throughout the park as well. Like I said, I didn’t go this past season so things might be different but I don’t think so.

 

[cwilso1987]

I’ve gone to the party several times but I skipped it this past trip. There’s a special parade they only show at the party (until right before Xmas), characters you don’t normally see, dance parties, snow on main street, free cookies and cocoa, and access to select rides. The party seems to get more crowded every year, so there will still be some waits for the rides though maybe not as long as during the day. So if it’s absolutely important to you to see or do any of those things, that’s up to you. For me, I’ve done it before and it’s just not worth the money anymore.

Thank you! I figured we should at least do it once. We aren't huge fans of Disney World parks but of Disney Cruises so I figured this may be our last trip to Disney World for quite some time.