Why do people hate MVMCP

[mollygirl13]

Dh and I are going 12/5. It will be our first one. We have never been to a MVMCP before and we are very much looking forward to it.

I try not to read the negative reviews. I feel that everyone has a different experience and opinion and that you cannot make everyone happy.

So Dh and I will go and have fun & enjoy ourselves because we are together in the most Magical place on Earth at the most festive time of the year! If it is crowded, so be it. We have been to WDW on NYE twice (once was the Millennium!) and nothing can be as crowded as THAT!

 

[jdcthree]

I don't hate it, but I won't do another one for the same reasons others have mentioned - way too crowded and too expensive. If we would have gone on a night that wasn't sold out I'm sure we would have had a better time.

 

[SLK1]

We used to go to MNSSHP and MVMCP every year, but not anymore! We figure that all we're really getting is a special parade - no photos anymore, it's horribly crowded, and we just felt "taken" by Disney. They promise it's a limited event, but in reality, it's just not. It's packed even more so than during the day. I hate to "diss" Disney, but those two events are a rip-off anymore.

 

[DisneyWisher]

Our first time was 2003 when Pop opened. We were given buttons, free photo, cookies and cocoa. It cost just a little over $30. Now 7 short yrs later it's almost doubled in price while no longer buttons or free photos. We loved that they closed MK at 6 to non partyers to get ready for the party. The stores had exclusive party tshirts and souvenirs. No longer the case. Just not worth it.

 

[n2mm]

We would go more often if it was not so expensvie for us Annual Pass holders. Since we can go to the park and ride anytime we want, we don't want to pay $50 pp to go in and see the special parade. We have done it, but no need to go back. Same for MNSSHP, too expensive for us AP holders. Now for the folks who pay the party price and save on a ticket, then it's a good deal.

 

[castleri]

Am taking DGD age 24 for our first MVMCP this year on 11/30 and am now hoping that it will be one of the non sold out days. Being a Tuesday maybe we will get lucky. When we went to the MNSSHP a number of years ago they gave out wrist bands so only those people could ride. What do they do now? When do the Pop Warner groups arrive?

 

[RMulieri]

It has nothing to do with not getting the Magic of Christmas in Disney.I am a Christmas FANATIC and start my holidays at home in November.It is the fact that since I started going in 2001 it has gotten more and more expensive each year.They have taken away most of the earlier extras( the free family photo, the free commemorative pin) yet I am paying more and more. They increased the number of tickets sold per party so that now some of the parties are MORE crowded than the park during the day.Sure there MAY be less tickets sold than the average park day, but when you have a majority of people all jockeying to see the same things at the party..parade, fireworks, shows, it can make it quite crowded.I just don't see the need to continue paying $$$ for the party.I can see and enjoy the magic of the holiday anywhere throughout the WDW resort without having to pay a premium for it.

 

[RMulieri]

Am taking DGD age 24 for our first MVMCP this year on 11/30 and am now hoping that it will be one of the non sold out days. Being a Tuesday maybe we will get lucky. When we went to the MNSSHP a number of years ago they gave out wrist bands so only those people could ride. What do they do now? When do the Pop Warner groups arrive?

IF you are not a PARTY guest with a wristband, you are not even allowed in the park past 7pm.The party is more than the rides, it is the parade and shows.Once 7pm rolls around Cms start checking wrists for party bands.Those without are shown the exit.As for Pop Warner, they arrive on Dec 5th and stay till the 11th this year( I think).They generally do not go to MVMCP, though some might( those that come down separately with their parents)

 

[TLinden16]

I think that many of the people who are say they don't like the party are people who have been going for years, and know what it was like 5 or 10 years ago when the party included more (like a free group picture and a button), and there were more shows. The prices keep on increasing, and the benefits decrease. It's not as good of a value as it used to be.

I've gone every year since 2002 (and a few times before that). The parade and the fireworks are great, but the shows weren't as good last year (bring back Mickey's Twas the Night Before Christmas). It's still magical, but not nearly as magical as it was a few years ago.

 

[mom2rtk]

I think you have to consider the fact that this is a hard ticket event. Even MNSSHP doesn't fill the park except close to or on Halloween itself. Part of the attraction to these hard ticketed events is that there are limited amounts of tickets sold (how limited, who knows?) thus the parks shouldn't be packed.

The fact that MVMCP may have had low attendance probably isn't a reflection of hte party as much as attendance in general, thus less people who are willing to purchase the hard tickets.

As much as you hear people complaining about the party here on the boards, I really don't think attendance has suffered. I hear every party the last week of December sold out last year.

Since you went it has gotten really expensive and really crowded. They have also cut back on the decorations. Last year they did not even have up the tree on Main Street, they waited until after they had recorded the Christmas Parade. So many parties missed out on this very special tree.

I think in the past they put the tree up somewhere else in the park prior to parade taping then moved it to its spot on Main Street. As I recall, last year might have been the first year they just didn't put it up at all until after parade taping. But it has never been on Main Street prior to parade taping.

I went to MVMCP last year in December and loved it.

It wasn't crowded AT ALL on the night we went. We either walked right on to the rides, or had no more than a 10 minute wait.

If you are going for the rides, then even a sold out night will be fine. Most go for the fireworks, parade and special character meets, and THOSE are the things that get crazy busy as the crowds increase.

We are attending our first MVMCP on Nov. 16th. We are super excited. I am not really worried about what I read about party opinions. I have noticed if someone has a comment that is less than positive about their MVMCP experience because they have been to many party events & miss the good old days(one out of many reasons but I see that comment a lot). This our very first special ticket event. We usually visit in June, I am happy I will be able to stand in the middle of MK & not sweat. This trip was not planned for this year. We are at WDW during a holiday season Have fun on Nov. 8th!

You should be fine at a November party. It's the December parties that get crazy busy, especially as you get closer to Christmas.

It's more expensive than ever, and more crowded than ever. They need to sell fewer tickets to make it worthwhile IMO.

David

I think there's a reason they don't announce how many tickets they sell........ I am convinced it's a moving target........

We would go more often if it was not so expensvie for us Annual Pass holders. Since we can go to the park and ride anytime we want, we don't want to pay $50 pp to go in and see the special parade. We have done it, but no need to go back. Same for MNSSHP, too expensive for us AP holders. Now for the folks who pay the party price and save on a ticket, then it's a good deal.

That's actually the case for ANY guest who is there on a multi day ticket of 4 or more days. Park days beyond four days on a multi day ticket cost next to nothing. So for MOST folks the cost of the party is a huge issue.

I do agree with those who say the problem is the perceived value related to cost and how that has changed over time. They do seem to take away more things than they ever add. I also highly suspect that the "limited attendance" level has increased over the years. I have been there on a sold out night and it really was hard to get around. Still, it's a great event, and we won't miss it. Since it's just my daughter and me this trip, we're going twice so we can deal with crowds and slow down and enjoy ourselves, even on a sold out night. If we were a group of 5 or 6, and only attending one party, and it was sold out, I can see how we could leave feeling disappointed at the end of the night.

Those of you attending in November should have no problem. I'm really considering November for our trip next year for that reason. I just have to weigh the lower crowds with my ability to be fully into the Christmas spirit before Thanksgiving......

 

[WHIT1]

We want to take our friends to the MVMCP on Nov 28th has anyone out there gone on a Sun? Is it less crowded than a Fri or about the same?

 

[Lucky4me]

We went in 2001, loved it. 2002, hated it because of the crowds.
We're going the first week of November because it will be our only MK day and the cheapest way to spend 8 hours in the park, it's a Thursday and far enough away from Christmas that I think the crowds will be fairly low.
I can't wait!

 

[DemonLlama]

Our first Christmas party was the same year as our very first trip, December 2000. MVMCP, the last one of the year if I recall, was the second day of our visit.

The tickets were less than $30 a person. Back then you either had to be in a restaurant during the "closed" period before the party started or at the gates. We hung out with Pooh and Friends at CP until they gave the go-ahead into the park.

For the first hour, with little ones, we had Fantasyland to ourselves. We walked in to take a family photo with no waiting (which were in the mail when we got home), got our MVMCP buttons, walked up for cookies and cocoa with no line (and they were nice, rich quality -- not the cardboard taste), enjoyed the santa hats placed on each Dumbo, WALKED ON to Dumbo and all the other rides over and over. I have video of daddy and daughter dancing amid drifting snowflakes on a nearly empty Main Street. We took pictures with characters we never saw out in the parks otherwise. We stayed for the second parade and kept marveling at the emptiness of the park. This was MAGIC. We were hooked.

We have returned to Disney every even-numbered year since then and have never missed a party on the trip.

Until this year.

I just can't go anymore.

Every visit the prices and the number of tickets sold increases while the value decreases. Yes, you can still find shorter lines on the rides during the event, but do you really want to pay $60 extra per person for this perk and the occasional snowflake on Main Street (yes, they've even cut those back!)?

For our dates, the same parade runs in the afternoons we are there (the week leading up to Christmas) and of course this is also the heaviest MVMCP sold-out attendance parties, so admittedly people attending earlier could add the parade viewing perk to their $60, too and not necessarily find wall to wall people and the need to get to shows an hour early to find a spot.

But for us, it's just not worth it any more.

(And since I'm on the old-timer's curmudgeon "in-my-day" side here, let me also say I loved the old parade music much better than the current one, too.)

 

[fairestoneofall]

we've been twice, so i wouldn't say we hated it. i will say that we prefer MNSSHP. there just seems to be more special things for that versus the Christmas party. when we went to MNSSHP last year, we did only party things (the only ride we did was Dumbo in the last 10 minutes of the party). and we still didn't get to do everything or see all the characters. in fact, the only characters we made a point to see were the Tremaines, the Evil Queen and Snow White & the Seven Dwarfs. i feel like we left not getting to do it all and i definitely want to go back.

i don't feel the same about MVMCP. it's a great party. but i don't think there is enough special stuff going on, since they've taken so much away.

 

[nhl66pens]

Hate is an awfully strong word, but I dislike it because I paid $150 only to spend the night battling a mass of humanity that rivaled the busiest summer day at MK. Our only relief was the TTA that got us out of the horde and gave us 20 minutes of peace. For what was supposed to be a limited entry I was extremely disappointed. If you did not go on a sold out night, your experience (from what I am told) would be completely different. I wish I had that luck.

 

[Flamingomo]

We went in 2007 and LOVED it. Low crowds, except at meet and greets, walk on rides and the parade and treats were great! My kids loved every second of it, so much so that we are doing it again this year. We are also attending on sunday, 12/5 and was so hoping it would not be as crowded. I am a little bummed that you are no longer allowed entry to the park a few hours prior to the start of it I thought that made it special too. We are arriving in Orlando that morning and having a late lunch in DTD and were hoping to get there about 5pm. So now, I guess we will spend more time in DTD and then head over for the beginning. I am really upset about that. That should definately be one of the perks of the ticket since they are so darn expensive! I was hoping to be there for the castle lighting prior to the party. I thought that would be a great start to the night!

 

[Magalex]

We went in 2007 and LOVED it. Low crowds, except at meet and greets, walk on rides and the parade and treats were great! My kids loved every second of it, so much so that we are doing it again this year. We are also attending on sunday, 12/5 and was so hoping it would not be as crowded. I am a little bummed that you are no longer allowed entry to the park a few hours prior to the start of it I thought that made it special too. We are arriving in Orlando that morning and having a late lunch in DTD and were hoping to get there about 5pm. So now, I guess we will spend more time in DTD and then head over for the beginning. I am really upset about that. That should definately be one of the perks of the ticket since they are so darn expensive! I was hoping to be there for the castle lighting prior to the party. I thought that would be a great start to the night!

Yes It has been confirmed recently in a few threads, party goers can enter MK at 4 PM Good news!

 

[dqpowell]

I am a little bummed that you are no longer allowed entry to the park a few hours prior to the start of it I thought that made it special too.

Good news... You ARE still allowed in as early as 4 PM. Anyone who told you differently was wrong.

David

 

[MickeyMomOfThree]

Hmmm, interesting. I have not heard people say they hate it before.

Perosnally, we went once in 2002. At the time the kids were kid prices and the youngest was an infant. But now, with 2 kids being "Disney Adults" and a kid, the price for our family of 5 is just not something we can afford (we go on a budget or we don't go.)

I'd like to go again at some point, but I just can't justify the cost for our family.

I do hear all the time how the crowds have gotten bad, when we went 8 years ago it was pretty packed then too. Also the photos used to be included but I understand they aren't anymroe either. Not that that was a deal breaker for us, but it was nice.

So hate it, NOT AT ALL!!! But can't justify the cost, COMPLETELY!

ETA- It doesn't have anything to do with not loving Christmas. I LOVE Christmas, all of it. The castle lights, the decorations, the spirit in the air is why we love Disney when we go (Thanksgiving.) It puts us in the Christmas spirit like you have no idea. But the cost, figure almost $300 for one night, can't swing it.

 

[kaligal]

It is usually a combination of the fact that Disney cut back on the entertainment and raised the cost of admission. There is a, "Wait, you want me to pay MORE for LESS?" factor. Also, some people (like me) had favorites (like the show they totally took away) and don't really care much about free cookies and soap snow.

Add in the crowds and there you have it.

But I don't hate MVMCP. I wouldn't tell someone else that it is horrid or anything.

The cutbacks at MVMCP combined with the lack of Christmas Country Bears and the disappearance of the Lights of Wonder at Epcot (combined with the obnoxious lie Disney told me about why they took it away) has made me decide to skip my Christmas trip. They took away everything I liked best...all the stuff that sucked me in. But I wouldn't try to discourage others from going. I don't hate Disney at Christmas...I just don't feel compelled to get on a plane and go there for it.