Will I be sorry if we do NOT attend MVMCP?

[bas71873]

I'm talking 2013, here and we would attend on the Tuesday AFTER Thanksgiving weekend if we decide to go. I guess I'm looking to be swayed either way and wonder about crowds around that time.

 

[Nancyg56]

We will be attending the party that same day this year. I am not sure what the crowds will be like because the last time we attended it was the week prior to Christmas and it was a bit crowded.

I think that the party is worth it to my family but value is subjective. I think that you might want to check out what you get at the party. Is the parade, the supposed lower crowds, the extra shows and the fireworks etc worth the money to your family? While my family enjoyes it not every family will find the value the same. I missed the ages of your kids but look at that as well, this party does not start until 7PM and while you can get in to the MK around 4PM you are going to want to stay late. Does your family do well with later evenings? Can you avoid getting up early that morning r will they rest in the afternoon?

I will check back after we get back home and let you know what the crowds were like this year.

 

[larryz]

PP said it well, but I contend that only YOU can determine whether or not it's worth it.

And the only way to do that is to try it once.

 

[TravelAgentJen]

Yes

 

[icc2515]

We went last year very close to the same time as you are going. The crowds were lite. Now mind you lite as compared to when we usually go July and Spring break. But the park closed early to make up for that. The park does seem more Christmasy during the party. The rides are empty. We rode Splash 3 times in a row with zero wait, just the walk through the line twice and the third time the cast member just asked if we wanted to go again. The parades are crowded it seems even more so than during the day. I would not recommend doing what we did. We went to the Magic Kingdom that day then went to the party also. Looking back I think that going to Animal Kingdom then hitting the party at about 4-5 would have been a better value. AK for us is not a full day park and barely a half day park. It is a lot of money and if you are going to leave early or get their late it is not a good value.

 

[wendy522]

The first time we went around halloween I allowed my DH to talk me out of MNSSHP, because of the cost. Well for years not only did I regret it but so did he when he realized later what we lost out on.

So, I would say yes you should go or you will regret it, unless you live near by. We lived in cleveland at the time and it took us years to get their again around halloween time to do the MNSSHP.

 

[JennyDrake]

PP said it well, but I contend that only YOU can determine whether or not it's worth it.

And the only way to do that is to try it once.

Ditto, but with that said, it is not a "must do" for me.

 

[Asellus]

Honestly, I did consider it but seeing how it would cost over $350 for my family to go, I don't find it worth it. I will be skipping it.

 

[laceemouse]

It is worth it to us to see the Christmas parade and fireworks, just be aware that you will not see those things if you don't go to the party.

 

[kris4360]

I've heard it called the fifty dollar cookie because you really dont see anything different that you didnt see during the day! Except you get hot chocolate and cookies.

 

[bas71873]

We've done MNSSHP twice....the first time was a great experience, second time, not so much and I can't really put my finger on why (although it was a lot more crowded, but that wasn't really it).

We've never been to WDW at the holidays, so we are going so that we can see the Santas in Epcot, tour the resorts, attend CP and see the Osbourne lights. I'm just wondering if it would be a good "end" to our trip since we depart for home the next day on a mid afternoon flight. I'm sort of thinking it's early in the MVMCP season and it's a school night for locals, so maybe it would be worth it to go. It's just the 3 of us, so cost wise, it's not a HUGE amount. Even though we are only going for 6 days this time, we are buying a 10 day PH/WP&M no expiration ticket to save for future trips. I'm thinking I might wait and see and just buy tickets the day of if we decide to we want to go.......

 

[bytheblood]

This is what I share each time this question is asked:

My opinion:

I used to love MVMCP, but it not not a good value for the money anymore. The number of tickets they sold used to make the park very easy to navigate, but each year they sell more and more tickets and so it is like the transition of regular hours and EMH throughout the entire party. Also, they have cut-back quite a bit. The first party I went to in 2002 had a lot more entertainment, there were so many more decorations you would not believe it, we received a photo, the cocoa and cookies were good back then and we paid $27 for our party ticket. 10 years later, most all of that is gone and the tickets are close to $70.

So, if you have money to spend to go to a busy EMH, you are buying a special parade and a special version of Wishes (for the most part).

 

[wiigirl]

Yes

Simply stated.

 

[ireland_nicole]

Short answer - no.biggest regret of my after thanksgiving trip last year. Claustrophobic, the entire crowd all wanting to be on Main Street, chaotic, freezing... It was completely miserable for us. OTOH- did MNSSHP this year and enjoyed it- but there really is more to see and do and the crowds are more spread out IMHO

 

[tchrchgo]

I decided to do it 1) because we've never been to mvmcp before; 2) we're staying at universal so mvmcp will be our only trip to Disney, 3) I am eager to see the MK all lit up. We actually will be going more for rides than for characters and parades

 

[siskaren]

I've heard it called the fifty dollar cookie because you really dont see anything different that you didnt see during the day! Except you get hot chocolate and cookies.

That's not true unless you're going to be there after the last party because it's not until after the last party that they switch out the daytime parade with the Christmas parade and Wishes with Holiday Wishes.

 

[bas71873]

We will be attending the party that same day this year. I am not sure what the crowds will be like because the last time we attended it was the week prior to Christmas and it was a bit crowded.

I think that the party is worth it to my family but value is subjective. I think that you might want to check out what you get at the party. Is the parade, the supposed lower crowds, the extra shows and the fireworks etc worth the money to your family? While my family enjoyes it not every family will find the value the same. I missed the ages of your kids but look at that as well, this party does not start until 7PM and while you can get in to the MK around 4PM you are going to want to stay late. Does your family do well with later evenings? Can you avoid getting up early that morning r will they rest in the afternoon?

I will check back after we get back home and let you know what the crowds were like this year.

Thanks. I'll be curious to hear your thoughts. DD and I really had a great time at MNSSHP and I'm leaning toward going since it's likely the one and only time we'll get to WDW during the holiday season, but may just make some loose plans and buy tickets when we are there if we decide to do it. I refuse to go anytime during Christmas break when I hear the place is a zoo and I'm not sure after next year (5th grade), I'll be willing to pull her out of school for any length of time. Oh, and DD could go all day, sun up to sun down and I can usually hang with her. It's DH who may need the afternoon nap . If we do it, we'd probably hit DHS in the AM just for TSM, TOT & RNR, then take a break and do an early dinner at BOG (hopefully) and the party. DDs not so much into the characters anymore and has never wanted to waste time standing in the line to see them. If we stumble on them with little to no line, she's game, but it's not a must do. We'd be doing it more for atmosphere and rides and I we'd probably catch the 2nd parade.

 

[LostSock]

Nah, it is way overpriced nowadays. If you want some holiday magic, go see the Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights. Or spend the extra time visiting the resorts along the monorail. They have cool holiday decorations!

However, I could encourage everybody to go to the party, because I'm hoping MK extra magic hours will be less crowded Dec 10th, between party days! I can stay until 11PM without having to pay $70 or whatever.

 

[aml3679]

We went ten years ago and loved it. We plan on going again next December. The positives outweigh the negatives that are posted here.
Overpriced.......it snows on Main St, they pass out cocoa and cookies and have great fireworks
Crowded......see above
I would be sad if we did not go IMHO

 

[A_Princess'_Daddy]

FWIW, my family has been to WDW about half a dozen times during either the Halloween or Christmas party season since having children, and we've never gone to either party and don't feel like we're missing anything. We're heading to WDW again in a bit over a week and again considered whether we should go to the Christmas party and all of us agreed that we'd rather do something else. After lots of personal analysis, I think it comes down to what you and your family enjoy most about your time in the parks.

My family is not representative of most on the Dis, in that we don't have any interest in watching the parades (we actually actively dislike the parades), almost never stay for the fireworks and in general are not "late night park people" so the appeal of the holiday parties is limited for us. For those who enjoy the parades, special fireworks and nighttime in the parks, then it likely is worth it as a special event or at the very least is worth a try.